2003 ChenYuan Hao Yibang: More Classic, More Mellow

Apparently, this 2003 ChenYuan Hao Yibang (approx. $541.00for 357g cake or $1.52/g) is less commonly put for sale.  It had the same old man hot and dry Taiwanese storage as the 2003 ChenYuan Hao Yiwu (which is now sold out of this storage) and 2004 ChenYuan Hao Song Pin Hao sold at Puerh.uk.  Picked up a ¼ cake due to my preference for Yibang and this type of storage.  Currently it is completely sold out at Puerh.uk and it has not yet been offered by Teas We Like.

Dry leaves smell of flat wood and piercing sugar with faint sweet plum.

First infusion has a woody-wine-like taste initially with an oily liquor and a faint distant plum astringency.  There is a faint coolness in the breath with a sweet sugar-wood finish.  The mouthfeeling is a bit grainy.  Faint cooling sugar on the breath a bit of plum.

The second infusion has an initial splash of sugar and plum and a bit of astringency with a plum sugar and bitter woody finish.  The cooled down cup has an oily and more plum taste with a movement to mild astringency and plum and sugar.  There is a sandy and subtle mouth puckering mouthfeeling.  The tea give me a mild off putting itch and allergy feeling.

The third infusion has a rich bubble gum and rum and wine like initial taste that has a vibrant rich sweetness.  There is a mild puckering mouthfeeling with a sugary plum woody almost grape candy like very Yibang fruity taste.  The texture is oily and provides a contrasted balance to the mild gripping mouthfeeling and top throat simulation. 

4^th infusion is left to cool and gives off a rich syrupy sweet sugar-plum-caramel pop of sweetness.  There is an oily texture that comes then a cool plum sugar aftertaste with slight woody-astringency pucker in mouth that stimulates the top of the throat.  A dry fine sandy puckering feeling is left in the mouth.  Nice mild euphoria with mild itching-allergy feeling on arms and face.  Last time I had an itchy reaction like this was to the 2007 Yang Qing Hao Lingya!

5^th has a creamier sugar pop of sweetness that is a bit oily and melts into a cooling mouth that is a touch dry sandy chalky.  There is an almost bready sugar grapy-fruity-plum taste in the aftertaste.  Nice mild faint euphoria with some faint spacy relaxing feeling. 

6^th has a vibrant rich pop of grapey-sugary-plum astringent sweetness there is some coolness that comes and upper throat stimulation.  Itchy arms and face allergy feeling.  Nice stimulation in the mouth with oily textures and faint chalky gripping feeling.  Long grape-plum aftertaste that lingers on the top throat and comes out when swallowing.  Mild Qi euphoria with mild faint itch.

7^th has a fruity grapey sugary astringent pop of initial sweetness in an oily textured chalky silty mouthfeeling.  Nice sugary bready grape-plum finish after a breath coolness and some upper throat stimulation.  Nice mild euphoria. Some faint face itch.

8^th has a syrupy grape sugar sweetness with some hints of wood astringency pop of sweetness.  There is a slight puckering silty dry sandy stimulating mouthfeeling.  Nice bready sweet sugar and almost floral grape finish with some mild astringency.  Face tingling and itch with mild euphoria.

9^th was a cup that was left sitting for hours as my day became quite busy… it is a sugary sweet woody pop with some cooling mouth and an oily texture that turns into a sweet full caramel.  After the oily texture recedes it leaves behind a fine sandy chalky feeling.  Mild relaxing type Qi.

I have no choice but to revisit this puerh the next day…

10^th has a fruity almost grape-melon taste initially with a woody mild astringency and mild chalky gripping puckering mouthfeeling.  I’m still getting some arms and face itchiness.  Sort of a flat sweet finish.

11^th has a grape woody astringent pop of initial vibrant sweetness a clear sugar with a full juicy grape taste minutes later.  The upper throat is stimulated and the taste holds for a while there.  Itchy limbs aren’t my favorite experience that’s for sure…  There are fruity sweet and astringent tastes minutes later.

12^th has a rich thick sweet woody sugar taste almost grape and plum but not really.  Very full puckering silty feeling in the mouth with a stimulated upper throat and less thickness now but strong and active upper throat stimulation from the astringency that sustains the woody-grapey taste.

13 is left to cool and gives off a sugary-woody- astringent pop of sweetness that splashes up in the mouth.  It finishes this woody-cool-caramel taste.  Still limb itch…. Mild relaxations.  Long caramel returning from the stimulating astringency.  The taste and mouthfeeling is really nice and look at the stamina here- very nice…. But the itch….

14^th infusion has a fruity grape-melon taste initially with less astringency and woody but also less mouth presence and throat stimulation.  Nice mild relaxing with mild easy to ignore itch.

15^th has a woody caramel sugar astringent pop of sweetness that turns into more of a grape-plum and cooling on the returning sweetness.  Nice mild pucker with upper throat stimulations which keep the taste going.

16 has a sweet sugar onset with a bit of plum in the finish. 

I mug steep out the rest…

Overall, this Yibang had lots of stamina and delicious classic grapey-sugar-plum astringent punch.  It’s a good semiaged example of the Yibang profile.  I was most surprised at how mellow the Qi was- not typically Yiwu in Qi and made this one less enjoyable for me.  I got that damn itch as well from this cake! Darn!  Good thing I didn’t blind cake it!  Although I am a big Yibang area fan I didn’t enjoy this one as much as some of the other 2003 ChenYuan Hao for the reasons stated.

Peace