Chawangshop

This was a very interesting and quite enjoyable aged pu erh. It was quite different than what one might expect, it really didn’t fit the expected profile of an aged pu erh. The broth was amber colored and clear. The taste was very fruity, with upfront flavors of raisins or plums, almost like an aged oolong. But underneath the dried fruit was a light shu type flavor, or maybe even something like a straight black tea; very smooth. It also had a bit of sharp bitterness, but it was an unusual bitterness, not astringent. Almost like burnt. In many ways, it reminded me of Slumbering Dragon from Crimson Lotus, particularly in terms of what the bitterness was like, though that tea doesn’t have much fruit upfront (at least right now). High qi! I was flyin’. The leaves were large (but often in pieces). I found this to be a very unusual tea, and I really like it a lot. Unfortunately, only samples are available, and it is $25 for a 25g sample. I found an old review on the internet from 2011, when this tea first became available, and a 400g cake went for around $30 back then. Man, those must have been good times for pu erh collectors!!

Got a sample of this with my recent Chawangshop order. I have little experience with Liubao tea, but this is really good. It reminds me of a safe ripe pu erh, without the earthiness or sweetness you would find. It is really smooth and hearty, it held up to a lot of steeps. Later steeps were fruity. The broth was cola colored. Fun to try.

This is the best ripe I’ve tried, so far, from Chawangshop. I went for the Power Pu this morning, with about 10g in my little yixing, doing flash steeps. The liquor for the first set of brews was thick and rich, smooth but with some bitterness. Sweet, notes of chocolate. I think their description is spot on. Great semi aged ripe tea for a great price.

Another solid ripe from Chawangshop, and a bargain at $7 for a 100g cake. They say it is one of the best ripes they’ve ever tried. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is good tea. A little bitterness, some chocolate, and very little fish. Deep and rich, hearty and earthy, a little sweet, not too complex.

A solid Langhe ripe from Chawangshop. It’s like a bread and butter Langhe, the telltale flavors one might expect. Very dark, fairly smooth, kind of sweet, chocolatey, and creamy. Tasty tea!

This is an inexpensive and tasty mini ripe puerh from Chawangshop. It is quite good. It has a fair amount of fermentation flavor. This was noticeable through the fourth steep. There was little bitterness to this tea. It was sweet.

I steeped this eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.9g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec.

Thank you Marcus Reed for this sample. This is excellent puerh. It is sweet with little bitterness. Perhaps more than any other sheng I remember I got a note of apricots with this tea. I was surprised to have to add it to the catalog as I did get it in a swap. There is a little bit of astringency to this tea but not much. It has an overriding sweetness and I may just have to buy it the next time I order from Chawangshop. If I had tried this before ordering no doubt I would have bought it. I did not feel the famous Naka effect some have reported from Naka teas but it did seem to have a relaxing qi. I used my 60ml gaiwan and steeped this tea thirteen times. I think I would get a few more out of it if I wasn’t always watching my caffeine.

I steeped this thirteen times in a 60ml gaiwan with 4g leaf and 200 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, and 2.5 min.

This is a quite delicious aged oolong from Chawangshop. The first steep was like a tea of raisins, sweet and tasty. The next few steps were noticeably less plummy, with fruit in the background and spicy cinnamon coming to the fore. So basically cinnamon raisin tea! A very interesting one to try.

Thank You Mr Mopar for this sample. The first thing I noticed about this tea was the color of the tea soup, dark brown. This is definitely an aged tea despite being pressed into a cake recently. The second thing I noticed was the wet storage taste. The tea has a strong note of wet wood to it. I steeped the tea eight times and the wet storage taste never completely went away. It did get a bit muted in later steeps. There is also a note of spicyness to this tea. It bites the tongue just a little. Not quite like a red chile but maybe a jalepeno. This is a good tea for someone who enjoys the taste of wet wood as wet storage taste is often called. It definitely has an aged taste to it. This is no young sheng.

I steeped this eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. Had I wanted to continue I’m sure I could have gotten quite a few more steeps out of it but I was at my caffeine limit for today.

For the low price I paid this tea isn’t bad. It’s by no means incredible but for $7 I didn’t expect much. There was a fair amount of fermentation flavor during the early steeps of this tea, I’d say it dominated the first four steeps. The main note that emerged in this tea was spice. It was as if I had added a red chili pepper to the tea. After a while a sweet note emerged but it took a while. I never found notes of chocolate but I really didn’t expect to. This was just something cheap to add to my order. It is a large leafed tea and the brick was loosely packed. It was definitely made of lower quality leaves. But all in all the taste wasn’t half bad. Not something everyone would like but I am sure some would. I am not sure if the notes of spice are because it was packed in bamboo. I really didn’t taste the bamboo. I will let this age and see how it is in another year.

I steeped this twelve times in an 85ml Yixing Teapot with 7.2g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min and 2 min. In the end I neither recommend this tea or don’t recommend this tea. If spicy notes are to your taste this brick is cheap. There wasn’t much to lose with this brick and I am not upset to have bought it.

This is a relatively inexpensive tea from Chawangshop at $30 if I remember correctly. It has in my opinion value beyond its cost. This was good tea. It was not without fermentation flavor. It was thick and creamy with fermentation flavor throughout the first four or five steeps. There was, however, very little bitterness to this tea. It had a sweet taste from the beginning. While I didn’t notice the chocolate flavor that everyone seems to want in ripe puerh it did develop a fruity note after the fermentation taste faded. I would aadd that while there was a lot of fermentation flavor I didn’t notice any fishyness to this tea. So far everything I have bought from Chawangshop has been good. We will see if my luck holds with a couple of really cheap teas I also got from them. This was like I think I said a very strong tea. It was very dark in color and held its color throughout the twelve steeps I gave this tea. I think this tea would have gone at least fifteen steeps but twelve is enough for me.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 85ml Yixing Teapot with 7.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min. Again this tea would probably have gone another three or four steeps. It was a strong tea.

Puerh Tea TTB. This is another one I didn’t remember drinking. This tea was bitter and astringent through the first six steeps.After this it got a little better even getting a sweet note in the 9th and 10th steeps. Overall this was pretty good once you got past the bitterness and the astringency.

I steeped this ten times in a 75ml teapot with 4.9g leaf and boiling water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 minute.

thanks to whoever put this in the Puerh Tea TTB. This is overall a very nice sheng. Started off sweet then got a little bitter as the leaves opened up. But a few more steeps and it was again a sweet note. Not sure how to describe the sweet note but the tea was good.

Steeped this ten times in a 75ml teapot witih 5.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 minute.

When the review page came up I noticed that I had drank this before but not remembered it. I may even have this somewhere buried in my collection for all I know.

This tea was excellent. For the price of $22 a bing it’s hard to beat. I didn’t find much bitterness in this tea. There was a little in the first couple of steeps and that is all. Another reviewer described a light floral taste. I think this is on the mark. It’s got a lot of sweetness to it too. More of a floral sweetness than an apricoty sweetness. I bought this largely because Mr Mopar’s review made it seem quite interesting. This tea is not a disappointment. It was quite good. I steeped the hell out of this tea in a 60ml gaiwan. Gave it fifteen steeps in all. While that was enough for me I think I could have gotten a couple more steeps out of it.

I steeped this tea fifteen times in a 60ml gaiwan with 4.3g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min, and 3.5 min. What I did not get from this tea was any noticeable effect of qi. That is not to say it didn’t have any, just I didn’t feel any. I am happy to have bought the bing.

I purchased this cake with my Chawangshop order. A large leaf Bulang ripe for….$8! I had to see what it was like. I have to say, not bad! It really is large leaf material. Medium ferment, somewhat bitter and acidic, but also pretty tasty. Lots of caffeine. A good daily drinker for the budget minded. Chawangshop has some over the top bargains, even with the over the top shipping cost. You just have to plan well! I think my last order cost $40 to ship, though it was a large order.

Thanks to Boychik for this sample! She knows what I like…we have very similar tastes! This tea has a hint of smoke, a bit of bitterness, but it’s smooth and has a medium oily texture…love the oily ones! The aroma is sweet and vegetal. Turns out, it’s not super sweet, but has a bit of complexity that I like. Boychik reminded me that this is not puerh, but border tea. Still tasty though, and that’s all that really matters to me. :)

This is a strong and tasty tea. It was thick with fermentation flavor in the early steeps. It had a strong bitter character in the early steeps as well. The fermentation flavor persisted for some five steeps and the bitterness not as long. This was an incredible tea for the money I paid. It was only $4.50 for this tea. It was thick and rich to use a phrase. There was a dark color to this tea even in the eighth steep. I think this tea would have gone at least twelve steeps and possibly fifteen before losing it’s strength. I only steeped it eight times because of the caffeine factor. I can’t say if it developed notes of chocolate as I wasn’t paying close attention. It did develop a sweet flavor that was almost, but not quite fruity. While those with an extreme aversion to fermentation flavor might want to stay away from this tea I thought it was pretty good. It was not as good as something like the 2012 Huron Gold Needle from Whispering Pines but for the price it is hard to beat. I would definitely consider buying a couple more of these to age. At the price the only thing I have to lose is storage space.

I steeped this eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.9g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec.

Received this as a free sample with my recent order to Chawangshop. Liubao Tea is not a sort of tea I am in expert in. This one was enjoyable. It had what I would describe as a strong note of bamboo. Some might describe this note as wet wood but I think bamboo is a better description. It seems to be a common flavor in Liubao tea from the few I have tried. In this case it was not overpowering. It largely but not completely dissipated after around four steeps. It also had distinct notes of spicy in it. It was as if I had steeped the tea in a red chili. The spice was that prevalent. This is probably not a tea I would end up buying although I do want to order some Liubao the next time I order from Chaawangshop. If a teas qi is related to the effect it had on you this one has a mild but noticeable qi. I definitely feel an effect from this tea and I did not drink that much. Because I was drinking tea later than usual I only steeped this eight times in a 60ml gaiwan. This is not a huge amount of tea. It seems to have a warming effect on me. I don’t know if Liubao is supposed to be warming or cooling but that is the feel of it to me. I am happy that the taste of bamboo was not too strong as I am not overly fond of that note in tea. Again I think bamboo is a better description than wet wood. I don’t know that this tea was wet stored or dry stored. I don’t even know what part of China Chawangshop is in. I definitely want to buy more Liubao teas from their large selection.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 60ml gaiwan with 4g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. Judging by the color of the leaves I think I would get at least another four steeps out of this should I continue.

I received a bag of these mini tuos with my recent order. I was not expecting much. I was quite surprised. I found this to be a very tasty tea, high quality. The liquor was amber colored and tasted very smooth, as one might expect from Langhe. I saw a bunch of little white things in there – flower petals perhaps? Any ideas anyone? The tea is not supposed to be adulterated, I wonder if this is naturally occurring. Anyway, very good flavor and great to have them for traveling! And quite cheap. Good stuff.

This one snuck up on me. I’d had it once before and had classed it as a daily drinker, so it seemed perfect for sipping while I checked my email. I was reading when I suddenly realized that I had a huge mouth-full of flavor. Mostly wood, but reasonably complex. The thing that really impressed me is the mouth-feel and the long, powerful finish. Decent cha qi as well.

I immediately stopped work to enjoy the third steep, which was similar to second cup but more powerful. The tea is more tannic that I would like (part of the mouth-feel) but there is only a hint of bitterness. By the 4th steep the tannin was getting to me: my mouth is all puckered up. I lowered the rating a notch. This isn’t necessarily my style of tea, but I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I got back into the email and did a 5 minute steep (too tannic to drink) which pretty much ended the session.

Actually, the oversteep didn’t totally ruin the leaves, but left it as a daily drinker.

Finally learned how to brew this

Thank you Marcus Reed for this sample. While I didn’t feel any noticeable effect from this tea it is quite good. It was sweet with little bitterness and just a little astringency. In fact there were notes reminiscent of honey in this tea, not quite but close. This is a tea I would consider buying. I’ve been meaning to order from Chawangshop for a while now.

I steeped this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 7.9g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and about a 15 minute rest. The leaves were very densely packed. It was not until the third steep that they began to open up. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.