The ’12 Operation Macau (250g) is a special commission puerh tuo for the Xinghai Tea Factory. Unlike most other ripe productions which have a dry aroma that is not so appealing, this one smells inviting right off the bat. Macau is located next door to Hong Kong. There is a strong preference for humid or wet-stored productions in that region. This tuo is humid-stored to perfection. The humidity, which is evident when dry, rounds out a minerally light pea soup umame effect.
Dusty-gravel mineral notes emerge in the instantaneous huigan. The qi swirls about warm in the chest. A slight sweat might be broken at the nape of the neck, the base of the back, and forehead. It has a grainy sweetness.
You know that smell of rain in the air? “Petrichor.” I had to look it up after learning about it. Operation Macau has petrichor and the after taste is primarily of petrichor, not vegetables, leather, or dried cherries. For some reason it evokes a sense of whiskey. Something about the color and its clarity, I suppose.
Yes the same kind of after-rain cleanliness evident in the aroma and taste is also there in the clarity of the brew. Brewed gong-fu style, it has quite the lasting power. It also has some subtly evolving effects, with a mouth-cooling sensation more evident later in.
.28¢
