8542 superb when pXXXed

[drumhum]

I recently came home late from the pub after having one (or two) too many pints of rather decent ale (Hobgoblin - probably a UK only thing?). In my slightly (ok, very) inebriated state I thought it would be a good idea to brew up some tea. Somehow I managed to take some tea from a recently purchased 8542 (2008) bing without stabbing myself with my puerh pick or breaking my cherished yixing pot in the brewing process.

On the first taste of tea I couldn't believe it. It was the sweetest, honey, nectar thing I had ever tasted. I must have gone through 5 or 6 brews before my bed began calling me. I even managed to write a note about it...

"ok it's getting silly now.

It's TOO sweet. I find it hard to believe this is natural sweetness. it smacks you on the mouth with sweetness."

(can you tell that I thought it was sweet? ha ha)

I gave the tea another try the next day but it was back to how I thought it was: a youthful punchy fresh puerh. Delightful in many a way but certainly not the sugar I had been drinking the night before.

I can't believe the booze had addled my brain that much but I can believe the beer had affected my taste buds. British bitter tastes, well, bitter.

I fully intend to repeate my experience with copious amounts ale again, at the earliest opportunity. Just for the tea of course.

It seems hops and tea are good partners. Perhaps I should suggest to my landlord that he starts serving puerh. If it always tasted this good after his beer he'd make a killing in tea.

I suggest you all give it a go and report back. I suggest a minimum of 4 pints

[Intuit]

You've already deduced that over-stimulation of bitter and maybe savory sensing as well, from the hops and malt (high in glutamate) in beer will affect sweet taste perception. So you have dulling of one or more receptors that may heighten sweet sensing in the hours afterward.

That's the PC answer.

The not-so-PC aspect is that you found the falsely perceived tea sweetness to be very appealing.

Plausible molecular receptor explanation is tendered in the fourth paragraph, Discussion section of this paper.

http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/co ... ll/42/2/75

(one of dozens of papers on the topic).

[Drax]

Hrm, interesting. Maybe next time you can have a sample already to go before you go out, that way you reduce the chances of stabbing yourself with a pu'erh pick? (and don't use your best teaware? )

I'll have to try this at some point...!