Marco’s 2022 Blind Sample #2

 Dry leaves smell of smoky mesquite BBQ with an odour very similar to the 2005 Nan Qiao Double Lions from Teas We Like.

First infusion has a bbq smoky taste with a pasty returning sweetness.  There is lots of smoky car with a pasty not quite returning sweetness.  Nice full pasty sticky mouthfeeling.  Old School factory feeling.  Alerting energy.  Wet leaves in the pot have a peaty semi-aged odour.  Seems like Maylasian storage to me.

The second infusion is left to cool and has a BBQ mesquite onset with a creamy sweet emergence. There is a delicious pasty strawberry sweetness that comes out underneath the BBQ taste.  Nice pasty mouthfeeling.  With a lingering creamy pasty sweetness.  Almost pastry like sweetness.  It really lingers for minutes.  Not much throat feeling but a faint lingering cooling with sweet pastry sweetness over a faint BBQ.

The third infusion is left to cool and gives off a smoky BBQ onset with a sweet creamy pasty taste.  The balance of smoky BBQ Mesquite and creamy pasty sweetness is nice.  Also nice pasty mouthfeeling with only the faintest throat stimulation.  Nice enlivening Qi.  

The fourth infusion has a smooth creamy almost woody incense sweetness.  There is a smokiness to it but it is overall smooth a bit woody not really strawberry fruity.  The mouthfeeling is getting less pasty and more puckering.  Moderate energy bump up and a Chest/rib opening bodyfeeling with heart beats. The smoke as well as a woody sweetness lingers in the mouth.  Almost dirt like woodiness that reminds me of Malaysian storage.

5^th infusion has a creamy sweet but also woody taste to it the creamy sweetness really expands in the mouth.  Woody sweet creamy almost cherry sweet but layered fallen woody base.  The creamy sweet taste hold throughout.   Faint cooling on the breath and a full almost sandy pasty pucker mouthfeeling.  Nice moderate energetic feeling.

6^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy cool feeling with a stronger smoky char and more of a puckering sandy mouthfeeling now than pasty. Nice mild energy.

7^th infusion has a creamy sweet and smoky onset with a woody puckering mouthfeeling and lingering woody and a bit creamy sweet.  Lots more woody and smoke tastes here.  The sweet tastes is lessening as the session progresses.  Nice mild energy bump.

8^th has a smoky BBQ mesquite onset that is the dominant taste now I would say woody fall tree is the next taste underneath with only edges of sweetness now to access underneath the stronger gripping mouthfeeling.  Some creamy sweetness glances below the woody gripping smoke.  Nice energy feeling also a bit relaxing at the same time.

9^th is cooled down considerably and has a woody creamy taste with a lesser finish of creamy sweet wood and smoke.  Thin puckering coating on the tongue.  Mild energy.

I put the rest into mug steeping and it gives off woody sweet smoke.  Soothing rich even a touch puckering dry.

Guess: Malaysian Stored factory production from 2005-2007.  Tastes a lot like the 2005 Nanqiao Double Lions.

Peace

Marco’s 2022 Blind Sample #1

 

Small stronger compressed dry leaves have a faint sour fruity almost woody sweetness to them.  A faint bready/grains sweetness that almost reminds me of a less smokey Xiaguan.

First infusion has a watery woody onset with barely sweet grains and woody finish.  It has an almost lingering faint sweetness.

Second infusion has a smooth oily slightly fruity approach over woody layers.  The mouthfeeling is a bit puckering and saliva producing.  Very clear profile of tastes.  Lingering dry wood and long faint fruity cooling.  Tastes like a Yiwu to me.  The wet leaves smell of cherry and dry woody odours.  Neck releasing bodyfeeling and deeper level relaxing.  The storage taste and smell is familiar like I’ve tired it before but not sure where… maybe BiYun Hao’s storage?  Dragon Tea House?

Third infusion was left to cool and has a sweet expanding caramel sweetness that expands and induces salivation.  Clear gushu Yiwu profile.  Nice long sweet deep in the open throat caramel with faint whimsical cooling.  Around 10 year puerh with drier storage.  Nice spacy feeling with relaxing neck Qi and bodyfeeling.

Fourth infusion has a caramel fruity oily sweetness with a woody base taste to it.  The clear profile of taste is really nice and so is the beautiful bodyfeeling- a subtle opening of the neck and shoulders.  Nice full thin mouthfeeling with a mild back of mouth stimulation enough for a nice oily saliva producing.  The subtle coolness overlaps the caramel sweet finish.  The mouthfeel is full but gentle and bodyfeelng and Qi has a very peaceful and tranquil effect overall.  Gushu Yiwu feeling feels sort of like Bi Yun hao?  Has the Qi of a Gua Feng Zhai.

The 5^th has a creamy caramel sweetness that is really pure and sweet fluffy deliciousness. There is an oily thin full mouthfeeling that holds the simple delicious single estate tastes in nicely.  Nice saliva producing and mid-throat opening.  Long deep relaxing with spaced out feeling and wave like bodyfeelings- warming face and opening neck feeling.  Spaciness builds in the mind.

The 6^th infusion has a candy-like caramel almost strawberry-cherry subtle sweet pop.  The tastes are really pure and clear.  Then comes a long faint coolness that is almost camphor and woody but long creamy cool caramel taste to it.  Spaced out feeling.  Neck body feeling.

7^th has a pungent woody sweet taste to it over a thin full mouthfeeling.  There is very subtle candy and even spice edge to it.  The cooling reaches deeper into the throat.  Spacy relaxing.  Open neck bodyfeeling.

8^th has a woody pungent caramel onset with a full thin pasty mouthfeeling and deep throat coolness. The cool cup is woody with a long cooling deep candy almost papery woody bark taste in the mid throat.  The full coating of thin mouthfeel is becoming slightly drier but not really dry still some saliva producing but not as much. 

9^th has a woody caramel woody bark with an emerging menthol cool that returns the sweet caramel taste.  There is faint complex edges of coco and almost cherry.  The mouthfeel remains all covering but thin yet still present with an almost mossy feeling.  The cooled down cup was more caramel but also more papery tasting.  Has a Chawangshu vibe to it.  Very spaced out strong Qi in the mind with a subtle neck thing going on.

10^th infusion has a woody papery bark taste that has a sweet almost caramel taste to it with a cooling pungent woody caramel finish.  The papery woody bark taste is becoming the most prominent as the mouthfeeling becomes a bit more gripping.

11 infusion is left to cool and gives off a caramel sweet papery with a mild dry astringency in the mouthfeeling.  There is a deeply relaxing and especially spaced out feeling.  There is almost some fruitiness that comes out in the aftertaste with caramel and paper woody.

12^th is left to cool and gives a nice creamy wood-caramel sweet taste.  The mouthfeel is still full covering the mouth and there is a woody papery finish.  Nicely spaced out in this stronger Qi.  

I do a 13^th infusion and is much the same as the 12^th with a bit more woody paper almost dryness.

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I overnight thermos the spent leaves and it comes out a bit bitter and with a full dry coating.  There are edges of coco and then finishes a faint caramel almost fruity but mainly a woody papery with some breath coolness.  Overall impressed by the stamina.  A solid full chalky dry mouthfeel keeps things going for sure.  Strong spaced out feeling with neck bodyfeeling.

Guess: 2012-2010 Yiwu single estate with very clean storage Maybe a BiYunHao Chawangshu/Guafengzhai/Yiwu maybe even a Dragon Tea House Yiwu?… definitely something familiar about this one…  Somewhat resembles the BiYUn Hao Chawangshu I tried a few months ago.

Peace

Marco’s 2022 Blind Tasting

 Okay… here we go again… I think both Marco and I had pretty busy summers because this blind tasting was more of an afterthought.  I reached out to him this time and we hastily arranged to send out some samples… that was about a month ago.  I had really enjoyed the previous 2020 and 2021 blind sample sets he sent in past years.  It has been a real learning experience besides being super fun.  For this I am very thankful.

This year I sent him some teas that have been in my regular rotation over the last year.  I went through his samples a few weeks ago and they were a lot of fun… please join us in these posts over the next days and weeks…

Peace 

2019 Puerh.uk “Guo Gan”: Excellently Ethereal

 Got this free sample from Paolo of puerh.uk…. I have no clue what this puerh is so I’m going in sort of blind here… Dry leaves smell of a faint woody sweetness…

First infusion has a watery clear faint sugar melon sweetness with a nice long cool sugar finish. Clear like a pond. Watery mouthfeeling.

Second infusion has a melon sugar watery clear onset with a bit of faint wood.  Clear watery sweet tastes. Cool long faint aftertaste in the deeper throat.

Third infusion has a pungent coolness woody sort of root veggies clear sweet sugar onset with a bit of gripping mouthfeeling.  This infusion reminds me of Nannou region here.  Stronger Qi is deeply pooling in the chest.

The fourth infusion has a pop of woody sugar fruity taste.  Nice vibrant pop and clear tastes with a bit of gripping and nice mouthfeeling that pulls the flavor out in a singular fashion.  The mouthfeeling is simultaneously gripping and stimulating but also clear and thin… sort of interesting.  Long cooling throat with sweet sugar. Qi is strong in a building up sense in the Chest and diaphragm with light airy limbs.  Mildly expansive mind. 

5^th infusion has a woody melon candy pop of initial taste there is this mouth pucker and long cool deep throat feeling. Strong Qi builds in the Heart.  Limbs are light mild is expansive.  Really nice experience here with everything.  Ascending feeling in the body.  Long deep candy throat reminds me of Yiwu now.

6^th is left to cool and gives off a fruity punch with quick moving bitterness.  Nice mouth stimulation with long sweetness candy like and deep in throat. Very nice strong Heart clumping and limb airiness.  The quick moving bitterness and candy reminds me of LaoBanZhang… do I dare say it! This is really nice puerh.  Flavour, mouthfeeling, aftertaste, throatfeeling, bodyfeeling, Qi… the whole package is quite nice.

7^th has a clear melon sweet candy-like burst with quick moving mild bitterness in a simulating mouthfeeling with long cool deep throat aftertaste turns to candy.  Strong Heart clumping with limb lightness and expanding consciousness.

8^th has a nice pop of melon, sugar, can11dy sweet there is a thin veil of woody even mild bitter pop but a long sweet candy finish.  Heart pooling and lightness in the body with expansive mind.

9^th has a melon woody pop that has a candy nuance and more candy in the aftertaste.  Very clear flavours and movement with pop and release type of taste.  A bit of gripping mouthfeeling that has a sort of initial gripping then release with some throat stimulation now.

10^th The next day I come back to the pot and am greeted with really fruity sweet pure tropical pop of flavours.  There is this vibrant pop of sweet taste and long candy like finish. 

11^th is left to cool and has peachy fruity clear onset with clear pops of initial tastes …

I get a handful of more excellent infusions out of this one!  As I said above … This is really nice puerh.  Flavour, mouthfeeling, aftertaste, throatfeeling, bodyfeeling, Qi… the whole package is quite nice.  I had a really good experience here…

Thanks Paolo for sending it.  I wonder if Paolo will offer it?  It will be a bit pricey me thinks???

Peace

2016 Puerh.uk Gua Feng Zhai: A Bit of Gus Feng Zhai

 

I believe this is the same free sample that was recently sent to Shah8?  I think its this 2016 Blue Mark Gua Feng Zhai that goes for $190 for 85g triangle or $2.24/g… crazy expensive…  He said it was pressed from 2011 Gua Feng Zhai mao cha.  I lost some of my more meticulous notes on this one.  For some reason my PC couldn’t recover my detailed tasting notes on this one and I’m still drinking it on my tea table so I’ll provide a bit of a recap then go into the later steeps, I guess…

The dry leaves have a sweet forest like odour to them.  The first handful of infusions show some nice signs of Gua Feng Zhai puerh with a melon-woody-bland initial even potato and bland wood taste.  Deep throat opening with cooling.  Sometimes its almost but not quite menthol.  Soft mouthfeeling that is often a soft mossy but sometimes a faint touch sandy or sticky- but soft overall.  There is sometimes a melon, sometimes a bit maple syrup, sometimes even a hints at caramel in the finish.  Obvious single origin material- clear simple but enjoyable profile.  Strong Qi so far with face tingles, heavy shoulders, Heart beats, a bit of warmth, Chest opening feeling and a euphoric feeling in the mind.  I’m so far enjoying this experience.  It’s very much Gua Feng Zhai!

I take it from the 9^th infusion and the cup has cooled and it’s a nice refreshing melon taste. There is a lubricating mouthfeeling and cool deep throat.  Some bland woody and melon left in the mouth.  This puerh has passed its peak in taste now in the session.  But still nice Qi with heavy shoulders, warming Qi and mild feel good.

10^th has a woody melon pop in an oily texture. Nice woody creamy cooling deep throat sensation with sandy mossy mouthfeelng.  There is some Heart beats and chest expanding feeling.  Mild feel good energy now…

I mug steep out the rest…. Oh boy…. Some more technical issues… hahaha… lots my notes again… I remember it having nice woody mushroom foresty bitter coco notes in these long steepings with only edges of sweetness initially but a bit of melon taste in the finish.  Nice deep throat cooling still.  Still a stronger Qi presence.  I had a really good day with this sample and really felt great afterwards.  Some of the issues with lost data is probably due to me just feeling a bit of good old puerh euphoria.  Overall, this is an enjoyable enough single estate Gua Feng Zhai!!!

Vs 2011 Tea Urchin Autumn Gua Feng Zhai- This one is much more typical smoother softer gushu style With the space of Autumn Gua Feng Zhi but lacks the stronger and more disctinct qualities of this Gua Feng Zhai…

Shah8’s Tasting notes

Peace

2021Puerist Youle “Forest Tea”- Spaced Out Very Long Sweetnesseseses

This is picked from the same area as the 2020 Purist Youle “Forest Tea”.  Last year’s harvest was not from the tall pole trees which were pressed separate they were of the “ordinary” trees.  This 2021 production is from a blend of Gaogan and standard trees collected from the forest.  I got this as a free sample but the cake of 2021 Puerist Youle goes for $115.00 for 200g cake or $0.58/g.

First infusion has a light fruity woody onset with a flat expanding floral sweetness that has a tingling chalky mouthfeeling.  There is a sugary long sweet finish that evolves into a long fruity and floral taste even 10 minutes later.  The deep throat opens a bit but the aftertaste really lingers in the chalky mouth.  Nice spacy strong Qi sensation.

Second infusion has a buttery floral sweet almost melon onset with a flat tasty onset that stretches out into the aftertaste where there is a very long evolving fruity sweet aftertaste with oily saliva producing and a chalky almost mildly dry mouthfeeling that is present on the tongue.  Nice spacy floating Qi.  Very long fruity sweet lingering aftertaste.  Some arm/limb tingling.

Third infusion has a woody floral fruity onset that expands exponentially in the mouth and breath.  Long almost rubbery fruity sweet finish with a layer of expanding cooling taste.  There is a woody base taste here throughout.  A long stretch of expanding sweetness.  There is a nice oily gob of saliva produced and a flat almost dry full chalky mouthfeeling.  Deep penetrating relaxing feeling with spacy floating body feeling.  

Fourth infusion has a long floral almost soapy fruity sweetness which really goes long in the aftertaste and breath taste.  Long sweet fruity taste with a subtle rubbery-woody finish.  The cooled down cup is vibrantly sweet fruity with a smooth creamy mango-like sweet taste that picks up a bit of cooling throat.  Long sweet fruity breath tastes.

Fifth infusion has a fruity oily creamy woody onset, very Youle initial taste.  It expands to be more fruity and sweet with a long sweet fruity taste.  The oily sweet buttery fruity floral taste is both long and evolving becoming slightly cooling.  The mouthfeeling is gripping and chalky a pulls at the upper throat a bit and causes some nice salivating.  Nice relaxing spacy feeling with limbs and shoulders heavy.

6^th is left to cool and has a creamy buttery sweet buttery taste there is a bit of mild woody astringency now and a buttery rubbery long sweet fruity taste which evolves and moves.  There is more pucker to the mouthfeeling but mild and more chalky than pucker.  Nice relaxing expanding feelings with mild floating body and stronger heavy shoulders.

7^th is left to cool and has a creamy woody smooth sweet taste that evolves into a sweet fruity taste.  Nice long evolution of taste that has a slight woody rubbery base and long breathy fruitiness even minutes later.  Nice relaxing and slightly spacy with heavy shoulders.

8^th is left to cool and gives off a woody creamy sweet onset with a woody slightly dry chalky slight puckering mouthfeeling.  There is the long evolving sweetness here where a coolness sort of collides.  Nice spacy relaxing with heavy shoulders and arms.

9^th has a woody oily sort of buttery sweetness with not really much fruity sweetness up front.  The sweetness evolves more in the aftertaste.  Nice heavy shoulders bodyfeeling and Spacy Qi.

10^th is long steeped it gives off a bitter lemon and creamy sweet fruity taste with an evolving coolness.  

I put it into a longer mug steeping and it gives off a woody bitter slightly sour but not that sweet taste with a chalky dry pucker mouthfeeling but still rather soft on the body.

Vs 2020 Puerist Youle “Forest Tea”-  These are actually quite different as I drank these back to back!  It actually surprised me to know they are from the same forest area.  The 2020 production has a much more defined “Forest Tree”  “Yesheng Puerh” profile through and through.  I commented last year that it “is very much wild tea in taste, Qi, and feeling with not so much typical Youle feeling or taste at all”  but this 2021 Puerist Youle has much more leaning toward a Youle profile to me. In fact, I thought it was a standard variety Gushu Youle…  It lacks the rubbery wild tea taste.  It has more of a wild tea big spacy Qi but it is so good! Also it has this insanely long sweet flavor that turns into a breath taste typical of yesheng but it also feels standard Youle… I don’t think the addion of the pole tress could change it this much but maybe the variability of the forest?  I was told the more wild trees are harvested each year the less Yesheng they become in character… I wonder…. Either way this was a good one!

Peace

2022 Tea Encounter Chawangshu “Late Nectar”: Summer Harvest Mug Steeper

 This is a later Spring flush of Chawangshu.  I remember 15years ago trying puerh from the same garden Early Spring, Summer, and Fall… the Summer Flush is really significantly less complex and less intense…. Lots of space.  It was a good education at the time…. Last time a western puerh vendor sold a summer flush, I belive, was when Tea Urchin sold that 2011 “Four Peaks” Summer Lao Man E… it was a popular tea for a great price.  Let’s see if this 2022 Tea Encounter Chawangshu “Late Nectar” that goes for $70.00 for 200g cake or $0.35/g. Dry leaves smell of sweet syrupy peachy odour with lesser creamy pungent odours… very delicious smelling.

First infusion has a mild sandy woody watery taste there are edges of sweetness and bitter-woodiness but overall has a watery bland taste in this early infusion.  Watery but slightly tugging mouthfeelng with a sandy mild grit.

Second infusion has a watery pungent woody sandy taste with distant edges of sweetness.  There is a returning watery squash taste with faint sweet edges.  The mouthfeel is watery with a sandiness to it, its pretty mild in the mouth.  There is a woody-sand bitterness with edges of sweetness in the aftertaste minutes later.

The third infusion is left to cool and gives off an oily woody taste there is this woody furniture varnish sort of taste that is a bit bitter-bland in the aftertaste with faint cooling edges and hard to grasp edges of sweet peach.  Relaxing feeling with a bit of spaciness.  Dry sandy slightly grabbing mouthfeel.  The mouthfeel is a bit on the thinner side of things.

The fourth infusion is left to cool and has a mild cool pungent and woody-pill-wood bark bitterness to it. It kind of finishes papery in the mouth with sweet quash and melon edges.  Thin sandy dry mouthfeeling.  Mild relaxing with some heart beats.

5^th has a watery oily mild woody bland taste with edges of sweetness.  There is a mild underlying coolness.  The returning sweetness has edges of peaches but mainly dry woody bland tastes.  Dry thin gripping mouthfeeling.  

6^th is left to cool and has a bitter woody bark tasting with edges of sweetness on the breath. Thin sandy mild gripping mouthfeeling.  Mild relaxing with some heart beats.

7^th is left to cool and is a woody bark bland tasting with some peachy sugar edges.  The taste is pretty straightforward so is the Qi and mouthfeeling. Simple no fuss drink now.  

8^th is a woody bitter bark mild tasting intial taste that is over a drying mild mouthfeeling with pear, peach and sugary edges in the returning sweetness.  The aftertaste is mainly dry woody with some sweet edges.  Mild taste.  A bit of a relaxing feeling with mild heart sensations.

9^th has a bitter woody onset with a flat grainy sand thin mouthfeeling.  Heart beats are more obvious after a few quick infusions.  Nice relaxing mind with simulating Heart feeling.  Not much for throatfeeling in this simple puerh.

10^th 20 second steeping by accident… bitter woody but more fruity peachy pear edges.  More drying puckering mouthfeeling that kicks at the guts a bit.  Strong Heart beats now!  Nice euphoria building in the mind… not bad.

11^th is cooled down and gives off a bitter woody pill bitterness with peachy edges over a flat gripping dry mouthfeeling.  Peaches and pears come out in the aftertaste and returning sweetness.

Mug steeping of the spent leaves give off a woody slightly pungent almost seaweed vegetal taste. There isn’t much sweetness at all just faint edges and its overall bitter woody with a tree bark and seasweeds taste with a dry puckering mouthfeeling.  The Qi now has an edge of euphoria to it. 

Overall, this is a very simple and straight forward puerh with simple taste and mouthfeeling with very little sweetness.  The Qi is very mild at first but builds as the session goes and becomes stronger in the Chest giving you an invigorating feeling but also slowly builds in the mind into a mild euphoria.  The Qi gives you some hints at Chawangshu character for sure.

I do a mug steeping of fresh leaves a few weeks later and realize that this is really a puerh for mug steeping in the summer...

Vs 2022 Tea Encounter Chawangshu XiaoShu- these are surprisingly quite different beasts and I wonder if they are from the same material.  The Late Nectar has much less typical Chawangshu character than the Xiaoshu.

Peace