2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu: Comparison of Tea Encounter Guafengzhai

This 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu is from the Chaping garden of Guafengzhai and goes for $269.38 for 200g cake or $1.35/g.  I sampled last year’s version and liked it enough to buy some when it was discounted on Black Friday of last year.  I hope to compare this free sample with some other guafengzhai from Tea Encounter..

Dry leaves smell of a deep pungent forest fresh odours with faint fruity sweetness.

The first infusion has a sweet deep forest taste initially with a pungent and gamey edge to it there is a deep throat coolness and a long slow releasing creamy corn, pumpkin, and sweet melon and floral sweetness that follows.  A creamy sweetness expands in the mossy mouthfeeling.  Nice euphoria feeling is detected early.

The second infusion has a juicy light splash of oily fruity sweetness which has a foresty faint pungent underbelly over a chalky mouthfeeling and deeper open throat.  A mild euphoric feeling and stronger clam washes over me.  There is a mild sticky sweet finish on the breath.  Strong deep Qi feeling of floating mind.

The third infusion has a strong juicy oily bready pumpkin muffin taste to it that has a faint foresty pungency but a strong thick sweet finish that evolves from a bready, fruity, then to a creamy sweetness over the chalky tonguecaoting and open throat.  Nice strong deep euphoria Qi feeling with strong mind floating.  There is a thick rich feeling to the liquour and taste and Qi.  Deep evolving Qi relaxing matches nicely to the thick oily sweet tastes.

The fourth infusion has a more spicy pungent sweetness initially with an oily texture that evolves into sweetness over a mossy and chalky mouthfeeling and deeper open throat.  There is a strong bready taste to the sweetness but it is layered over fruity tastes and creamy sweet finishes.  A strong deep relaxing takes hold with a euphoric feeling to it.  There is the sensation of an opening chest and dipapragm and some neck and shoulder release.

The 5^th infusion has a sweet creamy fruity onset with a thick cottony fluffy mouthfeeling there are some vegetal hints as well as some foresty hints of flovours.  The vegetal sweetness turns to a subtle creamy sweetness in the mouth.  The strong deep relaxing takes hold.  Floating head feeling feels quite stoner feeling.  Chest open and shoulder and jaw relax.  Nice deep penetrating Qi.

The 6^th has a spicy oily thicker sweetness, a pumpkin and bread sweetness with a deep throat cooling and emerging foresty taste.  There is a retuning creamy sweetness with some saliva producing effects.  A creamy cooling woody finish.  Minutes later tropical fruity tastes in the saliva.  Strong swaying body feeling euphoria.  Some faint woody astringency is building.  Nice banana finish.

The 7^th is a cool thickish syrupy pear taste over woody notes and forest suggestions some deep pungency and some oily saliva returning.  Nice evolution with banana and woody pear sweet tastes left in the minutes long breath.  Nice deep relaxing.  With open chest and abdomen feeling.  Mild euphoria.  Long sweet aftertaste.

8^th has a cool fruity and even a bit smoky taste to it initialy with woody, sweet, almost yeasty tsates to it.  The deep relaxation is nice as is the mild euphoria that follows.  Nice almost milky bready finish with a creamy sweet edge.

9^th was left to cool and has a sour fruity almost citrus-mango like vegetal with a creamy cooling almost menthol finsh.  The mouthfeeling is less thick mossy here with still an open deep throat going on.  The flavor is mainly nuances of sweetness with some denser feeling to it in the form of faint forest and wood.  Nice relaxing euphoria.

10^th is mainly a woody sweet pumpkin bread taste with still a strong cooling and returning creamy sweetness.  There is a lesser chalkier feeling in the mouth and still a deep throat of cool pungent taste.  More of a rubbery woody nuance to it now.  Nice relaxing chill.

11^th infusion has a more dryer wood dominating mouthfeeling and taste with still a deep coolness but more of a bitter astgringent woody taste throughout with some returning creaminess.  The mouthfe puckering is noticed but a nice open throat feeling where less sweetness is pushed out.  Strong relaxing still.

12^th has a bitter woody onset with a mossy pasty dryer mouthfeeling.  There are just edges of sweetness now whit a deep cooling. Some significant astringency.  Melon and creamy sweetness emerge under the bitterness at the end.

13^th is left to cool and gives off a flat woody sweet sour fruity with some mild astringent bitterness over a chalky, slight dry mouth, and cooling throat.  The aftertaste is quite sweet woody melon. Quite enjoyable still.

14^th is a sour bland sweet mango pear type sweetness with still nice deep throat cooling and long sweet finish.  Nice relaxing day today slight might euphoria and face tingling… its been a good day…

The mug steeping of spent leaves are deep and full in the mouth over a chalky oily texture with an initial forest pungent and subtle sweetness but a very deep cooling and stronger dense sweet retuning sweetness that lingers in the breath.  Thick feeling overall.  There is a strong base taste of bitter astringency underneath everything.

I did a comparison sampling of 2021 Tea Encounter GuafengzhiXiaoshu (above), 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhi (Chaping) Gushu (Middle), and 2020 Guafengzhi (Chaping) Gushu (below).

The 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Xiaoshu was surprisingly closer to the 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhi Gushu as far as value goes.  However, the xiaoshu didn’t have the enduring sweetness and deeper qi and unraveling complexity to it which is expected for something of that price.  I didn’t have any sample of the 2019 xiaoshu to compare because it is so effortlessly delicious I probably drank up the sample quickly.  It makes a bit of sense because the Gushus are not strong singular gushu’s here… but they have great appeal to me in their width, mouthfeeling/throatfeeling, and qi.  Last year’s 2020 Guafengzhi Gushu was much sweeter in taste with a more condensed intensity of taste.  This year’s 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu is similar in its Qi, mouthfeeling/throatfeelng, and taste- a very nice package overall.

Alex’s (Teanotes) Tasting notes

Peace

2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai: A Bargain Favorite!

This is the third year in a row that Tea Encounter has produced this xiaoshu, small bush, Gua Feng Zhai (the 2019 and 2020 were pressed from the same batch of 2019 Maocha).  It was a good one especially for its price.  This 2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai was given as a free sample for review but usually goes for a crazy cheap $68.69 for 250 g cake or $0.27/g. 

The dry leaves smell of peppery sweet delicious fresh forest and barnyard odours… complex smelling…

The first infusion has a pungent/peppery onset with a creamy forest-barnyard with a faint cooling and subtle woody sweetness.  The tastes gloss over a watery and mildly lubricating mouthfeeling.  The aftertaste is mainly a foresty-barnyard- pungent that fades out in the mouth.

The second infusion has a robustly peppery pungent forest barnyard onset that has a subtle coolness then a woody almost dryness in the upper throat.  The mouthfeel is mossy with a subtle upper throat simulation.  The aftertaste is a more pungent peppery foresty fade out.  The infusion has a bit of salty tastes and almost a faint pasty dryness to the mouth.  The Qi congregates in the chest, races the heart a bit and provides an expansive mind feeling with a clear alertness. 

The third infusion comes with pungent peppery force and an almost melon sweetness there is a woody taste, foresty-pungent-barnyard taste with a cooling upper throat and mouth.  Very pungent tasting with layers of spicy coolness and warmer peppery spices.  There is a melon sweetness that starts to emerge from more salty and a lot of spicy tastes.  There is pasty mouthfeeling and upper-mid throat stimulating feeling.  The Qi is mildly euphoric and expansive and races the Heart and brings a stern clarity.  There is lots going on with this puerh… all good and complex thingys- mouthfeelings, Qi sensations, bodyfeelings, taste, aroma, … so good … tastes blended possibly or from a wide area of Guafengzhai or of layered processing… nicely complex for sure.

The fourth infusion has a spicy peppery pungent onset with forest barnyard and wood.  The taste imparts a strong cooling then a classic returning melon sweetness under layers of spicy cool and warm spice which stays strong throughout.  There is an upper throat stimulation thing happening with a very full pasty chalky mouthfeeling and gob of saliva producing.  The Qi is euphoric with a strong alerting and Heart racing, slightly warming and some face tingling sensations.  The concentrated aroma and taste and strong Qi and bodyfeeling- so good!

The fifth infusion has a woody pungent forest barnyard onset with a creamy melon finish.  Over a chalky full mouthfeeling and simulating upper throat.  There is a cooling then a returning creamy melon finish.  Big chest Heart feeling, alerted mind racing, some face tingling, energetic.  With no bitter or astringency this puerh also feels nice on the body.

The sixth infusion is left to cool and is quite sweet with a tropical fruity banana onset with notes of forest pungent coolness in the mid profile.  A long cool melon and tropical fruits finishes.  With a stronger chest and Heart feeling with strong alertness.

The seventh infusion has a condensed woody, banana, peppery, pungent coolness with a returning sweetness of woody and tropical fruits.  There is a salty, spicy and sweet combination here which is quite complex and seems like it must be blended.  I look into the pot and see lots of dark olive leaf mixed with lots of lime green clolours.  Could be a blend of different processing as well?   Its very satisfying to me.  Strong Heart racing and face tingling are interesting and paired with the strong energy push this puerh packs a punch.  The mouthfeeling is also quite thick chalky with some saliva returning and upper throat simulation.

The eighth infusion is left to cool and finishes really sweet with a tropical fruity full flavoured taste.  Nice sweet pops of flavor with a returning mouthfeeling that pushes a saliva taste of creamy rich sweetness banana tropics.  The mouthfeeling remains thick throughout- a chalky pasty sticky throughout. Nice energetic Qi.  A bit of upper throat simulation.

Day got crazy and I’m headed back for the 9^th infusion the next day…

The 9^th has a thick melon onset over a lubricating mouthfeeling.  There is a nice dense flavor to this puerh- a beefy Guafengzhi type of thing.  The mouthfeeling is pasty chalky and full and the finish is slight cool with dense fruity oily finish in the mouth.  The Qi is energetic and alerting.

The 10^th infusion has a thick oily melon sweetness with slight bready onset there is some faint woody and foresty-pungent tastes in there as well.  There is a thick pasty mouthfeeling and some upper throat simulation and mild saliva returning.  The aftertaste is kind of pungent-barnyard forest and sort of melon sweet.  There is a cool throat feelng minutes later.  A strong alerting energy with some haziness and face tingling.

The 11^th infusion has a woody profile throughout with melon sweet onset with a puckering woody forest and pungent underbelly.  There is more puckering and astringency here in this infusion and it brings out the woody aspects of this puerh.  Strong alerting and slightly hypnotic energy now with some face tingling.

The 12^th infusion has a woody taste with some subtle sweeter melon edges along with a pungent foresty taste.  There is a bit of cooing then a bit more melon sweetness under a puckering woody taste in the mouth.  Mouthfeeling is more puckering slightly and the taste becomes woodier now.

The 13^th infusion has a woody sweet becoming a bit puckering slight grainy but still pretty flavourful taste. The taste is thinning a bit now it’s pretty much just the polarities of melon and wood with still nice throat stimulation and coolness with some fading melon wood finish.  Astringency builds a bit here.

The 14^th is a creamy woody pungent foresty onset that is predominantly woody and with a puckering astringency to it now.  Some cool throat exists as well as faint melon breath…

The mug steeping of spent leaves pushes out very deep foresty pungent salty tastes that have a thick chalky oily texture and a long deep throat pungent coolness.

This is probably going to be the best 2021 puerh I try for this price or less.  It punches way above its weight.  Strong stoning Qi.  Recommend.

Peace

2021 Essence of Tea Morsels (or Pieces?)

 

This 2021 Essence of Tea Morsels goes for $168.00 for 200g cake or $0.84/g but it was my free gift included with sample purchase.  It’s by far the most unusual of Essence of Tea’s spring releases, maybe one of their most unique offerings ever?  Comprised of small morsels (in North America they usually say “pieces”) of this and morsels of that- must be how it got its name. “It's all from ancient trees, from Yiwu Guoyoulin gardens, Guafengzhai, Bulang and some other single trees.”

Dry leaves smell of very sweet fruity berries and creamy sweetness.

First infusion has a very fruity, hay, woody, mushroom onset with an emerging bitter bland that converts to a very sweet berry, strawberry and peach fruity finish in the long aftertaste.  There is lots of depth of taste and a leaning toward fruity sweetness.  Sticky sandy full mouthcoating with some pungent cool in the deeper throat.  There is lots going on but it tastes nice together.  You can feel a bit of bitter astringency in the empty stomach.  The Qi in the Chest and alerted mind.  Strong energetic Qi feels lots like a bulang energy here.

The second has a medicinal very pungent camphor cooling sweet bread onset where fruity tastes like plum and peach emerge as well as woody-dirt bitter flat taste that reminds me of Bulang. There is a sticky full loose chalky feeling in the mouth with a deep cooling throat and some saliva producing.  There are some fruity tastes like plum and bread that come out later in the aftertaste.  Strong heart pounding Qi- very energetic.

The third infusion has a creamier sweet very pungent medicinal woody camphor onset its very strong and concentrated.  It ends both with a bitter-wood-dirt flat as well as a creamy sweet, some plum, and bread almost apricot.  The full onset really comes on thick and coats the thick sticky-cottony mouth with lots of full and lasting throughout the profile taste.  Strong Qi in the chest and very stimulating on the mind.  It’s a powerful blend.  There is also some bodyfeeling in the arms like a tingling floating thing going on.  Strong but only a touch harsh on my empty stomach.

The 4^th is left to cool and has a thick woody syrupy concentrated woody camphor taste with a lot of coolness then turns to a flat-woody-dirt bitter that is totally Bulang.  There is some florals and plum and lots of cool pungent camphor that emerges out of the strong champhor bitter woody taste.  There is a certain sweetness, bread-like, to the taste throughout.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and full with some saliva forming.  Strong and powerful Qi with Heartbeats and limb numbness.

5^th infusion has a melon woody coco bitter with a long fruity melon and peach finish within the mild dirt-woody-bitter.  The taste is pretty condensed with a saliva producing effect and fruity coco finish in the mouth.  Nice strong energy in the mind.

6^th has a fruitier peach, pear, melon that comes just before and over a long mild woody-dirt-coco-woody bitterness.  The mouithfeeling is sticky almost drying full coating with an open cool throat and some gripping of the throat with a mild saliva producing effect.  Kind of a metallic woody taste on the tongue.

7^th infusion has a fruity, medicinal, bitter-dirt-woody taste to it that has a flat bitter medicinal finish and some subtle fruity tastes.  The main taste here is a medicinal woody kind of taste.  The Qi is strong and sedating at the same time now.  Some lesser chest sensations.  Tighter almost dry mouthcoating with slight saliva producing effect.

8^th is cooled down and is a very peachy apricot syrupy taste with a woody medicinal menthol camphor taste.  The sweet taste is thick and goes the distance in the taste profile with a melon coolness on the breath.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and cottony and full.  Nice strong Qi feeling.

9^th has a melon then woody onset taste with a dry woody coolness on the breath.  There is a creamy sweetness almost mushroom taste that returns and the bitterness is mild kind of coco and medicinal taste.  These last few infusions taste like Yiwu material.  There are nuances of potato and bread.  Nice full sticky feeling with a nice oily texture here.  Nice sedating effect now.

10^th is cooled down… there is a almond, syrypy sweetness that comes along with mild dirt-coco bitterness nice long cool coco sweet finish.  Nice relaxing sedating feeling with some Heart racing and alertness.  Limbs feel a bit heavy.  Melon and potato on breath reminds me of Gua Feng Zhi in the blend.

11^th has a melon chocolate onset along with a creamy yogurt melon taste.  There is a bland potato taste, woody taste, melon, creamy sweet, dirt-coco, subtle medicinal.  Lots of soft faint flavours in there now as the aftertaste fades to a blander woody dirt-coco.  The mouthfeeling remains dry.

12^th is left to cool and sit a while and it is a syrupy bitter woody coco dirt camphor taste.  It feels really full but with a softer mineral melon aftertaste.  The recent material comes out in the aftertaste now and the initial taste is more semi-aged or at least a few years aged. 

13^th has a dirt coco woody dirt onset with a light fresh mineral and melon finish.  Almost potato in the finish.  Aftertaste reminds me of Gua Feng Zhi and the onset reminds me of bulang/ Menghai.  There is a long fresh aftertaste.  These infusions taste like a semi-aged Bulang initial taste with a young Gua Feng Zhi or Yiwu finish.  It leaves me wondering if this is the composition on the blend?

14^th has a fresh fruity onset with a bitter-dirt-coco that follows.  The taste is pretty stable the last handful of infusions despite this being a blend.  Soft dry sandy mouthfeeling now.  With a calming Qi sensation without any bodyfeeling now.

I end up mug steeping out the rest and its pretty similar to the last few infusions.  More bitter and more gripping dry mouthfeeling than previously but not too too strong.  I can feel it in my guts a tinny bit and the Qi is strongly energizing with strong Heart beats.  Vigorous energy when steeping strongly for sure.

The overnight steeping is mainly a nice melon woody sweet taste.  Still surprisingly lots of taste in there.  This one has some good stamina, I think.

Overall, this puerh is unusual, it has some really good tastes in there and even better energy.  I think a bit of powerful semi-aged Bulang that is showcased as the infusions get more bitter and then as the session progresses it has the bitter strength up front with the younger, fresher, Yiwu/ Gua Feng Zhi sedating and very sweet finish.  Often the polarities present simultaneously for an unusual but full effect.  The young and a bit older material along with the Menghai and Yiwu blend is interesting but really disjointed.  I think this has great material in it and would probably taste better with a bit of age on it and give the time for the desperate pieces to come together more harmoniously.  It has interesting movement throughout the session and uniq combination of energizing then sedating Qi.  I find puerh like this hard to purchase before I can clearly see how it’s going to come together.  One thing is for certain this puerh has good bones.  Would love to try this one again in 10 years!

Alex’s (Tea Notes) Tasting Notes

Peace

2020 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu Chaping: Sweet Bodyfeeling

What’s this????  2020 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu Chaping is not yet listed on the Tea Encounter web site.  Sometimes vendors send me this stuff and I never know if it is a production that they are planning on releasing or just maocha that they are sharing because they like it or to get my thoughts on it…

… below is my experience of this Guafengzhai…

Dry leaves smell of deep forest odours with a slight spicy pungency.

The first infusion has a slight pungent spice with mild low cool pungency and a foresty base with sweet potato sweetness nuance.  The aftertaste is faint and deep and tastes of foresty almost icing surgar tastes.  The mouthfeel is very soft and the throatfeeling deep.

The second infusion has a sweet cool spicy pungent onset there is a deep cooling pungency that reaches the deep throat and leaves forest tastes in the mouth.  The returning sweetness is icing sugar with a forest and subtle potato base taste.  The deep coolness lingers with spicy and icing surgar nuance.  The mouth feel is soft and smooth.

The third has a vibrant fruity pure melon and slight tropical sweetness in the onset that tastes so fresh and lingers throughout the profile over top of fresh forest and potato base tastes. The mild long coolness reaches deep and pushes out a second wave of fruit.  The mouthfeel is the soft but stimulating stickiness which is mainly aggregated at the back of the throat.  It has a saliva stimulating thing happening at the top throat as the pungent coolness reaches the deep throat.  The Qi is very happy and relaxing here.  I feel very peaceful.

The fourth has a pure melon refreshing sweetness that is very very tastey and long.  It stretches into the breath and returns with an icing sugar edge in the aftertaste.  There is a nice mid profile of spicy notes, forest notes, and potato.  The Qi comes on really strong to make me feel high and stop my thoughts.  Very strong mind altering qi.  My body has the floats and it feels like I’m rocking side to side.  There is a foresty fruity taste in the throat minutes later.  The throat feeling is very nice.  Wow! Qi is really strong.

The fifth infusion has a sweet pure fruity onset over a foresty and subtle spicy onset.  The fruity taste initially is really long and stretches throughout the profile.  There is some forest and not as much potato now.  The mouthfeel is sticky and really engaging especially in the back of the tongue and top throat.  A long fruity and icing sugar with forest taste is in the long aftertaste.  This puerh has a really nice full feeling as far as both the taste and throat/mouthfeeling go.  Strong Qi.

The 6^th has a very fruity onset with a very nice depth supporting it of sweet potato, forest depth.  The sweet taste is really tasty and long and returns with forest tastes and slight spicy in the aftertaste.  The mouth/throatfeeling is sticky soft but yet full especially in the back.  There is an abdominal and chest releasing feeling going on.  A nice stoned but clear focused mind from the Qi.

The seventh has a sweet potato almost wild floral and sweet fruity melon onset.  There is some foresty base taste and a long melon fruity and forest returning sweetness.  The bodyfeeling in the Abdomen is unique and the feeling in the chest is opening.  The Qi is strong and slows my breath down.

8^th has a buttery sweet creamy floral almost fruity complex onset there is a woody foresty base.  The mouthfeel is more flat stone feeling and less sticky with a little more happening at the back.  The cool pungent can’t quite get as deep but still leaves a long foresty melon taste in the mouth.  The Qi is really happy and strong.  The body feeling is interesting in the abdomen and opening the ribs. 

The 9^th has a melon fruity butter and floral complex onset with a forest base. There is faint deep cool in the breath and a stone, forest, and melon sweetness even minutes later.  The body feels loose.

The 10^th infusion has a fresh melon fruity clear onset.  There is a forest woodiness to it and a faint pungent spice and faint coolness on the in-breath into the deep throat.

The 11^th has a beautiful fresh melon pure fruity onset that feels juicy and lubricating in the mouth.  There is a deep faint coolness that rides the melon sweetness out on the breath.  The Qi is really nice happy feeling and deeply energizing.

12^th has a mild water icing surgar and faint fruity onset with more of an icing surgar taste throughout.  There is some mild spicy notes and forest notes but mainly a long icing sugar taste.

13^th has a woody barely icing sugar sweet taste.  There is more wood and faint melon that emerges more in the breath with a faint deep pungency.  The mouthfeeling is mild and slightly sandy now.  The Qi is now pretty relaxing.

14^th infusion is a few minutes long and pushes out a fruity woody almost beet and potato taste.  There is still a faint cool throat with a resonating pungency in the throat.

15^th is steeped for a good 5 minutes and has a fruity vibrant sweet potato woody forest initial taste.  The fruity sweetness and woodiness stretched throughout and returns in the aftertaste and long woody breath.  Its Qi is really relaxing.

16^th is a longer steeping and the cool cup is woody with a fruity fresh almost melon with a nice supporting woody forest taste.  In a deep throat and soft mouthfeeling.  Qi is just really relaxing at this point and almost refreshing like the initial sweetness.

I put the rest in a mug and grandpa it and it delivers silky smooth fruity tastes with sweet potato, woody, and forest nuances. A nice stone like mouthfeeling is still accessible and so is some faint upper throat simulation.  Nice cooling after swallowing.  I enjoy it like this in my body and mind for a while…

Overall, this is a nice Gua Feng Zhai production with sweeter than normal Gua Feng Zhi tastes but yet familiar tastes of melon and sweet potato that are typical of Gua Feng Zhai.  There is nice stimulation of the back of the throat and tongue. The qi is happy and deeply energizing in the early session then becomes relaxing.  There is some bodyfeeling of an opening abdomen and lower ribs feeling that is unique and interesting.  But it’s that complex sweet taste, a sweeter and more complex than normal taste that makes this guafengzhai a nice one.  I think a Guafengzhai like this could go for $250-$350 for 200g cake.  Thanks Tiago for the sample, I liked it a lot.

Peace

2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu (The Real Blend)

Ok…. so I accidentally made the assumption that the early maocha that I had kindly received this summer by Tiago that was labeled “2019 Maocha GuaFengZhi Xiao Shu + Laos Gushu blend” was their 2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu.  It turns out that it wasn’t the one they were selling at all but rather an experimental early blend.

So I had find out what the real one was all about with both my extensive experience with Laos puerh (aka border tea) and general enjoyment of Gua Feng Zhi.  This 2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gu Shu is pretty cheap and attainable for most at $37.71 for a 200g cake or $0.19/g.

The stereotypical black leaves of Ban Korman Laos are seen in this blend.  The odour is of sweet black licorice root, deep musk rainforest with a sweet honey backbone and lingering faint florals and fruits.  The dry leaf odour is dominated by the Laos almost barnyard and beef jerky and rainforest pungent musk but the lively Gua Feng Zhi leaves must give it that floral and fruity sweet lightness.

The first infusion starts with a small touch of clear melon fruit then quickly transverses to a musky rainforest almost beef jerky taste.  The musky pungency lingers in the mouth.  The mouthfeel is watery still a bit sticky.  A melon almost floral returns minutes later in the breath.

The second infusion starts with a juicier almost bread and not really that melon or pear sweetness then transverses to musk and rainforest beef jerky.  The musky pungency is the main character the sweetness lurks underneath.  The mouthfeeling is faint sticky and mild pucker.  The tastes are clear, pure and simple but deep in their tone.  The pear melon minutes long returning sweetness is found again.  The profile is really long in this respect.

The third starts stronger almost cinnamon pungency barely sweet then to musk and rainforest which stretches across the profile.  The melon taste seems wedged in there.  There is a woody taste in there now in the base taste.  The mouthfeel is more sticky astringent now.  The Qi is relaxing- I can feel a mild stoner feeling and the chest and ribs open a bit.  Minutes later the sweet aftertaste of pear and melon arrive.  A musky rainforsty pungency lingers as the main profile.

The fourth infusion starts with more pungent musk but almost balanced with fruity sweetness.  This infusion has a creamy sweetness lingering throughout which is the main profile now.  The returning sweetness is stronger now with the creamy sweet lead and puts out a bump of creamy sweetness, melon and even licorice now. The mouthfeeling is moderately sticky in the mouth and the throat is vacuous but seems to faintly open deeply allowing the long retuning sweetness to play out.

The fifth infusion has a licorice and musk forest onset with a sweet fruitiness hidden underneath.  The musk forest pungency is the main note throughout and ends in a returning licorice sweetness and minutes later with a melon fruity nuance with a new sweet bread taste now as well.  The mouthfeeling is mainly sticky on the lips and tongue and upper throat but has a faint depth to the throatfeeling.  The Qi is mild- moderate stoner Qi feeling.  It makes the head float and chest and ribs expand and open.

The sixth infusion I let the liquor sit for 30 minutes to cool and it has a nice rich creamy intense sweet dominating taste with musk and rainforest underneath.  The sweetness here is fruity and thick and leaves me thinking I should leave these cups to cool for a bit… The mouthfeel is thick and sticky.  There is a thick dense honey sweetness to it.

The seventh infusion has a rich thick sweetness both creamy and less fruity initially that dominates the profile.  The musk and rainforest is faint background now just enough to give this blend some depth.  The mouthfeel is sticky and thick on the tongue.  The Qi in this puerh is solid and gives a nice high floating head stoned sensation and an open chest racing heart body feeling.  Very nice, very Gua Feng Zhi in its Qi with a bit more.

The eighth infusion has cooled again and more Gua Feng Zhi tastes of melon, forest, sweet potato and even a vegetal green grass comes out.  The sweetness is predominant.  The mouthcoat is decently thick.  A minute’s later returning sweetness of pear and creamy sweetness lingers in the mouth.

The ninth is a thick rich pear and melon taste with a creamy sweet backbone.  It’s mainly thick sweet almost syrup fruits at this point.  The Qi is decently strong espically for the price of this puerh and I have a body feeling of opening chest and ribs and light neck and shoulders.  Nice stoned feeling happening.

The tenth has a musky pungent Laos character onset with a building creamy sweetness that finishes fruity and sweet Gua Feng Zhi.  The pungency and musk never completely goes away but the sweetness is more pronounced on the back end of the profile.

The 11^th starts a sweet juicy but just as musky forest in presentation which fades into an almost woody thing then appears a faint lingering fruity taste a minute later.  This infusion is a bit more astringent.  The mouthfeel almost dry and pucker.

The 12^th and 13^th push out more sweet fruit with the musky forest being fainter.  There is a nice returning sweetness of melon and fruit and sometimes even licorice root.

I steep this one a few more times before putting it into overnight infusions…

To compare to 2019 Tea Encounter Gua Feng Zhi, I think I like the big Qi of the Gua Fang Zhai and vibrant sweet tastes but the Laos has more interested depth and body feeling to it.  I use up the rest of my 2019 Tea Encounter Gua Feng Zhi sample the next day for comparison and overall its nice budget Gua Feng Zhi with some of the perks of a Gua Feng Zhi such as general nice sweet flavor profile and fairly decent Qi in the head.  However this 2019 Laos offers more depth and will probably age the better out of the two because of the more mature presence of the older tree Laos material.

It’s also interesting to compare this 2019 Tea Encounter Laos to their experimental maocha blend that I was sent in the summer.  They actually didn’t press this blend which has a stronger and more distinct Ban Korman profile which I estimated was 60% Laos 40% Gua Feng Zhi.  This 2019 Tea Encounter Laos blend has a more balanced profile of Laos old tree and Gua Feng Zhi.  Either they used less distinct Laos Gushu and/ or adjusted the blend.  I would say this one is probably closer to 50/50 or even 40% Laos and 60% Gua Feng Zhi.  Either way I feel the finial pressed cake has a touch more Gua Feng Zhi character in it than Laos as the Gua Feng Zhi effectively shines through in the final blend.

I had overnight steeped the 2019 Tea Encounter Gua Feng Zhi side by side and was to picture the leaves… but then work got out of control and they somehow made it both into the garbage… good thing I was at least a bit tea stoned thanks to these… hahahha…

Peace

Not a Fan of Huang Pian: 2005 Yang Qing Hao Huangpian Gua Feng Zhai

Emmett sent this free sample of an interesting Huangpian with my last order from Yang Qing Hao….

Dry has a creamy sweet note to it with woods and slight earth underneath.

First has a creamy very sweet onset with a woody and juicy huangpian nuance.  The mouthfeel is chalky and taste unravels with a cooling softness and fruity creamy sweet finish.  The flavours are very sweet and nuanced and evolving.  The coating in the mouth is nice and full feeling.  This first flash infusion gets me very excited about what is to come…

The second starts with a watery broth off creamy woody sweetness.  The sweetness is less here and the woodiness has a mild astringency to it.  That pulls at the throat just slightly.  I feel a body sensation in the jaw which is an unusual one for me.  My mind is a bit floating now.  The Qi is nice and comes fast.

The third infusion has a slightly empty watery sweet onset with a woody astringent tightness to it.  There is a lingering creamy sweetness underneath.  The throat and mouth are coated in this tight slightly dry astringency.  There is faint mild smoke in the distance.  My head feels heavy and a bit spacy.  The Qi is very nice for huang pian material.

The fourth infusion I realized that this huangpian is best with less leaf, longer steeped in a one cup steeper or larger teapot than a small gong fu pot.  I really, have very little experience with Huangpian and how to best steep them.  I decide to split the leaves in the pot between a larger one cup maker and leave the rest in the pot.  The one cup in a 40 second steep gives off a slightly fruity wood slight astringent with distant smoke and a returning very faint coolness with mild barely creamy sweet with a full chalky astringent coating.

Things get pretty simple pretty quickly and this is my general experience with huang pian.  Even the leaves in the tea pot get simple fast.  In the end I decide to grandpa steep this out.  If I ever grandpa steep a puerh its basically to simple to gong fu… this one like many other huangpian are like this.  Overall this was an interesting huangpain.

I don’t think I’m being pretentious when I say that huangpian isn’t worth it.  There are cheaper and more interesting puerh that can be found for the price of huangpian.  Who knows?  It might be like me and autumn puerh and in a few years it might be worth it or I might have a change of heart?  Maybe there is something about huangpian that I don’t get.  Either way this aged Gua Feng Zhi is pretty interesting for those out there that like huangpian (looks like this one sold out).  More interesting that any Huangpain I have experience with.

Edit: A few hours after posting this, Varat posted a nice article about Huangpian: The Humble Leaf.  He has a good point that huang pian can offer an aged puerh experience or educational experience that is just too expensive to gain with Spring puerh these days... it also got me thinking that maybe I'm not humble enough these days... I definitely have to work on that...

Peace 

Tea Encounter Brand Puerh Initial Impressions

I guess it’s a little overgeneralizing to state grand sweeping impressions of Tea Encounter’s premiere brand of Tea Encounter puerh.  It’s a bit of a stretch because the release only had four offerings.  I would say the most obvious thing about Tea Encounter puerh is that its main goal is likely to fill gaps in what is offered both at Tea Encounter and on the Western puerh market as a whole.

For instance, their 2019 Tea Encounter Bai Yin Shan Yesheng fills a gap of offering a Lincang wild from a region not represented by any Westren dealer.  Their 2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu offers Laos puerh which hasn’t been offered in the West since 2014.  Their other offerings give us budget versions of regions that typically are offered at a higher quality by Western vendors (and therefore much higher price point) such as 2019 Tea Encounter Bang Dong and 2019 Tea Encounter Gua Feng Zhai.  Smart offerings (and currently discounted on a Black Friday Sale).

As far as the overall feel of the brand, I would say that they are milder and not as aggressive, they focus on subtlety and are not standoffish or overly bold.  They are deliberately positioned to be budget puerh so, overall, they are easy on the wallet.  They could all be consumed now, and many have decent stamina especially considering the price.

I think Tiago of Tea Encounter might be positioning the brand to focus more on the further Eastern Border of Yiwu and even the border tea beyond.  Of course, it’s a complete guess but wouldn’t be surprised to see more from Gua Feng Zhai, Xiang Chun Lin, and even Laos, and other border teas in the years to come.

Congratulations Tiago on your premiere offering!

Peace

2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu: Taste Like Laos… and Gua Feng Zhai…

This puerh is a Gua Feng Zhai Xiao Shu (small bush) + Laos Gushu blend as the sample label clearly states.  It goes for $37.71 for 200g cake or $0.19/g although this sample came free for review.  This is actually the early mocha before it was pressed into 200g cakes (turns out this was not the final blend before it was pressed into cakes- see comment below) .  Looks like this puerh is 5% off from now until the end of the month as the Black Friday Sale just got put up on the site (4%-39% off depending on the cake)!  This is a late addition to the inaugural year of the Tea Encounter brand.  It fills a gap in the Tea Encounter catalogue by offering something at a very low price point, offering a blend (for which there is only one other), and offering something from Laos. Laos puerh, do we dare call it that, has not been offered through a Western puerh vendor since Chawangshop offered some years ago, I do believe.

Long time readers of this blog know that I am versed in Laos puerh having been there way back in 2009 and was the first to write extensively on the subject in English… naturally I was nostalgically excited to try some again…

Dry leaves smell of dense barnyard with the typical Laos Ban Korman intense almost pungent barnyard typical dry leaves odour.  The rinse of the leaves indicate this is mainly Laos Gu Shu in this blend or at least it is over powering at this point.

First infusion tastes very barnyard initially, watery and spacious taste, with an underlying fruity sweetness that has nuances of wood.  There is a moderate pungent coolness that pushes out some potato and almost radish like tastes along with creamy sweetness and dried pear.  An interesting, unusual, and complex presentation over a watery base.

The second is a barnyard/ beef jerky onset (very classically Ban Korman), there is some faint pear in the distance and potato (classically Gua Feng Zhai).  The puerh tastes like a Canadian Thanksgiving here… hahaha… Mouthfeeling is very mild, faint simulation- also typical of Ban Korman area.  There is a faint sandiness about it.  Then arrives a pungency that pushes pear and creamy sweet out over a moderately deep throat opening.  Qi has a relaxing and spacy effect on the mind.

The third infusion comes together more cohesively.  With strong barnyard and beef jerky tastes with a pear sweetness presenting underneath. The mouthfeeling is sandy and mild and the throat opens to a medium-deep depth. The aftertaste has mild sweetness of pear and barely creamy sweetness.  There are some wood notes and potato as well. The Qi in the head is quite tranquilizing here.  It creates a distinct warmth in the body and I break into a sweat.

The fourth infusion more of a distinct pumpkin/ squash taste initially with faint barnyard.  The mouthfeel is still mild sandy and throat still deep-moderate opening.  Qi is interesting as I feel it in my teeth and jaw. Faint pear finish after a mild pungency.

The fifth infusion has a woody barnyard almost pear note that drags into the aftertaste over a sandy mouthfeeling.  The Qi is getting bigger in the head and a bit alerting now.  The mild sandy mouthfeel and open throat holds a faint sweetness, wood, barnyard.

The sixth infusion has a woody faint barnyard, almost musty, taste with just faint edges of sweetness underneath that mainly follow from the faint pungent in the throat.  The Qi is relaxing here.

The seventh infusion starts with a subtle sweetness almost green pea like over barnyard, musk, slightly woody, there is a faint but deep throaty pungency here.  This puerh tastes 60% Laos Ban Korman Gu Shu 40% Gua Feng Zhi Small Bush puerh. If I were to guess. 

The eighth is a watery, smooth sandy, almost pumpkin, not really woody but more barnyard faint suggestions.  There is a flat pear taste in there as well that comes after a faint deeper throat pungency.  The Qi is relaxing at this point.

The ninth infusion has more pumpkin notes and is somewhat sweeter.  The flavor is never strong but is much less here especially considering the mild sandy mouthfeeling.  Qi is more relaxing now.

The tenth infusion I add 15 seconds to the flash infusion and push a bit fruitier nuance out of these leaves but not much.  There is a rainforest taste.  The taste is spacious and mild and almost barnyard and musk.  The aftertaste is a bit pear.

The eleventh infusion I add 30 seconds it is much the same as the 10^th but is lighter in taste.  For the 12^th I put it into a long infusion of a few minutes and get a thicker mouthfeeling, a chalky sandy with longer pungent taste, there is more fruit flavours as well- pumpkin, pear, potato, slight barnyard.  The cooling pungency stands out in this long infusion.  Qi is mild in the head at this point in the session.

As I feel a need to push harder, I put this one into the overnight infusion…

It is a bit of a puerh trend these days to do a blend with something from Eastern Yiwu near the border blended with border tea from Laos usually.  In this way it stretches the notion of what we can call “puerh tea”.  This one also stretches the notion of what we can call “Gushu”.  It is also for economic reasons as Eastern Yiwu puerh material is climbing in price and can be cut with something less expensive.  I was gifted some of the 2018 Tea Urchin Along the Border maocha and sampled it quite young.  It was also a Gua Feng Zhi Small bush blend and it resembled this border blend a bit in its spacious and watery taste profile and a bit in its moderately heady Qi.  The 2018 Along the Border had a distinctly nutty flavor and this Tea Encounter one has a more typical Laos Ban Korman profile of barnyard with musk and beef jerky taste.

This is a cheap entry point for those who wish to have a taste of Laos puerh which is not represented much in the Western puerh market.  This puerh’s distinct Ban Korman profile really brought me back to some of my experiences with them and reminded me of an amusing story that I should share in a different post…

Peace