2024 ChenYuan Hao Lao Ban Zhang: Gentle/ Strong when Pushed!

Save the best for last simply because LaoBanZhang is the king of puerh!  This 2024 ChenYuan Hao LaiBanZhang goes for approx $545.00 for 100g cake or $5.45/g which is most definitely the most expensive fresh puerh I have ever sampled!

Dry leaves have a sweet odour faint almost grape/ berry.

Rinsed leaves have an almost roasty sweet forest odour.

First infusion has a woody watery onset with slight barnyard gamey edges.  There is a very faint sugar pure sweetness that emerges late with cool breath and deep throat opening. It leaves gentle sugary edges behind.  An evolving returning sugary pure sweet taste. Subtle body tingling and face and scalp tingle.  Mild spacy uplift early here.

Second infusion has a watery clear woody onset with some pungent faint barnyard.  Sticky mouthfeel with cooling breath and open deep throat.  Sugary faint return and expanding in the deep throat.  Cool edges give way to long sweet faint taste.  Tingling body and head and scalp. Spacy chest floating out of body feeling with a mild high/ happy feeling.

Third infusion is left to cool and has a fruity woody sweet taste with sticky slight right at the edges mouthfeel.  Deep cooling throat and deep opening.  Lingering sugar sweet finish that expands from the returning sweetness.  Sweet almost candy gum faint minutes later coming from the throat. Tingling body.  Chest expanding floating. Scalp and head sensations.  High relaxing. 

Fourth infusion has a sweet pure watery entry- sugar and lesser wood.  Clear taste with sugar sweet mild return and expanding.  Cool mild deep thrust opening. Soft sticky mouthfeel. Cool expanding sugar clear aftertaste.  Tingling arms and head and face with chest rising up bodyfeeling. 

Fifth has a sugar slight fruity mild sweet taste.  The sugar sweetness returns with faint fruity and stretches into the aftertaste.  Sticky oily texture.  Mild pop of fruity sweet return and stretching into aftertaste.  Tingling arms and elbows. Face and head.  

Sixth has a bitter fruity woody taste with purfume musky floral almost grape with gripping slight dry feeling and cool deep thrust opening. Chest floating done tingles in face head. Spacy peace.

Seventh is a watery clear sweet sugar fruity with faint woody.  Deep throat opening.  Mild flavours but expanding faint evolving sweet sugar taste. Sticky mouthfeel. Tingling and spacy feelings. Spacy relaxing.  Cooled down it’s has a more fruity sweet oily onset with returning cool breath mild sweet sugars.  Mild taste. Quality moderate bodyfeels and mild spacy Qi.  This is a really gentle Lao Ban Zhang.

Eighth has a sugar woody onset- more woody now with a dry tighter mouthfeel.  Not much sweetness returns in the cool deeper throat that feels tighter now. Spacy tingling with chest floating bodyfeeling.

Days Long mug infusion has that classic bitter fast moving onset with oily sweetness sugar candy fruity to follow.  The cold drink is bitter with a fruity floral almost sweet chalky sticky mouthfeel.  Lots of strength in here still.  Needs to be pushed harder. Really enjoying this long steep… could have went a few more infusions for sure.

I put it for a few more days steeping and it is oily with an almost grape woody sugar sweet taste still very faint bitter to sweetness.

This Lao Ban Zhang is all about the tingling body feels and chest floating mild unique feeling.  The deep throat coolness and mild expanding pure sugar sweet is also nice and delicate.  When push hard you get that classic Lao Ban Zhang bitter to sweetness characteristic profile. 

Alex’s Tea Notes

Peace

2024 ChenYuan Hao YiBang: Relaxing Airy Vibes

 

This 2024 ChenYuan Hao YiBang goes for approx $189.00 or $0.95/g.  Last years 2023 ChenYuan Hao YiBang was a more of a clear pure not quite but closer to ethereal type of YiBang with just a touch of astringency but not much for bitterness…. I changed my perspective of YiBang being less strong and more light and pure.  It seems that this one is also of that vein probably from the same garden…

Dry leaves very a sweet grapes odour.

The rises leaf is even more sweet sugar grape forest sweet… yummy!

First infusion has a watery clear grape sweet oily sugar. Melts over mouth sweetness.  Oily sweet pop of grape sugars. 

Second infusion has a sweet pungent cooling sugar grape fruity silky sweet taste. Nice silky evolving mild sweetnesses. Sweet finish in the mouth soft mouthfeeling .  Airy Qi feeling with some chest beats. Cooled down it has a sweet forest cool sugar ghostly grape sweet taste.  Long sugar cooling taste.  Airy feeling limbs and slow chest beats.

Third infusion has a sugar watery sweet onset.  Oily soft mouthfeel with lingering sugar taste.  Smooth and airy Qi with some chest Qi building up. Spacy upbeat relaxing feeling. 

Fourth infusion has a fruity pear sugar taste almost spice wood mid infusion with faint edges of bitterness.  Bitter woods with sandy slight pulling in the back of the throat.  Spacy relaxing feeling with airy limbs.

Fifth infusion has a sweet fruit taste with sugar layer.  Simple sweet with an airly feeling and chest beats in the body.  Cooled down is smooth oily sort of faint banana sugar faint sweet taste.   Not really any bitterness for Yibang feels unusual to me but very smooth airy and relaxing.  Contains very little characteristic Yibang but so interestingly smooth and soft. Unique in this respect.

Sixth is left to cool and has an oily smooth sweet onset that turns into soft grape sweet taste.  Woody sticky finish.  Relaxing airy vibes limbs light mild Qi experience.  Smooth. 

7th is left to cool and has a sweet light banana sugar sweet taste with nice long stretching out of mild banana sugar fruity taste.  Smooth chalky mouthfeel.  Nice fruity return but long sweet taste.   Relaxing calming with limbs mildly airy. Long creamy cooling banana fruity sugar taste.

8th has a creamy sweet sugar onset with oily mild texture and soft sweet finish. Some faint woody. Relaxing mild feeling.  

The long mug infusion has a lesser sweet grape sugar sort of bitter musky pungent.  Sticky mouthfeel that is almost pucker tight but not really.  Cool breath.  Mainly bitter woody musky sort of perfume pungent than sweet here.

Peace

2024 ChenYuan Hao ChenYi (YiWuchaWang): Sweet Pop Mind Stop!

This 2024 ChenYuan Hao ChenYi (YiWu ChaWang) goes for approx $248.00 for 200g cake or $1.24/g.  I tried this one after the similarity priced 2024 ChenYuan Hao WanGong but liked this one a lot more…

Dry leaves are very creamy sweet Yiwu with a soapy purfume odour.

Rinsed leaf is very sweet fruity pungent forest odour.  Layers of sweet fruit smells delicious!

First infusion has a very creamy fluffy sweetness with sweet fruit finish.  Pure clear watery with a quick fade out of flavours.  Subtle high building.

Second infusion has a sweet fruity peachy pear sugar creamy sweet onset soft fluffy mouthfeel.  Big burst of sweet flavours clear and pure then a fade out of flavours..  spacy feeling with heavy mind slight sleepy. Cooled down it becomes a denser creamier peachier sweetness almost syrup-like.  Heavy body and slowing mind with faint Heart flutter.  Reminds me a bit of a good Mahei area.

Third infusion has a peachy creamy sweet taste.  Big peach fruity flavour up front!  Creamy peachy sugar!  It fades pretty fast with a grains taste left behind and a fuzzy head/ heavy head Qi feeling.  Cool it is very more juicy creamy peachy.

Fourth has a juicy peachy sugar taste with watery pure feeling some faint cereal / woody appears here.  Cooled down it is a juicy pear oily viscus sweet with woody faint in the distance.  Heavy head feeling with some mind slow and spacy feeling. Heavy body slowness.

Fifth has an oily pear sugar taste.  Oily fruits juicy taste and texture. Sone faint cooling breath faint woody.  Mainly this onset upfront pear fruity sweetness.  Heavy and mind flowing Qi is decently strong… I am pretty groggy!

Sixth has an oily pear woody sweet taste pop.  Oily pure tastes but with each infusion gets less sweet very little aftertaste which is more cereal/ woods than sweet. Mind slowly sleepiness. Soft oily mouthfeel so far.

Seventh has a woody pear sweet peachy onset.  Has a bit more sandy mouthfeel now.  Heavy sensations slow me down nicely.  Cooled down cup has a mainly cereals taste to it with less sweetness.

Eighth infusion has a woody cereal onset with subtle pear sugar return.  Clear pure tastes throughout the session.  Heavy body and slow mind.  Sleepy.

Ninth infusion has a woody oily cereal taste and oily texture some sandy mouthfeel underneath.  Sleepy relaxation with heavy head.

Long mug infusion is a woody mildly bitter with oily texture and faint sweet breath.  Days long infusion is a sweet almost licorice sugar sweet with melon layers in there as well in an oily broth.  Mouthwatering effect and chancy silty mouthfeel.

This Yiwu is all about the strong onset of sweetness and heavy body feels sleepy Qi and slow mind effects!  It doesn’t do much more than this but surely this is remarkable enough?  It was a very nice day I had under the influence of the Qi here.  This has to be top 3-5ish of the puerh I sampled out of these 2024 ChenYuan Hao… nice quality Yiwu!

Alex’s Tea Notes

Peace

2024 ChenYuan Hao WanGong: Expanding, Floating , Out of Body

This 2024 ChenYuan Hao WanGong goes for approx $248.00 for 200g cake or $1.24/g. 

Dry leaves have a sweet candy odour with faint forest in the background.  

Rinsed leaves are a very sweet vegital with deep forest odour.

First infusion has a watery oily sweet pop of vibrant taste there is a watery clear sweet almost candy expression that returns.  Subtle cereal notes watery and clear sweetness.  Soft fluffy mouthfeel.  Body leaving its self feeling. Spacy floating.  Cooled down it is really delicate and sweet with watery uninterrupted sweetness that evolves from sort of melon to candy. 

Second infusion is really clear sugar watery pure melon.  Light airy fluffy subtle oily texture.  Watery clear taste.  It returns as a pop of candy sweetness then fades fast.  Subtle spacy out of body feeling.   Really nice puer ethereal sweetness.  Throat and chest subtle feelings.

Third infusions has a more buttery oily almost floral onset with a return of sweet tastes.  There is a sweetness that develops like surgery light syrup and background of grains cereal and almond.  There is deep throat saliva trapped and a sticky mild roof of the mouth. Spacy shoulders and head floating with sort of mild out of body feeling.  Subtle throat and chest feelings.

Fourth infusion has an oily sweet taste with a candy sweet return.  Sort of just oily viscous woody seed onset and a sweet taste that comes out on return.  Sticky mouthfeel but mainly oily textured.  Spacy floating head and shoulders. Viscus almost nutty oily olive oil taste with some sweet in the finish. Faint chest and throat feelings.

Fifth is left to cool and is an oily sort of bland pure sweetness that really comes out in the returning sweetness.  Deeper throat opening and saliva.  Floating bodyfeeling.  Chest and throat sensations.  Spacy out expanding body.

Sixth infusion has an oily sweet almost floral pure taste. Expanding chest feeling with floating sensation and spaced out feeling.  Not as much sweet return now but a very clean pure taste.

Seventh infusion has an oily sweet pure honey taste.  There is this nice oily texture pudding textured mouthfeel throughout the session.  Finished with a sweet sort of melon taste.  Chest expanding feeling with floating head and shoulders.  Chalky fluffy mouthfeel.

Eighth has a woody oily sort of olive oil bitterness and oily texture pure tasting with deep throat saliva textures.  Spacy floating with expanding chest feeling and shoulders sensation.  Cooled down infusions have an oily sweet with cooling sweet finish. Spaced out high feeling with body floating.

9th is left to cool and has a pure oily viscus onset not much sweetness or flavour but mainly textures and throat opening.

Long mug infusion has a woody sweet oily onset very viscus and like olive oil and some edges of sweet taste. Big chest opening and quivering chest feeling with floating head and shoulders. Spaced out body floating sensation.  Cooled down hours later it is sugary sweet upfront with oily texture.

Peace

Recommend: 2024 ChenYuan Hao TianMenShan

 Last year I was a bit disappointed in the 2023 ChenYuan Hao TianMenShan… yes it had lots of amazing aspects of taste but disappointingly weaker Qi.  I favoured the 2020 Essence of Tea TianMenShan which was a more powerful qi experience but lacked a more nuanced and complex taste.  Why can’t there be a TianMenShan( such as this 2024 ChenYuan Hao TianMenShan that goes for $220.00 for 100g or $2.20/g) that does both??? Oh but there is….

Dry leaves have a deep lingering creamy sweet pure odour.  Faint florals and forest add a light airy sweet creamy depth.

Rinsed leaves have a creamy sweet sort of melon very Guafengzhai odour. Very engaging to me as GuaFengZhai odours tend to be for me…

First infusion has a very clear pure sweet sugar with faint ghostly florals in the distance.  Clear pure but expanding sweet taste.  Sticky edges feeling with deep throst opening and lingering faint candy pear clear pure watery feeling.  Qi tingling in scalp and head floating.  Soft slow mild saliva inducing.  Like a slow motion elovlution of delicate and wonderful taste, mouthfeel, and Qi.

Second infusion has a sweet sugar onset that melts and expands in the mouth.  Sugar to almost melon to bready with florals in the distance that expresses them selves a candy sweet lingering finish. Its like something that slowly comes into focus. Deep throat faint opening and slow mild saliva with sticky edges.  Spacy deep feeling of floating and mild bliss feelings.  Euphoria uplift.  Cooled down cup is creamy pear sweetness with a melting into strong sweet candy almost caramel sweetness.  Face tingling chest opening feeling.  Long lingering caramel.

Third infusion has a vibrant creamy sweet oily buttercup floral with mild fast moving bitter.  Pops and melts of candy sweet with faint floral weeds.  Juicing sweet tastes like Juicy Fruit gum.  Long deep sweet jess and deep throat opening with floating euphoria feeling.  Dense flavourful pops. Tingling bodyfeeling/ floating a bit. Chest  qi slows the heart minutes later. Scalp and face sensations.  Cooled down cup is a very sweet candy floral. Qi does a bunch of stuff to the face and scalp.  But an interesting bodyfeel is this slow buildup then slowing of the chest and heart beats.  This Puerh really melts over me nicely!  Probably the best TianMenShan I’ve tried and much better than the 2023!

Fourth infusion has a buttery sweet sugar buttercup onset with a building up to a pear melon floral with candy breath and deep throat opening.  Expanding evolving sweet taste with cooling breath that leaves a sweet candy taste in the mouth.  Uplifting euphoria with this slowing Herst chest build up feeling in the chest.  Lingering sweet candy chalky feeling.

Fifth has a sweet oily lime onset it ends in candy finishes.  Sweet sugar layers with oily mouth pop candy long sweet melt over mouth with some cooling and deep throat.  Happy euphoria uplift.

Sixth has a sweet buttercup layered sweet that evolves and in the end melts into candy very nice oily mouthfeel with deep throat.  Melting washing over sweetnesses.  Chest Qi with evolution chest feelings and head and face feeling.  Long candy sweet finish.

Seventh has a bittersweet onset with buttery floral with a slow melting sweet candy finish.  Cooled down cup is vibrant candy sugar sweetness pop with cooling breath and deep throat opening.  Melt in the mouth sweetness with candy finish.  Mild sticky feeling.  Happy euphoria uplift.

Eighth infusion is a sweet buttercup sugar that melts into a candy sweet finish.  There is still a very bright taste and feel the mouthfeel is oily and slight chalky sticky in the finish.  Cool breath deep throat opening.  The cooled down cup is creamy almost potato woody melon with faint candy breath.

Ninth cooled down has a smooth sweet sugar oily melon expanding sweet taste. More sticky with deep throat.  Euphoria uplift.  Cooled down.  It’s a pop of sweet sugar buttery it melts into a melon candy slight woody taste.  More sticky and less deep throat.

10 th has a woody oily sweetness still nice and bright pops with cool breath with sweetness melting to candy.  Sticky mouthfeel not dry.  Deep energy charge with mild euphoria. Cooled down it has an oily woody with melt in sweet sugar buttercup to candy. So good lots of stamina…

Long mug steeping is pungent cooling forest with layers of sugar and buttercup melting and expanding.  Wow!! Strong layers of sweetness with even that characteristic toffee/ caramel characteristic of the other good TianMenShan I’ve tried.  Big Qi evolutions and movements in the chest that end in calm slow Heart  beats… transformative deep energy boost with uplifting surge of euphoric bliss state!!!  Best TianMenShan I’ve tried! Guess I won’t be sleeping tonight!

Peace 

2024 ChenYuan Hao ManXiu: Viscus Purfume Sweetness

Close in proximity to MaHei I sampled the day before and needing a little kick I went for the 2024 ChenYuan Hao ManXiu (approx $189.00 for 200g or $0.95/g).  Last year’s 2023 ChenYuan ManXiu changed the way I see high quality ManXiu with a really light and more ethereal ManXiu… I wonder if this one will be lore ethereal like last year or stronger in body like my common experience of ManXiu???

Dry leaves have a pungent sweet deeper forest odour.

Rinsed leaves have a floral ripe fruity almost mango/ banana odour.

First infusion has a pungent forest creamy sweet oily blast of taste.  The taste is a dense forest sweet purfume pungent taste.  Some cooling breath and long sweet berries taste.  A perfume cherry finish with a soft silty mouthfeel.  Spacy mind feeel.

Second infusion has a forest sweet chalky sweet taste with a deeper forest almost bitter chalky sweet taste.  Mouthfeel is chalky.  Deep dense taste that is a bit salty bitter and sweet with a dense forest taste cool throat and lingering cherry perfume sugar taste.  Subtle body floating.

Third infusion has a buttery sweet oily sugar with a perfume forest taste underneath.  The oily chalky viscus mouthfeel hold a bit of lingering sweet aftertaste and ripe banana mango taste.  Spacy mind and warming face with light libs and jaw.  Chalky fruity taste lingers minutes later.  

Fourth infusion has a slight fast moving bitter oily chalky sweet taste.  Oily buttery viscosity is big in this puerh.  The mouthfeel is an oil slick!  It leaves a fruity sweet creamy oily sweetness behind even minute later. Space out mind and light limbs and jaw.  Very delicious and satisfying with the long oily taste. Some chest opening.

Fifth has an oily woody slightly fast bitter floral sweet taste.  With oily viscous textures and sticky mouthfeel underneath.  There is some cooling then woody butter florals.  Space out with warming face jaw and chest.  Long lingering floral sweet fruit minutes later.

Sixth has an oily fruity onset with a quick bitterness and floral woody finish with slight drying sticky mouth. Lingering floral woody not as sweet taste.  Spaced out.  With jaw and chest bodyfeeling.

Seventh has a buttery creamy fruity mild quick moving bitter.  Oily chalky mouthfeel long lingering creamy slight bitter woody floral sweet finish.  Cooled down it gives off a sweet creamy fruity cooling pungent sweet taste.  Spacy Qi with chest and jaw sensations.  

8th is a watery oily sort of background sweet taste with faint floral buttery slight sweet finish… less flavours here… spacy feeling with chest tight and jaw is loose bodyfeel.

The long mug infusion has a buttery oily sweet taste.  Some quick moving bitterness.  There is some floral and sweetness in the finish.  The texture is really nice and oily thick.  Face sweats and warmth as well as chest expanding and jaw light feeling.  

Peace

2024 ChenYuan Hao MaHei: Happy MaHei Monday!

 

This 2024 ChenYuan Hao MaHei goes for approx $189.00 for 200g cake or $0.95/g.  I selected this sample out of the remaining 2024 ChenYuan Hao samples Monday morning this week after sampling the two Chawangshu and two GuaFengZhai the week before because I was in the mood for a characteristic happy fruity floral MaHei… this one did not disappoint!

Dry leaves have a deeper sweet floral creamy sweetness.

Rinsed leaf has a deeper fruity odour with light sugary edges.

First infusion has a sugary sweetness upfront that returns as a candy cherry taste. Mouthwatering and melts over the mouth.  A nice clear delicious mouthwatering sweet transformation and build up.  Cooling breath mouthwatering finish. Soft cottony mouthfeel.

Second is left to cool and has a very sweet oily juicy viscus sort of deeper fruity taste with a bready cherry sort of floral layer.  Oily viscus mouthfeel.  Sweet layers with a deep sweet feeling.  Some coolness and candy sweet taste returning.  Mild happy feeling soft bodyfeel.

Third infusion is left to cool and has a sweet spicy taste watery sugar fruity underneath almost bready with an almost candy returning sweet aftertaste. Cereal/ hay tastes.   fluffy mouthfeel with sticky edges.  

Fourth has a sugar soft spice woody hey cereal.  Less sweet with mild body feeling and happy vibe. Some cooling but candy sweetness doesn’t breath throat.  Slight sandy sticky mouth edges. Happy calm vibe.

Fifth has a watery creamy fruity sugar banana onset with soft fluffy mouthfeel with sticky edges.  Long sweet sugar finish.  There is faint pops of grape candy in the finish.  Peaceful happy feeling.  Soft soothing body feeling.

Sixth has a creamy sugar woody almost sour almost banana taste that has a viscus feel with sticky edges.  This infusion is less sweet and more dry sticky gripping cereal woody. Happy feeling with mild bodyfeel some Heart feeling. 

Seventh has a woody sour slight dry gripping with a stronger happy feeling.  Chest swelling with throat fullness bodyfeeling.  Mild happy vibes.

Eighth has a woody sweet dry sticky edges with dry tongue tip.  Slight almost candy but really not much sweetness left.  A happy vibe with bubbling chest and throat bodyfeeling. Sticky tongue mouthfeel is a bit unique.  Not much sweetness here anymore.

The long mug infusion is a sweet sugar with some floral lingering and following a nice sugar taste.  There is a dry sticky almost sharp tongue feeling.  Sugar and floral and woody.  Bubbling open chest feeling with chest expanding and strong happy feel goods- I really felt like a tea like this today so I went with this MaHai feeling it would be this vibe and it never failed.  It’s got that happy vibe MaHai Qi feeling that I was looking for.  Nothing overwhelming strong or too crazy complex ( but nice complexity nonetheless) here but mainly good vibes on a Monday!

Peace