2022 Tea Encounter Yiwu GouYouLin: Cheap But Complex

 

I was really looking forward to this free sample this year.  Last year I declared the 2021 Tea Encounter Yiwu Guoyoulin the 2021 fresh sheng most likely to purchase.  Mainly because of its complexity vs value proposition.  I ended up not picking up any cakes of fresh sheng last year or this year for that matter.  This 2022 Tea Encounter Yiwu Guoyoulin goes for $136 for 400g cake or $0.34/g.

Dry leaves smell of sweet odours with barnyard edges.

The first infusion is a sour sweet vegetal forest with a pungent cooling backbone and sweet cooling returning.  The mouthfeeling is chalky and full and expanding.  There is sweet chalky tastes in the mouth even minutes later which lingering in the thick chalky feeling and deeper throat feeling where the throat opens.

The second infusion has a sour sweet mild bitter vegetal onset with a subtle gamey forest base.  It ends with a chalky creamy sweet even a bit salty taste.  Lots of flavours here.  The Qi is warming and you can feel it expanding and warming in the Chest.  There is a lingering sour chalky sweet taste minutes later in the chalky mouthfeeling and in the cooling deeper throat.  A bit of a spacy feeling in the mind.

The third infusion has a bitter sweet pop of taste the sweetness is Asian pear and the bitterness is a grassy type there is some sour notes and salty as well.  The salty notes come after the bittersweetness.  There is a cool pungent throatiness that goes deep in the aftertaste holding on to some pear notes and a creamy sweetness. Nice thick chalky mouthfeeling and deep chalky cool opening deeper throatfeeling.  Warming Qi with expanding Chest feeling and Heart beats with a spacy Qi sensation.

The fourth infusion has a sour bitter sweetness with sourer pucker upfront and more saltiness at the end.  The Heart expands and beats and opens and a warmth washes over me.  Nice spacy feeling but also some increase peaceful feelings.  The mouthfeel has that puckering feeling within the chalky and somewhat oily feeling.  Sour forest bitter finish in the mouth.  Strong waves of Qi.

The fifth infusion has a milky sour sweet pear splash of taste with a slightly gamey and pungent cooling, even slightly salty finish.  Nice chalky oily mouthfeeling with a deep throat opening. Lingering aftertaste that is a bit sour, bitter, and sweet balanced blended flavours.  Chesty Qi feeling and warming energy.

The sixth infusion has a bitter sour sweet pop of taste with forest gamey taste that turns a bit salty. There is a cooling pungent taste that reaches into the throat and comes with a pear sweetness in the mouth.  Nice cooling throat with a long pear sweetness minutes later.  The mouthfeeling is a full chalky somewhat oily coating.  Nice spacy Chesty Qi feeling.  Relaxing peaceful but also a bit spacy and focusing.  Lingering almost candy pear minutes later.

The seventh infusion has a sweet pear onset with a faint bitter-sour taste underneath and an emerging salty taste.  Nice chalky slightly oily mouthfeeling with some deep throat opening with coolness and pear lingering candy sweetness in the finish.  The sweet taste has emerged as the dominant taste throughout with a very long aftertaste of pear candy.

8^th has a sweet candy pear oily onset with a long pear taste throughout there is some mild emerging bitter and sour but faint now.  The mouthfeeling is a strong chalky and somewhat oily feeling with a lubricating mouth, deep subtle cooling throat with creamy sweet pear flavor that lasts a long time in the finish.  Warming feeling with 

9^th is left to cool and has much more fruity sweet presence with peachy pear notes and a candy like sweet finish even some fresh plum notes.  These fruity sweet notes are found throughout the profile. 

10^th has a long nectar fruity peach/pear onset with a faint bitter-sour edge.  Nice oily pear sweetness throughout which lasts long even minutes later. Nice Chesty feeling with beats and a bit spacy, peaceful and focused.  Nice layered thick taste and chalky thick mouthfeeling.

11^th is left to cool and gives off a melon metallic bitter sour taste that is a bit unique because there are lots of tastes but none really prominent. The blend in this puerh is pretty obvious with a nice balance of tastes.

12^th is left to cool as well and is a sweet bland wood.  The lingering sweetness is a bit sour now. Still long aftertaste and chalky coating and deep throat.  Warming Qi and Chest opening, a bit peaceful and enlivening.

The mug steepings have a bitter metallic forest onset with a sour underbelly and some sweetness in the finish.  Chest opening Qi with a enlivening, invigorating feeling.  Nice chalky full feeling in the mouth with a deep cooling throat with a sweet sugary edges that resemble grapefruit-pear.  Very full feeling with balanced taste and strong layered qi.  Not as much sweetness as other Yiwu but an interesting blended experience for cheap.  Similar to the 2021.

Then I put it to an overnight steeping…  tones of tastes in here still with a forest gamey base with edges of sugar sweetness, faint bitterness, full chalky faint puckering feeling and layered tastes, long sweet edges of pear and sugar aftertaste with nice deep throat cooling and sweetness.  Nice enlivening Qi with Heart beats.  Sour, sweet, salty, pungent, bitter balance of tastes in this Yiwu gushu blend.

Vs 2021 Tea Encounter Yiwu Guoyoulin- I looked from the left overs of this sample but it was all gone as I likely was sampling again to see if I would do an order.  I like these for the price.  Nice blended balance.  My memory puts the 2022 with more sweet notes and the 2021 with more metallic notes.  They are similar with a nice thick taste, balanced flavours with not so much of that typical long sweet candy Yiwu finish but more of a taste closer to boarder teas and Yiwu blends.  Very much like the Tea Urchin Snake Blend.

Peace