1999-2000 Fuhai Yiwu Six Green Leaves= Powerful

This is a bit of a famous cake stored by the more famous and at times controversial Cloud’s Tea House… I got this sample from LiquidProust.  It was a damn cold Spring day with lots of wind and cold and this seemed like a very satisfying drink to warm up to…

Dry leaves smell of cardboard-woody damp paper bag.

First infusion has a soft fluffy onset with some watery humid notes, some dirt notes, then a mild bitter astringency pop and a cooling almost creamy sweet finish.  The mouthfeeling is really gripping and engaging.  There is a tobacco note that appears minutes later.

Second infusion has a rye-whiskey woody onset with a smooth woody creamy sweet transition in the mouth.  There is lots movement in the taste from a woody rye whiskey onset a bit of bitter astringency then returns a creamy sweet almost wine like long finish that sort of merges with cooling.  Then there is a lingering aftertaste minutes later that has a tobacco taste to it.  The mouthfeeling is chalky and tugging and really full.  It reaches down the throat deeply stimulating it.

Third infusion has a strong rich smoke woody rye-whiskey slight dirt with strong mouthfeeling and dry chalky gripping feeling with a strong returning sweetness of cooling menthol with a creamy sweet finish.  The flavours are very strong and distinct. Very intense gripping full mouth and deep gripping throatfeeling.  Long tobacco finish in the mouth many minutes later.  Very subtle warming feeling in the body.  Subtle focusing and relaxing.

The 4^th infusion has a woody wine whiskey vibrant pop of flavours that has a plum taste kind of layered in there.  There is a strong menthol cooling with pops of plum cherries and a long cooling creamy sweetness with long tobacco finish.  Very strong full tugging mouthfeeling and throatfeeling.  This infusion has stronger cherry-plum sweet vibrancy.  The mouthfeeling continues in be quite intense and the Qi is this subtle warming relaxing focusing energy.  You can feel a warmth in the diaphragm. 

5^th has a strong woody whiskey barrel onset with some distant smoke and distant sweet plum there is a strong mouth and throat presence here with a bitter astringency underneath and strong simulating mouth and throatfeeling.  Camphor woody and not as creamy sweet.  Intense mouth and throatfeeling taste centered by very soft warming relaxing Qi and comfortable bodyfeeling.  Have never experienced the extremes of this dichotomy in a tea this old and aged. Qi has a distinct warming heavy sensation in the Stomach and diagram.

6^th infusion has a strong woody whiskey barrel taste with some developing cherry-plum some lesser camphor wood.  Nice tobacco and creamy sweet finish.  Very strong pulling mouth and throatfeeling.  Nice strong warming diaphragm and stomach.  Relaxing focus.

7^th infusion has a creamy sweet woody onset with a touch of bitter astringency.  The mouthfeel is more oily and velvety with a long plum camphor taste.  There is this tobacco finish in this puerh that I just love in Yiwu puerh.  The creamy sweet profile is long throughout the profile. 

8^th has a plum woody whisky barrel onset that is mainly sweet with lesser bitter astringency in the last few infusions.  Nice camphor cooling with a creamy sweetness and some bitter finish in the mouth.  There is a creamy sweet and tobacco with bitterness in the finish.  Strong diagpragm warming feelng. Very full chalky gripping mouthfeeling and deep and strong throat stimulation.  Long cooling in the throat.  Some faint dirt and plum tastes initially.

9^th is left to cool and gives off a subtly smoke, subtle dirt coco bitterness, and soft creamy sweetness initially.  The initial tastes go long in this cooled down cup.    There is more smoke and more dirt taste in this infusions.  The throatfeeling has more tugging strength than the mouthfeeling which is more of a dry chalky.  Nice relaxing focusing with strong warming digapragm and Stomach.  The warming centering Qi is really compforting.

10^th has a silky full mouthfeeling with a stimulating pulling throat feeling with a creamy sweet coco dirt onset with an expanding creamy sweetness.  Longer creamy sweet profile now with lots of creamy coco taste.  Strong warmth in Stomach and diaphragm.

11^th is cooled down and gives off more dirt tastes than creamy sweet coco.  There is this dirt and bitter taste that has a certain brackish taste to it.  This infusion has some faint camphor and barely sweetness but is mainly this bitter dirt taste.  The Qi is still strongly warming and relaxing.

12^th has a bitter dirt with some creamy sweet notes underneath.  The bitter dirt taste pretty much tastes over the taste here.  The mouthfeeling is dry tugging with strong throat stimulation only faint creamy sweet coco tastes now.  Strong relaxing….

I put these same leaves into mug infusions….

The result is a bitter dirt bland strong tasting broth that is not that enjoyable tasting but strong relaxing and warming Qi remains.  Nice warming and relaxing feeling on this slow moving unseasonably cool and windy day.

This is a powerful factory Yiwu puerh with power in its taste and mouth- and throat-feeling.  Yet very warming and relaxing and comfortable in its Qi.  The dichotomy is striking.  The strength and power of the mouth and throatfeel in an aged puerh like this sort of reminds me of the 88 Qing Bing.  It also offers an interesting contrast to the Black Stamp of the same year which is quite refined, smooth, and very tasty fruity taste with high quality body feeling.  Very opposite this Fuhai in almost every way.

Peace

2001 Xiaguan Jingua Tuocha Shu

Stephane of Teamsters sent a 2001 Xiaguan Jingua Toucha Shu freesample a few years ago.  Usually this 450g melon goes for $210.00 or $0.47/g.  As a part of my 2001 Xiaguan study and to compare to the “1960s Loose Leaf” and because it was damn cold this day and to warm me up…. I decided to crack this sample of a very classic traditional style of Shu.  It turns out I know very little about what is going on with Shu puerh these days but I know a good classic shu when I come across one and this was pretty satisfying… thanks in advance Stephane!

Dry leaves smell still of fermentation storage like smells like pretty drier stored shu.

First infusion smells of dank mushroomy old factory shu to me…. And tastes milky, watery mushroom, woody taste, with some faint coolness and empty mouth sweet taste left behind.

Second infusion has a deep chocolate onset that has rich milky layers, a hazelnut taste along with chocolate gives a Nutella like taste over an oily mouthfeeling.  Rich and chocolate nutty tastes. 

Third infusion has thick rich oily chocolate nutty hazelnut taste it has some woody mushroom taste underneath but mainly this thick oily chocolate hazelnutty taste.  Nice mild calming mind and relaxing sighs.  Nice deeply spacy relaxing feeling.

The 4^th has an oily milky sweet taste upfront then turns into a nutty mushroom taste, oily thick. With a woody-mushroom chocolate finish.  Nice oily full mouth and full throat oily feeling.  Nice deeply spacy and relaxing feeling.

5^th has an oily rich coco chocolate taste with a subtle mushroom woody taste under the thick oily coco taste. 

6^th is left to cool and has a creamy milky taste with a flat oily mouthfeeling and faint distant cooling and a woody straw like coco finish.  Nice oily throat and saliva.  Very relaxing vibe.

7^th has a milky flat woody taste.  Very consistent from infusion to infusion but really delicious and great Qi.  There is definitely a straw grains finish in the last few infusions now with lessening amounts of chocolate and sweetness.  Still very nice relaxing qi sensations.

8^th is a more woody coco creamy sweetness with the woody and coco and milky sort of presenting together.  The result is nice with a touch of cooling that brings out some creamy taste. The mouthfeel is now moving towards becoming slightly dry.  I feel energized with the energy- it bumps me up but then again is a bit relaxing.  The cumulative effect is energizing though.

9^th has a dryer woodiness to it and less of a smooth oily milky or coco taste.  The energy is strongly alerting now as the liquor accumulates in the body.  Strong alerting now.

10^th was left in the pot for a good minute and has a woody coco less milky sweetness.  The alerting energy in here reminds us that this is a strong Xiaguan!  Heart beats now..

I flash steep out of the pot the next day with woody hay coco oily tastes.  Still very tasty and mild alerting energy. 

I push the spent leaves in the mug for a few days and am satisfied with the result of coco taste.  Super enjoyable shu,classic, no nonsense.

Peace

2003 ChenYuan Hao Manzhuan: Fruit Bomb!

This 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan came from my order of Chen Yuan Hao Quarter cakes at Teas We Like which goes for $155.00 for 90g or $1.72/g.  Teas We Like sold the full cake for a few years on their site before offering the Quarter cake option…

Dry leaves smell of a creamy woody odour that is maybe a bit sweet but piercing.

First infusion was left to cool and gives off a pungent vegetal creamy sweetness that is over an oily broth.  There is a long pungent coolness throughout.  It appears in the aftertaste as a very sweet layered creamy fruity taste appears.  This first infusion has lots of flavor and minutes later a creamy pungent fruity taste is left in the mouth.  There is a reassuring calmness to the first infusion.

The second infusion has a brassy vegetal almost but not really bitterness upfront that has a juicy fruity underlying sweetness to it which quickly follows.  Lots of layers of tastes and a nice complex aftertaste of juicy fruity layers breads, vegetal tastes, almost bitters, creamy sweentesses.  There is an overall layered sweetness that is nicely pushes out with an open throat feeling and a pungent coolness lingering in there with a slightly chalky slight oily mouthfeeling.  Nice calm and reassuring mind. 

Third infusion has a creamy flat vegetal not really bitterness then dives into a creamy fruity layered sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is a bit tight under a softer chalky and slightly oily texture.  There is some nice pungent coolness throughtout and an aftertaste of creamy tastes with fruity layers.   The taste is really nice.  There is an open throat feeling and some saliva producing there as well.  Nice calming mind.  Although single origin, it seems to complex and with such nice breadth would likely be produced from blending many sources in Manzhuan area.  So nice.

The fourth infusion has an oily thick fruity layering in a watery vegetal sort of taste.  The layers of oily fruit are reminiscent of Tuiti-fruity tastes.  Nice open throat feeling with a faint lingering pungent now.  Nice super relaxing vibe with a few face tingles.  Less complex this infusion.

The fifth infusion has a pungent cooling vegetal vibrant almost bitter onset with fruity sweet tastes pushed out of here.  The mouthfeel is a bit tight with an oily texture on top.  Nice faint cooling produces some creamy and bread sweetness but mostly a tuiti fruity tastes.  Even minutes later.  The fruity sweet taste is substantial.

The sixth infusion is left to cool and gives off a watery vegetal woody initial taste with lesser creamy sweet notes.  There is a fainter profile now with a watery woody and fruity notes with some cooling.  The texture of the liquor is much less oily now with more of a tight tongue feeling.  Nice calm feeling Qi with some mild face tingling.

The 7^th is also left to cool and gives off a woody vegetal bland initial taste with an underlying bitterness now.  There is faint under taste that comes out in the aftertaste such as wood, vegetal leaves, bland paper, fruit.  Nice mind calming.  Cooling breath and some sweetness appear minutes later.

8^th ooops left the hot water on the leaves for a good minute…  has a strong woody tongue gripping and puckering feel with some initial sweetness with a bread woody mid-profile and woody sour cherry pop that quickly comes and goes in the puckering mouthfeeling.  Stronger mind melting power- stronger than just relaxed now.  Face tingling and almost a sleepiness to the Qi here.

9^th 20 second steep… and left to cool… has a woody fruity taste with a bitter vegetal woody body there is some faint cooling then brief creamy sweetness.  Nice chalky mouthfeeling and a lingering creamy sweetness in the slightly tjight puckering underbelly.  Spacy and sleepy Qi now.

10^th has a nice fruity chalky woody vegetal bitterness to it.  There is still some sweetness but not as strong and a strong sleepy and spacy Qi. 

11^th is a 30 second infusion has a bit of fruity woody vegetal bitterness.

I push it hard into mug infusions now with lots of available complex depth available to explore with soapy floral tastes, woody bitters, darker woods, deeper fruity notes and sweet tastes, bland woody vegetal tastes.  Nice deep profile in this Manzhuan.

A few days later I push it with another long mug steeping…

It pushes out lots of clear candy sweetness with a long tropical candy fruity taste.  There is not really any bitterness or astringency or that much woody taste but the sweet candy taste is strong and long and satisfying.  It has that Rockets Candy like sweetness.  Yummy. The taste lingers with thick saliva gobs forming in the mouth and deep throat… this is by far the best example of ManZhuan I have tried…

Very sweet, very nice clear Manzhuan profile.  The layered sweet fruity tastes in the first handful of infusions are amazing and leave me wondering if a bunch of Manzhuan areas have been blended in here because it’s deep in its sweet fruitiness like the Tuiti-fruity flavor.  Open throat with oily texture that drops off after the first handful of infusions which is typical of my experience with Manzhuan.  Qi is at first relaxing then descends into a stronger sleepy and spacy feeling.  It really slowed me down today!  Very tasty.

Peace

2005 Yiwu Ancient Tree Melon: Craving this Yiwu!

Got this sample from The Essence of Tea after it sold out.  I had just hit the 2004 Yang Qing HaoZhencang Chawang pretty hard for a decent price and couldn’t stomach another few KG of Yiwu… but this one turned out to be pretty good as well…  This 2005 Yiwu Ancient Tree Melon went for$690.00 for 1000g melon or $0.69/g.  There is a terrible spring blizzard here now so I’ve been digging into some oldish samples…  

The dry leaves smell very sweet creamy sweet almost candy-like odours.

The First infusion has a creamy oily sweetness.  The taste as a touch of fleeting fruitiness and a touch of astringent pucker but is mainly this sweet oily liquor.  The aftertaste has this slow creamy sweetness that hides in the throat and is pushes out in gentle spurts of saliva.

The second infusion has a fresh cherry pop of taste that induces saliva in the slightly puckering mouthfeeling and oily texture.  The throat feeling is interesting and feels like there is a slow and sputtering release of saliva from the mid throat to the back of the mouth.  The finish is subtle incense and a slow release creamy sweetness.  There are some bodyfeeling tingles with this one- face, neck, forehead.  Some diaphragm and chest opening feeling.

The third infusion has a cherry fruity pop initially with some pucker tart and saliva producing to follow.  The finish of faint incense and creamy sweetness is stronger here.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more gripping as well.  Strong puckering feeling where a creamy sweetness lingers.  Open belly and chest feeling with some relaxing sighs. 

The 4^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy sweet oily and slightly woody taste that has a chalky incense aftertaste and strong cherry almost sour edge to it.  There is a faint cooling woody but tastes different and fresher than menthol in this cooled down cup.  Nice soft full drying.  Cherry artificial candy like finish.

5^th has a creamy woody sweet taste with some lesser fruit cherries that can’t quite express.  The creamy sweet chalky aftertaste has an almost strawberry cream taste to it.  There is a cool almost menthol but more like a tingling cherry cough candy- really tasty and unique.  Nice numb tingles in the body with a foucs on the tummy and chest feeling open.  Nice calm feeling.

6^th has a creamy woody oily onset with a sweet creamy almost fruity taste.  It develops into a faint incense and creamy strawberry candy sweetness with a bit of cherry cough candy taste.  Nice mild tingles and Chest and Abdomen opening.  There is a long cooling cherry candy creamy woody taste in the back of the throat.  There is an open mid-throat with and slight full dry puckering mouthcoating.  The energy of this puerh isn’t warming but not cooling either. 

7^th is left to cool and has a creamy woody almost sweet fruity initial taste with an almost menthol cherry cough candy finish to it.  The mouthfeeling is puckering and becoming more and drier.  There are glimpses of talc powdery taste.  There is now a gripping feeling in the throat as less saliva is produced.  Nice relaxing and reassuring vibe here with some tingles and Chest and Abdomin opening.

8^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy woody not as sweet initial taste with a menthol cherry cough candy mild finish.  There is a drier gripping mouthfeeling with a mid throat puckering.  Nice opening expanding diparagm and Chest.  Nice calm focus.

9^th infusion has a creamy sweet candy cherry like onset over a chalky slight puckering mouthfeeling.  The sweetness lingers in the aftertaste. 

10^th has a creamy strawberry-like taste with a chalky finish.  With nice chest and abdomen opening and tingles in the face.

11^th is cooled down and is creamy woody talc taste with chalky finish in the mouth.  There is this woody chalky taste primarily.  Nice focusing.

I mug steep out the rest of the wet leaves and it gives off a woody menthol-cherry taste with a touch of astringency and long cool aftertaste with interesting layers of pungency, sweetness, and dryness.  The mouthfeel has a strong gripping taste which translates to a woody cherry pungent astringent dryness.  It doesn’t have that gag feeling though.  Strong mind relaxing and face warming now.

Comparing this Yiwu to some of the Chen Yuan Hao or Yang Qing Hao Yiwu’s I have been consuming late isn’t really a fair comparison as I feel these are a bit better but not that much better.  This Yiwu melon has really nice storage on it better than the Yang Qing Hao and Chen Yuan Hao stuff and a super interesting cherry cooling coughdrop flavor.  It’s really comfortable in the body.  There is some solid bodyfeelnig with the Abdomen and Chest opening and focusing feeling in the mind.  The mouthfeeling is a bit too gripping and puckering at times and the complexity is obvious single estate product.  There was something unique about this one that I can’t put my finger on maybe the cherry cough drop taste ??? which was enjoyable also the fact that it was a bit gripping and astringent but aged enough that it was completely comfortable in the body. I’m not sure if it would have been one that I would want to purchase but I can see myself drinking it regularly.   Another solid tea from The Essence of Tea! 

I’ve been drinking the spent leaves in long infusions for the past few days and I have to say that I really look forward to these steepigns from this puerh.  It has a nice very clean taste, very pure taste, the leaf quality is very and there is no interruption from storage tastes.  In many ways this Yiwu is better that those coming from those famous boutique brands…  This is definitely a puerh I could drink on the regular.

Peace

2011 ChenYuan Hao Qian Jia Zhai Jin Cha: Smooth, Deep, Long

I requested this sample of this 2011 ChenYuan Hao Qian JiaZhai Jin Cha (approx. $100 for 300g mushroom or $0.33/g) from Paolo of Puerh.uk in my last order.  I have been interested in it since seeing it posed on the Teas We Like site.  Jin Cha is not usually of high quality product but this one apparently is.  Also I like the tight compression and tend to enjoy the puerh I’ve sampled from QianJia Zhai in the past.

Dry leaves very very creamy sweet notes it smells like cake almost.

First infusion has a watery floral vegetal peat moss kind of initial taste with a long sweet floral watery finish.  Nice calming mind feeling.

Second infusion has a chalky floral creamy sweet taste with an expanding long floral sweetness that is subtly cooling and long on the breath.  It is really expansive and mouthwatery.  The mouthfeeling makes the lips tight and has a mild puckering feel over a mid-deep opening throat.  Nice long floral sweet taste.

The third infusion is left to cool and gives off a woody floral sweet almost bitter taste the taste is really a nice with a long and sweet floral almost candy-like taste which really expands in the soft oily texture and subtle tight mouthfeeling underneath.  The mouthwatering effect is slow and gradual and gives the feeling of a silky smooth puerh.  The Qi is deeply relaxing and reflective with deep sighs.

The fourth infusion has a creamy floral woody almost peat kind of taste with a nice soft gripping mouthfeeling and throatfeeling with dry lips and a tugging at the back of the throat.  There is some sweet taste and bitter woody-peat.  A faint sugar taste is left in the mouth.  Minutes later there is a distinct coco chocolate taste that lingers on the breath.  Nice deep calming with chest heaviness.  Qi has a strong unwinding feeling that you just sink into.

5^th has a woody bitter oily peat floral less of a sweetness now.  The oily taste is substantial over a tugging tight mouthfeeling.  The returning sweet taste is big and interesting with pops of floral and tart bitter sweet cherries and coco chocolate deeper tastes.  Deep reflective Qi.

6^th infusion has a coco floral onset with nice oily taste with slight gripping tongue long sweet chocolate taste with this one.  Nice slowly building aftertaste and deep heavy chest calming and reflection.  Nice pops of creamy tart bitter cherries but overall and throughout coco.

7^th has a woody cherry bitter tart taste with a long woody kind of peat but with a sweet cherry edge taste.  Nice expansive taste.  Mouthwatering tart-bitter-sweetness with a strong throat simulating effect which pushes saliva in the tongue and mouth.  Deep relaxation and reflection.  Limbs and neck heaviness.

8^th has a cherry berry woody sweet onset with an expanding taste that gets a bit cherry and coco and creamy sweet.  Nice long unveiling of flavor. 

9^th has a creamy cherry sweet woody onset with floral nuances in there.  It ends with this slightly dirt but more of a coco chocolate note.  The flavor slowly evolves over a slightly tight motuhfeeling and nice throat simulating in the mid-upper throat.  Nice relaxing contemplative Qi.

10^th has a cherry-woody-coco onset with a balance of bitter and sweet with a bit of tart flavor initially that stretches into more of a creamy sweet with tart cherry-berry and woody-dirt-coco flavours.  Nice Qi folds over my mind and has a bit of a heavy feeling in the shoulders and arms and face.  Feels deeply reflective.

11^th has a honey woody sweet taste in this cooled down infusion.  There is a long dirt coco taste with creamy sweet honey undertaste.  The Qi has a heavy chest feeling and nice deep relaxing.

12^th has a woody plum coco onset over a tighter mouthfeeling and oily body.  The throat is stimulated mid level and creates a nice long aftertaste of creamy coco slightly bitter-sweet.  Nice deep contemplated Qi.

13^th has a dirt woody bitter coco that is more this bland brackish dirt taste now with lesser sweetness that is more in the aftertaste and almost creamy sweet.  The mouthfeel is becoming tighter here.  Nice strong relaxing Qi.

14^th has a strong creamy bitter sweet coco and brackish dirt taste with a oily slow to develops coolness and creamy sweetness in the aftertaste.  The Qi is this really enjoyable unwinding feeling in the mind while still keeping the alertness and energy stable. 

15^th rich coco taste developing with a nice oily sweetness that slowly comes out in the aftertaste under the dominant coco.  The coco is slightly brackish and dirt there is an evolving almost sweetness.

I got back to the leaves the next day and the flash infusion has a bitter herbs taste to them.

I mug steep out the rest…

Deep dark coco chocolate taste with woody and fruity and bread layers.  Still very deep and complex tasting with a pungent coolness that has a numbing mouth feeling.  Nice oily and rich taste.  Deep dark sweet bitter-sweet coco.  It has that peat-brackish-dirt undertaste to it.

I felt really really good after consuming this puerh.  The Qi is really nice- it is this deep contemplative puerh that doesn’t slow the mind down.  It has some heavy sensations in the body but yet the mind doesn’t feel heavy or bogged down.  I like the slow moving profile and long aftertaste.  There is some really delicious sweet tastes in there and they are nicely balanced with a bit of bitterness that comes out later but not that much astringency.  The throat is nicely stimulated.

I’m unsure what I would compare this one too… but it is really good for its price and I’d like to try the Teas We Like storage before considering a purchase.

Peace

2003 ChenYuan Hao Yiwu: Complex Yiwu Layers

This is from the drop of early 2000s ChenYuan Hao Quarter cakes that TeasWe Like sold and this one goes for $155.00 for 90g or $1.72/g.  I had a few sessions with this one but none were nearly as good as this first session which I really stuffed the pot…

Dry leaves smell of a woody smoky BBQ odour.

First infusion has a creamy sweet very classic Yiwu with a long returning creamy sweetness.  Tastes almost like Yang Qing Hao Yiwus sort of.  Nice smoke underlying but creamy and quite sweet with a bit of woody.  Nice classic balance of Yiwu flavours.  Nice mild oily mouthfeeling with deeper-mid throat simulation with some saliva.  Tastes immediately like a solid Yiwu… very satisfying and delicious to me.

The second is a woody creamy sweet with smoky taste with a faint fruity almost floral nuance in there as well.  There is nice subtle coolness with a juicy almost woody fruity sweet retuning taste.  The mouthfeel is a flat sandy gritty.  There are nuances of sweet fresh melon that appear minutes later in the saliva.  Nice uplifting feeling to the Qi with some Heart beats and chest opening feeling, some face tingling.

The third infusion has a woody fruity smoke oily presentation that tastes a lot like Yang Qing Hao to me.  There is a cooling and retuning saliva with a deep to mid deep throat sensation with saliva producing.  The long base taste is a subtle smoky woody taste.  There is a nice balance of old school smoke with woody fruity Yiwu.  There is some sourness throughout and overall a woody smoky sweet taste.  Some fresh melon faintly appears in the aftertaste along with a creamy almost sweet bread taste.  Nice Heart beats and nice warming Qi feeling. With brow moistening and heavy limbs.  Nice bodyfeeling here with a uplifting spirit.

The 4^th has a fruity-woody-smoke kind of oily single thick note of taste then there is some returning sweetness with sweet bread taste and even some faint glimpses of melon and fresh fruity tastes faintly in there as well.  The oily fruity-woody-smoke taste kind of hold from initial taste to aftertaste with another wave of coolness and returning sweetness underneath.  Very nice uplifting and now almost euphoric feeling.  Nice oily deep throat simulation with saliva producing.  The body has a numbing tingling feeling overall.  Especially in the face and jaw.  Nice creamy chalky sweet finish with bread sweetness in mouth.

5^th has a sour woody oily sort of fruity sweet initial taste with a retuning bready sweetness that has more creaminess to it.  There is this happy uplifting feeling with some heart beats and chest opening.  Nice feels.

6^th has a sour creamy sweet woody fruity sweet onset that is less smoky now.  There is a nice oily taste with a bit more sour and mild astringency in the throat.  Nice long bread sweetness with some creamy and even fresher melon tastes.  Uplifting feeling with chest open and Heart beats.

7^th is left to cool and has a fruity sweet melon taste nice and vibrant fresh fruity taste.  Very vibrantly fresh fruity, very tasty.  Nice silty soft mouthfeeling with deeper throat sensations and uplifting qi with heart beats.

8^th cooled down is a very creamy rich oily woody taste with fresh fruity notes in the finish with bread and creamy tastes as well.  A very nice straightforward and classic Yiwu with great sweet taste, some fresh fruitiness and deep throat with nice uplifting Qi and significant bodyfeeling.  Very nice.  Very Yiwu.

9^th has an oily sweet fresh fruity tastes with a bready creamy layer in the retuning sweetnes.   Nice slity mouthfeeling.  Nice uplifdting Qi with deeper open throat feeling with subtle faint cooling but lots of sweetness.

10^th is left to cool and has a woody papery taste initially with some lesser fruity woody sweetness.  Nice silty mouthfeeling with a fresh fruity melon tastes.  Less thickness and depth now but still nice long sweet fruity and creamy sweet retuning sweetness.

11^th has a woody papery onset with some creamy barely fruity sweetness underneath.

12^th has a creamy sweet woody onset with a silty a bit dry mouth feeling and less of a deeper throatfeeling now.  Makes me feel a touch euphoric but mainly a nice uplifting vibe.  There is a bit of cooling and nice clear icing sugar sweetness.

13^th & 14^th have a woody not as sweet taste with a dry mouthfeeling. There is still some creamy sweetness in the aftertaste even some fresher melon tastes as well over a nice chalky mouthfeeling and mid-deep throaty depth.  Relaxing feeling.

I mug steep out the spent leaves a few days later…

Strong vibrant plum fruit flavours with a bitter underbelly.  There is a deep long coolness and pops of tart fresher fruity tastes in the aftertaste.  Thick, rich, fruity, and delicious.  The taste is really oily and delicious with lots of layers of sweet tastes stuck in there.  Lots of saliva producing and long substaitive aftertaste with fruity sweet and even bitter tastes.  Nice thick satisfying Yiwu gushu!  Thick chalky mouthfeeling.  I devour the mug steeping and steep again!

I have had this puerh a few more times some are more flat, or grassy or less vibrant but still quite satisfying.  Every session seems to be a bit different suggesting a blend of the area, I believe.

 Vs Yang Qing Hao- this 2003 ChenYuan Hao reminds me lots of some of the Yiwu productions from Yang Qing Hao.  Even its natural storage is close to Yang’s storage being a natural Taiwanese type storage.  The storage/production? on these cakes is a bit better than Yang’s storage though because they still retain some fresh fruitier nuances and complexities that are washed over in Yangs storage even among the 2006 productions.

Peace

2003 Chenyuan Hao Youle: Uplifting Happy Aged Gushu Energy!

I got this 2003 Chenyuan Hao Youle ¼ cake ($155.00 for 90gor $1.72/g) from Teas We Like.  I’m in a bit of a Chenyuan Hao study right now and really enjoyed this one…

Strongly compressed dry leaves smell of faintly creamy woody more humid odours.

First infusion has a creamy metallic onset with a strong mouthwatering effect over an oily creamy texture.  There is this buttery creamy almost metallic type of sweetness that pops in the mouth initially then expands in the thick saliva.  It’s an almost floral buttery creamy metallic taste.  The oily and saliva producing is really nice with a long thick feeling in the mouth.  There is some mild spacy mind slowing even right away.

The second infusion has a vibrant pop of sweet tangy buttery creamy sweet taste that lingers around in thick oily and mouthwatering places.  There is a vibrancy to it with some sour fruity sweet tastes being featured here it kind of reminds me of a fruit punch blend with sour mango of old dehydrated fruit leathers.  Nice mind slowly with some face tingling.

The third infusion has a floral fruity juicy oily tangy pop of vibrant dried fruity punch/ mango sweetness that hold long in the saliva and mouthwatering oily mouthfeeling.  There is some element of brassy metallic but not really.  There is just the faintest pulling sensation in the mouth but no astringency.  The saliva and oily effect in the mouth is pretty interesting.  There is not really any cooling throat or retuning sweetness just sort of one long oil slick playing out of vibrant flavours.  Nice mind slowing features.  I sigh as relaxation takes hold…

The 4^th infusion has a vibrant sour fruity buttery sweet pop of taste that wallows in saliva and oily mouthfeeling as it stretches its legs.  This infusion shows some interesting florals that kind of taste like sour flowers if that makes any sense.  No bitter or astringency here. Everything has this nice flow to it like floating in the sea, nice happy relaxing feeling.

5^th has a sour thick dried fruity punch dehydrated fruit leather pop of taste that hold nicely in the thick oily texture there is a subtle bready-woody storage taste but overall this is a very clean tasting storage that is doing this Youle surprisingly well.  The initial taste is almost like a sour flowered sweetness.  Nice happy feeling Qi with some deep sighs relaxing effect and mind clarifying slowness.  Very nice package overall.

6^th infusion has a sour dried fruit punch dried fruit dehydrated vibrant pop of a taste then it wallows along in an oily.  Long lingering buttery floral fruity taste.  Very vibrant taste.  Nice happy feeling.

7^th has a creamier and more floral sweet pop of taste.  The taste, mouthfeeling and Qi really line up with this one the storage is really nice and seems to give the vibrancy inherent in the Youle lots of cushion.  Long sweet floral sour like tastes.  Very satisfying package with this Youle gushu.  The cool cup is even fruitier.  Nice happy stress relief with subtle diaphragm release and some sighing.

8^th has a pop of vibrant sour fruity kind of floral-sour like taste that is mainly a balance of sour and sweet with sweetnessess wining out.  Very nice icing sugar on the tongue feeling the last few infusions.

9^th has a woody varnish subtle icing sugar sweet only a bit creamy, floral, sour or fruity now but a long icing sugar that turns to creamy sweetness in the mouth in the cooled down cup.

10^th has a sour dry wood-bark icing sugar taste over a tighter mouthfeeling with less oiliness and a thin woody and icing sugar finish.  Nice happy feelings.

11^th has a woody almost medicinal floral sweet icing sugar taste.  There is surprisingly more cooling in the profile here and more medicinal taste which wasn’t really a thing in the first infusions.  The icing sugar taste lingers in the mouth minutes later.  Nice happy feeling some subtle face tingles but more of just a relaxed body and muscles feeling.

12^th has a strong peachy fruity fruit punch dried fruity taste.  This puerh is really delicious to me.  There is this bready base taste that is really satisfying to me.  Long icing sugar minutes later.  Nice chalky mouthfeeling now with a saliva gob in the throat minutes later.  Deeply happy and tension busting feeling.

13^th has a fruity sweet pop of saliva producing oily sweetness.  The infusions are getting fruitier and icing sugar as the go and the mouthfeeling is becoming chalkier.  The throat is really opening up deeply and holding some saliva deep in the throat.

14^th has a long woody taste with a bit of sweetness and floral and even a bit of very faint incense…

I mug steep out the rest… and it gives off a woody taste with background fruity sweetness.  Strong relaxing Qi and tension easing feelings.  Strong woody brackish dirt with a faint bitterness and strong underlying backbone of fruity sweetness and floral-ness.  There is some faint cooling but hardly.  Lots of strong flavours- woody, almost metallic, sour, fruity, icing sugars.  Lots of power in this top notch Youle.  Strong euphoria and deep body relaxing when pushed hard like this.  I break into a big sweat… wow… what a feeling… I think I’d cake this if the price was right… or maybe another Quarter cake.  So far it seems to be winning the speed test among all my ChenYuan Hao… I like its energy.

Peace