Famous Puerh in the West: 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong

 

Sometimes there are puerh productions that become so famous they are simply know in the puerh world by their acronym.  So is the case with LFPT (2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong).  This production has been everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE, since I got back into the puerh scene in 2017.  I’m not 100% sure but it might have first gained prominence in the West by Toby of the Jade Leaf?… there was an early group order of this one around this time.  Since then the Jade Leaf, King Tea Mall, TeasWeLike, and now Puerh.uk has offered it but I am unsure if some have been sourced from the same wholesale dealer with the same storage??? And more importantly… what the fuck ever happened to the bamboo tong version of this production????? I really want to know!  I have only read reviews of the cakes which come from the paper bag tong which would offer more of a sealed storage option but not airtight compared with the bamboo.  Not one comparison tasting between the two… I want to see that- we all want to see that.  I think Shah8 maybe thought he did a bamboo tong version tasting but he could not say for certain.  Anyways there is a crazy amount of reviews on this puerh.  Surprisingly, I have never tried this  before dispite my general enjoyment of Xiaguan puerh.  I’m thankful for the free sample that came from one of these Puerh.uk 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong which goes for approx $100 for 357 g cake or $0.28/g.

The Super chopped up factory style dry leaves are a nice floral sweet smell.

First infusion has a strong floral sweetness with a strong body underneath of woody thickness.  There is a pungent woodiness type of menthol and underling bitterness in there.  A really strong punch start!  Nice creamy sweet floral taste to it.  Very full slight puckering chalky feel to it.

Second infusion is a strong floral creamy sweet with a deep woody almost bitter base taste.  Lots of mouthwatering saliva returning after a menthol taste.  There is a pungent menthol onset with thick woody creamy floral sweet finish.  Very tasty and satisfying.  Tastes very much like Laobanzhang.  Strong focusing but deeply soothing feeling with some shoulder heaviness and chest opening feelings.  Very sweet finish in the mouth with layers of sweet floral candy released.  Nice dense layered tastes.

The third infusion has a thicker menthol woody sweet taste.  Some candy, floral, caramel, wood, menthol a layered and dense sweetness.  Full fluffier chalky fullness with a salivating returning sweetness which releases a very sweet floral candy sweetness.  Nice focusing energy with some shoulder heaviness and chest opening.  The storage is a bit humid and reminds me of Guangdong or Malaysian storage maybe a bit of Taiwanese as well but not completely natural Taiwanese stored… hard for me to place exactly.

The 4^th infusion has a strong sweet floral initial burst then a woody menthol before a saliva gob turns things very creamy candy sweet and long…  Deep focusing feelng with shoulder and open chest sensations. Nice full lighter fluffy chalky mouthfeeling.

The 5^th infusion has more woody menthol initiaily with candy floral creamy strawberry sweetness more at the end of the profile or mid profile.  The saliva gob comes and goes with creamy floral and strawberry sweetness.  Feeling a bit focused, a bit floaty.

6^th has a woody menthol onset with lesser sweetness kind of a roasted woody bean taste under some lesser floral and creamy sweet and strawberry.  Deep focus and relaxing.  The cooled down cup has a woody menthol creamy almost bitter-astringent sweet taste.  Saliva returns to push out an almost bready creamy floral candy sweetness.  Nice focused feeling.

7^th has a woody almost soapy floral with a thinner woody taste and longer thin candy taste from onset to aftertaste.  There is a woody thin and fine candy sweetness here throughtout with lots of the more dense and layered tastes falling off.

8^th has a woody and a bit mildly astringent sweet candy taste.  Its thinning out but still some longer lanky woody and candy tastes with more pronounced but only slight pucker dry mouth.  Nice productive focusing today!  Shoulder heavy and chest expanding.

9^th has a soapy floral woody pungent brackish woody almost dirt taste with cool throat and some faitn sweetness returing.

I mug steep out the rest…. And it gives off woody bitter brackish notes with hardly any sweetness left that kind of lingers faintly on the breath and creamy sweetness trails away.  I enjoyed this one a lot! This one tastes like it was stored briefly in Malaysia or Guangzhou before a longer period of Taiwanese storage or could just be a deeper natural Taiwanese storage.  I can totally see the appeal of this uniquely floral factory tea- a great option for the price.

Order of preference for these 6 recently sampled semiaged Banzhang-

#1- 2006 Zhi Zi Hao Black Wrapper / Yin (not pictured) this was probably the best deal from Western facing vendors in 2020 when Houde sold this cake for $595.00 for 400g cake- vibrant powerful, elegant, and brilliantly stored!

#2- 2005 Greatful Tea Factory Zhengshan (middle top)- the most LaoBanZhang out of the bunch in its wine like presentation with full mouthfeeling and Qi sensations also has some nice dryier natural Taiwanese storage on it that goes well.  Nice full leaves and buds.

 #3- 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong (very bottom )-  a powerful blend of small factory chopped leaves with layered dense strong flavours of florals, strawberries and some woody heft some faint bitter, strong immeditate presence with strong focusing Qi and shoulders and chest opening, nice fluffy full mouthfeeling.

#4- 2005 Banzhang Macau Hualian Small Buds (middle bottom)- single estate, grape, bitter fruity explosion of taste that slowly builds and has amazing strength and stamina especially for such little buds- mug steeped this one out for a few days and powerfully fruity sweet bitterness even days later!  Reminds me a bit of Lincang and not as much Banzhang.

#5- 2003 Yuanjiutang Ban Zhang (from Tea Encounter)- nice banzhang character in taste, nice stoning Qi, saliva producing pops, not as great stamina with a touch of astringency, a lesser version of the 2005 Greatful Tea Factory above but really good for the price.

 #6- 2005 Lao Ban Zhang Sheng Tai Toucha  (very top) - deeper smokier old school Laobanzhang, I like the old schoolness but its depth is lacking.

Peace

2013 Tea Urchin Yiwu Snake Blend: Don’t Mention it!

This 2013 Tea Urchin Yiwu Snake Blend goes for $129.00 for 357g cake or $0.36/g (I tried my purchased sample a few weeks ago) is quite a popular blend but no one is too crazy about it and everyone seems to mix the positives with the negatives so I wanted to see what this one is about for myself…

Dry leaves have a sweet woody radish pond smell to them.

First infusion has a metallic woody pondy taste initially then fades to very faint coolness in the throat over a soft fluffy faint tongue coating.

The second infusion has a pondy woody metallic savory taste up front which kind of just fades into a mid-throat coolness.  There is a meat like savory taste in the aftertaste that comes up. Sticky mouthfeeling.  There is some orange and other faint fruity tastes that appear far in the distance when the liquor is left to cool.  The Qi is relaxing and soothes the body with an obviously limb relaxing bodyfeeling.

The third infusion has an oily thick initial presentation with a woody savory corn and hay and metal and woody tastes.  Lots of layered and unique savory tastes with a mild sweet finish.  The cooled cup is more creamy sweet, chalky, mineral, vegetal with a cool mid-throat.  The Qi is pretty strong in the mind and body with a strong sedating and spacy effect.  The mouthfeel has a full soft sticky almost tight tongue.  A strong and obvious gushu feeling but not really very sweet.

The fourth infusion has a sour savory taste of metal, woody, sour fruit, with a cool mid throat finish with a very mild sweet returning on the breath over a mild-moderate thick sticky almost drying tongue.  The Qi is pretty strong and has a body relaxing, levitating, and bit a bit of chest opening.

The fifth infusion starts a sour savory wood with a more creaminess sweetness emerging now.  A more candy like finish is left on the breath.  The mouthcoat is a soft mild stickiness.  The aftertaste is mild but long in the throat.  The Qi is nice and I can feel it in the limbs and face and my mind is strongly relaxed but happily active.

The sixth infusion has a woody, almost metal but berry fruity taste that is a balance between savory, sweet, bland, and sour tastes with a preference toward savory with a very faint cool pungent.  There is lots of complexity of taste veggies, woods, metals, pungency, candy, fruits….  The cool cup has a longer candy sweetness more typical of Yiwu in it.

The seventh infusion has a nice sweet berry with eucalyptus and dry wood.  There is a lot of complexity of tastes in this blend.   The gushu quality is really obvious.  This infusion has a heavy oily body with strong Qi and thick dense cottony mouthfeeling on the tongue with mid-deep to deep throat cooling.

The eighth infusion has a thick sweet cotton taste to it.  The cool cup has a rich thickness to it layers of woody, malt, metal, fruity, candy like sweet finish to it.  Nice thick mouthcoating and Qi.  There is lots of candy sweetness lingering in the mouth.  A warm feeling washes over me.

The ninth infusion has a sweet grain taste with a malty fruity with a metallic woody pungent aftertaste.  The long candy sweetness can be felt minutes later.  Very nice.  The Qi is really nice relaxing and euphoric complex Qi presentation.  I like it.

The 10^th is a creamy flat woody metallic fruity tasting savory bland and kind of sweet mash up of unique tastes.  There is some cool mid throat and a more woody finish.  Very nice complex Qi in body and mind.

The 11^th I return to the next day but the liquor is more muted after a night in the tea pot…

It has a silky vegetal woody almost slow faint coco aftertaste with some mild throat cooling.

The 12^th has a stronger vegetal woody almost faint creamy returning coco.  The taste is very flat vegetal overall now with some faint complexity of metal, woody, almost spicy.

The 13^th has a metallic sour fruity woody almost bitter mushroom with a creamy almost cooc finish.  This infusion has a lot more power and bitterness with some faint complexity underneath.  The mouthfeeling is more sandy and tight and dry now.

The 14^th infusion has a bitter vegetal onset with a dry woody metallic finish.  There is not really any sweetness left and the throat feeling and cooling pungency is gone so I push to long infusions…

They are quite bitter and sour fruit with a flat grain and coco finish.  Some complexity hidden under the bitter…

This is mainly a savory, strong Qi, gushu experience with nice complexity due to the blend.  A bit different but I like the change of pace.  It’s a bit chaotic at times and not as sweet as savory but unique and interesting.  One thing that this Gushu sample made me think was how the quality/ age of the puerh that is offered at Tea Urchin has declined over the years.  This is not really suprising because of the dramatic price increases over these years but you simply can’t get what you used to.  Also there are only a few times on their site and tea description where Tea Urchin specifically mentions tree age- this is one such instance which is also interesting.  Haven’t caked it yet and is more of an amusement for me but could easily be an expensive drinker or something to enjoy deeply as well for this price.

James’ (TeaDB) Tasting notes from Drinking Report

Steepster Tasting notes

Cody’s (The Oolong Drunk) Tasting Notes

Peace

2013 Tea Urchin Wan Gong vs 2013 Biyun Hao Mahei & Tea Urchin Wangong Comparison

(I sampled this one this month as I tried to get through some Tea Urchin samples before the price increase)

This 2013 Tea Urchin Wan Gong goes for $182.00 for 357g cake or $0.51/g.

Dry leaves smell of complex sweet odours.  There is a woody odour where subtle fruity smells start to linger with a honey orchid odour.

The first infusion has a watery woody pungent warming spice floral taste to it that turns into a woody honey like taste.  There is a very soft mouthfeeling but a very deep throat coolness where a honey and restrained floral note lingers in the mouth.  There is a lot of oily saliva that appears on the tongue as the aftertaste fades.

The second infusion has a strong honey woody warm spice onset with nice honey like taste.  There is a rice note as well as a floral note that plays with flavours there.  A complex sweetness plays out and the tongue becomes slick with saliva.  The Qi is spacey and I can feel a flow down the arms making them feel heavy.  There is a heavy chest sensation as well here.

The third infusion has a incence warming spice onset with a honey like floral woody development in the mouth with oily saliva tongue.  I am left wondering if I have ever felt this oily tongue saliva feeling in the mouth before and I’m unsure if I have.  The effect is more of a Baohetang or Yi Shan Mo which I wonder if it was blended in.  The effect works brilliantly here.  Long floral taste plays out in the mouth.  The Qi is really quite strong and spaces me out, beats my Heart strongly, has a heavy body feeling and powerful alerting to the mind.  The effect is strong.

The fourth infusion has incense and floral notes transform into a rich woody honey sweetness with thick oily tongue coating.  The tongue is very wet and oily and the throat is deep and pungent.  The Qi is overwhelming and transformative.  There is no astringency or bitterness but the tea is very complex and thick and engaging.  The energy flow in the body is strong and the mind escapes…

The fifth infusion has an incense onset with a very floral finish there is a berry fruity finish as well.  Nice thick saliva oily tongue and deep cool throat.  With strong bodyfeeling and Qi. 

The sixth is left to cool and gives off a thick syrupy berry oily and very viscus feeling.  There is a thick oil in the mouth and tongue where floral, berries, sugar, and wood.  The taste is kind of jam like.  The Qi in the body and mind is very strong.  Transcendent with very distinct and strong bodyfeeling of heavy limbs, face, chest, energy flow surge.  The deep cool throat and thick oily mouth only add to the effect.

The seventh infusion has a black tea note onset with oily saliva wet tongue with a strong berry taste coming from it along with a deep cool throat.  Very strong body and mind feeling has me levitating across the room and I break into a sweet.  Long candy cool throat faint aftertaste almost perfume.

The 8^th infusion is left to cool.  It gives off a woody cool pungent with a slippery oily coating there is some berry notes.  The active period for this tea is pretty short.  It kind of comes all at once then recides.

The 9^th is much the same eventhough it is hot with berry woody notes kind of floral nuance the mouthfeeling is becoming a bit sandy and less oily and slick but its presence is still big.  The Qi is less strong but still exerts a strong effect on the body and mind.

10^th is a 20second steeping… has a woody berry cool oily taste with a wet tongue coating and deep subtle cool throat.  Spacy transcendent Qi here.

11^th I long steep again for 30 seconds… it has a tobacco leaf almost berry woody taste to it with oily tongue coating.  Tingling tongue coating effect.

12^th infusion is at a minute or two infusion time and gives off a thick woody berry tobacco leaf oily textured.  Spaced out Qi with flowing body energy.

Mug steeping of the spent leaves are bitter coco, berry fruity, and tobacco leaf, slight woody, with still a very oily mouthfeeling and deep faint cool throat.  Big Qi pounds the Heart, overwhelms the spirit, energy shoots from the limbs… oh baby!

Overall, this one is obvious Wangong but it has some interesting other stuff in there… can I say that it is Bing Dao and Lao Ban Zhang like the vendor site says? No I can’t say for sure but what is in there is deliberately Qi heavy and kind of compounds and balances the effect of Wangong energy.  Also the thickness and oily feeling is more like Yi Shan Mo or Bao He Tang than 100% Wangong which boarder the territory and are famous in their own right.  Wangong does have a nice thickness to it but this one seems, maybe more thick.  There is also lots of chopped and broken leaf material in there as well.  The blend itself is questionable but the end product is brilliant.  Likely whatever they used to blend it- likely areas near Wangong really enhance the end product.  The result is a brilliant masterpiece of taste, mouth and thoatfeeling and especially Qi!

This tea actually reminds me a lot of another I really like that is also a Wangong blend and also from 2013 as well it has a similarly strong energy to it but maybe not this powerful- the 2013 Biyunhao Mahei.  The Mahai has that same cherry berry flavor, a nice oily taste and a powerful energy.  The Mahei has a more compartmentalized taste and a distinct coco bitter note.  The Mahei is more obviously gushu.  This Tea Urchin Wangong has stronger Qi and bodyfeeling as well as a thicker oily texture and not really any bitterness at all.  Both seem to drop off relatively fast.  I think the Tea Urchin is the better of the two with a greater percentage of Wangong it’s also cheaper of the two. I actually like them both but still on the fence about caking either.

Vs the other Tea Urchin brand Wangongs- the 2012 is the lightest and airiest of the 3.  I sampled this one when it first was released and I’m just going off my memory of it because it left a powerful impression on me – faint floral taste, very pure but almost hard to grasp at with a powerfully spaced out Qi.  The 2013 is the most complex and is blended for power and to give it depth which it does brilliantly.  The 2014 is a nice fruity and juicy example with a nice thickness to it, a bit sweeter than the others.

Steepster Tasting Notes

Peace

Revisit: 2013 Biyun Hao Mahei

I revisited this puerh because it was my favorite of the blind sessions by Marco (which happened to include many puerh from Teas We Like) and I am considering an order.  When I tried this one blind I actually had just finished a full blind tasting sessionof the 2015 Biyun Hao Lishan Gongcha and felt quite relaxed and stoned but was hoping for an energy boost.  I never sample two teas for review back to back or side by side.  You simply can’t get a really clear read on the Qi as the first tea can often interact with the second.  I wondered if that effect happened when I last sampled this one?...

Dry leaves smell of sweet floral woody odours.  Nice long leaves. Initial taste is quite floral with a full chalky mouthcoating and full long lingering candy fullness and perfume floral over a mild bitter-astringency woody base with hints of cherry and coco.  The taste is obviously gushu but has a certain intensity to it.  There is strength in both the mouthfeeling, flavor, and qi yet elegance.  Strong intense bodyfeeling of Heart racing and racing euphoria that builds up in the mind.  Although the taste is strong it is not a dense or deeply layered taste but rather pure and clear and gushu layers of taste.  Sometimes I feel like this puerh has too much space in the taste. 

I think the weakness of this puerh is twofold… 1- The taste is not super deep or dense but presents rather like a bunch of superficial but super delicious and quite complimentary tastes.  The tastes work really well together but they don’t give you a certain satisfying depth. 2- the active phase of this puerh is somewhat short- especially for the Qi which really blows your socks off early but drops off fast in the midsession the kind of way a Bulang will often present.  Also the Qi was strong but maybe not as strong as my initial appraisal and I think it was piggy backing some of the subtle power of the 2015 Biyun Hao Li Shan Gong Cha.  I think my most interesting observation about the blind sampling was my attempt to blindly price something like this which I said “it could be priced higher than the 2005 Nanqiao Double Lion Bulang.”  This goes for $220 and the double lion for $237.  So I guess it’s probably priced a bit lower but either way it doesn’t present with such value that I feel so strongly enough to put an order through at a time when I’m buying much less puerh.  Definitely enjoyable and still on my radar… but maybe just not yet…

Peace

2013 Puerist Ban Po Lai Zhai: Nannou Gold!

I was really excited when I opened my order only to find a complimentary sample of the no longer listed 2013 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai.  There have not been very many puerh cakes offered from Ban Po Lao Zhai in the Western market over the years... Probably just this one other than the many offered on Puerist.  I have a long and rather interesting story about the most famous Nannou area puerh producing village Ban Po Lai Zhai that I have never told…

Way back in 2010 I met a now famous Pedro Villalon (of O5Tea fame) who had personally procured some 2009 Ban Po Lao Zhai gushu maocha from a farmer Yang Si.  It was one of the first times that I encountered loose Gushu type tea being described as puerh.  My idea of puerh, even at that time, was heavily influenced by older factory productions.  Gushu productions were just starting to roll out and the understanding of them was confusing at best.  I remember having a good debate with Pedro whether or not this gushu maocha was “real puerh”.  In the end I ended up buying all he had on him at the time and still have a bunch in tins.  Recently, he pulled the remainder of this maocha out of storage and has it for sale on his site.  I have not sampled mine in a while and should try it again…

Anyhow back to this one…

Dry leaves smell of faint floral odours.

First infusion is a soft creamy candy creamy fruity sweetness there is suggestions of sour taste underneath.  There is a soft pungent woody flavor then returning creamy woody almost dirt like returning sweetness.  There is a soft gripping mouthfeeling.

The second infusion has a slight smoky earthy pear like taste upfront with a cool menthol finish with wood and some creamy tastes.  The slight smoky finish is long in the throat which is moderately deep and carries a creamy candy sweet almost pear and dirt like taste.  The flavor is nice and full here supported by a full soft tight mouthfeeling and mid throat depth and long finish.  The Qi is nice and warming in the body and I feel my chest feel warm and soothed.  It gives the body and nice soothing feeling overall.

The third infusion has a strong syrupy pear and smoky onset.  The texture is thick here with a smoke and pear and dirt and and sour and wood dense flavor initially.  There is some coolness and a more candy like sweetness over dirt wood and smoke to finish.  This has a strong backbone of tastes that cover a slightly tight full mouthfeeling and mid to deep throat feeling.  The Qi has a soothing warmth in the chest.  There is a strong soothing focusing feeling in the mind as well.  The Qi is strong but not stimulating but rather soothing.

The fourth is a cooled cup and tastes of dense syrupy fruity smoky, almost wood-dirt very thick full and dense presentation with a slight full and tight mouthfeeling and opening deeper throat sensation.  The sensation pushes saliva into the mouth and upper throat and holds a nice long caramel smoky taste in the aftertaste.

The fifth infusion has a strong almost tobacco leaf, woody pear and dirt like tastes.  Sometimes this initial taste is almost like yam mixed in with the dense layering of woody, pear, caramel, almost bitterness, and even candy.  The candy and smoke come out more in the moderately long aftertaste with some throaty pungent coolness and saliva producing action in the upper throat.  The mouth and throatfeeling are pretty enjoyable.  Warming Qi with slight but strong dizzying euphoria.  Still a touch of astringency that I can feel in the stomach.

The sixth infusion has a dense syrupy onset with notes of dirt, pear, wood, yam, tobacco leaf, smoke, mild bitter and sour.  This initial taste is a balance between, bitter, sweet, bland, smoke, and even sour.  It breaks with a mild cool mid throat pungency which turns more candy and smoke out of it.  I would say this is mild-moderate smoke.  Warming soothing qi and strong headiness.

The seventh has a lighter fruitier approach with a slight smokiness that is more elegant with smoke.  There is less tightness in the mouth and more of a soft coating.  The Qi is nice and uplifting and slightly euphoric. 

The eighth is a cool cup and delivers a dense very sweet creamy, pear, fruity, candy like sweetness that expands with the low coolness in the mid-throat.  There is a slight dirt yam wood note over the candy sweetness in the aftertaste.  The taste is pretty complex.  Not that much smoke at all here.

The ninth infusion is another cool cup.  This day at work became surprisingly busy and unpredictable.  It gives off a cool creamy sweetness with a long menthol coolness underneath.

The 10^th has a long creamy almost fruity and slight dirt woody taste.  There is a long candy finish after the pungency is gone.  The mouthfeeling is more of a flat full tight almost sandiness with not as much throat stimulation now.  Nice relaxing euphoria.

The 11^th infusion is a hot one and tastes of slight bitter dirt over creamy sweetness and only very faint smoke in the background now.  There is a cool finish that pushes out some bitter-woody-dirt and almost candy like sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is tighter in this hot cup.

The 12^th has a woody-dirt-bitter onset with an emerging apricot fruitiness.  There is still lots of oily texture in the liquor and nice depth of flavor which now includes coco tastes.

13^th has a creamy caramel woody dirt taste to it initially.  There is a cool pungency then a nice creamy sweetness no smoke anymore.  A thinning tight full feeling with less throat stimulation and open throat. 

14^th is a fruity slight smoky fruity pear note with a creamy finish.  There is some pungency then a nice slight smoky, dirty, woody, creamy sweetness.

15^th is a woody dirt yam-carrot and candy initial taste.  The pungent comes as does the dirt-woody but mainly candy finish.  Full tight mouthfeeling and throatfeeling.

16 is more of a watery fruity tobacco taste with a creamy fruity woody finish after pungency.  Lots of taste still in this compressed binghole sample.

I walk away from the table today to come back to these leaves tomorrow.  The next day I mug steep the spent leaves out and get a surprisingly sweet floral with a dirt yam and mild bitter almost woody taste.  Mainly sweet fruity but with depth and some strength left in the leaves.

I really like this Nannou with nice full taste presentation that walks the intricate balance with smoke that fades as the session progresses.  The smoke is that real nice elegant tobacco type that is really a background to the oily texture and sweet fruit, long candy, and dirt almost vegetable tastes.  There is a nice balance of tastes in here sour, sweet, bitter, pungent. The nice throat feeling and relaxing euphoric Qi seal the deal with this one.

After tasting this one Mark told me that he sampled 13 different maocha from Ban Po Lao Zhai in 2013 and that this is the one that he selected.  This stuff is Nannou Gold.

Peace

2013 Puerist Ma Li Shu: East vs West Yibang

Where is Ma Li Shu?  I’ve heard of the place before… but where?  I think Yiwu?  But where in Yiwu…  Not sure… I will do a bit of research after sampling so this one is kind of blind sampling as far as the region goes.  This puerh is also no longer offered on the Puerist site…

Dry leaves smell of paper, woody, maple syrup and brown sugar… Smells delicious with some Xishuangbanna storage being likely here.

The first infusion has a woody maple syrup with a soft low pungency over a fuzzy full tingling mouthcoating.  There is a nice low laying and low cool pungent breath.  There is a nice fullness to the woody and sweet maple syrup tastes.  Part of this is an immediate deeper throat opening.

The second infusion has a more distinct and richer creamy woody sweetness.  There is a rich fullness to it and is accentuated by a long developing pungency and long sweet brown sugar finish that shares room with a distinct long candy finish.  The Qi in the body is really nice and smooth and has a penetrating euphoric effect on the mind.  This is a really nice puerh.

The third infusion has a slight sour astringent woody creamy brown surgar and maple syrup onset.  A cool pungency develops and pushes out candy and brown sugar and autumn woods tastes.  There is a sweet candy like finish that skirts through the long aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is really full soft and chalky tight and the throat pungency is mid-deep.  The overall package of this puerh is really full and satisfying and deeply penetrating.  The Qi and purity of this puerh is notable.  It feels so light and airy in the body and euphoric, soft and happy in the mind.

The fourth infusion has a rich maple syrup brown sugar sweetness with a certain autumn woodiness.  The coating in the mouth and throat is really full cottony thick almost silky oil.  There is a low deep pungency to the puerh that pushes a candy sweet taste long in the aftertaste.  The flavours are really thick and the profile nice and long.  Woody maple syrup.

The fifth is more sugar and candy with woody autumnal leaves.  There is that cool pungent underneath a full feeling taste and feel where a thicker cottony fullness is.  Long finish with sweet tastes.

The 6^th has a creamy fruity sweetness at the onset now with layers of woods and mainly brown sugar sweetness.  The mouthfeel and throatfeeling is cottony full.  The long sweet taste is notable.  Long candy layered with brown sugar sweetness.  The Qi is deep penetrating and is becoming quite powerful in the mind pushing me into a high talkative euphoria.

7^th is a woody brown sugar taste with just a touch of sour and emerging pungency that pushes a long candy with brown sugar on the breath.  The aftertaste is developing some spicy almost cinnamon notes in the brown sugar.  Very tasty.  Qi is very deep.  A full cottony mouthfeeling.

8^th infusion has an almost ghostly fruity taste and almost vegetal taste within brown sugar and wood tastes.  The cooling pushes out layered sweetness deeper in the throat.  The Qi is active strong and euphoric but quite warming in the Chest.

9^th infusion has a woody almost fruity sweetness and an almost vegetal taste.  There is an almost brown sugar cinnamon pungency in the long aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling has a tingle to it.  Alerting and euphoric Qi sensation.

10^th infusion has an almost fruity taste over a woody and almost vegetal almost sugar base taste.  The mouthfeel is flattening out a bit. 

11^th is a 10 second added to flash steeping… and gives off a vegetal almost fruity flat kind of sugar sweetness with a vegetal woody base.  The cool pungency is diminished now.

12^th is a cool cup and give off some creamy almost fruity vegetal sweetness with a longer cooling slow moving sweetness that is more creamy candy sweet but mild.  Qi is more relaxing focused euphoria.

13^th has a fruity vegetal onset with a flat sugar taste over a sandy flat tongue coating.  There is still a mild but longer pungent coolness with faint long creamy fruity finish.

14^th has a candy vegetal mild onset with a low long pungency and a sticker mouthcoating.  Nice tingling tongue coating.

I mug steep out the rest…. And it gives off bitter vegetal woody bark tastes with a tight mouthfeeling.  There is a bitter sweet long slight pungent dominating and aftertaste.  Very nice stong Qi still here.

Okay… so I google to see where exactly Ma Li Shu is… ahhh… Yibang… I can see that now.  Especially the Qi is classic euphoric Yibang powerhouse and small leaf.  This puerh has a wonderful feature of a long candy maple syrup aftertaste that lingers deep in the throat as well.  This is very good Gushu puerh.  In some ways this is more woody and layered sweet but with less astringency that typically comes with Yibang puerh.

To be more specific, Ma Li Shu is actually from West Yibang.  Mark Turner had mentioned to me that many believe that the quality of tea in general from West Yibang is better than East Yibang these days.  Although, he says, places with the best quality in East Yibang command astronomical prices.  Interesting thoughts from someone who really knows his puerh!

Peace

Marco’s Blind Tasting “Gamma” (2013 Biyun Hao Mahei)

After sampling Marco’s blind tasting “Delta” it was still mid-morning.  I had started very early in the morning an hour before work and was definitely hoping for a powerful energy boost.  I ended up receiving a very elegant and somewhat energizing experience in the blind “Delta”.  With seeing some unexpected gaps in my work schedule and still looking for more power I grab the sealed bag marked with the symbol “Gamma”… and it ended up really kicking the shit out of me….

Dry leaves have a loose compression and smell of faint woody barely sweet smell. Smells pretty dry stored to me…

The first infusion is flat dry wood with a quiet perfume lingering and a mineral stone mid taste with faint candy finish.  The mouthfeeling is watery.  The taste has a unique sweetness and a bubble gum like finish.

The second pours a very reddish-brown colour… the onset is of thick oily very aging woody berries- strawberry, even orange tastes that lead into a deep camphor and caramel finish mixed with a layered faint candy finish.  The mouthfeeling is slippery and lubricating in the mouth.  There is a perfume quality to the taste.  The taste is very rich and deep with a lot of layers and nuance.  The taste is really viscus and oily and very dense and full.  The Qi is very strong and I feel a strong onset of euphoria and strong body feeling and floating face and lightness.  Chest opening and heart beats head tingling.  The Qi is very strong and the taste is very rich, deep and complex.  This is very expensive puerh I think.  I suspect quality Menghai region material here folks.

The third infusion is a thick oily dark rich berry coco coffee onset.  A thick rich lubricating mouthfeeling with a camphor taste.  There is a lingering coco chocolate and sweet candy breath.  The flavor presentation is very strong and dark and rich.  A thick comforting Qi layers with Qi complexity and euphoria and pulsing bodyfeelings.  The Qi is very strong in the body and in the mind.  I wanted power… now I cower in the corner from it… hahaha…

The fourth infusion has a very thick oily woody and top note of sweet blackberry layered in with rich coco flavours woody flavours rich comforting flavours.  There is a deep camphor resonance in the deep throat and lingers strong on the breath.  There is some creamy chocolate, slight caramel, and even long candy breath finish.  The mouthfeeling is very oily and lubricating and saliva producing.  The Qi is very strong and pushes me into an almost out of body feeling.  With a tingling down the spine, face, chest opening, leg numbing. Very nice, very engaging.  I think this is more moderate humid Taiwanese storage on this puerh.  There is a lingering perfume to this puerh.

The 5^th has a rich cherry fruit, mahogany wood, and deep rich coco chocolate onset.  With a perfume floral depth in a rich deep base of coco.  The flavours come on very rich and thick and oily.  The mouthfeel is oily and lubricating and simulates the throat to salivate.  There is a creamy moca late type of sweet aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is oily and slippery and very full as is the throatfeeling.  The Qi is really big and pushes me into a sweat.  My face, limbs, spine feel the qi pulsing through.  I feel a surge of energy but feel outside myself.  Qi feels more like Bulang to me it has that milky coco bitterness to it.  I think this is Bulang puerh.  It’s not factory bulang and is like a gourmet, top shelf, Bulang.  Higher quality material and maybe more powerful than 2005 Nanqiao Double Lion and would probably sell for more.  I thought maybe even Lao Ban Zhang but this one doesn’t have the elegance of Lao Ban Zhang its more Bulang through and through but very high quality.

The 6^th infusion has a cherry and woody onset with a coco chocolate finish.  There are perfume like florals that appear before the returning sweetness of milky sweet chocolate.  Big Sweat, intense Qi.  Mocha late coco bitter finish.  Big Bulang mind shattering out of body Qi experience.  The heart races- bodyfeels with concurrent deep relaxing.  The Qi is fuckin me up good.

The 7^th infusion has a bitter coco flat creamy typical bulang taste.  The Qi pushes out a big crazy sweat.  There is a mild fruitiness in the cooled off cup even a bready yeasty note.  But the taste has dropped off as most Bulang do here and we got a milky flat coco chocolate taste over a slippery not as oily mouthfeeling.

The 8^th has a mellow fruity woody cherry like initial taste in a slight bitter coco finish.  The Qi pushes me into a sweat.  Feel a strong intense push on the mind.  The flavor has flattened out considerably.  The mouthfeeling is more sticky/slight sandy/slight dry now with faint cooling menthol throat.  Mild milky coco finish.

The 9^th has a flat coco and faded fruity coco bitterness.  The taste has flattened out, something that is characteristic of all Bulang really.  I feel out of my body and like I’ve been hit by a truck.  The Qi is making me feel post workout here.  I feel a bit heavy and tired now.

The 10^th has a bitter coco and black current taste which flattens out into a milky creamy sweet bitterness in the aftertaste.  The density and complexity of this puerh has flattened out into a mainly bitter coco creamy sweetness with a flat sticky mouthfeeling.

The 11^th has a flat fruity bitter coco taste that holds into the aftertaste without much fuss.  There is some camphor left in there and a mildly stimulating but overly relaxing qi.

The 12^th has a flat almost fruity flat milk bitter coco with a thinning slight sandy mouthfeeling.  It has an evergreen forest kind of base to it.  Warming but relaxing post workout Qi here that follows from the more intense start of the session.

I throw the rest into a mug and grandpa it for a while and it gives off deep coco and vibrant berry sweetness but also a bit of smoke that was pretty mild/ non-existent in my flash steepings of the puerh.  The flavor is really yummy in this mug- quite complex, rich and sweet.  Coco bitter sweet berry deliciousness with a touch of incense smoke… brilliant puerh!  When will Teas We Like offer this masterpiece????

Overall, this is a really powerful Bulang puerh!  Its throws everything at you quickly early on with a very thick oily and viscous and rich chocolate feeling with pronounced depth of taste which has a complex offering of berry and cherry sweetness on top of coco and woods.  There is a vibrant perfume floral taste underneath which gives this Bulang some elegance and suggestions of Ban Zhang.  Strong milky bitter coco tastes so typical of Bulang.  The Qi oh… the Qi is strong.  Even stronger than the Nan Qiao productions from Teas We Like.  Big bodyfeelings in this one- the Qi doesn’t really get bigger than this!

Guess: Middle aged mild-moderately humid Taiwanese storage higher quality boutique Bulang production.  This one could easily be priced higher than the 2005 Nan Qiao Double Lion Bulang on Teas We Like.  Overall, it might be stronger in Qi and is a somewhat truer Bulang taste, feel and essence.  It has a gushu feel to it rather than a factory Bulang feel to it.  The Qi I think is even crazier than Double Lion.  I like this puerh a lot but I feel like it must be quite expensive…

Edit Aug 16/20: I went back and re-read all my first impressions on the blind samples Marco sent me and was least satisfied with this conclusion.  To me just reading the notes it sounds a lot like a darker Yiwu to me.

Answer: 2013 Biyun Yao from Teas We Like

Peace

(Finally) Good Outcomes with Aging Korean Balhyocha

Over the holidays I hosted some friends some of which knew a bit about Korean tea.  I decided to open a sealed airtight foil bag of 2013 Kim Jong Yeol Noeul balhyocha (aka Korean Yellow Tea) which was sealed by vendor Pedro at 05Tea shortly after production in 2013.  You can read my initial impression on this deeper roasted and more oxidized balhyocha tea here.  I had just read Cwyn N’s disappointing assessment of her favorite balhyocha, a 2017 Jeon Jae Yeun after 3 years of being aged in a sealed foil bag I do believe.  In that post titled "Never Too Soon" she implied that you probably want to drink up your favorite balhyocha fresh than age it out.  I was not feeling super optimistic but thought it would be fun to open a bag of this..

Although I have some very limited experience with aged Balhyocha I have never tried something this aged before.  To see a history of some thoughts on aging balhyocha, a tea that has no real history of being aged, see some of my previous posts here.

The experience I had with this aged 2013 Balhyocha was a good one… It had some mild coco or chocolate notes, not at all as robust as when fresh, but what was really notable and pretty amazing was the long lingering fruity floral finish which wasn’t there in my initial tasting notes.  It was quite good and the guests really enjoyed the experience and noted the long fruity aftertaste as being quite refined.  This was a bit of a surprise because my previous experience with a few years aged balhyocha wasn’t as exciting as this one and in some ways close in sentiment to Cwyn’s finding.  These are a few of the theories I’m floating as to why this 2013 Kim Jong Yeol Balhyocha Noeul (aka “Sunset”) Balhyocha seemed to age better…

First, this one was air tight sealed some of the others, I’m sure, were aged in Oongi (Korean Ceramics that are specifically used to ferment food).

Second, this balhyocha was more roasted and oxidized than most balhyocha.  Balhyocha is roasted and oxidized on a spectrum and this one is farther than most on the roasted and oxidized side.  The only other almost as old balhyocha which I sampled was this Zeda 2006 sampled in 2011 which was a much lighter oxidized and not roasted balhyocha that was probably aged in Ongii- the outcome is quite different.

Thirdly, this balhyocha has been aged longer potentially surpassing an awkward stage of aging.  I would guess this could be a factor as it often occurs with many aged tea such as hongcha and puerh between 3-5 years.  During this time you might be better off re-roasting balhyocha like this sample of 4 years aged and re-roasted Kim Jong Yeol Balhyocha.

Fourthly, this balhyocha uses mainly second and third flush leaves which might give it more depth In aging than a more delicate ujeon or first flush leaf such as its pair the 2013 Kim Jong Yeol “sunrise” balhyocha.

 Anyways, I have to post some more detailed notes on this balhyocha … but for now I would just like to float the idea that if you don’t consume all of your fresh balhyocha within 2 years, and the package is still sealed, you might be better off being a bit more patient and letting it age a handful more years before opening the foil pack and consuming.  Otherwise, you actually might be opening the package a bit too soon.

After all, you know how the saying goes…

Good things come to those who wait.

Peace

2013 Chen Xi Hao Gao Shan Zhai and Xishuangbanna Storge

I had my eyes on some Gao Shan Zhai from another vendor over the last year but still haven’t purchased any.  The Gao Shan Zhai region in Yiwu is known for some pretty delicious puerh being higher altitude relative to other regions in Yiwu and all.  This production ($114.49 for 250g cake or $0.46/g) is a collaboration between Zheng Si Long and Chen Xi Hao of which the wrapper bears its name.  It was kindly sent in a complimentary care package by Tiago (thanks again)...

Dry leaves smell of perfume florals, subtle fruit, and woody rainforest floor.

First infusion is a woody almost flat syrup taste there are almost floral notes in there as well but strong predominating dry wood tastes.  The mouthfeel is slight sandy and astringent, slightly bitter.

The second infusion has a flat dry wood, slight malty taste with slight brown sugar taste.  The mouthfeel is fairly stimulating slightly dry and astringent.  There is a very mild cooling then a long brown sugar and dry wood aftertaste which lingers on the breath.

The third has a more cohesive dry wood, slight malt, and brown sugar taste which plays out in the aftertaste.  The taste profile is pretty simple and obviously single origin material.  The mouthfeel is slight dry and slight astringent pretty simple as well but enjoyable enough.

The fourth has a distinct deep malty sweet, almost syrupy medical herbal taste.  The menthol returning is more pronounced and there is dry wood underneath everything.  The thickness of the liquor here increases its viscus feeling and it makes for a denser taste.  The Qi is mild and relaxing.

The fifth has more of this malty, herbal medicine taste with wood underneath.  The liquor remains medium thick now and the aftertaste is long carrying some of the initial tastes of wood, malt, and herbal medicine but in a mild wave of menthol and in a brown sugar sweetness.  The taste is long on the breath and now has a nuance of complexity and charm.

The sixth infusion becomes denser and more complex still with a dense layering of herbal medicine, woods, malty butterscotch but now there is a pronounced tropical fruit sweetness that lingers throughout it almost has a bubble gum sweet edge to it.  The Qi starts to mildly alert.  The mouthfeel is slightly oily but mainly mildly astringent- the dryness is gone.  This infusion the sweetness becomes quite apparent.

The seventh infusion is dense and malty sweetness, mild wood now and herbal medicine tastes.  It has a nice medium to thicker feeling and long menthol sweetness with slight tropical fruit and almost bubble gum sweetness.

The eighth is becoming heavy on the menthol/eucalyptus from start to finish.  There is more woody taste in the initial and sweeter taste in the aftertaste with a strong medicinal herbal quality throughout.

The ninth is very menthol, malty sweetness with topical sweetness under heavy camphor much the same as last infusion.  This infusion seems to be more licorice tasting.

The tenth is strongly menthol/eucalyptus in taste so much that it drowns out other aspects of the profile.

The eleventh is almost creamy menthol onset woodier in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is significantly astringent, almost but not really dry, slight pucker.  The Qi of this tea is mildly relaxing with a bit of head sensation of lightness of the brain.

The twelfth infusion is strong menthol/ eucalyptus through and through.  The tea is becoming more astringent to in these later infusions.

The 13^th is much the same this infusion is a bit more sweet wood and menthol.  The profile changes very little from initial to aftertaste.

The 14^th shows signs of sweet woods, herbal medicines, and an underlying tropical sweet taste under medical notes.  The taste is quite bold even now but is not as sweet as it is astringent and pungent menthol.  The pungent menthol is really something.

The 15^th has an almost peachy sweet onset now, woody, slight licorice, almost herb, long cool sweet aftertaste.  Still lots going on here, much to enjoy.  16^th is a touch bitter and astringent but similar tastes, more wood almost a sour grapefruit taste.  Faint tropical fruits.

The seventeenth is sweet peach, woody, almost herbal medicine like before shifting to a slight cooling and long sweet aftertaste.  This puerh has some great stamina with the taste complex and full late into the session.

The eighteenth and nineteenth give off sweet tastes, medicinal tastes, woody tastes, long sweetnesses.

I really stuffed the teapot with these leaves but this tea could go on for quite some time, I suspect.  I overnight steep it and a greeted the next morning with a very viscus and dense butterscotch/ caramel sweetness.  It’s so full that I decide to put it though another few day-long steepings.

This tea has what I consider “harmonious Qi” it doesn’t overtly feel relaxing or simulating and to someone with little experience almost feels like no qi but in the end this qi makes you feel good.  If you are tired, you will feel more alert and if your simulated it kind of makes you feel relaxed.   I think this puerh has this type of energy to it.  It can easily be overlooked by those who are less sensitive.

Tastewise, this tea is a winner.  It has much to enjoy as far as tastes go.  It’s a bit unique in how pungent it is.  This feature will do it well 10 years down the road.

I believe that the storage is clean moderately humid Xishuangbanna Storage.  I remember a time that Xishuangbanna storage was a dirty word in puerh circles.  It was synonymous with poor storage or forgotten tea.  It’s my understanding that Mr. Zheng of Zheng Si Long has been instrumental in elevating the profile of Xishuangbanna storage of which this cake seems to be a good example of.

*I ended up trying to replicate this type of greatness a few days later and was unsuccessful at pulling together a great session like my first experience above.  The second time didn’t have as much pungency, depth, or stamina, Qi seemed weaker too. Might have to pick up a cake to investigate further when I finally do an order of Zheng Si Long from Tea Encounter.

Peace