How to Appreciate Wild Tea (Don’t Compare It to Puerh)

1-      shouldn’t compare to puerh because it’s not puerh (see here and here)

2-      Those people out there who have compared wild tea to puerh, thinking that it is puerh or something puerh like, will likely be disappointed because it is really quite different (here and here and here).  However, those who maintain an open mild will enjoy good wild tea (here and here).

3-      Sweet wild tea is the wild tea which I am familiar and was almost exclusively the type of wild tea marketed and sold in the mid-late 2000s.  So it is this profile that I wish to explain. Bitter wild tea will have an intense bitterness that will appear in throat and tongue.  Bitter wild tea is blatantly and obviously bitter, if it doesn’t have this quality then, to me, it is sweet wild tea.

4-      Leaves- look different, purple hue or darker color almost purplish/ reddish colour, the dry leaf odour is usually much more perfume and fruitier than standard puerh, sometimes there is a subtle smoky odor that will usually dissipate as the tea ages.  The high notes in the dry leaf are much more intense than standard puerh.

5-      taste of sweet wild tea often feels weaker than puerh in the initial steepings, so there is an inclination for those who are unfamiliar with it to add more leaf

6-      The initial taste burst feels a bit ungrounded compared to conventional puerh with few deeper notes to root or ground the taste down.  These tastes are usually intense fruity tastes.

7-      The middle of the profile is always vacuous and empty feeling compared to standard puerh- this is not a sign of bad wild tea, rather, it is a sign of legitimate/true wild tea.

8-      The mouthfeel is always weaker than the throatfeel in good quality wild tea.

9-      The returning sweetness has a different profile than standard puerh.  Puerh usually has a strong cooling and sweet aftertaste where wild tea usually lacks a cooling aftertaste and tastes slightly rubbery or bitter with a much more intense fruity returning taste.  Wild tea usually induces salivation at this point and the degree to which it does, I feel, is a sign of quality because it makes the aftertaste in the throat fuller and longer lasting.

10-   Another sign of quality, for me in a good wild tea is the taste and strength of the flavor that gets pushed into the throat and therefore breath minutes or hours after swallowing.  This is a special feature of wild tea that puerh tea does not have.  The flavor, intensity, and duration of this lingering breath taste is a sign of quality to me.

11-   Both young conventional puerh and young wild tea is a bit tough on the digestion.  All young wild teas I have tried, if they have even a small bit of bitterness, tend to be a bit tough on the digestion.  This effect depends on your own body constitution and will decrease or go away as wild tea ages.

12-   Wild tea’s qi sensation is always stronger than conventional puerh and the body feel is often stronger as well.  To me wild tea is all about the qi sensation.

The above list is based on my own experiences with wild tea/ yesheng.  For those familiar with wild tea, what would you add to the list?  How do you appreciate the uniqueness which is wild tea?
 
I hope this list will help those just getting in to wild tea to appreciate it more.

 

Peace