2020 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai: Sweet and Powerful

I’m a fan of the Ban Po Lao Zhai productions at Puerist.  So I was happy to find this complimentary sample in my last order from Purist.  The one I got was this2020 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai goes for approx.$99.00 for 200g cake or $0.50/g…

Dry leaves smell of sweet grapes.  There is almost a fresh sea breeze odour to them that reminds me of being on a beach on the ocean…kind of different for a Ban Po Lao Zhai …smells very fresh.

First infusion has a creamy very sweet creamy, almost ice cream sweetness that has edges of berries and wood very soft thicker silky texture in the mouth.  Nice saliva producing effect.  Long creamery sweet taste throughout the start to the finish.  Nice very thick creamy oily mouthfeeling.  The oily texture is excellent here.  Faint pungent cool taste brings out long sweet finish.  The taste is really satisfying here.

The second infusion has a cherry and grain kind of soapy grapes onset with a long pungent woody cool finish.  The mouthfeel is now a chalky almost sticky lips tightness.  It is felt in the mid-throat kind of stimulating it and drying it.  Nice oily chalky texture.  Lots of saliva producing mouthwatering effect.  So tasty with a very enlivening Qi and uplifting feeling with a gentle bodyfeeling with some face and hand tingling.  Taste, aroma, mouthfeeling, Qi are all quite nice.

Third is a mild quick moving bitter that turns to a woody cherry very creamy sweetness with a bit of astringency here.  The Qi is starting to slow the mind down, kind of floating feeling in the body.  There is still a woody menthol creamy finish on the breath.  Cherries also return with woody and astringency is noted in the finish.  Strong Qi in this one.  Astringency is enough to make my empty stomach cringe.

Fourth has a quick bitter that pops into a creamy sweet cherry berry sweetness.  There is some woody taste and some cooling pungent in the mid-throat.  A bit of saliva retuning.  Very sweet tasting overall with a bitter/astringency that makes it pop.  The mouthfeeling is a bit puckering.  Qi is enlivening in the mind.

5^th has a juicy fruity sweet vibrant pop of thick white grapes and cherries flavor that fades into a cooling pungent woody sweetness.  These infusion have lots of sweet vibrancy.  Very juicy and oily in the mouth.  Thick viscous feeling with a nice returning sweetness. 

6^th has a cherry very sweet pop of taste with a very mild bitter astringency- more astringency than bitter.  The sweet fruity cherry tart taste rides into the aftertaste with a bit of creamy sweetness underneath.  Nice bready creamy woody but mainly just this long vibrant tart sweetness.  Fruity and creamy and full feeling.  The mouthfeeling is puckering with a bit of returning saliva.  Qi is enlivening and uplifting without being strong.

7^th has juicy pop of tart cherries and white grapes flavours.  There is a puckering mouthfeeling with some creamy sweet, bread sweet, dry woody and cooling mid-throat.   A bit of saliva retuning and a good feeling overall.  Nice upbeat Qi.

The 8^th has a nice sunny juicy white grapes taste to it with a faint bitter/astringency that emerges without impeding the flow of sweetness in the mouth and into the saliva.  It kind of finishes chalky in the mouth.  The mouthfeeling is chalkier than puckering now.  The Qi has a mellowing effect on the mind.  I can feel some face tingling.

9^th has a soapy grape almost floral creamy sweet onset with a slight tart astringency.  The bitterness carries a soapy woody mineral finish to it.  The infusions are primarily very sweet with notable astringency which producing a nice saliva effect and there is also faint cooling now in the mid-throat and a soapy chalk aftertaste.

10^th has lots of juicy fruity almost tart but creamy sweet soapy tastes and ends in a woody bland mineral taste with a faint distant floral.  The moutnfeeling is drier pucker and the infusion has lost its oily texture and saliva producing. 

11^th has a quickly fleeting fruit sweetness that is taken by the dirt-wood bitterness that finishes in the aftertaste as coco.  A dry sticky pucker mouthfeeling remains.  The Qi is really mellowing now a bit hypnotic maybe.

12^th infusion is more tart and bitter astringent with a woody mineral bitter dirt taste primarily.  The mouthfeel is a full drying pucker but with no oily texture anymore or returning saliva this is feeling shallow.  Still relaxing mellowing Qi.

Mug steeping… is pretty bitter and astringent with a bit of sweetness wood and vegetal taste.  The bitter astringency dominates these late infusions.

This puerh is powerful enough that you can under leaf it and still get very nice results.  Today I’m drinking the remainder of the sample and it still comes through well.  The first handful of infusions are especially delicious.  There is a bit of power behind this one which will help it age nicely too.  I still prefer the 2013 and 2015 (also Tea Encounter’s 2015) over this one though.  This one tastes awfully young still.

Peace

2020 Puerist You Le “Forest Tea” vs 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8

 

This is my last in a series of samples to try to understand and define the concept of “Forest Tea Puerh” after Shah8 introduced the concept in this post on 2012 Yang Qing Hao Yegu (also see 2016 Yang Qing Hao Wujin Cang and 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 below).  This 2020 Puerist Youle “Forest Tea” goes for approx. $96.00 for 200g cake or$0.48/g- I purchased a sample in my last Puerist purchase to further educate myself on “forest tea” and to compare to other Youle area tea.

The dry leaves smell of very creamy, airy, almost turnip but very creamy sweet.  Strangely this one doesn’t smell of strong florals typical of Youle.

The first infusion has a pungent spicy grassy floral woody coolness in the breath.  It tastes almost green tea like in its finish.  There is an airy pungency to this one with a watery very mild tongue coating, a watery oily feeling and very deep throat where a cooling taste but not that much retuning sweetness resides.  The Qi is apparent immediately and is strong.  A fresh grass and coolness lingers on the breath with only mild sweetness.

The second infusion has a lips tingling pungency very faint and very quick moving bitter that is hard to even spot it follow pops of cherry sweetness and pungent sweetness.  The base tastes is almost rubbery grassy woody.  It kind of tastes like a wild and conventional variety blend.  For sure the wild tea material is more obviously apparent in this “forest tea”.  There is a watery almost oily feeling that turns to a chalky density on the tongue and the throat is very deep and cool.  Strong Qi sensations rule with this very wild tea like thingy- strong intense energy in the chest.  There is an unusual power to the Youle “forest tea”.

The third infusion has a woody, floral rubbery, quick very very hard to spot mild bitter that make a cherry like taste pop in the mouth.  The rubbery aftertaste is a sign of wild tea material being pretty heavy in here along with the lack of typical retuning sweetness and aftertaste.  This is basically unrecognizable as Youle terroir for me.  Very different, very wild tea, very tasty but not that conventional puerh like.  The cooled cup reveals lots of candy almost caramel finish.  The complexity in the forest tea blends are their strength for sure!  There is also a huge body feeling and intense energy vibrating throughout my body.

The fourth infusion has a strong start fruity, cherry like burst of intense fruity taste that is pushes out by a faint bitter.  There is that rubbery wild tea base taste and aftertaste that signal a strong wild tea like composition.  But man… is the energy of the wild tea electric… intense energy bursts, racing heart beats, strong shoulder especially in the front of the shoulders release… lots of intense and vibrant energies and bodyfeelings.  It’s an intense experience.  Like ingesting a cocktail of tea like drugs.

The fifth infusion has a very cherry bitter floral bitter star-fruity wild tea like intensity to the taste.  The taste is balanced nicely between bitter and sweet with a saliva producing and deep throat opening.  The mouthfeeling is thin and tight with a developing density and rubbery woody floral wild tea strong character.  Intense heart, shoulder, crazy bodyfeelings and intensity… wow!

The sixth infusion has a creamy bitter buttery floral pop of cherry with a tight mouthfeel and grassy-rubbery woody wild tea finish in the mouth.  The Qi is making my head explode!  Hahahhah strong intense bodyfeelings in chest, and across the front of the shoulders like a consiricting feeling.  Grassy almost sweet aftertaste.

The seventh has a strong berry and juicy bitter taste with intense returning flavors of dragon fruits.  The mouthfeeling is thin a tight with an mild oily liquid and a throatfeeling that is disappearing as well as the coolness in the throat.  Feels about mid-throat at this point in the session.  Nice vigorous ground shaking Qi.   Very intense and transformative experience.

The 8^th is strong fruity rubber berry taste of wild tea it has a grassy finish to it, a bit bready, star-fruity, berry pops after the quick bitter.  Very intense Qi in body and mind.  Rubbery, grassy, not that sweet finish in mouth.

9^th has a strong savoury grassy bitter with more of a low lying sweetness over a thin sandy tongue and lips coating with a tighter upper throat.  Slight coolness with rubbery tastes….

10^th begins with a stronger but quick moving bitterness which brings out berry sweetness over a thin sandy mouthfeeling with a certain tightness of the lips and tongue.  The throat feel is loosing strength slowly and much less coolness resides there.  The Qi is just really really big … really really intense… it feels like my heart is exploding in my chest and I’m riding a serious high for hours after…

Not expecting my daily tea session to go into the heavens of intensity, I am left no other chose to back away and approach with caution tomorrow…

11^th is resumed after the wet leaves have rested in the pot overnight… and it comes off as very light and floral with a nice melon taste and a rubbery vacuous wild tea taste.  The mouthfeel has softened quite a bit.  Strong energy courses through the body.

The 12^th has strong melon and fruity florals over a quick moving bitterness and mild tight dense mouthfeeling.  There is that rubbery floral wild tea nuance to it.  But lots of flavor and of course lots of chest pounding and intense energy rushing throughout the body.  This is some strong stimulating energy here even the next day.

The 13^th has strong fruity floral intense fruity even layered creamy flavored fruit tastes.  The cooled cup and nice long caramel sweetness.  There is some complexity and lots of stamina in these leaves.  Strong energy explosion here.  Faint coolness and long rubbery fruity floral finish.

The 14^th is also cooled and gives off a very vibrant and flavourful soup of florals, startfruits, long sweet tastes that goes deep into the throat with a mild cooling and has a bread-like sweetness in the aftertaste.  There is a very subtle bitter astringency. 

The 15^th is left to cool and gives off lots of fruity melon tastes up from that turn to floral and woody and a kind of brackish mild bitter then to long faint cooling in the throat.  There is that long floral/bread note faintly skirting around.  The Qi is starting to be relaxing.  The stamina of this wild tea is long for sure.

The 16^th infusion has a very vibrant fruity intense tasting mild quick moving bitter pop of taste in the mouth.  The mouthfeel is a thin density to it.  Long aftertaste of rubbery woody.

This ones seems to go one forever!  I put the remaining leaves in a mug to steep out.

Overall, this is very much wild tea in taste, Qi and feeling with not much typical Youle feeling or taste at all…  It compares nicely to 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 which I purchased a few cakes of…

The following are notes from a similar 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 which goes for $175.00 for 200g or $0.88/g. I sampled the fresh maocha last year.  These are my notes from last week…

Dry leaves smell of intense forest sweet candy.

The first infusion has a creamy sweet familiar Yiwu sweetness upfront there is some woody taste underneath but a very deep cooling throat which pulls the aftertaste along into grassy almost melon floral taste.  The mouthfeel is nice with a full dense chalkiness and the throat is deep.  Very smooth and soothing feeling initially in the body and mind.  The colour of the liquor is more deeply yellow than the Youle.

The second infusion has a soft onset of Yiwu like sweetness over faint woody with a grassy taste coming out deep smooth cooling throat and a base level of mild bitterness there is a smooth vigorous bread-like sweet finish that lingers in the breath and a strong saliva producing effect in the mouth.  The Qi is really big starting to make the mind stuffy and large.  Arms can feel the effect.  There is sour tastes and woody tastes and grassy-forest tastes and bitter tastes.  The effect is complex with an interesting dichotomy of smooth soothing energy and underlying and building power.

The third infusion has a strong onset of sweet creamy Yiwu sweetness a berry sweet taste with an undercurrent of building bitterness that makes the berries pop.  There is a strong dense mouthfeeling and very deep throat subtle coolness.  A strong intense euphoria shakes out of this one.

The fourth has a strong popping berry taste that follows the initial quick moving bitterness with a nice base of grassy and bready sweetness, wood, fruity berries.  The mouthfeeling is dense and throat very deep. Sqeekey gums and long breath almost floral berries and bread and grass.  Nice euphoria takes hold with some stronger bodyfeeling.

The 5^th is a cooled down cup but is smoother creamy and deeper layered fruity in the cup with an almost caramel edge with a long deep throat coolness over a gradually building density in the mouth.  There is some grassy undertones as well as woody but more of a playing out of complex sweetnesses over a really good tongue coating and deep throatiness.  Nice big euphoria engulfs me.

The 6^th has a juicy fruity bitter with a creamy complex fruity presentation.  There is lots of complexity in here- breads, grasses, wood, floral, melon, and berries.  The tongue coating is interesting in that it kind of slowly becomes denser as you swallow.  The broth is nicely oily and the throatfeeling is deep.  The Qi is strong in the chest but also calming and focusing and euphoric.  This puerh feels nice in the body and mind if not slowly building in intensity.

The 7^th has a quick bitter onset with floral caramel, berries, bread, melon, bitterness, grass, woods- its complex the dense chalky tongue coating and deep throat with saliva producing effect is really good. It finishes kind of woody oily minutes later.

The 8^th is very sweet with a quick bitter pushing berries, melon tastes along the tongue.  Nice complex layered sweetnesses.  Nice euphoria too.  Chalky tongue coating and deep throat.  High floating feeling.

9^th has a strong fruity onset with layered sweet, floral, grass, woody long creamy sweet returning saliva over the tongue over a chalky tongue coating.  Lots of saliva producing effect.  Nice strong focusing. energy.  Relaxing body effect.

10^th has a fruity sweet creamy sweet bready onset over a full dense tongue and deep throat and returning saliva.  There is a mild bitterness to this infusion.  Very bread sweet creamy finish in mouth.  Nice hypnotic euphoria takes hold.

11^th. … I have no choice but to mug steep out over a few days and is much more conventional puerh varietal in there in taste and feel but still a bit wild tea in there.  Very vibrant and sweet tastes remain.  This Yiwu #8 has a certain vibrancy that I find alluring.  Sometimes I’ve tried this and its more bitter other times its more sweet… I think it has an interesting and vibrant blend of material from that forest and feels really interesting to me.  A good young example of something that might be “forest tea” and something I’m curious about aging out.

To compare the two they both have some similar taste in that they have a distinct bitterness to them that quickly gives way to vibrant sweetness.  The 2020 Puerist Youle “Forest Tea” has an obvious wild tea profile / wild tea varietal and is actually quite a bit more bitter than the 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 where the Yiwu #8 is more sweet and savory and closer to the conventional puerh varietal.  The 2020 Puerist Youle has an overwhelmingly powerful Qi, almost chaotic at times where the 2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 is both intense but also focusing and euphoric.  They are both pretty intense and interesting experiences.

Peace

2018 Puerist Youle (Ya Nou): A Powerful Youle

This is an interesting Youle for me because it was deliberately sourced by Mark to age based on his tastings of other aged Youle from the same famer and garden specifically in 2013.  This is opposed to most of the other Youle that we in the West have been exposed to that are more for drinking now.  I purchased a sample of this 2018 Puerist Youle which goes for approx. $83.00 for 200g or $0.42/g in my last order from Purist…

Dry leaves a very floral and fruity and sweet and have the odour of fresh grapes almost aritifical grape candy sweetness.

First infusion has a strong buttery floral sweetness in it that has a certain long dense thickness to it and goes deep into the throat like sticky butter.  There is an initial pop of fruity grape then a long thick buttery floral that fades out long and slowly in the throat and breath.

The second infusion has a strong push of heavy fruity buttercup floral thickness that goes the distance in the mouth, throat, and aftertaste breath.  The throat feeling is deep and is stimulated by a faint veil of very mild astringency that pushes saliva on to the tongue.  The mouthfeeling is a thin very full coating dryness.  The Qi is warming and strong and warms the face and relaxes.  The bodyfeel is specific in the face- it feels kind of tingling.

The third infusion has a really thick buttery floral taste with a very sunny fruity thick taste and mid-deep throat.  There is a very faint astringency that pulls saliva over the tongue and extends the taste into the aftertaste with a nice almost bread like and even melon and grain like glimpses.  Very fresh thick floral buttery sweetness.  The mouthfeel is a very full but thin almost dryness.  A strong peachy odour and faint taste is also found throughout the profile.  The Qi is warming in the face with a free spirit and mind like effect.

The fourth infusion has this thick juicy peachy grape burst of taste with a long fragrant floral finish.  Thick oily texture with mid-deep throat and strong saliva producing astringency gives this Youle strength and power.  The taste is long and thick and turns almost into a apricot bread taste.  The Qi is pretty warming and the face feels subtle numbness and the heart starts to race.  There is enough astringency in here that it starts to turn on my empty stomach.

The fifth infusion is left to cool but has a strong floral fruitiness, and buttery taste and with an astringency that continues to increase.  There is a really full almost tight dry mouthfeeling with a very oily viscus mouthfeeling and returning saliva.   Strong enlivening Qi with face sensation and Heart sensations.

The sixth infusion has a less thick fruity floral presentation.  There is some subtle throat coolness and a full thin tight mouthfeeling that works well with a mid-to-upper throat opening and saliva simulating throat. 

The seventh has a bitter astringency to it.  Very thick fruity floral taste, very very fragrant buttery sweet fragrant.  The mouthfeeling is really good.  Very full but thin but kind of tight.  There is a coolness developing.

The 8^th is very oily and much more floral buttery.  The floral taste is really strong and interestingly interacts with the strong mouth and throat presence.  The cooled cup gives off a more bitter melon type of taste which is kind of unexpected.  The taste is strong either way, thick, a bit of astringency.

The 9^th has a bitter melon floral type taste to it with a bit of bitter astringency over there is a distinctly floral melon taste to it. The flat mouthfeel is still there but not as much throat feeling and less cooling and saliva producing now too.

The 10^th has a bitter coco and strong floral initial taste with a melon, floral, fruity coco finish.  There is a full but thin tight tongue coating and a deep cool throat feeling.

The 11^th is bitter coco with a creamy floral onset that stretches over the full thin almost tight mouthfeeling and into a subtle coolness.

The mug steepings are a thick heavy bitter coco deep floral.  This is a super strong and interesting Youle.  The teeth are squeaky and the mind very sedate.  The aftertaste lingers for a long time in the mouth.

This is the most powerful Youle I have sampled since this 2013 Pu-erh.sk Youle.  It is less refined than this one but has lots of power, mouth, and throat presence.  It’s a nice Youle for the price for sure one for aging.

Peace

2021 Puerist Ban Pen Maocha: Lao Ban Zhang-ish Power

Ban Pen is an area that is really overshadowed by its close neighbour Lao Ban Zhang.  Its also notoriously known as one of the area ingredients (along with Lao Man E) to fake a Lao Ban Zhang.  However, like any area, it has its own merits that are often overlooked… I look to not overlook…

On this unseasonably hot 31C early June day I go for something that is reeeeaaaaally fresh...

Dry leaf smells of intense very grape deep sweetness.  Very sweet and very grape… a bit too fresh for 2020 (this is actually fresh 2021 maocha!).

The first infusion has a buttercup shining sweetness with an underlying woody taste and returning grape sweetness.  There is a faint cooling in the mid throat and a saliva producing effect in the mouth.  There is a bit of underlying bitterness that moves into that grape sweetness with rubber/wood underlying.  The mouthfeel is a fine sandy feeling in the mouth.  It tastes really vibrantly fresh.

The second infusion has a quick moving vegetal bitterness that moves to a mild saliva producing grape sweetness in the mouth.  There is a strong floral presence with this taste that says throughout the profile.  The mouthfeeling is thin and slightly sandy with a saliva producing effect almost being trapped in the mid-throat.  There is a muscatel sweetness and grape skin pucker going on here that reminds me of a good Darjeeling.  The aftertaste is long with grape, bitter, rubber, florals stretching out for minutes later.  The Qi is felt in the Chest and in the mind with a spacy expanding energy.

The third has a strong bitter onset with an underlying floral and grape sweetness.  The bitterness is strong and overpowering here, a bit astringent and really pushes my empty stomach reminding me it’s time for breakfast.  I am also pushed into a euphoric state by the overtaking Qi- my Heart races.  A flat thin kind of griping tongue coating.  Bitter but also nicely floral sweet.

The fourth infusion has a very vibrantly floral grape sweetness that comes after a moderately strong quick moving bitterness.  There is the splash of vibrant flavours.  This infusion has a brilliant and clear pure balance of quick moving bitterness and strong returning floral muscatel sweetness.  There is underlying woody rubber taste, flat tongue coating and long floral aftertaste.  The Qi is big and euphoric in the mind.  There is strong bodyfeeling in the shoulders and arms almost pulsing throbbing.  The length of the floral aftertaste is notable.

The fifth infusion has a vibrant lemon peel bitterness that quickly moves to a floral grape skin fruit taste. The bitterness is moderate strong- to strong and has a quick reversal to a long floral finish in the mouth.  Chest Qi with limbs floating and throbbing.  There is a flat sticky tongue coating with some faint saliva producing in the upper throat.

The sixth infusion offers an almost gamey pungent barnyard not as bitter but also not as sweet.  There are more subtle florals and white grape skill tastes over a flat sticky tongue coating and faint upper throat opening.  Qi is quieting in the mind with Chest and limb bodyfeelings.

The seventh infusion has a mild-moderate quick moving bitterness that transforms into strong more pungent florals and grape skin fruitiness.  The mouthfeeling is a touch gripping but the throat sensation is nice and deeper into the mid-throat.  The Qi has taken me places and it starts to soften and relax just a bit but still euphoria reigns.

The eighth has a buttercup and gamey tastes that come out after quick moving bitterness that turns to gamey floral notes.  A flat sticky tongue coating and fading floral finish.  There is a relaxing bodyfeeling now.  Soothing and tranquil.  Shoulders and arms feel like they are floating or separating from my body.

The ninth infusion oops was left in the pot for 5 minutes!  It has a very concentrated pear syrupy gamey pungent barnyard taste with a fair bit of thickness.  Syrupy bitter wild flower dandelion barnyard.  Very strong spaced out feeling with this hard push…. Spacey very spacey.

My busy day engulfs the tea session and I, unfortunately, abandon it for the day and come back the next day…

I fill a big mason jar up with the leaves from yesterday which I refrigerated and pour boiling water over them and drink this stuff up grandpa style…

Wow! Is it ever good…

Obscenely fragrantly floral notes fill the nose and mouth.  The floral is strong and long.  The bitter taste hits you pretty hard especially after sitting in the boiling water for hours but there is always a strong movement to grape muscatel notes over a strong hard chalky and slightly gripping mouthfeeling.  There is a bit of linger depth in the throat but not overly.  There is also suggestions of vegetal notes, and almost faint pungent gamey suggestions.  The floral and grape and bitterness is strong and along with the gripping moutfeeling stick tightly to the mouth.  The Qi is really insane here and push me into a euphoric stupor with a floating bodyfeeling overall.  I have to step away and approach cautiously tomorrow!

This fresh 2021 Puerist Ban Pan maocha is not like any I’ve tried before but no doubt has the power of a solid Lao Ban Zhang underneath.  This maocha hasn’t been pressed yet or put up for sale.  Its Mark’s style to let this powerful stuff rest for a few months.  I also am not too sure about the current pricing from a region that can piggy back on the price of its ultra-famous neighbor Lao Ban Zhang.  I could guess a tea like this could go for above $250 for 200g cake.

Its good stuff.

Peace

2017 Puerist Yi Shan Mo, Xiang Chun Lin & A Xiang Chun Lin Comparison

I’m a fan of the Xiang Chun Lin area.  It’s kind of a new puerh area that has in the last 5 years or so rose to some sort of notoriety.  I find the juxtaposition of a very sweet, very floral soft taste with a very strong heady and euphoric Qi.  For the price of other more expensive puerh areas, I think this area offers some value if you enjoy this type of puerh experience… especially the Qi… and the wildflowers…

This 2017 Puerist Yi Shan Mo, Xiang Chun Lin goes for approx $137.00 for 200g cake or $0.69/g.  This was a complimentary sample provided for review in my last order.

Dry leaves have a faint floral kind of sweet note to them.

First infusion has a woody buttery sweet daisy floral.  It has a sweet wildflower oily taste to it.  Nice long sweet melon and wildflower expansion in the aftertaste.  Nice soft chalky feeling in the mouth with a mid-deep mild pungent throat.  Nice relaxing and expansive Qi.  Nice long subtle floral sweet aftertaste with immediately apparent Qi is nice.

Second infusion has a very sweet candy like onset with a icing sugar taste that pops and stays throughout the profile in the soft chalky mouthfeeling and deep faint pungent throat.  Although the flavors are light there is a thick groundedness to the sweet flavors as the have an underlying woody feel.  The flavor is quite sweet, quite thick, quite deep, and quite long.  Very nice.

Third infusion has a strong sugary sweet with layers of melon and caramel now.  The caramel taste goes the distance.  Very layered sweetness with a powdery chalky moderate mouthfeeling and a woody faint base that is pretty much overtaken by thick sweetness.  The taste is really delicious and mouthwatering there is a long caramel and wild flower finish.  There is a deep throat taste that holds in the long aftertaste.  Nice Qi with strong expansiveness in the mind and open chest.  I feel light.

Fourth infusion is developing a strong syrupy taste.  There are notes of apricot, melon, caramel, and sugar, and candy lots of layered thick sweetness over a base of intertwined woodiness.  Nice expansive and chesty Qi.  Strong stoning expansiveness.

The 5^th infusion has a creamy buttery thick sweetness that is like apricot jam syrupy sugary sweet over a condensed mild chalky feeling in the mouth.  There is a peachy floral long finish as the taste goes deeply in to the throat and has a mild pungency there.  There are some bready notes, woody notes and layered of dense sweetness.  Strong Qi seals the deal with this one as there is a strong chest opening and expansive free feeling.

6^th has a fruity thick syrup taste of peach, melon, almost caramel, icing sugar.  A dense fruity sugary sweet onset with a layer of faint bread and woody taste that is overcome by thick sweetnesses.  Long almost licorice peachy deep throaty sweet aftertastes.  Strong Expanding mind Qi and open chest with slight floating body.

7^th has a sweet less condensed sugary peachy onset that turns to melon sweetness.  There is some woodiness and tart but very faint it’s mainly just smooth fruity sweet long tastes.  Nice chesty floating body Qi.

8^th is fruity peachy melon fruity syrup sugar sweet with chalky layer of faint wood and wild flower.  It has a slow creamy fading sweet aftertaste.  Nice Qi.  Long taste in mouth minutes later.  There is basically no bitter or astringency in here but still feels full tasting especially the layered sweetness.

9^th is a fruity soapy peachy taste with a creamy wildflower underbelly with some woodiness and bready buttery creaminess. There is a longer, more wildflower taste in there.  Nice chalky powdery taste as well.  There is a strong melon peachy taste in the cooled cups minutes later.  I feel really spaced out from the Qi.

10^th has a strong fruity soapy buttery floral taste with long deep sweetness with more woody and bready notes coming out as the session progresses. Nice spacy strongish Qi.

11^th is thick dense syrupy peachy melon bready woody has a powdery taste with deep throat mild pungency and long trailing wildflower sweet taste still lacking any bitter astringency and makes up for it in pure condensed vibrant flavours.

12^th … I run out of time in my day for this one which still has some good stamina left in it…

I mug steep it out over a few days and it still gives off very sweet not really much bitterness and lots of wildflower tastes.  Still lots of Qi left to savor.  Nice stamina.

Overall this is a nice full layered condensed sweet tasting one with great stoning expansive Qi with a bit of chest opening bodyfeelings.  This one has very little bitterness or astringency just enough to give it some depth but still feels full with the layered often vibrant flavours.  It actually does have a bit more of a Yi Shan Mo vibe and thickness to it than the other Xiang Chun Lin I have sampled.

Vs 2017 Tea Urchin Xiang Chun Lin- these are very different in that the Tea Urchin has much more punchy, astringent and bitter kick but also a quicker moving bitterness that pushes a lot more intense sweetness out.  It tastes like it is from younger trees a bit edgier and more smaller chopped and broken leaves.

Vs 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin- I like this one enough to cake it.  It has a stronger floral layering to it as well as deeper interplay of light floral notes and a deeper Qi sensation.  In some ways its similar to this 2017 Puerist Xiang Chun Lin.

Peace

2015 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai: Lots of Ban Po Lao Zhai!

I had mentioned that that Puerist has about ¼ of their catalogue from the Nannou producing area.  Specifically all of their productions are from a garden that is “on a ridge between Duo Yi Zhai, Ban Po Lao Zhai and Shi Tou Zhai.”  The 2015-2020 are also all processed in a similar style by the same farmer.  I believe from tasting this puerh that it might be different from the 2013PueristBan Po Lao Zhai that I purchased last year.  For someone looking for a vertical sampling of a higher quality Nannou, look no further…

This 2015 Puerist Ban Po Lao Zhai goes for approx. $83.00 for e200g or $0.42/g.  Let’s give it a try...

Dry leaves smell of faint creamy sweetness.

The first infusion has a watery creamy sweet taste over a background of faint raisin there is some low lying coolness and a full chalky feeling in the mouth and even mid throat.  The Qi is invigorating and chest opening.

The second infusion has a strawberry woody almost raisin full initial taste.  There is some dirt woody sweet raisin in the background.  A cool low pungency in the mid-deep throat and a full chalky mouthcoating with subtle oily saliva feeling on top.  Nice sweet creamy raisin finish.  Strong warming and invigorating Qi sensation and open chest feeling.

The third infusion is cooled down but gives a creamy sweet caramel raisin with a low slow moving cool pungency in the throat over a creamy full fluffy mouthcoating and deep open throat.  Vibrant Qi and open chest bodyfeeling.

The fourth infusion has a thick creamy sweet raisin onset with a carrot dirt like base and a low moving cooling deep throat which pushes out a lot of creamy carrot sweetness and almost fruity mango and dirt tastes.  The taste is nice and condensed and full feeling and is creamy sweet into the distant aftertaste.  Nice thick chalky fluffy mouthfeeling and deep open throat with salivating oily returning.  Nice.

5^th strong creamy almost strawberry carrot raisin taste a bit woody and caramel.  Thick chalky mouthfeeling with a returning grape woody creamy sweet taste.  The flavors are condensed and mouthfeeling thick and chalky.  The Qi is invigorating.

6^th has a strong almost syrupy sweetness with a low menthol pungency which pushes out a woody juicy fruity menthol and grape aftertaste in a very full chalky puckering mouthfeeling.  The throatfeeling is deep with a saliva bursting sensation.  Vibrant invigorating deep sighing Qi washes over me.  Body feel is a chest expanding feeling.

7^th has a smoky meaty creamy sweet woody condensed taste that hits a pungent menthol deep throat and turns quite sweet- grapes, creamy sweet, woody, carrot, dirt, caramel… flavor is very complex here and nice.. deep throat and full mouth.  Invigorating Qi.  Very nice.

8^th has a strong fruity punch thick mouth woody menthol taste with an emerging creamy raisin and almost grape sweetness over a dirt woody carrot taste.  There is a strong condensed taste throughout with a deep throat pungency and mouthwatering effect.

9^th is cool but packs a good thick punch of complex Nannou flavours- woody, raisin, grape, dirt, carrot, menthol, cooling, creamy sweet, even a mild bitterness.  The mouthfeeling is chalky and throat opening is deep.  Very nice.

10^th has an increasingly mild bitter onset with woody, dirt, carrot, not as creamy sweet. Vibrant shaking surging Qi.  Deep throat.

11^th has a juicy fruity taste creamy sweet, slight smokey woody dirt.  Tastes are condensed and excellent.  Vibrant Qi. Chalky full mouthfeel and deep throat. 

12^th has a tangy fruity woody carrot dirt mild bitter slight smoky full feeling.  Condensed with a low menthol and creamy sweetness.  Thick. Enlivening.  Long sweet and slight woody smokey finish.  Heart palpitations with open chest feeling.  Buzzing feeling.

I mug steeped out the rest…

This is a very lively, flavourful, and powerful Ban Po Lao Zhai!  Lots of complex and very dense flavor presentation here as there still lots of young puerh notes in there but also emerging semiaged notes as well.  Qi is the best part with a surging powerful vibrant Qi at some points of the session, even Heart Palpitations and chest opening stronger bodyfeelings.  Nice deep throat stimulation and mouthwatering effect over a chalky full mouthfeeling.  It’s all about the maximum experiential effects with this puerh and it does not disappoint!  One of the reasons, I could guess, Mark keeps pressing this garden is because the package you get here in terms of quality is hard to beat for this price.

Peace

 

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