2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai Gushu: Comparison of Tea Encounter Guafengzhai

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alex’s (Teanotes) Tasting notes

Peace

2021 Tea Encounter Guafengzhai: A Bargain Favorite!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace

2021 Tea Encounter Chawangshu Gushu: Statisfying Chawangshu!

“Why not press a Gushu Chawangshu?” I ask… then he did!!!  

“If not for anyone then at least for us!” I exclaimed… and so destiny has arrived…

A sample of this 2021 Tea Encounter Chawangshu Gushu was supplied free for review but normally goes for $350.19 for 200g or $1.75/g… nobody said Chawangshu was ever cheap…

Dry leaves smell of pungent gamey barnyard forest odours.

First infusion has a buttery/ milky creamy floral onset that melts into a creamy melon chalky sweetness slowly over the tongue and into the throat and breath.  A long sauntering velvety sweetness is released.  The mouthfeeling is a mild mossy and the texture is quite oily and lubricating.  There is a long melon floral almost potato and fresh spring grassy rainfall taste to it that it quite delicate but nuanced.

The second infusion has a buttercup milky/creamy fresh foresty sweetness that is very oily and floral and melts in to the soft mossy mouthfeeling leaving a slow dispersing floral, melon, fresh rainfall taste dissolve over the mouth.  The throat faintly opens but yet the sweet subtle aftertaste seems to hang around lots.  The taste is very subtle, creamy, fresh, but yet very present.  Lots of saliva is dumped over the tongue.  A soft current of relaxing waves start to take me.  The very oily texture and mossy mouthfeeling with strong saliva producing is very nicely paired with sweet and fresh oily tastes.

The third infusion has a pungent gamey onset with a stronger immediate subtle gripping mossy mouthfeeling.  The initial taste is barnyard and gamey with wood mid body and juicer floral melons underneath.  The aftertaste is very long and is faint in the mid throat but pushes saliva onto the tongue.  There are some subtle face numbness and deeper mind floating Qi here.  I can especially feel it heavy on my forehead.  There is a potato melon taste that intertwines with saliva for even 15 minutes later.

The fourth infusion has a pungent forest onset with faint quick moving edges of gamey taste.  There is a building sweetness that moves from this taste.  It’s a melon, slight floral oily taste that melts over the mouth.  It has a certain lightness to it and a bit of depth.  Some woodiness.  The mouthfeel is soft mossy and the throat presence is mild but an aftertaste lingers there.  Nice face sensations with some Heart slowing and mind relax happening.

The fifth infusion has a spicy pungent forest onset which moves quickly to a thick gummy oily fruity taste.  There are vibrant and strong pops of Starbust candy tastes thick sweet and long that melt over the almost gripping mossy tongue coating.  The oily texture, mossy gripping coating, and faint loopen mid-throat and saliva producing impart a strong effect on the melon, almost floral, almost potato sweetness.  There are bodyfeelings of chest slowing and face sensations and heavy forehead.  The body effect is strong.  All of a sudden I feel a wave of clarity and giddiness.

The sixth infusion has a thick oily melon onset with a floral underbelly onset.  The thick oily melon floral sweetness melts over the tongue, spills down the faint open throat and returns as a gob of saliva over the gripping mossy mouthcoating.  There is a long woody, almost dry, and cooling breath that pushes the oily melon sweet taste long on the breath.  The sweet melon taste is very long but is supported by a woody undertaste.  The Qi is really strong and pushes me into a talkative-giddy but also euphoric state of mind.  The body feeling is as if I am rocking back and forth with strong slow Chest beats.

The seventh infusion has a spicy pungent foresty onset with some woody and lesser floral sweetness emerging now.  The mouthfeel is less gripping and the throat less opening now.  An oily melon-floral sweetness emerges.  The cooled down cup of tea is more sweet almost a melon/caramel hue to the taste now.  This infusions has a more prominent woody base to it.  The woodiness extends at least as long as sweet, probably longer.

The eighth infusion has a lime woody cream sweet melon initial taste with a long cooling throat and a melon floral retuning with a flat woody base.  Long retuning taste of melon.  The mouthfeeling is a mild gripping mossy faint drying coating.  Heart strong beating and lively euphoric energy typical of Guafengzhai.

The ninth infusion has a woody, sour fruity juicy melon like onset.  There is a cooling then returning sweetness.  Nicely lively euphoric Qi over a mossy slight drying mouthfeeling.  Long woody sweetness and Heart beats.

The 10^th infusion has a pear and woody onset over a dry mossy mouthcoating.  There is an increasing sour lime note in here that is the primary fruity note now with much less sweetness.  Nice euphoric Qi sensation.  With long sour, sweet melon, and woody dry taste.

11^th has a woody sour fruity onset with a strong woody dry taste underneath.  The dry mossy gripping mouthfeeling. There is a long coolness with a melon and woody finish in the mouth.  The mouthfeeling is full and strong but not much saliva is produced nor is the throat sensation prominently open now.  The Qi is still quite strong with Heart beats and euphoria.  My mind travels…

12^th infusion has a woody dry onset with some lesser sour fruity taste underneath then a bit later a cool throatiness comes and a sour, woody and some sweet returns.  The mouthfeeling is getting more drying.  There is some saliva producing here… big Qi continues to push one into a euphoria Heart beats strongly.

13^th has a lime fruity not that sweet onset with a flat woody dominating base taste now.  There is the throat cooling and retuning not that sweetness but more of a sour fruity and woodier taste.  The Qi continues to push me hard into a warmed and floating euphoria state. 

14^th is a steady woody sour fruity taste over a gripping mouthfeeling the sweetness is pretty much gone now with some long cooling throat and a hint of fruity sweetness still. 

15^th is pretty much dry woody insipid water at these flash infusions…

I put the spent leaves in a mug and mug steep them out.  It tastes of bitter and floral melon.  Still big Qi in here!

The overnight steeping is quite enjoyable… thick oily texture with watermelon whites with a long subtle taste with edges of floral.  A full thick feeling in the mouth sticking to the teeth.

Overall, this is a nice Chawangshu experience.  The session has some key elements of Chawangshu for sure especially its euphoric Qi with strong Heart beats which is what Chawangshu is all about.  The long sweet taste is notable with this one as is the very structured oily texture, mouthfeeling, open throat, and retuning saliva.  The first handful of infusions really show how that sweet taste can melt over the mouth.  I really liked this experience here with this one and had a great time with this on this unseasonably warm late summer day.  It’s pricey experience for sure, but a good one.  It has enough Chawangshu-ness in it to keep me happy without being an overly singular pure simple Gushu like experience.

Days later my mind is still thinking about those first 5 infusions.... Yummy..

Alex’s (Teanotes) tasting notes

Peace

It’s been a good week: 2021 Tea Encounter Brand Puerh Tasting:

Well, first of all, the rainy cooler late Summer weather that hit a week or two ago gave way to warmer weather.  Just enough to squeeze in some good fresh Sheng samples from Tea Encounter.  It has been a tradition of the last few years for me to sample Tea Encounter’s freshest offerings from their annual catalogue around this time.  It’s a thing I have started to take some enjoyment in and am always thankful for the experience.

I noticed that Alex of Teanotes has a head start on his reviews of these.  I will be sure to reference his notes along the way. The package arrived and I have started to swim through the all house brand Tea Encounter puerh.

I stated with the good stuff a Guafengzhai and Chawangshu sampling….

And I can tell you it was a good week to be alive!

Peace

Marco’s 2021 Blind Tasting Summary/ Ranking

Just like last year’s blind sampling I hope to give a little review and discussion before having the blind samples revealed to me.  I thought to rank the samples in order of enjoyment they have brought me and to give them a short description.  First, I can say that I enjoyed them all on some level- all nice samples as expected from Marco.  When I received this package the long Summer’s drought and smoky heat wave was broken by cooler nights and long late summer rains.  As a result I had much better personal experience with the older samples he sent.  All of my impressions are based on one session as is usual on this blog.  In order of enjoyment…

1- Gamma- This iron bing,likely the 2001-2004 Xiaguan 8653, has a lot going on with it!  In classic iron cake style it does all this in slow motion, a slow release, with lots of condensed flavours and stamina.  This cake has some nice storage on it and it shows by dressing up the sometimes more modestly tasting Xiaguan 8653.  I want one of these cakes!

2- Alpha- oh baby… gimme da heat!!! This one has nice warming energy and feeling to it… it has a very nice Qi package overall with strong woody flavours and a familiar Yang Storage taste.  This Yiwu Gushu has a balance of wood and Sweetness.  I like this one a lot and wonder if I could have ever paid the $475.00 for the dry stored version of this cake at Houde last year???

3- Delta- has spacious clear tastes of wood, pine, smoke, some lesser sweetness and an incense core. The Qi is strong energy and has that brain slowing power to it with some interesting body sensations.strong downer Qi!  This is in some ways a clear simple thing but power is quite strong! Nice storage on this one.  The taste and energy reminds me of maybe an early 2000s Xiaguan production?  

4- Beta- this one is all about that crazy long Gushu sweetness stretches way out thing!  Nice spacey Qi.  Has a similar feel to and vibrant purity that Biyun Hao productions I’ve had before like the LiShan Gongcha.  Probably around 2020/2019 and likely Yiwu Gushu production.  Nice vibe here.

5- Zeta- same tea as below but with different processing.  I like this processing better of the two.  It’s more bitter but also with stronger throat sensations and returning sweetness. Both have the same Qi.

6- Epsilon-Overall, this is a nice clean pure green processed Yiwu single estate production.  It has a classic melon and floral onset with very faint coolness and faint sweet aftertaste.  Simple but pure and enjoyable for what it is.  The Qi is a mild feel good and relaxing experience. 2021 Yiwu Gushu experience!

That’s my take on Marco’s 2021 blind samples… now I just await some answers on which teas he sent and look forward to reading his reviews of the blind samples I sent… fun.

Peace

Marco’s 2021 Blind Tasting Epsilon & Zeta

I sampled these both on the same day and came to the conclusion that they are actually the same puerh!

Epsilon is first…

Dry leaves smell of very sweet forest very freshly picked 2021 sheng odours.  Smells like a nice Yiwu here… very light.

The first infusion is a watery very clear airy sweet slightly floral with a foresty almost gamey forest taste that slides into a long slightly vegetal creamy sweet aftertaste.  Yummy…

The second infusion has a clear pure fresh sheng almost melon and floral pure note to it which gathers a bit of faint foresty-gamey base, but only every so faintly.  Pretty green processed fresh sheng.  With a faint coolness in the throat and subtle melon long sweet finish.  The mouthfeel is faint oily softness with some deeper throat opening.  You can feel a light upbeat qi feeling from this puerh.  Also you can feel the green processing in the empty stomach, just faintly enough.

The third infusion has an oily floral buttery onset over a thin soft mouthcoating.  There is a faint suggestion of forest and faint long sweet melon floral green finish.  Faint cooling deep throat can be felt on the exhale.  Nice subtle soothing/ refreshing bodyfeeling.  A faint astringency from the freshness of this puerh can be felt in the empty stomach.

The fourth infusion has a creamy sweet buttercup melon floral onset.  There is not much forest base left but more of a faint green astringent floral vegetal before cool throat and sweet melon finish.  This is pretty nice standard pure green processed Yiwu gushu-ish stuff.  The oily texture over a very soft mouthfeeling is a nice feature of this one as is the very light airy upbeat/ feel good Qi.

The fifth infusion has a watery pure clean fresh butter cup and subtle floral melon sweetness that fades into a faint mid-deep cool throat and faint soft mouthfeeling.  There is a faint astringency to the young leaves.  Soft bodyfeeling of mild uplifting.  The aftertaste is a faint sweet melon.

The sixth infusion has a mild watery vegetal almost woody but more melon onset with a faint cooling.  The mouthfeeling is becoming more substantial with a thicker dryer puckering.  There is also less aftertaste a faint mid-throat coolness and more of a vegetal than sweet finish.  Nice happy subtle floating feel good feeling.

The seventh has a watery melon floral watery pure onset with a very faint cool throat and vegetal melon finish.  The Qi is becoming more relaxing than feel good.  Soft thin mouthfeeling.

The eighth infusion has a very watery faint melon and floral onset that kind of fades out.  There is a bit of cooling in the mid-throat.  This puerh is Yiwu and has a greener production not from super old trees but old enough but definitely not plantation either.

The ninth infusion I add 20 seconds to the flash infusion and it comes off with more orchid onset and with a thin dryer mouthfeeling but still some upper-mid throat coolness and floral melon vegetal finish.

10^th has a 30 second steeping and is much the same…

Overall, this is a nice clean pure green processed Yiwu single estate production.  It has a classic melon and floral onset with very faint coolness and faint sweet aftertaste.  Simple but pure and enjoyable for what it is.  The Qi is a mild feel good and relaxing experience.

Guess: Epslion is a more green processed 2021 Yiwu from a single estate production like Gushu but not overly gushu.

Zeta

Dry leaves smell of very sweet fresh forest odours freshly picked sheng odours. Smells like a nice Yiwu here… slightly deeper and darker than Epsilon. More pungent forest odours here.  Not the sharp cut through the young leaf material- we can expect a bit of bitterness from that… Wet leaves after the rinse have a roasted nutty kind of odour.  You can see that the leaves are darker and more rolled than the Epsilon.

First infusion has a roasted veggie with a bit of floral and melon undernieth roasted taste there is a bit of coolness in the throat and some melon but also creamy coolness melon.  There is more saliva producing effect in the upper throat.  Nice smooth feel good feeling.

The second infusion has a spinach watery sweet melon floral onset with a bit of subtle roasted nutty taste and more lubricating mouthfeel over a thin soft mouthcoating.  The subtle coolness is in the mid-deeper throat and pushes out a creamy cool and melon floral.  There is a bit of saliva returning.

The third infusion is cooled but has a melon, roast floral nuance to it a long melon finish with a bit of creamy sweet and cool throat.  Nice feel good Qi sensation.  Qi is the same as the Epsilon, flavours are almost the same with the Zeta with more spinach and roast and the Epsilon with more vegetal.  The mouthfeeling is better with the Zeta as there is significant saliva returning.

The fourth has a green roast vegetal onset with orchid and melon sweetness as the saliva returns over the soft thin mouthfeeling it brings a wave of creamy sweetness that trails into the aftertaste.  Nice feel good Qi a bit alerting too now.  Minutes later there is a lingering green sweet roasty note.  Nice upbeat/ feel good Qi.

The fifth infusion has a watery, roasty sweet, orchid, and melon onset with a faint cool mid-throat with a returning melon floral sweetness.  There is a long creamy breath minutes later over the faintly drying soft thin mouthfeeling.  The Qi is a feel good but is starting to compound into a stronger energetic giddiness.

The sixth infusion has a watery melon and orchid onset there is a bit of brackish like bitterness like roasty bitterness from a nut shell which comes and fades over a cool mid-throat causing a creamy sweetness to return with melon and some floral.  It happens over a soft thin subtly drying aftertaste.

The 7^th has a watery melon and orchid with a faint roasted bitter nut shell taste the mouthfeeling is thin and a bit dry with a subtle coolness and faint returning melon aftertaste.  A nice relaxing Qi is taking hold now.  There is a rubbery vegetal taste left on the breath minutes later.

The 8^th infusion has a woody vegetal bland onset with very faint melon and floral some faint cooling throat and some very faint lingering sweetness.  Overall, relaxing Qi experience now.

The 9^th I add 20 seconds to the flash infusion and it pushes out bland sweetness with a subtle orchid sweetness and some cooling in the mid-upper throat over a tighter dryer thin mouthfeeling.  There is some sweet woodier melon in the aftertaste as well as some bitter finish with gripping mouthfeeling.  Very faint candy sweet finish on the breath minutes later.

The 10^th I do a 30second steeping and get much the same…

I mug steep out the spent leaves with Epsilon on the Left/top and Zeta on the Right/bottom they both have a nice sweet melon and floral taste with Epsilon being more tart and astringent and Zeta being more bitter.  Zeta is also more course in its mouthfeeling with a deeper cool throat and longer aftertaste.  Epsilon has a more vegetal and more aromatic floral presence throughout with a chalkier mouthfeeling.  They have identical Qi… and Qi can’t lie…

Guess: These are the same puerh with different processing.  This must be the 2021 Longdui Guoyoulin Half-Cake Set with Epsilon being the normal rolling and the Zeta being the stronger rolling.  At $0.60/g this cake is priced right and the option for learning is an excellent bonus.  I think the spent leaves mug steeping says it all… there is great learning to be had with this one.

Peace

Marco’s 2021 Blind Tasting Delta

Oh notorious Delta… why have you such a bad rep these days???

Dry leaves smell of very smoky pine like odour.  There are still some hairy with tipped smallish leaves which look maybe 5 ish ? years old

The first infusion has a surprisingly light watery almost fruity viscus body to it.  It has a smoky & meaty finish to it with slight cooling.  Overall watery and light with meaty smoke.

The second infusion has a watery smokey liquid that has a faint hard to pin down not that sweet plum taste.  The mouthfeel is a bit viscus then fades to a drier mouthfeel with only a faint throat opening that leaves a smoky finish on the mouth.  There is some faint bodyfeelings that I notice early on- little things here and there but nothing substantive.

The third infusion has a smoky pine watery flat taste with a faint touch of caramel.  There are some bodyfeels that manifest as faint face twitching and tingling.  There is an incense finish to the taste that makes it seem older that it feels initially.  I’m getting the sense that this is older and perhaps Taiwanese stored.  The mouthfeel is faintly viscus initially then fades to a thin dryness.  There is a faintly but powerful floating mind sensation going on with this Qi.  The tastes are really separate, watery and loose feeling. Can feel a body easing feeling with some Heart racing.  It feels a touch like a factory tea but also a bit like a gushu.  Maybe a special production?  I’m leaning towards Xiaguan but could be Menghai Factory. It’s a unique feeling tea that is hard for me to place.  Definitely Menghai region puerh though. Something about the clear separate taste and clear storage reminds me vaguely of Wistaria productions as well.

The fourth infusion has a woody varnish like sweet woody surgery taste.  The taste is more condensed here with woody, slightly-moderate smoky especially in the finish.  There is a rolling faint creamy sweetness that fades into the breath nothing but smoke in the aftertaste.  The bodyfeelings are quite strong with this puerh as I have a strong pounding Heart now and tingling limbs and even my respiration is impacted.  My limbs have a tingling feeling and my head feels floaty.  Qi is really really strong.  This puerh is really about this strong Qi.

The fifth infusion has a faint sweetness onset with faint woody pine and smoke.  The tastes are all quite separate.  They come over a faint weak dry mouthfeeling and not much in the throat.  The finish that comes out of these tastes is a long thin candy taste.  The bodyfeeling is in the face, limbs, chest.  Floating mind qi feeling.

The sixth infusion has a smoke and woody pine simple and kind of empty flavor.  There is a subtle sweetness to it.  Strong Qi beats the heart.  Strong mind floating.

The seventh is much the same.  The flavor and aroma is very loose, light, and simple but the Qi is strong and engaging.  Woody pine, moderate smoke, long faint caramel sweet finish that fades out.  Strong face and limb reactions.  Intense Heart racing.  The cooled down remainder of the cup is quite woody-candy sweet but the taste is crisp and narrow.

The eighth infusion has a watery woody onset with less smoke and an emerging faint sweet incense finish.  The taste is really thin here.  The mouthfeeling is a very thin dryness.   The Qi is less strong as well as this puerh has really dropped off quite a bit.  There is still a floating spacy feeling that is pretty strong and a limb lightness type of feeling.

The ninth infusion has an incense onset which holds as the main taste throughout and just kind of fades away.  The Qi is still big and floats and sedates the mind.  There is glimpse of candy faint in the aftertaste under woody incense.  Heart opening feeling is strong.  Strong incense core tells me this puerh was dry stored for quite a while possibly sealed.  I re-evaluate the age of this puerh to be older than my earlier suspicions.

The 10^th infusions is much more of the above incense, strong Qi, subtle candy hard to grasp faint aftertaste.  Thin dry mouhfeeling not much for throat feeling or stimulation.

11^th are quite watery and insipid with only a faint incense and faint barely sweet finish over a dry mouth.  Strong sedating Qi now starts to really take hold of my mind.

12^th I steep for 20 seconds to see if I can push some other tastes out without getting to much dry mouth.,, the result is a more condensed pine woody slight smoky taste with some faint cooling in the mouth over a increasingly dry mouthfeeling.  Big floating and sedating qi.  Strong bodyfeeling and Heart beats.  Faint long candy cooling and incense finish.

13^th I put in a long infusion here… left to cool its quite woody sweet with a bit of a cooling numbness in the mouth.  The Qi has really backed me into a corner here and I feel quite docile and useless totally groggy under the spell of this puerh. A very strong downer Qi!

I push out another long one before ending things it tastes of woody varnish faint coolness faint bitter dryness.

Overall, I’m a bit unsure of this one… the taste is very simple and uncomplicated there are only really a few clear spaced out notes that emerge- wood pine, smoke, some sweetness(caramel rarely appears, sometimes a faint short candy finish), and a stronger incense core.  This one is really about the really big Qi and bodyfeelings- strong floating mind, sedating, and in the end I feel quite useless- like caught in a vat of pudding.  The bodyfeelings are intense with strong Heart sensations, limb and face tingling, and limb floating.  The Qi is really very powerful. 

Guess: It is mainly dryer stored, I think, maybe sealed and 8-15 years old ish.  It has a powerful Menghai area feel to it. In some ways this feels like a factory production and in some ways it feels like more than that. Hummm…. Not to sure about this one.  For some strange reason Marco’s take on my Alpha sample sounds a lot like this Delta sample… eerie…

Peace

Today I am drinking mug infusions of the spent leaves and they have a sweet plum and incense note, slight wood with a cooling menthol finish.  There is an incense and bitter coco aftertaste that lingers.  These mug infusions puts this age at early 2000s, maybe Xiaguan?

Peace