While looking at the Yahoo group Teamail, I came across this message (whose writer has given me permission to copy it here) concerning a tea that she had:
"It looks like green gunpowder tea, but more greyish than green in colour, and it has a very smoky aroma. I would have thought almost a Lapsang Souchong but I think it's impossible to make LS in green gunpowder form, the smoking would make it a black tea, and they don't roll LS to my knowledge. It was brought to us from a friend of my husband's who got it in Paris. He is a diabetic and he said that it's a "special kind of healthy tea" that is said to help with blood sugar levels or maybe just health in general. Is it a Pu-Erh? I didn't think they were supposed to be smoky and rolled gunpowder-style. I haven't brewed it up yet, because how to do that would depend on what it is."
Later, she brewed it, and reported: "Just this morning I gave in and tried it, treating it like a green gunpowder as a starting point. (Added 1/4 cold water to the boiled water to cool it down, then brewed about 2:30). The liquor is much darker than my usual greens but not as dark as a black. I haven't tried an oolong in a while but maybe the liquor colour compares to an oolong. It is definitely a smoky tea. It also tastes somewhat bitter, but perhaps I overbrewed due to my lack of knowledge."
Noting "[her husband's] friend brought it about 11 months ago, it ended up in the back of a cabinet until we moved and discovered it during packing. In gunpowder form, perhaps it will keep for a bit more. It was packed with care in a plastic bag nestled in a plastic-lidded baby formula can."
Now, it does seem to have a similar description to an aged green pu-erh (in the liquor color and smokiness), but I had never heard of green Pu'er in zhu cha form. It seems it could be a smokey gunpowder green on its last legs (to explain the liquor color). Can someone with more experience in this field help to shed light on this case?
Z