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I was excited to try this one and it has met my expectations. It’s a nice blend of medium sized leaves of varying shades of silver, charcoal, and brown. There’s some large leaves thrown in there too. The dried leaves have a sweet grassy scent. Wet leaves have a more sweet floral and nutty aroma. The tea soup for the first steeps have a deep golden hue and are very clear.

Great qi develops from the initial steeps. This is a throaty tea. Sweet floral notes and nectar-like textures cover the tongue. This combined with tingling mouth activity moves quickly down the throat. I can feel a warm energy in my solar plexus after the 3rd steep. Ferociously floral and tropical fruit notes continue for many many steeps.

There’s medium viscosity here, but good depth, longevity, a lot of qi, and serious huigan. It lingers nicely on the tongue and throat for at least 20 mins after drinking. Sure, this one is good now, but it’ll be by far more enjoyable after 1 year of calming down.

I dismissed this one a bit quickly after sampling it upon arrival where I got mostly wood notes and hints of what it may have once been. After letting it hang in the pumi for a month or two… I get it now.

The rinse is already a thick soup with a vibrancy that extends to the back of the throat. Lovely mouthfeel from the start.

I may have gotten the center of the cake, as the leaves are taking more than a few steeps to come apart which may have preserved these spring-like and high floral notes. Aromas reflect what’s in the cup. Spring meadows upon meadows of wild flowers and interesting complex wood notes all competing for my attention.

The first few steeps are highly floral(honeysuckle and other northern flowers) with a crisp, vegetal complexity that reminds me of dried radish greens and dried herbs. Nice complex sweet apple wood base. Depth is evident early on. Vibrancy and qi spread throughout the mouth and go down the throat into the solar plexus. Yep, I’m all plugged into this tea. This sensation is also something I picked up in the ’16 Han Gu Di, but the experience is more intense with the Da Si—probably the result of 3 years of settling into itself.

From steep 6 to 9 there’s still more to discover, as the compressed portions have yet to fully expand. It’s got a consistently thick body, but increased levels of qi and a complex sweetness (brown sugar, orchid nectar, and pungent honey) that lingers on the sides of the tongue as webs of crystalized sugar and moves straight towards the back of the throat. I’m relishing this huigan which compliments the waves of qi pulsating from my head as it floats to the ceiling.

These kinds of steeps keep on going past 10, 11, and 12. This is a nice one that all sheng pu heads should try. It’s far from my budget, but I would be most grateful if any magnanimous individuals would like to donate a sample. :)

Note: I moved the tea leaves from the gaiwan to the nixing teapot after steep 6. I suspect this is what brought out more those complex sweet notes and enhanced the mouthfeel. This is one of those mind-clarifying shengs.

Another unique and enjoyable tianjian from YS. The dried leaves are smallish and have a nice black cherry aroma and slight hint of pine wood charcoal. The tea soup is incredibly clear with a light yellow hue.

This one starts out like a black tea and gradually evolves into a sheng pu’er in later steeps without astringency or bitterness. It’s a bit more subtle in flavor than the other tianjians I’ve had. I picked up some fruity black tea, black cherry, stinging nettles, and pine resin. No noticeable smoky flavors here. This one has a nice granite/limestone mineral base that lasts throughout the session. The mouthfeel and textures are excellent here and get better with each steep, making it comparable to a nicer sheng pu’er. Good energy and longevity in these leaves too. I got over 10 full-flavored steeps and lost count.

I’ve noticed how tianjians evolve quite rapidly in almost every aspect, which is part of their charm. I’m glad I purchased 2 bags.

I’m proud to say this is the oldest tea I’ve had. And I quite like it. Dried leaves are crinkled black strips and smell like an old book. It’s a well condensed tea. I threw in the gaiwan just under 5 g and it expanded rapidly as the steeps went on. Wet leaves maintain the old book aroma and are accompanied by leather, sweet wood, peat, and a hint of ripe plum. I’m very happy I didn’t detect any prune-like aromas or flavors that have turned me off to many a mid-aged sheng.

The tea soup is a gorgeous crimson hue with high clarity—liquified garnet. It’s yields a nicely thick, dense, and creamy cup. It’s not complex, but very soothing. Between the leather, wet wood, peat, sweet butter, and camphor there is good depth. As someone inexperienced with aged sheng, I would say it’s an acquired flavor as some may be turned off by the wet wood. I find it quite comforting and not dissimilar to aged liu bao. Highly recommended for anyone looking to try something with good age.

This guy arrived courtesy of Mrmopar. The dried leaves were mostly broken up with some tea dust. The tea soup, while started out a cloudy orange due to tea dust, was quite clear with an attractive golden hue after the 4th steep. This made it initially challenging to assess the tea’s qualities, as it made steeps 1 to 4 quite intense.

I’m in the market for intense teas and this was powerful and bitter, in a rough-and-tumble but refreshing sort of way. The huigan is good here and lasts for quite some time. Body is light to medium. After steep 4, I found the rest of the tea quite balanced—comforting sweet wood notes with hints of honey accompanied by that bitter Bulang base.

This one goes for many steeps. I found steeps 5 through 7 the most enjoyable. This one is like a complex IPA with Bulang steroids. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the tea is how clear-headed and awake I was for many hours after the session was over. I’m forced to drink teas with heavy somatic affects, such as Mangfei or Yong De’s Da Xue Shan, less often than I would like, but this one isn’t the case. It could easily be incorporated into my weekday morning routine. I did, however, find this one quite citric, perhaps a little too much for my tastes.

Complex and powerful with a strong but relaxing energy. The leaves, nice large assamica, me thinks, flaked off the section of the xiao bing I received with great ease. In dried form, they give off a pleasant sweet mint. After the first rinse, the aroma reveals a multiplicity of textures, sensations, and flavors to come.

The qi here is great from the start that intensifies with each steep. Good mouthfeel and returning sweetness that lingers. Big flavors here—tropical fruits, forest moss, mint, peppercorns, cloves, leather, sweet hay, and Chinese traditional medicine, with steeps 5 – 7 bringing of the leather, sweet hay, TCM, and forest moss to the fore. Nice cooling and peppery/tingly sensations going on after steep 5 or 6.

For a 2015 tea, this one seems to show quite a bit of mid-aged flavors…or perhaps I am just more sensitive to them.

I couldn’t miss the chance to grab a full bing of this guy. It’s a high performer with its intense energy, clarity, mouthfeel, and complexity of flavors (Am I missing anything?). I was so impatient I could only let it settle in the pumidor for two weeks before I broke into it. The cake arrived slightly broken on the edges, providing just enough broken tea leaves for the session—about 6 grams. They had a suspiciously mid-aged scent of dried fruit and leather.

The tea soup has high clarity and a deep golden hue. Brewed leaves had a scent of tropical fruits and sandal wood. I entered the sheng pu realm from the north (Lincang) and so am just beginning to get my bearings on Menghai and Yiwu terrior. I do have one genuine 100 g Lao Man E cake that shares some of the notes of this cake. Here I found a medley of tropical fruits (sweet grapefruit in particular) along side lovely bitters that literally rings in the mouth. The tea has serious staying power and a nice sandalwood base. This tea doesn’t begin to taper off until steep 10 or so.

For me, the mouthfeel and qi are the wow factor. I was in the middle of a conversation while sipping on the 2nd steep and the word’s “oh wow” came out. The qi followed the mouthfeel. It can take you for a ride if you let it.

This one has great qi, but more subtle in flavor than I expected. Dried leaf has a floral and sweet grassy scent and when steeped becomes more floral (honeysuckle) with some steamed brussel’s sprouts. Tea soup is clear, pale yellow, and viscous.

It’s quite active in the mouth. Some nice cooling effects going on here, too. I detected whispers (yes, I said whispers!) of honeysuckle, acorn, pine, buttered zucchini, and snap peas. A bit of an ordinary flavor profile, IMO. The best part is how it lingers in the mouth…more than 20 mins! I can see this becoming even more interesting over the years.

The last of my sample happened to be just under 6 grams. Conveniently pressed a bit tighter than Scott’s more recent cakes, these leaves have maintained their unique qualities quite well, I think. The tea soup is a gorgeous pale yellow and crystal clear. Steeped leaves, while still greenish and floral, are beginning to take on a leathery and sweet grainy scent.

The first 4 steeps are the best. The liquid is vibrant with lovely mouth activity and a strong cooling sensation, a combination I quite enjoy. This spreads throughout the mouth and touches the back of the throat. Quite a medley of notes—acorn, pine, cedar wood, honeysuckle, and Brussel’s sprouts, and in that order of prominence. Perhaps a hint of nutmeg somewhere in there, too.

From steep 6, I pushed the tea harder (with boiling water and longer steeping times) and was rewarded with more cooling, pine, and sweet acorn with some typical Mengku florals in the background. This went on for some 13 steeps. While expensive, it’s a lovely tea that has all a young sheng lover could want and appears to be moving gracefully into mid-age. I wholeheartedly recommend pu heads to sample this one.

Edit: The qi here is just fantastic…

I tried the 2015 BNS and this one seems a tad more potent. Pretty mid-sized dark olive green leaves are intact and a pleasure to brew in my small-ish gaiwan. There is a fresh forest aroma emitted from the brewed leaves that is floral and savory. Tea soup has a medium thickness, nice clarity, and a darker golden hue.

It’s not complex, but rather unique in it’s flavor profile. At first, I had a difficult time associating “mushroom” with desirable notes in tea, but now I see similarities with the savory sweetness of shiitake mushrooms. As others have described, mint prominent here in both flavor and as a cooling sensation the spreads to the back of the mouth. Andy’s mint thins come to mind, specially in Scott’s 2016 batch where I’ve detected subtle dark chocolate notes together with the mint. Other notes I found were stinging nettles, damp forest moss, and acorn. It’s uniqueness makes for nice break from teas I typically drink.

The cha qi by is noticeable by the 3rd steep. Interesting flavors are consistently present into the 10th or so steeps, becoming even more minty and herbal from steep 5 and 6.