2000 The Essence of Tea Camphor Aroma & Exciting Zhongcha Finds

This 2000 Essence of Tea Camphor Aroma is apparently a plain old white paper, Ba Zhong puerh that was dug up in Malaysia.  That doesn’t sound that exciting on the surface of things, does it?  Maybe that is why even after a few years after being released this tea hasn’t gotten that much attention.

However, I imagine David and Yingxi tasting hundreds, if not thousands, of such common aged sheng that are so common in Asia.  Then finally, one day, “this is the one!”  They stumble upon some Zhongcha puerh that is actually pure, vibrant, very aged, maybe of old tree material or at least blended in.  This $179.00 for 350g cake($0.51/g) is that very puerh… come on… that’s exciting now right???

Dry darker humid stored leaves are surprisingly void of any strong odour they have been dried out from the humid Malaysian storage.  They seem like they are factory chopped material and maybe pretty compressed, hard to tell from this sample.  The dry leaf has more of a very distant muted odour of library, distant dirt, not really plum, dry odour.  Not very Camphorous nor very aromatic.  Feeling that these leaves will probably need pushing I dump a generous amount of them into my teapot.

The first infusion has a dense and viscus very oily and stimulating mouthfeel.  In it are oily dirt tastes as well as a distinct prune juice like flavor.  Of course, there is a long dense sweet prune camphorous aftertaste.  I am pretty surprised at how dense the taste is considering the dry leaf was so inert.  The qi on the first infusion is enough warm energy to break me into a sweat.

The second is even thicker this puerh is packed full of oily, thick, viscus deliciousness, a deep woody, dirt and prune flavor.  I continue to sweat.  There is a finish of almost sour, almost tart dark cacao now but overshadowed by dirt, camphor and prune tastes.  The mouthfeel on this tea is very very nice.

The third infusion is much the same as above with more of a sweetness than previous steepings. A very very dense, oily, prune, and camphor taste is very strong.  The qi very warming.  I admit defeat and remove 1/3 of the leaves from the packed tea pot.  The power of this puerh has me checking on the price about right now but maybe it is just the fact I over-leafed it initially…

The fourth infusion with less leaf has much more nuanced plumb/ prune tastes almost floral note seems lingering in the heavy, deep fruit taste.  The Qi hits the head with a dizziness almost spacy feeling.  The body is full of combustible warmth.

The fifth infusion is denser, cloying, oily fruit tastes initially.  As this tea goes on, I feel like the complexity and nuance of this fruit taste improves.  The mouthfeeling is very thick.  There seem to be lighter fruit suggestions under the heavier fruits.  The Qi is big and makes the head really float and energizes the body a good balance of strong sensations.

The sixth has a more woody camphor taste now with the fruit tastes underneath.  There are edges of vanilla date, prune, wood.  A returning camphor with hits of cinnamon.  The qi is a big one.  Very much in the head and mind.  It brings a joyful feeling.  The Lungs can feel the deep effects and I breathe deeper.

The seventh infusion has a deep plumb fruit onset buried within.  The long camphor taste is there as well. Dirt notes reside within.  The warmth is very nice.  The mouthfeel is thick and oily and somewhat stimulating.

The eighth infusion is very berry light fruity tasting now.  It has a long camphor base taste and almost brandy taste to it.  This puerh reminds me of a rich brandy.

The ninth has an almost mushroom like taste with initial fruits and woods underneath.  The camphor cooling aftertaste is long and woody now and less fruity and sweet.  The mouthfeel is sticky now as well as oily and rich.

The tenth infusion has a woody profile throughout a dark sweet honey note in there as well a fruit taste is more underneath things now.  The woodiness dominates there are suggestions of something fruit and honey something else a touch interesting underneath.

The eleventh infusion starts with a plumb like taste and then slowly transitions to woody notes and coolness in the aftertaste.

I add a few seconds to the flash infusions but this tea seems to have great stamina and still lots of flavor here.  In the twelfth infusion there are lots of deep aged wood notes along with a jujube, Chinese date taste.  There starts to a grain like taste in there as well.

The thirteenth is still full of deep aged fruity tastes backed by cooling woods.  The qi in the head is something wonderful, clarifying, illuminating.  I am a little surprised about the stamina of this puerh.  Getting late in the day, now I rest this tea until tomorrow morning.

The next morning I continue to squeeze out a handful of date fruity, woody, aged tasting steeps with a low menthol finish.

Overall, the deep fruitiness reminds me of aged blended Eastern Xishuagnbanna something with some smaller leaves in the blend pressed relatively tight and with medium- heavy humidity.   The fruitiness and slight tart with no bitter taste profile somewhat reminds me a bit like 2006 Yang Qing Hao Qi Xiang (the reference has also been made to other more famous Yang Qing Hao cakes by others).  Interestingly, both the 2006 Yang Qing Hao Qixiang and this 2000 Essence of Tea Camphor Aroma are priced similarly- this cake tastes much more aged though.  For the price you would have a harder time finding something of this quality and being and tasting this aged from Western puerh vendors.  The Qi profile of these two teas are quite different and the age gap but both tend to be on the warming side of things something in this one reminded me a bit of the Qixiang though.

Also an interesting comparison can also be made to the 2006 “Rustic Zhongcha” from Teas We Like that is very similar in price- although they are really very different Zhongchas.  This 2000 Essence of Tea “Camphor Aroma” has a much more humid, traditional Malaysian storage where the 2006 “Rustic Zhongcha” has a dry Malaysian storage the difference is obvious as is the aged feeling between the two.   The 2000 “Camphor Aroma” has fully developed aged notes like date, aged woods, and aged camphor, it has a rich brandy or whisky like depth to it.  The 2006 Rustic is just starting to develop hints of this but I believe will have a much more distinct sweet date taste than this one.  The Qi is different too with this one being a balance of relaxing and energizing where the 2006 is still very energetic feeling.  They both have really good mouthfeels but the 2006 has much more going on in the throat.  They both have not super great stamina but enjoyable while they last.

The last time I tasted something this aged with anything close to this taste profile was a Zhongcha cake in Korea from the 1990s.  It reminds me of this experience very long ago.  Thanks David for sending this free sample in my last order and gifting me this familiar experience.  This is a nice aged puerh for its price.

Steepster Tasting Notes

Peace