I ordered this in a large sample order last month. It was one of two 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Brand
Spring Jinggu area productions. First
let’s sample this 2019 Yunnan Sourcing Xiao Shui Jing which goes for $78.00 for400g cake or $0.20/g.
Dry leaves are very spicy and pungent with rainforest and
sweet notes underlying.
First infusion starts creamy, smooth, vegetal, woody, and
spicy. The spicy flavours slowly emerge
in the aftertaste where bready sweet notes reside and expand in the mouth. There are mild tropical nuances on the
breath… this will be an interesting session…
The second infusion has a sweet orchid taste to it initially
then a chicken broth taste to it then there are dry woods, sweet breads, lots
of mushroom notes and a faint fruity lingering sweetness in the aftertaste like
melons. The mouthfeeling is slight
mildly velvety and sticky. There is a
lingering very mild cool pungent in the throat.
The third infusion has a thick feeling of mushroom and dry
woods there is some bread sweetness, chicken broth, even floral taste. The taste here is unique and with a lot going
on. The qi starts to come in and make
the head heavy. The mouthfeeling is
chalky and slight sticky on the tongue.
The fourth starts with a thick broth of mushroom sweetness
that pops into a very sweet fruit taste then moderate cool pungency then a nice
creamy sweet finish. There is some
vegetal and woods that faintly lye in the mid profile. The Qi has a stuffy feeling in the head.
The fifth infusion starts off with a mild quick bitterness,
then a sweetness, mushrooms, creamy sweetnesses in the aftertaste. There is lots of interesting and unique taste
in here. Over a velvety, almost chalky mouthfeeling and vacuous opening
throatfeeling that seems to carry a bit of pungent cool.
The sixth infusion starts moderately bitter then moves to a
bright fruit and creamy sweetness then there is faint wood and vegetal then a
moderate lingering pungency then long sweet taste. The thickness of the liquor
in moderate thick and the mouthfeeling is a bit chalky. The qi lingers in the head and mind.
The seventh infusion starts off with a moderate bitterness
with fruit trailing behind. The bitter
and fruit pair walk together for a while before a mild pungent wave crests
bringing a returning sweetness of wood, creamy fruit, and even a touch a faint
pepper. The mouthfeel is moderate and
chalky.
The eighth infusion starts with a moderate bitterness paired
with distinct fruity sweetness. This
infusion gets a touch sour and astringent in the finish which stimulates the
mouth and throat. There is a creamy
sweetness and fruitiness and the bitter lingers throughout a bit more
here. There is a sweet creaminess that
lingers on the breath.
The ninth infusion starts with a bitter sour note with
distinct fruit and mushroom thickness undernieth. The tastes are really bold and distinct here
with the help of a moderate bitter and even sour nuance. It gives the thicker broth of mushroom and
pear fruit space to expand.
The tenth infusion has a juicy fruity onset now with woods
and even fruity florals the bitterness is more in the background and a
distinctly fruity note is throughout. A
bit of floral enters the picture here.
The mouthfeel is a slippery and a bit chalky feel to it. The fruity sweetness is found even minutes
later. The Qi is pretty mild in this
puerh mainly a slow to build in the head type of thing.
The 11th infusion has a nice orange, pear, and
floral sweetness. The fruitiness is
robust and the mouthfeel is a sandy chalky type of thing. The throatfeeling is empty but opening in the
upper throat. A cooling pungent lingers
in the upper throat. The Qi is relaxing.
The 12th infusion is a bitter bitter and sour but
less now and mainly a long fruity pear tastes dominate. The mouthfeel is really full, sticky, and
chalky. The qi is mild, and makes me
feel content.
The 13th starts with a banana tropical fruit
nuance and some faint wood. There is a
mild bitter and sandy mouthfeeling here.
The 14th is more tropical fruit again its sunny and
enjoyable, if not a bit simple in taste, feel, and qi.
I steep this a few more times thinking that it is fading
away but am proven wrong. This puerh
continues to hold on to juicy fruity tastes in a reasonably thick liquor in
these late infusions. I increase the
steep times as the bitterness and astringency drops off and can really push the
fruitiness out of these leaves quite nicely.
I eventually put this one into an overnight infusion and
tons of fruity juicy and viscus taste is pushed out the next day so I put it
into another overnight infusion… great stamina for these juicy fruity tastes
for sure…
Overall, this puerh has enough going on as a single estate
puerh to not make it boring, this is an above average Jinggu in taste, but on
the other hand is not overly engaging especially in the Qi deparment either. However, the Qi had a happy simple feeling to it. Its mouthfeeling is enough and the taste
profile and thickness of the liquor in the first handful of infusions is kind
of interesting. In the mid-session the
flavor profile turns sweeter and less mushroom, foresty, spicy, chicken
broth. There is enough change throughout
the session to make it an enjoyable Jinggu area puerh for the price. The stamina and fact you can steep it longer
than your average sheng is a big plus. I
think the biggest issue is I had this a day after the 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Long Tang Gu Shu…
They are both Jinggu area and both similar price but that is
all the similarities they seem to have with the 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Long Tang
Gu Shu winning in all areas. The one
thing that this 2018 Xiao Shui Jing has over the Long Tang Gu Shu is its unique
profile in the first handful of infusions which I really enjoyed.
Peace
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