White 2 Tea

Backlogging.

Yesterday (and lots of days lately) have been hellish at work and left me with no time to write tasting notes! Anyway, this is another sample I got from ChaiVeck. It was nice and light and clean tasting. A little woody but not in a bad way. Not a type of tea I’ve explored much yet so that is always fun! It’s so different! A little like shou but not really…

After a week’s worth of exposure to air, this shu produces a very pleasant soup tasting of fresh-cut green beans and sugar snap peas. There is the usual leathery taste as well, but it is very much in the background. A delightful surprise!

Quite soft, sweet, and floral, as far as young shengs go. But it is still a sheng, and thus carries the seemingly-obligatory taste of dirty work pants. The best sheng I’ve had to date, but still awful.

I am really enjoying this tea.

It’s part of my November White 2 Tea subscription. So Yummy.

I picked a heart shaped piece. It was cute. Many infusions later, there is still a heart shaped piece left in my gaiwan.

It’s smooth and sweet and just really nice.

I wish I’d ordered it.

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You’ve got to enjoy this wrapper! Also known as The Wild Elephant King cake, this is a blend of Naka and Bulang material. At the price I paid, it was a great bargain purchase given the high quality. The visual appeal of the cake is acceptable, not beautiful by any means, but pleasant looking. The level of compression makes it fairly easy to pick apart and produce a mixture of whole leaves and pieces. The dry leaf offers a pleasant smell which became sweeter as the leaves steeped. The liquor is dark brass in color. The sip conveys what I would term power with a definite sweetness – clean, strong and smooth with a very nice cooling effect. The activity in the mouth is strong and clean offering a swelling sensation with nice huigan. The leaf has good endurance and remained strong and flavorful through ten resteeps. At the end of the tea session I was left in a very thoughtful meditative state which persisted for about two hours.
Purchased from White2Tea in June for $34.50 (quite a bargain). Unfortunately the current price is $115 (a true indication of the escalating price of Naka tea products during the past 12-18 months).

Really enjoying this sheng this morning. It develops into a sweet honeyed tea with just a slight edge of bitterness. Really well balanced and smooth. The color is a nice amber and the tea gives for a quite a while. This is one of the more mellow shengs that I’ve had in a while. It is another enjoyable tea from White 2 Tea!

Time to revisit my tasting note on this one. I can now say that this has become one of my frequent drinkers when it comes to ripe puerh. Simple, sweet and creamy with chocolate undertones and a bit of age. Rich dark red tea liquor which is clear and bright; some would say it is sometimes rather syrupy. Smooth and balanced (the more intense flavors are balanced by more subtle flavors) with a great mouthfeel. These are the attributes which have made it one of my daily drinkers. This is a very tolerant and forgiving tea even when overbrewing it and quite affordable at $49.50 for a 357g cake.

This is a tea with a roasted, earthy aroma and a mellow, creamy balanced taste. The dry leaves are very dark in appearance (even darker after being steeped) indicating the careful cooking process and twelve years of aging. The crystal clear tea soup looks like a fine burgundy. The sip offers a rounded sweetness with a light hint of vanilla. The quality of the leaf seems to offer power and durability – seven infusions and I’ve only used 5s or 10s steepings. I plan to continue tomorrow for another six or seven times. This tea has both age and beauty and deserves to be savored and enjoyed.

Breaking this out as the “chairman” indicated her desire for it.
I got 8 grams out for the Gaiwan and gave a very quick wash. The sample of this one I have is from the back circle/divet of the cake. it is probably tightly compressed so it may take a bit to unravel.
I let this one sit a while and then did 3 very quick cover it and pour it into the cup. Ended up about 10 oz. of tea brewed.
This one has a
light color that belies it’s age a bit. light golden and not as bronze as some other cakes
this age.
This one comes up with a little floral. citrusy. bitter and piney on the front third of the tongue. just for a second or two . It disappears quickly and goes slightly sweet on the back end of the tongue. This is light easy to drink albeit I like the kick some others give but in honesty I think as the compression loosens it will give a bit more.
A good tea for bringing someone into the field of puerh.

This is a nice Shou with a little bit of age on it. It has a good, strong earthy flavor and definitely hits some of those nice dried fruit notes that can come through in some of these Shous. It is super duper smooth and a very pleasant tea.

Although this has the seemingly-obligatory smell / taste of dirty work pants, it has less of it than other shengs I have tried. There is also a touch of the sweet and floral here. A definate improvement over previous shengs I have tasted, but still pretty bad.

Puerh is a subjective experience. As such my review is personally from subjective thoughts, feelings and tastes. I have been itching to try out this puerh. It would appear that this puerh is like the spread “marmite”. Some people love it, some people not so. The deciding factor in purchasing a sample was basically because I needed a new yixing. I have a really decent lao zhuni yixing that I use for younger puerh, but have been on the lookout for a decent quality zini yixing for aged puerh. My eyes lit up when white2tea announced they had some lao zini yixings for sale…I ended up getting one of these teapots which I have decided to dedicate to aged puerh. Whilst ordering the yixing I thought this would be a good time to order some of the 90’s Hong Kong stored puerh as well, to perhaps get the yixing off to a good start. I ended up having two tea sessions yesterday…one before work and one after work. Here are my notes…

This is my first every wetter storage puerh, so I was a little apprehensive to begin with. Many thoughts were racing through my head “Would I even enjoy wetter storage?” was the main question. My parcel arrives and I immediately open it with much anticipation. Despite a healthy post office bump on the package, the yixing is fortunately fully intact and it looks like really good quality. Off to a good start. I ordered 25 grams, so according to my logic that would be 8 grams per two session, and then one 9 gram session. I smell the dry leaves in the foil bag…yes there is definitely humid storage as it smells musty compared to my other dry stored. aged puerhs. Two, quick three second rinses and already the liquid is becoming very dark in colour…reminds me of shou to be honest. I smell the wet leaves and I get a big whiff of earthy minerals, rich, balmy and spicy aromas. Wetter storage sure don’t smell that bad.

First proper steep at 7 seconds using boiled water. Liquid comes out looking almost a blood red, bordering on black. Again I think to myself “this reminds me of shou”. I take a nice long sip…earthy minerals, very smooth and clean yet rich, reasonable thickness, dense complexity, muskiness, some pleasant sourness, sweetness in the finish. My verdict=Yum!. I devour the rest of the steep.

I take a second and third steep and the results are very similar except the resulting liquid is almost black. Again I am reminded of shou..rather very good quality shou. Now the camphor notes are beginning to shine and come through, spicy notes are also prominent. Sour notes also kicking in a bit more, however not obtrusive in my opinion. Regarding QI I did not feel that much, however this puerh put me in a very positive mood before a long slog at work. I steeped this to roughly 8 times before I left for work…by this time I was getting more sweetness and camphor, spicy notes. I go to work…just to add the finish is so long….I still had the taste in my mouth 5 hours after beginning my shift.

I decide to have another 8 gram session with this puerh after work, just in case my first tasting was a fluke. Again I am hit with all the taste sensations from my earlier session…this certainly was not a fluke. My final thoughts are “This is really good, but it reminds me so much of a decent quality shou”.

So, overall in my humble opinion, this is a stellar example of aged, wetter storage puerh. If you are used to the taste of dry stored sheng, like me, you will immediately taste the difference. For me the perfect blend would be a mix of dry and humid stored. For example the one tea I reviewed, Big Green Tea Yiwu 2001, is a perfect example of drier storage. However after tasting this puerh I am thinking “Imagine how it would taste with a bit of wetter storage added to the mix?”. My conclusion after tasting wetter storage vs drier storage is that there is no winner. It would be impossible to calculate the odds…drier storage for me means more youth, sense of adventure and of more things to comes, wetter storage comes out more mature and complex initially but I ponder upon its future. I am tempted to purchase a couple of cakes from white2tea…one for immediate drinking, and one to sit down for a while. I live in a European climate which is drier than the likes of Hong Kong…perhaps with a bit of dry storage we can balance things out a bit? Perhaps come to some mutual understanding?

Having said the above all that is left to say is that this is an excellent puerh. I love the mineral earthiness, the wetter storage, the spicy camphor notes, the sweetness and the ultra long finish. Weird thing is I still think this would make an excellent shou…mainly because of how dark the texture of the soup becomes, and also because of its later steeps. If you are into wetter store puerh I would guess this one is a no brainer…if you like dry storage this will take you out of your comfort zone, which is never a bad thing. As I said in the beginning of the review puerh is subjective, and this would be a classic example of that statement. Many thanks to white2tea for the great yixing and great tea! I am left to ponder on these lyrics from one of my favourite bands..

“Words can never justify
That I have never spoken
Communication broken
I try to understand
My wordless, little language
Is all you’ll ever need
To reach the bottom of my basement

She’ll guide you through her midnight hall
And offer you a place on the
Gallery wall
Perhaps you’ll hear ’bout our history
She quotes from texts on papyrus
You gladly follow when she takes
Your hand and lead you further down
The corridor

You peeled the fruit but threw away
The stones
did it taste sweet?"

What a nice tea surprise! This is White2Tea’s latest value-priced find for everyday enjoyment – definitely a great value given that it is quite nice material with a good amount of age. The expected dark leaves of a fine shou offer an aroma with clean notes (sweet and earthy with a slight hint of mustiness) and produce a dark orangish-brown tea soup which is very clear. No sign of fermentation remains and I detected absolutely no bitterness – a very pleasant sip. Overall impression: bold dark leaves of good size and integrity; thick but smooth body; hints of vanilla; dried fruit flavor (raisins or dates); the feeling in the mouth and throat is decent. I definitely want to have this shou on hand so I am quite sure I’ll purchase more very soon.

In my quest to find the “perfect” shu pu I have had an amazing opportunity to sample what I personally think is some of the best shu pu around. From the amazing 1995 9016 Tuo Cha, to the pristine 1980’s Ti Tian, both have left a distinct impression on me, and both have delivered ultra-tasty tea sessions. At £340 per 330 gram cake, to 99 euros per 250 gram Tuo Cha, there is one thing that is missing from my tasting lineup…a downright bargain. Cometh the hour, cometh White2Tea.

I recently noticed that they had some new ripe puerh for sale…the mysterious white wrapper immediately sparked my interest and beckoned me to make a purchase. White2Tea always tend to have a very keen eye for high quality puerh at bargain prices, and at only £55 ($87.50) for 500 grams of this stuff it is simply a no-brainer purchase. I trust Paul 100% and have never been disappointed, so with good faith I placed a rather large order. Here are my notes…

Carefully unwrapping the delicate white wrapper, I see a cute compressed 100 gram Tuo staring back at me. I give the tuo a quick sniff…aged aromas with a sprinkling of humidity comes forth. Breaking apart this cute Tuo is easy with a puerh pick…I chip away a nice 9 gram chunk. Two very quick rinses in my 140ml gaiwan and I smell the wet leaves…a hint of fermentation, lovely rich, bold and nicely aged aroma. I hope that this tastes as good as it smells.

First proper steep at about 2 minutes. I pour the liquid…black and syrupy…perfect. First sip and I am in shu heaven yet again…rich, thick, earthy, creamy taste, bold flavours, ultra-smooth and slick down the throat, sweet long finish. This is seriously good shu pu.

This is not just a one steep wonder…the same lovely taste progresses steep after steep. It does get a more amber colour at around 10 steeps, however it still delivers on taste. It never gets bitter, no matter how long I decide to steep it for. This lovely shu pu punches well above its price. In fact, I don’t think you will find a better shu than this at the same price.

I usually write longer reviews than this, but there is not that much more to say. It is a fantastic example at an awesome price. I would say it is just as good as the 9016 Tuo Cha, therefore I have given it the same score. Both are very tasty, however taste quite different, so it is good to have high quality variety depending on what mood I am in. Does it topple the 1980’s Zi Tian from its throne? I personally don’t think so but that does not matter to me. What does matter to me is getting excellent quality at good prices, and White2Tea has delivered this in spades. I highly recommend this shu to anyone that is into shu. Many thanks to White2Tea for the amazing shu pu!

I was also going to review EOT’s 1970’s Y562 Shu Puerh tonight however the 1970’s powerful QI has got the better of me. I will leave that for tomorrow…

7g used.

Aroma of wet leaves, after two rinses, is creamy, sweet and rich.

5s – It has a milk chocolate, sweetcorn likeness. This tea is moreish, similar to some Lattes (the coffee) I’ve had in the past. This is consistent with the seller’s description: ‘has a creamy body similar to that of warm milk’.

10s – Although this has had 12 years to air off, it still has a faint ‘fishy’ taste.

15s – The consistency is thin. The flavour is lingering, and the burst of flavour does not come until after the swallow.

This was one of the first cakes I bought over a year ago from Paul at White2Tea and it was his honest description that won me over. I quote “Intense kuwei [bitterness] and potency that will not disappoint lovers of brute strength. We promise”. I love puerhs that have brute strength and a big kick to them. I have about half a cake left of this (you can see where this review is going) and it has been sitting for over a year so decided to try it again for old times sake :) Here are my notes…

Tonight I decide to really push this puerh to the limit, so I use 9 grams in my 130 ml yixing. The dry leaves smell potent and strong with a hint of sweetness. A very quick rinse, literally 3 seconds, and I smell the wet leaves…hhhmmm potent with that buttery biscuit Bulang aroma…I already know this is going to be a great session. Before I tell you my tasting experience firstly a very quick note on brewing this monster…in order to tame it you MUST flash brew it. Literally 5-10 seconds is all you need. Anymore than that and the bitterness will destroy you.

I do my first proper steep at 5 seconds. The colour of the first steep is already golden. I slowly sip the first steep…lovely dense, thick mouthfeel that is actually surprisingly sweet. It tastes smooth and crisp. However the bitterness is there lurking in the background…it will reveal itself fully very soon.

Second steep at another 5 seconds. Liquid is even more thick and dense…the sweetness is still there but the bitterness is starting to come to the fore wanting to dominate procedings. I attempt to tame the bitterness with my 3rd steep at another 5 seconds. The liquid is now looking dark golden and I think to myself “this is going to be potent”. Indeed it is, the dense bitter liquid coats my tongue and throat without mercy initially, however after a few seconds I am getting a rather lovely sweetness. This puerh is not just all about bitterness and strength…there is a hidden complexity to it that can only be reached with successful brewing times.

I push this puerh more and more with several more steeps and now the liquid is becoming VERY rich and dense. I am starting to get a “dry mouth” effect which further enhances the contrasts of bitter and sweet. I am feeling positively energised. This is incredible stuff.

So, is this puerh as good as it was a year ago?…most definitely. I would say that after a year of storage it is even better. I definitely noticed more returning sweetness inbetween steeps that I didn’t really notice before. It is just as powerful and potent as I remember. I personally think this is a puerh you really need to push…for me more leaves yield the best results. But I will stress again, watch your steeping times for the best results.

This puerh may lack in the “elegance” department, however it more than makes up for it with it’s incredible character, richness and boldness of attack. I have thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this again…it brings back some great memories from last year. Many thanks again to Paul for unleashing this monster onto us mere mortals.

2011 Dashu Bulang White2Tea— Nothing short of very tasty. I see that it is no longer on the site but the 2013 is there. It’s a serious price performer. I found it to be sweeter than bitter, but with hints of smoke and a bitterness that builds. This was another sample from JC. Highly drinkable in oppressive heat, refreshing, what a Bulang should be.
Flash steeped. I’ve been experimenting with 195 degree water and flash steepings of around five seconds with good success. This one works well that way, no overwhelming bitterness and little astringency, a kind of slickness is evident as with other highly alkaline teas. Not as bitter as I would expect a Lao Man E tea to be.
Yum.

Nice punch, great Bulang personality. Very enjoyable ripe. Some astringency. I gave it very, very short steepings, basically rinses. I think it held up for more than five infusions.

It’s yu tea

7g used.

Very loose compression.

3s – Strong. Bright flavour on a dark base, which isn’t green. The bright flavour is interesting in that it lingers on with a honey sweetness. Fruity, plums, hints of fresh basil. Faint smoke.

5s – Stronger. High mountain Oolong (Dayuling) in the background. Bitterness, astringent. Green flavour sweetness has honey and high mountain Oolong flavour.

7s – Pleasant, warming.

?s – No notes.

12s – Lost most of the flavour, milky, going bland. Just bitter, strong high mountain Oolong now.

This tea has disappointed me in only lasting four – five brews; it has done this twice.

7g used

Strong, bitter, green. Flavour is singularly green. Drying, bitter finish. Smoky. Wet leaves are chopped and green.

7g used.

5s – Mellow, light flavour, something like oxo/bovril in the background.

5s – Getting stronger. There is a small amount of green amongst the mellow floral bit. All very faint. Pleasant: not too strong, floral and bit of green.

7s – This is not overly bitter like 2012 Ruiyan Nannuo. Tastes of stewed tea, after it’s gone cold. Not very interesting, unless it changes/open up :(

10s – Concentrated herbyness is there. It was there earlier, possibly as the green taste.

I could discount this tea tea as not very good because it is unlike a dry-stored raw pu-erh but then I decided to take some notes anyway.

7g used. Mid/tight compression.

The dry leaf aroma is raw beetroot; an earthy sweet smell. Liquid is deep red/brown, like a cooked pu-erh after a few steeps. The aroma of the liquid is earthy and not as sweet as the dry aroma.

5s – It is unlike a dry stored pu-erh: instead of being green and herby, and concentrated, it is purple (like a mellow taste of beetroot), sweet and open. It has a lingering soilyness which is not simple, unlike another wet-stored pu-erh I’ve had. To hope it to be like dry-stored pu-erh, you are disappointed. This has a different flavour profile.

12s – The soil taste is not unpleasant as it is accompanied by a warm, raw beetroot (or how I imagine the skin to taste) flavour. There is dust. The flavour does linger.
The dark wet leaves do not have the concentrated, complex aroma of raw pu-erh but instead is much simpler, being between raw beetroot and mustyness.

20s – The liquid is darker; the flavour is stronger. It has a sour taste when swallowing. The beetroot, earthy aroma sparkles on top of a dark earthy base.

22s – More sourness in the swallow. Flavour has dark fruits.

I bought a four-pack of these tuos, difficult to buy just one of these because they cost only $9.80 each. The age already on this tea enticed me, I prefer to buy something with some age on it. The other reviewer of this tea gave it a poor rating, but didn’t know to gong-fu this tea.

The positives are this is one Energizer Bunny of a tea, just goes on and on and on. Two days in and I’m wondering when it will end. The shiboridashi is stuffed to the gills and I’ve got more buds and leaves than sticks. Long huigan, thick and full, very bitter when pushed with boiling water and less so with cooler water. Mellows to sweet on the tongue.

Description includes tobacco notes, but this is more of a fresh pipe tobacco. There is no actual char from processing in this tea, so for me this doesn’t qualify as smoky. Not compared to a Menghai or Xiaguan raw tuo. The soup starts out caramel colored and yellows after the fourth steep or so.

One downside is the tea was dry stored and is still so green. It is definitely in second stage and hasn’t turned any corners yet into something I would consider aged. My tea fridge storage doesn’t penetrate the thick paper so well. I transferred the tuos to stoneware. Would love to ship them off to puerh boarding school for a year of humid storage. I like a bit of traditional storage on my tea, but not so much it obscures other flavors. This tea is very strong and could take a year of humidity without losing the other flavors. As it is now, the tuo tastes like a lot of other teas I’ve had, the dusky apricot with caramel notes.

Dunno if I’ll be around when this tea matures into a dark, red/brown love nest, still got so far to go. The material is what we want for aging, but I’m probably too far ahead of this tea myself.

Photos and blog post which is mostly unrelated to the tea itself, at http://deathbytea.blogspot.com