2018 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai Selected Trees Dragonball: About Selected Trees Puerh

One of the areas of special interest of Puerist is its focus on Nannou, and specifically its most famous village Ban Po Lao Zhai.  11 of 42 offerings at Puerist (1/4 of their current offerings) come from Nannou.  Out of these 2 of their offerings are more specific offerings for those who want to dive into the world of selected tree or single tree productions.  The two are 2017 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai “Single Trees” and this 2018 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai “Selected Trees”.

For me Nannou has always been a favorite.  In my earliest of puerh drinking days Nannou was always known and it has a rich history with puerh production.  The price of Nannou puerh is also quite reasonable for the quality you receive, at least to me with a strong robust flavor and Qi with significant mouth and throatfeeling and a nice deep camphor coolness.  As a result Puerist can offer these more specific productions at a price that won’t completely kill the bank account and put you into years and years of debt… hahahah…

This complimentary dragonball was composed of the same material as this 2018 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai Selected Trees 200g cake thatgoes for approx. $178.00 for 200g cake or $0.90/g.  For those who don’t know, “selected trees” are usually considered both the oldest/ largest trees in a garden which usually have a noticeable difference in taste compared to the rest of the garden.  In my experience that difference is usually a softer and more ethereal Gushu puerh experience while still having lots of qualities of the garden it is located in.

Let’s see how this special treat goes down…

Dry leaves smell of faint creamy sweetness.

After a 30 second rinse and then wait period I flash steep the first infusion and get a watery creamy sweet infusion with an airy expanding sweetness.  There is a creamy fluffy chalky light mouthfeeling with a saliva producing effect in the mouth.

The second infusion has a creamy watery initial taste that has a nice expanding creamy sweetness over a still watery profile from the balls not unfurrowing.  A nice slippery chalky tongue and saliva producing throatfeeling.  This is a smooth creamy sheng.  Nice long creamy sweet sugary aftertaste.  A nice subtle Qi feeling puerh.

The third infusion is a very smooth in taste and feeling with a creamy airy surgery taste and slippery mouthfeeling with a mild saliva producing effect after a very faint cooling and then long subtle creamy sweetness.  Smooth in the mind as well- just calm focus with a bit of Heart beats.

The fourth infusion has a woody creamy taste initially over a slippery mouthcoating.  There is some almost vegetal sweetnotes that appear before a slow to evolve cooling which pushes out a freshmint and creamy sweet faint long finish.  The Qi is really smooth and with Heart beating slow-down bodyfeeling.  A faint astringency can be felt on the empty stomach.

The fifth infusion has a creamy sweet woody onset that has a bit of vegetable taste.  The low lying coolness triggers a long aftertaste of faint creamy and sugar tastes. The mouthfeeling is starting to become a mild puckering feeling that can be felt on the lips.  Qi is mellowing with slow Heart beat palpitating effects.

The sixth infusion has a creamy melon watery smooth taste that has a low building faint coolness in the throat that turns to a creamy surgery taste.  Some vegetal faintness, almost woodiness comes out in the aftertaste. Hear beats slow and mind feels very relaxed.

The seventh has a clear sugar creamy sweet initial taste over a fluffy chalky thin mouthfeeling.  There is a bit of a vegetal woody creamy taste that returns after a mild pungency but also a long sweet taste.  Cool calm feeling with slow strong Heart beats.

The eighth a mild pure clear orange creamsicle with woody onset with a sugary returning sweetness.  The sweet taste rides long into the aftertaste on a backbone of ethereal cool pungency.  The clam in the mind is juxtaposed with the beating of my Heart.

The ninth infusion has a creamy woody sugar pure taste.  There is an expansive and opening coolness deep in the throat that carries sugary pure tastes into the distance.  The mouthfeeling has a mild chalkiness to it, lips dry, throat opens faintly but deeply and slowly embraces a deep pungent taste. 

10^th has a mild astringent bitterness to it with a woody almost orange taste upfront and an almost dirt taste underneath. 

11^th has a mild watery creamy sugary taste to it.  A tight mouthfeeling is developing.   Kind of finishes a faint creamy pear taste. 

12^th the taste is most definitely weakening here with a faint watery sugary woody taste and increasingly gripping mouthfeeling… I’m going to try to loosen that dragonball with a pick….  Very relaxing Qi… too relaxing this snowy spring day…

13^TH has a buttery woody sugar-melon creamy upfront sweetness.  There is an interesting full creamy sugary melon condensed sweetness here and a slightly drying mouthfeeling.

14^th I add 20 seconds to the flash to push something more interesting out… and it does a fuller flavor presentation of sugar, creamy sweetness, woody, vegetable, and slight dirt with an overall sweet taste over a thin sticky mouthfeeling. 

15^th oops… left the water in the pot for a good 10 minutes… intensely floral fruity almost rose with a strong saliva producing effect.  Strong creamy fruity tangy taste almost like orange blossoms.  Not much bitterness at all really.  A bit of mouth puckering sensation and more invigorating energy when pushed this hard….

16^th I push hard again and get a very floral orange blossom dirt clear fruity mainly sweet taste.  There is just a bit of bitterness here over a smooth chalky mouthfeeling.  Qi is stronger in the mind and in the Chest with these long steeps.

17^th I push hard again the next morning with these leaves a get a strong candy like taste over a sugar backdrop with faint woody.  There is a nice orange blossom taste with a lingering floral sweetness.  The leaves sitting a day really allowed for nice candy-like tastes to develop.  Nice focusing Qi this morning with still noticeable slow calming Heart palpitations.

18^th I do another long infusion… this is a great puerh considering the lack of bitterness and astringency.  It gives you a lot of diversity in a session.  The tastes are of a chalky woody almost fruity carrot like creamier sweetness.  The creamy sweetness lingers in the aftertaste and combines with subtle candy.

I mug steep out the rest… and it’s pretty delicious with the dragonball still unfurrowing… its sweet sugar with a bit of a dirt woody background and low cooling throat with long dirt sugary feeling.  Nice focusing relaxing Qi with slow Heart beats.

The gushu has a nice smoothness to it with a focus on sweetness.  The contrasting distinct slow heart pounding with a very very relaxing feeling is an interesting and more rare Qi experience for me.  Overall the effect is a very mindful and centering feeling.  These Qi sensations are what Gushu is all about.  This puerh also has the ability to be pushed really hard to get more intensity of Qi and flavor due to the low/lack of bitter/astringent taste.  This gives you a lot of flexibility.  Nice sugary creamy sweetness and low pungency with long pure aftertastes can be had or stronger orange blossoms and dirt woods if pushed harder.  Overall, very nice high quality gushu thing.  It’s refined in a way that I would have not guessed it as Nannou.  My experience with this region is long into the era of stronger older school factory Nannou.  This more refined Gushu has subtle suggestions of Nannou that can easily be pushed out at will or you can opt for more elegant things.  Very nice.

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