2021 Tea Encounter Chawangshu Gushu: Statisfying Chawangshu!

“Why not press a Gushu Chawangshu?” I ask… then he did!!!  

“If not for anyone then at least for us!” I exclaimed… and so destiny has arrived…

A sample of this 2021 Tea Encounter Chawangshu Gushu was supplied free for review but normally goes for $350.19 for 200g or $1.75/g… nobody said Chawangshu was ever cheap…

Dry leaves smell of pungent gamey barnyard forest odours.

First infusion has a buttery/ milky creamy floral onset that melts into a creamy melon chalky sweetness slowly over the tongue and into the throat and breath.  A long sauntering velvety sweetness is released.  The mouthfeeling is a mild mossy and the texture is quite oily and lubricating.  There is a long melon floral almost potato and fresh spring grassy rainfall taste to it that it quite delicate but nuanced.

The second infusion has a buttercup milky/creamy fresh foresty sweetness that is very oily and floral and melts in to the soft mossy mouthfeeling leaving a slow dispersing floral, melon, fresh rainfall taste dissolve over the mouth.  The throat faintly opens but yet the sweet subtle aftertaste seems to hang around lots.  The taste is very subtle, creamy, fresh, but yet very present.  Lots of saliva is dumped over the tongue.  A soft current of relaxing waves start to take me.  The very oily texture and mossy mouthfeeling with strong saliva producing is very nicely paired with sweet and fresh oily tastes.

The third infusion has a pungent gamey onset with a stronger immediate subtle gripping mossy mouthfeeling.  The initial taste is barnyard and gamey with wood mid body and juicer floral melons underneath.  The aftertaste is very long and is faint in the mid throat but pushes saliva onto the tongue.  There are some subtle face numbness and deeper mind floating Qi here.  I can especially feel it heavy on my forehead.  There is a potato melon taste that intertwines with saliva for even 15 minutes later.

The fourth infusion has a pungent forest onset with faint quick moving edges of gamey taste.  There is a building sweetness that moves from this taste.  It’s a melon, slight floral oily taste that melts over the mouth.  It has a certain lightness to it and a bit of depth.  Some woodiness.  The mouthfeel is soft mossy and the throat presence is mild but an aftertaste lingers there.  Nice face sensations with some Heart slowing and mind relax happening.

The fifth infusion has a spicy pungent forest onset which moves quickly to a thick gummy oily fruity taste.  There are vibrant and strong pops of Starbust candy tastes thick sweet and long that melt over the almost gripping mossy tongue coating.  The oily texture, mossy gripping coating, and faint loopen mid-throat and saliva producing impart a strong effect on the melon, almost floral, almost potato sweetness.  There are bodyfeelings of chest slowing and face sensations and heavy forehead.  The body effect is strong.  All of a sudden I feel a wave of clarity and giddiness.

The sixth infusion has a thick oily melon onset with a floral underbelly onset.  The thick oily melon floral sweetness melts over the tongue, spills down the faint open throat and returns as a gob of saliva over the gripping mossy mouthcoating.  There is a long woody, almost dry, and cooling breath that pushes the oily melon sweet taste long on the breath.  The sweet melon taste is very long but is supported by a woody undertaste.  The Qi is really strong and pushes me into a talkative-giddy but also euphoric state of mind.  The body feeling is as if I am rocking back and forth with strong slow Chest beats.

The seventh infusion has a spicy pungent foresty onset with some woody and lesser floral sweetness emerging now.  The mouthfeel is less gripping and the throat less opening now.  An oily melon-floral sweetness emerges.  The cooled down cup of tea is more sweet almost a melon/caramel hue to the taste now.  This infusions has a more prominent woody base to it.  The woodiness extends at least as long as sweet, probably longer.

The eighth infusion has a lime woody cream sweet melon initial taste with a long cooling throat and a melon floral retuning with a flat woody base.  Long retuning taste of melon.  The mouthfeeling is a mild gripping mossy faint drying coating.  Heart strong beating and lively euphoric energy typical of Guafengzhai.

The ninth infusion has a woody, sour fruity juicy melon like onset.  There is a cooling then returning sweetness.  Nicely lively euphoric Qi over a mossy slight drying mouthfeeling.  Long woody sweetness and Heart beats.

The 10^th infusion has a pear and woody onset over a dry mossy mouthcoating.  There is an increasing sour lime note in here that is the primary fruity note now with much less sweetness.  Nice euphoric Qi sensation.  With long sour, sweet melon, and woody dry taste.

11^th has a woody sour fruity onset with a strong woody dry taste underneath.  The dry mossy gripping mouthfeeling. There is a long coolness with a melon and woody finish in the mouth.  The mouthfeeling is full and strong but not much saliva is produced nor is the throat sensation prominently open now.  The Qi is still quite strong with Heart beats and euphoria.  My mind travels…

12^th infusion has a woody dry onset with some lesser sour fruity taste underneath then a bit later a cool throatiness comes and a sour, woody and some sweet returns.  The mouthfeeling is getting more drying.  There is some saliva producing here… big Qi continues to push one into a euphoria Heart beats strongly.

13^th has a lime fruity not that sweet onset with a flat woody dominating base taste now.  There is the throat cooling and retuning not that sweetness but more of a sour fruity and woodier taste.  The Qi continues to push me hard into a warmed and floating euphoria state. 

14^th is a steady woody sour fruity taste over a gripping mouthfeeling the sweetness is pretty much gone now with some long cooling throat and a hint of fruity sweetness still. 

15^th is pretty much dry woody insipid water at these flash infusions…

I put the spent leaves in a mug and mug steep them out.  It tastes of bitter and floral melon.  Still big Qi in here!

The overnight steeping is quite enjoyable… thick oily texture with watermelon whites with a long subtle taste with edges of floral.  A full thick feeling in the mouth sticking to the teeth.

Overall, this is a nice Chawangshu experience.  The session has some key elements of Chawangshu for sure especially its euphoric Qi with strong Heart beats which is what Chawangshu is all about.  The long sweet taste is notable with this one as is the very structured oily texture, mouthfeeling, open throat, and retuning saliva.  The first handful of infusions really show how that sweet taste can melt over the mouth.  I really liked this experience here with this one and had a great time with this on this unseasonably warm late summer day.  It’s pricey experience for sure, but a good one.  It has enough Chawangshu-ness in it to keep me happy without being an overly singular pure simple Gushu like experience.

Days later my mind is still thinking about those first 5 infusions.... Yummy..

Alex’s (Teanotes) tasting notes

Peace

2020 Tea Encounter Autumn Chawangshu: Value + Chawangshu!

This was Tea Encounter’s only house autumnal offering and is picked from small younger bushes in the famous Chawangshu area.  It came from the same area and farmer as their now sold out Spring production.  This one was a free sample for review of my order of a few of these delicious 2015 Nannou DuoYi Zhai cakes that I decided to pick up months after sampling.  This 2020 Tea Encounter Chawangshu of whichonly 20 cakes were produced goes for $48.49 for 200g cake or $0.24/g… being both Autumn and from young small bushes you won’t really find cheaper Chawangshu…

Dry leaves smell of paper and lime woodiness.

First infusion is a lime woody creamy woody potato taste with a very subtle bitterness.  This infusion shows how young this puerh is.  It’s very green tea like.  Has a faint coolness with nice potato and creamy woody returning sweetness on the breath.  Slippery soft/ soft chalky mouthfeeling with a mid-upper throat opening when aftertaste dwells.  Qi is starting to subtly build.

The second infusion has a spicy woody potato taste with a full mouthfeeling of chalky mild coating and nice upper-mid throat opening sensation.  The texture is nice and oily.  The taste is a balance of salty, sweet, bland, bitter, and pungent.  A long aftertaste of wood and potato lingers on the breath has the most sweetness almost melon and comes after a slight cool pungent throat.  Nice warming hug Qi feeling that is pretty subtle.

The third infusion has a melon floral onset with a sweetness that splashes up into the mouth.  There is a bit of woody potato there is a chalky moderately full feeling in the mouth with a long aftertaste in the upper-mid throat and nice oily texture.  The Qi is nice and warming with a comforting feeling in the body and building spacy feeling in the mind.  Overall this infusion has a sweet oily feel to it which is quite enjoyable.  It offers me strange comfort for such a young puerh.

The fourth infusion has a pungent gamey border tea taste to it with a melon, potato, and woody underneath to give it some depth.  There is a nice chalky mild full mouthfeeling with upper-mid throat opening and a nice mild-moderate oily texture to the liquor.  The Qi has a nice revitalizing and comforting feeling this sunny morning.

The fifth is vibrantly sweet and juicy with a pungent gamey boarder tea flare to it.  It has a nice oily texture.  The cooling pungent in the upper-mid throat hold the sweet melon taste long on the breath.  This infusion has a mild sticky mouthfeeling slight warm chest feeling and nice vibrant mind Qi.

The sixth infusion has a chalky fruity floral pungent onset which spreads into the mouth.  There as subtle notes of potato, wood, but a chalky melon floral taste.  Nice feeling of comfort in the chest and happy feeling Qi.  The aftertaste is long.

The seventh infusion has a pungent gamey onset with a fresh cut of sweet melon. I really like the taste of this puerh pungent, gamey but very refreshing with a nice balance of elements.  Nice cooling throat with an almost lime like refreshing aftertaste with melon sweetness.  Nice chest warming with

8^th has a stronger potato taste with a slight woody melon underneath.  The mouthfeeling is chalky and mild to moderately full with a upper and mid throat opening where the long aftertaste dwells.  I like the mouthfeel of this puerh too- it’s not super strong but does the trick.  The feeling in the body is very comfortable and comforting.  Qi in the mind is happy.

9^th has a woody potato almost but not that sweet melon.  Overall these last few infusions are more savoury than sweet and have a simple balance to them.  The Qi is really nice and cozy despite this puerh’s youth.  I like this taste, mouthfeeling, and Qi.  Works great together for the price.

10^th has a lime mango creamy sweet onset over an increasingly sandy mouthfeeling and open top throat.  The mouthfeeling, aftertaste, Qi, and complexity is falling off quickly here.

11^th is the same with a buttery melon woody tasting thing in a chalky almost sticky sandy mouthfeeling with some open throat sensation.  The taste is a bit like chalk and melon with woody tones.  Qi is happy and bodyfeeling is vague but comforting.

12^th I push into a long infusion here… it cools down and gives off a syrupy almost potato sweetness with a bit of melon and wood.  Nice oily feeling still with not much bitterness. A mild silty mouthfeeling kind of sandy now with a mild open throat that holds some cooling and woody melon aftertastes.

I put this one into mug steeping…

Overall, this Autumnal xiaoshu Chawangshu production has good value and is quite enjoyable for the price.  It is solid in taste complexities, mouthfeeling and throat opening, liquid texture and Qi.  Overall, I am fond of puerh from this area and the overall package is nice for that price.

Peace

Edit: the next day I did some mug steeping with the spent leaves and felt that this puerh was a bit weak on stamina which makes sense given its pedigree.  It was more of an insipid potato, sort of woody pond almost but not quite sweet blandness. Not bad at all for the price you pay.

Double Peace

 

2006 Yang Qing Hao Chawangshu: A Failure of Yang’s Storage

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2020 Tea Encounter Chawangshu: Very Chawangshu, But Very Affordable!

A theme with Tea Encounter brand puerh is offering you a puerh experience from a very famous and expensive Yiwu area but offering the young or small bush (Xiaoshu) material instead of the mid aged or ancient (Gushu) material.  This is nice in that it allows you to experience some of the taste and Qi characteristics of these famous Yiwu areas without breaking the bank on more mature materials.  It is generally believed that xiaoshu are often more flavourful when fresh and that Gushu is more complex when aged but, like everything with puerh there are other factors that play into this and it is just a rough rule of thumb.  This 2020 Tea Encounter Chawangshu goes for $107.75 for 200g cake or $0.54/g. I kindly received a free sample for review.

Dry leaves smell of icing surgar almost candy like very sweetness.

First infusion there is a musk onset with a lower spicy taste and a tingling tongue feeling.  There is a low forest base and a deep low pungency that pushes out tropical returning sweetness of banana.

The second infusion has a sweeter icing sugar onset with a full tongue tingling mouthfeeling and lingering mid-upper deep throat feel where slight cool lingers and pushes out forest and mainly banana and tropical nuances.  The mouthfeel is tingling on the tongue and reasonably chalky.  The aftertaste sweet tropical and slight musk forest is long in the mouth.  The aftertaste is quite sweet.  I feel an interesting bodyfeeling of a chest opening sensation and shoulder feel light. My mind has a nice focused and upbeat feel to it.

The third infusion has a musky pungent onset with a significant icing sugar base taste. There is a deep forest musk base taste along with the thick feeling in the mouth and tingling feeling in the tongue this puerh feels nice and full.  There is a faint cooling then returning banana musk forest icing sugar sweetness.  The taste of this puerh is really delicious.  The Qi has a nice body feeling of opening the chest, brow heaviness and almost twitchy and shoulder numb and light.  In the mind it’s nicely focusing.

The fourth infusion has a thick creamy sweet banana and icing sugar layered sweetness that is really tasty and nice.  The initial presentation is thick and very layer sweet but with also underlying faint musk and forest and a spicy pungency that faintly dives into the initial thick flavor sweetnesses.  The thickness covers the mouth in a banana taste and even the throat is nicely stimulated by the thick chalky feeling.  The Qi is building a strong focus in the mind.  The chest opens.  The returning sweetness is long and mainly icing sugar with layered banana and tropical and creamier sweetnesses.  The flavor, feel, and Qi is really full feeling.

The fifth has a thick onset of pungent forest taste mixed with a layered banana and icing sugar sweetness.  There is a lubricating taste in the mouth.  The faint coolness pushes out a sweet icing sugar and banana sweetness that is very long in the mouth.  There is faint musk, forest, even faint bitter in the aftertaste.  The Qi is really focusing and revitalizing.  The body feeling is light shoulders and brow and chest opening.  I like this experience.  Minutes later I feel a euphoric high from the qi.  The processing of these leaves is really nice leaving everything on the table.

The sixth infusion has a mild bitter almost foresty onset with a thick mainly creamy and less banana tropical sweetness to it.  The sweetness has a real syrupiness, a thick density, to it now that only seems augmented by the mild bitter.  The returning sweetness is even more spectacular with the sweet creamy banana taste expanding long in the aftertaste.  The Qi is strong and euphoric.  I break in to a sweat while the muscles of my face and scalp twitch.  The saliva pools in the upper throat and has a nice saliva producing reaction.  This is very nice Chawangshu high going on here.

The seventh has a thick buttery, juicy fruity sweet onset that splashes up into the throat with a faint suggestion of bitter over a faint forest base taste.  The aftertaste is sweet fruit and icing sugar sweetness.  The Qi is focusing and a bit warming pushing me into a bit of a sweat.

The eighth infusion has a fruity and icing sugar sweetness at the onset that splashes into a somewhat viscous then chalky reasonably full mouthfeeling.  There is a stickiness left in the mouth.  A faint bitter and subtle cool musk brings out icing sugar in the aftertaste the more tropical and creamy sweetness are fainter here in the returning and aftertastes.  The Qi is really focusing and starting to feel more relaxed.

The ninth infusion has a mild quick moving bitter that splashes buttery and creamy and fruity sweetnesses up into the throat.  A forest almost milky base gives way to a creeping coolness in the upper mid throat which returns very nice creamy almost banana tropical sweetness and faint musk forest.  The sweetness converts into faint icing sugar on the breath.

The 10^th infusion has a creamy sweet and faint bitter onset.  The creamy chalky almost banana like sweetness is real long and stretches throughout the profile.  It sticks to the upper throat as saliva pools there and a faint bitter astringency holds it there.  Then fades out real slow in the aftertaste and breath.  I like the chalky creamy banana supported by subtle forest tastes.  It feels really full and satisfying when supported by and powdery chalky thicker feeling in the mouth like this infusion does.  The Qi is warming and focusing and relaxing now with some face and scalp twitching and deep breath.

The 11^th infusion has a fruity sweet creamy sweet pop of the sip then its stretches out into the throat and later breath.  It has a sunny fruity creamy fruity vibe to it.  The mouthfeeling is sandier now.  The mind is really relaxed now.  The face feels twitchy.

12^th has a more watery juicy fruity onset with a creamier sweet base, a bit woody with a sandier stickier mouthfeeling and mainly upper throat simulating feeling.  The flavor is less intense here a sign that it’s starting to wane a bit.  Still nice overall sweetness creamy-to-juicy fruity- to-creamy-to icing sugar.  The mouthfeeling is nice and decently full with a sticky feeling now.  The Qi is relaxing.

13^th has a woodier onset with sweetness under the more bland-bitter woody taste.  The wood is dropped when the sweetness returns and is a long creamy sweetness on the breath.  The mouthfeel is becoming more dry sticky and throat a bit tight.  The Qi continues to put me out into a deep content relaxed state.  There is a sweet banana taste in the mouth even 5-10 minutes later.

The 14^th infusion has a watery buttery onset with a faint creamy sweetness that expands thoughout the profile over a chalky mouthcoating and upper throat simulation.  The aftertaste is long creamy sweetness.  This infusion is just mainly the sweet taste jaunting along with little base tastes interfering.  The Qi is deeply relaxing and I feel a slow heart beat sensation.  Long breath creamy sweetness even minutes later.

The 15^th infusion has a watery sweet fruit onset that is paired with a simple woody taste.  There is still faint cool pungent note and a soft sweetness.  The mouthfeel is light chalky now. Very little throat stimulation

16^th I put to a 30 second steeping… it push out bitter chalky woody taste with faint underlying sweetness.  There is still a cooling finish with a water creamy faint sweetness on the breath over woody tastes.  A mild relaxing feeling…

I put the rest in a mug and sip on it this way… and it supplies a nice creamy sweet faint woody and bitter with a cool breath and long sweet creamy aftertaste… Yummy!

Overall, this is a real nice small bush production that gives you an authentic experience of Chawangshu without breaking the bank.  It has a real full mouthfeeling and nice stimulating throatfeeling that works well for the long and layered sweet tastes that it pushes out.  There is also a nice Qi presence that would also confirm Chawangshu origin- it has a strong focusing feeling early on with pronounced bodyfeeling in the chest, shoulders, head and face.  It also is quite comfortable in the body and not harsh on the digestion for a young sheng so is suitable for drinking now if you are so inclined.

I really like these Tea Encounter xiao shu (Small Bush) Chawangshu and Guafengzhai productions where you get a good experience of the area with a typical Qi experience and taste profile on the cheap.  Last year, I hailed the 2019 Tea Encounter Gua Feng Zhai as my favorite of Tea Encounter’s 2019 line up (the 2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu is better value and is also good) this one is definitely up there for the Tea Encounter 2020s- especially considering its value for those that want to drink now.  Great work Tiago!

Peace

2006 Yang Qing Hao Shenpin Chawang and Extinct Puerh Blends

What I found most interesting about this puerh is that there is not really that much written about it (see below).  What is out there on the internet is pretty scant and brief and you can’t really get the feel of what this 2006 Shenpin Chawang ($375.00 for 500g or $0.75/g) is really about.  Sure, it is #4 on a list of Emmett Guzmen’s personal favorite Yang Qing Hao, but even the vendor page has almost no information or reviews.  It simply states “Blend of Bohetang, Chawangshu, and Wagong”.  That alone is pretty impressive but more on that later…

Let’s get to this sample that came with a recent order of Yang Qing Hao (this and this)…

The dry leaf has a creamy mellow intensely sweet icing sugary creamy sweetness.

The first infusion starts with a light, fresh, creamy-cream, sweetness, there are soft nuances of florals in a round developing cotton candy sweetness over faint aged woods.  The sweetness is such that it is expansive in the mouth and throat and tumbles on for a very long time in the throat.  The mouth and throat feel are very deep but also very light and ethereal in this first infusion.

The second infusion has a very interesting onset of very light but complex tastes.  The delicate interplay is beautiful florals, high fruits, layers or waves of lighter soft and creamy sweet notes.  They expand like a cloud on the light mouthfeel.  The aftertaste is nuanced floral, light sweetness with a soft soothing coolness in the mouth.  The mouthfeel and throatfeel are very full but very subtle.  The effect on the mind is relaxing.  There is a glance of cinnamon in there briefly as well.

The third infusion delivers a creamy creamy very intense gentle sweetness.  The mouthfeel and throatfeel are very deep and light.  Intense creamy sweetness prevails then unravels in the mind.  The mouthfeel and throat feel are very very nice in this tea.  There is a beautiful harmony among this feeling, the very light sweet creamy sweetness and the soothing qi.  Very harmonious.  The throat holds creamy sweetness for a long long time.  It is a deep throat feeling, like a ball of saliva stuck in the deep throat holding the flavor there.  This tea has a certain subtly about it that is sustained, captured like a butterfly in a net, by the throat and mouth.

The fourth has a slight sour woodiness building in there now the dominant flavor of creamy sweetness comes later and undulates like a wave over the profile.  There are wildflower tastes and almost chicory medicine tastes in the background which add depth here.  This is paired with the very mild returning cool sweetness.  The returning sweetness is soft and comes and goes gradually without much fuss.  The mouthfeel becomes chalky and full in the mouth.  The creamy sweetness dominates.  The qi is very relaxing and soft.  There are some significant body sensations that replicate this nuance.  The shoulders feel heavy and like there is no joint.  The qi makes the joints feel very light and nimble.  The body is very light and relaxed in a profound way.  This qi makes you want to stretch your body.  Like a cat in the sun but without the warming of the sun. Stretch.

The fifth infusion has an expanding medicinal woody initial taste even slight fruity tastes now like raisons in there the woody taste is not really that woody but more foresty-wildfloweresque.  The sweet creaminess dominates/ expands in the very sticky mouthfeel and deep throat feeling.  With a depth of taste developing, this tea is becoming very interesting from many different angles- qi, bodyfeel, throat/mouthfeeling, taste.  This is another interesting one. I feel very happy and light.  A mild warmth is felt on the face.

The sixth infusion has that long dense sweetness in the very sticky mouth.  Before that there is the initial taste of foresty, wildflowery, raison/prunes as well.  This mouthfeel is becoming very thick and sticky.  The sweet flavor lingers for a long time.  Muscles in my face start twitching and releasing.  The tea or its mental effects seem to be unraveling the tightness in my body.  Like a forced meditation or a massage.  The body feeling is profound.  The qi is like a muscle relaxant especially targeting the face, shoulders, neck.

The seventh infusion starts with sweet pear tastes which pop and fade to more mellow woody tastes.  The creamy sweetness comes later now as the flavor builds up in the mouth.  The body is nimble- a feather.  Mouthfeel loses some of its more intense stickiness but remains full and light.  The throat feel holds the line.

The eighth is more intensely creamy almost tropical notes even cherry note pop and disappear initially.  Forest notes linger in the mid-profile and the medicinal notes/ fruit raison notes are not really present here.  Minutes later there are edges of a prune like taste in the aftertaste.  This tea doesn’t have any bitterness but feel full and stratifying.

The ninth infusion is deliciously creamy, light, floral, a slight touch of talic in the mid-profile then long creamy suggestions of very mild forest even plum but mainly fresh almost tropical creamy sweetness.  This tea is nicely harmonious.

The tenth has a wild-flower light honey like sweetness initially which turns into a floral long sweetness with some light wood underneath.  The creamy sweetness comes later and is long.  The camphor coolness is so subtle with this tea.  The body and mind is so nimble and light.

The eleventh infusion has a chalky mouthfeeling now wildflowers seem to dominate this infusion.  The mouthfeel is becomes a touch sandy in the mouth but very full.  The deep throatfeel remains.  There is woodiness in there but the creamy sweetness is less here.  The bodyfeel is the best quality of this puerh, I think.  So light in the joints, it pulls the mind to lighter places.

I start to pull the infusion a little longer than flash infusion here adding 5 seconds to the pots pour for the twelfth.  This infusion is still lighter.  It has a round light wildflower honey taste which is the dominant now.  Slight wood in the aftertaste as well as creamy sweetness.  The creamy sweetness popped initially but is more obvious in the aftertaste.

Fot the thirteenth infusion I add 10 seconds to the flash and get much the same maybe a bit woodier and even slightly more tangy which is kind of new.  A tangy sweet fruit like mango comes to mind.  The mouthfeel resumes its sticky feeling after adding a bit more time.  There is still a long wildflower sweetness.

The fourteenth I add 20 seconds and it gives off a forest, barely woody, slightly sour-astringent watery wildflower sweetness.  The mouthfeel and throat feel are dropping off fast.  The fifteenth is much the same.  The mouthfeel is weakening and the taste profile is becoming more monotone or streamlined.

The fifteen is a long infusion and pushes our sour wood and plum like tastes with a more pronounced camphor taste.  The wildflower finish is prominent in the cooling throat feel.  The mouthfeeling has a long stickiness to it minutes later.

A longer sixteenth and seventeenth infusion brings about a Yang Qing Hao house storage like taste with remnants of plum, forest-wood, and mainly wildflower sweetness.  The stickiness in there remains.

I put it into a few rounds of overnight infusions which deliver a thick syrupy wildflowery fruity taste.

These mid-priced blends are really interesting to me.  To me this is a very harmonious puerh blend.  Best parts are body feeling in the joints and face and neck.  This is a tension buster to me.  Like doing yoga in a teacup.  The throat and mouthfeel are deep but feel light.  The taste is mild but has enough to keep it interesting.  However, the taste is definitely not this tea’s strength.  I like this one a lot and wonder if the price will prevent me from acquiring a cake…. Hummmm… not sure.

Overall, this puerh is quite special.  When will we ever be able to taste a blend of Bohetang, Chawangshu, and Wagong ever again?  Blends like this are pretty much extinct and were only a product of a very small window approximately 2004-2007.  Before this date these areas were unheard of or pretty much unexplored.  After this time Bohetang, Chawangshu and Wagong each became very famous growing regions for puerh in their own right and as a result the price of puerh from these areas shot through the roof.  These types of blends then became unrealistic because the raw materials are all so expensive that to blend 3 famous areas is now virtually unheard of now.  This blend offers us a snap shot of what could be.  Personally, I like what I see.

James' (TeaDB) Tasting Notes

Grill's Tasting Notes

Steepster Tasting Notes

Peace