JC Send Message

Not really a tasting note. Rather a comment and clarification.

I have to bump this one up a bit. I love it, I got the 250g cake and in less than a month I’m half way through it. I drink it at home and in the office. The part that made me realize how good it is… is finding myself at home contemplating the idea of having tea and browsing my ‘stash’ and ending up having this Puerh. Honestly, once I wasn’t sure what to drink and I literally told myself ‘Let me think about over some Tibetan Puerh’. If that is not an excuse to drink it, I don’t know what is. :P

Anyway UPgraded its score, more than well deserved.

Quick Note Thanks again to Amy Oh for sharing with me. I’m slowly but surely going through the samples :)

Dry Leaf Slight Sweet and bitter scent
Wet Leaf Sweet, fruity, bitter, floral.

1st 3secs Sweet and slightly bitter that turns savory and tangy. The sweetness is fruity and subtle, the aftertaste reminds me of a flavorful green tea.

2nd 5secs Sweet, fruity, bitter, slightly floral. The taste becomes savory and really tangy in the mouth but it retains the floral notes.

3rd 10secs Sweet and fruity, some bitterness/tangy that fills the mouth. There are floral notes and slight vegetal/savory notes that linger. The aftertaste becomes sweet in the mouth after a while.

Final Notes
I made about 7 steeps. It held up its taste through the steeps. I was incredibly happy when I finished drinking and decided to look up the tea here. While I was drinking I was thinking “Hmmm I know where this is from… This tastes like Lincang Sheng.” When I saw the description I felt like I aced a Pop Quiz!

I’m not a big fan of Lincang Sheng, for some reason I prefer it as a ripe, it retains some of it’s juicy/tangy properties with the ‘heavy’ properties of a ripe, but still this might be a good one to age at home (even when it says ‘vintage’ it is a REALLY young Sheng).

I’ve had mine for about a year now. I’ve been through 3 kettles prior to this one… no contest Zojirushi. Granted it takes longer to hit up the water, so it isn’t a ‘Now-for-NOW’ thing. I mostly ‘plan’ my tea drinking so I’m more than OK with it. Keeps water up to temperature as long as needed and has a timer setting which I use for the mornings.

To be honest, right now my favorite ‘feature’ is the cleaning. I live in DC and the water is HEAVY. Damages most kettles fairly easily and most say you can clean them but really residue always stays behind and water tastes awful. This one on the other hand hasn’t.

Quick Notes I bought a sample from Yunnan Sourcing of this tea, so even though the infusions are ‘traditional’, they are slightly shorter because most of the sample came loose so there was no need to wait for the cake to open.

Dry Leaf Smooth earthy sweet, slightly fruity.
Wet Leaf Sweeter, mellow, slightly fruitier, some complex scent.
Liquor Red/Burgundy and clean.

1st 20secs The pitcher smells incredibly sweet and fruity. The liquor is sweet, fruity almost ‘juicy’ with some tanguiness that opens for a roasty/chocolate finish when it washes down. The aftertaste is somewhat like fruity tasting chocolate.

2nd 20secs The pitcher smells sweet and fruity with tangy notes. The liquor is sweet, fruity, juicy and tangy that becomes heavy as it washes down. This heavy taste has hints of chocolate with fruity/tangy notes. The aftertaste is fruity with chocolate and camphor.

3rd 20secs The pitcher smells sweet, fruity and creamy. The liquor is sweet, creamy, fruity and tangy tha becomes heavier roasty/chocolate tasting as it washes down. The aftertaste is smooth roasty and fruity/juicy/tangy notes with refreshing camphor.

4th 30secs The pitcher smells sweet, fruity and creamy. The liquor is creamy, sweet, fruity and chocolate/roasty with some tangy notes. As it washes down it is cleaner before the sweet, juicy and camphor aftertaste sets in.

5th 40secs The pitcher smells sweet, fruity, creamy and slightly tangy. The liquor is creamy, fruity/juicy and slightly sweet. The roasty/chocolate notes are faded and the juiciness is more apparent. The aftertaste is fruity with some chocolate notes and refreshing camphor.

Final Notes
I made two more steeps with this tea. The 6th 1 min was juicy and sweet an refreshing and slightly faded. The 7th 1:30 mins was faded and weak, I used it to ‘clean’ my pot.

Overall, I liked this tea. It is sweet mellow and has some slight complexity to it. The description in Y.S. refers to ‘Persimmons’. I didn’t use this because I feel it depends on your experience with the fruit. But I agree that it has ‘traits’ rather than the taste. It is fruity/juicy sweet with some tangy notes that are almost acidic in a good way. All that can resemble a Persimmon but I don’t think it tastes like it, rather reminisent of it.

I’m WAYYY behind in my Notes ‘quota’ :P I have several teas I have to add to steepster and add notes. Work, Holidays and work (no error here) has been on my way. I have to catch up to you guys! To the tea!

Gong Fu – Porcelain Gaiwan 5oz / 6g
Dry Leaf Plummy, sweet, rock
Wet Leaf Wet rock, Plum, Honey, Orchid floral, refreshing
Liquor Pale and somehow golden yellow

1st 2secs Lid smells of honey, rock, plum and spicy. The liquor has a ‘wet rock’taste with apparent Orchid floral that is sweet and slowly gives hints of apricot/plum that also has some honey sweetness. The aftertaste is mostly plummy and floral that lingers in the mouth but specially on the throat.

2nd 2secs Lid smells of rocks and then turns honey sweet with floral plummy notes. The Liquor has a very apparent ‘wet rock’ taste that lasts long before turning plummy/apricot like. The tea is very complex and different notes appear with each slurp. The aftertaste is rock like with plum/apricot notes that lasts as it turns honey sweet. The Floral and plummy notes linger in the throat.

3rd 3secs Lid smells honey sweet, wet rock, plummy and floral. The liquor is plummy, ‘wet rock’ with honey sweetness. As it washes down there’s a floral, honey and plum taste that lingers before the honey and ‘rock’ taste reappears. The aftertaste is sweeter but equally floral and plummy and lingering.

4th 4secs Lid smells like wet rock, plummy/apricot and honey sweet. The liquor has notes of ‘rock’ that linger before the plummy/apricot and honey sweetness set in. As it washes down it has a stronger floral presence. The aftertaste is long lasting; it starts plummy floral with sweetness and becomes mostly sweet in the mouth but very plummy in the throat.

5th 6secs Lid smells honey sweet with hints of wet rock and apricot/plummy notes. The liquor has a ‘wet rock’ taste with apricot/plum notes, the sweetness takes a bit longer to set in, which allows to appreciate the Orchid floral notes. The aftertaste is of ‘wet rock’ and plums and lingers in the mouth but specially in the back of the throat.

6th 8secs Lid smells like wet rock and then honey sweet with hints of plum. The liquor is plummy and floral with some hints of ‘wet rock’ but weaker than previously. As it washes down it becomes floral and fragrant. The aftertaste is floral plummy and later turns sweet in the mouth but the floral plummy notes linger in the back of the throat.

7th 12secs Lid smells plummy and floral and becomes very honey sweet. The liquor has an apparent ‘wet rock’ taste with honey sweetness and some apricot/plum notes. As it washes down it seems cleaner with ‘wet rock’ notes before it becomes floral and plummy. The aftertaste is plummy sweet in the mouth and floral plummy in the throat.

8th 20secs The lid smells like wet rock and honey sweet with faint plum/apricot hints. The liquor has ‘wet rock’ notes, floral plummy notes that becomes sweet as it washes down. The aftertaste is floral and plummy and it lingers in the mouth and throat.

Final Notes
I love this Mi Lan Xiang! I find it incredible that is perfectly balanced, nothing is overwhelming about this tea. I’ve had other Mi Lan Xiangs that either over do it in sweetness(by high firing) and kill the floral notes. Or are excessively floral by (slowly firing) and bury all other notes.

Last thing. I quoted all the WET ROCK taste references but not the scent ones. Mostly because you can smell wet rock.. but well I haven’t gone around picking up wet rocks and tasting them. But somehow ‘wet rock’ makes sense. The only thing I would compare it to, is drinking river water that is running down a rock.

Quick Notes at Work
Thanks again to Amy Oh for sharing with me , I really appreciate it :)

The leaves smell faintly sweet but after a quick wash you can smell the sweetness and some of that slight raw puerh bitterness that is floral. I love Silver Bud Puerhs because it has all the characteristics of a Sheng in the most subtle of ways. Its complex simplicity if that makes sense.

The liquor is darker than I expected, specially for a younger puerh. It has an orange hue with slightly lively still. It smells sweet and slightly floral. It tastes sweet, mellow and smooth. I notice the slightest bit of astringency as it washes down but it may be because of the hairs in the bud (need a fine filter for work I guess).

The after taste is sweet and slightly floral, a little bit ‘juicy’ but also taste ‘greener’ like a Yunnan Silver Needle would taste like. Reminds me of Yunnan’s Sourcing’s ‘Jing Gu “White Pekoe Silver Needles” White Tea’ I bought once.

Overall a good Puerh, If you don’t mind younger Puerh or are too afraid to start with them I would try this one. I feel like it needs more aging, it still has some of its greener taste to it. I would Buy and store it ;)

Thanks to Amy Oh for this one!

Dry Leaf – Sweet and roasty
Wet Leaf – Tobacco, roasty, sweet

I like this Oolong. Thank you again Amy. I’ve had TONS of ‘Red Robe’, 95% of then have been pretty much ‘crap’. I feel this is a good Oolong, I can enjoy. Most Red Robes taste like they had too much low quality Mi Lan Xiang and decided to burn it and call it Red Robe. Very few people know what the real Red Robe tastes like and I’m not one of them, but if I’m going for a different tea I want to find differences, not just almost burnt tea. Sorry for the rant.

The tea is Roasty, smoky and tobacco-like that then turns sweet. The liquid is smooth and warming as it goes down and the after taste is tobacco-like with sweetness that is very pleasant and filling. I like this one after lunch or a dinner.

It is very pleasant and warming. :)

I’m glad I kept this one around to try again. I’m not saying it became a favorite but I can respect it better. The Tea definitely has that ‘Taiwan’ essence.

The best part about this tea is smelling the ‘tea caramel’, that drying liquid that thickens in the pitcher, it resembles honey and warm sugar with fruitiness, truly pleasant. The first steep is true of its scent, very sweet, mellow and fruity .The following ones resemble Oolong, slightly sweet, floral-bitterness and slight astringency. I think if you are looking for a different view on a green tea this is one to try. But it is a love OR hate situation so go for the samples at first. ;)

Quick Note Thanks Amy oh for sharing with me :) This notes are from my steeps at work (more traditional longer steeps than I usually do in gaiwan).

1st – 30secs Earthy with apparent sweetness, and VERY smooth, I would describe it as an ‘oily’/buttery feeling that coats your tongue. As it washes down it continues to be mellow and smooth and offers hints of toasty coffee and/or cocoa. There’s a slight bitterness that might be attributed to the cocoa/coffee or even slight leather taste to it that is pleasant. The aftertaste is sweet and smooth.

2nd – 35secs More toasty and cocoa-like taste that smooths into a mellow sweetness with cocoa notes. The coating of the tongue is present before it washes down and becomes slightly cleaner. The aftertaste is sweet and just slightly refreshing.

Final Notes
I made 2 other steeps with this one adding around 15-20secs to each. They were both good just a bit of astringency that may be due to the breaking of the cake in half (the coin shape) than the actual tea.

This is a great option for an every day puerh, it is easy to prepare and enjoy and it is surprisingly smooth for its age. At work is was pretty satisfying but if you want to explore its ‘notes’ I’d recommend using a gaiwan at home. It was easier for me that way.

Quick Note Longer steep times!
Dry Leaf Sweet, slightly earthy.
Wet Leaf Earthy, sweet, creamy and refreshing
Liquor Dark bronze color with thin malty layers on top.

Gong Fu in Porcelain Gaiwan 5oz/5-6g

1st – 30secs Sweet and smooth with some creamy earthiness, initially has hints of bittersweet chocolate as I slurp but quickly fade. As it washes down it is fairly clean and sweet. There’s a slight savory note that is pleasant, the aftertaste is sweet, earthy and refreshing.

2nd – 30secs Earthy, thick and creamy with bittersweet chocolate notes that turns very sweet. As it washes down it becomes slightly savory with earthiness, it slowly turns sweeter and smoother; this lasts through the aftertaste which is also very refreshing.

3rd – 25secs (leaves opened) Thick, full bodied and creamy. It is also very sweet with bittersweet chocolate notes and hints of earthiness. As it washes down it is cleaner and sweeter. The aftertaste is sweet, smooth and very refreshing.

4th – 30secs Less thick than the last steep but still full bodied and creamy. This steep is slightly sweeter and the bittersweet chocolate note is still very present initially but it fades as you drink. As it washes down is smooth and refreshing. The aftertaste is sweet, slightly earthy and very refreshing.

5th – 40secs Smooth, sweet and earthy with faint chocolate notes. As it washes down is more subtle but maintains sweetness and smooth earthy hints. The aftertaste is smooth, sweet and refreshing.

Final Notes
I did two other steeps one of 1 minute and the other 1 1/2 minutes. These steeps were very pleasant but weaker in taste. It could resemble a slighly earthy black tea with very refreshing aftertaste. I usually prefer Sheng Puerh but there’s something about Shu/Shou/Ripe that is better for me specially now in colder weather.