Ranking of Xiaguan 2001s: 2001 Xiaguan Green Mark King Bing

I was relieved that Teas We Like offered this one in a Quarter cake because I really wanted to sample this one but yet couldn’t fully commit to a full $450 g Qing bing.  That’s right- this 2001 Xiaguan Green Mark King Bing is a big 450g cake that goes for$1.00 g!  The description of this cake describes it has the same commissionaire as the 2001 Green Sun cake that I quite enjoyed!  At the end of the notes I will rank all 2001 Xiaguan productions which I sampled over the last year or so…

Dry leaves smell of peat and subtle incense and dry grass.  I go right into flash steepings after a 10 second rinse.

First infusion has woody peat onset with a watery feeling and dry grass sweetness.  Has a bit of tongue tight tingling.  Slight pond-marshland storage taste.  Still too tight in the pot…

Second infusion has a smoky fruity woody onset with a vibrant oily sweet fruity glimpse.  Nice vibrant oily smoky and slight sweet fruit taste.  Tingling mouthfeeling especially on the tongue.  Subtle marshy peat storage taste.

Third infusion has a sweet peat woody grassy onset with a resin incense body to it.  Overall the taste is sweet but it’s hard for me to explain the sweetness- not quite fruity, not really pastry, more like a sweet grass taste.  The mouthfeeling is oily with a mild tingling sandy feeling on the tongue.  Nice relaxing focusing feeling Qi. 

4^th has a caramel sweet onset with an oily woody resin like taste.  The sweetness returns on a long faint cool throaty breath.  There is this resin woody oily almost fruity taste.  The sweetness dominates but not overly so with a balance of resin-woody, and incense.  The mouthfeeling is really nice with a tingling numb tongue feeling with a subtle gritty sandy mouthfeeling with a very faint going into the throat happening.  There are some relaxing sighs and spacy focusing feelings.  Face and shoulder feel floating.

5^th has a fruity tingling sweet pop with resin incense to follow.  The texture is both a bit oily with the contrast of a tingling tongue feeling.  The cooled cup is more caramel resin incense taste.  There is definitely smoke in there.  The Qi is a relaxing wavy bodyfeeling like I’m in a boat bobbing back and forth.  The cooled down cup of tea is a smoke and caramel taste with an oily body and some resin and incense in the finish.  Nice rocking bodyfeeling and spacy focusing.  Minutes later there is an interesting taffy taste in the distance.

6^th has a resin sweet woody oily taste with a smoke incense finish.  The tingling feeling on the tongue and oily texture is an interesting contrast as is the oily sweet onset and smoky incense finish.  There is a sweet subtle returning that is a bit like taffy and a bit fruity- it lingers minutes later.  Nice Face and shoulder have a numbing floating feeling. 

7^th infusion has an oily resin sweetness with a smoke incense resin mid-profile with a faint breath cooling that is hard to feel but brings out nice taffy sweet taste.  Nice relaxing feeling.  Nice taffy taste minutes later in the mouth which is really tasty and pretty unique.  Face and shoulder Qi feeling.

8^th the liquid is left to cool and then it gives off a caramel with a candy taffy finish.  This candy finish is a nice dry stored feature that is really sought after.  Nice face and shoulder floating Qi with a relaxed feeling.

9^th has a bland woody with a fruity edge less smoke and resin here.  The mouthfeeling is really good with a tingling tongue.  Long taffy sweet finish in the mouth.  Nice relaxing focusing feeling.  Shoulder and face bodyfeelng of floating.

10^th has a resin smoke and subtle emerging sweet taste.  The texture is an oily but a bit rough and dry smoke underneath.  Nice relaxing feeling with face and shoulder sensations.  It’s thinning out a bit here.

11^th has a smooth sweet onset with a thin woody almost smoke mid-profile.  Somewhat oily onset with edges of fruit sweetness and a dry gritty tongue and mouthfeeling that makes the mouth pucker.  Nice focusing energy- shoulder come up and face feels heavy.

12^th has a woody sweet onset with a smoke mid-profile and some faint returning candy like sweetness in the distance.  Nice numb tongue and faint candy but also gripping and puckering strong mouth and upper-mid-throat feeling. 

13^th has a woody smoke taste upfront with some cooling breath and sweetness that tries to come through.  A bit rough in smoke and dry and puckering mouthfeeling.

I mug steep out the rest and get a nice rich resin smoke taste with any sweetness left.  The mouthfeeling is a bit harsh dry pucker.  It almost reminds me of watered down coffee and has a nice soothing Qi feeling now with face and shoulder Qi sensations.

Longer mug steepings have a medical bitter woody taste there is a bit of sweetness underneath but the bitter-astringency is just so overwhelming here and with the smoke taste doesn’t come off too enjoyable.

The overnight infusion of spent leaves gives off a very deep sweet plum taste with a deep mysterious fruity taste and not much else.  This gives you an idea of how durable these leaves are.  There is almost like a black berry and coco taste to it.  Its very rich and sweet and deep.  Nice rich sweet taste here almost brown sugar at times as well.  This one will continue to age well…

Overall, this is a nice oily sweet resinous tea with a nice smoke and amazing tingling tongue mouthfeeling.  The Qi is really nice too with great bodyfeeling in the shoulders and face and a nice relaxing Qi.  As the session progresses the harsher smoke and dry astringency shows itself which suggests it’s not quite ready to drink to full enjoy.

Ranking of 2001 Xiaguan and Xiaguan-like productions

1-      2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yin- ($1.00/g) (wet leaves pictured above) This one spent its life in Houde’s epic Huston storage.  I had this one before drinking the strong 2001 Green mark and it is significantly better in my mind mainly because it is strong but not harsh where the Green mark is a bit rough and harsh.  This one is just crazy insane powerful!  Much stronger that the Green Mark.  It has an insane strong alerting and really overwhelming energy to it, as well as a strong bitterness but not any astringency really.  I use only ¼ to ½ of the dry leaves I normally use and its still insanely strong.  Love it.  Easily drank through my sample.  I passed on a cake a few years ago but obviously would have been pretty happy with one.

2-      2001 Iron Zhongcha- ($1.00/g) This one is the outlier of the group, its storage is also a nice drier Malaysian giving it a much richer aged feel.  Material seems better than the rest.  It is basically an oily tasty lubricating cherry fruity puerh with satisfying well aged taste and it’s something I could easily drink through really fast!  Nice relaxing Qi with a heavy chest bodyfeeling.

3-      2001 Xiaguan 8653 Iron cake- ($0.79)  This one was purchased from Teas We Like and has Taiwanese storage on it which leaves it both powerful and a bit harsh but also complex dense and a bit aged.  The result is stunning and the old factory puerh nerd in my lost my shit over this storage in a completely blind tasting here.  I ended up picking up two cakes when it was available.  Probably not truly as good as this Green mark but as far as just a really good and satisfying example of the classic 8653 Iron- it is better.

4-      2001 Xiaguan Green Mark King Bing- ($1.00/g)- maybe the roughest of the bunch.  Storage similar to the 8653 above.  Not as powerful as the Huang Yin.  Has the best bodyfeeling of the bunch with its floating face, shoulders, body levitation.  Could easily be at the top of the list for some other people.

 

All pretty amazing 21 year aged Xiaguan productions!  I had a really awesome experience with tasting these!  Thanks to Teas We Like for curating these!

 

Peace

2001 Xiaguan Jingua Tuocha Shu

Stephane of Teamsters sent a 2001 Xiaguan Jingua Toucha Shu freesample a few years ago.  Usually this 450g melon goes for $210.00 or $0.47/g.  As a part of my 2001 Xiaguan study and to compare to the “1960s Loose Leaf” and because it was damn cold this day and to warm me up…. I decided to crack this sample of a very classic traditional style of Shu.  It turns out I know very little about what is going on with Shu puerh these days but I know a good classic shu when I come across one and this was pretty satisfying… thanks in advance Stephane!

Dry leaves smell still of fermentation storage like smells like pretty drier stored shu.

First infusion smells of dank mushroomy old factory shu to me…. And tastes milky, watery mushroom, woody taste, with some faint coolness and empty mouth sweet taste left behind.

Second infusion has a deep chocolate onset that has rich milky layers, a hazelnut taste along with chocolate gives a Nutella like taste over an oily mouthfeeling.  Rich and chocolate nutty tastes. 

Third infusion has thick rich oily chocolate nutty hazelnut taste it has some woody mushroom taste underneath but mainly this thick oily chocolate hazelnutty taste.  Nice mild calming mind and relaxing sighs.  Nice deeply spacy relaxing feeling.

The 4^th has an oily milky sweet taste upfront then turns into a nutty mushroom taste, oily thick. With a woody-mushroom chocolate finish.  Nice oily full mouth and full throat oily feeling.  Nice deeply spacy and relaxing feeling.

5^th has an oily rich coco chocolate taste with a subtle mushroom woody taste under the thick oily coco taste. 

6^th is left to cool and has a creamy milky taste with a flat oily mouthfeeling and faint distant cooling and a woody straw like coco finish.  Nice oily throat and saliva.  Very relaxing vibe.

7^th has a milky flat woody taste.  Very consistent from infusion to infusion but really delicious and great Qi.  There is definitely a straw grains finish in the last few infusions now with lessening amounts of chocolate and sweetness.  Still very nice relaxing qi sensations.

8^th is a more woody coco creamy sweetness with the woody and coco and milky sort of presenting together.  The result is nice with a touch of cooling that brings out some creamy taste. The mouthfeel is now moving towards becoming slightly dry.  I feel energized with the energy- it bumps me up but then again is a bit relaxing.  The cumulative effect is energizing though.

9^th has a dryer woodiness to it and less of a smooth oily milky or coco taste.  The energy is strongly alerting now as the liquor accumulates in the body.  Strong alerting now.

10^th was left in the pot for a good minute and has a woody coco less milky sweetness.  The alerting energy in here reminds us that this is a strong Xiaguan!  Heart beats now..

I flash steep out of the pot the next day with woody hay coco oily tastes.  Still very tasty and mild alerting energy. 

I push the spent leaves in the mug for a few days and am satisfied with the result of coco taste.  Super enjoyable shu,classic, no nonsense.

Peace

Famous Puerh in the West: 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong

 

Sometimes there are puerh productions that become so famous they are simply know in the puerh world by their acronym.  So is the case with LFPT (2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong).  This production has been everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE, since I got back into the puerh scene in 2017.  I’m not 100% sure but it might have first gained prominence in the West by Toby of the Jade Leaf?… there was an early group order of this one around this time.  Since then the Jade Leaf, King Tea Mall, TeasWeLike, and now Puerh.uk has offered it but I am unsure if some have been sourced from the same wholesale dealer with the same storage??? And more importantly… what the fuck ever happened to the bamboo tong version of this production????? I really want to know!  I have only read reviews of the cakes which come from the paper bag tong which would offer more of a sealed storage option but not airtight compared with the bamboo.  Not one comparison tasting between the two… I want to see that- we all want to see that.  I think Shah8 maybe thought he did a bamboo tong version tasting but he could not say for certain.  Anyways there is a crazy amount of reviews on this puerh.  Surprisingly, I have never tried this  before dispite my general enjoyment of Xiaguan puerh.  I’m thankful for the free sample that came from one of these Puerh.uk 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong which goes for approx $100 for 357 g cake or $0.28/g.

The Super chopped up factory style dry leaves are a nice floral sweet smell.

First infusion has a strong floral sweetness with a strong body underneath of woody thickness.  There is a pungent woodiness type of menthol and underling bitterness in there.  A really strong punch start!  Nice creamy sweet floral taste to it.  Very full slight puckering chalky feel to it.

Second infusion is a strong floral creamy sweet with a deep woody almost bitter base taste.  Lots of mouthwatering saliva returning after a menthol taste.  There is a pungent menthol onset with thick woody creamy floral sweet finish.  Very tasty and satisfying.  Tastes very much like Laobanzhang.  Strong focusing but deeply soothing feeling with some shoulder heaviness and chest opening feelings.  Very sweet finish in the mouth with layers of sweet floral candy released.  Nice dense layered tastes.

The third infusion has a thicker menthol woody sweet taste.  Some candy, floral, caramel, wood, menthol a layered and dense sweetness.  Full fluffier chalky fullness with a salivating returning sweetness which releases a very sweet floral candy sweetness.  Nice focusing energy with some shoulder heaviness and chest opening.  The storage is a bit humid and reminds me of Guangdong or Malaysian storage maybe a bit of Taiwanese as well but not completely natural Taiwanese stored… hard for me to place exactly.

The 4^th infusion has a strong sweet floral initial burst then a woody menthol before a saliva gob turns things very creamy candy sweet and long…  Deep focusing feelng with shoulder and open chest sensations. Nice full lighter fluffy chalky mouthfeeling.

The 5^th infusion has more woody menthol initiaily with candy floral creamy strawberry sweetness more at the end of the profile or mid profile.  The saliva gob comes and goes with creamy floral and strawberry sweetness.  Feeling a bit focused, a bit floaty.

6^th has a woody menthol onset with lesser sweetness kind of a roasted woody bean taste under some lesser floral and creamy sweet and strawberry.  Deep focus and relaxing.  The cooled down cup has a woody menthol creamy almost bitter-astringent sweet taste.  Saliva returns to push out an almost bready creamy floral candy sweetness.  Nice focused feeling.

7^th has a woody almost soapy floral with a thinner woody taste and longer thin candy taste from onset to aftertaste.  There is a woody thin and fine candy sweetness here throughtout with lots of the more dense and layered tastes falling off.

8^th has a woody and a bit mildly astringent sweet candy taste.  Its thinning out but still some longer lanky woody and candy tastes with more pronounced but only slight pucker dry mouth.  Nice productive focusing today!  Shoulder heavy and chest expanding.

9^th has a soapy floral woody pungent brackish woody almost dirt taste with cool throat and some faitn sweetness returing.

I mug steep out the rest…. And it gives off woody bitter brackish notes with hardly any sweetness left that kind of lingers faintly on the breath and creamy sweetness trails away.  I enjoyed this one a lot! This one tastes like it was stored briefly in Malaysia or Guangzhou before a longer period of Taiwanese storage or could just be a deeper natural Taiwanese storage.  I can totally see the appeal of this uniquely floral factory tea- a great option for the price.

Order of preference for these 6 recently sampled semiaged Banzhang-

#1- 2006 Zhi Zi Hao Black Wrapper / Yin (not pictured) this was probably the best deal from Western facing vendors in 2020 when Houde sold this cake for $595.00 for 400g cake- vibrant powerful, elegant, and brilliantly stored!

#2- 2005 Greatful Tea Factory Zhengshan (middle top)- the most LaoBanZhang out of the bunch in its wine like presentation with full mouthfeeling and Qi sensations also has some nice dryier natural Taiwanese storage on it that goes well.  Nice full leaves and buds.

 #3- 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong (very bottom )-  a powerful blend of small factory chopped leaves with layered dense strong flavours of florals, strawberries and some woody heft some faint bitter, strong immeditate presence with strong focusing Qi and shoulders and chest opening, nice fluffy full mouthfeeling.

#4- 2005 Banzhang Macau Hualian Small Buds (middle bottom)- single estate, grape, bitter fruity explosion of taste that slowly builds and has amazing strength and stamina especially for such little buds- mug steeped this one out for a few days and powerfully fruity sweet bitterness even days later!  Reminds me a bit of Lincang and not as much Banzhang.

#5- 2003 Yuanjiutang Ban Zhang (from Tea Encounter)- nice banzhang character in taste, nice stoning Qi, saliva producing pops, not as great stamina with a touch of astringency, a lesser version of the 2005 Greatful Tea Factory above but really good for the price.

 #6- 2005 Lao Ban Zhang Sheng Tai Toucha  (very top) - deeper smokier old school Laobanzhang, I like the old schoolness but its depth is lacking.

Peace

Marco’s 2021 Blind Tasting Gamma

I decided to bask in the continuous rain we have been having for the past few days and cycle the long distance to work early in the morning.  When I get there and dry off I decide to open the next sample alphabetically and a warm aged odour greets me… a perfect sample to cozy up to I think…

Dry iron like tight compressed leaves smell of aged humid storage with a distinct dirt peaty odour but also there is a sweetness to it as well.  It kind of smells of dry-ish natural Taiwanese storage.  You can observe the distinct iron pressed straight edge which is a signature of such cakes.  Right away you know we are likely dealing with a Xiaguan 8653 Iron Cake until we can rule out otherwise… I give it a 30 second rinse then 30 minutes of rest in the warm teapot.

First infusion has a sweet hay and grass like taste with a rich creamy sweet woody taste with a returning not to sweet maple syrup subtle sweetness.  The mouthfeel is lubricating and nicely oily.

The second infusion starts with a spicy woody, vaguely smoky, and a sweet hay/grass like sweetness there is a cooling breath and throat then a returning sweet woody, almost spicy/forest, and not that sweet maple syrup finish.  The mouthfeeling is a thin sticky dense fine mossy mouthcoating.  Mild heart racing and energetic feeling but also soothing feeling Qi.  There is a hay kind of sweetness that lingers minutes later.

The third infusion has a slightly syrupy rich hay sweetness with a faint smoky incense mid-body and a sweet dry talc cherry medicinal nuance finish after mild cooling in the mouth.  The mouthfeeling is a bit mossy-dry on the tongue with not much throat involvement.  Nice mild-moderate curbed energetic feeling Qi.

Oh man… my workday got crazy fast and it takes me a few hours before returning the tea table… The fourth infusion has a smoky hay sweet woodsy onset there is a medicinal cooling finish that has a bit of sweetness and woodiness and incense.  The smoke lingers on the breath afterwards.

The 5^th has a sweet hay and smoky onset with a sweet woody incense medicinal finish.  The mouthfeel is thin and mossy and faintly drying.  There is a sweet rich woody taste that appears throughout after a cooling mouth.  Nice mild alerting energy.

The 6^th has a syrupy medicinal woody smoky sweetness that descends into a woody incense taste and returns as a dry leaf and not-so-sweet maple syrup taste.  The taste is really condensed and syrupy here.  The mouthfeel is thin and mossy.  Nice mild alerting energy.

The 7^th has a watery hay woody taste upfront which then slowly transitions to a woody incense after a cooling mouth.  Nice mossy slight dry coating.  Nice mild alerting energy.

The 8^th has a malty hay sweet woody kind of initial taste. There is a cooing medicinal finish to it, a bit sweet.  The thin mossy mouthfeeling seems to harmonize nicely with the aged tastes.  Nice mild alertness is getting me through this day today with a level head.

The 9^th was left to cool and gives off a robust mildly sweet hay and muted maple syrup yet reasonably condensed cool medicinal almost dry woody camphor kind of taste.  The mouthfeeling is mossy.  Qi is softly alerting.

The 10^th has a medicinal woody faint sweet hay onset with a lingering woody incense follow through.  The mossy mouthfeeling supports this all.  Nice harmonizing slightly alerting Qi here.

The 11^th has a rich woody taste to it with a cooling which comes with a woody medicinal finish.  The mouthfeeling is a bit dryer here.  There is an incense like taste left in the mouth, a bit smokier in the finish now.  The wet leaves in the pot smell like delicious raison.

12^th infusion has a mellow sweetness to it of hay and almost bread before turning to cooling and medicinal in the mouth over a thin mossy tongue coating.  There is a lingering sweet woody nuance.

13^th infusion has a woody incense onset that has an underlying sweet woody taste that turns cool and incense medicinal.  There is a soft thin mossy almost drying mouthfeeling. 

14^th is really nice sweet peat woody almost spicy incense woody taste with the main taste being sweet.  The mouthfeel is soft fainter moss here.

The slow release of the iron pressed cake allowed for a hand full of more sweet, rich, woody, incense, tasting infusions.  Then slowly the complexity started to wane and the bitterness started to take over.  The bitter infusions lasted past 20 before it weakened into bitter woody water.  Very nice!

Guess: 2001-2004 Xiaguan 8653 Iron Cake.  It looks like Teas We Like has a lot of these listed on its site here.  The description of the storage matches my experience with this cake- drier natural Taiwanese storage.  I had consumed the 1990s Xiaguan 8653 once in a while in the puerh tea shops in Korea many years ago.  They were much more humidly stored than this sample.  I love the way the session slowly progresses as the compression loosens from these iron bings.  Although talking up the Iron Bing, I don’t own any 8653 and am interested in purchase of this one once I know which one it is.

Peace

2003 Xiaguan “Special Grade Ching Bing”: Classic Xiaguan, Nice Storage

This 2003 Xiaguan Special Grade goes for $350.00 for 357g cake or $1.02/g at Houde….

Dry leaves are a strong piercing grassy, straw odour.

First infusion has a straw grassy metallic onset with a smoky almost gamey BBQ meat finish. There is a slight soapiness to the taste. It is not really sweet but more of a stronger savory presentation over a flat slight fine sandy mouthfeeling. The second infusion has a hay and straw/dried grassy onset with a metallic BBQ gamey meat slight nuance in there. There is a very faint coolness in the throat and mouth with a nice thin but full chalky sandy feeling.

The third infusion has a full almost sweet cherry taste that is under grassy and straw and metallic tastes. With a more woody BBQ smoke faint finish. The smoke is moderate-mild but intertwines nicely with the more classic Xiaguan like profile. The taste present full with a faint touch of bitterness. The full initial taste holds into the aftertaste. There is a nice smooth alerting Qi in here with some Heart racing.

The fourth infusion has a deep coppery almost metallic caramel taste initially with woody hay underneath in the mid layer and smoke BBQ faintly in the back. There is metallic and cool pungency and almost bitterness upfront. The flavours are pretty dense and full and present over a fine but full chalky fine sand. The Qi is noteable smooth but strong and alerting some Heart beats.

The fifth infusion has a coppery woody hay deeper caramel and metallic complex taste up front. The mouthfeeling is thin full fine sandy chalky and Qi is big. There is a vague caramel with smoke finish. Nice strong euphoria is building in the head. The initial taste really holds its complex density nicely with a faint open cool throat. This is a tasty classic tasting Xiaguan with some nice dry storage on it.

The sixth becomes a silky smooth scotch whiskey kind of taste with a nice aged woody kind of oak barrel smokiness to it. The mouthfeeling is a nice soft full thin chalk and mouthfeeling has some opening to it with some cooling but faint. The initial tastes have a long presence in the profile.

The 7th is smooth tobacco taste with background smoke. There is some hay and woods but mainly this the initial taste throughout. The complexity has dropped from here but the stable Xiaguan tastes push through nicely. The 8th seems like a thicker stronger malty oaky smokey. The initial tastes stay in the mouth for a long time and fade slowly. 9th is much the same deep, thick, malty woody smokey oak with long full taste slight smoke thin soft full mouthcoating. 10th is much the same condensed smokey, woody not really sweet but almost caramel and sort of cooling full taste. Chalky thin mouthfeel is satisfying as is the stead tastes that come out here.

11th has a brassy coppery wood smoke caramel taste. The taste and feel of this is classic Xiaguan but nice storage and strength without bitterness or harshness. 12th, 13th, ect it really just goes on and on with this really solid, condensed, typical and good xiaguan taste….

Overall, this is a bit better than average Xiaguan with a nice dry storage but still is very much a typical classic Xiaguan in taste and feel. The stamina is good with nice condensed tastes. But not sure if something like this is worth the $350.00 price tag? For me I can’t do it. But I really do love its classic taste and feel.

Vs 2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yin 450g Special Order- This 2001 is equally brilliantly dry stored but this special order is unlike most Xiaguan in that it is more bitter, stronger Qi, stronger sweetness, and is even still quite aggressive. I like this one better of the two but it is not really representative of classic xiaguan. This 2003 Xiaguan is really more typical Xiaguan but is a bit better than average. Both nice xiaguan.

Peace

2004 Xiaguan Toucha: Steady Xiaguan Toucha

Stephane of Teamasters gave me this whole toucha for review a year ago and I’m just getting to sample it now.  It’s a...

2004 Xiaguan ($10.00 for 100g touchaor $0.10/g) …

 don’t you find it super strange that most xiaguan toucha seem to always be 2004?  Hahahha…. I used to own a few very dry stored 2004 purple boxes of Tie Jia over the years and they always seemed to satisfy.  This one is red wrappered… and very cheap… but will it still satisfy…

Dry leaves are slight smokey woody paper faint sweet.

First infusion is a flat tangy smoky woody taste.  The mouthfeeling is a tight slight dryness.  There is a smoky finish in the mouth.

The second infusion has a woody almost cherry taste over a dry mouthfeeling but mainly smoky sweet almost menthol finish.  Qi starting to alert and wake up.

The third infusion has a woody menthol taste with some smoke and dry mouthfeeling.  A tiny sweetness of cherry is pined faintly underneath. Slowly alerting Qi.

The fourth infusion is woody, smoky, with a very slight almost cherry taste.  The mouthfeeling is dry.  The taste simple. The Qi steady.

The fifth infusion is woody, smoky and the cool cup has hints of caramel now. Slightly sandy mouthfeeling with a bit of salivating feeling.  Nice alerting.

The sixth infusion has an almost talc rose under the dominating woody taste with a returning woody smoke caramel taste.  The mouthfeeling is slightly sandy with a bit of salivation with the retuning sweetness.

The seventh infusion has a woody faint smoke with faint cherry then a slight creamy caramel returning sweetness. Salivating returning creamy mild caramel taste.

The eighth infusion has an even longer creamy caramel sweetness to it.  This infusion is the sweetness so far a bit of cherry and then caramel in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is developing a stickiness to it.

The ninth has a woody kind of bitter bland onset that is a bit caramel in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling has become a bit sticky.  Qi is getting me through the day.

The tenth has a smoky berry sweetness then a returning creamy caramel sweetness.  There is some woodiness in there and a bit of faint smoke, still simple but classic Xiaguan tastes.

The 11^th I mug steep out simply because the day gets crazy busy.  It gives off a vegetal woody bark bitter bland not that sweet smoky taste.

(image those typical looking Xiaguan factory chopped up spent wet leaves pictured here)

Simple and reliable Xiaguan toucha that was a perfect harmonizing tea for me on a day that I didn’t want to fuss much and was too busy to over think.  I love the classic simplicity of xiaguan.  It’s never amazing puerh but it always meets expectations- this one did.

Peace

2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yin: Best of Xiaguan

This one is billed as the King of Xiaguan!  This fully Huston dry stored cake of 2001 Xiaguan 8653 Huang Yi Special Order comes in at $450.00 for 450g or (clearly $1.00/g) Qing Bing!

Dry leaves smell of hay and cardboard with a bit of creamy sweet smell.

The first infusion is of watery almost metallic almost bitter straw.  The taste has a flat straw bitter taste to it.  With a tiny bit of tongue feeling.  There is an almost strawberry fruity taste underneath that comes out on the tongue.

The second infusion has a strawberry fruity complex dirt, metal, creamy sweet bitter onset.  There is a lot of complexity in the initial taste that dumps all at once.  The mouthfeeling is flat and sandy but stimulating on the tongue.  I feel a bit of heart racing and warming in the chest and stomach.  There is a mild strawberry aftertaste.  The bitterness and harshness of this puerh can still be felt in the digestive system.

The third infusion has a strawberry/ berry with bitter onset.  There are notes of hay, metal, mineral, but mainly a bitterness is developing in the mouth.  With a flat sandy finish on the tongue.

The fourth is a woody slight smoky papery almost fruity and more caramel sweetness with the long sweet caramel finish.  There is also minerals and almost metallic taste but less bitter.  This infusion has a returning aftertaste of sweet tastes over a sandy tongue coating and faint upper throat opening.  Feel the Heart stimulated and racing.  Get a strong mind invigorating Qi.

The fifth infusion has a strong incense smoky note with some dried date and strawberry nuances with a significant bitterness underneath.  It conjures up a juicy fruity taste in the aftertaste with a bit of bitterness and smoke.  There is also lots of complexity in the background- mineral, paper, wood, almost metal, caramel.  Nice engaging mouthfeeling on the tongue with throat stimulation that traps the saliva in the upper throat.  Strong powerfully alerting Qi.  Still has the harshness of a young sheng on the digestion.

The sixth infusion has a syrupy sweet smoky slightly bitter but mainly smoky caramel type long sweetness in the mouth.  There are nuances of metal, paper, fruits, incense.  The thick sweetness paired with bitterness and nice returning caramel with slight cooling throat is really nice.  This is probably the best Xiaguan I have tried.  Very nice.  Strong - still too strong to drink and needs more age… but very good Xiaguan.

The seventh infusion a thick syrupy sweetness with underlying bitterness.  Very thick fruity and caramel sweetness balanced with mild-moderate bitterness and smoke.  Brilliant.  There are some mineral and metallic and wood in the distance but is not that pronounced as that strong syrupy sweetness with a backbone of bitterness and smoke.  Strong heart pumping Qi.

The eighth infusion has cooled a bit and gives off a juicy fruity syrupy smoky mineral taste.  The mouthfeel is a bit sandy but there is also saliva producing in the throat.  The aftertaste isn’t as long or vibrant but still nice.  The underlying complexity continues to wane.  The power of this factory puerh is strong.

The 9^th has a menthol woody onset that lasts long in the mouth with a papery aftertaste and secondary sweetness.  There is a smooth woody incense taste in there primarily.  Still strong Qi.  Incense and fruity and smoky and tasty.

The 10^th has a fruity woody menthol in the breath and throat with a strong incense base taste. 

The 11th is a fruity sweet cherry with a nice long smoke that is not off putting.  The complexity is gone and all that is left is smoky fruity taste with a subtle bitterness.  These last infusions have not been so hard on the stomach.  By mid-session it feels almost warming on the digestion instead of bitter cold.

The 12^th is much the same but become more smoky and less sweet and fruity now…. Still strong Qi… still a bit of a pungent cooling with creamy sweet returning under smoke.

The 13^th is more incense as the dominant taste with a strong smoke and lessening sweetness initially and a bit in the return now.

The 14^th has a woody incense taste with a menthol breath.  Late in the session the taste is not that sweet with incense smoke and retuning menthol.  Still strong powerful alerting Qi.

The 15^th mainly smoky now with not that much sweetness.

Overall, this is a really good dry stored Xiaguan probably the best I have ever sampled from that classic factory.  It is powerful, and tasty syrupy thick sweetness, sometimes too harsh on the digestive system.  Strong Heart pumping Qi.  For $1.00/g of the very best I’ve tired of Xiaguan I definitely pondered a purchase.  I still can’t get my mind around spending that kind of money on Xiaguan so just couldn’t pull the trigger on this one.  Those who did have a real gem on their hands!

Peace

2008 Xiaguan “Xizi” Tuocha

One noticed this one on The Half-Dipper a few weeks back. This was a gift from ol' Hobbes.

The elaborate and ornate packaging sets the stage. Removing it from the box and wrapper reveals a healthy mix of dry leaves that smell of creamy sweet, papery tobacco. Just a touch of mushroom is detected as one inhales deeply.

This tea is prepared in the same way one prepares all puerh, the ritual is as much of a treat as the tea.

The first infusion imparts a gentle follow through with light, waify creamy cinnamon-like spice in a nice sweet finish of tobacco. The qi of this young tea is very welcoming right from the get go.

As the go gets, the tea gets going. The honest, pale, slightly orangey-yellow liquid has flavour and energy abound for such a little tuo. Its simple flavour is a good one. Its feel in the mouth is timidly gathered in the middle of the tongue and snatches at ones saliva playfully.

After not too long, the flavour starts to develop an underlying grainy-cereal profile which evolves as the session plays out.

This tea's initial flavour retreats faster than one would like, hiding under the blanket of wholesome grains which stretch all the way into the nose. Infusion times require sharp adjustments if you hope to recapture the fleeting flavour of sweet, creamy tobacco and spice. If you run after it long enough, you can still catch it, if not for just a moment. Certainly, longer infusions don't much increase the bitterness of this tea, so it's worth a shot.

In later infusions ones mind drifts to images of golden wheat fields blowing in the wind, creating undulating waves of gold in a sea of grains. This tea captures this relaxing feeling.

Thanks Hobbes.

Peace