2017 Bao He Xiang “Peach Cake”: Flavour Bomb!

Okay, this is the Bao He Xiang that really piqued my interest in sampling the brand.  The description and the reviews that followed on the Yunnan Sourcing site captured my attention.  Even Scott gave it a nod.  This 2017 Bao He Xiang “Peach Cake” blend goes for $249.00 for 357g cake ($0.70/g).

Dry leaves give off a very deep fruit floral odour.  The smell is very very sweet almost Ylang Ylang like perfume scent in there.  The smell of the dry leaf is entrancing.

The first infusion starts with a fruity very sweet entry the sweetness swells in the mouth.  Its very very well, peachy sweet or apricot sweet, but more peachy.  There is a juicy viscus feel to the liquor.  The peace taste is intense and quite creamy.  The taste is amazing and full sweetness, right off the start.  The mouthfeeling is mildly dryier as the saliva gets pushed into the throat.

The second infusion starts with an almost woody edge of candy like peach taste.  There is a very mild astringency to it.  It tastes of sugar peach.  There is a very faint pungent and long candy like returning sweetness.  The sweet taste is strong throughout but expands in the mouth.  There are suggestions of both Yi Wu and maybe even Bang Dong in this blend.  The sweetness really fills the mouth.

The third infusion starts off with a thick almost bready, creamy sweet peachy taste.  The liquor is reasonably tick and the sweetness turns to candy in the mouth.  There is a thickness to the liquor of this puerh.  The sweetness is quite thick and expands outwardly.  There is a gooey stickiness to the mouth and throatfeeling.  The Qi flutters at the Heart. 

Fourth infusion has a nice rich thick start it has a nice dense fruity taste that feels painted on the tongue.   The mouthfeel is quite thick along with the liquor.  There is a nice thickness to this tea in tongue coating and liquor density.

The fifth is intensely peachy fruity but a deep fruit feeling there is a stronger pungent returning sweetness to it.  The liquor is oily and the tongue coating is nice.  The pungent returning sweetness is cooling in the mouth.  The throatfeeling is gentle and opening.

The sixth infusion has an interesting woody nuance to the thicker peach approach.  The qi is mildly spacy in the head the sweetness returns with pungent into a more cotton candy like sweetness.

7^th starts very peachy, clear fresh ripe peachy high-noted taste that reverbs in the mouth and stretches over the profile.  Candy like finish.  Nice tongue coating.  Mild ringing pungent.  Relaxing chill Qi sensation.

The 8^th has a slight dry woody edge but is mainly stewed peaches with a mild pungent then candy.  The peach taste is becoming less all-encompassing in these middle infusions and suggestions of dry woody notes appear.  The Qi is mildly fluttering in chest but mainly relaxing but not in a lazy kind of way.

The ninth is a nice rich deeper peach almost dried apricot underneath.  There is a building woody dry taste underneath that is becoming more prominent.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more of a sandy astringency now.  The throat is slightly gripping.  This isn’t a strong throat simulator but rather a subtle opener.

The 10^th is becoming a woody, peachy, apricot taste that is sandier in the mouth and tongue. The aftertaste is much less now and the infusion has a slight astringency to it.  The taste is pretty simple here.

11^th has a smoother less intense, less sweet apricot approach with dry woody base taste and a sandy mouthfeeling.  The Qi is a bit relaxing now.

12^th is getting more woody than peachy now then flavor is less complex here but still rather sweet and enjoyable.

13^th….. Ooops… left it for 30 min… wow… a very intensely peachy thick viscous taste was pushed out.  With a dense oily thick dried apricot, some wood, very full peachy density…

This puerh is very very tasty, a bit of bodyfeel in the heart, mainly relaxing with a bit of movement earlier on.  The taste of this one is something else… very very delicious…  The parts of this puerh that are not as solid is the stamina.  I sampled this one twice as I consider an order but the stamina of this puerh isn’t super great and gives out all of its epically amazing taste early and in the mid session already starts to bottom out and taste more woody.  The later session is a bit flat especially when memories of steepings 1-7 fresh in the memory.  The Qi is soft and subtle but still does things in the body and mind.  This puerh is mainly about the mind-blowing taste in the first 1-7 infusions. 

This is likely a very nice Yiwu blend, if I were to guess.  In some ways it reminds me of 2017 white2tea Pussy.  I think both blends are similar and are trying to accomplish similar things.  If you like the 2017 white2tea Pussy, I definitely think you should try this Peach Cake of the same year.  There are many similarities between the two but he 2017 Bao He Xiang Peach Cake is way more flavourful but Pussy has a bit more stamina to it. 

The price… is probably about right for something like this Peach Cake… maybe a bit of a bargain if you value taste above all else and drink your puerh in short sessions.  I value the things that this tea lacks like a bit more stamina and a bit more going on with the Qi but I understand the epic brilliance of this blend and what it was trying to accomplish.

Peace