297 Tasting Notes
I got this in my latest order. I bought 100 grams in hopes I could age it similar to the 2007.
I got 10 grams out to brew and gave a rinse. I let this sit about 2 hours since it was highly compressed.
After rinsing this tea gave off a very sweet aroma. The sweetness of the bamboo is present here. The color is a nice golden brew.
The initial brew is slightly sweet and then gets the light buttery punch in it. It is a thick brew that coats the mouth. Good feeling with this one. It starts to give the cha qui head sweat after drinking the cup. The aftertaste lingers in the mouth for a while.
Very enjoyable and I am glad they got this from the bamboo before shipping it.
Flavors: Bamboo, Bitter, Sweet
Preparation
I am brewing this up after a couple of days to read it a bit better.
I started anew on this one as it is time for a formal note.
I got 10 grams to start this one out with. I gave a quick rinse and let it sit a while. The wet leaf aroma was wet hay with a sweet note to it.
I did 3 quick steeps to start with. The color is a nice gold hue.
The cup carries the typical Mang Fei bite but it is much subdued from there. The bitter fades quickly in this one. It is brash but not overpowering. The liquor is thick on the palate.
I get the sweetness as described and the Huigan is nice.
This is full thick and bitter early that quickly becomes a sweeter tea with a nice lingering aftertaste . I would cal this the Gentleman’s Mang Fei.
Gong Fu and just under boiling to brew.
Flavors: Bitter, Freshly Cut Grass, Hay, Sweet
Preparation
Breaking this one out of the rotation to try tonight.
I got 10 grams out to start this one off. I gave a rinse and brewed a few minutes later. I used the Gaiwan to start with and the tea came out a little thin. I switched to teapot with more success.
The second round of brewing with extended steep times came out much better. The tea became more thick with a buttery consistency to it. Flavor is much more pronounced as well.
It gives some of the brothy tastes that many a Spring tea brings. It has a sugary hint in the aroma department. The wisps of bitterness fade away and the hints of the sweetness drifts in a bit. The hints of mineral are there mixed in with the hints of the bitter as well when allowing the tea to linger in the mouth.
I am a few steeps in and plan to enjoy this one a bit more. This isn’t the strongest tea of YS’s line up but hopefully it will age gracefully into a mature tea.
Flavors: Bitter, Mineral, Sugar, Sweet
Preparation
Got this one out after forgetting to post a note about it a while back. Worthy of a re-do.
I got 10 grams out to start this one out with. I am brewing this up in a new Gawain I got at a good price from a friend, bounteaful from Instagram.
I brewed it up after a wash and a period for the tea to open up. The first brews were a bit thin so I let it rest a bit longer. I went went some longer steeps from it and it was a full on brew from there.
It actually brews darker than some of my older teas, a gold with that I’m turning the corner on the aging process.
This tea became very thick. Notes of veggies, some mintiness and a good hit of nit you biterness. It has a note of butter and tobacco as others have notated. This is not the subtle one that you drop on your new tea people to drink but the experienced ones will enjoy this I think. The huigan is really nice as you can taste it for a while after drinking it.
The aromas of mineral rocks and some wet hay in there as well.
Nice invigorating tea.
On a side note. A new friend has joined our site and looking for some people to follow and followers as well.
stock man. From Spain and hoping to share our experiences and notes on here.
Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Hay, Mineral, Mint, Tobacco, Wood
Preparation
Getting this one out a second time as I forgot to post the first time.
I got 10 grams out and gave a rinse and let it sit a while. I brewed this quick with short steeps. Color looks good on this one. Seems to be aging well.
The color is golden in the cup. For Bu Lang’s I do short steeps as the can get bitter.
This one has turned pretty thick with a good mouth buzz to it.
I get notes of bitter, some woodiness to it as well as a bit of saltiness. It is engaging and a bit energizing. The bitter will remain a bit that goes to a cooling with a deep breath after drinking will bring that effect on.
I am partial to these Bu Langs so I am liking this for the punchy bitterness it exhibits.
Flavors: Bitter, Camphor, Salty, Wood
Preparation
Bitter and salty with wood…. do they still sell this!? Sounds so good lol. I like bulang, but I feel like I found some that are punchy bitter-medicinal messes and then I get one that has more fruit and thickness to them. So I guess I need to learn more about the areas within bulang.
I think this came from Jasetea. I am in the boat on the BuLangs as well. Really starting to enjoy them.
Thanks! I’ll look around.
Finally bringing this out after some aging.
I got 11 grams to start this off with. I gave a rinse and let it sit about 30 minutes. I knew from the rinse that it had aged a bit.
First brews at 5 seconds each and into the mug.
This has a nice golden color emerging in the brew. This one is till pungent and bitter in the cup. I get smoke , wood and the bitter notes from this one. Still pretty strong and there is the hint of camphor in there. It is a fairly full bodied head on one, just still very young for and XG in the age department.
Flavors: Bitter, Camphor, Smoke, Wood
Preparation
I have a 90s Xiaguan that still has some harsh notes to it, the only thing I’ve noted is that is is thicker and smoother, it started developing that reddish spectrum of amber. I hope it keeps aging. it would be awesome to get to that day where you say ‘WOW! it happened!’ lol
nice4 review. :)
mrmopar, how long has it aged for?
nice^
Kirk, I have had this in my storage for about 3 years now. I hope it keeps aging away well.
:)
Brewing this up tonight.
I got this out a few hours ago and did a rinse and let it sit to open up.
Brewing was about 9 grams in the easy Gaiwan. I got some nice chunks with good leaf from this cake.
I did 3 quick brews into my big cup. This one is soft but really nice. The flavor notes are across the spectrum. Early notes in the sip are buttery, some bitterness and the sweet comes early without searching for it. The aftertaste will linger a while on this one. The brew was a light golden that didn’t indicate this level of notes. Most younger teas don’t exhibit the broad spectrum of this one. The later aftertaste is reminiscent of some LBZ I have had. wish I had a tong of this…….
Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Sweet
Preparation
i love this one
Haven’t tried mine yet, but this review makes me want to.
Isn’t it so intriguing…
It sounds very intriguing.
A tong!
I get super hungry when I drink this tea. Anyone else get that?
With most puerhs I experience that effect.
Me too. i eat whatever is around. Non stop. not only with this tea, with sheng in general. My theory is its working my metabolism cause i dont gain weight.
It’s supposed to improve/increase digestion. I drink puerh sometimes for my indigestion and acid reflux.
@teatortoise I love shou when the re flux gets acting up for sure.
Sheng gives me the munchies big time especially younger ones
I agree with all the above. Munchies, interesting and metabolism.
TeaDB recommends Cheetos.
Even a strong high afterward.
Shous are definitely your friend when the stomach is feeling weird. Young Sheng does help me if I eat greasy food, I feel like it subsets fat the or aids my tummy digest it.
I’ve yet to try this one, but if mrmopar recommends I’m looking forward to it :D
Having a 2014 Ma Hei mini tuo from I think the Tea Horse Family production.
I received this from a friend and I am still waiting on some more info on it.
I let this one open up overnight after rinsing it twice.
Impressions, I worked the tuo open and saw some decent leaf in there.
Brewing it, light yellow color. Brew itself, it starts a little soft like a Yiwu and then it kicks like a Lao Man E. Not bitter but the bit of mouth numbing effect to it.
Cooled it gives a touch more bitter but not enough to turn anyone off for such a young sheng.
Why let it sit all night?
Tuos can be hard to break open without destroying the tea. A rest period after the rinse lets the tea open up a bit before brewing. Usually gets a better brew early on after the rest period.
Because it releases the flavor by steeping with the moisture, just like shou, right? But what I’m wondering is, does it really take all night for this tea?
I never thought about letting a puerh “open up” for an extended time. I need to try this! I am humbled by your great knowledge and skill, mrmopar!
This is a a must for tightly compressed Puerh for sure. This helps you avoid over steeping the outer layer of the leaves by the time the piece of the cake/tuo opens and exposes the leaves inside.
Mrmopar have you ever tried steaming your tuos for loosening them up? sounds cool, but I feel like I’d damage my tea, or not let it dry enough for storing it again in loose form.
ashmanra, just a trick I learned.
JC, I have seen the videos but I haven’t tried it. I think my ability would fall short on that technique.
I actually did this two days ago so I am doing it again tonight.
I am pretty sure I grabbed this from Jasetea after roaming their website. A Yunnan Sourcing tea from 2009 and sold out on the YS sites.
I got all the shake and little pieces from inside the wrapper to brew with. I think it was about 12 grams and in the gaiwan to steep.
I rinsed it and let it sit about an hour before brewing to open the leaf up a bit.
This one is just about to get into the darker gold/copper color.
The brew was done in 3/3/3 sec brews. It sips light and goes quickly into a full thick almost oily coating with a nice good bitter punch to it. It gives some sweet but it is a while after sipping and the bitter subsides before this comes to front.
This one is turning into a good strong tea in its middle age. I will be interested into seeing how this ages in the future.
Flavors: Bitter, Hay, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Interesting. I enjoy thickness and oiliness in a green liquor more and more, for shu. Definitely growing on me. It’s a nice alternative to a thick,oily black tea. One doesn’t want to be limited.
On another note, the more I drink puerhs, the more I agree with your sentiment that shu is more enjoyable than shen. You can definitely appreciate the flavor and the process much more, not to mention that, although shen benefits from aging just as shu does, it really doesn’t seem like it would “improve” on itself, if you know what I mean.
I got this out to actually review last night and kind of forgot about it.
I got about 11 grams in the easy steeper to start with. This is a loose maocha and the aroma is of a sweet hayfield.
I dropped this in and gave rinse to start with. The tea-pet enjoyed it,
The aroma on the first steep, a bit tannic.
This one is a Jingmai so the citrus is expected. It is there but this has a good bitterness on the edge as well. It really compliments the cup. The color is darker than most teas from this age. I would say due to the storage being loose maocha.
It is a nice complex brew that give the body a good feeling on a cool Summer night.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Hay, Tannic
Nice!