2026 Tea Encounter HeBian

 2026 Tea Encounter HeBian Goes for $155.00 for 250g or  $0.62/g.  This was the second sample of Tea Encounter’s 2026 line up that I sampled and I also sampled it blind…

The dry leaves are a deep cherry rich forest sweet odour smells like Walong/ ManZhuan with more of a MengHai  area feel sort of in notes richness but not as sweet sort of wild smelling.

Rinsed leaves have a deep rich fruity odour with creamy sweet odours and strawberry cherries…, so mouthwatering!

First infusion has very faint smoke full juicy strawberries fruity taste.  Nice fine tobacco tastes.  Full mouth tongue sticky with big chesty warming Qi.  It has a Manghai feeling but not …. It’s familiar to me but hard for me to place.

2nd has a tobacco sweet taste with mouthwatering sticky mouth.  Strawberries finish.  Big chest feeling with sticky mouth.  Juicy fruity feeling underneath with a big warming chesty feeling.

3rd is left to cool and is a sweet icing sugar with mouthwatering sweetness.  Some woody bark and lingering breath sweetness. Big chest expanding with chest beats lots of ashy chalky melon woody. Lots of energy! 

4th is a melon ashy chalky woody onset with sweet emerging melon underneath wood bark taste. Slight sandy dry roof of mouth. Big Qi swells in the chest with large heart palpitations and big qi energy.

5th is a mildly bitter with sticky slight mouth pucker.  Emerging sweet melon.  There is a spice onset with lingering long bitter now. Big chest Qi where Qi is mainly pooling.  Energetic boost.

6th is a sweet ashy woody bitter with warming qi mild face rush and big energy feeling.  Full long moderate bitterness with mouth puckering.  Chest Qi!

7th has a bitter woody onset with melon sweet taste under moderate strong long bitter taste.  Energy boost!  

8th is left to cool and is spice and sweet melon taste with full sticky taste with melon underneath.

9th is an overnight mug steeping and it is metallic and ashy with an oily juicy melon and flat background menthol.  Deeper richer notes with sweet light fruity melon and deeper menthol metalic ashy… complex feeling as if Yiwu was Menghai!  … big chest beats and out of body with body floating bodyfeeling.  

Turns out this puerh is from Laos and soon as I checked the website I thought “Of course!”  I liked this tea quite a bit especially for its price!

Edit: I did drink the remainder of the sample and it’s a really nice feeling puerh…. I’m still thinking of this tea…

Peace

2026 Tea Encounter Daheishan

This 2026 Tea Encounter DaHeiShan goes for $458.00 for 200g or $2.29/g…. This was the first of Tea Encounts 2026 line up that I sampled… I actually sampled this one blindly without looking at the label and it sort of blew my mind!

 Dry leaves have a sweet foresty almost candy but a deeper liquorice sweet odour.

Rinsed leaves have a foresty mineral wildflowers deeper melon odour.

First infusion has a watery melon mineral complex but subtle taste. Forest almost lime, strawberries… subtle but very delicious with a sticky mouthfeel.  Complex and refreshing with deep cooling throat.  Deep mind lifting qi with spacy out feel.  Shoulders heavy qi with face numb...

Second infusion is left to cool and is a sweet melon honey which is viscus and moutjwztering with deep wilderglowet and candy melon complex deep pure tastes sticky mouthfeel and deep cooling throat. Profound high spacy feeling floating mond but simultaneously energetic and uplifting. Face and shoulders and chest Qi! GuaFengZhi Qi patterns?

Third is a sweet pop with quick mild subtle bitterness with a spice taste and wild floral deep throst opening and cooling with sweet melon aftertaste.  Slight sticky full feeling but saliva producing effect.  Chest face and shoulders Qi bodyfeeling. Head spacy but rejuvenating uplifting energy. Chest beats.

4th has a spicy warm spice onset with sweet almost pastry taste cooling opening deep thrust with long cooling and melon. The warming spice taste holds through the whole profile. Big qi feeling and uplifting energies. Big clear thoughts and energy zoom!

5th is a sweet spicy very mildly quick moving bitter with a wet tongue and also a priding with deep throst cooling and longer fade out sweet melon aftertaste. Spicy warm taste stays throughout.  Sticky almost sandy mild tongue now. Rejuvenated feeling big chest beats bring big qi energy. Aftertaste is lime taste minutes later. 

6th has a bitter warming spice with more gripping mouth now.  Still some saliva producing with sticky pucker. Big chest Qi more energetic now with big heart beasts and less space out floating… it has evolved into a stronger tea!

7th is left to cool and is a bitter sweet moderate mouth puckering sticky feeling with melon finish.  Big energy Qi boost!  Good stamina. Bigger feeling than GuaFengZhai…

8th is left to cool down for hours and is a sweet wildflower almost chicory broth.  Cooling breath and sticky full mouthfeel. Still strong Qi in there.

9th is a long overnight mug steeping and it is sweet melon with icing sugar edges.  Full sticky mouthfeel but not pucker nor bitter.  Big chest Qi still with happy uplifting and face and shoulders Qi.

Peace

Tea Encounter’s 2026 Line Up

 Out of all my tea drinking and evaluating in a year I am most excited about these fresh 2026 puerh!

I have been sampling fresh puerh from Tea Encounter since their inception and it’s always on of my highlights of the year! This year more so because I was left contemplating if this is their best offering of teas yet… and I believe it is…

Please join me for my annual dive into Tea Encounters 2026 puerh line up!

Peace

Jagasilk Yabukita Hasegawa by the Takaki Family

 Jagasilk Yabukita Hasegawa by the Takaki Family goes for $59 CND for 30g.

It is from their “Cafe Standard” line which, I image to be, at a lower price point and is likely a bit bitter or astringent or simple in taste and feel than their Competition or Reserve grades.  I should note that the Competition and Reserve grades have virtually no significant astringency nor bitterness.  However, I am also looking for cost effective options and enjoy the other products from the Takaki Family in Yame producing region so was interested in trying this more budget friendly option…

Powder has a roasted sweet cashew with green forest and wildflower.

There is a creamy roasted sweet almond milk with pea pod mildly bitter taste with roasted spinach taste and underneath emerging sweet taste.  

A flavourful emersion with deeper roasted notes and billowy sweet notes creating balance.

Alerting and calmingly reassuring Qi.

Peace

Thoughts on Puerh.uk Gushus 2020-2005

 Many thanks to Paolo and Una for sending me many of Puerh.uk’s 2020-2025 line up as a gift with purchase or sample to review!  The 2020-2023 picks, some of which were maocha pressed later, and the 2024/2025s were selected fresh, I believe.  This is Puerh.uk first attempts at bringing to market their own line of fresh Gushu Sheng puerh.  Throughout the years of sampling and purchasing from Puerh.uk they always seem to over preform and I end up getting something better than my expectations.  This is a true for this line of puerh as well.

Puerh.uk line has obvious Gushu feel and has a focus on subtle and elegance although I feel like I have not sampled some of their higher priced line.  Overall the price seems fair. I mentioned in previous post on astronomical prices of some of these puerh but that one was actually the tong price.

I look forward to sampling others from this line in the future. 

Peace

Jagasilk Yumewakaba by Fujioka’s Uncle

 Jagasilk Yumewakaba by Fujioka’s Uncle goes for $53.00 CND for 20g or $2.65/g. This is in the reserve line of matcha at Jagasilk.

Powder is an icing sugar sweet with emerging pastry sweet notes and faint floral.

Sweet roasty pastry bukchoi with mineral  evergreen forest depth.  soft mouthfeel.  Faint pastry sweet finish in mouth.

Peaceful slight spacy feeling.

Peace

Jagasilk Okumidori by Professor Wada

 Jagasilk Okumidori by Professor Wada goes for 20g for $48.00 CND or $2.40/g.  It’s from the reserve line and is from the Wazuka region.

Powder is a sweet candy odour very light and sweet almost fruity and nutty.

Spinach and ash with a chalky powdery mouthfeel.  Sweet underneath oily soil wildflowers.  Lingering lesser sweet candy in mouth.

Mild but steadily energetic Qi…. I think … I was drinking this one in the early morning last week outside in the garden and it certainly woke me up nicely!

Peace