Marshland Brawler: 2017 Chen Sheng Hao Ban Zhang Ancient Tree 200g Brick

This 2017 Chen Sheng Hao Banzhang Ancient Tree 200g brick is now for sale at Puerh.uk for approx. $257.00for 200g brick or $1.29/g… I got this sample free with purchase/ for review… Chen Sheng Hao is famous for adding a bit of Lao Ban Zhang into these things…

Dry leaves have a woody, papery faintly sweet odour.

First infusion has a watery woody pondy but bright clear candy taste with seaweed aftertaste mixed with hard to grasp candy.  There is a lingering but super faint bitterness underneath.  The mouthfeeling is very faint sand.  You can feel some faint chest sensations right off the bat…  Long faint lingering bitter sweet candy taste minutes later with slow release saliva.

The second infusion is left to cool and gives off a pond marshland onset that expands into bitter and candy sweetness with the marshland storage taste of drier natural Taiwanese storage taste trailing into the aftertaste of mild but building bitterness and candy sweetness.  Chest heart beats.  Mind is energetic.

The third infusion has a pond marshland faintly pungent onset that slowly changes into a woody bitter which then slowly gives way to sweetness in the aftertaste.  The sweetness is subtle and long.  The profile is really clear, stretched out and slow moving with the pond-marshland, likely storage taste spanning the profile and providing some depth.  The mouthfeelng is a faint soft velvety coating.  There is a faint cooling and saliva producing after the bitterness subsides to make room for sweetness.  All the flavours are not too strong but slowly reveal themselves.  Nice chest heart beats with some chest expansion and energetic focused mind.

The fourth infusion has a more condensed creamy sweet with pond onset the bitterness is getting stronger and starts to beat the crap out of my now empty stomach… there is also more saliva producing and more sweetness but this is more bitter than any LaoManE I have sampled recently… super strong unhinged power that races the heart, excites the mind into a euphoria… and pains the stomach from its raw bitter power… oh baby!  The cooled down cup is much sweeter with a long candy finish….

The fifth infusion has a bitter pond-marshland then some slower to emerge sweetness, a bit of faint cooling and a faint saliva release.  The sweetness almost reminds me of a box of cereal I’ve tied… granola?  Long faint slow emerging sweetness that strengthens in the mouth minutes later.  Softer faint velvety coating.  Humongous waves of intense alerting energy push me into a dysfunctional giddy mess…  Strong heart beats and shoulder heaveiness with cheek numbness.

6^th sweet bursts of candy sweet under a moderate flat bitterness some heart beats and forehead sweeting.  More lubricating texture and sweetness with drier tugging mouthfeeling.  Powerful Qi.

7^th a bitter pond-marshland onset with an almost but not really fruity and floral sweetness that expands into a candy like finish.

8^th has a quick bitterness with a pondy-marshland finish a cooling throat and returning saliva to the throat.  There is a slow sauntering sweetness underneath that slowly reveals a candy sweetness that is transposed over some lesser bitterness and marshland taste.  The Qi is felt in the strong heart beats, open chest energy movement down shoulders and limbs.

9^th infusion has a bitter then pond then woody then a slow sweetness.  The cold cup gives off a woody menthol caramel sweet that turns candy slowly and slightly minutes later.  Strong alerting Qi, I break a sweat as my heart pounds.  Slight dry gripping mouthfeeling.

10^th infusion has a flat bitter and fruity presentation with pond and woody tastes in there and a cooling pungent on the breath.  The pond marshland taste lingers throughout… this is a drier Taiwanese storage thingy…

11^th has a malty caramel fruity sweetness that pops with the bitterness then pond tastes then throat cooling… ahhhh… then candy faint sweetness under bitter and pond…. Strong heart beats, sweat, limbs…

12^th has a sweet pop then bitter with woody and pondy then sweet and cooling.  Stong Qi!

13^th has a sweet onset then a bitter, pondy then sweet then cooling then candy. Strong Qi!

I goes like this for a handful more infusions….

I return to the pot the next day… still at flash infusions and its giving off some pond watery onset with some lesser sweetness, more woody pond marshland than yesterday faint sweetness…

The mug overnight infusion is marshland pond with a faint ashy incense bitterness and not really much sweetness just hints of returning sweetness.

It feels like single estate profile or maybe just delicately blended? and obvious Laobanzhang taste that is a bit more LaoManE than Lao Ban Zhang.  Dryier natural storage.  Super power Qi.  Super enjoyable!  I would rate this one pretty high compared to some of the other more obvious Lao Ban Zhang samples I have recently had.

I drank all these past Ban Zhang samples in about an 8 day span and it made my life super enjoyable!  Thanks Paolo for this opportunity!

Peace

2017 Puerist Yi Shan Mo, Xiang Chun Lin & A Xiang Chun Lin Comparison

I’m a fan of the Xiang Chun Lin area.  It’s kind of a new puerh area that has in the last 5 years or so rose to some sort of notoriety.  I find the juxtaposition of a very sweet, very floral soft taste with a very strong heady and euphoric Qi.  For the price of other more expensive puerh areas, I think this area offers some value if you enjoy this type of puerh experience… especially the Qi… and the wildflowers…

This 2017 Puerist Yi Shan Mo, Xiang Chun Lin goes for approx $137.00 for 200g cake or $0.69/g.  This was a complimentary sample provided for review in my last order.

Dry leaves have a faint floral kind of sweet note to them.

First infusion has a woody buttery sweet daisy floral.  It has a sweet wildflower oily taste to it.  Nice long sweet melon and wildflower expansion in the aftertaste.  Nice soft chalky feeling in the mouth with a mid-deep mild pungent throat.  Nice relaxing and expansive Qi.  Nice long subtle floral sweet aftertaste with immediately apparent Qi is nice.

Second infusion has a very sweet candy like onset with a icing sugar taste that pops and stays throughout the profile in the soft chalky mouthfeeling and deep faint pungent throat.  Although the flavors are light there is a thick groundedness to the sweet flavors as the have an underlying woody feel.  The flavor is quite sweet, quite thick, quite deep, and quite long.  Very nice.

Third infusion has a strong sugary sweet with layers of melon and caramel now.  The caramel taste goes the distance.  Very layered sweetness with a powdery chalky moderate mouthfeeling and a woody faint base that is pretty much overtaken by thick sweetness.  The taste is really delicious and mouthwatering there is a long caramel and wild flower finish.  There is a deep throat taste that holds in the long aftertaste.  Nice Qi with strong expansiveness in the mind and open chest.  I feel light.

Fourth infusion is developing a strong syrupy taste.  There are notes of apricot, melon, caramel, and sugar, and candy lots of layered thick sweetness over a base of intertwined woodiness.  Nice expansive and chesty Qi.  Strong stoning expansiveness.

The 5^th infusion has a creamy buttery thick sweetness that is like apricot jam syrupy sugary sweet over a condensed mild chalky feeling in the mouth.  There is a peachy floral long finish as the taste goes deeply in to the throat and has a mild pungency there.  There are some bready notes, woody notes and layered of dense sweetness.  Strong Qi seals the deal with this one as there is a strong chest opening and expansive free feeling.

6^th has a fruity thick syrup taste of peach, melon, almost caramel, icing sugar.  A dense fruity sugary sweet onset with a layer of faint bread and woody taste that is overcome by thick sweetnesses.  Long almost licorice peachy deep throaty sweet aftertastes.  Strong Expanding mind Qi and open chest with slight floating body.

7^th has a sweet less condensed sugary peachy onset that turns to melon sweetness.  There is some woodiness and tart but very faint it’s mainly just smooth fruity sweet long tastes.  Nice chesty floating body Qi.

8^th is fruity peachy melon fruity syrup sugar sweet with chalky layer of faint wood and wild flower.  It has a slow creamy fading sweet aftertaste.  Nice Qi.  Long taste in mouth minutes later.  There is basically no bitter or astringency in here but still feels full tasting especially the layered sweetness.

9^th is a fruity soapy peachy taste with a creamy wildflower underbelly with some woodiness and bready buttery creaminess. There is a longer, more wildflower taste in there.  Nice chalky powdery taste as well.  There is a strong melon peachy taste in the cooled cups minutes later.  I feel really spaced out from the Qi.

10^th has a strong fruity soapy buttery floral taste with long deep sweetness with more woody and bready notes coming out as the session progresses. Nice spacy strongish Qi.

11^th is thick dense syrupy peachy melon bready woody has a powdery taste with deep throat mild pungency and long trailing wildflower sweet taste still lacking any bitter astringency and makes up for it in pure condensed vibrant flavours.

12^th … I run out of time in my day for this one which still has some good stamina left in it…

I mug steep it out over a few days and it still gives off very sweet not really much bitterness and lots of wildflower tastes.  Still lots of Qi left to savor.  Nice stamina.

Overall this is a nice full layered condensed sweet tasting one with great stoning expansive Qi with a bit of chest opening bodyfeelings.  This one has very little bitterness or astringency just enough to give it some depth but still feels full with the layered often vibrant flavours.  It actually does have a bit more of a Yi Shan Mo vibe and thickness to it than the other Xiang Chun Lin I have sampled.

Vs 2017 Tea Urchin Xiang Chun Lin- these are very different in that the Tea Urchin has much more punchy, astringent and bitter kick but also a quicker moving bitterness that pushes a lot more intense sweetness out.  It tastes like it is from younger trees a bit edgier and more smaller chopped and broken leaves.

Vs 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin- I like this one enough to cake it.  It has a stronger floral layering to it as well as deeper interplay of light floral notes and a deeper Qi sensation.  In some ways its similar to this 2017 Puerist Xiang Chun Lin.

Peace

2017 Puerist Man Nuo: Strong Raisin Power!!!

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2017 Tea Urchin Xiang Chun Lin vs 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin

I have sampled a decent amount of Tea Urchin stuff but have not decided on how to post it yet.  I have posted some before here but I have tired much more.  Thought I would start with a few interesting comparison posts between similar areas and close year Tea Urchin and Zheng Si Long productions in the next few posts.  This one is from a puerh tea producing area that was newly introduced to me by this 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin.  I purchased a cake on it own merits but had not had a chance for cross comparisons of the area  Xiang Chun Lin is a newer sub category area of Yiwu near the boarder.  This Tea Urchin 2017 Xiang Chun Lun goes for $75.00 for 200g cake ($0.38/g) vs 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin which now goes for $202.03 for 400g cake ($0.51/g).

The dry leaf smells of delicious orchid florals layered in rainforest and sweet high-noted honey slight peach.  There is a deeper lingering note of deep forest.  The dry leaves smell very nice.

First infusion has a light icing sugar sweetness to it.  It is very sweet like pastry with a very faint forest base taste.  The long icing sugar taste stretches in to the breathe.  The mouthfeeling is slippery and there are some florals lingering in the throat as well as some faint spice.  The pastry sweetness is dominant and throughtout the profile.

The second infusion has a mushroom and melon onset with layers of light honey and pastry sweet cake that follows.  The taste has a mineral note to it as well underneath as well as a rainforest like base taste.  The mouthfeel is just a ghostly astringent and mildly sticky in the mouth the throat really seems to open to a mid-level letting in this deeper floral nuance.  The Qi is immediately spacy and I can feel my heart beat.  There is a calm alertness in here.

The third starts with a honey sweet, with a layers of forest a returning melon and wildflower sweetness.  The creamy pastry sweetness is long in the throat and goes on for a while.  The Qi is nice and strong in the head.  The lips are sticky and the mouthfeeling is sticky and pasty feeling.  The throat opens to a mid- to deep opening where high notes of melon, florals, honey and mainly pastry sweetness resides.  There is a spicy cinnamon nuance lingering throughout.  The Qi is decently big in the chest the mind feel free and a bit spacy high.  The Qi is notable here.

The fourth infusion starts off with a melon, honey, and candy floss like sweetness.  The Qi is nice and big and makes me feel high.  The mouthfeeling is quite sticky/pasty/slippery.  The throat feeling is stimulated and deep.  The underlying tastes are of spice and forest and incense but this puerh shines with its nuanced and complex high notes.  The Qi is nice and strong more alerting now.

The fifth infusion is more incense with fruity melon and honey layers.  There is a foresty spicy woody incense taste the pastry sweetness is less now but still lingers.  The sweet and highnoted floral notes are almost equal to a foresty incense spicy cinnamon note.  The pastry sweetness is more in the returning sweetness.  The Qi is strong enough to break me into a sweet.  The mouthfeel is more a slightly drying sandy stickiness now.

The sixth infusion has a sticky mouthfeeling with icing sugar and pastry returning after a few back to back infusions.  There are foresty and almost incense notes under the stronger pastry notes.  The Qi has a stoner like effect on my mind.

The seventh has this velvety sweet taste that is almost cake and pastry and almost candy with a rich forest base.  The sweet taste continues to be long and satisfying.  The tastes feel more congealed here.  The Qi continues to be pretty relaxing as well as alerting.

The 8^th has a chocolate cake note.  The taste is real nice creamy very sweet and now a bit coco and richness with some faint spice, melon, forest notes.  The throat feeling is pretty deep.  The relaxing stoner feeling is very nice.

9^th is more coco upfront with a sweet cake taste that tastes real nice.  The mouthfeelig is slippery and barely dry sticky.  The taste is stone mineral, rich and deepening now with notes of spice, incense, forest, faint floral mainly coco and cake.  The Qi speeds the heart. 

10^th is becoming more coco bitter and stone mineral tasting the sweet cake is less but the mineral and a incense is still there.  

The 11^th has a bittery onset with an almost sour astringency over dark coco nuance and layered forest and incense tastes.  There is a berry fruit note that seems to come out of the astringency and bitter.  The mouthfeelig is starting to be astringent.  The heart races.

The 12^th infusion has more of a berry mild bitter coco taste with forest, incense, deep faint cooling throat.  Astringent mouthfeeling.

13^th presents with a woody drier astringency with a dry woody taste.  The 14^th is dry tight astringent and bitter with a coco berry taste and the mouthfeeling becomes drying here and puckering astringency.

I put this into an overnight infusion next to the 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin. 

This Xiang Chun Lin tastes and feels more like a Man Zhuan or Wa Long puerh than a border tea/ Wan Gong thing that is the 2018 Zheng Si Long Xiang Chun Lin.  This 2017 Tea Urchin Xiang Chun Lin has an interesting progression through the infusions with sweet in the first and bitter astringency in the later.  This is a decent puerh with an interesting change of profile as it goes through the infusions.  The 2018 Zheng Si Long has deeper play of floral and light and fruity tastes and a longer stamina, it is the more elegant of the two in taste.  Still need to try more from the Xiang Chun Lin region to see its character- I would have pegged this 2017 Tea Urchin as Wa Long, I think.

The Qi of both of these is quite big the 2017 Tea Urchin might even be a tiny bit stronger as it produces a stoner effect in the mind and a body feel in the chest.  The Qi of the 2018 Zheng Si Long is more complex in the body and mind and has a very relaxing but altering acuity effect on the mind, dizzying at times, spacy and clarity, and also has a body feeling in the chest.

Peace

2017 Bao He Xiang “Peach Cake”: Flavour Bomb!

Okay, this is the Bao He Xiang that really piqued my interest in sampling the brand.  The description and the reviews that followed on the Yunnan Sourcing site captured my attention.  Even Scott gave it a nod.  This 2017 Bao He Xiang “Peach Cake” blend goes for $249.00 for 357g cake ($0.70/g).

Dry leaves give off a very deep fruit floral odour.  The smell is very very sweet almost Ylang Ylang like perfume scent in there.  The smell of the dry leaf is entrancing.

The first infusion starts with a fruity very sweet entry the sweetness swells in the mouth.  Its very very well, peachy sweet or apricot sweet, but more peachy.  There is a juicy viscus feel to the liquor.  The peace taste is intense and quite creamy.  The taste is amazing and full sweetness, right off the start.  The mouthfeeling is mildly dryier as the saliva gets pushed into the throat.

The second infusion starts with an almost woody edge of candy like peach taste.  There is a very mild astringency to it.  It tastes of sugar peach.  There is a very faint pungent and long candy like returning sweetness.  The sweet taste is strong throughout but expands in the mouth.  There are suggestions of both Yi Wu and maybe even Bang Dong in this blend.  The sweetness really fills the mouth.

The third infusion starts off with a thick almost bready, creamy sweet peachy taste.  The liquor is reasonably tick and the sweetness turns to candy in the mouth.  There is a thickness to the liquor of this puerh.  The sweetness is quite thick and expands outwardly.  There is a gooey stickiness to the mouth and throatfeeling.  The Qi flutters at the Heart. 

Fourth infusion has a nice rich thick start it has a nice dense fruity taste that feels painted on the tongue.   The mouthfeel is quite thick along with the liquor.  There is a nice thickness to this tea in tongue coating and liquor density.

The fifth is intensely peachy fruity but a deep fruit feeling there is a stronger pungent returning sweetness to it.  The liquor is oily and the tongue coating is nice.  The pungent returning sweetness is cooling in the mouth.  The throatfeeling is gentle and opening.

The sixth infusion has an interesting woody nuance to the thicker peach approach.  The qi is mildly spacy in the head the sweetness returns with pungent into a more cotton candy like sweetness.

7^th starts very peachy, clear fresh ripe peachy high-noted taste that reverbs in the mouth and stretches over the profile.  Candy like finish.  Nice tongue coating.  Mild ringing pungent.  Relaxing chill Qi sensation.

The 8^th has a slight dry woody edge but is mainly stewed peaches with a mild pungent then candy.  The peach taste is becoming less all-encompassing in these middle infusions and suggestions of dry woody notes appear.  The Qi is mildly fluttering in chest but mainly relaxing but not in a lazy kind of way.

The ninth is a nice rich deeper peach almost dried apricot underneath.  There is a building woody dry taste underneath that is becoming more prominent.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more of a sandy astringency now.  The throat is slightly gripping.  This isn’t a strong throat simulator but rather a subtle opener.

The 10^th is becoming a woody, peachy, apricot taste that is sandier in the mouth and tongue. The aftertaste is much less now and the infusion has a slight astringency to it.  The taste is pretty simple here.

11^th has a smoother less intense, less sweet apricot approach with dry woody base taste and a sandy mouthfeeling.  The Qi is a bit relaxing now.

12^th is getting more woody than peachy now then flavor is less complex here but still rather sweet and enjoyable.

13^th….. Ooops… left it for 30 min… wow… a very intensely peachy thick viscous taste was pushed out.  With a dense oily thick dried apricot, some wood, very full peachy density…

This puerh is very very tasty, a bit of bodyfeel in the heart, mainly relaxing with a bit of movement earlier on.  The taste of this one is something else… very very delicious…  The parts of this puerh that are not as solid is the stamina.  I sampled this one twice as I consider an order but the stamina of this puerh isn’t super great and gives out all of its epically amazing taste early and in the mid session already starts to bottom out and taste more woody.  The later session is a bit flat especially when memories of steepings 1-7 fresh in the memory.  The Qi is soft and subtle but still does things in the body and mind.  This puerh is mainly about the mind-blowing taste in the first 1-7 infusions. 

This is likely a very nice Yiwu blend, if I were to guess.  In some ways it reminds me of 2017 white2tea Pussy.  I think both blends are similar and are trying to accomplish similar things.  If you like the 2017 white2tea Pussy, I definitely think you should try this Peach Cake of the same year.  There are many similarities between the two but he 2017 Bao He Xiang Peach Cake is way more flavourful but Pussy has a bit more stamina to it. 

The price… is probably about right for something like this Peach Cake… maybe a bit of a bargain if you value taste above all else and drink your puerh in short sessions.  I value the things that this tea lacks like a bit more stamina and a bit more going on with the Qi but I understand the epic brilliance of this blend and what it was trying to accomplish.

Peace

2019 Zheng Si Long Ge Deng: Comparing all the Zheng Si Long Ge Deng

This 2019 Zhang Si Long Ge Deng sample was kindly gifted to me for review (cake goes for $222.24 for 400g cake or $0.56/g).

Dry leaves smell of intense penetrating pungent deep forest odour with a lingering almost rose faint floral.

The first infusion starts with a slippery stone and watery onset.  There is slight suragy notes in there is a faint woodiness and barely tropical fruit in the distant aftertaste…. Hasn’t opened up yet.  The mouthfeel is silky and soft

The second infusion has a woody, almost pine forest taste nuance with slight floral suggestions.   All tastes are mutted still.   The mouthfeel remains silky and soft.  Eligant first infusions.

The third infusion has a woody slight forsty almost mineral onset the mouthfeel is lightly fuzzy and dry.  There is a faint floral lingering barely there in the breath.  The infusion is again very soft and elegant.  I can start to feel the Qi building softy behind the eyes.  My body feels just a touch relaxed here.

The fourth has a sweet floral onset that has a slight mineral nuance almost seaweed tasting underneath.  The mouthfeeling is silky and the throat doesn’t seem to be stimulated at all.  There is this almost creamy, kind of sweet almost soft floral elegant note that skirts throughout the profile.  The head starts feeling this hypnotic qi sensation, like a head wobble. 

The fifth starts with a melon fruit and foresty onset with slight honey taste underneath.  The mild taste is over a mild silky mouthfeeling which is becoming a bit astringent but mildly.  The throat seems to be mainly ignored.  The Qi in the head is slightly hypnotic.

The sixth starts with a sweetness that is almost creamy, kind of mineral and foresty with a distinct floral edge.  The throat receives enough astringency now to push the saliva and trap it in the mid-throat along with creamy sweet notes.  This infusion is filled with this delicious creamy sweet floral nuance.  The Qi in the head is pretty strongly hypnotic.  The Qi in mainly in the mind and the body feel light like it is levitating.

The seventh infusion has a fruity sweet almost nutty and persimmon and melon unique fruit taste for the onset there is foresty notes in there as well.  The mouthfeel is a moderate sticky/silky with faint astringency.  A melon sweetness emerges in the aftertaste.  The throat doesn’t preform like the last infusion but feels a bit more open than the early infusions.  A sweet floral fresh melon essence is through the profile.

The eighth onset is of creamy banana and slight tropical creamy fruits with a fotrest back taste.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and silky.  There are creamy fruity tastes faint in the aftertaste which also carries stone tastes with an almost floral edge.  The aftertaste is mainly rubbery.  The Qi is hypnotic in the mind and relaxing now.  The body feels a bit light.

The ninth infusion start off with a not that sweet sugary almost fruity sweetness with a stone/ mineral taste next to it.  There is a subtle fruity sweetness going on there as well.  The mouthfeeling is a mild/moderate silkiness.  The throat isn’t very stimulated.  There is a flat stone aftertaste with has subtle edges of sweet floral.

The 10^th starts off with a sweetness that is almost surgary but not that sweet which is supported with a stone mineral taste.  The Qi feels real nice, relaxing, hypnotic.  The aftertaste is a bit rubbery almost floral sweet.  The tastes of this puerh are not super strong or overly engaging but the Qi is really nice.  The weakest point is the throatfeeling which doesn engage the taste that much.

The 11^th infusion has a fruity juicy taste to it of melon, pear, it is almost spicy here with a nice foresty back taste.  The mouthfeel is more velvety and sticky in the infusion and the throat is felt this time.  A faint creamy sweet and slightly rubbery aftertaste occurs as the mind relaxes deeply and feels like the mind slows.

The 12^th infusion is faintly sweet like pear or melon but has a distinct stone base taste.  The aftertaste is flat, with a stone and rubbery taste.  The Qi is slightly hyponotic and for surely relaxing.

The 13^th infusion starts stone tasting and as a subtle floral pear tasting nusnace in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is slightly sandy and thin.  The 14^th is even thinner with mainly a monotone stone taste with slight suggestions of floral and sweet over a sandy mouthfeeling.

15^th 30 seconds above flash pushes out more stone taste initially and not much for sweet.  There is a bit more stone but also slightly more barely floral.  The Qi is relaxing here.

16^th I add 60seconds to flash and it pushes out some fruit sweetnesses.  The nice part about a puerh that isn’t so bitter or astringent, at least while drinking young, is that you can push it with longer infusion times.  The taste is mainly fruity an almost peach but more Asian pear tasting sweetness with a background of stone.

The 17^th I go 90 seconds and it pushes fruit out in mineral taste but the fruit is faint in the aftertaste.

I put this one to as long infusion and it comes out mainly stone, mineral and bitter.

The next day I drink the 2018 Zheng Si Long Gedeng as a comparison and I can see the similarities in them but there are also more differences than similarities…

Pictured below is the 2018 on the left with the 2019 on the right.

In order of personal preference of the 2017-2019 Zheng Si Long Gedeng offered at Tea Encounter with price/ value in consideration:

2018 Zheng Si Long Ge Deng- $0.71/g- Sold Out- Big bodyfeel, strong condensed taste, Nice Qi in the head, Classic Gedeng Flavors, engaging bitter astringency with solid mouth and throatfeeling.  This one sold out fast worth much more than initial asking price.

2017 Zheng Si Long Ge Deng- $0.41/g- Sold Out/ Samples Available- This one is only better than the 2019 because it sold for significantly less, it has a very classic Gedeng profile and was super enjoyable to me.  It has a more mellow relaxing Qi.

2019 Zheng Si Long Ge Deng- $0.56/g- This 2019 is better than the 2017 if price isn't a consideration, I think.  It has some milder tight bodyfeel, but more of a moderate hypnotic Qi in the mind.  I like the Qi here.  Qi vaguely resembles the 2018.  Has a weaker throatfeeling in some infusions and the mouthfeel is more approachable but less strength in it.  The taste profile is less distinctly Gedeng but still some nice tastes in there.  Overall, another nice Gedeng.

2016 Zheng Si Long Ge Deng- $0.40/g- Have not sampled-

Overall, these are all nice Gedeng puerh for what they are.

Peace

2019 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi: Comparing all the Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi

This 2019 Zhang Si Long Mango Zhi sample was kindly gifted to me for review (cake goes for $121.22 for 400g cake or $0.30/g) .

The dry leaves are a very punchy fruity odour.

The first infusion is airy surgery, slight woody, with a vegetal and almost spicy nuance to it.  The mouthfeel feels slightly tight on the tongue.  There is a mild tropical fruity aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is substantial.

The second starts with a spicy woody, and sugar onset with slight fruit underneath.  There is a slight gripping astringency to the mouthfeeling, slight sandy.  There is a nice mild tropical fruity finish over a sandy mouthfeeling.  The throat is less stimulated than the tongue and lips. 

The third infusion has a woody, slight fruity onset, with a slight peach note.  The full sandy slightly astringent mouthfeeling pulls the peach note into the aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is full but not excessive.  It sits at a simulating fine grain sandy texture which feels quite nice in the mouth, the throat feels untouched.  The wet leaves have a very strong freshly bit peach odour with emits from the pot.  I start to feel the Qi in my body and my Heart flutters a bit.  I feel a touch of energy flowing.

In the 4^th the initial taste is of dense peachy fruit with tropical underpinnings.  The dense fruit taste slowly fades into the aftertaste and overlaps with a creamy returning and more tropical sweetness in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is fine grain sandy, almost chalky on the tongue.  The cool sensation is felt on inhale but is mild in the upper throat.  There is some mild bread notes in there and woody notes in the back ground.  The progression of sweet taste is very nice here.

The 5^th has dense peachy tastes right off the bat that hold in the mouth until they intersect with the returning creamy sweetness and tropical fruit.  There is a faint bread and almost spice taste also faint woody underneath the performance of intermingling sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is really nice a fine sandy/ chalky full feeling.  The upper throat carries a coolness and creamy sweetness minutes later.

The 6^th has a dense peace and creamy fruity nuance initially now there is less intermingling of separate sweet tastes and is more a layered sweetness from the initial taste which just stretches out in the mouth and into the aftertaste now.  The mind feels relaxed, almost spacy from the Qi and the body feel a faint sensation in the chest.

The seventh infusion has a mellower fruity mixed with dry wood onset.  Its sweetness is less dense here. Then it collides with a touch of returned creamy sweetness and seems to be inhaled a bit from that in the aftertaste where a subtle creamy tropical fruit nuance is found.  The mouthfeel becomes chalkier slowly as the infusions go on. 

The 8^th is that same woody, almost bready, but less fruity onset that meets creamier sweetness in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is chalky the throatfeeling is superficial.  The sweetness is much less dense now but still shares sweetnesses with woody nuance.  The Qi can feel heavy on the head a bit and a bit alerting and slightly euphoric.  Nice.

The 9^th infusion is much the same with just a bit more astringency in there and I notice more of an orange taste that comes out with the creamy sweetness.  I would say the sweetness is balanced here with dry woody.  The mouthfeel is real nice chalky, almost astringent, almost sandy but full.  The Qi has a nice uppity feeling in the mind and you can feel it in the Chest/ Heart.

The 10^th starts a more watery and juicy fruity wood then the sweetness transforms to a creamy almost tropical sweetness.  The mouthfeel is chalky and the throat carries a mild coolness.

The 11^th infusion has a more creamy sweetness to it throughout.  It starts a bit watery/juicy then to almost woody then to a creamy sweet, almost tropical.

12^th is becoming more woody and slightly astringent.  There is mild fruit underneath.  The Qi is making me move.  The mouthfeeling is thinning into a more sandy feeling.

13^th has a floral woody almost fruity taste initially then slightly woody sweet fruity finish.

The 14^th is mainly woody with faint fruit underneath.  The mouthfeel continues to thin out and become slightly sandy.

I take the 15^th 30seconds longer than flash infusion it pushes more fruit out but also more astringent and almost bitter wood too.

The 16^th I long infuse as well and it pushes out some sweetness with woody… some faint tropical something.

I put this in to the overnight infusion …

The next day there is a slight sweetness but mainly a bitter floral like taste.

In order of personal preference of the 5 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi offered at Tea Encounter with price/ value in consideration:

2017 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi – $0.29/g- has the best all round qualities of taste, Qi and mouthfeeling,  A slower building Qi that is relaxing in the head and light body feeling.

2018 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi- $0.35/g- might have the best Qi sensation of chest tightening and knotting under the sternum sensation, slow moving and evolving creamy sweetnesses and some savory throughout the session, gripping more intense mouthfeeeling than others. (wait a minute... I think this is my favorite... hahaha)

2016 Autumn Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi Dragon Ball-  $0.23/g- good example of autumnal pureh, long candy aftertaste with deep throatiness, good stamina and decent mind chilling Qi

2019 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi- $0.30/g- uplifting Qi with chest Heart body feeling, lacks the overall intensity that the 2018 and 2017 have overall, more woody but with layered tastes, peach and tropical early on, less intense mouthfeeling as 2018 and 2017 as well.

2016 Zheng Si Long Mang Zhi- $0.38/g- very stable infusions, very pure and quite flavourful, lazy and relaxing Qi

They are actually all nice famous tea mountain Mang Zhi puerh… and they are the most stable out of the Zheng Si Long offerings year after year.  I find them all quite satisfying and most offer a good balance of Qi, taste, and mouth/throatfeeling.  The most notable aspect is decently good Qi in these Mang Zhi and many have a nice mouthfeeling as well. Out of all the Zheng Si Long samples, I usually end up drinking up the Meng Zhi first, the sample speed test… hahahah… with that said I still haven’t purchased a cake… Yummy.

Peace

2018 Yunnan Sourcing Jingmai (2017 material)

This was the only one I decided to cake sample out of the lot of samples I ordered from Yunnan Sourcing a month or so ago.  This Lucy wrapper always makes my children smile, I think it’s a beautiful thing and the reason this wrapper is one of my favorites.  Of course, the wrapper is not why I purchased the puerh in the first place but rather the good reviews, a nice promotional tasting video by Scott, but mainly due to the fact that I am interested in the pressing of maocha that has been aged a bit before pressing.  Did I mention that this puerh goes for $64.00/ 250g cake or $0.26/g.… that is pretty cheap… another reason, I caked this sample…

This puerh was apparently found (?) as maocha by Scott one year after it was picked in the Spring of 2017.  Scott describes the taste as a very unique taste profile.  He doesn’t state weather its plantation or gushu or anything like this maybe because he wasn’t directly involved with the production of it… I’m not sure, but it cleanly passed the pesticide testing….

Ok let’s see what this one is all about…

The dry leaves smell of intense almost Kobucha like sour fruitiness.  There is a sweet and sour fruit odour that is deeply penetrating.

The first infusion has a sour and dough but not sourdough onset backed by a citrus almost grapefruit and peachy taste.  There are other fruity tastes that layer this initial profile. The mouthfeel is thick and almost astringent in the mouth and throat and give the tea a thick and strong mouthfeeling in the first infusion.  The throat sensation is strong and moderately deep.

The second infusion starts off with edges of fruity sour tastes thick thick thick in the mouth and throat.  The fruity taste feels really strong and is dense and layered with sour, and bread-like tastes.  There are edges of bitterness but more sour astringency than bitter.  The throat and mouthfeel are quite stimulating.  There is some mild pungency then sour fruity tastes.  The thorat stimulation is strong, a sticky almost sandy but opening astringency.

The third infusion starts a touch bitter and touch astringent with a blood orange taste with nuances of peach and even strawberry.  The fruity taste and the sour taste predominate.  The mouthfeeling is thick and coating a bit griping.  The Qi is pretty strong and pushes me into a sweat on the forehead here.  The face flushes and the chest feels almost tight.  My wife comments here, “this is powerful tea”.

The fourth infusion is mainly sour and has suggestions of grapefruit, strawberries, sour peach, fermenting sourness, delicious sour fruit.  There is a touch of a woody thing but the sour is thick, just kicked out some mild pungent.  Mainly sour fruit, distinct and thick.

The fifth infusion has a sour, almost bitterness happening.  There is a nice creamy returning sweetness here under the astringency, and bitterness.  The fruit note is thick.  The mouthnfeeling and throatfeeling is almost sandy, sticky, and astringent.  The throat is quite stimulated with the astringency there.

The sixth infusion is getting more astringent and bitter and the mouthfeeling is more astringent.  The fruitiness is distinct.  The astringency continues to build.  The throat is almost gripping.  The Qi is an alerting type with a tight feeling in the body, like a hug.

The seventh infusion starts of thick sour fruit, slight woody ferment base with astringency and bitter underlying.  This tea is definitely engaging and strong… punchy.  Thick mouthcoating.  There is a strength about it that gets you going, an active qi type sensation.

The eighth infusion starts a touch more fruity and the astringency is a touch dry with less of a thick dense mouthcoating.  It is almost an astringent dryness with a fruity tone underneath.

The ninth has a much stronger fruity explosion now.  It paints the tongue in an astringent fruity note.  There is some mild pungent coolness, then returning faint creamy sweetness and more sour fruitiness.  I can feel the tight Qi in the body.  A tight hug, some tight chest feeling, that is not at all bothersome but more soothing and energizing.

The 10^th starts bitter but fruity and nice strawberry almost peach like sweetness.  Sometimes this puerh tastes like cheap strawberry flavored wine.  The mouthfeel is much less now, almost sandy.

The 11^th becomes even bitterer and somewhat astringent with fruit notes lying underneath.  The taste really flattens out here and never really recovers…

The 12^th is bitter and sour fruit from the onset.  The fruit note is definitely still there but the mouthfeel has lost its depth and there is an astringent flatness to the infusions now.    

The 13^th is the last I attempt before putting it into overnight infusions.  It has a flat sandy mouthfeeling, astringent throat feeling and is subtly fruity and sour underneath.

Overall, it tastes a lot like Korean Balhyocha but with much more layered depth in the first infusions.  The first infusions are very tasty and feel quite full in the mouth.  Qi here is a tight body feeling and some stimulating power.  The stamina here is not good leading me to believe that this is likely terrace/ plantation Jingmai.  On the plus side, It comes with a really nice price tag and I quite enjoy the taste, mouthfeeling, and Qi of the first handful of infusions.  It comes on strong.

The above session I leafed it real hard.  I’ve had a chance to steep this puerh a few times and it seems to be better leafed a bit lighter due to its strength and bitter astringency.  Overall a nice puerh, a bit unique for its price…

Peace