1000th Blog Post!!!!

 1000 eh?  I still remember over 12 years ago reading the day Stephane of Teamasters posted his 1000th Blog post.  I remember thinking that was a crazy amount of posts about tea!  So I guess that makes me crazy then too?  Hahaha….  Stephane was one of the earliest tea bloggers that indirectly motivated me to start blogging. He was posting fast and fantastically furious about puerh and oolong from his background in Taiwan and it took him only a handful of years to hit 1000!

A year or so ago I remember reading Char of Oolong Owl posting her 1000th post.  That was unbelievable for me as well because she just started in 2013 and I have only been reading her for a few years at that point.  She is a real workhorse and I always end up reading her puerh posts.  Her post had me, for the first time , checking how far I was from my 1000th post.  It also had me thinking of Shah8 and his Sheng of the Day posts at Badger and Blade.  He must have the most puerh posts in English of all time maybe even 2000??? Anyways he’s my favourite one to read in the last few years here.  Don’t think anyone else has hit 1000?  Have I missed anyone???

It also got me thinking what it takes to get to 1000 posts… it think it’s a combination of resilience, a bit of obessive compulsiveness, a bit of inflexibility and a true love of the tea.

This blog has evolved lots over the years but I think it always stays authentic to where I am in life at the time.  Lately, my articles about broader topics have been less.  This is not because I’m out of thoughts or ideas or things to say but mainly because I don’t have the time or energy to write them out or to put my thoughts into writing.  Instead it is mainly my detailed tasting notes and comparisons and rankings.  

What you see on the blog is my evaluative writings.  For some people writing everything down as meticulously as me takes away from their focus and enjoyment but for me it actually keeps me present, engaged, and in the moment with the tea that I’m evaluating.  I find an extreme focused evaluation of tea is in some ways similar to a meditative experience for me.  It sharpens the use of my senses and everyday judgments and evaluations in all aspects of life.  Because I’m already writing this stuff down it’s pretty easy to share it with you wonderful readers!

A few years ago I wondered if there was a resurgence of puerh blogging but now I’m pretty sure it’s an old person’s thing… but I’m old anyways … hahaha

Thanks readers as well you also give me the motivation to continue to post because I can feel your energy and I really do put that into this blog.  Thank you for this!

Peace

2003 Chen Yuan Hao Youle: Puerh.uk vs Teas We Like

In my exploration of earlier Chenyuan Hao from the above two vendors the 2003 Chenyuan Hao Youle is one of my favorites after this reallynice session from Teas We Like.  I like the strong gushu Youle presentation, particularly the strong happy mood altering effect that often lasts a few days for me.  It’s a strong exaggeration of the typical Qi one would get from the Youle producing area.  It’s got to be one of the better examples of the Youle area with this much age on it.  I mentioned in the Teas We Like review that I’m considering purchasing a cake or maybe at least another quarter.  

I purchased this 2003 Chen Yuan Hao (approx. $492.00for 357g cake or $1.38/g) storage version from Puerh.uk.  I have tried this same storage in other Chenyuan Hao which include this 2005 Chen Yuan Hao Shanzhong Chuanqi cake as well as samples of the 2011 Chenyuan Hao Qian Jia Zhai Jincha and 2003 Chen Yuan HaoTong Qing Hao.  The Taiwanese storage is a bit drier than Teas We Like and tends to have more sweetness and higher notes exaggerated as well as more bitter and astringency but sometimes less depth.  For some cakes I prefer the Teas We Like storage and for some I prefer the Puerh.uk storage.  Let’s sample this one and see how it compares…

The dry leaves have a pine tree, slight grain and prune/raison odour.

The first infusion has a woody sort of creamy flat menthol taste.  It finishes a watery prune taste that has a flat almost tight watery mouthfeeling.  There is a nice mid-profile of peachy prune that comes and goes.  The mouthfeeling is a very thin almost watery but full reaching pucker.  There is a lingering coolness in the breath minutes later with a bread-like sweetness to it.  Lots going on early with this one.

The second infusion has a sweet prune almost woody menthol with a dazzling pop of sweetness initially there is a strong puckering astringent mouthfeeling that is less gagging in the throat and more on the cheeks and tongue.  This induces lots of saliva to push out of the throat and into the mouth.  There is a long cooling in the breath and long sort of menthol taste.  The Qi is very happy euphoria with a mind slowing feature with a chest pressure.  Strong Qi sensation.  There is an almost woody menthol and bready taste lingering in the mouth.  Strong warming in the face and chest and body.

The third infusion has a woody almost cherry tart menthol sweet astringent onset.  The woodiness is more prominent here as is the astringency.  Strong puckering mouthfeeling with sweetness and woody and menthol punching through.  The tongue and mouth is a full dry pucker with the throat opening deeply to push some saliva out and greet a lingering cool bready sweet woody menthol.  This Puerh.uk version seems more astringent and puckering and less layered and deep than the Teas We Like version.  There is some sort of peachy/prune sweetness lingering at the end.  Nice time slowing and happy euphoria Qi sensation.  The profile has 4 sort of phases: the initial sweet and astringency, woody menthol puckering, deep throat cooling and flavours, lingering sweet prune/peachy.  Qi is equally layered and complex with slowing properties to the mind, chest beats, and happy euphoria feelings.

The 4^th has an almost sour tart tangerine woody taste initially.  The astringency is less as is the menthol.  The mouthfeeling is almost a grainy sandy feeling here with a chalkiness to it.  There is some throat cooling and bready tastes in the finish.  A bland chalky taste lingers.

5^th infusion has a woody bland chalky very slightly sweet tart cherries onset.  There is a dry bland woody taste that comes after then a woody faint tart cherry finish. This infusion has a bland chalky woody taste that dominates even in the aftertaste.  There is less of a deeper aftertaste now.  Minutes later a bland chalky taste is left in the mouth.  Warming feeling mild happy euphoria with Chest heaviness and openness.

6^th is left to cool and gives off a bland woody creamy sweet peachy taste with less astringency and more bland with a cooling almost but not really menthol finish.  This cool infusion has a long bland chalky taste to it.  Faint bread in the aftertaste and a lingering sweetness with not as much astringency and pucker and chalkier mouthfeeling than pucker and bland woody chalky taste throughout.

7^th has a fruity fresh fruity sort of melon peach type of taste over a bland chalky woody taste.  The astringency becomes less here and is just very mild now in these flash infusions.  There is a creamy bready sweetness in the finish.  Nice calm mind, less slowing now but still nice happy vibe with chest opening and beating.

8^th has a fresh but muted by woody bland tasting fruity melon/peach.  No astringency in these flash steepings.  It has a deep open slight cooling with creamy sweet woody bready sweet aftertastes.  This infusion is less astringent and less bland chalky than previous.  Nice mind slow focus juxtaposed with a happy vibe with a slight euphoria.  Long creamy chalky sweetness many minutes later.

9^th as a more vibrant peachy sweet onset with a mild oily texture.  There are woody almost incense notes underneath.  With an open mid-deep throat there are lingering bread and creamy tastes with dry woody lingering.  Nice chest beats.

10^th has a more woody than peachy fresh onset that is a bit oily and put together and full.  Nice slow emerging creamy sweet over woody with lesser bready notes.  Nice heat beats and warming feeling in the body with stronger euphoria and happy feeling.  Deep creamy woody lingering taste sort of resin but not really not really incense but satisfying.

11^th infusion is left to cool and gives off a creamy woody chalky taste.  There is a deep throat faint cooling creamy sweetness that lingers.  The flavours are less now but the Qi has pushed me into a very happy-go-lucky state of mind which this Youle always manages to do.

12 has a woody bland sort of but not really sweet taste.  There is suggestions of peachy tastes but barely now with more of a grains cereal nuance with bland tastes- some faint breads.

I mug steep out the rest and it gives off a woody bitter with just edges of faint sweetness with a long strong deep coolness in the deep throat and strong Heart beats and vibrant happy mood feeling.  The Qi of this puerh is just great- the best of Youle!

Vs Teas We Like storage Overall, the Teas We Like storage on this is maybe a bit more preferable.  This Puerh.uk storage version, I don’t think has the depth of the Teas We Like storage other than its interesting pine woody resin taste and dry leaf odour which I really loved… actually there was lots of complexity here. The Teas We Like storage has a deeper resin ashy quality that gives it depth without being as astringent.  The layers of this kind of thing appeals to me bit more but it lacks the complexity the Puerh.uk version has lots more dynamic complexity in the first few infusions.

Oh man… still can’t decide on if I’m going to get more of this Youle or just back away with the two quarter cakes here…. Both storage options here are are good in their own way…

Peace

1999-2000 Fuhai Yiwu Six Green Leaves= Powerful

This is a bit of a famous cake stored by the more famous and at times controversial Cloud’s Tea House… I got this sample from LiquidProust.  It was a damn cold Spring day with lots of wind and cold and this seemed like a very satisfying drink to warm up to…

Dry leaves smell of cardboard-woody damp paper bag.

First infusion has a soft fluffy onset with some watery humid notes, some dirt notes, then a mild bitter astringency pop and a cooling almost creamy sweet finish.  The mouthfeeling is really gripping and engaging.  There is a tobacco note that appears minutes later.

Second infusion has a rye-whiskey woody onset with a smooth woody creamy sweet transition in the mouth.  There is lots movement in the taste from a woody rye whiskey onset a bit of bitter astringency then returns a creamy sweet almost wine like long finish that sort of merges with cooling.  Then there is a lingering aftertaste minutes later that has a tobacco taste to it.  The mouthfeeling is chalky and tugging and really full.  It reaches down the throat deeply stimulating it.

Third infusion has a strong rich smoke woody rye-whiskey slight dirt with strong mouthfeeling and dry chalky gripping feeling with a strong returning sweetness of cooling menthol with a creamy sweet finish.  The flavours are very strong and distinct. Very intense gripping full mouth and deep gripping throatfeeling.  Long tobacco finish in the mouth many minutes later.  Very subtle warming feeling in the body.  Subtle focusing and relaxing.

The 4^th infusion has a woody wine whiskey vibrant pop of flavours that has a plum taste kind of layered in there.  There is a strong menthol cooling with pops of plum cherries and a long cooling creamy sweetness with long tobacco finish.  Very strong full tugging mouthfeeling and throatfeeling.  This infusion has stronger cherry-plum sweet vibrancy.  The mouthfeeling continues in be quite intense and the Qi is this subtle warming relaxing focusing energy.  You can feel a warmth in the diaphragm. 

5^th has a strong woody whiskey barrel onset with some distant smoke and distant sweet plum there is a strong mouth and throat presence here with a bitter astringency underneath and strong simulating mouth and throatfeeling.  Camphor woody and not as creamy sweet.  Intense mouth and throatfeeling taste centered by very soft warming relaxing Qi and comfortable bodyfeeling.  Have never experienced the extremes of this dichotomy in a tea this old and aged. Qi has a distinct warming heavy sensation in the Stomach and diagram.

6^th infusion has a strong woody whiskey barrel taste with some developing cherry-plum some lesser camphor wood.  Nice tobacco and creamy sweet finish.  Very strong pulling mouth and throatfeeling.  Nice strong warming diaphragm and stomach.  Relaxing focus.

7^th infusion has a creamy sweet woody onset with a touch of bitter astringency.  The mouthfeel is more oily and velvety with a long plum camphor taste.  There is this tobacco finish in this puerh that I just love in Yiwu puerh.  The creamy sweet profile is long throughout the profile. 

8^th has a plum woody whisky barrel onset that is mainly sweet with lesser bitter astringency in the last few infusions.  Nice camphor cooling with a creamy sweetness and some bitter finish in the mouth.  There is a creamy sweet and tobacco with bitterness in the finish.  Strong diagpragm warming feelng. Very full chalky gripping mouthfeeling and deep and strong throat stimulation.  Long cooling in the throat.  Some faint dirt and plum tastes initially.

9^th is left to cool and gives off a subtly smoke, subtle dirt coco bitterness, and soft creamy sweetness initially.  The initial tastes go long in this cooled down cup.    There is more smoke and more dirt taste in this infusions.  The throatfeeling has more tugging strength than the mouthfeeling which is more of a dry chalky.  Nice relaxing focusing with strong warming digapragm and Stomach.  The warming centering Qi is really compforting.

10^th has a silky full mouthfeeling with a stimulating pulling throat feeling with a creamy sweet coco dirt onset with an expanding creamy sweetness.  Longer creamy sweet profile now with lots of creamy coco taste.  Strong warmth in Stomach and diaphragm.

11^th is cooled down and gives off more dirt tastes than creamy sweet coco.  There is this dirt and bitter taste that has a certain brackish taste to it.  This infusion has some faint camphor and barely sweetness but is mainly this bitter dirt taste.  The Qi is still strongly warming and relaxing.

12^th has a bitter dirt with some creamy sweet notes underneath.  The bitter dirt taste pretty much tastes over the taste here.  The mouthfeeling is dry tugging with strong throat stimulation only faint creamy sweet coco tastes now.  Strong relaxing….

I put these same leaves into mug infusions….

The result is a bitter dirt bland strong tasting broth that is not that enjoyable tasting but strong relaxing and warming Qi remains.  Nice warming and relaxing feeling on this slow moving unseasonably cool and windy day.

This is a powerful factory Yiwu puerh with power in its taste and mouth- and throat-feeling.  Yet very warming and relaxing and comfortable in its Qi.  The dichotomy is striking.  The strength and power of the mouth and throatfeel in an aged puerh like this sort of reminds me of the 88 Qing Bing.  It also offers an interesting contrast to the Black Stamp of the same year which is quite refined, smooth, and very tasty fruity taste with high quality body feeling.  Very opposite this Fuhai in almost every way.

Peace

2001 Xiaguan Jingua Tuocha Shu

Stephane of Teamsters sent a 2001 Xiaguan Jingua Toucha Shu freesample a few years ago.  Usually this 450g melon goes for $210.00 or $0.47/g.  As a part of my 2001 Xiaguan study and to compare to the “1960s Loose Leaf” and because it was damn cold this day and to warm me up…. I decided to crack this sample of a very classic traditional style of Shu.  It turns out I know very little about what is going on with Shu puerh these days but I know a good classic shu when I come across one and this was pretty satisfying… thanks in advance Stephane!

Dry leaves smell still of fermentation storage like smells like pretty drier stored shu.

First infusion smells of dank mushroomy old factory shu to me…. And tastes milky, watery mushroom, woody taste, with some faint coolness and empty mouth sweet taste left behind.

Second infusion has a deep chocolate onset that has rich milky layers, a hazelnut taste along with chocolate gives a Nutella like taste over an oily mouthfeeling.  Rich and chocolate nutty tastes. 

Third infusion has thick rich oily chocolate nutty hazelnut taste it has some woody mushroom taste underneath but mainly this thick oily chocolate hazelnutty taste.  Nice mild calming mind and relaxing sighs.  Nice deeply spacy relaxing feeling.

The 4^th has an oily milky sweet taste upfront then turns into a nutty mushroom taste, oily thick. With a woody-mushroom chocolate finish.  Nice oily full mouth and full throat oily feeling.  Nice deeply spacy and relaxing feeling.

5^th has an oily rich coco chocolate taste with a subtle mushroom woody taste under the thick oily coco taste. 

6^th is left to cool and has a creamy milky taste with a flat oily mouthfeeling and faint distant cooling and a woody straw like coco finish.  Nice oily throat and saliva.  Very relaxing vibe.

7^th has a milky flat woody taste.  Very consistent from infusion to infusion but really delicious and great Qi.  There is definitely a straw grains finish in the last few infusions now with lessening amounts of chocolate and sweetness.  Still very nice relaxing qi sensations.

8^th is a more woody coco creamy sweetness with the woody and coco and milky sort of presenting together.  The result is nice with a touch of cooling that brings out some creamy taste. The mouthfeel is now moving towards becoming slightly dry.  I feel energized with the energy- it bumps me up but then again is a bit relaxing.  The cumulative effect is energizing though.

9^th has a dryer woodiness to it and less of a smooth oily milky or coco taste.  The energy is strongly alerting now as the liquor accumulates in the body.  Strong alerting now.

10^th was left in the pot for a good minute and has a woody coco less milky sweetness.  The alerting energy in here reminds us that this is a strong Xiaguan!  Heart beats now..

I flash steep out of the pot the next day with woody hay coco oily tastes.  Still very tasty and mild alerting energy. 

I push the spent leaves in the mug for a few days and am satisfied with the result of coco taste.  Super enjoyable shu,classic, no nonsense.

Peace

2003 ChenYuan Hao Manzhuan: Fruit Bomb!

This 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan came from my order of Chen Yuan Hao Quarter cakes at Teas We Like which goes for $155.00 for 90g or $1.72/g.  Teas We Like sold the full cake for a few years on their site before offering the Quarter cake option…

Dry leaves smell of a creamy woody odour that is maybe a bit sweet but piercing.

First infusion was left to cool and gives off a pungent vegetal creamy sweetness that is over an oily broth.  There is a long pungent coolness throughout.  It appears in the aftertaste as a very sweet layered creamy fruity taste appears.  This first infusion has lots of flavor and minutes later a creamy pungent fruity taste is left in the mouth.  There is a reassuring calmness to the first infusion.

The second infusion has a brassy vegetal almost but not really bitterness upfront that has a juicy fruity underlying sweetness to it which quickly follows.  Lots of layers of tastes and a nice complex aftertaste of juicy fruity layers breads, vegetal tastes, almost bitters, creamy sweentesses.  There is an overall layered sweetness that is nicely pushes out with an open throat feeling and a pungent coolness lingering in there with a slightly chalky slight oily mouthfeeling.  Nice calm and reassuring mind. 

Third infusion has a creamy flat vegetal not really bitterness then dives into a creamy fruity layered sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is a bit tight under a softer chalky and slightly oily texture.  There is some nice pungent coolness throughtout and an aftertaste of creamy tastes with fruity layers.   The taste is really nice.  There is an open throat feeling and some saliva producing there as well.  Nice calming mind.  Although single origin, it seems to complex and with such nice breadth would likely be produced from blending many sources in Manzhuan area.  So nice.

The fourth infusion has an oily thick fruity layering in a watery vegetal sort of taste.  The layers of oily fruit are reminiscent of Tuiti-fruity tastes.  Nice open throat feeling with a faint lingering pungent now.  Nice super relaxing vibe with a few face tingles.  Less complex this infusion.

The fifth infusion has a pungent cooling vegetal vibrant almost bitter onset with fruity sweet tastes pushed out of here.  The mouthfeel is a bit tight with an oily texture on top.  Nice faint cooling produces some creamy and bread sweetness but mostly a tuiti fruity tastes.  Even minutes later.  The fruity sweet taste is substantial.

The sixth infusion is left to cool and gives off a watery vegetal woody initial taste with lesser creamy sweet notes.  There is a fainter profile now with a watery woody and fruity notes with some cooling.  The texture of the liquor is much less oily now with more of a tight tongue feeling.  Nice calm feeling Qi with some mild face tingling.

The 7^th is also left to cool and gives off a woody vegetal bland initial taste with an underlying bitterness now.  There is faint under taste that comes out in the aftertaste such as wood, vegetal leaves, bland paper, fruit.  Nice mind calming.  Cooling breath and some sweetness appear minutes later.

8^th ooops left the hot water on the leaves for a good minute…  has a strong woody tongue gripping and puckering feel with some initial sweetness with a bread woody mid-profile and woody sour cherry pop that quickly comes and goes in the puckering mouthfeeling.  Stronger mind melting power- stronger than just relaxed now.  Face tingling and almost a sleepiness to the Qi here.

9^th 20 second steep… and left to cool… has a woody fruity taste with a bitter vegetal woody body there is some faint cooling then brief creamy sweetness.  Nice chalky mouthfeeling and a lingering creamy sweetness in the slightly tjight puckering underbelly.  Spacy and sleepy Qi now.

10^th has a nice fruity chalky woody vegetal bitterness to it.  There is still some sweetness but not as strong and a strong sleepy and spacy Qi. 

11^th is a 30 second infusion has a bit of fruity woody vegetal bitterness.

I push it hard into mug infusions now with lots of available complex depth available to explore with soapy floral tastes, woody bitters, darker woods, deeper fruity notes and sweet tastes, bland woody vegetal tastes.  Nice deep profile in this Manzhuan.

A few days later I push it with another long mug steeping…

It pushes out lots of clear candy sweetness with a long tropical candy fruity taste.  There is not really any bitterness or astringency or that much woody taste but the sweet candy taste is strong and long and satisfying.  It has that Rockets Candy like sweetness.  Yummy. The taste lingers with thick saliva gobs forming in the mouth and deep throat… this is by far the best example of ManZhuan I have tried…

Very sweet, very nice clear Manzhuan profile.  The layered sweet fruity tastes in the first handful of infusions are amazing and leave me wondering if a bunch of Manzhuan areas have been blended in here because it’s deep in its sweet fruitiness like the Tuiti-fruity flavor.  Open throat with oily texture that drops off after the first handful of infusions which is typical of my experience with Manzhuan.  Qi is at first relaxing then descends into a stronger sleepy and spacy feeling.  It really slowed me down today!  Very tasty.

Peace

2005 Yiwu Ancient Tree Melon: Craving this Yiwu!

Got this sample from The Essence of Tea after it sold out.  I had just hit the 2004 Yang Qing HaoZhencang Chawang pretty hard for a decent price and couldn’t stomach another few KG of Yiwu… but this one turned out to be pretty good as well…  This 2005 Yiwu Ancient Tree Melon went for$690.00 for 1000g melon or $0.69/g.  There is a terrible spring blizzard here now so I’ve been digging into some oldish samples…  

The dry leaves smell very sweet creamy sweet almost candy-like odours.

The First infusion has a creamy oily sweetness.  The taste as a touch of fleeting fruitiness and a touch of astringent pucker but is mainly this sweet oily liquor.  The aftertaste has this slow creamy sweetness that hides in the throat and is pushes out in gentle spurts of saliva.

The second infusion has a fresh cherry pop of taste that induces saliva in the slightly puckering mouthfeeling and oily texture.  The throat feeling is interesting and feels like there is a slow and sputtering release of saliva from the mid throat to the back of the mouth.  The finish is subtle incense and a slow release creamy sweetness.  There are some bodyfeeling tingles with this one- face, neck, forehead.  Some diaphragm and chest opening feeling.

The third infusion has a cherry fruity pop initially with some pucker tart and saliva producing to follow.  The finish of faint incense and creamy sweetness is stronger here.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more gripping as well.  Strong puckering feeling where a creamy sweetness lingers.  Open belly and chest feeling with some relaxing sighs. 

The 4^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy sweet oily and slightly woody taste that has a chalky incense aftertaste and strong cherry almost sour edge to it.  There is a faint cooling woody but tastes different and fresher than menthol in this cooled down cup.  Nice soft full drying.  Cherry artificial candy like finish.

5^th has a creamy woody sweet taste with some lesser fruit cherries that can’t quite express.  The creamy sweet chalky aftertaste has an almost strawberry cream taste to it.  There is a cool almost menthol but more like a tingling cherry cough candy- really tasty and unique.  Nice numb tingles in the body with a foucs on the tummy and chest feeling open.  Nice calm feeling.

6^th has a creamy woody oily onset with a sweet creamy almost fruity taste.  It develops into a faint incense and creamy strawberry candy sweetness with a bit of cherry cough candy taste.  Nice mild tingles and Chest and Abdomen opening.  There is a long cooling cherry candy creamy woody taste in the back of the throat.  There is an open mid-throat with and slight full dry puckering mouthcoating.  The energy of this puerh isn’t warming but not cooling either. 

7^th is left to cool and has a creamy woody almost sweet fruity initial taste with an almost menthol cherry cough candy finish to it.  The mouthfeeling is puckering and becoming more and drier.  There are glimpses of talc powdery taste.  There is now a gripping feeling in the throat as less saliva is produced.  Nice relaxing and reassuring vibe here with some tingles and Chest and Abdomin opening.

8^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy woody not as sweet initial taste with a menthol cherry cough candy mild finish.  There is a drier gripping mouthfeeling with a mid throat puckering.  Nice opening expanding diparagm and Chest.  Nice calm focus.

9^th infusion has a creamy sweet candy cherry like onset over a chalky slight puckering mouthfeeling.  The sweetness lingers in the aftertaste. 

10^th has a creamy strawberry-like taste with a chalky finish.  With nice chest and abdomen opening and tingles in the face.

11^th is cooled down and is creamy woody talc taste with chalky finish in the mouth.  There is this woody chalky taste primarily.  Nice focusing.

I mug steep out the rest of the wet leaves and it gives off a woody menthol-cherry taste with a touch of astringency and long cool aftertaste with interesting layers of pungency, sweetness, and dryness.  The mouthfeel has a strong gripping taste which translates to a woody cherry pungent astringent dryness.  It doesn’t have that gag feeling though.  Strong mind relaxing and face warming now.

Comparing this Yiwu to some of the Chen Yuan Hao or Yang Qing Hao Yiwu’s I have been consuming late isn’t really a fair comparison as I feel these are a bit better but not that much better.  This Yiwu melon has really nice storage on it better than the Yang Qing Hao and Chen Yuan Hao stuff and a super interesting cherry cooling coughdrop flavor.  It’s really comfortable in the body.  There is some solid bodyfeelnig with the Abdomen and Chest opening and focusing feeling in the mind.  The mouthfeeling is a bit too gripping and puckering at times and the complexity is obvious single estate product.  There was something unique about this one that I can’t put my finger on maybe the cherry cough drop taste ??? which was enjoyable also the fact that it was a bit gripping and astringent but aged enough that it was completely comfortable in the body. I’m not sure if it would have been one that I would want to purchase but I can see myself drinking it regularly.   Another solid tea from The Essence of Tea! 

I’ve been drinking the spent leaves in long infusions for the past few days and I have to say that I really look forward to these steepigns from this puerh.  It has a nice very clean taste, very pure taste, the leaf quality is very and there is no interruption from storage tastes.  In many ways this Yiwu is better that those coming from those famous boutique brands…  This is definitely a puerh I could drink on the regular.

Peace

2011 ChenYuan Hao Qian Jia Zhai Jin Cha: Smooth, Deep, Long

I requested this sample of this 2011 ChenYuan Hao Qian JiaZhai Jin Cha (approx. $100 for 300g mushroom or $0.33/g) from Paolo of Puerh.uk in my last order.  I have been interested in it since seeing it posed on the Teas We Like site.  Jin Cha is not usually of high quality product but this one apparently is.  Also I like the tight compression and tend to enjoy the puerh I’ve sampled from QianJia Zhai in the past.

Dry leaves very very creamy sweet notes it smells like cake almost.

First infusion has a watery floral vegetal peat moss kind of initial taste with a long sweet floral watery finish.  Nice calming mind feeling.

Second infusion has a chalky floral creamy sweet taste with an expanding long floral sweetness that is subtly cooling and long on the breath.  It is really expansive and mouthwatery.  The mouthfeeling makes the lips tight and has a mild puckering feel over a mid-deep opening throat.  Nice long floral sweet taste.

The third infusion is left to cool and gives off a woody floral sweet almost bitter taste the taste is really a nice with a long and sweet floral almost candy-like taste which really expands in the soft oily texture and subtle tight mouthfeeling underneath.  The mouthwatering effect is slow and gradual and gives the feeling of a silky smooth puerh.  The Qi is deeply relaxing and reflective with deep sighs.

The fourth infusion has a creamy floral woody almost peat kind of taste with a nice soft gripping mouthfeeling and throatfeeling with dry lips and a tugging at the back of the throat.  There is some sweet taste and bitter woody-peat.  A faint sugar taste is left in the mouth.  Minutes later there is a distinct coco chocolate taste that lingers on the breath.  Nice deep calming with chest heaviness.  Qi has a strong unwinding feeling that you just sink into.

5^th has a woody bitter oily peat floral less of a sweetness now.  The oily taste is substantial over a tugging tight mouthfeeling.  The returning sweet taste is big and interesting with pops of floral and tart bitter sweet cherries and coco chocolate deeper tastes.  Deep reflective Qi.

6^th infusion has a coco floral onset with nice oily taste with slight gripping tongue long sweet chocolate taste with this one.  Nice slowly building aftertaste and deep heavy chest calming and reflection.  Nice pops of creamy tart bitter cherries but overall and throughout coco.

7^th has a woody cherry bitter tart taste with a long woody kind of peat but with a sweet cherry edge taste.  Nice expansive taste.  Mouthwatering tart-bitter-sweetness with a strong throat simulating effect which pushes saliva in the tongue and mouth.  Deep relaxation and reflection.  Limbs and neck heaviness.

8^th has a cherry berry woody sweet onset with an expanding taste that gets a bit cherry and coco and creamy sweet.  Nice long unveiling of flavor. 

9^th has a creamy cherry sweet woody onset with floral nuances in there.  It ends with this slightly dirt but more of a coco chocolate note.  The flavor slowly evolves over a slightly tight motuhfeeling and nice throat simulating in the mid-upper throat.  Nice relaxing contemplative Qi.

10^th has a cherry-woody-coco onset with a balance of bitter and sweet with a bit of tart flavor initially that stretches into more of a creamy sweet with tart cherry-berry and woody-dirt-coco flavours.  Nice Qi folds over my mind and has a bit of a heavy feeling in the shoulders and arms and face.  Feels deeply reflective.

11^th has a honey woody sweet taste in this cooled down infusion.  There is a long dirt coco taste with creamy sweet honey undertaste.  The Qi has a heavy chest feeling and nice deep relaxing.

12^th has a woody plum coco onset over a tighter mouthfeeling and oily body.  The throat is stimulated mid level and creates a nice long aftertaste of creamy coco slightly bitter-sweet.  Nice deep contemplated Qi.

13^th has a dirt woody bitter coco that is more this bland brackish dirt taste now with lesser sweetness that is more in the aftertaste and almost creamy sweet.  The mouthfeel is becoming tighter here.  Nice strong relaxing Qi.

14^th has a strong creamy bitter sweet coco and brackish dirt taste with a oily slow to develops coolness and creamy sweetness in the aftertaste.  The Qi is this really enjoyable unwinding feeling in the mind while still keeping the alertness and energy stable. 

15^th rich coco taste developing with a nice oily sweetness that slowly comes out in the aftertaste under the dominant coco.  The coco is slightly brackish and dirt there is an evolving almost sweetness.

I got back to the leaves the next day and the flash infusion has a bitter herbs taste to them.

I mug steep out the rest…

Deep dark coco chocolate taste with woody and fruity and bread layers.  Still very deep and complex tasting with a pungent coolness that has a numbing mouth feeling.  Nice oily and rich taste.  Deep dark sweet bitter-sweet coco.  It has that peat-brackish-dirt undertaste to it.

I felt really really good after consuming this puerh.  The Qi is really nice- it is this deep contemplative puerh that doesn’t slow the mind down.  It has some heavy sensations in the body but yet the mind doesn’t feel heavy or bogged down.  I like the slow moving profile and long aftertaste.  There is some really delicious sweet tastes in there and they are nicely balanced with a bit of bitterness that comes out later but not that much astringency.  The throat is nicely stimulated.

I’m unsure what I would compare this one too… but it is really good for its price and I’d like to try the Teas We Like storage before considering a purchase.

Peace