BHYJ Intro: A Good 2014 BaoHongYinJi Chun Yue Xiang Chun Lin

 I have been curious about the Boutique Puerh brand BaoHongYinJi for quite some time now.  It is famous for both its earlier Wanggong productions as well as their partnership with Wistaria Teahouse and their joint production specifically the 2013 BHYJ/Wistaria Tea House Zhenren Yufeng.  I have never tried any of their productions before so it will be fun to review a few here and get to know the brand…

I got this sample free for review but it goes for approx. $445.00 for 357 g cake or $1.25/g.

Dry leaves smell of florals and sweet creamy woody odours.

First infusion has a floral woody sweet taste. There is this faint long floral candy finish.  Light mouthfeeling but long breath sweet finish.

Second infusion has a woody fruity-floral onset with a long creamy floral taste.  Lots of long floral fruity creamy sweet taste in a soft mild chalky mouthfeeling.  Nice Chest expanding feeling.  I like the floral-sweet finish.

The third infusion has a woody almost sour onset that returns as creamy woody floral sweetness. The mouthfeeling develops a mild gripping that reaches down the throat.  The cooled down cup has a creamy sweet floral woody long taste that stretches into the aftertaste. 

The fourth infusion has a creamy woody onset with a long creamy floral taste.  The mouthfeeling has a mild gripping but a soft mild chalky texture. Qi has a chest expanding that leads to deep breathing and relaxing feeling.

The 5^th has a woody sweet onset with an almost licorice and creamy floral finish.  Mild mossy mouthfeelnig and opening throatfeeling with some faint coolness and creamy floral long aftertaste with nice chest opening feeling.  There is a subtle dry sticky feeling on the lips and roof of mouth.

6^th has a fruity almost medicinal onset with slightly woody tastes.  The woody almost pear with floral crteamy and woody resin tastes.  Mild sandy mouthfeeling with subtle throat gripping and long sweet faint fruity floral finish.

7^th has a woody creamy almost but not really resin fruity floral sort of tastes.  The mouthfeeling is more chalky sandy gripping.  There is a long creamy fruity faint resin finish.

8^th has a woody fruity taste with a woody fruity aftertaste.  Its becoming pretty simple now.  The mouthfeeling and throatfeeling have a sandy mild griping. Nice chest expanding and calming feeling.

9^th woody watery watery fruity with a sandy dry mouthfeeling.  Long fruity aftertaste in the sandy drying mouth and throat.  Chest opening Qi with calming feeling.

10^th is even more watery with a woody fruity taste and sandy slight dry mouthfeeling. Chest opening calm and relaxed vibes.

Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable standard Xiang Chun Lin experience- a bit better than most of the Xiang Chun Lin puerh I’ve tired but not overly so.   It’s a few years older than other Xiang Chun Lin area puerh I’ve had and earlier than the trend towards this area.  Floral sweet with nice calming chest opening Qi and mild mouthfeeling.  I like this area and this has to be one of the best I have tried.  Thanks Paolo for sending this one!

Shah8’s Tasting Notes

Peace

Mr. Chen’s Old Tea Selection Part 2

 Mr. Chen’s “Cultural Revolution Brick”

The description says this could be 70s-90s material and I agree.  I think I might peg these at 80s material and it’s interesting to compare to the 80s Village Liubao from TeasWeLike I sampled blindly.  The village Liubao being a bit better quality and value but I’m not really a big fan of Huangpian which this brick is.  For lovers of Huangpian you should really give this a try as it has really clear storage on it.  I enjoyed it.  This brick goes for approx $234.00 for 250g brick or $0.94/g.  I received this as a free sample for review…

Dry leaf smell like old dry shu puerh stale dry leaves and faint incense smoke.

First infusion has a light sweet water almost plum fruit taste with lesser fallen leaf.  Dry gripping mouthfeel.  Subtle cooling. No shu processing here.

Second has a sweet fruity onset with a creamy almost tropical fruit chalky taste.  Really tasty and sweet. Almost a pastry sweetness.  Dry gripping mouthfeel.  Taste is up front with a lingering fruit finish.  Mild Qi feeling of relaxing.  More obvious Huang Pian leaves profile.

3rd has an incense woody plum perfume taste to it.  Mild dry coating.  Some sweet fruits are hard to grasp now.

4th is left to cool and gives off light incense notes and subtle plum and almost tropical fruit in a kind of pastry chalky sweetness.  Mild relaxing qi.

5th has a watery woody onset with faint incense and plum.  Mouthfeel is a mild dryness.  Mild warming and relaxing Qi.

6th has a plum woody incense onset over a slightly dry mouthfeel.  Mild warming and relaxing energy.

7th is a watery woody some rich woody taste.  There is some faint incense and the mouthfeel is a mossy full feeling.

8th has a watery faint woody plum taste.  Mossy slight drying mouthfeel.

1990s Mr.Chen’s Senh-ly Airplane

A 357 g cake goes for approx $ 332.00 or $0.93/g.  I received this sample free for review.  Puerh.uk states in the description that this has Natural Taiwanese storage unlike the other dry stored samples previously reviewed from Mr. Chen’s selection.  I’m supposed by that because my same looks, smells, and tastes dry stored…

Mix of many tippy furry dry leaves smells of creamy sweetness and plum odour.  Tips still looking pretty white and hairy.

First infusion has a brassy creamy sweet taste that reminds me immediately of Northern Puerh.  There is a creamy almost caramel licorice taste.  Tippy light and salivating.  Wet mouthfeel with mossy finish.

Second is left to cool and is a creamy brassy copper with a sweet almost melon caramel sweetness.  Too me tastes younger than 90s.

Third infusion has a bitter almost sour caramel taste.  There is a brassy copper taste.  Mild qi experience with a soft gaze and subtle floating feeling in the body.

Fourth has a sour, peach pear onset with a creamy caramel sweetness.  Mossy sticky mouthfeel.  Sour taste is getting stronger.  Definitely Northern puerh Simiao or Menghai doesn’t taste like 90s tea - still too young.

5th has a sour almost soapy taste with a creamy sour peach pear taste.  Nice five flavours taste with sweet, sour, salty, bitter and bland in there.  Deeper qi feeling of subtle floating and relaxing.

6th has a sour soapy bitter less sweet fruity taste now.  Subtle floating qi with some spacing out.  Mossy sticky mouth and thoat feeling.

7th sour strong bitter slight salty and sweet. Bitter and sour more than sweet now.  

8th watery woody brassy salty finish in the mouth. Salty woody finish with faint cooling and sweet.

This puerh has decent stamina and can still go a bit longer…

Overall Light clear profile of Northern puerh (maybe Simiao region)with deeper qi sensations like floating and deeper relaxation.  Five flavours taste and lots of clarity from the dry storage .  Hard time finding anyone that would blind guess this to be as old as 90s.  I guess my own storage would be dry enough to do the same.

Peace

Mr Chen’s Old Tea Selection by Puerh.uk

 

I think it’s cool that Puerh.uk has offered a bunch of 90s aged cakes from a single collector’s home dry storage.  I really enjoyed exploring the dry storage of Old Man and his ChenYuan Hao cakes that Puerh.uk had available.  I picked up a few samples to explore Mr.Chen’s home storage.  I had a few days this week to finally get in some sessions- it has been a few months.  I found that the Taiwanese dry storage was nice and gave the puerh a dry woody fallen leaf taste but also space to see the true character of the region of the material below are dry stored and clear examples of Yiwu and Manghai from the 90s…

1990s Mr.Chen’s “Tong Xing Hao”

A 357g cake goes for approx $383.00 or $1.07/g and is from Mr Chen’s own dry storage.

Dry leaf is pretty quiet. After the rise it has an woody fallen leaf oldish odours.

First is light sweet woody water.  Dry storage is more obvious here. Sweet edges and finish.

Second has a soft smooth velvety mouthfeel with water sweet woody broth.  Nice slightly oily texture with lots of space in the taste with a sweetness throughout.  Warming face and face qi. Quieting peaceful qi.

Third infusion has a really sweet and oily taste nice dry storage on here makes the sweetness shine.  It has a mild woody leaf in the background but mainly an almost caramel sweetness.  Nice warming face and chest qi.  There is some faint incense that disappears quickly but no smoke at all. 

Fourth has a wood leaf taste that is about as powerful as the light sweet sugar that sort of turns maple sugar.  There is a pop of sweetness before returning.  There is a bit of texture in the mouth and throat and a powerful warming energy. 

5th is left to cool then has a dry leaf and wood nice Taiwanese dry storage taste.  There are some edges of sweetness almost maple syrup in it’s sweet taste.  Slightly chalky dry mouth and throat with less oily taste now.  

6th has a woody leaf dry Taiwanese storage taste with a lessening sweetness that is mainly at the edges now. No sweet pop or much returning.  The mouthfeel becomes more gripping.  Lots of warming qi on the face.

7th has a fallen leaf taste and feel not much sweetness left and an increasing dry gripping throat.

8th is much less flavours- watery now with a gripping dry mouthfeel.

Overall, a nicely dry stored puerh with obvious Yiwu material lots of oily, clear, thick aged Yiwu taste but the leaf material makes for a bit of a simple taste and feel.  The dry storage still gives us enough to enjoy.  Nice warming face qi is a highlight for me.  The first few infusions are really nice clear 90s Taiwanese dry storage Yiwu but after that it looses out to storage taste and gripping mouthfeel.  The leaf seems to be a blend of material some of which is lower quality.  Worth it for the Yiwu brilliance of the first handful of infusions.

1990s Mr. Chen’s Yellow Mark

A 357g cake goes for approx $332 or $0.93/g and again comes from Mr Chen’s own dry storage.

Dry leaves are , again, pretty muted wet they emit a sweet soil odour.

First infusion has a watery mineral woody watery taste.

Second has a woody mineral bitter sweetness.  A bit of coco and herbs with a cooling finish in the mouth with returning sweetness.  Nice dry stored Menghai material here.  Deeper warming in the core and abdominal.  Nice mild invigorating mind.  Mossy full mouth coating.  Heart racing.

Third infusion has a woody leaf dry Taiwanese storage taste with a cool mouth finish and some returning sweetness underneath.  Warming brow, abdomen, and core.  Mild has mild excitement with racing heart.

4th woody leaves with cooling mouth and faint returning sweetness.  Mossy full coating.  Nice warming qi with heart pals an some mild stimulating energy.  Has a relaxing feeling as well- nice qi.

5th has a woody brassy mineral with a nice rich woody sort of returning sweetness.  Mossy full mouthfeeling warming qi and some Heart beats and excitement feeling too.  Leaves you feeling relaxed.

6th has a dry woody mineral leaf onset with some cooling mouth and barely sweet returning.  Mossy mouthfeel becomes a bit drying now.  Lots of lower and mid torso warmth!

7th left to cool has a woody almost herby onset with a cooling mouth and subtle bitterness coco finish.  Warming and stimulating but relaxing. 

8th has a rich woody leafy slightly sweet onset with slight cooling and barely sweet finish. Mossy coating and upbeat qi, less warming now.

9th has a bittersweet coco onset with a creamy silty almost herby taste.  Very tasty here.  Strong chest beats and warning qi that comes deep from the core and moistens the brow.  

10th has a herby mineral onset with woody dry wood taste. Warming qi is concentrated on the forehead.  Not much sweetness anymore.

11th infusion has a mainly mineral woody taste left.  Strong warming qi still in there.  

Nice dry stored Menghai material in here as seen in the nice full and uniform leaves.  You can get a nice indication of the Menghai area Qi with that enlivening Heart racing Qi but also a deep warmth and calm of aging.  Also some typical bitter sweet coco Menghai tastes are quite accessible with the nice Taiwanese dry storage.  Good stamina as well.

Peace