2011 Legend of Puer Da Xue Shan: A thin Veil…

2011 Legend of Puer Da Xue Shan: A thin Veil…

I purchased this sample a while ago from Tea Urchin and just tried it this spring.  This 2011 Legend of Puer Da XueShan (Snow Mountain) goes for $64.00 for 200g or $0.32/g.

The dry leaves smell of vegetal dry leaf… nothing too exciting here.

The first infusion has a mild dry woody almost but not that mint-pungency with a faint distant floral.  The mouthfeeling is empty a faint moss on the tongue and the throatfeeling is slightly opening in the upper- mid throat with a dry sandy-sticky feeling in the mouth.  There is a candy faint aftertaste minutes later and some mild mouthwatering effect.

The second has a nice floral and candy onset over a mild mossy mouthfeeling that evolves into something stickier.  There is a very subtle vegetal and coolness but mainly this is just a long floral coolness in the mouth.  It then expands for minutes in the mouth.  Nice long perfume floral and candy with not much other tastes to restrict or complicate these nice top notes.  The mouthfeeling is interesting as it thickens in the mouth as the flavor expands.  Nice dry storage on this cake.

The 3^rd has a floral vegetal sweet perfume onset with and expanding candy floral finish.  This puerh has really light pure flavours that really expand in the mouth with little base flavours to distract from the single estate high-noted feeling.  The mouthfeeling continues to thicken as you swallow.  Nice dry storage allows for nice expanding and very long candy and floral initial, mid, throat, then aftertaste.  There is a mid-throat opening and very long profile.  The Qi is very subtle and focusing in the mind and clear in the body.

The fourth has a very incense perfume onset with a vegetal and candy finish.  The mouthfeeling is more dry sticky and the long uninterrupted candy and floral nuances are slightly muted by these other notes.  There is a bit of astringency now with a slight drying pucker with no more saliva producing effects. The Qi is really soft and almost light in the body and focusing relaxing mind.  Very harmonious Qi.

5^th is a vegetal syrupy floral woody onset.  There is a subtle sour taste that pops with the initial tastes and moves fast.  There is a subtle cool throat then some candy expands on the breath.  The mouthfeel is soft and sticky the mid-throat opens a bit.

6^th has a vegetal sweet syrupy floral taste there is a candy like sweetness that emerges and returns with a faint cool subtle throat opening.  Nice soft mossy coating.  Slight focusing mind Qi.

7^th is much the same with a subtle incense note and much longer pronounced candy taste that is long on the breath.

8^th has a floral perfume onset with a touch of vegetal underneath there is faint very faint woodiness and the mouthfeel is a bit puckering and dry with a bit more astringency to this infusion.  The few infusions with more astringency, although subtle, also have a tighter pucker mouthfeeling and less candy and sweetness throughout.  These infusions can also be felt on the empty stomach.  Qi is really mild in the body with a focused mind.

9^th has a woody floral kind of watery onset with some vegetal slight rubber that comes up.  There is a faint deep throat cooling then a returning faint candy taste.

10^th has a juicier fruity sweet onset of mango, with a slight floral and slight tart nuance to it.  The sweet mango tastes is long in the profile and stretches onto the breath.  The mouthfeeling is soft and mossy with a mid-deep open throat feeling and focused Qi feeling.

11^th has a woody, flat almost bitter-astringent floral fruit. The mouthfeeling is a bit more gripping.  There is a slight puckering mouthfeeling with a more pronounced cooling in the throat.  Nice focusing Qi.

12^th is a cooled cup and more of an orange peel taste comes up initially with subtle sweet and fainter bitter note that returns as a candy-like coolness on the breath.  Focusing Qi.

13^th I add 10seconds to the flash infusion and let it cool down… the results is a faint fruity almost woody bland taste with very little returning sweetness.

I go to the mug steepings and start pushing this one hard…

It is pretty much spent now with a bit of bland woody, slight earthy incense.

This is a really pure and simple but still refined offering of Da Xue Shan from a producer know for its smooth puer - Legends of Puer.  It offers a clean and pure highnoted floral sweetness and a nice long cooling candy finish.  The Qi is unimposing and harmonious.  The dry storage on this sample has done these qualities well.  Very nice in its pure simplicity very easy to drink.

Peace