2020 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu Chaping: Sweet Bodyfeeling

What’s this????  2020 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu Chaping is not yet listed on the Tea Encounter web site.  Sometimes vendors send me this stuff and I never know if it is a production that they are planning on releasing or just maocha that they are sharing because they like it or to get my thoughts on it…

… below is my experience of this Guafengzhai…

Dry leaves smell of deep forest odours with a slight spicy pungency.

The first infusion has a slight pungent spice with mild low cool pungency and a foresty base with sweet potato sweetness nuance.  The aftertaste is faint and deep and tastes of foresty almost icing surgar tastes.  The mouthfeel is very soft and the throatfeeling deep.

The second infusion has a sweet cool spicy pungent onset there is a deep cooling pungency that reaches the deep throat and leaves forest tastes in the mouth.  The returning sweetness is icing sugar with a forest and subtle potato base taste.  The deep coolness lingers with spicy and icing surgar nuance.  The mouth feel is soft and smooth.

The third has a vibrant fruity pure melon and slight tropical sweetness in the onset that tastes so fresh and lingers throughout the profile over top of fresh forest and potato base tastes. The mild long coolness reaches deep and pushes out a second wave of fruit.  The mouthfeel is the soft but stimulating stickiness which is mainly aggregated at the back of the throat.  It has a saliva stimulating thing happening at the top throat as the pungent coolness reaches the deep throat.  The Qi is very happy and relaxing here.  I feel very peaceful.

The fourth has a pure melon refreshing sweetness that is very very tastey and long.  It stretches into the breath and returns with an icing sugar edge in the aftertaste.  There is a nice mid profile of spicy notes, forest notes, and potato.  The Qi comes on really strong to make me feel high and stop my thoughts.  Very strong mind altering qi.  My body has the floats and it feels like I’m rocking side to side.  There is a foresty fruity taste in the throat minutes later.  The throat feeling is very nice.  Wow! Qi is really strong.

The fifth infusion has a sweet pure fruity onset over a foresty and subtle spicy onset.  The fruity taste initially is really long and stretches throughout the profile.  There is some forest and not as much potato now.  The mouthfeel is sticky and really engaging especially in the back of the tongue and top throat.  A long fruity and icing sugar with forest taste is in the long aftertaste.  This puerh has a really nice full feeling as far as both the taste and throat/mouthfeeling go.  Strong Qi.

The 6^th has a very fruity onset with a very nice depth supporting it of sweet potato, forest depth.  The sweet taste is really tasty and long and returns with forest tastes and slight spicy in the aftertaste.  The mouth/throatfeeling is sticky soft but yet full especially in the back.  There is an abdominal and chest releasing feeling going on.  A nice stoned but clear focused mind from the Qi.

The seventh has a sweet potato almost wild floral and sweet fruity melon onset.  There is some foresty base taste and a long melon fruity and forest returning sweetness.  The bodyfeeling in the Abdomen is unique and the feeling in the chest is opening.  The Qi is strong and slows my breath down.

8^th has a buttery sweet creamy floral almost fruity complex onset there is a woody foresty base.  The mouthfeel is more flat stone feeling and less sticky with a little more happening at the back.  The cool pungent can’t quite get as deep but still leaves a long foresty melon taste in the mouth.  The Qi is really happy and strong.  The body feeling is interesting in the abdomen and opening the ribs. 

The 9^th has a melon fruity butter and floral complex onset with a forest base. There is faint deep cool in the breath and a stone, forest, and melon sweetness even minutes later.  The body feels loose.

The 10^th infusion has a fresh melon fruity clear onset.  There is a forest woodiness to it and a faint pungent spice and faint coolness on the in-breath into the deep throat.

The 11^th has a beautiful fresh melon pure fruity onset that feels juicy and lubricating in the mouth.  There is a deep faint coolness that rides the melon sweetness out on the breath.  The Qi is really nice happy feeling and deeply energizing.

12^th has a mild water icing surgar and faint fruity onset with more of an icing surgar taste throughout.  There is some mild spicy notes and forest notes but mainly a long icing sugar taste.

13^th has a woody barely icing sugar sweet taste.  There is more wood and faint melon that emerges more in the breath with a faint deep pungency.  The mouthfeeling is mild and slightly sandy now.  The Qi is now pretty relaxing.

14^th infusion is a few minutes long and pushes out a fruity woody almost beet and potato taste.  There is still a faint cool throat with a resonating pungency in the throat.

15^th is steeped for a good 5 minutes and has a fruity vibrant sweet potato woody forest initial taste.  The fruity sweetness and woodiness stretched throughout and returns in the aftertaste and long woody breath.  Its Qi is really relaxing.

16^th is a longer steeping and the cool cup is woody with a fruity fresh almost melon with a nice supporting woody forest taste.  In a deep throat and soft mouthfeeling.  Qi is just really relaxing at this point and almost refreshing like the initial sweetness.

I put the rest in a mug and grandpa it and it delivers silky smooth fruity tastes with sweet potato, woody, and forest nuances. A nice stone like mouthfeeling is still accessible and so is some faint upper throat simulation.  Nice cooling after swallowing.  I enjoy it like this in my body and mind for a while…

Overall, this is a nice Gua Feng Zhai production with sweeter than normal Gua Feng Zhi tastes but yet familiar tastes of melon and sweet potato that are typical of Gua Feng Zhai.  There is nice stimulation of the back of the throat and tongue. The qi is happy and deeply energizing in the early session then becomes relaxing.  There is some bodyfeeling of an opening abdomen and lower ribs feeling that is unique and interesting.  But it’s that complex sweet taste, a sweeter and more complex than normal taste that makes this guafengzhai a nice one.  I think a Guafengzhai like this could go for $250-$350 for 200g cake.  Thanks Tiago for the sample, I liked it a lot.

Peace