Upon starting up the gem which is Tea Urchin, proprietors Eugene
and Bell decided to add a few curated pieces from small puerh vendors they
enjoyed. This was likely done for a
variety of reasons. The most obvious
would be to bulk up their offerings on their site to give more selection in the
first few years they launched until they expanded their own brand. Almost all other Western puerh vendors have
done the same when they first start out, before their brand puerh has been
built up. They did this for a handful of
2011/2012 puerh offerings. A lot has
sold out since then but many are still available.
It seems Tea Urchin selected these other small puerh vendors
to fill gaps in the areas they offer such as offering some select Jin Jiao and
Legend of Puerh from Mengku and Lincang- they offer very little from their own
Tea Urchin brand from these areas. There
are also some lower 2012 Autumnal Yiwu price point offerings by Xin Sheng Li
Hao. As well Mr. Yu’s offerings in his
Lao Zhi Qing and Che Ma Xuan brands which present areas that Tea Urchin didn’t
back in its early days at a price point much lower than the house Tea Urchin
brand. I picked up samples of the 2012
Lao Zhi Qing Lincang Impression and this 2011 Che Ma Xuan Pasha.
I was putting some thought into acquiring some Pasha area
puerh and I couldn’t understand how the 2011 Che Ma Xuan Pasha at Tea Urchin is
still hanging around. I remember the
popularity of the 2006 Haiwan Organic Pasha back in the day. I’ve sampled the Pasha region a long time ago
too… some Douji and that notorious 2010 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Pasha - the one that turned me off of Pasha for a
real long time… hahahah.
Okay let’s get to it this 2011 Chen Ma Xuan Pasha goes for $153.00 for 357g cake or $0.43/g...
Dry leaves have a faint woody, slight smokey, and sweet
forest odour with a touch of dry grass and hay.
The first infusion starts pretty smokey, like an old factory
cake, just subtle grass tastes with mild cooling and hay in the aftertaste. Minutes later a brown sugar note faintly
lingers.
The second is quite smokey again. There is a buttery taste underneath, hay,
faint cooling, then brown sugar. The
long aftertaste is super interesting mix of brown sugar and toffee. The mouthfeel is soft and velvety.
The third infusion has lots of smoke to begin (too much),
with buttery hay taste which comes to a mild underlying cool pungent then a
long brown sugar and even high noted sweetness pops. The long sweet aftertaste is complex and
interesting full of layers of sweetness.
The Mouthfeel and throatfeel are silky and soft but the throat seems to
open reasonably deep to mid-level. The
smokiness and complex sweet finish is unique and an interesting juxtaposition. The Qi is soothing and relaxing like a soft
wave embracing the body and mind.
The fourth infusion has a smokey onset. The smokeiness here is the delicious type but
bridging on the harsh type. There is
some hay underneath before a mild cooling then rolling brown surgar and even
floral sweetness pushes through here.
The throat opens nicely and sweet tastes roll out. I’m enjoying the Qi here happy and chill with
a mild, optimistic pick me up.
The fifth is much the same the tastes seem like smokey oak
barrel, mild pungent cooling and long brown surgar. The tastes are very layered
and smooth and give the taste much depth.
The long sweetness is very nice. The mouthfeeling and throatfeeling
remain silky and smooth. This is like a
good scotch.
The sixth is much the same the flavor doesn’t change much
the smokeiness kind of compounds and seems a bit stronger now. This infusion is
a touch more astringent and woody with smoke and less hay and layered
sweetness. I feel wobbly on my feet from
this Qi like I’m in a boat at sea.
The seventh has a juicy and thicker onset of peachy juice
this thick sweetness initially is stronger than the smoke which is less in this
infusion. This denser sweeter peach
taste is throughout and joined by high noted sweetness. There is a fruity almost
tropical finish with brown sugar underneath.
The eighth infusion starts with a thicker creamy peach juicy
broth taste. There is a mild smoke
underneath but fruit tastes now dominate with subtle hay and brown sugar and
even dry wood and grass. The layers in
the taste are impressive and enjoyable.
There is a long fruity taste. The
mouthfeel is velvety and the throat opens pretty deeply.
The ninth infusion is much the same still more juicy and
dense with a long sweet aftertaste but a touch more smokey in this
infusion. I find the smokiness kind of
builds the closer I drink the infusions.
Nice feel good Qi.
Eleventh infusion is much the same the smoke builds in this
consecutive infusion. The aftertaste
develops a distinct bring honey taste that I have not seen yet.
The twelfth infusion and thirteenth infusion are mildly
Smokey with a pronounced sweetness. The
aftertaste forms a honey-like taste. The
taste is nicely layered and decently thick with a nice open throat feeling. This sensation pulls along a ghostly fruity
sweetness on the breath. The tastes are
thick and nicely packed together. The Qi
is really happy and free feeling.
14th, 15th, 16th and so on… I lose track but the flavours
are consistent. Moderately sweet juicy dense approach with very mild smoke and
mild sweet aftertaste of honey and barely fruit. So I drink this tea like this for quite some
time…
This is a nice Pasha and I think there are going to be some
people who will enjoy this one. The
smoke is never harsh but it doesn’t fade away either. I like a smokey sheng but for me the smokey
taste was a bit too much… but I really like this one. The
density of flavor and open throat feeling in this one is notable as is the
progression of changing taste through the session. I think the material under the smoke is
really nice stuff. I think if you steep
your sheng light you might be able to get away with the smoke here. If you like your sheng, like you like your
whisky, I think you will really enjoy this Pasha at a very approachable price.
Peace
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