2020 Puerist You Le “Forest Tea” vs 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8

 

This is my last in a series of samples to try to understand and define the concept of “Forest Tea Puerh” after Shah8 introduced the concept in this post on 2012 Yang Qing Hao Yegu (also see 2016 Yang Qing Hao Wujin Cang and 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 below).  This 2020 Puerist Youle “Forest Tea” goes for approx. $96.00 for 200g cake or$0.48/g- I purchased a sample in my last Puerist purchase to further educate myself on “forest tea” and to compare to other Youle area tea.

The dry leaves smell of very creamy, airy, almost turnip but very creamy sweet.  Strangely this one doesn’t smell of strong florals typical of Youle.

The first infusion has a pungent spicy grassy floral woody coolness in the breath.  It tastes almost green tea like in its finish.  There is an airy pungency to this one with a watery very mild tongue coating, a watery oily feeling and very deep throat where a cooling taste but not that much retuning sweetness resides.  The Qi is apparent immediately and is strong.  A fresh grass and coolness lingers on the breath with only mild sweetness.

The second infusion has a lips tingling pungency very faint and very quick moving bitter that is hard to even spot it follow pops of cherry sweetness and pungent sweetness.  The base tastes is almost rubbery grassy woody.  It kind of tastes like a wild and conventional variety blend.  For sure the wild tea material is more obviously apparent in this “forest tea”.  There is a watery almost oily feeling that turns to a chalky density on the tongue and the throat is very deep and cool.  Strong Qi sensations rule with this very wild tea like thingy- strong intense energy in the chest.  There is an unusual power to the Youle “forest tea”.

The third infusion has a woody, floral rubbery, quick very very hard to spot mild bitter that make a cherry like taste pop in the mouth.  The rubbery aftertaste is a sign of wild tea material being pretty heavy in here along with the lack of typical retuning sweetness and aftertaste.  This is basically unrecognizable as Youle terroir for me.  Very different, very wild tea, very tasty but not that conventional puerh like.  The cooled cup reveals lots of candy almost caramel finish.  The complexity in the forest tea blends are their strength for sure!  There is also a huge body feeling and intense energy vibrating throughout my body.

The fourth infusion has a strong start fruity, cherry like burst of intense fruity taste that is pushes out by a faint bitter.  There is that rubbery wild tea base taste and aftertaste that signal a strong wild tea like composition.  But man… is the energy of the wild tea electric… intense energy bursts, racing heart beats, strong shoulder especially in the front of the shoulders release… lots of intense and vibrant energies and bodyfeelings.  It’s an intense experience.  Like ingesting a cocktail of tea like drugs.

The fifth infusion has a very cherry bitter floral bitter star-fruity wild tea like intensity to the taste.  The taste is balanced nicely between bitter and sweet with a saliva producing and deep throat opening.  The mouthfeeling is thin and tight with a developing density and rubbery woody floral wild tea strong character.  Intense heart, shoulder, crazy bodyfeelings and intensity… wow!

The sixth infusion has a creamy bitter buttery floral pop of cherry with a tight mouthfeel and grassy-rubbery woody wild tea finish in the mouth.  The Qi is making my head explode!  Hahahhah strong intense bodyfeelings in chest, and across the front of the shoulders like a consiricting feeling.  Grassy almost sweet aftertaste.

The seventh has a strong berry and juicy bitter taste with intense returning flavors of dragon fruits.  The mouthfeeling is thin a tight with an mild oily liquid and a throatfeeling that is disappearing as well as the coolness in the throat.  Feels about mid-throat at this point in the session.  Nice vigorous ground shaking Qi.   Very intense and transformative experience.

The 8^th is strong fruity rubber berry taste of wild tea it has a grassy finish to it, a bit bready, star-fruity, berry pops after the quick bitter.  Very intense Qi in body and mind.  Rubbery, grassy, not that sweet finish in mouth.

9^th has a strong savoury grassy bitter with more of a low lying sweetness over a thin sandy tongue and lips coating with a tighter upper throat.  Slight coolness with rubbery tastes….

10^th begins with a stronger but quick moving bitterness which brings out berry sweetness over a thin sandy mouthfeeling with a certain tightness of the lips and tongue.  The throat feel is loosing strength slowly and much less coolness resides there.  The Qi is just really really big … really really intense… it feels like my heart is exploding in my chest and I’m riding a serious high for hours after…

Not expecting my daily tea session to go into the heavens of intensity, I am left no other chose to back away and approach with caution tomorrow…

11^th is resumed after the wet leaves have rested in the pot overnight… and it comes off as very light and floral with a nice melon taste and a rubbery vacuous wild tea taste.  The mouthfeel has softened quite a bit.  Strong energy courses through the body.

The 12^th has strong melon and fruity florals over a quick moving bitterness and mild tight dense mouthfeeling.  There is that rubbery floral wild tea nuance to it.  But lots of flavor and of course lots of chest pounding and intense energy rushing throughout the body.  This is some strong stimulating energy here even the next day.

The 13^th has strong fruity floral intense fruity even layered creamy flavored fruit tastes.  The cooled cup and nice long caramel sweetness.  There is some complexity and lots of stamina in these leaves.  Strong energy explosion here.  Faint coolness and long rubbery fruity floral finish.

The 14^th is also cooled and gives off a very vibrant and flavourful soup of florals, startfruits, long sweet tastes that goes deep into the throat with a mild cooling and has a bread-like sweetness in the aftertaste.  There is a very subtle bitter astringency. 

The 15^th is left to cool and gives off lots of fruity melon tastes up from that turn to floral and woody and a kind of brackish mild bitter then to long faint cooling in the throat.  There is that long floral/bread note faintly skirting around.  The Qi is starting to be relaxing.  The stamina of this wild tea is long for sure.

The 16^th infusion has a very vibrant fruity intense tasting mild quick moving bitter pop of taste in the mouth.  The mouthfeel is a thin density to it.  Long aftertaste of rubbery woody.

This ones seems to go one forever!  I put the remaining leaves in a mug to steep out.

Overall, this is very much wild tea in taste, Qi and feeling with not much typical Youle feeling or taste at all…  It compares nicely to 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 which I purchased a few cakes of…

The following are notes from a similar 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 which goes for $175.00 for 200g or $0.88/g. I sampled the fresh maocha last year.  These are my notes from last week…

Dry leaves smell of intense forest sweet candy.

The first infusion has a creamy sweet familiar Yiwu sweetness upfront there is some woody taste underneath but a very deep cooling throat which pulls the aftertaste along into grassy almost melon floral taste.  The mouthfeel is nice with a full dense chalkiness and the throat is deep.  Very smooth and soothing feeling initially in the body and mind.  The colour of the liquor is more deeply yellow than the Youle.

The second infusion has a soft onset of Yiwu like sweetness over faint woody with a grassy taste coming out deep smooth cooling throat and a base level of mild bitterness there is a smooth vigorous bread-like sweet finish that lingers in the breath and a strong saliva producing effect in the mouth.  The Qi is really big starting to make the mind stuffy and large.  Arms can feel the effect.  There is sour tastes and woody tastes and grassy-forest tastes and bitter tastes.  The effect is complex with an interesting dichotomy of smooth soothing energy and underlying and building power.

The third infusion has a strong onset of sweet creamy Yiwu sweetness a berry sweet taste with an undercurrent of building bitterness that makes the berries pop.  There is a strong dense mouthfeeling and very deep throat subtle coolness.  A strong intense euphoria shakes out of this one.

The fourth has a strong popping berry taste that follows the initial quick moving bitterness with a nice base of grassy and bready sweetness, wood, fruity berries.  The mouthfeeling is dense and throat very deep. Sqeekey gums and long breath almost floral berries and bread and grass.  Nice euphoria takes hold with some stronger bodyfeeling.

The 5^th is a cooled down cup but is smoother creamy and deeper layered fruity in the cup with an almost caramel edge with a long deep throat coolness over a gradually building density in the mouth.  There is some grassy undertones as well as woody but more of a playing out of complex sweetnesses over a really good tongue coating and deep throatiness.  Nice big euphoria engulfs me.

The 6^th has a juicy fruity bitter with a creamy complex fruity presentation.  There is lots of complexity in here- breads, grasses, wood, floral, melon, and berries.  The tongue coating is interesting in that it kind of slowly becomes denser as you swallow.  The broth is nicely oily and the throatfeeling is deep.  The Qi is strong in the chest but also calming and focusing and euphoric.  This puerh feels nice in the body and mind if not slowly building in intensity.

The 7^th has a quick bitter onset with floral caramel, berries, bread, melon, bitterness, grass, woods- its complex the dense chalky tongue coating and deep throat with saliva producing effect is really good. It finishes kind of woody oily minutes later.

The 8^th is very sweet with a quick bitter pushing berries, melon tastes along the tongue.  Nice complex layered sweetnesses.  Nice euphoria too.  Chalky tongue coating and deep throat.  High floating feeling.

9^th has a strong fruity onset with layered sweet, floral, grass, woody long creamy sweet returning saliva over the tongue over a chalky tongue coating.  Lots of saliva producing effect.  Nice strong focusing. energy.  Relaxing body effect.

10^th has a fruity sweet creamy sweet bready onset over a full dense tongue and deep throat and returning saliva.  There is a mild bitterness to this infusion.  Very bread sweet creamy finish in mouth.  Nice hypnotic euphoria takes hold.

11^th. … I have no choice but to mug steep out over a few days and is much more conventional puerh varietal in there in taste and feel but still a bit wild tea in there.  Very vibrant and sweet tastes remain.  This Yiwu #8 has a certain vibrancy that I find alluring.  Sometimes I’ve tried this and its more bitter other times its more sweet… I think it has an interesting and vibrant blend of material from that forest and feels really interesting to me.  A good young example of something that might be “forest tea” and something I’m curious about aging out.

To compare the two they both have some similar taste in that they have a distinct bitterness to them that quickly gives way to vibrant sweetness.  The 2020 Puerist Youle “Forest Tea” has an obvious wild tea profile / wild tea varietal and is actually quite a bit more bitter than the 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 where the Yiwu #8 is more sweet and savory and closer to the conventional puerh varietal.  The 2020 Puerist Youle has an overwhelmingly powerful Qi, almost chaotic at times where the 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 is both intense but also focusing and euphoric.  They are both pretty intense and interesting experiences.

Peace