2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu: Comparison of Tea Encounter Guafengzhai

This 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu is from the Chaping garden of Guafengzhai and goes for $269.38 for 200g cake or $1.35/g.  I sampled last year’s version and liked it enough to buy some when it was discounted on Black Friday of last year.  I hope to compare this free sample with some other guafengzhai from Tea Encounter..

Dry leaves smell of a deep pungent forest fresh odours with faint fruity sweetness.

The first infusion has a sweet deep forest taste initially with a pungent and gamey edge to it there is a deep throat coolness and a long slow releasing creamy corn, pumpkin, and sweet melon and floral sweetness that follows.  A creamy sweetness expands in the mossy mouthfeeling.  Nice euphoria feeling is detected early.

The second infusion has a juicy light splash of oily fruity sweetness which has a foresty faint pungent underbelly over a chalky mouthfeeling and deeper open throat.  A mild euphoric feeling and stronger clam washes over me.  There is a mild sticky sweet finish on the breath.  Strong deep Qi feeling of floating mind.

The third infusion has a strong juicy oily bready pumpkin muffin taste to it that has a faint foresty pungency but a strong thick sweet finish that evolves from a bready, fruity, then to a creamy sweetness over the chalky tonguecaoting and open throat.  Nice strong deep euphoria Qi feeling with strong mind floating.  There is a thick rich feeling to the liquour and taste and Qi.  Deep evolving Qi relaxing matches nicely to the thick oily sweet tastes.

The fourth infusion has a more spicy pungent sweetness initially with an oily texture that evolves into sweetness over a mossy and chalky mouthfeeling and deeper open throat.  There is a strong bready taste to the sweetness but it is layered over fruity tastes and creamy sweet finishes.  A strong deep relaxing takes hold with a euphoric feeling to it.  There is the sensation of an opening chest and dipapragm and some neck and shoulder release.

The 5^th infusion has a sweet creamy fruity onset with a thick cottony fluffy mouthfeeling there are some vegetal hints as well as some foresty hints of flovours.  The vegetal sweetness turns to a subtle creamy sweetness in the mouth.  The strong deep relaxing takes hold.  Floating head feeling feels quite stoner feeling.  Chest open and shoulder and jaw relax.  Nice deep penetrating Qi.

The 6^th has a spicy oily thicker sweetness, a pumpkin and bread sweetness with a deep throat cooling and emerging foresty taste.  There is a retuning creamy sweetness with some saliva producing effects.  A creamy cooling woody finish.  Minutes later tropical fruity tastes in the saliva.  Strong swaying body feeling euphoria.  Some faint woody astringency is building.  Nice banana finish.

The 7^th is a cool thickish syrupy pear taste over woody notes and forest suggestions some deep pungency and some oily saliva returning.  Nice evolution with banana and woody pear sweet tastes left in the minutes long breath.  Nice deep relaxing.  With open chest and abdomen feeling.  Mild euphoria.  Long sweet aftertaste.

8^th has a cool fruity and even a bit smoky taste to it initialy with woody, sweet, almost yeasty tsates to it.  The deep relaxation is nice as is the mild euphoria that follows.  Nice almost milky bready finish with a creamy sweet edge.

9^th was left to cool and has a sour fruity almost citrus-mango like vegetal with a creamy cooling almost menthol finsh.  The mouthfeeling is less thick mossy here with still an open deep throat going on.  The flavor is mainly nuances of sweetness with some denser feeling to it in the form of faint forest and wood.  Nice relaxing euphoria.

10^th is mainly a woody sweet pumpkin bread taste with still a strong cooling and returning creamy sweetness.  There is a lesser chalkier feeling in the mouth and still a deep throat of cool pungent taste.  More of a rubbery woody nuance to it now.  Nice relaxing chill.

11^th infusion has a more dryer wood dominating mouthfeeling and taste with still a deep coolness but more of a bitter astgringent woody taste throughout with some returning creaminess.  The mouthfe puckering is noticed but a nice open throat feeling where less sweetness is pushed out.  Strong relaxing still.

12^th has a bitter woody onset with a mossy pasty dryer mouthfeeling.  There are just edges of sweetness now whit a deep cooling. Some significant astringency.  Melon and creamy sweetness emerge under the bitterness at the end.

13^th is left to cool and gives off a flat woody sweet sour fruity with some mild astringent bitterness over a chalky, slight dry mouth, and cooling throat.  The aftertaste is quite sweet woody melon. Quite enjoyable still.

14^th is a sour bland sweet mango pear type sweetness with still nice deep throat cooling and long sweet finish.  Nice relaxing day today slight might euphoria and face tingling… its been a good day…

The mug steeping of spent leaves are deep and full in the mouth over a chalky oily texture with an initial forest pungent and subtle sweetness but a very deep cooling and stronger dense sweet retuning sweetness that lingers in the breath.  Thick feeling overall.  There is a strong base taste of bitter astringency underneath everything.

I did a comparison sampling of 2021 Tea Encounter GuafengzhiXiaoshu (above), 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhi (Chaping) Gushu (Middle), and 2020 Guafengzhi (Chaping) Gushu (below).

The 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Xiaoshu was surprisingly closer to the 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhi Gushu as far as value goes.  However, the xiaoshu didn’t have the enduring sweetness and deeper qi and unraveling complexity to it which is expected for something of that price.  I didn’t have any sample of the 2019 xiaoshu to compare because it is so effortlessly delicious I probably drank up the sample quickly.  It makes a bit of sense because the Gushus are not strong singular gushu’s here… but they have great appeal to me in their width, mouthfeeling/throatfeeling, and qi.  Last year’s 2020 Guafengzhi Gushu was much sweeter in taste with a more condensed intensity of taste.  This year’s 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu is similar in its Qi, mouthfeeling/throatfeelng, and taste- a very nice package overall.

Alex’s (Teanotes) Tasting notes

Peace