I Know What You Did Last Summer

In the case of Peter, of Pu-erh.sk, I suspect he was in Laoman'e.  We recently had a 2010 version arrive from his comfortable outfit, now to be joined by this 2013 autumnal version.  The 2010 was pretty good, I seem to recall.   How the autumnal version from four years later matches up, we can only guess...

This autumnal fellow weighs in at a not inconsiderable 60 euro / 250g (approx. 82 Yankeebux).  However, perhaps expectedly given Peter's previous works, this tea looks rather decent:

Laoman'e is not my favourite location in the known universe from which to acquire tea-leaves, but it can be done well, if selectively.  This particular Laoman'e comes in at the upper end of the spectrum, which is something of an accomplishment given that this is an autumn tea.  As you can see below, the brew is straightforwardly yellow-orange, in the manner of almost every autumnal tea ever created.

The soup is clean, and there is a solid base - savoury and, at the same time, bitter - along with a good, challenging finish.  Again, this is not typically autumnal.

What is typically autumnal is the warm, rounded character - but this dwells alongside the bitter potency of Laoman'e, like a darker, more aggressive, version of Laobanzhang (or "LAOBZ" as it is known in our house).

While I was not expecting to get excited about (i) autumnal tea and (ii) Laoman'e tea, this is pretty good.  The session lasts well, and memories of a previously-horrid tea-session immediately before this one are immediately washed away.  I wouldn't say that this cake is particularly good value, given its big ol' price, but it is certainly well-made for Laoman'e autumnal tea.