1113 Tasting Notes
Unsure what I was getting myself into: The long awaited YQH tasting has come.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCVOfkrRYKI/
Not knowing a thing about this tea, I went right into it. Within 11 steeps I had my thoughts collected and went another 6 steeps with no changes on those thoughts.
This tea brews easily which is a plus, but within the ability to brew it easily with no disappointment coming from astringency or bitterness there seems to lack depth. This tea hits the tongue and ends in a rather flat manner; therefore I can’t say there is a body to note about this tea. The taste is on the mild side, appealing to my personal preference, with a mellow color.
Reading about ‘gushu’ vs fake ‘gushu’, I was really looking forward to this tea and my conclusions were leading me to conclude that I was let down by this. There are many teas out there that slide off the tongue with pleasant flavor, but without a body or lingering qi… I really have no idea what would set this apart. I do have two or three more YQH samples to go through and each should be a step up from the one prior to it.
Decent brew that shows a mellowing from the last few years for sure. The only thing to note is that the mellowness is seperate from the mildness of the tea itself. The mellowing of this tea has led to a smoother upfront taste and less of a dry note at the end, but the strength overall can be seen in the color of the brew and aroma of the tea. It’s possible it comes from storage, however it is noticeable that it has lost some of that ‘umph’ that a good roasty DHP has.
Finally got my hand on some of the weird/awesome looking plated/braided raw pu’erh.
Knowing nothing about why this is done, I just really like the appearance but would never buy it just for that. First thing I notice is that this is indeed braided. That’s pretty awesome.
No scent to the tea which is odd. Brewing it for 20 seconds and it’s almost close. I decided to twist the leaf apart and noticed that one of the six leaves is a really dark one and the rest are shades of olive to green.
Taste wise this is weak and flat. With absolutely no body to the liquid or hopes to finding qi, it’s not as disappointing as you would think. It’s drinkable in a way that a lot of sheng is not because of the accidentally overstep or water ratio to leaf. This seems fairly easy to steep and drink. While there is little to nothing to taste to this type of tea, not sure brand or how many places even do it, I still find a value to trying it or even buying it.
Where did you get this one? I’ve got a good amount of a plait pu erh I was sent by mistake. It is rather smokey and certainly nothing incredible, but I enjoy it. I’ll send you some if you are interested in the style.
This had no smoke. I’ll ask my friend and find out :)
I’d be curious to see what it’s like when smokey, assuming more potent.
Tried this today at work a bit confused as I first thought it was a ripe from Mengku and then realized I was wrong…
Clear example why I have yet to try many aged blacks. Seems like after a few years this tea has already become liquid cardboard in a cup. While it may still have the fury appearance, the scent is misleading. I’m curious about aging dianhong…. but now I don’t know; I cannot let one tea determine my opinion though!
After trying to read February 2016 magazine for Global Tea Hut, I canceled my order. Trying to read through this was like a religious exploration for the doctrines on tea preparation… just not my thing. Instead of having mixed feelings each month, I shall go elsewhere for a monthly subscription. Did anyone else feel odd reading an entire Zen based tea magazine last month?
Going from the Bang Wei to this… utter disapointment. This tea is mouth damaging as it leaves a lingering astringency. Now 2012 Wild Monk was the best stuff as many of us know and I strongly believe that this isn’t the same material being pressed from a different year. Unless a few years changes a cake that much… I feel tricking into expecting a similar product. Maybe I’m wrong, but I have found a cake that I believe is much closer. This just wasn’t pleasant and I used a small amount at lower temperature. Its strong if you want that, but the taste is an undesired one.
Try more leaf?
Absolutely not going to happen. This is not something I enjoyed at 4g and I’m confident in my assessment on it. I’ve had the 2014,2015, and loose… they are all much different than the 2012 and were not very enjoyable. I had to have two different sessions to come to the conclusion with certainty because there is always random elements that could make me have a wrong impression or experience. In this case, I know this tea is not for me.
Wasn’t my favorite. i thought its only me. i couldnt get past 3 steeps. i used off boil and 5g for 80ml
Generally I go lower for harsh sheng so I dropped my temperature a bit… still no luck :/
No worries though, this is only one of many cakes to which all vendors experience; some I hate you, eh, okay, awesome, and thisisgoingtobeadrunknight type of cakes
Drain cleaner sheng. Might be good in a decade though.
Swap you for a bit to try.
@ boychik this is why we share, so we don’t feel crazy! @ Cwyn sometimes I imagine you owning a house where each room is host to a specific decade of pottery and tea. @mrmopar I’ll weight out what I have and send it your way (I may have the loose and pressed material)
I have had it in a cart considering it.
Glad I saw this.
Being from the same exact source area as the 2012 Wild Monk I would expect that this tea will mellow and become closer in character to the 2012 as it packs on some age. Of course the 2012 will change as well and of course, there will be differences in vintages of mao cha. This is why Pu-erh is referred to in China as the older it gets, better the taste/aroma. Ye Sheng cha changes alot in the first few years. It is intensely bitter and astringent in the first few years and then rather suddenly mellows quite a lot but with a lot of character. It’s only somewhat comparable to assamica (traditional pu-erh) in it’s aging as it’s a completely different varietal. Young purple leaf is going to act very differently and many customers are brewing it at green tea temp and up to 195. Give it time…
I will also add that there were plenty of people who thought the same thing about the 2012 Wild Monk at first, some still do. I’m not going to spend my personal money (and a pressing ain’t cheap) to press a tea that isn’t tasted by several people in the know. This 2015 Wild Monk pu’er is one of the hottest selling teas at Cafe’ Steam, a coffeehouse in Rochester, MN.
Different strokes, especially in a young purple leaf sheng. It’s why I write Purple leaf tea is very bitter in the first 2 years. Try a sample first to see if you are tough enough." It’s a whole different animal, this purple leaf stuff. The only thing that makes me not feel poorly after reading your review is that I’ve had all the repeat buys on both the 2014 and 2015 Monk.
Wishing you joy,
Garret
Garret, I still have some left ( it was a sample, beenghole) what parameters would you recommend ?
@Garrett Understood. For me, bitterness and astringency are a massive no no. That is why I rarely drink black tea and have a hard time with sheng because I am really picky. I’ve been drinking a lot of lighter stuff the suites my personal taste preference which will make this taste even harsher. For me, the difference is like tasting a cup of water and then a cup of straight black coffee; I have sensitive taste buds.
@boychik – Hi!! I’ve been doing a fun thing with the 2014 and 2015 Wild Monk… I do 2 to 3 steeps at 195 for 20 or 30 seconds, then I do one 2 to 3 minute steep at 195 (this will be bolder flavor) after that I’m back to 30 second steeps but with water near or at a boil and the sweetness comes out. The coffeeshops and restaurants we sell to are brewing the wild monk at 195 for 1.5 to 2.5 minutes, depending on the strength desired by the customer. I’d say most customers are brewing both at 195 and digging it that way. I also really love it grandpa style at 175, 180 in my tea thermos. So many ways to skin this cat :) Enjoy!!
Based on this review and comments, I am going to buy this now. I love my everything strong. Straight black coffee, espressos, single malt scotch, dry as can be red wines. So I will definitely be adding this to my cart.
tea-junkie, if you are buying, I’ll include samples from whatever vintage of the Wild Monk that you don’t, including some 2012 from my stash so you can see what a few years does to the purple leaf. Also highly recommend the “Bamboogie” and “Heart of the Old Tree” for you. I look forward to knowing your thoughts on them. Grateful,
Garret
@Garret I will take you up on those samples. I will place my order by this saturday. I actually purchased the “bamboogie” for black Friday and was shipped out when you received the RLBL. I just haven’t gotten to it yet. But I will soon. As for “Heart of Old Tree”, I have a cake of it and I love it. It is an awesome sheng!
I dislike revising teas with the concept of high grade, reserve, or special in the name… but, anyways: Upon the first brew I was excited to see a clear color in the liquid. There wasn’t t strong yellow that leads me to believe it’ll bite my tongue with a little sour taste with the floral notes. After six brews I was happy with my purchase of this and actually think it’s worth buying more of. Sadly most tgy is too strong and taste processed, which has lead me to Dayuling and Dancong. This and the 15 year have been wonderful, even when others were not so good; Verdant may not be a hit or miss as I realize I’m becoming spoiled in what I am drinking.
I blame myself for trying all the more expensive stuff I can!
Is this the 30 year? I have some but haven’t tried it yet.
No no no, this is just the ‘reserve’ harvest from last year. I have the 30, 15, and 10 as well to which I will admit that the 15 year is probably the best in regards to the reroasting notes, body, and taste.
Rather dark brew from this one. The taste is on the mild side with sweet notes throughout the steeps simple mouth body and easy to brew. Ideally to be drank when working on other things as complexity is not within this tea making it one to enjoy while being busy. Depending on the price and storage conditions it could be a daily morning cup while driving to work. I think a little wet storage on this would make it pop a bit
If you have this, go get 6g right now and try/retry it.
I drank this all day at work and it was amazing.
At first this was like a dancong which was interesting, but then those undertone floral notes vanished and the light sheng came through. Why should you try this though? Well, this tea kicked my ass. I fell out of my chair once at work today which was the first time ever as well. This tea is a strong relaxing tea. Drink and feel your eyes become heavy.
10 second brews. 90c. 6g.
Absolutely wonderful, but it is a different feel than the 2011 Bang Wei that had me GONE
If you over steep this tea, this is what you would taste: Imagine taking two day old tree bark removed from someones backyard and accidentally fell in your only cup of Sprite you were going to drink that week. Well, you forgot to dump it out and left it there as you and a friend laughed so it went flat. A few days later you take the bark out and notice the liquid is darker so you are as weird as this guy named Andrew and strain the liquid to make a woodsy soup. Noticing that it taste like a roasted/woodsy oolong, you realize you created an over steeped gui fei.
Anyways: This tea is suppose to be similar to what happens when honey notes meet an interesting oriental beauty, but something is lost in translation; the truth is, these are my taste buds and I am not a fan of oriental beauty. The flavors are a bit confusing when you brew this the way I find best, being 30s steeps. This tea just has this odd mixture of woodsy notes that taste like someone tried to sweeten bark. Not for me.
After writing my review I looked up the price and saw that it is an affordable purchase! Unlike many other teas that YQH offer, this doesn’t compare to a car payment. Looking forward to blind tasting the others and not knowing their cost.
This one still needs age in my opinion. Pack this away for 5 years or so.
is this a fake gu shu?
Not fake..