I remember when Teas We Like offered the now sold out BiyunHao Vertical Tasting of Yibi. I was definitely
curious. I remember Marco being fond of the processing and care
and overall experience of this Yiwu area which Biyun Hao has a long history. But I also would have just preferred to simply know what the best Yibi is. This 2015 Biyan Hao Tedagushu ($255.00 for 360g or $0.71/g cake) was a limited release and sold out
fast. It was billed by Teas We Like as
their favorite of all the available Biyun Hao Yibi Gushu productions.
Dry leaves have a woody, almost licorice, and candy odour.
First infusion has a buttery woody creamy almost licorice
sweet approach. The mouthfeel is soft
and full fluffy feeling. The throat
opens to an upper-mid depth which causes a bit of salivation in the mouth. There is a long lingering licorice almost
mushroom wood aftertaste. This is a nice
smooth puerh. The Qi is a very
reassuring calm with a bit of Chest sensations.
The second infusion is a creamy sweet woody kind of caramel
licorice in a nice oily broth. The oil
leaves and the tongue and what is left a soft chalky sand with saliva pooling
in the upper-mid throat. The aftertaste
of almost candy but mainly woody mushroom that is mainly sweet and oily. The sweet candy lingers on the breath. The Qi is immediately apparent in the head
even a heavy head sensation is left there with deep breaths in the belly and
open chest feeling. There is a fresh
coolness in the inhales and exhales along with candy in the upper-mid throat.
The third infusion has a richer woody sweet onset with a
slight sandy mouthcoating with an oily broth.
There are notes of licorice and even metallic notes in the initial
taste. You can sense some almost
unnoticeable incense tastes as the upper-mid throat is stimulated and an almost
woody, mushroom, caramel sweetness is left behind. The Qi is pretty strong in the mind and makes
me feel like I am a bit heavy and hazy here.
Nice mild but quite noticeable body feeling of heavy shoulders and head,
open diaphragm and chest.
The fourth infusion has a rich woody almost caramel
sweetness the taste is real pure and clear and comes in a somewhat oily broth
and as it recedes leaves a fine slight sandy mouthcoating and lips
dryness. The throat is stimulated a bit
deeper in the mid throat here where a woody, mushroom, licorice and faint candy
really linger. The sweet woody mushroom
long aftertaste is real nice. So is the
Qi that is both strong but relaxing on the body. It leaves me feeling great with a nice
opening body sensation in the Abdomen and Heart with slight heavy shoulder and
head.
The 5th has an almost pear sweeter candy almost
caramel initial splash of taste in a mildly oily broth. There is a sweet candy that overarches the
whole profile and is really nice. The
sweetness hangs out in the mid-throat and is long on the breath. The taste is nice like a mushroom woody a
predominately sweet taste. The
mouthfeeling is a sandy, lip drying, feeling that is revealed when the oily
broth recedes. The Qi is nice and happy
and deeply refreshing in the mind with opening and heavy mild sensations in the
body.
The 6th has a smooth creamy sweet almost caramel
with mushroom and woody complexity to the sweet that is overarching and
long. The tastes really are quite long
and stretch deep into the breath. The
taste is really yummy, expansive and long.
Very gushu but also very East Yiwu.
The Qi is really nice with a deep feeling good strong mind feeling with
a very harmonious, soothing, strong bodyfeeling of heavy shoulders and limbs
with opening chest and Lungs.
The 7th has a woody mushroom onset with a candy
like taste that comes out and expands in the throat. The liquor here is not really oily anymore so
it just coats the mouth in a sandy, lip drying coating and simulates the
upper-mid throat a tiny bit enough for a long candy like and mushroom-wood taste. Again the taste profile is really clear and
pure with the same tastes coming out in different measures. The Qi is happy and soothing in the mind and
obvious but harmonious in the body.
The 8th infusion has a more fruity pear taste
upfront with woody-mushroom in the distance- the tastes go long in the profile
and make themselves known in different areas like the mouth, throat, breath- a
sign of a nice single estate gushu taste for me. The Qi is deeply penetrating but harmonious
and relaxing. Long almost caramel
mushroom woody sweetness is left on the breath.
The 9th has a nice woody mushroom subtle
sweetness over a full fine sandy dry lips mouthfeeling. There is a soft cool almost mushroomy caramel
sweetness. Long candy finish. The taste is starting to weaken although it
maintains its breadth. Almost fruity
finish on the breath now. Nice relaxing
uplifting Qi. Good harmonizing
bodyfeeling.
The 10th infusion has a bit of dry woody
astringency now with more of a subtle sweetness. The woody taste is dominant now with the
sweetness reduced and mainly on the breath with a bit of fresh coolness. The mouthfeeling is drier even into a dry
upper throat. Nice Qi.
The 11th has a woody dry initial taste with a
subtle sweetness. The oiliness is gone
in the liquor leaving lots of sandy dryness as a mouthcoating with no polarity
to level it out. The throat is a bit dry
here too with a subtle candy breath taste.
12th is much more watery and woody and
fruity. There is a distinct mild dryness
about the mouthfeeling and throatfeeling with edges of candy in the
aftertaste. Nice relaxing Qi with a bit
of heavy shoulders body feeling left.
13th has a watery muted fruitiness over a dry
mouth, lips, and throat.
I mug steep the rest out…
These long mug steeps push out a chalky, woody, almost
savory mushroom, slight dirt taste with very faint coolness on the breath with
ghostly almost unrecognizable candy sweetness.
Solid tastes are left in these long infusions.
This is a nice gushu puerh with very clear single origin
taste (of woody mushroom, sweet candy finish, some caramel and occasional
pear), mouthfeeling (full sandy almost drying lips and mid deep throat
simulation with an oily liquor in the first half of the session), and qi (nice
bodyfeeling of open chest and abdomen with very happy and harmonious qi feeling. Great Qi and bodyfeeling! It is strange that the taste, mouthfeeling,
and Qi reminds me of the 2020 EoT TianMenShan! They might possibly be similar in production, tree age, and location. The Tianmenshan is definitely stronger and less smooth gushu and has a more interesting but kind of similar flavour. This lovely Yibi is nearly twice as cheap per gram though.
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