White2tea Lucky Puppy – 2018

I had a good long session with my White2tea 2018 “Lucky Puppy” raw pu’er sample today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MO7AlAXMe/

It started out thick, peppery, sweet on the lips but savoury in the mouth. There was a lingering aftertaste and strong menthol feel in the throat.

The second steep was really bitter and astringent but the thick mouthfeel was even more evident.

The third and fourth steeps started to balance out more but the menthol feel remained very strong.

The fifth steep started to sweeten up, and it was also at this point where I felt hit by a wave of energy and became quite tea drunk after 🤤

The sixth and seventh steeps became a bit lighter and sweeter. A wave of warmth washed over me despite it being quite a cool day.

Later multi-minute steeps produced increasingly sweet, thick brews but they retained some underlying complexity. By this stage walking was a bit of a challenge and I found myself staring into space.

I called it after twelve very enjoyable steeps.

Conclusion

This is a complex tea with lots of energy. It deserves a session where you can really focus on the experience because there is a lot going on. This has been one of the most enjoyable solo tea sessions I’ve had in a long time.

I think experienced drinkers will love “Lucky Puppy” but I also think it’s somewhat approachable for new drinkers. The price definitely puts this into the “premium” category though, so could be good for an experienced drinker to guide a newer drinker through for a really educational session (rather than for a newer drinker to purchase on their own).