297 Tasting Notes
Had a nice session with this over a couple of nights. I really didn’t take down notes as I just enjoyed it for what it was. A simple tea . Brewed simply and enjoyed greatly. In times of controversy about sources and ages this is still a well sourced one. Hand picked and processed in good order as testament of the spent leaves.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBI_CTMrAye/?taken-by=mrmopar340six
Preparation
Breaking this out to compare to the ‘Classic Tuo’.
Got about 11 grams of this out as well. I gave a rinse and let it sit a while before brewing to absorb some of the water.
I did short steeps and compared the color of mine from the website. The one I have brews a bit darker that the picture. This one is softer and a bit silky in the mouth. There is a touch of minty cooling with this one and the sweet that lingers is more pronounced. It gives some hints of a touch of a bitter bite only briefly. The damp aroma led me to believe there was some smoke in it but it doesn’t come across the palate. There is another note I am trying to figure out. Maybe just a hint of wood in there. Solid to have and drink and I am going to be sure and save the wrapper and red ribbon inside.
Flavors: Bitter, Mint, Smoke, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Sounds like a tea which, given the chance, will really shine in another couple of years.
This is one of my two “learning how to brew raw pu-erh” teas. The other being Midwest Nice. I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of brew times, temps, leaf amounts, etc…
I have the Bamboo and a Midwest sample as well. I hope to get to them sometime…… Got a bunch ahead of them it seems.
Not a terrible problem to have!!!
Well sometimes I get in trouble if I get caught with the inbound.
you need to start a underground operation. I’ll help for a share :P
Does that mean that the guy living in the bachelor pad is the sensible drop spot?!
That would be a good option. I think the grand-son idea is about to go bottoms up.
Pulling this out tonight. I just remembered how hard these little tuos are compressed. I unwrapped it and put it in the breaking tray and attacked it with the big needle.
I managed to get 11 grams out, a little more than I usually brew , and got the gaiwan out.
I gave the tea a rinse that actually showed some color to it and went brewing.
I steeped about 5 seconds 3 times and went in a big cup.
The tea brews up with some hints of smoke and some greeness in the aroma. The brew is a nice surprise in the color department. It is a nice amber like a dark style honey. There may be a touch of cloudy in the brew but sometimes the tea has to settle a bit after pressing.
Sips on this give some smoke and some of the tobacco that many young shengs have.
The tea is active and getting to a thick state. It hits mainly the front tip and middle if the tongue. It has a full hit of the bitter that causes a minutes pucker and goes softer and making you salivate a bit.
Over all this is a good example of a well aged middle year sheng. Not being wet as some are with the mustiness but not super sharp like a dry stored product. Looking on the store site and this was stored loose which I am sure has helped it age a bit quicker than teas from this year.
Flavors: Bitter, Green, Smoke, Tobacco
Preparation
Do you think this is better than the 2011 Dayi Mensong? Just wondered…
@tea123 The Dayi has more sweetness but I like the kick of bitter and the mouthfeel of this one. This one has that good well stored semi-aged experience.
Ok, I will keep it in my basket.
@tea123 I wished you lived stateside. It would have been easy to get you a bit of this to brew.
sounds pretty good!
I did not like this the first time I tried it. I seemed a tad too astringent even with flash steeps. It was also dusty, almost muddy. But I think I did not air it out properly.
@Death Sips, I always try and air new teas out in the pumidor at least 2 weeks before I get into them. I still have some 2015 stuff I need to get notes on.
Breaking this out today.
I picked off 10 grams and gave a wash. The leaf carries a touch of smoke in the aroma in the Gaiwan.
I let it sit a few minutes before brewing.
The brew is somewhere between dark green and light golden. I think it has aged a bit since I have had it.
The aroma of the brew almost has a mineral, wet rock note to it.
The first sips are the punchy tip of the tongue with a fair amount of bitter to it. There are some hints of mint and pine just for a second lingering around. There is a medium level of the tobacco note in there as well. The tea held in the front part of the mouth feels almost viscous. This is nice and strong without being too harsh as some young teas can be. I don’t mind the heavy bitter and tobacco up front but this isn’t a hard hitter as some.
The first three infusions have gone well and I shall continue.
Flavors: Bitter, Mineral, Pine, Thick, Tobacco
Preparation
Getting this one out after having it a while. I am surprised I haven’t logged it yet.
I got out 9.9 grams to start with. I know a little off what I normally brew. I finally retired the old scale to the grand son for one that has a back-light to it.
I gave it a quick rinse and a wait of about 15 minutes to wake up a bit.
The first brew was about 5 seconds. The color is looking promising as it is getting closer to a light gold color. It has a heavy tobacco note in the initial sip. This one tends to hit the middle of the tongue. Some are at the tip or the end but this is at the middle.
Taken in small sips this tea is almost viscous. There are some subdued sweet notes in there but this is quick on the Ku Wei. I guess some would say its a bit astringent as of yet. This one is near Mang Fei which is known for bitterness. This one leaves a nice proactive finish after the sips.
I bought this along with the Wu Jia Zhai and I look forward to comparing it to this.
$30.00 a cake makes it a bargain for me.
Flavors: Bitter, Sweet, Thick, Tobacco
Preparation
I have a sample of this one. I really liked it
nice :) is this a sheng?
@Kirkoneill1988, it is a sheng and good for the price.
how many grams (cake)?
400 grams.
nice!
This one sounds interesting because I love that thickness combined with tobacco when we are in this cold weather, maybe it’s the rain outside but this sounds good.
Doesn’t sound dissimilar to the 2013 YS Mang Fei. Those flavors tend to grow on me.
To this day the 2012 Wu Jia Zhai is one of my favorites from Scott. I wish I would have bought a whole cake of it when it was available.
I think I have that one as well JeffMI.
Finally get to pull this one out of storage.
This cake is double wrapped and compressed like crazy. I had to break out the big pick on this one.
I pulled 10 grams out and gave it a rinse to open up a bit. The first 3 steeps were about 5 seconds each and combined into my big mug. The tea has decent body to it. The tongue is alive a bit as well. There is a touch of humid and it goes very sweet at the finish.
Next 3 were about 5 seconds as well and combined. I had let the leaf sit about an hour by this time. There is a little of the smoke and some of the nice bitterness is coming out as the humid part fades away. It is an almost sharp metallic hit in there somewhere. It is still alive and keeping the tongue alive and almost numb. This is till young at 4 years and is reminiscent of the other small sourced Bulangs I have drank. I think this has a bit more hit to it and I think this will be a wow tea in 5 more years, it is quite good now.
I haven’t had the Qui effect but it is still early . It does warm you as you drink it.
Steeped in the gaiwan.
Flavors: Bitter, Metallic, Smoke, Sweet
Preparation
I’ve heard this has been people’s least favorite out of the yqh bunch.
Probably so as I have only tried one other so far but I am a sucker for Bulang ,Mang Fei and Lao Man’E teas.
The bitters ;) I’ve heard some controversy over this Bulang; although, I could be mistaken. I just remember hearing one of the young YQH was a little “off”. Personally, I have not tried the Bulang.
The 2004-2006 YQH teas I’ve purchased to drink now. I’m looking forward to opening this one in 5 to 6 years – too young for me now.
It may be young but I liked it. I actually chose it from being the first one in the stack of YQH teas I have.
Not surprised you like it now – you go for the heavy hitters. ;-)
I think Mr.Yang has both great knowledge and good taste so we really can’t go wrong with any of his selections.
Considering the $/g is so low (it’d be something stupidly inexpensive like a $56/200g cake) it’s hard to go too wrong with this.
That being said, I think this is towards the bottom of Yang’s catalog. More of a sweet, not brutal Bulang. I also do agree with Dignitea a bit on this one. I had a couple sessions with it and I think it’s a couple years away from when I’d want to drink it..
So have you been storing it a few years? Is the humid flavor coming from your storage? O.o If that is the case, I’m shipping you my fridge and stash. :P
jschergen, I liked EOT’s Bulang a lot. It had a bunch more kick to it. I still think it needs 5 or so to be really ready. I think the 2007’s are starting to get there for the ones I have stored.
Cwyn, I just recently got this one and actually have it in a bag with the other 2 I got.
Which EOT bulang? The 2008 is excellent.
tea123 it was the 2008.
If the YQH teas are that sort of quality then they must be good.
This tea is very different from any of the EoT Bulangs. I enjoy those teas a good deal, but there’s a lot more pow with those teas.
In my anecdotal experience, qi really only becomes relevant from tea (1) when I don’t blend the steeps (2) when I’m very deliberately being calm and present with the ta and (3) usually cheating a bit and doing some basic qigong or taijiquan breathing and spinal alignment gestures.
Although, you get a raw tea old enough and it’ll pretty much qi you no matter what.
Yeah, I kind of favor that big cup too much sometimes. I do like the heavy hitters as many know. I like the brash kick in the teeth sometimes.
Other occasions I just like to sit and relax with a tea. This is really kind of rare but you have reminded me I need to do it more often.
I do a lot of blending with daily drinkers and teas I know well, but try not to with teas that are new to me.
Pulling this out after some time in the pumidor.
I remember some about this from the last time. The color seems to be about the same. The tea itself is coming along. It seems to have some more oomph in there. You can get the light notes of the camphor floating around in there along with some evergreen and the punch of the bitter is a bit more pronounced. The bitter hangs on the tip and sides of the tongue and subsides to a savory almost herbal note with just hints of sweetness to it. I have done 2 different sessions in the last 2 days of this one. It seemed I couldn’t put it down or maybe I was too full of turkey to get another out.
Good drinking none the less.
Preparation
Hmm… still only 30 dollars. Will sample.
I’m generally suspicious of cake made from aged mao-cha though… have had a couple bad experiences.
I interested to hear that you are getting ‘more oomph’ after storing it in your pumidor.
This has been clean stored. No excess humidity in this.
Well said, mrmopar. This one is quite exemplary in this regard.
Breaking this out for review tonight.
Nice thick wrapper on this one. I broke off about 11 grams to brew in the Gaiwan.
I gave a rinse and a little sit time before starting out. This carries a nice sweetness to it.
First brew are 5 seconds. The tea carries the sharpness and bitterness of a Bulang tea without being as intense as some. Still strong and still punchy. The tea is almost thick and viscous that coats the mouth and tongue in a good way.
Kuwei is nice and it causes some salivation between sips. There is just a hint of floral in there somewhere. Aftertaste lingers with this one.
Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Sweet, warm grass
Preparation
I’ve been wanting to try this :)
ive been eyeing this sucker for a while. havent actually placed an order with Tea Urchin yet….
neither have I Brian, It’s the shipping that deters me Dx
If you guys need a split I am sure we can work it out. The shipping from China from them ain’t bad though.
11 GRAMS in 90ml…. I do 6g in 90ml!!! DAMN You have a real WARRIOR STOMACH
I like a kick in the teeth. I do very short steeps although.
i’ll try this someday
@mrmopar Let’s be honnest, you like it WARRIOR STYLE :) nothings wrong with that :D
@paxl13 i have a strong stomach too
I got a sample of this on my last order. A blending of Jingmai and Meng song sounded interesting to me. I know Mengsong by itself is pretty nice. Jingmai can be hit or miss to me. I had previously tried the Huang Pia from this shop from Jingmai and it met my approval as well.
I got 8 grams out and gave a quick wash and allowed it to set for about 10 minutes.
The first brew was a light gold, very little char in the strainer indicating good processing. The brew was very clear as well.
Taste notes are nice. You can feel the burly part of the Mengsong and the softening the Jingmai gives it. The aromas of the wt leaf are somewhat floral. The tasting is deceptively sweet. It takes a second or two but the it s there. The later steeps bring the citrus of the Jingmai into the mix as well. This tea is viscous and thick with bitter, sweet and citrus rolled in there.
The leaf in the gaiwan is easy to pick the smaller Jingmai and the bigger Mengsong out in there. I am not sure but the larger leaf looks as it can be a bit older the Jingmai. It is making me sweat a bit as well from the Cha Qui.
Well done production.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Floral, Sweet
Nice lookin’ leaves.
Nice, whole leaves.