A Raw PuErh with a singular character showcasing the border region of Yunnan - deep and creamy moving to bright and floral in one seamless taste experience.
A PuErh which stood out from the crowd of excellent ancient tree teas that we sampled in 2023. It raises eyebrows and makes you stop and re-taste as it dances across a full spectrum of textural and aromatic movements on the palate.
Before we dive into that taste experience, let's set the background of Rockabilly Dreamboat. This tea comes from estimated 200 year old trees growing in the little known village area of He Beng nestled in the borderland mountains near Myanmar.
We have tasted and sourced leaves from this producer before (for those who remember 'Dream Scene Smuggler') and always remark on how deep and creamy the tea from these mountains can be.
This 2023 Spring harvest has something extra special though - a brightness and florality which oddly pairs with all of those base-notes accompanied with a deceptively potent body sensation.
Take a look at the flavour wheel on this page and you will see that, on the one hand, we are talking about a supremely balanced tea - hitting all of the main taste profiles with similar intensity. This is unusual for any tea.
But the flavour wheel does not tell the whole story because, on the other hand, the tea achieves this balance through contrast.
Rockabilly Dreamboat is an orchestra of many flavours from bass and dense chocolate, toffee and malted creams to sweet and lingering dried prunes and cherries to fluttering and light lotus florals. Underpin all of these shifting tones with the structure of the wild terroir - herbal bitters, lush canopy, dank woods and a sublime touch of farmyard - and you have a symphony in the mouth which delights and surprises.
The cover by Celine expresses this character perfectly. A sulky-cool frog clasping his chocolate malted shake on the deep-green lily pad contrasted against the flowery pink brightness. It reminds us of era's long gone, of 50's Americana, of dudes in diners with rebellious scowls sipping shakes while the pink innocence of a new era buzzes around them,
The body sensation on this is surprising. The creamy and warm nature gives the false impression that this tea is going to provide a gentle hum to your day but those tonic water bitters and herbal dank delights conspire to craft a dizzying high, full of pep and vitality.
Rockabilly Dreamboat is one of those oddbal beauties in your collection and that frog will be staring at you every time you open your tea cupboard to choose your tipple of the day. How can you resist his rude charms?
Rockabilly Dreamboat is one of Don's favourite teas of the year:
