Pu-erh.sk 2013 Hekai

This 2013 Hekai sample was the third enjoyed from Peter's generous package..

Dry fatish leaves smell of subtle juicy notes mixed with soft faint creamy sweet hay odors.

The first infusion starts with a light-watery initial taste there are faint notes of spice and hay. The taste then ends in a clear dry wood-coco taste. All these tastes are very watered down, very muted in this first infusion. The mouthfeel is slightly sticky, drying, and rubbery in the mouth. I is most noticeable in the back of the mouth. There is a very faint wood-melon aftertaste. There is a barely sweet woody-coco taste throughout.

The second infusion has an initial taste of slight creamy-floral sweetness which vanishes fast to hay-dry woody tastes. The wood taste disappears quickly too leaving a modest creamy floral swell of taste in the mouth, subtle cherry. The wood tastes ebb and flow in and out. There is lots of push and pull between these taste polarities. A slightly tart cherry, a choke cherry, taste is left in the mouth minutes later. The mouthfeel is dry and is mainly experienced in the back mouth and even upper throat. There is a slight coolness there.

The third infusion has a slight sour/bitter initial taste followed by some slightly sweet cherry tastes. There is a faint wood profile under it all. The two tastes meld together and form one taste. The bitter/sour taste leads. There are slight wood-cherry fruit tastes in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel feels more chalky and slippery now and seems to stick to the mouth.

The fourth presents with juicy cherry notes and soft dry wood undertones with the bitter notes lingering more beneath this profile. It develops a chalky sweetness on the tongue. The initial taste becomes relatively more creamy and barely sweet throughout the profile. The qi of this tea is very focusing and clear and makes the mind crisp, limbs light, and body fluid.

The fifth has a watery-sweet bitter coco initial taste which turns into dry-wood and imparts a dry monthfeel and throatfeel. Minutes later some creamy-sweet cherry fruit taste tryst to break through but instead just lingers faintly in the breath.

The sixth infusion gives a watery, juicy, subtle creamy-cherry-fruit taste. The mouthfeel is noticeably drier now. The dry feel gives way to tart choke cherry tastes.

Returning to the pot hours later, the seventh infusion offers a watery barely sweet woody initial taste that is flaked by a wave of sweeter-bitter tastes. There is a woody, fruity, bitter finish.

The eighth is more bitter but much the same.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen's Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Mansa

This is the second kindly gifted sample from Pu-erh.sk's 2013 production is from Mansa...

Dry leaves smell of mainly high noted sweet cherry and subtle woody-bark and hay odors.

The first infusion brings forth very pure sweet, cherry tastes with hints of spice and persimmon-apple. The tastes are very clear and crisp. They have a noticeable cool energy and offer a thin coating to the mouth and mainly noticed in the mid throat. There is a cool peppermint taste left in the throat.

The second infusion is a smooth creamy clean blend of fruity tastes such as banana and pineapples and has an interesting subtle spiciness underneath. The tastes are very clean. The mouthfeel is thin and mainly noticeable in the throat where a cool, tropical-fruity-menthol lingers.

The third infusion has a creamier edge now with a slight touch of caramel tones initially. Soft bananas and creamy tropical tastes emerge later. The taste remains light and cheerful.

The fourth is more watery with some empty space left between the light fruity tastes. The lack of any deeper base tastes to support the pure high fruity tastes becomes more obvious now. There is still a nice cool-fruity finish in the mouth. The banana taste stays minutes later.

The fifth carries a more simple slightly malty-caramel-tropical fruit taste. The mouthfeel remains thin but now slightly sandy on the tongue. The aftertaste is less cooling now. Still fruity aftertastes remain.

The sixth is much the same- even fainter spirit in this tea now.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen's Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Youle

Petr from Pu-erh.sk sent some samples of his 2013 cakes in late Summer.  Was waiting for some space in life where these samples could get some nice attention and a time when one's body was craving the edgey energy of raw puerh.  In the extraordinary cold that is the Canadian prairies these cravings are few and far between.  That time was this week.. so without further pause here is the first sample, a piece off his 2013 Youle cake:

Dry leaves smell of soft distant deep pungent forest odors with almost unrecognizable sweet undertones.

The first infusion offers a muddled taste of blandish/bitter. These tastes are dirty and slightly gritty with a grapefruit like taste barely noticed under it all. The mouthfeel has a slight chalky taste mainly on the tongue. The aftertaste continues these dirty/ bland tastes.

The second infusion gives off a sour lime citrus taste initially before waves of bitter and dirtier edges take over. There is a slight flash of coca bean in the overwhelmingly bland and bitter notes. The citrus grapefruit/ lime aftertaste is subtle over the more obvious. The mouthfeel now coats the tongue. Dirtier coco, almost creamy-dirty tastes, arrive minutes later.

The third infusion is a dirty and barely creamy initial taste which gets overwhelmed with a grapefruit-sour taste. As the brackish tastes build in the mouth they peek leaving behind a dirty coco taste in the mouth. The mouthfeel now involves the upper throat as well. There are sour tastes lingering throughout and even floral tastes break through. The qi of this tea is subtle, it stuffs the head a touch, and lightens the limbs as well.

The fourth infusion still presents with lots of sour citrus notes but the coco, even slightly creamy tastes are more obvious.

The fifth presents with even creamier notes the brackish base is now less dominant. This results in an creamier but still muddled. The sixth is much the same. There is still a lingering sour grapefruit undertone. A slight creamy swell develops on the breath with grapefruit.

Seventh is mainly just bitter and sour. With grapefruit notes coming out in the aftertaste. A subtle creamy floral taste still manages to linger on the breath.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

Tea for Canadian Winters and a Tasting of 2013 Makaibari FTGFOP 1S CH - Organic Second Flush Darjeeling‏

It is cold here on the prairies and little is more satisfying than a good hardy 2nd Flush Darjeeling to start the day.  The touch of aged oolong and many decades aged puerh is also a real treat for this time of year.  One pounded through a self-re-roasted 15ish years oolong over the last few months.  There is little aged oolong left in the old tea cupboard.  What is left is all still of unknown quality in its original Taiwanese signature vacuum packaging- a tea post for another day, no doubt.  Old puerh tea is set aside for slow gong fu like enjoyment- not economically practical for everyday enjoyment.  So often Second Flush Darjeeling becomes a real staple.

The following was a favorite of the 2013s after sampling tons from Lochan Tea...

Dry leaves smell of strong deep very sweet fruit odours.

The first pot is that of sweet distinctly raisin tastes. These tastes are very clean and leave a fresh aftertaste in the throat. The mouthfeel is stimulated and felt in the upper and mid throat as a slight raisiny-menthol lingers there. The sensation pushes a pool of saliva to the mid throat.

The second is more strong and robust in taste it carries a balance of deeper very light bitter raison tastes slightly more dominant than sweeter lighter tastes. The overall taste is quite clean though. The mouthfeel is heavier in the mouth and ends nice and sticky. The aftertaste has a bitter deep barely menthol taste. The qi is light and gently moves throughout the body and mind.

Third has deep raison light bitters dominating with still a light fruity edge. The mouthfeel continues in the throat and is still light but stimulating. The aftertaste is of deep grape tastes. This tea is very clean, bright, deep, nice.

When one went to order this tea it was all but sold out.  Ended up settling with another Second Flush that has proven marvelous over many different brewing perimeters.

Peace

Yunnan Sourcing Tasting Event Beta (2013 Yunnan Sourcing Yinxiang)

This is another tasting from the Yunnan Sourcing/ Half-Dipper Tasting Event that was held so so long ago...

The dry leaves are a mix of whites, browns, greens, light and dark. They emit an odour of creamy, rich, sweet fruity notes with a fluffy penetrating odour.

First infusion tastes of sweet creamy full tastes flaked by strong smoky odours. There is an underlying juicy fruity taste. The mouthfeel is full in the front mouth and gives off mainly a smokey aftertaste with some plumy notes hiding under.

The second infusion tastes of sweet pear and plumb. There are still smoky tastes but they linger more in the back throat. The taste is a bit flat and bland saliva pools just slightly in the upper throat even though not much of a throatfeel is noticed.

The third infusion is a mild, slight flat but nicely fruity taste of sweet plumbs and distant florals. The sweet taste hogs much of the profile despite its slightly monotone taste. The dominating fruity taste echos in the mouth minutes later.

The fourth infusion is much the same with long monotone sweet fruity notes. There is still some smoke in there as well. Now woody notes pop up there and the mouthfeel becomes slightly drier. The fruit tastes become clearer in the aftertaste which now shares room with light woody tastes.

In the sixth infusion offers nice fruity tastes with still that same base of smoke. The fruit tastes become more tropical in the aftertaste bananas and papaya tastes.

The seventh is sweet, slightly spicy, but mainly light and fruity. There is a slight woody base and slightly expanse aftertaste.

Guess: Forgot to write guess in tasting notes

Actual: 2013 Yinxiang (it seems to be currently unavailable)

Peace

Yunnan Sourcing Tasting Event Nu (2013 Yunnan Sourcing Jingmaishan )

 One revisits this sample now after about a month.  This is another late entery from the Yunnan Sourcing Half-Dipper Tasting Event...

The larger darker coloured dry leaves smell of mild distant foresty pungent notes.

The first infusion pours a brown yellow and tastes of thick, muddled forest mushroomy notes. There is a sweet wild flowery edge and a taste of slight spice and even a slight creamy sweetness. The creamy sweet taste comes last and expands in the upper throat. It lingers minutes after.

The second infusion has tastes of soupy, woody, mixed mushroom in its initial presentation. These are slight bitter and sour note at first but dissipate slowly throughout the profile. These tastes then expand into sweeter florals and heavier creamy sweetness. The mouthfeel is full and paints the mouth in sticky, thick coating which reaches into the mid throat. It is here where a heavy creamy sweet taste is left in the mouth. The qi is felt mainly in the chest as ones respiration subtly adjusts and the mind becomes light.

The third infusion has ripe, heavy, distinctly fruity edges which present first with lots of depth. It follows some thick depth before a slight minty edge in there as well found in the throat. The aftertaste is heavy ripe fruits that feel thick with the full heavy mouthfeel.

The fourth comes with bitter tastes that over whelm the heavy fruity base. A nectar taste is left in the mouth stuck to the heavier mouthfeel. There is now a deep foresty-woody base that is revealed. A slight cooling mint taste shows briefly in the throat. The sweet heavy fruit taste is left in the aftertaste minutes later. The qi is powerful especially on the mind- it feels great.

The fifth is a woody, bitter, barely fruity taste. It has a grittier forest profile that plays out nicely. Only a very slight sweet floral is left behind in the aftertaste.

In the sixth infusion is much the same as the fifth mainly just bitter flat woody forest taste.

In the seventh and eighth there is a taste of fruits in a bitter, woody-forest base. The menthol-mint taste still shows although much more muddled now. The menthol taste is deep and seems to open up the chest as it echoes in the throat even minutes later.

Guess: 2013 Wa Long  ???

Actual: 2013 Jing Mai

Yunnan Sourcing Tasting Event Mu (2013 Yunnan Sourcing Nan Po Zhai)

This is another blind tasting in the long over Half Dipper/ Yunnan Sourcing Tasting Event.

The large dry leaves smell of very sour-sweet smelling florals there is a citrus like grapefruit odour in them as well. A very light pungent odour lingers underneath.

First infusion has light bitter-sour slight grainy tastes. It has a grainy sour aftertaste which turns slightly floral minutes later. The sour taste lingers in the mouth. The cooling sensation in the upper throat is subtle.

The second infusion is a light sour-citrus-floral tasting affair. It has a slight floral, grapefruit, and slight peanut aftertaste. The mouthfeel is thick and opening and slightly touches the upper throat.

The third infusion carries a taste of bitter-sour but overall pretty light blandish tastes. Their is a long lingering taste of sour-citrus-florals a very slight nutty taste hangs on. The feel continues to be slightly grainy in the mouth. A certain sour-fruity sickiness coats the mouth.

The fourth infusion the sour-bitters calm down just a touch and the more floral-lime qualities start to emerge.

The fifth and sixth are more bland but with a wider breadth of floral tastes which linger in the mouth. The qi is quiet, hitting the stomach mildly. The mind is quietly alerted. There is a slight light penetrating coolness that reaches deeper into the throat.

The seventh is mild tasting with a nice breadth of simple floral tastes over muted bitter and bland tastes.

Guess: This tea doesn't represent the best of any mountain. It is reminiscent of Lincang, area. Still cannot nail down which cake is most likely???

Actual: 2013 Yunnan Sourcing Nan Po Zhai