Sunday, January 9, 2022

2008 Xizi Hao Diangu: Minty Cardboard Perfume Heartbeats!

I picked up this 2008 Xizi Hao Diangu sample at Liquid Proust last year.  I think it was a comparative set along with the 2009.  He has done lots of options with Diangu on his site over the years including offering this full iron cake version.

Dry leaves smell of cardboard and a sweet creamy woody odour.  Not any piercing nectar like the Houde 2007 but same cardboard like odour which is interesting because I thought it was a storage odour and maybe it comes from the same collector and is…

First infusion has a woody, cardboard onset cherry and turnip earthy tastes.  It’s a smooth and a bit watery with a thin full sandy mouth and unique hints of fruit I can’t describe.

The second infusion has a perfume onset with notes of tart rosehips and almost grapefruit pith fruity bitterness.  There is a movement to a creamy berry sweet taste that slowly emerges and expands in the aftertaste.  There is a sweet tart perfume taste in the mouth even minutes later.  The lingering aftertaste is long.  Qi is focusing and happy with a bit of chest Qi.

The third infusion has a woody perfume cardboard bitters onset.  There is a subtle hong cha note and an emerging minty perfume taste in the aftertaste.  Tastes a bit soapy floral almost creamy.  It has a soft thin sandy but full feeling in the mouth.  Spacy and floating Qi takes hold of my mind with some Heart beats.


4th has a woody bitter cardboard with a soapy floral perfume note that is a bitter minty taste.  Not as condensed, perfume, or bitter as the drier stored 2007 from Houde.  Strong initial presentation of flavour then develops a bit more cardboard minty taste.  Long aftertaste of initial flavours.  Steady strength from the Qi totally spaces me out while I can feel strong Chest pounding.  The cooled cup has a more tart woody cardboard fruitiness, less bitter-mint, and nice long creamy and smoother sweetness.  A touch harsh on the digestion from being a bit young maybe.

5th has a medicinal cherry cough syrup onset with that minty bitter edge to it.  It has an emerging creamy sweet note in there that comes out as the more bitter notes recede.  Soft full thin sandy mouthfeeling.  Nice Chest Qi sensation with floating mind.

6th infusion has a sour rose hip and cardboard taste.  There is some bitter floral tastes a touch woody and sort of minty.  The fine full soft sandy mouthfeeling is prominent.  Nice relaxing floating Qi.  Vs   2007 this one is much less condensed, powerful in taste, aroma, and Qi.  Its maybe 1/2 as good.

7th has a root turnip, floral perfume, carboard onset with a carrot creamy sweet finish.  Nice soft full fine sandy mouthfeeling.  This infusion has more of a root veggie taste which did not appear in the 2007.

8th has a bitter metallic woody body floral cardboard and sandy mouthfeeling.  Cooled it is more creamy sweet and minty with lesser bitter cardboard wood.  Nice lingering sweet floral breath.

9th has a cardboard woody floral taste to it.  There is a bit of minty almost root veggies edges to it.  Still lots of medium bitterness that comes with a woody flat taste.  Nice decent chest expanding and uplifting spacy feeling.

10th infusion has a bitter woody root veggies floral taste initially then has a metallic like finish along with woody bitterness.  This infusion has much less sweetness.  More of a flat taste in the mouth.

12th is a more creamy woody cardboard floral onset that ends more sweet that woody.  The 2008 is way less perfume.  Nice thin full fine sandy mouthfeeling.  Nice uplifting Qi.

13th has a woody almost watery bitter flat woody taste with edges of sweetness.  Mouthfeeling is a bit more gripping and has not much sweetness, a bit of perfume.  Nice Chest pounding and uplifting more energizing Qi than the 2007s stupefying Qi.

14th has a woody cardboard root veggie kind of flat taste with not really any sweetness left.  A flat dry puckering mouthfeeling.  Uplifting Qi.

Although this 2008 is still pretty enjoyable, the quality gap between the 2007 from Houde and this 2008 is very significant.


Peace

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