2015 Yunnan Sourcing Mu Shu Cha and A Bit On the Mother Tree Puerh

What exactly is Mu Shu Cha (aka Mother Tree Tea)???  Well, it’s a bit of a puerh oddity that seems to be only produced in the Mengku producing area.   They are some old large leaf varietal that is often referred to as “Primordial”.  It is my understanding that they are called “mother trees” because they are they ancient varietal which gave birth through selection the common puerh varietal.  They also seem to only be found at reasonably high altitudes.  They kind of have their own separate flavor, mouthfeeling, and Qi profile.  I kind of think of them somewhere between a wild tea/ Yesheng and puerh.  During my recent sampling of the Yunnan Sourcing Brand I thought to pick up some recommended Mu Shu Cha to see if it sparks my interest in a deeper exploration of this unique type of puerh….

I actually have quite a long history of sampling and drinking Mu Shu Cha.  I remember sampling the Shuangjiang Mengku Mu Shu Cha releases when they first came out in the Mid-2000s.  I believe 2005 is their first production and I’ve never even heard of Mu Shu Cha productions that pre-date these Shuangjiang Mengku.  It’s a bit of a different profile and I never really fell in love with its very unique character.  A sweet taste and euphoric Qi is what I remember most from these.  This is kind of like wild tea/ Yesheng and shouldn’t be judged next to more standard puerh varietals, Mu Shu Cha has a different stereotypical profile than other puerh.  I had never tried aged or semi-aged Mu Shu Cha.  This sample will be 4 years of age in completely Dry Kunming storage at Yunnan Sourcing’s warehouse. Although I have tried the Yunnan Sourcing 2011 and 2017 version of Mu Shu Cha in the past, this sample (a 400g cake goes for $192.00 or $0.48/g) was to test the waters as to whether I want to explore more Mu Shu Cha for purchase…

Dry leaves smell of intense strawberry, raspberry, and airy sugary sweetnesses.

The first infusion has a slightly bitter onset with a flat grainy taste that follows there is a low lying fruity nuance underneath a cereal taste.  The mouthfeel is slippery and there is almost a metallic finish in the mouth.  There is an almost non-existent mouthwash aftertaste in the mouth along with edges of dry dirt and grains.

The second infusion has a grainy almost raspberry dry dirt and wood nuance to it.  It’s an unusual single note taste that has more of a grain and berries taste in the finish.  The taste is real muddled in the initial taste then becomes this interesting grainy fruity strawberry taste in the aftertaste.  The Qi is migrating to the mind and it becomes at ease and relaxed a bit euphoric even.

The third becomes more fruity sweet strawberry.  That sweet note is there initially with mild bitter, dry wood and dry dirt muddle and a more clear barley grain taste.  It then becomes clear and vibrant and almost pungent in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is slippery and almost sandy and the throat feeling feels empty.

The fourth has a slightly bitter and more cherry fruit taste initially.  The bitter cherry taste is strong and vibrant.  There is a slight sour astringency developing.  The mouthfeel is slightly gripping now and the throat is stimulated.  There is a hollow fruity nuance in the aftertaste.  The Qi is dizzying now and starting to build on being euphoric.

The fifth infusion starts a bit buttery bitter and vegetal there is a distinct fruity cherry note with some muddled vegetal, rubbery, dry dirt like base.  There is some bitter cherry and almost beetroot sweetness in the aftertaste.

The sixth infusion starts with a moderate bitter fruity onset with a muddled beetroot base.  The mouthfeel is slippery/sandy with an open/ vacuous throatfeeling.  The sweet cherry-strawberry almost vegetable taste is then found in the aftertaste over a muddled, beetroot base taste.  The Qi is spacing me out my mind floats away.  Profound clam is found within.

The seventh infusion starts with a thick syrupy sweet cherry sweetness. There is a quick lingering candy sweetness in the aftertaste.  This infusion is very thick and distinctly sweet with any of the base tastes all but disappearing under heavy sweet fruity syrup.  Very nice infusion.  The mouthfeel is slippery and almost sandy the throat opens mid-way in a vacuous manner.  Qi has a nice euphoria going on.

The eighth infusion starts off brilliantly syrup thick dense sweet fruit note.  The note kind of trails off into a fait candy like taste with a very faint base of slight sour and biter and muddle beetroot tastes.

Ninth infusion has this thick syrupy fruity taste that transitions into a long candy like taste.  The mouthfeeling here is slippery and the throat opens mid-way to a sweet candy faint coolness.  These infusions are super delicious with a grounded dense syrupy sweetness which transitions to a distinct candy on the breath.  The base tastes are non-existent here but the sweet tastes are thick and full.

10^th starts a touch bitter then syrupy dense and thick fruity cherry syrup sweetness which transitions slowly into a candy like sweetness.  The mouthfeel is sticky and slippery and reasonably full giving the sweet tastes a completeness.  The Qi continues to be heavy in the mind, slight euphoria.

11^th is much the same as the last handful infusions a super enjoyable thick dense syrupy fruity sweetness than transitions to candy and faint pungency in the throat.  Big head qi.  Slippery full mouthfeeling.

12^th has a velvety almost syrupy fruity cherry sweetness that trails into a candy like sweet aftertaste.  The repetition here indicates that there is a really stable streak of infusions with optimal taste.  The Qi continues to relax with mild euphoria.

13^th has that same dense strong syrup sweetness that turns to candy but in this infusion the candy taste is coming quicker and lasting longer.

14^th is much the same syrupy sweet dense deliciousness there is a touch more bitter in there now which overshadows the sweet candy finish.  I feel very relaxed just sitting here drinking tea and staring out the window.

15^th infusion is much the same. The tastes is so dense, and obvious, and unchanged infusion to infusion that this post is really sounding redundant.  The Qi is making me feel sleepy in this relaxing feeling.

16^th is much the same.  The syrupy sweetness is real delicious and thick but monotone deliciousness for sure.  The mouthfeel also remains stable after many infusions.  The Qi becomes very sleepy and tranquil feeling.

17^th is holding stable.  I’m totally impressed with how long and stable the taste and mouthfeel is here.  It tastes solid.

18^th, 19^th, 20^th the taste is stable and thick syrup fruity sweetness with suggestions of candy in aftertaste.  I’m totally impressed with the stamina of flavor for this one.

I run out of daytime to drink this and it is put into an overnight infusion…

Stamina of taste, thick unwavering juicy sweetness that converts to candy on the breath is impressive.  Movement of Qi in the mind throughout the session is also notable.  Its starts relaxing then moves to a touch of mild euphoria then to a sleepy feeling.

I ordered this Mu Shu Cha to see if I want to sample more extensively to look for the best option.  I really like Yunnan Sourcing’s Kunming dry storage and what it has done to this cake and will likely do to the Mu Shu Cha series.  I’m just not too sure if I really am in love with the general profile of the Mu Shu Cha…

I wonder if you have ever tried any Mu Shu Cha?  How did you like its profile?

Peace

2016 Yunnan Sourcing Bing Dao Lao Zhai … A Premium Offering…

This puerh goes for $298.00 for 400g cake or $0.75/g.  This was my 3^rd favorite sheng I sampled out of a handful of Yunnan Sourcing Brand samples I purchased a month ago…

Dry leaves smell of mild dry wood, faint sweet almost tropical and sugar.   The dry leaf odour is very generic sheng type of smell.  With a slight lingering wild floral nuance.

The first infusion has a nice candy like onset, some mineral, almost evergreen, a slipper mouthfeeling then an elegant entry into a long mild cool candy finish.  There is a mild stickiness on the lips and throat.  A long mild cooling candy taste is left in the mouth.

The second infusion has a mild astringent woody onset that is kind of a mix of dry wood, evergreen, pungency and sweetness but it is not overly deep.  This taste hits a mild-moderate cool pungency then a returning candy sweetness and mild almost tropical fruit sweetness glides under a woody almost mineral base.  The mouthfeel remains quite sticky and the throat has a mid-upper opening sensation.

The third infusion has a sticky onset of dry wood, mineral, and floral, it is not really sweet until the mild cool pungency hits then it rides that out into a candy, almost tropical and almost floral sweetness over a dry woody base.  There is a smooth elegance about the way these flavours present themselves.  None is overpowering or strong.  Still not much Qi coming out yet a bit of chest stuffiness, some mild lightness of the head.  There is a slight astringency around the edges that my empty stomach takes not of.

The fourth infusion starts with a mild almost juicy fruit taste mixed with mild bitter wood.  The juiciness is surprising and long and interfaces with woody, almost mineral and grassy notes.  There is a moderate coolness in the mouth then an almost faint candy and wildflower slight juicy fruit nuance to end.  The mouthfeel is sticky with lip drying effects.  There is a low lying astringency typical of Mengku area.

The fifth infusion starts with a quick burst of cooling fruity sweetness that is very satisfying and stretches across the profile.  This is some typical Bing Dao taste profile that is prized coming out in the 5^th infusion here.  The sweetness compounds as the pungency peaks and then rolls out like a wave in the distance.  Nice.  The mouthfeel is sticky and moderately full the throat opens to a mid-level deepness. The Qi is a relaxing thing.

The sixth infusion has a creamy sweet pungent onset which stretches throughout the profile.  There are faint suggestions of dry wood or even forest or dry grass underneath but mainly its this typical profile playing out.  I wouldn’t say the flavours are overly complex or strong but rather elegant. The astringency is mild underthe whole profile.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and almost puckering astringent.  The Qi is relaxing and I can feel the tops of my shoulders slightly heavy.

The seventh infusion starts with a quick bitter, floral sweet creamy, almost pungent taste.  It has an almost dry wood, almost slippery rock like taste that crests with a touch of pungency then the sweet fruit floral expands on the breath. 

The eighth is that fruity buttery floral sweet quick pungent mild bitterness that stretches into the aftertaste there are some mango taste and some other tropical nuances that extend in the aftertaste.  This is a real pure almost elegant puerh.  The mouthfeel is an almost sticky, velvet, barely astringent type of thing that is overall quite mild but somehow carries the flavor nicely.  The Qi is mild and relaxing.

The ninth infusion has the quick pop of deliciousness of juicy fruity mango, slight floral, nice coolness, the sweetness feels so grounded in the taste and balanced nicely with a sticky mouthfeeling.  The pungent quities don’t ever overtake the sweet taste but somehow give it depth and nuance.  The sweet aftertaste is nice and long.  This is a really classy tasting puerh with no negative or distracting flavours and results in a very satisfying long sweet taste that seems nuanced but not overly complex.  The Qi is a mild lingering in the mind relaxed type of Qi.  A harmoniously calming type of thing going on here.

The 10^th is a nice juicy pungent with an underlying coolness that gently supports a floral candy like mango sweetness.  The sweet pungent taste feels full and satisfying on a sticky mouthfeel and mid-deep opening throat.  The taste is reasonably long and slowly trails on the breath.  This has to be one of the better tasting puerh I have sampled over the last few years.  The taste is just really delicious and harmonious.

11^th has this pungent, sweet fruity mango, buttery clear sweet candy quick on the mouth taste that stretches out in the mouth and throat.  Qi is quite calming in nature the body feels a bit light.

12^th has a bit more dry woodiness up front detracting to the last 6 really pure and elegant infusions.  It is not as prominent as the pungent fruity candy sweet taste which still dominates the session.  The mouthfeel is cottony and fluffy in the mouth.

13^th is more dry wood and almost grainy tasting initially which is now stronger than the sweet high-noted pungency.  An interesting citrus taste appears minutes later.

The 14^th infusion is back to having that really delicious, creamy, buttery, pungent, juicy fruit bunched up note trailing throughout.  One thing of note is how stable this taste is across the session.  Maybe a bit monotonous but the monotony is glorious and yummy.  The Qi continues to be relaxing and clam.  Peachy mango tastes appear minutes later.  This taste evolves into a citrus taste.

The 15^th is a bit drier woody and astringent than juicy fruity.  There seems to be more of a candy like aftertaste when the woody astringency is more dominant.  The candy sweetness is long.  This puerh has a nice harmony to it.

16^th is more woody dryness astringency now which overtake the highnoted subtlety of the early infusions.

The 17^th has a more mellow fruitiness to it almost a melon taste in there now but mainly woody.  A faint buttery floral nuance and some faint candy on the breath.

I push the 18^th infusion for a minute a get a more bitter woodier but also fruitier infusion.  There is a stickiness that is left in the mouth.

I put this one into a day’s long infusion and am completely blown away but the result of vibrant creamy fruits, a dense explosion of tropical tastes layered on creamy tastes, slight vegetal and cooling underneath.  This is a real tasty puerh.

I don’t think I would have guessed this to be Bing Dao even though it has an obvious character from this area.  Very good tasting sheng puerh with a taste that is stable thoughout.  The session is not super powerful not outlandish Qi but a nice overall feel to it.  The taste profile has a delicious elegance to it. 

Who said Yunnan Sourcing was a budget vendor… ???... hahahah….

Peace

Highly Recommend This Bargain Bodyfeeler: 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Nan Po Zhai

I am writing up this post in haste in an attempt to get it out so readers can have a crack at getting this very good puerh at the lowest price possible…

It is in my opinion an extraordinary example of very clean single estate puerh with very powerful Qi sensation but particularly intense bodyfeel.  This type of bodyfeel and Qi sensation is rarely, if at all, found in a puerh with such a low price.  This 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Nan Po Zhai goes for $72.00 for 400g cake or $0.18/g.  Scott is going to raise the price of this one another 15% in his annual price increase in about a month and this weekend (5 day sale) there is a 10% off Yunnan Sourcing Raw puerh sale with the checkout code RAW10 .  Waiting till Black Friday isn't going to get you more of a deal on this one and as soon as the word gets out on this one it will be sold out even before the sale.  This is an extraordinary chance for beginner or veteran to get something with the profile and bodyfeel that is often sold for 4X this price from other vendors without even being as intense…

Let’s see why I hit this one hard with a hammer…

The dry leaves smell of very very intense minty pungency with a deep foresty sweetness.  It has an intense floral quality to it as well.  The dry leaf smell is the one you keep going back to the sample back to huff- very deep and aromatic.

The first infusion delivers a strong unnami and saline burst right off the bat.  I’m left distracted trying to think of a puerh that I’ve ever tried that was more savory…. There is a woody depth to this tea and strong minty pungent taste then long sweet with fresh cut floral smell.  The aftertaste is long and candy like.  The mouthfeeling is very quick thick and coating on the tongue and mouth.

The second infusion delivers more very salty and savory unnami.  The onset tastes like salted yarrow chips.  The mouthfeeling is very very thick and coating and the throatfeeling is deep.  This is a very strong autumnal production.  The Qi is starting to float the head and make me happy.  A long floral sweetness follows.  There is a calming and heavy body sensation that is immediately apparent.

The third infusion has an intense minty pungent and savory onset.  The mouthfeeling is really strong and intense with a deep throat feeling.  This is quite powerful.  There is some strong underlying bitterness on the tongue and astringency in the throat.  Long floral taste remains.  This puerh has a strong presentation of all 5 flavours: Salty, Sour, bitter, Bland, and Pungent tastes.  The most prominent being the Salty.  Very interesting and powerful puerh.  The body feeling is quite strong and I space out and float.

The four starts like a very dense salty saltine like sweetness with bitter and sour mixed in.  The sweet taste comes after a cool returning sweetness and brings a distinct taste of flowers and long candy on the breath.  The mouthfeel is very thick very strong and goes into the deepest to deep mid throat.  The head floats and the body has almost a shiver to it.

The fifth infusion starts with a very thick liquor of moderate to strong bitterness, strong intense saline and salty yarrow chips and layers of woods underneath.  The taste presentation is very dense and strong and thick.  The body feel is intense, with an unusual heaviness with arms floating and dangling.  The Qi pushes my mind far into a creatively opening spacy, very intense and wonderful.

The sixth infusion is smoother, almost finishes buttery and floral sweet.  The thick minty and salty saline tastes emerge first.  I let it sit a few minutes before drinking and it’s a bit less bitter.  The bitterness here is never off putting but is moderately strong.

The seventh is sweeter throughout again but it starts more bitter which stretches throughout the infusion the mouthfeel is strong and a long buttery aftertaste is found that turns to candy on the breath.  There is lots of nuance here.  My body is outside itself right now.  My mind is free and a bit spacy.  My breath slows and thoughts are clear.

The eighth infusion starts with layered taste of bitterness with salty and minty tastes underneath.  The long sweetness comes in like an undulating wave as the bitterness recedes.  My mind and body is overpowered by the Qi.

The ninth infusion starts with a dense soup of salty unnami thick taste of woods and some sweetnesses underneath a pungent mint and a sweet rolling floral sweetness.  Qi is very floating in the head and has a nice body floating sensation.  The mind is free and relaxed.

The 10^th starts with a thick sweeter woody briney onset.  It has a soup and broth like taste here.  The aftertaste is sweet with some florals.  There is a minty nuance in there as well throughout the infusion.

The 11^th has a thick onset.  A brothy and dense taste that is thicker in the broth than it is on the tongue now.  The tongue is slippery and almost sandy.  The floral nuance lingers on the breath.  Mind is super relaxed.

12^th this tea I mellowing out here.  It is quite sweet, buttery, floral tasting with a moderate-mild lingering bitter taste.  The taste has a juicy sweet feeling to it, it’s a touch brothy but the saltiness is much reduced now.  A lingering floral sweetness and mild coolness lingers.  In the body the Qi feels strangely at home and not aggressive but in the mind, mouth, tastebuds, and throat it’s a different story.

13^th has a bit more punchiness bitter initially but then a thick soupiness takes hold the taste evolves interestingly throughout the profile

The 14^th has an incredibly clear orchid aroma and taste to it after the slight sour and bitter move quickly into a long rolling sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and strong and the throat opens deeply.

The 15^th and 16^th deliver then soupy flavours of mainly sweet tastes, the thickness here is of note, the bitter is much less and there is more astringent and sour bitterness that moves quickly.  I am pretty spaced out…

Overall, this has some really powerful Qi sensations.  I don’t recall ever drinking a single estate puerh this cheap with such strong body sensations.  This puerh really punches above its weight in this department.  The taste is alright, a very nice taste actually a bit of a unique very savory taste mixed with some Mengku charms.  This one is all about the intensity of the bodyfeeling and overpowering effect on the mind.

Just yesterday, I started to doubt that my experience was this positive so I used up the rest of the sample which was about 2/5 less leaf than I normally use.  This session was very salty and savory tasting which is a very interesting taste profile- I don’t have in any puerh in my possession with this profile right now.  But the Qi was almost more intense than I remembered it- It really ran me over.  The power and strength of this puerh is such that I don’t even need to leaf it as much.  This is really a great bargain for those who love intense body sensations and mind exploding Qi.  This is the one.  I would even say it’s close to but not quite as intense as the 2018 Zheng Si Long Gedeng I purchased a few months ago at almost 4x the price.

Scott only pressed 99 cakes of this puerh, it is extremely limited but why hasn’t it long sold out if it’s as amazing as I’m making it out to be?

I think it lacks the “cool factor”.  It’s one of those crazy amazing puerh that is just sitting unnoticed because..

1-      It’s autumn production.  I used to also snub autumnal puerh so I don’t blame those who do this but, to be honest, you are overlooking some puerh that may be much better than spring productions.  This one doesn’t have that vacuous taste profile which plague a lot of autumnal pureh.  Tasted blind, I doubt even a highly educated pallet could identify this one as Autumn.

2-      It’s not from Southern Xishuangbanna.  If its not from Southern pureh producing regions then it won’t age well or is in some way inferior.  I also can’t blame people for this one either because I also favor the South.  But readers know I also love Menku area puerh and am pretty familiar with its awesomeness.

3-      Its not from a famous puerh producing region.  Where is Nan Po Zhai???  I’ve actually never heard of this region before until reading about it on the Yunnan Souring site.  Why?  Because its actually the closest region to the 3^rd most famous puerh producing region, Bing Dao.  Scott explains in the video tasting of this one that it almost always gets falsely sold as Bing Dao and no one really markets this stuff as Nan Po Zhai… but that’s great news because Bing Dao is famous…

4-      Scott listing the KG of his productions rather than number of cakes pressed.  The average person doesn’t probably do the calculation to see how many cakes are produced from the KG of raw material that Scott usually lists.  I noticed that the 2019 productions now list how many cakes are produced which will clue some people in to how limited some of Yunnan Sourcing productions really are.

5-      Wrapper.  Ok this wrapper is pretty cool but not as cool as most of his other ripe or spring 2018 Lucy themed wrappers.  In in the end if the wrapper isn’t cool and I can’t personally identify with the branding… then how could the puerh possibly be any good?

6-      Scott presses way too much.  I honestly should not be complaining about this but really I think it is a wonderful thing.  But the average person just simply can’t navigate and sample that many productions in a year.  Easy for some to fall through the cracks especially considering the above.  I emailed Scott specifically to recommend me a very specific qualities of puerh irregardless of price or region and he supplied me a crazy long list of recommendations. I personally narrowed them down then sampled a bunch this one really stunned me (lots more reviews to come).

7-      Anti- Yunnan Sourcing bias.  There is something that some people find not cool about Yunnan Sourcing.  IF you don’t identify with the branding you are restricting yourself for superficial reasons and will miss out.

8-      Unusual taste profile.  This puerh has a really unusual taste profile that has to be one of the most savory puerh I have sampled before.  It almost tastes artificially salted at times.  I think this unique taste profile as well as the heavy Qi could be overlooked in some people who are putting more weight into the taste of the puerh rather than the feel of it.

In the end, I purchased more of this than any other single estate production I have ever bought- over a tong of this stuff.  After sampling this I watched the You Tube video of Scott drinking this puerh and he claimed that he had not tired it since pressing it.  In that video he honestly seems a bit stunned as well at the power of this one.  If this one stunned Scott and me, I can almost guarantee it will stun you too.

Peace

2010 Rong Dong Da Bang Bing & How Close is Close?

This complimentary sample came from KL Wong of Teapals in an order I placed a few months back.  Mr. Wong tells me that Bang Bing is a mere 15 KM from the famous Bing Dao.   I know 15 Km sounds pretty close in proximity but if you have actually been to the tea mountains and understand a bit about terroir, it is really quite far.  There are lots of these puerh areas that are near more famous areas that try to ride off their popularity.  In a way this is harmless, but it is equally deceptive because most of these areas even ones only a few KM away have such different profiles.

KL also informs me that this cake is now sold out.  So I report here only for the purpose of recording my experience from a cake from Bang Bing, an area that I’ve only tired blended into Shuangjiang Mengku cakes  in the past… please sit down and join me at the tea table, pals…

The dry leaves smell of very clear high noted sugar notes, crisp wood and distant dry grasses.  The sweetness is pretty strong.

The first infusion starts off with vegetal tastes which are barely sweet and bitter.

The second infusion starts with a slightly bitter edge which has layers of vegetal tastes underneath.  The bitterness is notable and long as it recedes in the aftertaste a malty sweetness is paired with bitter.

The third infusion starts with a buttery sweetness then turns quickly to bitter there is a pop of fruit before a cooling wave heralds in malty sweet tones.  The tea liquor feels reasonably thick there is a bitterness found throughout.

The fourth infusion starts with a buttery malty sweetness with bitter underneath a soft cooling wave comes in and reveals interesting mix florals and fruits, creamy sweetness, the aftertaste is reasonably long here.  This infusions taste is very nicely balanced and quite delicious.  The mouth feeling is soft and sticky the throat is mildly stimulated.  The Qi sharpens the mind and concentration.  The body feels loose in the lower body and knees.

The fifth infusion is much the same as the fourth with a mainly sweet profile of malty, vegetal, bitter then after the distant coolness creamy sweetness, tropical fruit, malty sweetness and underlying bitterness over a soft sticky mouthfeeling.  This is a real nice fairly dry stored sweetness.

The sixth infusion tastes even sweeter with more of a sweet entry initially, a beautiful buttery thick sweetness which stays throughout.  There are some tropical fruits and creamy sweetnesses that appear in the long sweet aftertaste.  The bitterness has significantly reduced but is still underneath giving this tea much depth.  The saliva in the mouth pools a traps in the aftertastes even minutes later.

The seventh infusion has a light, juicy fruit mixed with malty sweet depth onset.  The liquid feels less thick in the mouth in this infusion but still stimulates the throat nicely.  The mouthfeel is grittier now.

The eighth infusion is thick, malty sweet, mild cooling and long sweetnesses throughout the profile.  There is a creaminess thoughout, some vegetalness.  The sweet aftertaste is trapped in the throat.  9^th infusion is the same, but more pronounced sweetness.  This is a very nice experience, I’m having here.

10^th is creamy sweet malty, it turns talc and slightly floral before transitioning into long sweet tastes.  The mouthfeel is really nice here, velvety coating.  The 11^th has a pronounced pungency to it.  The taste is sweet throughout with just edges of astringency and bitter barely presenting now.  The sweetness is very apparent and very nice.  The layers of sweetness is enjoyable.

12^th has a bit of a thinner profile now but has a long butterschotch sweetness throughout, a touch of coolness, nice tongue coating.  The 13^th becomes a bit sandy in feeling and less substantial.  Just flash steeping it still.

The clock of the day runs out on my session so I put this guy into an overnight session and awake the next day to some major deliciousness- thick and sweet and still very nuanced and interesting…

Great tea, very sweet, layered sweet, saliva pushing flavor up throat action, lots of depth, pure, clean, nice dry storage, good concentration enhancing Qi, too bad its gone….

I noticed that KL Wong has recently added a few different puerh to his website.  From what I’ve tried, he’s worth paying attention to…

Peace

The Best of the Cheapest: 2018 white2tea Splendid

I managed to get a sample of this on a recent re-order at white2tea.  I would usually get a full cake to sample from but the descriptions I read about this tea so far it sounds a lot like Mengku plantation- too similar to many other drinkers I have.  This 2018 white2tea Splendid goes for $28.00for a 200g bing or $0.14/g.  This one is CwynN from Death By Tea’s top pick for cheapest fresh sheng puerh.  She came out with this review early and this tea has been popular ever since.  In her post she said that you really have to compare budget teas to each other to know which is better.  This is, in fact, the exercise that I have been participating in here in the quest for the Best of the Cheapest fresh young sheng…

When the dry leaf odour hits you from opening the sample bag, you can be sure that this is a strong and vibrant puerh.  The smells have a certain intensity to them a strong citrus and apricot/ peach, sour type of high fruity note, with a zesty, almost piercing odour.  Impressive.

The first infusion has a muted wood with soft lingering vegetal note in a mainly watery body.  The mouthfeel is slightly sticky.  A few minutes after swallowing there is a long faint Asian pear taste on the breath.  This first infusion is surprisingly soft.

The second infusion starts with very soft fruits of pear in wood the dry wood taste is the more dominant of the two.  The mouthfeel is slightly drying.  There is faint fruits in the aftertaste.

The third infusion starts off a bit woody and slight pear sweetness.  There is a bit of vegetalness in there as well.  There is a slight rubbery/vegetal almost fruity orange finish with almost no cooling returning throat action.  The profile of this tea is quite simple and thin with not too much going on as far as flavor goes.  It has a nice faint but long muted peach flavor linger for 30 seconds or so.  The Qi is slightly alerting and has a mild forehead heaviness feeling almost dizzying feeling.  You can feel it in the stomach, it’s a touch young puerh feeling raw here- normal stuff for such fresh puerh.

The fourth infusion has a more peach and pear mellow almost diverging into a raison like taste.  Things pick up in this infusion (ie the binghole sample is finally decompressing).  The almost syrupy sweetness is thicker throughout.  A peach taste is present throughout the entire profile with longer, lingering aftertaste.  The qi has a more dizzying effect on me, like a lightheadedness and looseness in the neck.  The mouthfeel is slightly drying with sticky lips and slight squeaky teeth.

The fifth infusion infusion starts with weighty peach like notes over dry wood.  There is a syrupy nectar sweetness to this tea that sticks around long in the mouth.  The mouthfeel here is real nice balance of sticky, astringent, and slightly drying.  The profile here doesn’t have that much complexity or movement but is long and rich, held with a nice mouthfeeling.  I specifically like a mid-throat opening taste minutes later where deep peachy notes reside.  The long sweet flavor is quite enjoyable here.

The sixth infusion has a slightly punchier fruit almost floral taste of slight tropical and mainly apricot and peach flavours.  There is a vegetable note of celery and carrot in there underneath too in this infusion over a dry wood base and slight vegetal taste.  The mouth is nicely stimulated and is becoming more astringent here.  This pureh feels nice and clean in my body and its qi is significant- backlogging in my head and making it feel light and even dizzy.

The seventh infusion starts with a clean fruity taste of tropical fruits and syrupy sweetness which dominate the profile the dry woody suggestion shows up before the returning sweetness.  The astringency in the mouth builds and becomes almost dry in the mouth and throat pushing saliva into the cheeks.  The qi is building up and noticeably strong my head is floating for sure.  I am spacy.

The eighth infusion has more of a toasted grain taste initially with the sweetness mainly a grain taste.  The fruits are background here behind the dry wood even.  The mouthfeel is significantly astringent causing lips to pucker and get real sticky and almost dry.

The ninth infusion gives off a dry woody flavor with lots of the fruit notes gone and lingering in the aftertaste faintly now.

The tenth the peachy woody notes are in some kind of balance.  There is a suggestion of cool sweetness then a long faint sweet syrupy fruit suggestion.  Qi continues to be something nice and enjoyable here.

11^th is more fruity and woody but much thinner.  It has a nice long fruity profile in a drier and astringent mouthfeeling.

12^th I steep 10seconds more than flash and it delivers a creamy sweet broth with decent thickness still and long syrupy tastes.  13^th is much the same with long drawn out sweet syrupy tastes.  The cool throat and returning sweetness is longer in these later infusions as this puerh is still managing to change.  14^th is back to a flash but is a bit thin and woody but still long sweet cascading tastes and nice mouth stimulation.  Long cool throat now with long sweet deeper tastes.

15^th I leave for 40 seconds and get a nice toasted grain and richer result more of toasted grain sweetness than fruit.  More strong mouth stimulation less coolness and sweetness returning.  Still, a pretty engaging tea at this point with its dual layered syrupy sweetness and brown sugar sweetness.  I love the throat and mouthfeeling on this cheap option.  But the young fresh qi and astringency is too harsh on the Stomach in these late infusions.  So I decide to stop but could keep going this tea also seems to have some decent stamina.

Overall, this tea’s flavor doesn’t change too much throughout the session but what is there is easy to enjoy.  I would say that flavor is not as interesting as the mouthfeeling and throatfeeling and resulting long sweet aftertaste and strong Qi.  I value more of the later, so I quite like this tea.

An interesting thing about this puerh is that it is not super green processed as per colour and feeling, this is the new processing trend for young puerh.  I would completely guess that Splendid underwent a longer processing which helps curb the astringent young puerh energy from overly afflicting the Stomach.  This type of processing tends to give it more warmth making it easier to drink while young which, according to the description, this is when this puerh is meant to be consumed.  However, I think it has enough in it, specifically the astringency, to be also aged with good results in dry storage.

So, how does 2018 white2tea Splendid ($0.14/g) do when compared to 2018 white2tea Snoozefest ($0.08/g)?

The strengths that both of these young sheng share is a solid mouthfeel.  After this these teas are pretty different.  The Snoozefest has a bit more variation throughout the session, more intense and varied highnotes, and a much more enjoyable taste at the end of the session, if not a bit monotone.  Splendid has more vitality and vibrant Spring energy which the Autumn Snoozefest lacks.  Splendid has way more Qi, and it does some different things in the body and mind, not just the same sensation on repeat- the Snoozefest lacked qi for sure.  Splendid had much more depth to its profile in taste, mouthfeeling, and qi as well as movement through the initial taste to the aftertaste- this movement was reasonably long and complex for a tea of this price.

The description of Snoozefest states that is a tea thatwould normally be priced over $40.00 ($0.20/g) but is priced for $15.00 ($0.09/g).  Splendid goes for $28.00 ($0.14/g) but to me is a far better tea than Snoozefest in many different areas.  Especially the areas that matter to me like Qi sensation and overall strength and vitality.  I don’t really know what this means but, it’s my own value assessment of them.  I would easily take someone up on an offer to trade tong for tong for my sold out Snoozefest.  That tells me that either the Snoozefest isn’t actually worth $40.00 or that Splendid is actually worth more than it sells for.  I suspect the later. Thanks Paul for offering both of these decent cheaper options.

Comparing Splendid ($0.14/g) to 2018 the Essence of Tea Bamboo Spring ($0.16/g), they are again both very different sheng puerh.  The Bamboo Spring is more elegant, green, ethereal, and pure with candy like taste.  Splendid has complexity and strength with a richer taste and feeling.  I feel that Splendid would be better for aging and has more layers and depth to it but maybe if I was just buying to drink now or was concerned about purity (Splendid felt just as clean as Bamboo Spring though), I would still go with Bamboo Spring.  Overall, Splendid is a much better puerh.

So far, I agree with Cwyn N’s assessment that 2018 white2tea Splendid is the Best of the Cheapest.  But I have some very nice options that are even cheaper ahead to post that could easily unseat the champ.

Peace

2013 Shuangjiang Mengku “Yi Pin Quan” 1 KG & Good Mengku vs Bad Mengku

I purchased this sample along with this tong of 2008 ShuangjiangMenku Arbour King  from Yunnan Sourcing about a year and a half ago.  I took a few other Shuangjiang Mengku samples along for the ride on the order as well.  I ended up purchasing a quite a bit of Shuangjiang Mengku while it was quite cheap at this time.  Without a desire to purchase more, I didn’t try this one which now goes for $210.00 for 1KG cake ($0.21/g)… a big one!

Dry leaves smell of mushrooms, honey, distant floral, slight pungent odour, sweet overall.

First infusion has a soft peachy and honey approach with soft wood underneath there is a soft cooling returning sweetness with pungency.  The mouthfeel is soft but tingling on the lips.

The second infusion has a nice soft honey approach with suggestions of peach and even butter scotch underneath.  There is a nice long pungency and a soft sticky tingling mouthfeel feeling especially on the lips.  The menthol aftertaste reaches deeper into the throat along with sweet butterscotch and suggestions of peach.  The mouthfeel is quite nice.  I can start to feel the qi softly in the head and warming on the cheeks.  The odour from the leaves are an interesting grainy aroma.

The third infusion has a licorice and wood taste along with butterscotch sweetness.  The initial taste has mild astringency and a touch of bitterness.  There is a leathery note in the aftertaste that overtakes the long cooling sensation.  I was getting real excited about this puerh until I hit this steeping.

The fourth infusion is more of this woody/ leathery taste which dominates now.  There are hints of peach in the returning aftertaste along with menthol and butterscotch.  The bitterness and astringency is enough to beat at the digestion a sign that this one still needs a bit of aging left to be enjoyed.  The Qi of this tea is of that very strong/ almost jittery factory style.  It is nicely warming in the body and makes the head feel wobbly and light but the mind is like a chattering monkey.

The fifth is this licorice/ leathery barely sweet, somewhat medicinal with edges of sweet malt, grain, licorice, almost floral, butterscotch.  The bitter astringency and licorice/ leather dominate.  These notes are a sign of much less exciting Mengku material.  That common leathery and licorice profile is what I consider less desirable Menkgu.  The high notes of butterscotch and almost floral sweetness and vibrant expanding tastes are more desirable Mengku qualities.  This tea seems to have more of the former.

The sixth infusion is much the same tastes.  The mouthfeel is now an almost dry and slightly grainy texture along with tingling lips sensation.  It is moving more toward dry and slightly sandy with each resulting infusion.

The seventh infusion is a bitter more creamy and sweet throughout less bitter woods and leathers more long butterscotch and menthol in the returning sweetness.

The eighth is kind of a balance of the leather/ woody astringency and the creamier sweeter butterscotch slightly sour with a sandy mouthfeeling astringent returning tastes.

The ninth again a balance of sweetness, leathery/wood even grainy wheat, with a butterscotch flavoring and longer menthol.  These last infusions are balanced and taste nice.

The tenth and eleventh infusion is a mild leather, wood, grains, and sweet buttery flavor and has a cool finish with a butterscotch finish.  The Qi is a big caffeinated factory qi experience.

The twelfth infusion turned out pretty sweet with a dominating soft buttery sweetness.

The thirteenth infusion was a bit more leathery and woody but sweet tastes still are the most dominant here.  The fourteenth takes a more bitter/ astringent turn but is still mildly buttery and sweet. The mouthfeel in these late infusions is a bit buttery.

15^th is a more grainy sweetness the 16^th is much the same under longer infusions with still a long cooling taste and slightly sweet bitterness.  This tea lasts much longer than I would expect.  It probably could keep going…

This tea has good stamina and is complex enough and has that strong robust Qi I often enjoy.  You can taste some Bang Dong or similar quality material in there but has too much of that common/ lower quality/ unexciting Mengku tastes especially in mid-profile.  This is not a bad tea for the price but neither is it a good tea.  Personally, I really dislike that common licorice/ leather low note in puerh teas.  There is definitely better Shuangjiang Mengku other there for a low enough price.

A few days later I decided to finish the remainder of the sample using less leaf and got a pretty soild drinking tea over the course of a day.  The sweetness is really pronounced and the qi is factory strong.  I enjoy this tea on some level, it has enough in it to be enjoyed for the price.  I just think I can find better…

Peace

2017 Yunnan Sourcing Blinded Puerh Tasting Event Alpha & Beta

This is classic, old-style, puerh blogger fun and games!  It was a bit of a puerh blogging tradition back in the day to sample the latest Yunnan Sourcing brand puerh blinded and see how poorly you could guess the tea producing area.  This sport was usually orchestrated by good ol’ Hobbes of the Half-Dipper (see here, here and here).  These events always kept me sampling teas from different areas at times in my life when I would have not otherwise sought that out.  So I am grateful that Hobbes and Scott had taken the time and consideration in organizing these events in the past.  On my return back to puerh tea I was back and forth with Scott of Yunnan Sourcing about reviving this tradition and he loved the idea.  So here we are (Thanks again Scott)…

As per tradition and as a homage to the old Half-Dipper/ Yunnan Sourcing Events of years past, the samples were labeled only with Greek letters (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta).  They were sent to many of the current puerh bloggers who agreed to have a little fun with this (as well as myself).

I can only surmise that my ability to guess such areas has likely decreased substantially since my long absence from the puerh scene.  Back in the day Yunnan Sourcing was producing tea from a lot of the classic/ popular areas mainly in Xishuangbanna and they were producing much less tea.  That first Yunnan Sourcing Tasting Event there were only 9 teas produced by them to guess from, in 2017 last I counted there was 34!  At that time, I would say my guesses were a touch below 50% - not bad at all!

I have no experience with any of Yunnan Sourcing brand puerh from 2017 or even the last number of years and a lot of the puerh we might be sampling will likely be from areas I have not even tried.  However I will put it all out there for you readers and fellow bloggers and guess my best. Hahaha..  Although I was supplied enough dry leaves for two sessions per sample in my small pot I have based the notes below on a single sampling.  I look forward to sampling them again after reading all the other tasting notes and seeing how my experience with them will change with this knowledge.

Now that I have adequately lowered expectations and nicely self-handicapped myself lets dive right into the Alpha sample… hahahaa….

 Alpha

The dry leaves smell of very spicy pungent and dominating mushroom fungus funky odours and more distant sour/sweet notes.  This immediately smells like an interesting puerh or it is a blend???

The first infusion emits a very spicy pungent sweet initial taste and slowly develops into a watery mushroom profile in a light mouthfeel.  There is a soft returning sweetness of sweet, barely cotton candy taste and slight grassiness.  The mouthfeel is very light and the throatfeel even lighter.

The second infusion starts with a more bitter-sweet pungent taste followed by bitterness and that base mushroom taste.  There is a more grittiness to the taste.  The aftertaste displays signs of vegetal tastes, hay, mushrooms, and pungent tastes.  There is not as much sweetness here.  The mouthfeel becomes a soft graininess in the mouth.  Minutes later there is a sweet-pungent turbid like taste in the throat.

The third infusion starts with a slightly creamy-flat-gritty bitter-sweetness.  There is a pronounced vegetal taste initially followed by hay and mushroom tastes.  A mild cotton candy like sweetness expands in the throat and evolves slowly into a turbid vegetal taste.

The fourth starts with a grainy, hay, vegetal like sweetness with just edges of cream.  It carries the base taste of mushrooms and hay into the aftertaste which has a nice opening cotton candy sweetness.  All this happens on a mild grainy mouthfeel and throatfeel which is grainy at the top throat and slightly opening at the mid throat.  The effect pushes some saliva into the mid throat- holding a turbid slight sweet vegetal mushroom taste there minutes later.  The qi of this tea is very alerting and invigorating on the mind but very mild on the body.

The fifth has a melon initial taste now that develops into a slight pungent mint sweetness.  The base taste is slight mushroom vegetal taste.  The aftertaste has a turbid vegetalness to it.

The sixth has a slight bitter-sweet taste over grains and hay.  The granary hay taste joins mushroom in the base taste.  The aftertaste becomes bitter as well as still slightly sweet.  There is a gumminess in the mouth afterwards.  The seventh tastes much the same as the sixth.  There is lots of layers of flavors to this tea.

The eighth infusion starts slightly bitter-sour vegetal taste and to sweet.  It moves to sweet bursts and then to mushroom hay tastes. In this infusion the sweet nicely pops transitioning from bitter to sweet then opening up to the base tastes.  The mouthfeel of this tea is mild and grainy but full.

The ninth starts to flatten out a bit in the initial taste but still retains much flavor throughout the profile.

The tenth starts to hollow out under flash steepings.  With melon watery tastes over faint sweetness mushroom, and hay.

The eleventh and twelvth is much the same starting with a watery sour sweet vegetal taste with mild hay and subtle returning sweetness.  The mouthfeel is slightly sandy and mild.  The qi of this tea is nice and gives a partially euphoric type feeling in a whole lot of alertness.

I let this one overnight steep after leaving it sit for a few days in the pot and I am left with a sour almost briney taste sweet woods.

Out of all the samples in this even this one was the hardest for me to determine. When I was actually drinking it I was leaning to either Simao or possibly Yiwu in my thoughts.  I also tasted some Mengku notes in there as well.  I’m guessing its Simao maybe this  2017 Yunnan Souring Brand Da Qing Gu Shu.

Beta

Larger, loosely compressed leaf and bud dry leaves smell of nicely sweet rose florals.  The odours are juicy and light, slightly fruity.

The first infusion is light and watery and has hints of barely sweet icing sugar that transform into a slight barely noticeable vanilla and vacuous barely noted sweetness.

The second infusion starts off a touch sour and creamy.  It carries a barely creamy fluffy sweetness.  It has a slightly tart and puckery drying taste and mouth feeling.  The astringency opens the mid throat up to faint sweet/ creamy note in distant forest/wood notes.  Overall this tea starts off very light in taste with a more stimulating mouth and throat feel.

Third starts with a slightly creamy sweetness.  The sourness is less now but still noticeable.  The taste profile is short and relatively simple.  It ends with a mildly astringent throat feel, faint florals and sugary sweetness.  There is a slight dry wood taste starting to emerge.

The fourth opens with brisk, short initial tastes of sour sweetness.  A dry wood base taste is emerging and gets stronger with sour wood tastes in the aftertaste along with slight florals.  The mouthfeel is moderately drying and astringent.  Overall the taste profile is short and simple with this tea in a fairly simulating throat and mouthfeel.

The fifth has an almost grapefruit like sour sweetness as well as a creamy sweetness that makes its way past the dry wood taste to the aftertaste.  In the aftertaste the creamy sweetness expands in the slightly astringent throatfeel.  The qi of this tea is relaxing and makes the head feel stuffy and expansive, like a pressure or build up there.  It also makes the arms feel light and airy.

The sixth is smoother in taste with less sour and more muted creamy sweetness up front.  There are faint notes of vanilla and barely notes of florals in this clean tasting infusion.  The mouth and throat feel are nice as they are moderately astringent but never choking or restricting.  The qi sensation in the head starts to build into a very qi stoned, floating feeling.

My guess is Lincang puerh likely Mengku, it tastes almost in some ways like the famous Bingdao area and definitely old arbour.  My guess is this 2017 Yunnan Sourcing BrandHe Bian Zhai.

The seventh infusion is very nice and smooth with clear sweet creamy, not really floral tastes over very light woody notes.  This tea is very clean, very tight, simple in taste, complex in qi, nice in mouth/throat feeling.  The sweetness has an icing sugar taste.  There are no turbid or vegetal or forstesy tastes in this tea just a very pure tasting, short profile.  The qi is very very euphoric.

The eighth infusion becomes more creamy, cohesive, and tastes much more sweet.  This tea is just starting to shine with pure, sweet, surgary tastes.  The sweet taste lingers in the throat.

The ninth infusion presents with creamy sweetness again.  There are almost fruit notes in there now.  The sweetness softly swells in the mouth and lingers in the aftertaste.

The tenth infusion I start adding 10 seconds to the flash infusions and it results in a touch stronger but not that different taste profile.  If anything the mouthfeel becomes fuller with a touch longer infusion time here giving it a similar but more full taste.

The eleventh infusion I add 5 more seconds to the flash infusion (15 seconds more) and the result is a faint mango taste as well as a gummy wood taste dominates the soft profile of this tea.

The twelfth infusion I drop back down to 10 seconds to see I there is still any of the lighter tastes left.  I am greeted with light sweet mango fruit tastes with develop into a rubbery wood taste in the aftertaste.

The thirteenth infusion is much the same but has a pronounced sugary aftertaste amongst the rubbery wood tastes.

Fourteenth is considerably lighter at a 10 second steeping.  The fifteenth has an enjoyable fruit hue to it over the sugary sweetness and clean profile.  There is a slight rubbery after taste here.

This tea has some nice stamina to it as well.  This is mainly due to the lack of bitter or over astringent flavours which allows this one to be pushed to the end.

An overnight steeping pulls out more sweet, clear, clean suragy notes… nice.

I have avoided reading/ watching these other blogger reviews of this tasting even to remove bias from my tastings.  After posting I am going to read these:

James and Denny’s (TeaDB) Tasting Notes of Alpha and Beta

Marco’s (Late Steeps) Tasting Notes of all the teas in the event

Cwyn's (Death By Tea) Tasting Notes of all the teas in the event

Peace

Answers:

2017 Yunnan Sourcing "Mu Shu Cha" Ancient Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake  <--- font="" lpha="">

2017 Yunnan Sourcing "He Tao Di Village" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake  <--- eta="" font="">