What I found most interesting about this puerh is that there
is not really that much written about it (see below).
What is out there on the internet is pretty scant and brief and you
can’t really get the feel of what this 2006 Shenpin Chawang ($375.00 for 500g or $0.75/g) is really
about. Sure, it is #4 on a list of Emmett Guzmen’s personal favorite Yang Qing Hao, but even the vendor page has
almost no information or reviews. It
simply states “Blend of Bohetang, Chawangshu, and Wagong”. That alone is pretty impressive but more on
that later…
Let’s get to this sample that came with a recent order of
Yang Qing Hao (this and this)…
The dry leaf has a creamy mellow intensely sweet icing
sugary creamy sweetness.
The first infusion starts with a light, fresh, creamy-cream,
sweetness, there are soft nuances of florals in a round developing cotton candy
sweetness over faint aged woods. The
sweetness is such that it is expansive in the mouth and throat and tumbles on
for a very long time in the throat. The
mouth and throat feel are very deep but also very light and ethereal in this
first infusion.
The second infusion has a very interesting onset of very
light but complex tastes. The delicate
interplay is beautiful florals, high fruits, layers or waves of lighter soft
and creamy sweet notes. They expand like
a cloud on the light mouthfeel. The
aftertaste is nuanced floral, light sweetness with a soft soothing coolness in
the mouth. The mouthfeel and throatfeel
are very full but very subtle. The
effect on the mind is relaxing. There is
a glance of cinnamon in there briefly as well.
The third infusion delivers a creamy creamy very intense
gentle sweetness. The mouthfeel and
throatfeel are very deep and light.
Intense creamy sweetness prevails then unravels in the mind. The mouthfeel and throat feel are very very
nice in this tea. There is a beautiful
harmony among this feeling, the very light sweet creamy sweetness and the
soothing qi. Very harmonious. The throat holds creamy sweetness for a long
long time. It is a deep throat feeling,
like a ball of saliva stuck in the deep throat holding the flavor there. This tea has a certain subtly about it that
is sustained, captured like a butterfly in a net, by the throat and mouth.
The fourth has a slight sour woodiness building in there now
the dominant flavor of creamy sweetness comes later and undulates like a wave
over the profile. There are wildflower
tastes and almost chicory medicine tastes in the background which add depth
here. This is paired with the very mild
returning cool sweetness. The returning
sweetness is soft and comes and goes gradually without much fuss. The mouthfeel becomes chalky and full in the
mouth. The creamy sweetness
dominates. The qi is very relaxing and
soft. There are some significant body
sensations that replicate this nuance.
The shoulders feel heavy and like there is no joint. The qi makes the joints feel very light and
nimble. The body is very light and
relaxed in a profound way. This qi makes
you want to stretch your body. Like a
cat in the sun but without the warming of the sun. Stretch.
The fifth infusion has an expanding medicinal woody initial
taste even slight fruity tastes now like raisons in there the woody taste is
not really that woody but more foresty-wildfloweresque. The sweet creaminess dominates/ expands in
the very sticky mouthfeel and deep throat feeling. With a depth of taste developing, this tea is
becoming very interesting from many different angles- qi, bodyfeel,
throat/mouthfeeling, taste. This is
another interesting one. I feel very happy and light. A mild warmth is felt on the face.
The sixth infusion has that long dense sweetness in the very
sticky mouth. Before that there is the
initial taste of foresty, wildflowery, raison/prunes as well. This mouthfeel is becoming very thick and
sticky. The sweet flavor lingers for a
long time. Muscles in my face start
twitching and releasing. The tea or its
mental effects seem to be unraveling the tightness in my body. Like a forced meditation or a massage. The body feeling is profound. The qi is like a muscle relaxant especially
targeting the face, shoulders, neck.
The seventh infusion starts with sweet pear tastes which pop
and fade to more mellow woody tastes.
The creamy sweetness comes later now as the flavor builds up in the
mouth. The body is nimble- a
feather. Mouthfeel loses some of its
more intense stickiness but remains full and light. The throat feel holds the line.
The eighth is more intensely creamy almost tropical notes
even cherry note pop and disappear initially.
Forest notes linger in the mid-profile and the medicinal notes/ fruit
raison notes are not really present here.
Minutes later there are edges of a prune like taste in the
aftertaste. This tea doesn’t have any
bitterness but feel full and stratifying.
The ninth infusion is deliciously creamy, light, floral, a
slight touch of talic in the mid-profile then long creamy suggestions of very
mild forest even plum but mainly fresh almost tropical creamy sweetness. This tea is nicely harmonious.
The tenth has a wild-flower light honey like sweetness
initially which turns into a floral long sweetness with some light wood underneath. The creamy sweetness comes later and is
long. The camphor coolness is so subtle
with this tea. The body and mind is so
nimble and light.
The eleventh infusion has a chalky mouthfeeling now
wildflowers seem to dominate this infusion.
The mouthfeel is becomes a touch sandy in the mouth but very full. The deep throatfeel remains. There is woodiness in there but the creamy
sweetness is less here. The bodyfeel is
the best quality of this puerh, I think.
So light in the joints, it pulls the mind to lighter places.
I start to pull the infusion a little longer than flash
infusion here adding 5 seconds to the pots pour for the twelfth. This infusion is still lighter. It has a round light wildflower honey taste
which is the dominant now. Slight wood
in the aftertaste as well as creamy sweetness.
The creamy sweetness popped initially but is more obvious in the
aftertaste.
Fot the thirteenth infusion I add 10 seconds to the flash
and get much the same maybe a bit woodier and even slightly more tangy which is
kind of new. A tangy sweet fruit like
mango comes to mind. The mouthfeel
resumes its sticky feeling after adding a bit more time. There is still a long wildflower sweetness.
The fourteenth I add 20 seconds and it gives off a forest,
barely woody, slightly sour-astringent watery wildflower sweetness. The mouthfeel and throat feel are dropping
off fast. The fifteenth is much the
same. The mouthfeel is weakening and the
taste profile is becoming more monotone or streamlined.
The fifteen is a long infusion and pushes our sour wood and
plum like tastes with a more pronounced camphor taste. The wildflower finish is prominent in the
cooling throat feel. The mouthfeeling
has a long stickiness to it minutes later.
A longer sixteenth and seventeenth infusion brings about a
Yang Qing Hao house storage like taste with remnants of plum, forest-wood, and
mainly wildflower sweetness. The
stickiness in there remains.
I put it into a few rounds of overnight infusions which
deliver a thick syrupy wildflowery fruity taste.
These mid-priced blends are really interesting to me. To me this is a very harmonious puerh
blend. Best parts are body feeling in
the joints and face and neck. This is a
tension buster to me. Like doing yoga in
a teacup. The throat and mouthfeel are
deep but feel light. The taste is mild
but has enough to keep it interesting. However,
the taste is definitely not this tea’s strength. I like this one a lot and wonder if the price
will prevent me from acquiring a cake…. Hummmm… not sure.
Overall, this puerh is quite special. When will we ever be able to taste a blend of
Bohetang, Chawangshu, and Wagong ever again?
Blends like this are pretty much extinct and were only a product of a
very small window approximately 2004-2007.
Before this date these areas were unheard of or pretty much
unexplored. After this time Bohetang,
Chawangshu and Wagong each became very famous growing regions for puerh in
their own right and as a result the price of puerh from these areas shot
through the roof. These types of blends
then became unrealistic because the raw materials are all so expensive that to
blend 3 famous areas is now virtually unheard of now. This blend offers us a snap shot of what
could be. Personally, I like what I see.
Peace