2020 Puerist Yiwu #8 Maocha: Excellent Yibangy Thingy!

 

This is pretty much a blind sampling from Puerist.  I received this sample free for review and know almost nothing about it nor is it on sale at Puerist’s Etsy site.  It’s a 2020 sample so I wanted to try it while the weather is kind of warm so it will be the first Purist puerh I’ve sampled.  Just as Mark Turner offeredEugene and Belle puerh blindly and had them form their own opinions about it, I too have chosen to drink my first sample he sent me blind (Yiwu #8 is not a real area) in this same spirit…

Super very small and delicate dry leaves smell of marshmallow sweetness and delicate icing sugar nuances.  Looks like very early spring flush possible small leaf variety.

First infusion has a soft almost soapy floral thickness that expands in the mouth.  The mouthfeeling is cottony smooth with edges of very faint astringency.  It ends a bit citrus, soapy perfume floral with a faint bitterness.  This puerh is very green tea like, very green processed.  Could be Mansa or likely Yibang.  You can feel a deep heady Qi developing.

The second infusion has a citrusy very perfume floral onset with a touch of mild astringency and bitterness.  It leaves the mouthfeel very full and cottony and almost fine chalky.  The taste is so pure and smooth.  Very refined producing here.  Long pure floral aftertaste with edges of honey dew melon.  A very smooth, delicate, yet thick delivery.  Very nice.

The third infusion has a bitter buttercup like bitter astringency.  With a melon and soapy floral finish in an oily broth.  Very smooth, it has a nice oily viscosity and thick feeling in the mouth.  Nice heady euphoria developing.  Very comfortable in the body.  Melon perfume finish.  Very soapy floral.  Think it’s a very nice Yibang here.  That’s my guess.

The fourth infusion has a very thick juicy fruity oily mild bitter astringent floral onset.  The quick moving mild bitter let the juicy flavours really pop.  The mouthfeeling is really nice the liquor is oily but the mouthfeeling is a fine chalky with slight tightness.  It faintly simulates the mid throat trapping some saliva there.  This puerh reminds me much of 2019 W2T Is A Gift but more refined and not as bitter or green and the Qi is not as powerful. It’s a really good quality Yibang or comparable character from a different area.

The fifth infusion has a quick almost citrus mild bitter melon to soapy floral onset.  Mildly oily in texture and full in the mouth with a saliva mid throat stimulation.  Overall this puerh straddles the line of fined and elegant yet powerful.  The finish is melon fruity sweetness, almost woody but with a distinct perfume floral.  The Qi can be felt in the body under the sternum slightly and has a euphoria in the mind.

Sixth has a woodier, juicy thick fruity, slight bitter astringent floral taste here.  There is a long bitter floral melon aftertaste stuck in a mid- throat feeling.  The oily texture is starting to thin here.  The Qi has a relaxing deep euphoria.

The seventh has a brothy fruity floral to it.  Some woody mid-profile but slight mild astringency which gives the finish a slight melon, floral, and almost grape fruit peel taste.  The mouthfeel and oily texture is waning here.

The eighth infusion is a bitter floral type of taste over a thinner fruity nuance.  The aftertaste sticks on the tongue on its slight puckering fine chalky coating.  The lips feel a bit chalky and the mind a bit euphoric.

The ninth infusion has a bitter orange peel floral taste to it.  The bitterness is a moderate type that carries all the way to the aftertaste and leaves a woody floral nuance there.  Nice relaxing mind.

The 11^th has a floral bitter onset that holds throughout with fine sandy less chalky mouthcoating.  The bitterness really starts to take hold here with sweet tastes all but gone.

Surprisingly this maocha has lots of kick and stamina and I run out of time in my day to see how this session will go down…

I put these leaves into a mug and grandpa steep these leaves over a few days.  They still have lots of punch left in them.  A strong bitter, floral and surprisingly sweet fruity taste.  I must have steeped this out over a good 3 days like this and this maocha still had lots of taste in there.  These leaves have great stamina and its only maocha not the pressed material.  Real nice.

Overall, this is likely high quality Yibang material or similar character from different Yiwu region.  I like the quality better than the 2020 White2tea Is A Gift but not as good as the 2019 White2tea Is a Gift which is even more bitter and with stronger Qi.  Something like this could easily go for $200.00 USD for 200g cake and I like it a lot.  Wonder when Mark will press this and offer it on his Etsy site for purchase?

In the end I’m looking at these leaves and see a mix of very small and little bit larger leaves making me wonder if this is even Yibang small leaf variety here… maybe not?

Certainly quite a positive introduction to Puerist!

Peace