2007 Xizi Hao Diangu: Drinking Power Perfume !?!

This past week I took 3 days to sample through Xizi Hao’s Diangu offerings 2007, 2008, and 2009. Due to my always way too long tasting notes I will break them into separate posts with the 2009 post having a bit of an overview.  It ended up being a crazy life altering week… because Diangu is kinda like that…

The first is my last sample from Houde.  It’s a 100% Houde Houston stored cake.  The 2007 Zixi Hao Diangu sold out last yearfor $495.00 for 450g large cake.  It is a much talked about and beloved cake of Shah8 so, it’s something we’ve all read about for years…

Dry leaves have a strong cardboard odour with a piercing nectar odour.

The first infusion has a vibrant powdery talc and perfume floral odour to it with a base of hongcha nuance similar but not exactly what you could taste from Tea Urchin’s storage perhaps? There is a metallic almost bitterness underneath and some nutty tastes.  The creamy sweetness is fluffy and cotton candy tasting thing.  Long creamy sweetness with a tight full and loosely salivating sensation.  Complex full dump of taste in its brilliant dry storage.  Nice focusing energy.

The second infusion has a very thick perfume talc and woody presentation.  The mouthfeeling is strong and puckering fine sand.  There is this floral talc cherry very perfume presentation.  This is a very unique tasting and feeling puerh. There is a strong heavy chest bodyfeeling and a wandering, unhinged mind feeling.  Nice wood perfume and floral finish over a talc and creamy sweet base.  Strong deflating balloon bodyfeeling.

The third infusion has a metallic perfume dense and thick layered woody presentation with heavy, essential oil based, perfume fragrances, flower shop taste.  There is a bitter base taste and a woody vegetal base.  Strong Qi makes me feel like I’m leaving my body.  This is a really strong tea that needs more aging still.  It’s a bit rough on the Stomach still.  There is a bitter woody floral talc taste in the mouth many minutes later.  Strong Chest heaviness and Heart racing with out of body feeling.

The 4^th infusion is left to cool… it gives off a very dry woody, kind of weedy bitter, but heavy perfume-floral finish.  There is a cooling almost minty rosehips and woody base.  That minty woody taste extends into the aftertaste.  This is a very unique and unusual tasting puerh.  The mouthfeeling is a sticky fine sandy pucker.  The Qi is full of strong bodyfeelings in the Chest and Heart and a floating mind, unhinged feeling. Powerful Qi.

The 5^th has a strong woody minty onset with a heavy thick perfume presence.  There is a heavy bitter minty woody perfume dense onset that keeps its form even through the aftertaste.  There is almost an overly soapy perfume taste to it like eating a bar or perfume bar soap.  Strong Chesty Qi bodyfeeling and some face sensations too- very strong. 

6^th is left to cool… it has a strong red tea note with woody minty bitterness.  The mouthfeeling is gripping.  There is less perfume but still quite a bit.  A tingling tongue sensation is very nice.  Long profile throughout.

7^th has a woody sour rosehips perfume woody bitter onset.  The taste comes at once initially then just stays long on the breath without returning, changing too much.  Like being hit by one big wave of flavour.  Qi in Chest and Heart.  Nice floating mind feeling.

8^th has a cherry perfume woody bitter vegetal onset there are some faint spicy notes in there a bit this infusion.  A flat wave of dense flavour that goes straight to the aftertaste.  No returning sweetness or ebb and flow to it, just a wall of tastes.  Soapy perfume nuances as well.  Dry full mild gripping mouthfeeing.  Flat single note with no separation of initial tastes, secondary tastes, coolness then returning sweetness.  That along with the insanely strong Qi feels maybe more like a wild tea or Mu Shu Cha type or varietal than standard puerh type of thing to me.

9^th has a woody almost medicinal minty bitters woody perfume taste.  The dense taste holds into the aftertaste. 

10^th is left to cool and gives off a medicinal minty soap- floral bitter heavy perfume wood taste.  There is some red tea note in there.  The mouthfeeling is flattening out and is a dry slight puckering slight fine sandy feeling.  The Qi is still in the Chest and floats the mind but less strong now.  The Qi has now pretty much rendered me useless and staring at the walls… stupefying Qi knocks me out hard…

11^th is left to cool and offers a woody bitter floral experience.  The taste of this puerh is dense but narrow and steadfast in its consistency and shows its single origin pedigree.  Nice flat full thin sandy slightly gripping mouthfeelng.  Nice spacy Qi now.

12^th has a more perfume taste with less bitter woodiness.  There is a more floral feel to it here with some orange peel tastes in there as well.  Nice floating feeling.

13^th has a bitter woody floral perfume onset.  Nice full, flat fine sandy slight gripping mouthfeeling.  Some minty medicinal tastes in there as well.  Nice floating.  Nice full fine sandy slightly gripping mouthfeeling.  There is a more vegetal type of bitterness in here.  This tea has good stamina and feels like it could just go on forever like this…

14^th has a rich bitter woods floral perfume taste.  There is a bit more richness in this infusion … bitter woody perfume floral … so consistent and still very intense… strong Chest Qi here.

Wow… a really good start to the tasting…

Peace

2005 Shuangjiang Mengku Mu Shu Cha (15 years later)

I remember actually trying this one fresh off the press in 2006 or 2007.  At that time it was very bitter astringent yet quite fruity, perfume, floral and vegetal- very Qi laden.  It was a pretty good Mu Shu Cha puerh and likely the first Mu Shu Cha I have ever tried and I considered purchasing some back then but never did.  It was obvious to me even back then that this is good tea but I couldn’t bring myself to buy it because of the unusual profile that I had never really encountered before.  I have said before here on ths blog that Mu Shu Cha is really a sort of different thing than puerh that shouldbe evaluated on its own merits, sort of like yesheng.  I don’t really believe these tastes too much like puerh and actually more resemble Yesheng.  I ended up trying some other Mu Shu Cha productions (including other Shuangjiang Mengku) throughout the years but this one, I think, is a very good benchmark Mu Shu Cha. 

I have kind of been following this tea for quite some time, watching it slowly increase in price over the years.  I debated purchase again a few years ago I remember seeing this one at King Tea Mall for a few hundred dollars.  I’m not sure of the storage but I think it might have been Guangdong stored?  It was on my long list of tea to purchase again but I now couldn’t justify the price especially when there were other Shuangjiang Mengku that I liked better that were cheaper.  I had also just purchased loads of Shuangjiang Mengku and figured I had enough.  I was surprised to see this 100% Houde Huston stored version available for $425.00 for 500g cake ($0.85/g) pop up this year.  In 2017 it was selling at Houde for $70.00 for 500g cake but this was before the 2018 price correction .

Guang wrote a blog post on this one hyping it as a first generation cake which is a collector’s item and also it being Bing Dao.  Often early Shuangjiang Mengku cakes are hyped as “Bingdao” or “containing Bingdao” however this is only speculative at best.  This marketing is often applied to all early Shuangjiang Mengku from this era inappropriately.  I agree that you are paying for the first generation collector premium on this one but having tried other Shuangjiang Mu Shu Cha this one is also considered the one of the best of them although I only tired the 2005 and 2006 I believe.

This sample was really the motivation to pay the heavy shipping and try some of these Houde samples after all these years.  I’m really excited to try this one that I sort of still remember from 15 years ago…

Dry leaves smell of light sweet candy.

First infusion has a watery onset with a creamy sweet expanding finish.  There is a candy like full expanding taste over a creamy cottony mouthfeeling on the tongue.  Subtle bitter vegetal that can barely be accessed here and has a bit of coco taste.

The second infusion has a strong mouth astringency first which is balanced nicely with creamy sweet candy like strawberry tastes and woody under nuances.  The throat kind of feels vacuous but deep and a nice strawberry aftertaste with faint pungency and a woody coco mild bitter finish.  The Qi has a strong mind-slowing and ultra focusing feeling.  I start to hear things far away my senses and honed.

The third infusion has an astringent and sweet candy like onset.  The astringency amplifies the sweet candy strawberry tastes and the taste expands over the tight pucker tongue.  The finish is first bitter wood coco then an almost cool pungency and strawberry candy sweetness.  The Qi is warming in the body and focusing.  The throat feels vacuous but deep.  The tongue transforms into a cottony feeling where tastes still seem to linger.

The fourth infusion has a stronger bitter pucker with some sour taste building and less sweetness here.  There is a creamy sweet strawberry taste under the more intense full bitter astringency.  This infusion has a dominating coco woody bitter astringency.  The Qi is a powerful warming, smooth in the body, and very focusing on the mind Qi.  Very very nice Mu Shu Cha typical Qi.

The fifth infusion has a creamy sweet with bitter coco onset over a slightly puckering mouthfeeling.  There is an almost unrecognizable faint coolness in the throat with candy strawberry finish.  The cooled down cup is bitter sweet coco.  Nice strong warming harmonious in the body and focusing strength in the mind Qi.  The Qi is typically good Mu Shu Cha.

The sixth infusion has a bitter sweet coco astringency to it.  There is a rolling creamy coco sweetness with a sweet fruitiness that attempts to push through the bitter profile.  The mouthfeeling is still a puckering but turns more into a flat coat on the tongue rather than the cottony fullness on the early infusions.  Big Qi.

The seventh has cooled down in the cup and gives off a bitter sweet caramel coco taste with still some flat pucker on the tongue and a faint open deep throat.  There is a pungent almost minty taste that is common with Mu Shu Cha in there as well.

The eighth has more of that minty vegetal taste its almost a flat bland taste that is common with Mu Shu Cha.  This profile is mixed into the milder bitter-astringent coco and less sweet creamy.  The mouthfeeling becomes stickier now.  Big Qi Mu Shu Cha continues.

9^th is more watery with coco bitter sweet and bland vegetal with a puckering but never dry tongue coating.  There is a minty vegetal almost floral taste.  There is also fruity taste.  The mouthfeeling is more puckering almost dry.  It even is felt in the upper throat.  The sensation leaves less aftertaste but what is there is an interesting cinnamon taste.

The 10^th is more watery now and less bitter but more vegetal bland now.  The Mu Shu Cha bland vegetal taste allows for some simple faint strawberry to bleed through.  The mouthfeeling is less strong and the bitterness is almost gone with more of a astringent pucker on the lips.  The Qi is losing strength too.

The 11^th infusion is watery bland vegetal.  With not much sweetness left, a faint bitter-astringency.  Not much flavours.

I long steep ( 10 min) out the 12^th infusion… it kicks up the power once more… bitter coco with astringent vegetal woody almost fruity sweet syrup.  Strong warming and Qi.  Gripping tongue and faint cooling open throat.

I go at it again at a 40 minute steeping… it is a stronger almost syrupy vegetal sweet slight bitter astringency.  It feels like a slight pucker in the mouth.  The Qi has dropped off and is mainly relaxing now.

I put the leaves into a mug and grandpa it out…

Fruity, slight tart, faint coco dirt, almost floral, not super strong but satisfying.

Overall, this is a nice early, example of Mu Shu Cha that has optimal storage for such a thing.  I’m not sure if I would spend that kind of money on this kind of thing now- remember that 4 years ago this exact cake was selling for 70$!  Really you are paying the premium for both good storage and due to it being a collector puerh.  Not for the relative experience.  To me this tastes less like Bing Dao and has much more in common with other Mu Shu Cha.  With that being said, if I blind purchased this one I would likely be satisfied enough with it.  For me it was most interesting to see how this one bitter astringent and vegetal sweet young puerh has transformed into something that still really retains its original essence but is now ready to drink and enjoy despite its stronger qualities.  I really enjoyed this.

Steepster Tasting Notes

Shah8’s Tasting Notes (also see here)

Peace

 

2003 Xiaguan “Special Grade Ching Bing”: Classic Xiaguan, Nice Storage

This 2003 Xiaguan Special Grade goes for $350.00 for 357g cake or $1.02/g at Houde….

Dry leaves are a strong piercing grassy, straw odour.

First infusion has a straw grassy metallic onset with a smoky almost gamey BBQ meat finish. There is a slight soapiness to the taste. It is not really sweet but more of a stronger savory presentation over a flat slight fine sandy mouthfeeling. The second infusion has a hay and straw/dried grassy onset with a metallic BBQ gamey meat slight nuance in there. There is a very faint coolness in the throat and mouth with a nice thin but full chalky sandy feeling.

The third infusion has a full almost sweet cherry taste that is under grassy and straw and metallic tastes. With a more woody BBQ smoke faint finish. The smoke is moderate-mild but intertwines nicely with the more classic Xiaguan like profile. The taste present full with a faint touch of bitterness. The full initial taste holds into the aftertaste. There is a nice smooth alerting Qi in here with some Heart racing.

The fourth infusion has a deep coppery almost metallic caramel taste initially with woody hay underneath in the mid layer and smoke BBQ faintly in the back. There is metallic and cool pungency and almost bitterness upfront. The flavours are pretty dense and full and present over a fine but full chalky fine sand. The Qi is noteable smooth but strong and alerting some Heart beats.

The fifth infusion has a coppery woody hay deeper caramel and metallic complex taste up front. The mouthfeeling is thin full fine sandy chalky and Qi is big. There is a vague caramel with smoke finish. Nice strong euphoria is building in the head. The initial taste really holds its complex density nicely with a faint open cool throat. This is a tasty classic tasting Xiaguan with some nice dry storage on it.

The sixth becomes a silky smooth scotch whiskey kind of taste with a nice aged woody kind of oak barrel smokiness to it. The mouthfeeling is a nice soft full thin chalk and mouthfeeling has some opening to it with some cooling but faint. The initial tastes have a long presence in the profile.

The 7th is smooth tobacco taste with background smoke. There is some hay and woods but mainly this the initial taste throughout. The complexity has dropped from here but the stable Xiaguan tastes push through nicely. The 8th seems like a thicker stronger malty oaky smokey. The initial tastes stay in the mouth for a long time and fade slowly. 9th is much the same deep, thick, malty woody smokey oak with long full taste slight smoke thin soft full mouthcoating. 10th is much the same condensed smokey, woody not really sweet but almost caramel and sort of cooling full taste. Chalky thin mouthfeel is satisfying as is the stead tastes that come out here.

11th has a brassy coppery wood smoke caramel taste. The taste and feel of this is classic Xiaguan but nice storage and strength without bitterness or harshness. 12th, 13th, ect it really just goes on and on with this really solid, condensed, typical and good xiaguan taste….

Overall, this is a bit better than average Xiaguan with a nice dry storage but still is very much a typical classic Xiaguan in taste and feel. The stamina is good with nice condensed tastes. But not sure if something like this is worth the $350.00 price tag? For me I can’t do it. But I really do love its classic taste and feel.

Vs 2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yin 450g Special Order- This 2001 is equally brilliantly dry stored but this special order is unlike most Xiaguan in that it is more bitter, stronger Qi, stronger sweetness, and is even still quite aggressive. I like this one better of the two but it is not really representative of classic xiaguan. This 2003 Xiaguan is really more typical Xiaguan but is a bit better than average. Both nice xiaguan.

Peace

Good Fake or Bad Fake?: Fake Houde 2001 7542 Menghai Tea Factory “Simplified Yun”

This is basically a continuation of timely posts on this blog that look at the theme of faking puerh cakes that are for sale by western vendors.  Specifically they look at the most commonly faked puerh factory- Menghai Tea Factory (now known as Dayi), how they infiltrate even trusted Western puerh vendors, the risks you take when purchasing such cakes, vendor bias, and the misinformation that can spread as a result.

I suggest you read these post and the comments that follow before continuing:

 

2001 Menghai Factory 7542 “Simplified Yun”: Perfect HongkongStorage

… It Might Be A Fake …

2006 Yang Qing Hao Chawangshu: A Failure of Yang Storage

 

Okay, the first thing I want to say about this cake is that I was almost certain it was a fake when I bought it.  First of all, there is the semi disclosure/ wink-wink nudge nudge that Guang wrote into the description of this re-release.  When a vendor does this- this is a disclosure that it is fake.  Secondly, the photograph on the site of the cake doesn’t really look like any Menghai Tea Factory official production.  You don’t even have to look closely on the site to see this if you have even a very general familiarity to what wrappers look like from Menghai Tea Factory from this era.  The paper is that super super thin transparent cotton-like paper that rips when you touch it, the shape of the cake itself seems too fat, the ink on the paper is neither faded nor distinct and it doesn’t fit on the cake properly.  This is a pretty good site and has good pictures on what a real Red Dayishould look like in its wrapper.  Specifically, look at how the back of the unopened cake is wrapped- nothing like this one.  You can gather much from the look of a cake if you know what to look for.  Cwyn, who has always brought a more keen observation of the wrapper as well as wet and dry leaves to the puerh blogging world, made this point in this post here.

So, I guess the question is… why would you then want to knowingly buy a fake? 

For me there are a few reasons but one of them is simple…  If the material used for the fake is 2001 and it is made in a similar factory style to the original then even if it was half as good as the original, it would be a good deal.  If it happens to be this, an old school factory style 20 years aged cake from 2001, it would fit my tastes nicely.  The pictures themselves look like nice material anyways.

The second thing that convinced me to take the risk was that I seemed to remember Shah8’s glowing review of this cake.  Specifically, was his comment “Frankly, its what a factory tea should be (and what you generally find in the 80s or earlier)” and he has also repeated claims that he believes it will age well.  I am very fond of this old-school-ness and have pretty much drank through all of my 80s/90s puerh of this style.  What I failed to remember was his other frank assessments that this is fake and other reviewer’s bad reviews of this fake.  I understand the risk of Shah8’s bias towards vigorously defending his own purchases and vendors he grew up with.  I also will give Houde some trust that they would not sell a garbage puerh.  The combination was enough for me to buy.

I guess something else that should be mentioned is the price.  In 2011 Houde sold this fake for $150.00 for 357g cake which would be scandalously overpriced for a fake at this time.  I give them the benefit of the doubt that they were unaware that it was a fake back then but they apparently sold some other faked famous cakes including the famous 88’ Qingbing for $1000.00… that’s real crazy and I appreciate Marco’s very subtle, timely, and polite reminder that there are definitely some risk in blind caking offerings from places that have a history of either knowingly or unknowingly selling fakes as the real thing.  The re-release of this cake sold out in a few hours for $350.00 for 357g cake and although it is more than double the price 10 years ago, it is essentially a white wrapper cake with no authenticity to collect or re-sell nor any market price to reference.  It also represents the smallest price rise of all the re-releases from Houde.  For me, whether it is worth it or not always comes down to the taste and feel of a puerh, this no doubt comes from my experience of drinking old puerh which were likely most often fakes.  Taste and feel are the end all of puerh and not much else… tea is for drinking no?

The material in keeping with the old school vintage of this cake has lots of randomness.  In prying off my first sample I find 2 small pebbles, some hay, and lots of leaf variability some bigger leaves and mainly lots of small whole and chopped leaves.

The dry leaves smell of hay, grains, and a faint almost mineral-woody-leaves sweetness.  After, the rise the leaves have a strong spicy pungent vibrant smell to them.

The first infusion has a syrupy honey straw incense with a long creamy sweet almost marshmallow talc cherry finish.  The mouthfeel has a fine powdery finish on it and coats the mouth.  There is a strong talc, cherry incence mineral powdery taste to it up front but not too much for aftertaste.  There is a pond like finish on the breath.  This first infusion indicates that it is very dry stored, even if early notes indicate that it was more humid stored early it definitely tastes very dry stored now.  The pond and straw kind of remind me of Bulang and Bada.

The second infusion has a strong honey, straw, incense, and kind of briney woody taste that comes strong initially with a more faint talc marshmellow cherry incense sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is an almost tight powdery sensation with suggestions of cherry talc.  The throatfeeling is kind of empty but a mid-upper throat coolness lingers there.  There is a faint throat scatchy driness.  A deep warming energy sweeps over my body and my mind has a resounding clearity.  There is a nice big Qi sensation to greet me.  A Good bodyfeeling of floating limbs.  The aftertaste is a pondy kind of taste.

The third infusion has a stronger syrupy incense onset with some talc, cherry, almost a mushroom hay like taste.  The incense taste dominates here.  The mouthfeel is a tight powdery and unfortunately there is a bit of scratchy throat sensation going on.  The Qi is really big and pushes me into a warming euphoria with a strong high floating sensation.  Very strong stoner Qi here.  Warming chest.  Clarity to details.  Damn scratchy throat- often a sign of rogue humidifying early on.  Pondy finish in the mouth.

The fourth infusion has a strong incence taste with a bit of mineral and faint talc cherry.  This infusion the complexity of taste bows out to a stronger incence taste.  The Qi of this one is really really nice big Qi sensation with strong bodyfeeling.  Wow! Its kind of a Bulang experience to me.  Pond mouth breath. Throat scratch with fine powdery almost tight full mouthcoating.  There is a nice caramel sweet incense taste in the cooled down infusion.  Big Qi for me in the body as if my arms have fallen off my torso and I’m kind of floating with heart pounding.

The fifth infusion has a hay and incense taste with an emerging cherry talc marshmellow dry storage taste.  There is a kind of oak barrel wiskey taste here and a smooth faint caramel.  There is not any throat scratching either.  More of a full powdery mouthcoating.  Pond/marsh finish in the mouth.  Big Qi here.

The sixth infusion has a richer oaky barrel wiskey incense taste.  It seems the throat scratch is gone now. And a smooth inscence complex taste is left behind with the faint talc marshmellow cherry sweetness almost gone here as well. A bit of woody leaves and mineral with not really caramel tastes.  Intense warming Qi breaks me into a sweat.  Floating limbs.  Feels really clean in the body.

The seventh infusion is a strong incense chalky talc mineral taste.  The flavor has dropped off quickly, the mouthfeeling is less intense and the taste is mainly a flat mineral taste with a strong warming Qi sensation.

The eighth is much the same mainly just mineral and incense.  Little bit chaky coarser mouthfeeling on the tongue.  A flat mineral barely pond aftertaste with a flat bitterness undernieth.  Qi is warming and breaks me into a sweat.

The ninth is kind of just a brackish bitter bland tasting thing with warming Qi and some intensity left over…

I put the spent leaves in a mug and grandpa steep them out and it is quite bitter, with some incense and root beer tastes.  You can see in the picture the spent leaves are pretty random with even some weeds in there and some tippy 2 leaves and a bud with larger intact leaves but mainly factory chopped some tea seed pods.  I think this is going to be a pretty diverse blend to put it nicely.

This is believable 2001-2004 material but it doesn’t taste at all like Menghai Factory.  To me it tastes and mainly feels like Bulang area and with it comes insanely good Qi sensation and bodyfeeling which drops off quickly.  There is also interesting complex flavours in the first handful of infusions.  Some of the flavours are a bit weird like a strange hay but others are quite tasty.  Some of these hay tastes kind of remind me of Bada area.  There are also nice signs of good dry storage aging of a marshmallow, cherry talc taste.  Something old school factory like this that is also dry stored gives it some inherent value as it would be rarer to find.  It would be much more brilliant but maybe too intense if it didn’t undergo some humidity early on in the storage but it is minor and is on the whole a dry stored old school blended fake.  The negatives of this puerh is that there is not much complex aftertaste or interesting throatfeeling.  In fact, a big negative would be the throat scratchy sensation during the active phase of the profile.

*Today is my second shot with this puerh and I’m drinking this in a larger yixing with harder water and there is absolutely no scratchy throat so I hope this was a bad sampling.  The Qi is similarly strong.  The flavours are more bitter coffee and less sweet and complex today.

Compare to these…

This puerh would contrast well to the 2001 Naked Yiwu in that they have a similar storage, and aged incense profile and strong Qi and complexity but are from very different regions and do very different things.  This also has a similar feel and storage to 2004 Nanqiao Bulang King ($125.00) in that they are both likely bulang with a long period of dry storage and some resulting complexity.  In some ways it would also compare to the 2006 Rustic Zhongcha from TeasWeLike with a similar old school processing and randomness but I think the Rustic Zhongcha is much much better in storage, flavor, and mouthfeeling but maybe not in Qi.  This fake has great Qi.  Of course, the I think its price should be closer to the 2001 Naked Yiwu ($168.00)or 2006 Rustic Zhongcha ($174) than the $350 that I paid but it seems that all of the re-releases from Houde are a bit overpriced so this fits.  It also is not as smooth or rounded as the 2000 Hai Lang Hao Bulang Mushroom that Yunnan Sourcing was selling either.  I would also rate this lower in both value and enjoyment to some of the other re-releases at Houde.  But I don’t think any have the wonderful Qi and bodyfeel of this unusual old school fake.

So was it a Good Fake or a Bad Fake?  I suppose it was neither a bad fake nor a good fake overall… but this is coming from someone who enjoys the old school if you were expecting Menghai Factory quality you would be really disappointed with this one.

Peace

Dry Stored: 2005 Yang Qing Hao Yiwu Chawang

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2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yin: Best of Xiaguan

This one is billed as the King of Xiaguan!  This fully Huston dry stored cake of 2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yi Special Order comes in at $450.00 for 450g or (clearly $1.00/g) Qing Bing!

Dry leaves smell of hay and cardboard with a bit of creamy sweet smell.

The first infusion is of watery almost metallic almost bitter straw.  The taste has a flat straw bitter taste to it.  With a tiny bit of tongue feeling.  There is an almost strawberry fruity taste underneath that comes out on the tongue.

The second infusion has a strawberry fruity complex dirt, metal, creamy sweet bitter onset.  There is a lot of complexity in the initial taste that dumps all at once.  The mouthfeeling is flat and sandy but stimulating on the tongue.  I feel a bit of heart racing and warming in the chest and stomach.  There is a mild strawberry aftertaste.  The bitterness and harshness of this puerh can still be felt in the digestive system.

The third infusion has a strawberry/ berry with bitter onset.  There are notes of hay, metal, mineral, but mainly a bitterness is developing in the mouth.  With a flat sandy finish on the tongue.

The fourth is a woody slight smoky papery almost fruity and more caramel sweetness with the long sweet caramel finish.  There is also minerals and almost metallic taste but less bitter.  This infusion has a returning aftertaste of sweet tastes over a sandy tongue coating and faint upper throat opening.  Feel the Heart stimulated and racing.  Get a strong mind invigorating Qi.

The fifth infusion has a strong incense smoky note with some dried date and strawberry nuances with a significant bitterness underneath.  It conjures up a juicy fruity taste in the aftertaste with a bit of bitterness and smoke.  There is also lots of complexity in the background- mineral, paper, wood, almost metal, caramel.  Nice engaging mouthfeeling on the tongue with throat stimulation that traps the saliva in the upper throat.  Strong powerfully alerting Qi.  Still has the harshness of a young sheng on the digestion.

The sixth infusion has a syrupy sweet smoky slightly bitter but mainly smoky caramel type long sweetness in the mouth.  There are nuances of metal, paper, fruits, incense.  The thick sweetness paired with bitterness and nice returning caramel with slight cooling throat is really nice.  This is probably the best Xiaguan I have tried.  Very nice.  Strong - still too strong to drink and needs more age… but very good Xiaguan.

The seventh infusion a thick syrupy sweetness with underlying bitterness.  Very thick fruity and caramel sweetness balanced with mild-moderate bitterness and smoke.  Brilliant.  There are some mineral and metallic and wood in the distance but is not that pronounced as that strong syrupy sweetness with a backbone of bitterness and smoke.  Strong heart pumping Qi.

The eighth infusion has cooled a bit and gives off a juicy fruity syrupy smoky mineral taste.  The mouthfeel is a bit sandy but there is also saliva producing in the throat.  The aftertaste isn’t as long or vibrant but still nice.  The underlying complexity continues to wane.  The power of this factory puerh is strong.

The 9^th has a menthol woody onset that lasts long in the mouth with a papery aftertaste and secondary sweetness.  There is a smooth woody incense taste in there primarily.  Still strong Qi.  Incense and fruity and smoky and tasty.

The 10^th has a fruity woody menthol in the breath and throat with a strong incense base taste. 

The 11th is a fruity sweet cherry with a nice long smoke that is not off putting.  The complexity is gone and all that is left is smoky fruity taste with a subtle bitterness.  These last infusions have not been so hard on the stomach.  By mid-session it feels almost warming on the digestion instead of bitter cold.

The 12^th is much the same but become more smoky and less sweet and fruity now…. Still strong Qi… still a bit of a pungent cooling with creamy sweet returning under smoke.

The 13^th is more incense as the dominant taste with a strong smoke and lessening sweetness initially and a bit in the return now.

The 14^th has a woody incense taste with a menthol breath.  Late in the session the taste is not that sweet with incense smoke and retuning menthol.  Still strong powerful alerting Qi.

The 15^th mainly smoky now with not that much sweetness.

Overall, this is a really good dry stored Xiaguan probably the best I have ever sampled from that classic factory.  It is powerful, and tasty syrupy thick sweetness, sometimes too harsh on the digestive system.  Strong Heart pumping Qi.  For $1.00/g of the very best I’ve tired of Xiaguan I definitely pondered a purchase.  I still can’t get my mind around spending that kind of money on Xiaguan so just couldn’t pull the trigger on this one.  Those who did have a real gem on their hands!

Peace

2001 Mengku “Yuan Yieh Xian” of Mengsa Thick Paper: Floral Dirt!

I’m excited to try this sample which I purchased from Hou DeFine Teas ($350 for 357g cake or $0.98/g) because I have never tried a Hongkong traditionally stored cake from Mengku before despite my broad experience with Mengku Shuangjiang Factory puerh.  I’m not even positive if I’ve even sampled Traditional Hong Kong Stroage on a Yiwu before either… this will be interesting…

Dry leaves smell like dirt.

First infusion has a rich dirt taste with mineral stone over a slippery woody dirt very mild soft menthol finish.  It feels slightly watery and slippery in the mouth.  A smooth dirt woody.

The second infusion has a strong creamy citrus sweet lemon zest almost bitterness mixed with heavy composting dirt and wood.  The sweet lemon woody taste lasted even 10 minutes later on the breath.  It was over a slippery mouthfeeling with a chalky mid tongue feeling and an onset of hypnotic Qi.

The third infusion has an almost coco with orange fruity onset over a rich slightly creamy woody thick dirt taste.  The mouthfeel is oily and smooth with a mild menthol throat opening.  There is a dense bodyfeeling globous of warmth below the diaphragm and a building hypnotic comforting sensation in the mind.

The fourth infusion has a rich woody resin with creamy almost floral suggestions with a creamy menthol finish with distinct woody dirt.  Warming Daiphramatic Qi with some hypnotic feeling in the mind.  Very soothing and tasty.

The fifth infusion has a creamy sweet woody almost floral tangerine like aftertaste after mild woody dirt menthol base.  There is a thick oily bread and creamy woody dirt sweetness.  There is a certain oily floral edge to this puerh which makes it really enjoyable.

The sixth and seventh infusions have a creamy dirt sweet onset with a floral breath edge.  The menthol is less now and was really faint to begin with but a more floral woody dirt kind of finish.  The warm Qi under the abdomen is notable and beautiful.  Hypnotic and soothing Qi sensation.

The eighth infusion has a woody dirt mineral taste with a deep floral pungency in an oily and finishing chalky on the mouth.  The throat and mouthfeeling is really nice full and chalky feeling.  The Qi is strong and soothing warming the body.

The ninth infusion has a resin woody dirt creamy sweetness.  There is a very subtle mild astringency if you look hard enough.  The full chalky mouthfeeling is really nice so is the faint edges of floral that are almost lost in the woody dirt creamy sweet taste.

The 10^th has a creamy woody taste with the floral breath taste gone now.  There is a bit of mineral and storage taste with a very faint menthol on the inbreath.  Warming feel good Qi here.  Very soothing on this cold winter day.

The 11^th is much the same woody dirt almost menthol wood over a chalky full mouthfeeling and subtle chalky throatfeeling.  Not much floral or tangerine or creamy sweetness now.  Great soothing warming Qi!

The 12^th infusion is pushed into longer infusions but not much other than dirt woody faint menthol over a subtle chalky mouthfeeling with not much throatfeeling left.

This is the first Traditional HK stored cake with a distinct floral taste to it which is interesting to me.  Overall, I’m not sure if it’s worth the price or not.  I’m always of the thought that Yiwu and Mengku areas are much better dry stored.  This one is no exception but nicely enjoyable either way!

Peace

 

2006 Xi Zhi Hao Lao Ban Zhang “Yin” (aka “Black Wrapper”) & Sharing Laobanzhang

I know it’s really hard to believe now but it used to be common to give and receive Lao Ban Zhang from other puerh drinkers and vendors both online and around tea tables.  Back in the day Laobanzhang was not as crazy expensive as it is now.  Relatively speaking it was still expensive- a hundred or two for a cake at a time of $10-$30 cakes but it was at least attainable for most.  At the very least it was impressive for a vendor to have some, it offered them a bit of validity and prestige.  Laobanzhang was all the craze and at that time you were a part of it.  Around the tea tables they would often bring it out at the end of a late session or after a few impressive teas.  Other tea drinkers and online vendors would also post small samples of Laobanzhang in early times.  As a result, I had become inadvertently acquainted with Laobanzhang despite my refusal to spend that much money on a cake.  It goes without saying that it has been a long time since anyone has sent me or shared with me some Laobanzhang and I haven’t any to enjoy out of my own stash… so it’s been a while…

Although I have some experience with fresh younger Lao Ban Zhang from drinking it back in the day nobody was handing out 90s 14 year aged Lao Ban Zhang at that time.  So I actually have very little experience with semiaged/aged Lao Ban Zhang.  This sample of 2006 Xi Zhi Hao black wrapper ( $595.00 for 400g  or $1.49/g) which soldout in classic Houde lightspeed will be a treat …

Dry leaves smell of faint mineral almost floral odour with a very faint lingering of icing sugar sweetness.  The leaves look quite large with big stems.

The first infusion has a very creamy reverberatingly sweet creamy candy full taste in the mouth.  It has a layered fluffy cloud like icing sugar sweetness in the mouth with a faint touch of astringency that pushes the saliva over the flat almost fine course tinging tongue feeling.  The aftertaste is a bit sweet and tart apple with candy and sticky throat sensations.  This looks and tastes like a nice dry Taiwanese storage that still retains a lot of nuanced sweetness and has that classic incense base taste.

The second infusion has a woody, sweet cherry-apple taste with candy layers, there is a strong incense taste and odour.  The taste is very layered fluffy candy like sweetness that is layered into a sweet and almost tart cherry-apple fruit taste with a strong incense base taste.  It has a tingling face body feeling with a clear acuity sharpening energy.  The mouthfeeling has a soft, almost sandy dry texture which some thin layer of saliva spills over and sensation open into the mid throat.

The third infusion has a floral candy fruity cherry-apple deep layered and rich sweetness with strong incense onset.  There is a building astringent bitterness that is still quite mild.  This liquor has a nice oily texture over a soft but full almost granular tongue coating and a mid-deep throat opening that pushes saliva into the upper throat.  The aftertaste is a sweet incense taste with a layer of candy and cherry sweetness hiding underneath.  The Qi is strong and is pushing my mind into a spaced out and stoned state.  There is a strong body feeling developing with Heart pumping and face tingling.  The aftertaste leaves a mineral, kind of incense, barely sweet lingering.

The fourth infusion has a moderate bitter-astringency presenting first with some tart cherry like sweetnotes and candy.  This infusion the astringent bitter onset is the dominating taste with layers of cherry, wood, incense over a silty tongue feeling and oily textured liquor on top which seems to pour out the top throat as the mid throat is stimulated.  Stronger bitter astringent taste, strong excellent mouthfeeling and throatfeeling, and, yes, strong Qi sensation of intense mind stimulation mixed with stoned feeling and stupor.  The bodyfeeling consists of warming heart sensation as well and tingling.

The fifth infusion has a more rich layered sweetness that is more of a woody-cherry sweetness over a candy like sweetness.  There is a faint coolness, very faint as the astringent bitterness and incense overtake the more sweetness again.  The throat and mouthfeeling continue to do what they have been doing above and are quite strong and stimulating.  There is a mineral like taste left in the mouth minutes later with incense.  The Qi is really intense and has a strong bodyfeeling- stoned, alerted, detached, HT opening/slight warming with dizziness.

The sixth infusion has a rich cherry and candy presentation now.  The sweetness is shared with bitter-astringency.  The candy aftertaste is more apparent now and the incense base is less overwhelming.  There are almost peach-cherry notes appearing in the aftertaste.  Wow the Qi is so strong and intense.  It really shakes me up.  This infusion has a much more intense saliva producing effect in my mouth that seems to hold the sweet tastes much longer especially the candy-cherry sweetness.  Best infusion so far.  Still very strong.

The seventh infusion has a fruity tart apple incense wood not as candy sweet onset that has a nice full layered richness to it.  The candy more comes out in the aftertaste as the incense woody notes builds up.  The sweetness starts at onset and stretches out more uninterrupted by astringent-bitterness like it did in the last handful of infusions now.  The Qi is alerting yet calming.  The tongue feels a full soft almost chalky fine sand with an oily liquor.  The throat is less astringent-simulated but more softly stimulated like an opening in the mid throat where saliva pools up in the upper throat and mouth.

The 8^th infusion has an almost soapy floral onset which is the most distinct of the flavours here.  There is a bit of candy but very faint now and some woody incense which is still significant.  The bitter-astringency has dropped down over the last few infusions to something more mild-moderate.  The mouthfeeling and throat feeling is much the same as last infusion with a waning oily texture but with a fluffy stimulation of the throat and saliva producing effect.  Nice euphoric relaxation now with stimulating acuity and Heart sensations.

The 9^th has a buttery-creamy candy sweet onset with a strong incense backbone.  There is a nice silty mouthfeeling with a distinct incense and candy finish with a stronger mineral chalky taste in the finish minutes later.  The bitter and astringency is very mild here leaving more of a long candy with incense taste.  Nice euphoria and feel good Qi.

The 10^th infusion has a nice creamy candy sweet taste with mineral finish the viscosity is going down here.  A nice thinner full fine sandy coating.  The taste and mouthfeeling and texture is declining here but the Qi is still pretty strong- it’s more euphoric and in the mind and less in the body though.

11^th has a mainly incense wood not with an interesting clear pear taste upfront.  The taste has become much simpler here but still quite satisfying and decently long.  There is a chalky almost mineral aftertaste now not much sweetness.

12^th has a incense note up front there is not much for other tastes other than some faint mineral, faint wood, very faint candy, very faint pear with that being said it is not insipid because the strong incense taste is stable and long throughout with still some full but thinning mouthcoating but much less throat feeling now.  Nice calming Qi.

13^th has an almost candy sweet and incense onset.  The incense taste is the dominant one throughout the profile with some hints at candy sweetness underneath. The mouthfeel continues to wane as does the throatfeeling.  There is a mineral, incense stickiness in the mouth afterwards.

I decided to push this one a bit with longer steepings…

I use a 15 second over flash infusion for the 14^th … it pushes a stronger incense taste out with a bit more mineral and faint sweetness.  The result is a bit longer and faintly sweeter but mainly just incense finish.  There is also a deeper throat taste than the last handful of infusions too.  The Qi is a bit euphoric and relaxing and has a strong headiness type of dizziness happening.

The 15^th I do a 25 second steeping… it is mainly just a strong woody incense note with much more floral notes coming out now.  There is a mineral finish with not really any sweetness and a bit of floral.  The mouthfeeling is stickier on the lips and tongue with a bit of throat mid- stimulation which seems to attract a floral mixed with incense aftertaste.

16^th is a 40 seconds steeping and has a creamy almost candy woody incense taste that feels chalky and full with suggestions of candy, minerals, and almost pear tastes.  Calm focused and happy energy prevails.

17^th is 60 seconds and is still quite strong and condensed woody incense with subtle suggestions of mineral, candy, pear over a flat sticky mouthfeeling.

18^th is a minutes long steeping the liquor is then left to cool and it tastes so delicious… like Lucky Charms marshmallow cereal with a long sweet candy body and still significant full incense taste. 

The mug steepings keep giving off great tastes long strong marshmallow candy like sweetness with a substantive incense base taste.

This is a nice LaoBanzhang for the price and those that jumped on this one fast were rewarded with some really nice dry storage as well that really accentuates the long strong sweet candy tastes.  Houde’s dry storage has done this cake very well and those that took the plunge on this one might have near optimal storage.  Good job!

Peace