2023 ChenYuan Hao Shanzhong Chuanqi Dragonball: Fresh Subtle Spacey Gushu

This free sample came complimentary from my last purchase from Puerh.uk.  It’s not yet listed on either Puerh.uk site or the ChenYuan Hao site yet.  A bit different than the other 2023 ChenYuan Hao I sampled a few months ago as it is in a dragonball shape not sample from cake, and it is a blend.  You can’t help but wonder if this has any resemblance to the famous 2005 Chen Yuan Hao Shanzhong Chuanqi when it was fresh off the press?



Dry leaf smells mildly woody pungent sweet.

30 second rinse the rinsed leaves smell really spicy and pungent with a really sweet mouthwatering berries floral odour.

First infusion is a 30 second infusion still quite watery but also sweet sugar and melon with a mouthwatering base and cool throat and breath.

Second infusion is left to cool and is a sugary sweet watery onset with a cool woody mid profile and bland sweet finish.  

Third infusion has a sweet vegital onset with a slight drying sandy mouth feel, slight gripping.   Bland sweet aftertaste.  Slight spacy slowing feeling.

Fourth infusion has a sweet faint sugar almost melon with a mild bitter.  There is more mouth puckering.  Slight spacy feeling.  Salivating.  Overall a bland mild vegital taste with lots of space and faint sweetness.  This one tastes more green and fresh than the other 2023 in this tightly compressed Dragonball.

Fifth is a bland mild sweet floral taste there is mainly this low level bland vegital taste but pops of sweet tastes melon, faint sugar.  It’s faintly bitter and astringent- very mild with this sandy mild pucker mouthfeel and long cool breath.  Building spacy Qi feeling.

Six infusion has a watery bland initial taste with a mild bitter gripping.  There is subtle woods, vegital, and almost floral.  Lots of empty space and mild tastes.  Strongest part is a spacy Qi sensation that is keeping me a little high today.

7th has a woody watery bland taste.  Faint distant sugar sweetness and some mouthwatering wet mouthfeeling.  Spacy Qi.  Cool breath with hints of sweetness.

8th is put into a long thermos infusion and is a bitter sweet clear sugar and bland woody almost coco makes the mouthwater.  Stronger chesty high with spacy and energetic feeling..,

The tight compression of this Dragonball has made this one taste over the top fresh.  It’s really has lots of space in its flavour lots of really light subtle tastes but obviously Gushu material.  The strongest aspect is its space out Qi.  There is a bit of movement throughout the session with the Qi as well to keep it a bit interesting.  The mouthfeel is also mild but gripping and at sometimes sandy and puckering but all very mild.  There is a nice cooling and mild sweet return.  Still too early for this one… 

The next day I pour out the thermos it has a slight oily buttercup floral sweetness Forest green taste.  Almost bitter.  Flat sticky faint lips and mouth dryness.  Subtle sugar sweet aftertaste.  Some spacey relaxing.

Hard to imagine that the famous 2005 Chen Yuan Hao Shanzhong Chuanqi had this type of material and processing but this is a nice rare fresh Gushu blend… 

Peace