Tea Review: Menghai District Bing Cha Private Storage

1990's Menghai District Bing Cha Private Storage (Ripe)
Alan Laszuk Private Reserve

Type: Puerh
Origin: China, Yunnan Province, Menghai County
Product Description:  This is a rich dark ripe puer with Hong Kong storage in a private collection.  This is a classic hard caked black tea that went from ripe puer processing into a bing cha and then stored in Hong Kong area by a private collector.  

Temperature: 202° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of salty nori and smoked fish that reminds me of dashi (Japanese broth).  

The infusion is red-orange with a pronounced green ring.  The aroma is dusty, earthy, and reminds me of steamed kale.  The taste is earthy and dry, heavy in minerals, and mouthwatering.

Taking Alan's advice, I gave this puerh 3 quick rinses before steeping.  Even then, there was a lot of sediment which became even heavier with each steeping.  After the first infusion, the dryness was replaced by a much wetter feel while still being mouthwatering.  The second and third infusions took on a smoky aroma.  The third infusion seemed less complex and the color was significantly lighter, though I had increased the steeping times with each infusion.

This was tea was provided as part of a workshop.