2022 Tea Encounter Walong Gushu: Smooth and Dreamy

 

I drank this one after the 2022 Tea Encounter Man Zhuan and it was surprisingly smooth and easy drinking… I got this free sample but the cake of 2022 Tea Encounter Walong Gushu goes for $150 for 250g cake or $0.60/g.

Dry leaves have a piercing cooling sweet pungent odour to them.

First infusion has a spicy forest vegetal taste that has a barely noticeable faint lingering sugar on the edges.  It expands a bit in the returning taste. There is a wet mouthfeeling here with saliva producing where most of the sugar sweet edges reside.

The second infusion has a forest vegetal onset with slowly unraveling sweetness of melon and sugar edges.  The taste is subtle and expanding with a mid-throat coolness and long mild unraveling of sweet taste.  The mouthing is watery and soft.  The body is relaxed and peaceful mind.

The third infusion has a mild forest woody onset that feels a bit empty but slowly develops subtle sweet edges.  The mouthfeeling is wet and a subtle melon-vegetal note lingers.  A mild dreamy feeling is felt.  Watery mild soft mouthfeeling.

The fourth infusion is left to cool and gives off a foresty not quite woody tasting soup there is not much sweetness in this puerh but more of an overall rain forest taste.  Some sugar faint edges that return.  Mild forest taste, mild watery mouthfeeling, mild relaxing Qi.   Naturally comfortable in the body.  It doesn’t at all resemble the power of all the other Walong area puerh I’ve tried before.  Those who like their puerh smooth are going to really enjoy this one. 

The fifth infusion has a mild forest onset with edges of sugar and barnyard and some hard to grasp tartness.  The tastes are all very mild and hard to grasp with an overall forest taste.  There is a bit more tongue sandy gripping and mid-throat opening but very mild.  Relaxing feeling in the body.

The 6^th has a bit of a mild pop of sour peachy bitterness that makes the mouth salivate and mildly pucker.  There is a long melon taste in the mouth that extends down the throat.  The melon taste lingering for minutes.

7^th is cooled down and gives off a pop of mild melon bitterness.  There is a creamy cool returning sweetness that stretches into the aftertaste and lingers even minutes later. 

8^th has a watery milky forest taste with faint edges of sweetness which lingers in the mouth.  There is a faint bitterness.  The taste is mild and slowly appears then faintly lingers.  Nice mild melon minutes later.  Mild relaxing feeling.

9^th is left to cool and gives off a mild forest taste with subtle bitterness and sweetness both very wisp and hard to grab on to.  The bodyfeeling is very mild with a faint heavy shoulders and mild relaxing.  The mouthfeel continues to be very light with a mid-throat opening where some faint sweetness resides.

10^th has a mild forest watery faintly bitter with a faint pucker and watery feeling some coolness mid-throat with some faint creamy melon sweetness.  Nice relaxing mild wave hits me- mildly tranquil.

11^th left to cool has a woody forest taste with a lingering and slowly building mild creamy sweetness.  The mouthfeel has a soft dryness to it now.  Nice relaxing feeling.

12^th is left to cool and gives off a bland forest taste with some sweet edges.  Fine sand and watery mouthfeeling.  Relax.  Feels really effortless and mild profile.

13^th has a mild juicy fruity bitter-astringency with long fading taste over a thin soft drying mouthfeeling and long taste.  Long melon with dry coating minutes later.

Mug steepings of the spent leaves give off an olive and forest taste that is slightly bitter there are some faint sugary edges and a melon and bitter creamy sweet finish.  Relaxing feeling.

Vs 2022 Tea Encounter ManZhuan Gushu (pictured Left).  These two Manzhuan puerh are very very different.  The Manzhuan had a deeper mouthfeeling and Qi sensation and strong building bitter-astringency and mouthfeeling.  Something that should be aged.  This 2022 Tea Encounter Walong Gushu is very mild, agreeable, soft watery mouthfeelng mid throat depth and mild relaxing that is a touch dreamy. Something that could be consumed fresh.

Peace

2022 Tea Encounter Manzhuan Gushu: Strong In-Body Experience

This one turned out to be my favourite among the free 2022 samples I kindly received from Tiago of Tea Encounter.  It didn’t really turn out as I expected and in the end I thought this sample might have been mixed up with the 2022 Tea Encounter WaLong Gushu.  This

2022 Tea Encounter Manzhuan goes for $135.00 for 250g cake or $0.54/g.

Dry leaves have a very sweet creamy odour with a subtle forest barnyard in the distance.

First infusion has a creamy fluffy sweet candy like taste which lingers in the subtle chalky mouthfeeling.  There is a green forest taste underneath.  Not sure if this was the flash rinse or the following infusion but it has a lingering fluffy sweetness left on the breath and deeper into the throat.

Second infusion has a creamy foresty barnyard mainly creamy fluffy sweetness.  Nice deepish base forest-barnyard with the expected creamy candy fluffy taste.  Creamy sweetness expands into the throat with a nice chalky soft fluffy mouthfeeling that reaches deep into the throat with a subtle expanding faint coolness.  There is a very present in-body feeling almost like the body is quivering.  Peaceful and present.

Third infusion has a creamy sweet tropical fruity subtly with a faint bit of astringency at the tip. The mid-profile has a vegetal foresty taste with a slightly puckering fine chalky-sand mouthing and deep throat coolness.  There is a very present mind feeling.

The fourth infusion has a bitter astringent tropical fruity edge onset with a slow fading of astringency with tropical forest taste.  There is layering of tropical fruit and melon under the bitter-astringency.  Deep throat cooling but less sweetness follows as deep.  More of a chalky-fine-sandy mild pucker mouthfeeling.  Deep throat opening.

The 5^th is left to cool and gives off a bitter fruity onset with the bitter coming first then tropical fruit then a long creamy sweetness that lingers deep in the throat.  Nice present in the body feeling with some whole body vibrations.

6^th infusion has a creamy woody forest onset with a fruity suggestion underneath.  The woody is faintly bitter-astringent.  There is a long creamy sweet finish.  More of a sandy chalky mouthfeeling with deep faint throat openings. Nice grounding feeling in the body.

7^th has a fruity creamy almost candy like sweetness with a foresty almost barnyard layers. Has a sort of banana sweet finish that expands into the throat.  There is a bit of bitter astringency as well.  This infusion has a bit more tartness to it but also much more fruity sweetness.  Nice fine sandy pucker.  Body glowing feeling- strange bodyfeeling but feels good, deep.

8^th has a woody almost coco woody bitterness with creamy expanding fruity banana taste that lingers into the deep throat.  There is lots of astringent pucker but nice expression of fruity sweet flavours underneath.  Nice grounding body feeling. 

9^th has a bitter astringent coco-woody onset with a creamy sweetness in the finish and throat.  The bitter astringency is increasing with each infusion. This infusion has a long bitter woody-coco throughout.  Not much fruity sweetness makes its way through. 

10^th infusion has a bitter woody-coco and fruity onset.  The fruity taste is overcome by bitter-astringent coco but a sweetness from the initial blast lasts throughout and underneath the bitter-astringent layer.  Nice grounding feeling.  Lots of mouth puckering now.

11^th is lukewarm and has a lot of woody forest tastes upfront but not much sweetness and an emerging bitterness.  Quite puckering mouthfeeling.

12^th has a melon zucchini taste initially with emerging bitterness that takes over.  There is more of an oily saliva producing here that I haven’t seen yet.  Nice deep centering feeling contrasting the intense bitter-astringency of this one.  Still a deep throat aftertaste and deep echo bodyfeeling.

The next day I do a flash infusion and it gives off a muted fruity onset with a creamy sweetness that trials into the throat….

The leaves go into mug steepings and have an oily woody dry fruity taste with a coco bitter woody taste still quite apparent.  Nice bitter-coco bite with long melon creamy sweetness.  Nice rocking/swaying bodyfeeling and mind deep relax.

This one is for aging out for sure and has some nice qualities about it. 

Peace

2022 Tea Encounter Mansong: Relaxation

 I was excited to try this Yibang area puerh and I think it was the first free sample I tried when receiving the package from Tiago of Tea Encounter.  This 2022 Tea Encounter Mansong goes for $120.00 for 200g cake or $0.60/g.

Dry leaves fresh expanding floral and crisp lime odours.

First infusion has a buttery floral sweetness with a touch of wood and finishes rubbery in the mouth. The mouthfeeling is a touch puckering and the throatfeeling is mildly stimulating.

The second infusion has a puckering floral sweet-and sour onset with a gripping mouth and throatfeeling and mild under-the surface bitter astringency.  There is a bland woody note and floral note that follow from the onset to the finish. Nice relaxing calm focusing Qi takes hold.

The third infusion has a buttery watery sour then sweet onset that leaves a significant floral taste in the mouth.  Each time I want to write that the sour is almost like lime but not really.  The mouthfeeling is watery with a gripping mouth a upper throat but not so much saliva producing. Nice focused calm feeling in the body.  

The fourth has a sour-bitter floral lime buttery onset with a finish of rubber.  A watery texture with a mild gripping tongue and upper throat but without saliva returning.  Nice focused calming Qi.  A bit of lime floral even minutes later.

The fifth infusion has a buttery floral onset with a bit more woody-bland tastes.  It ends with a sour lime and floral finish.  The texture is watery and the mouthfeeling has a mild gripping especially the tongue and a bit in the upper throat.  Nice calming focusing Qi.

The sixth infusion has a bitter-buttery floral woody-almost grains onset with a sour puckering finish.  The texture continues to be watery with a mild fine sandy gripping mouthfeeling.  Nice clam focused Qi.

The seventh infusion has a mild quick mild bitter and buttery sweetness.  Watery-oily texture with a slight gripping mouthfeeling and upper throat. There is a bit of sour-lime-wood in the aftertaste. Does not irritate an empty stomach for sure.  Feels good in the body and has a nice focusing vibe.

The eighth infusion is left to cool and gives off a sour lime woody faint bitter initial taste.  A subtle chalky gripping pucker but pretty mild and mainly on the tongue.  Nice calm focused energy.

The ninth has a woody-straw bland buttery creamy sweet with edges of floral and melon.  There is a bland woody taste now but also more subtle melon and less bitter-sour-floral taste.  The mouthfeeling is sandy and a bit gripping with not as much watery texture.

The 10^th infusion has a buttery woody straw bland woody onset with a chalky mouthfeeling.  There is a subtle fruity bitter sour taste in the finish.  The mouthfeeling is more chalky sticky now not gripping or oily.  Nice focused feeling.

11^th has a buttery sweetness onset that is a bit more singular and creamy with a bit of a chalky mouthfeeling now.  The Qi gives me a bit a spacy calm slowness as I have thrown back the last 5 infusions in the last 20 min or so.  Subtle fruity sour edges when I swallow.

12^th has a sour-bitter woody lime bland wood bark onset.  The mouthfeeling is this chalky dry feeling and the Qi is now more relaxing than focusing.

13^th has a melon and bland woody sour onset.  The taste is less dynamic now. There is a bit of rubbery taste in there.  Relaxing feeling.

14^th has a fruity melon-citrus pop with a bland woody bark finish.  Relaxing feeling.

Mug steeping…. Has a sour-bitter melon taste with buttery edges and a strong calming feeling.

I tried this with the 2012 Tea Urchin Yibang and feel like there is some similarities with this 2022 having a more relaxing vibe and the 2012 more condensed power.  The 2012 Tea Urchin comes out on top but the relaxing vibes of this 2022 Tea Encounter Mansong matches the mood of the day nicely.

Peace

2022 Tea Encounter Lao Man E: Bitterer

 It’s a hot one so I go for this free sample of 2022 Tea Encounter Lao Man E which sells for $120.00 for 400g cake or a mere $0.30/g.

The very hairy and white bud heavy dry leaves have a sweet melon odour to them…

First infusion has a very pure soft creamy mild bitter.  The taste is very pure, clear and singular.  It has a soft rind taste to it with soft faint sweet edges and a watery mouthfeeling with a bit of dry on the roof of the mouth.

The second infusion has a warm spicy edge to it with watery taste and a mild bitterness throughout.  The roof of the mouth is dry and mid throat opens up a bit.  Lots of simple pure and clear tastes.  The bitterness is really long and you can feel it throughout the mouth and into the throat.  It beats at my empty stomach a bit.  The Qi is heady and shoulders heavy.

The third infusion has a bitter warm spicy onset with lots of saliva astringing bitterness.  The bitterness is stronger than most Lao Man E I’ve tried.  The bitterness is such it removes the saliva from the mouth and makes me gag.  The processing of these leaves is very light almost like a white tea.  Super bitter bomb here!  Bitter lovers take note.  The bitterness is uncomfortable with my empty stomach so I take a break to eat…

The fourth infusion has a buttery bitter onset with a floral and subtle spicy taste under the strong bitterness.  Qi is a bit relaxing in the mind with some heavy shoulders.

5^th infusion is left to cool and give off pill bitterness and floral melon and warm spice finish. Stong bitterness here across the profile.  I’m also using less leaf than usual.  Pure taste with a rubbery vegetal finish minutes later.

6^th hasd a milky creamy bitterness to it with a warm spice finish.  The texture is watery slight oily and the mouthfeeling is a flat bitter tugging feeling.  Relaxing feeling with heavy limbs.

7^th a buttery milky sweetness is flanked by a bitterness that is becoming a bit less now.  Nice creamy sweetness in the returning sweetness. Dry roof of mouth and watery oily texture with a tinny but of tugging which is less now.  Nice long creamy sweet almost melon taste.

8^th is left ot cool and is a creamy sweet milky bitter onset with a long creamy taste with bitterness close by.  Nice watery with somewhat oily texture and subtle mouth gripping. 

9^th is left to cool and is a bitter buttery sweet mildly oily taste with edges of sweetness.  There is less and less bitterness with each infusion.  Nice relaxing feeling.  Lingering buttery melon taste. Nice relaxing Qi.

10^th is also left to cool and again is a nice creamy milky sweet bitterness.  There is some mild tugging mouthfeeling and mid throat sensation. Nice relaxing feeling.  With an aftertaste of melon and butter.

11^th has a buttery woody melon bitter onset with a bit of warm spice in there and a long reaching creamy sweet bitterness.  Nice relaxing feeling.

12^th infusion has a more melon taste to it.  Nice oily watery buttery taste.  There is a lesser bitterness here but still present. 

13^th is a minutes long infusion by accident and it has a oily apricot bitterness with a creamy melon buttery finish and warm spice underneath and oily texture and mouthfeeling.  Bitterness is not overly strong this late into the session and I do another long infusion … Nice relaxing vibes.

14^th has a thick viscus oily buttery apricot bitter onset with a bit of warm spice then some melon bitter edges. 

The long mug steepings have a nice sweet melon floral and underlying bitterness.  Super tasty.  I put the spent leaves into a long cool infusion in the fridge for a few days in this heat wave and it gives off super sweet melon, vegetal green forest, and strong floral tastes with a lesser bitterness.

So refreshing during summer’s heat!  It’s been a while since I have consumed a LaoManEr this bitter and fresh… I like it!

Peace

In A Gushu Sort of Place Without Gushu

 Recently I have been a bit far away from my typical day-to-day life.  It’s made me reflect a bit on my daily rhythms with puerh tea…

 It’s got me thinking that in my typical day-to-day life it often runs almost effortlessly like a well ran factory.  Sometimes I feel like a cog in this cosmic wheel of life and the strong push of factory puerh feels so right in the energetic rhythm.  It pushes me along so comfortably and smoothly.

But other times I feel like an old tree just feeling the energy of life as it undulates through me. When I feel like this, the deep energies of Gushu puerh feels so right in this energetic rhythm.  

Recently there have been many weeks of just feeling the energy flow through me… this is my rhythm.  These are Gushu times but I’m far away and I guess I didn’t bring enough Gushu…

Oh well.

Peace

2022 Tea Encounter Spring Release

 For the last five summers Tiago of Tea Encounter has sent me his latest Spring release of puerh for review on this very blog.  So every year I indulge in the freshest of puerh during the hottest season and I am happy.

Every year there seems to be something new to report from Tea Encounter- most often some improvement or change.  This year it is a new website and warehouse based in Kunming. It’s a good move as I think the Kunming storage will do the type of Tea Encounter sells well as the years pass.  It will also give us buyers quick and direct access to Tea Encounter’s puerh.  It removes some of the shipping costs and import fees, I’m sure.

What about the 2022 Spring puerh releases?  This year Tea Encounter released 10 puerh under their Tea Encounter label.  Five of these we have seen in the past From Tea Encounter which include the 2021 Tea Encounter Yiwu Guoyoulin,   2020 Tea Encounter Chawangshu (Xiao shu), 2019 Tea Encounter Laos Gushu, 2021 & 2020 Tea Encounter Lao Man E. This year’s release most definitely has more budget options with mid aged trees selected, some blends of fringe Yiwu/ border areas, and lots of xiao Shu selections keeping the prices lower.  Even the Gushu releases are on the cheaper end of Gushu with none of the over the top Chawangshu Gushu or Chaping Gushus of the last two years. I’m excited to try these… please join me….

Peace

Early Concerns About the Paper Tong

I remember a heated conversation in the mid 2000s about the emerging popularity of paper tongs. I was at a Korean Tea house which mainly sold puerh tea and we were stirring around drinking puerh and the topic was tong wrappers.

At this point in time the popular puerh factories such as Menghai Tea Factory, Xiaguan, and even Haiwan, I believe, were starting to wrap a lot of their tongs in paper bag like wrapping instead of the traditional bamboo leaf tongs.  Even just two years before wrapping tongs in anything other than the traditional bamboo leaf was almost unheard of.  The only paper tongs I know of earlier than 2006 is the 90s GuangYun Gong productions.  Therefore the topic of conversation at the time was one of speculation…

On a very practical level there was conversation of whether the paper wrapped tongs would befit the aging of puerh or hinder it.  Some thought that the paper tong offered more protection against odours, pests, and excessive moisture. Others were concerned that if the paper tong was exposed to excessive moisture it would do the opposite because paper absorbs the water and it would leave the puerh cakes tasting like wet paper or worst mouldy mildew tasting.  Some like the idea of the better air sealing feature of the paper tong for the outcome of aging and others thought that the better air flow and natural breathable nature of the traditional bamboo tong would provide better aging in Korea.

Interestingly, one mentioned the energetics or Qi of a paper vs bamboo tong.  He said the nature of the bamboo tong was from renewable bamboo leaf and was naturally breathable.  It would impart an enlivening energy into the puerh when it ages.  He said the nature of paper was from a dead tree and was suffocating.  It would impart a stagnant and dying energy into the puerh when it ages.  Also there was discussion on the micro biome or symbiotic relationship between tea leaf and bamboo that would maybe be lacking in paper imparting a different aging outcome.

To this day I still don’t know the answers to a lot of the questions that this discussion generated.  I don’t know of any wearhouser or collector who has acquired the same production in both paper and traditional bamboo tongs to compare the impact of the different types of tong storage.  Often puerh factories use different cake wrapping to indicate different batches or to differentiate commissioned productions.  Any factory production with both paper and bamboo tongs might also be used as an identifier of different materials or batches.  They could also indicate production batches with the same material going to different wearhousers in different areas and climates and that will obviously age quite differently.  

The only time this is ever mentioned in the English puerh scene is when referencing the 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong.  However, there isn’t a written record of comparing these two.  It is often written that the paper tong was used to indicate better materials used in the cake which includes some aged Banzhang material.  I’m not sure if it’s true.  Does the traditional bamboo tong version not contain this material? Or is the difference due to purely storage differences or the result of the less desirable effect of the bamboo tong?  If the better material was used for the paper tong version then did the person who made that batch or the person who commissioned it believe that paper would impart better aging outcome for the difference in materials? Or for the storage conditions the better materials would be stored in long term?

Most of the questions from that conversation 15 years ago around that tea shop in Korea remain.  Maybe I’ll never know the answers.  But sometimes it’s wonderful to think of such things…

Peace