Tuesday, April 30, 2019

2018 Black Friday Puerh Purchase Report


I thought it would be a good idea to go over all my 2018 Black Friday purchases and free samples.  This year I put myself on a budget of $500.00 for Black Friday and did a good job of sticking to it.  I was also swayed by the sales offered by vendors and went out of the sale not exactly how I intended going in.  However, the puerh which I purchased was all very good and good value.  Many of which are now sold out.

white2tea

I went into Black Friday to purchase a cake I’ve read a lot about over the last few years, this 200g cake of 2016 white2tea We Go High.  I was also keen to test the waters with the bottom of white2tea’s brand in trying to snag some promotional cakes to compete in a search for the cheapest fresh young sheng… if that is how it was going to go down… and it did. In the end I ended up with some free samples and a free tote.


Complex fruity layers, interesting range of notes, nice stoner qi, good stamina, not sure about value still but liked it enough to purchase another cake.  Nice raw material.  I enjoy both the stamina and Qi in this one.  Price went up just a nudge to $152.00 for 200g cake or $0.76/g.


Decent mouthfeel that hold complex blend of interesting notes together nicely, good diversity of tastes throughout the session, good stamina, depth of taste is lacking, tea liquor is a bit thin, still quite a good  value at the price.  Sold out in a few hours.  Not sure if I would go for it next year, if offered.


Smooth grainy sweet taste, wheat, mild coco, mild cognac taste, tight mouthfeeling pulling throat, wood.  There are better shu at white2tea.


Fresh bamboo suggestions, toasted grains, deep milky coco shu taste with nice coolness in the breath, nice strong and alerting Qi.  Rich and Velvetly mouth- and throat-feel.  Nicest bamboo puerh I’ve tired.

Overall some nice teas put out by Paul at white2tea… great job!

The Essence of Tea

I noticed that David and Yingxi re-stocked some Malaysian stored 2003 Hong Kong Henry Conscientious Prescription in the lead up to Black Friday.  I missed out on these when he offered them a year before and was hoping they would stay in stock long enough for any Black Friday promotions… and they did!

I was going into Black Friday thinking that I would pick up 2 cakes but only ended up going with one of these and a mini cake to get me to the free shipping.  I was offered 20% free tea promotion which I spent on the 2010 Da Xue Shan Wild 1KG Brick and ended up landing a free sample as well, sweet deal!


Clean/pure more humid Malaysian stored, interesting sour fruit and pine wood taste, simulating mild gripping throatfeeling with solid menthol taste.  Slight thinner liquor, with mildly dizzing and somewhat heavy headed Qi sensation, simple in some ways but delicious, easy drinking aged puerh.  Not sure if I will pursue another cake.


Nice fresh drink now spring Wuliang area puerh, very green tea-like production that is full of light refreshing puerh energy, easy to drink enjoyable value puerh.  Slight astringent if pushed, nice relaxing fluffy qi.  I’ve almost drank up the bing!


Excellent wild tea.  Heart pounding/ Spaced out Qi.  Sweet fruity/ juicy taste is quite strong and long with the throat capturing the saliva minutes later into a long dense sweet aftertaste and breath taste.  One of the best wild’s I’ve tired.


Vibrant, intense, freshly aromatic, with a smooth complex fruity body, deep rich unfolding hong cha profile.  Very interesting hong cha from very good raw material.

These Essence of Tea purchases are all above mark, they are all very different and I really enjoy all of them.  When I purchase from Essence of Tea, this is what I usually expect… and they usually deliver.

Yunnan Sourcing

I wasn’t planning on purchasing from Yunnan Sourcing but Scott’s 15% off sale lured me in.  I ended up buying a stack of the now sold out 2017 Yunnan Sourcing Impression.


Very nice blend of Autumn and Spring puerh.  Flavours early on are great- very fragrant, juicy tropical fruit, creamy sweetness, some other vegetal notes.  Qi has an alerting yet dopy effect as is decently strong.  Poor stamina but overall a real winner for the price.  Will there ever be a blend this good and cheap again?

Overall, very happy with all of these Black Friday buys.  They are a decent enough reflection of the puerh I enjoy with an emphasis on cheaper/value puerh.  Most of the teas I went for are sold out so the purchase was a timely one.

Peace

 

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