Bitter Tea: LME Puerh Dragon Pearl
The Lao Man E (LME) Puerh Dragon Pearl is a top-shelf study in bitter tea. LME, distinguish from the brand, is a village within the Bulang mountain range. It is next to Lao Banzhang (LBZ), the most famous village of the region, but also including Banpen, Hekai, and a few others.
Similar to LBZ, hallmark LME should be bitter vanishing into sweet. When I bought this five years ago, it was the vendor’s most expensive offering. . . before coming to the ones priced in the stratosphere, Xigui, Bingdao, and LBZ. I only bought a few and this is my second time enjoying.
Before fully opening, the puerh potion is sweet and light. My wife astutely picked up some grapefruit notes. The first three infusions were relatively long, stopping after four rounds. An intimidating fifth infusion of 10s four hours later, had me back off to flash brewing what is nowa total of 12 infusions. It’s still going strong. I anticipate at least eight more.
This dragon pearl has a seriously bitter taste, like grapefruit peel, complete with complex citrus essential oils. Exhalations from the nostrils amplify those notes. This bitterness bears a close relationship to Bitter Nail tea, particularly since Bitter Nail cannot be construed as astringent. The LME is not rough like an immature production. The qi noticeably relaxes and gets the skin glowing a bit.
I didn’t know what I was drinking the first time I had this. Understanding that there is a category bitter tea helps to orient one’s taste buds. Bitter tea is never going to be a fav, but it is nice to appreciate the personality of a high quality production. It provides an unmistakable if ephemeral frame of reference for distinguishing between qualities of bitterness.
