Darren Yeo
I saw on Google that this place sold tea and tea cakes, and since I was walking around Aeon, it was on my agenda to visit. Turns out I bought a box of 茶磚, which are small, individual Lego-like blocks of tea! I am still learning so much about tea, and I love learning. Every box has about 25 cubes; one box was around 48 ringgit. They have bigger boxes as well, but I decided to try a small box first. The smell is fragrant, with a strong, warm body. I can’t wait to get home and try it! I went very late, as most other shops were closing, around 10 pm. Since I didn’t want to keep them too long and take up too much of their closing time, I zoomed through the shop, starting at the 茶饼 (~65 ringgit for 生/熟 cake, last year's harvest is not bad, in my opinion). Then these small 磚 caught my eye. The staff that guided me through the shop was a young lady with her boss (?), and they were both very informative about pricing, the differences between the different products, and sharing more about the age and popularity of their 茶磚. If you are looking for a beautiful gift, or something for yourself, I would recommend checking out their shop. Besides puerh, they have other types of tea as well, and their website is detailed and informative too. Taste of the tea: There is little to no astringency, which is a good sign. The brick opens beautifully after the waking-up wash, so no worries about it being packed too tight. The leaves are full pieces, with minimal to no tea dust, although I do feel the leaves are a little small, but what do I know. The scent is light, the body is light, and the color is a perfect warm chestnut color. Everything goes down smoothly, with a slightly sweet mouth and aftertaste. It pairs appetizingly with steamed coconut kueh, kueh Ubi. Truly a perfect selection for our Southeast Asian 口味.