Marco’s 2021 Blind Tasting Epsilon & Zeta

I sampled these both on the same day and came to the conclusion that they are actually the same puerh!

Epsilon is first…

Dry leaves smell of very sweet forest very freshly picked 2021 sheng odours.  Smells like a nice Yiwu here… very light.

The first infusion is a watery very clear airy sweet slightly floral with a foresty almost gamey forest taste that slides into a long slightly vegetal creamy sweet aftertaste.  Yummy…

The second infusion has a clear pure fresh sheng almost melon and floral pure note to it which gathers a bit of faint foresty-gamey base, but only every so faintly.  Pretty green processed fresh sheng.  With a faint coolness in the throat and subtle melon long sweet finish.  The mouthfeel is faint oily softness with some deeper throat opening.  You can feel a light upbeat qi feeling from this puerh.  Also you can feel the green processing in the empty stomach, just faintly enough.

The third infusion has an oily floral buttery onset over a thin soft mouthcoating.  There is a faint suggestion of forest and faint long sweet melon floral green finish.  Faint cooling deep throat can be felt on the exhale.  Nice subtle soothing/ refreshing bodyfeeling.  A faint astringency from the freshness of this puerh can be felt in the empty stomach.

The fourth infusion has a creamy sweet buttercup melon floral onset.  There is not much forest base left but more of a faint green astringent floral vegetal before cool throat and sweet melon finish.  This is pretty nice standard pure green processed Yiwu gushu-ish stuff.  The oily texture over a very soft mouthfeeling is a nice feature of this one as is the very light airy upbeat/ feel good Qi.

The fifth infusion has a watery pure clean fresh butter cup and subtle floral melon sweetness that fades into a faint mid-deep cool throat and faint soft mouthfeeling.  There is a faint astringency to the young leaves.  Soft bodyfeeling of mild uplifting.  The aftertaste is a faint sweet melon.

The sixth infusion has a mild watery vegetal almost woody but more melon onset with a faint cooling.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more substantial with a thicker dryer puckering.  There is also less aftertaste a faint mid-throat coolness and more of a vegetal than sweet finish.  Nice happy subtle floating feel good feeling.

The seventh has a watery melon floral watery pure onset with a very faint cool throat and vegetal melon finish.  The Qi is becoming more relaxing than feel good.  Soft thin mouthfeeling.

The eighth infusion has a very watery faint melon and floral onset that kind of fades out.  There is a bit of cooling in the mid-throat.  This puerh is Yiwu and has a greener production not from super old trees but old enough but definitely not plantation either.

The ninth infusion I add 20 seconds to the flash infusion and it comes off with more orchid onset and with a thin dryer mouthfeeling but still some upper-mid throat coolness and floral melon vegetal finish.

10^th has a 30 second steeping and is much the same…

Overall, this is a nice clean pure green processed Yiwu single estate production.  It has a classic melon and floral onset with very faint coolness and faint sweet aftertaste.  Simple but pure and enjoyable for what it is.  The Qi is a mild feel good and relaxing experience.

Guess: Epslion is a more green processed 2021 Yiwu from a single estate production like Gushu but not overly gushu.

Zeta

Dry leaves smell of very sweet fresh forest odours freshly picked sheng odours. Smells like a nice Yiwu here… slightly deeper and darker than Epsilon. More pungent forest odours here.  Not the sharp cut through the young leaf material- we can expect a bit of bitterness from that… Wet leaves after the rinse have a roasted nutty kind of odour.  You can see that the leaves are darker and more rolled than the Epsilon.

First infusion has a roasted veggie with a bit of floral and melon undernieth roasted taste there is a bit of coolness in the throat and some melon but also creamy coolness melon.  There is more saliva producing effect in the upper throat.  Nice smooth feel good feeling.

The second infusion has a spinach watery sweet melon floral onset with a bit of subtle roasted nutty taste and more lubricating mouthfeel over a thin soft mouthcoating.  The subtle coolness is in the mid-deeper throat and pushes out a creamy cool and melon floral.  There is a bit of saliva returning.

The third infusion is cooled but has a melon, roast floral nuance to it a long melon finish with a bit of creamy sweet and cool throat.  Nice feel good Qi sensation.  Qi is the same as the Epsilon, flavours are almost the same with the Zeta with more spinach and roast and the Epsilon with more vegetal.  The mouthfeeling is better with the Zeta as there is significant saliva returning.

The fourth has a green roast vegetal onset with orchid and melon sweetness as the saliva returns over the soft thin mouthfeeling it brings a wave of creamy sweetness that trails into the aftertaste.  Nice feel good Qi a bit alerting too now.  Minutes later there is a lingering green sweet roasty note.  Nice upbeat/ feel good Qi.

The fifth infusion has a watery, roasty sweet, orchid, and melon onset with a faint cool mid-throat with a returning melon floral sweetness.  There is a long creamy breath minutes later over the faintly drying soft thin mouthfeeling.  The Qi is a feel good but is starting to compound into a stronger energetic giddiness.

The sixth infusion has a watery melon and orchid onset there is a bit of brackish like bitterness like roasty bitterness from a nut shell which comes and fades over a cool mid-throat causing a creamy sweetness to return with melon and some floral.  It happens over a soft thin subtly drying aftertaste.

The 7^th has a watery melon and orchid with a faint roasted bitter nut shell taste the mouthfeeling is thin and a bit dry with a subtle coolness and faint returning melon aftertaste.  A nice relaxing Qi is taking hold now.  There is a rubbery vegetal taste left on the breath minutes later.

The 8^th infusion has a woody vegetal bland onset with very faint melon and floral some faint cooling throat and some very faint lingering sweetness.  Overall, relaxing Qi experience now.

The 9^th I add 20 seconds to the flash infusion and it pushes out bland sweetness with a subtle orchid sweetness and some cooling in the mid-upper throat over a tighter dryer thin mouthfeeling.  There is some sweet woodier melon in the aftertaste as well as some bitter finish with gripping mouthfeeling.  Very faint candy sweet finish on the breath minutes later.

The 10^th I do a 30second steeping and get much the same…

I mug steep out the spent leaves with Epsilon on the Left/top and Zeta on the Right/bottom they both have a nice sweet melon and floral taste with Epsilon being more tart and astringent and Zeta being more bitter.  Zeta is also more course in its mouthfeeling with a deeper cool throat and longer aftertaste.  Epsilon has a more vegetal and more aromatic floral presence throughout with a chalkier mouthfeeling.  They have identical Qi… and Qi can’t lie…

Guess: These are the same puerh with different processing.  This must be the 2021 Longdui Guoyoulin Half-Cake Set with Epsilon being the normal rolling and the Zeta being the stronger rolling.  At $0.60/g this cake is priced right and the option for learning is an excellent bonus.  I think the spent leaves mug steeping says it all… there is great learning to be had with this one.

Peace