One of the elements that makes White2Tea so unique is that
Paul has branded and intertwined his selection of puerh with American popular culture
and his spin on modern art. This has
never been done before and oh, it is done so brilliantly. Especially noticeable are references to American
Rap and Jazz. I believe it is no
coincidence that around the same time this tea was being pressed 2 Chainz
released his single “4 AM”.
Really there is no better way to enjoy puerh that to bang
out some new school trap music.
Sitting in Zen meditation with 2 Chainz, melodically disorienting styleof rap bridging on the edge of confusion with both rough and harsh edges flowedby high interruptions booming seems like the best way to appreciate such
things. I received this sample free with my order of 2017 "Pussy" on White2Tea's site it is listed for $109.00 for a 200g Xiao bing or $0.55/g. Let’s drop this…
The dry leaves are mix of pungent, deep, rich meat notes,
with a slight fruity edge.
The first infusion delivers a pungent, spicy peppercorn
sweet meaty initial taste in a thick brothy mouthfeel the aftertaste is of mild
honey tastes and edges of slight floral tones.
There is a nice slightly rubbery, slightly bubble gum taste that lingers
in the mouth minutes later. Immediately,
I think to myself that there is a lot going on here.
The second infusion develops a creamy sweet taste, then just
a slight meaty pungent profile which pops up quickly then recedes to a
developing sweetness of honey and slight, almost non-existent, orchid tastes. The aftertaste develops a gummy, barely
bubble gum, and mainly unnami like taste.
There is lots of different tastes going on here. The back drop is a
decent mouthfeel and a throatfeel that is pretty deep and stimulating.
The third presents with bitter notes up front which then build
up to a swelling and growing expanding sweetness. The base flavor is a slightly savory unnami
taste and a sweetness. The sweetness is
of mainly honey but slight orchid. This
infusion shows slight suggestions of a wood base underneath. The initial mild bitterness really opens the
mouth to the sweeter tastes to come. The
qi makes the jaw and face slightly numb and is giving me a nice floating
sensation in the head.
The fourth has a bitter and cypress taste up front that has
a slightly evergreen tree like edge to it.
A sweet edge of honey develops underneath but this tea is not out
rightly sweet. The sweetness build in
the mouth until a nice spike of icing sugar and peach fruit sweet taste spikes
about 20 seconds after swallowing. The
mouthfeel is slightly medium thick, sticky fuzzy in the mouth but the throat is
nicely stimulated.
The fifth offers creamy soap-like tastes that pair with slightly
bitter cypress tree notes. These tastes
quickly transform with ghostly edges of orchid and honey. The sweet taste peaks 20 seconds later with a
sweet bubble gum and fruit taste in the mouth.
There is a slight woody base under the whole infusion. Feeling very relaxed- nice qi.
The sixth infusion offers a flatter, initial bitter, up
front sage-like honey taste is in there as well. An evergreen wood base taste in slight sweetness
develops. The sweetness builds slowly
and has a certain complexness to it.
Really, there is lots going on as far as taste goes. Minutes later the taste aggregates into a
sweet clear honeydew melon taste with honey base and suggestions of orchid
flowers.
The seventh and eighth offers a watery, bitter initial taste
with slight wood. There is a nice
building up to a enjoyable melon sweetness. The returning sweetness is layered
nicely and is by far the most enjoyable part of this tea. The bitterness feels quite mild here now.
The ninth infusion offered stronger resinous evergreen tree
notes as the base. A slight menthol note
appears in the aftertaste for the first time.
The sweet note builds slowly until cresting in that honeydew melon
taste.
The tenth infusion has a watery soft bitter start with an
edge of evergreen wood. The taste is a
bit vacuous in the middle profile. Even
the aftertaste is a bit weak- not as sweet but more orchid late in the
returning sweetness. The taste evolves
slowly in the mouth.
The eleventh has florals mixed with muted evergreen wood/
cypress wood taste. The sweetness first
of honey then of a floral type. The twelfth
infusion steeped a little longer seems to meld most of these separate tastes
into one right from the initial taste and through to the aftertaste. This tea is still too young to drink and I
can feel its qi kicking at my stomach. I
spread out the infusion through the course of my day at home to mitigate this
ill effect. The tea really coats the
teeth and tongue in a thin stickiness.
Minutes later there is a sweet honeydew melon sweetness on them. Minutes after that a faint resinous
evergreen woody taste.
In the thirteenth infusion the bitterness starts to come on
stronger mildly astringing the fluids of the mouth and dominate the subtle
flavours which still manage to punch through.
I was at approx. 20second infusions here. I think I will dial that back.
The fourteenth is mild, almost a creamy sweetness in empty
woody water here.
In the fifteenth I press hard again- it is buttery, bitter
and slightly sweet now. The aftertaste is
still interesting woody, and slight sweet.
The bitterness is somewhat challenging at this point. If you steep lightly, you don’t get too much
but if you go a bit stronger the bitterness is an issue.
I steep it a few more times but the bitterness is too unpleasant
and unharmonious at this point to continue which is absolutely normal for a tea
that is meant to be aged. Overall the
tea is not that bitter, but just young puerh bitter.
The taste is as chaotic as the music I have paired with this
tea today with a lot going on- highs, lows, depth, and harshness. I still think "Pussy" is a better tea but these are two really different
types of puerh. “four am” has much more
diversity of taste in there and is a tea that you would want to age not drink
now.
Looking back at my day with this tea I can sum up the chaqi
as giving me an unfocused and floating feeling… not much got accomplished this
day.. hahaha.
So why the fly image?
It is a reference to the slang “I’m flying high” aka experiencing a
sensation of floating or the effects of drugs. Certainly this tea has some of this.
… Or maybe its just a complete coincidence and the name is a
blend from “four”, “am” as in “areas in Menghai”. The thing with White2Tea is that you never
know.
The names and wrappers are essentially art to be interpreted
by the eye of the beholding puerh drinker.
Which I find quite amusing… but not as amusing as day of Trap music and
puerh.
Peace
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