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

2008 Chen Sheng Hao "Nannuo"

This sample has sure made it around the block. It was given to Hobbes and now makes its way to this stained ceramic tea table. This cake is available for purchase from Red Lantern.

The brown hairy dry leaves smell of distant creamy sweetness. As the first infusion is prepared on this cold and wet late fall day ones mind unwinds with this tea. It pours a browny-orange-tinged yellow. As these colours make their way into the mouth and down the throat, dirty, gritty, smooth pear-like tastes come and go before ducking into a fritty, not that sweet, wood taste. The base flavor seems to be this gritty, dirt tasting, wood flavour. The aftertaste leaves a faint sweetness on the lips. It feels chalky and somewhat gritty in the mouth.

The second infusions starts off with a thick malty and goopy taste that still carries a dirty underlying base. This initial taste has very faint spicy-pear like sweetness in its return. The mouthfeel reaches deep into the throat and heavily coats the mouth, tongue, and lips.

The third starts off similar with a malty tastes but this time it carries cool menthol notes that then turn into that gritty bark base note. The finish is of that malty-dirty taste with notes of cherry fruit underneath creating a nice balance.

The fourth infusion starts to smoothly transition the tastes together in a nice broad balancing kind of way. The malty taste has softened considerably and the taste profile feels more rounded as it moves from grittier malted tastes to sweeter higher tastes of cherry even soft florals.

In the fifth and sixth infusions the dirty woodier notes seem like they are starting to slowly overpower the slightly sweet cherry fruit tastes. The mouthfeel is nice at this point and is especially nice in the throat. The chaqi is mild and seems to act more on the mind than body- the mind seems clearer than usual under the influence of this tea.

The seveth infusion turns a new leaf as this tea now seems to be slightly more sweet and cherry. The balance between sweet juicy malty flavours now present in the initial taste. It does carry a some gritty notes but smoothly transitions to barely fruit notes in malted wood.

In the eighth a distinctive fresh, cool, menthol taste mixed with subtle fruit suggestions passes under the woody, gritty base. This flavour profile almost becomes more distinctive in the ninth, tenth infusions.

The infusions that follow contain a nice subtle cool fruity taste that is most noticeable in the aftertaste the woody base continues to hold but is not as distinct or noticeable as the sweeter more motive higher tastes.

Link to Hobbes (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Link to Matti Kallio Korpi (Jadepisara) Tasting Notes

Peace