Chawangshop

Randomly threw some of this into a gaiwan and began a session that was bleh.
Very basiic raw puerh with some umph to it in regards to bitterness.

After 12 steeps I was like… this is not on the same level as the other at all ; ‘what the heck mayne???’

Well… $22 cake, I suppose that answers my internal thoughts; not to say cheap tea is weak or weak tea is cheap or expensive tea… yadda yadda

First weet and eathy with slight bitterness, later the eathy tones subsite and the tea gets more sweet.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2005-bulang-shan-old-tree-chawangpu

Fresh and strong, pleasant fruity bitterness and good Qi.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-bada-old-tree-chawangpu

Very sweet as brown sugar with a herbal note.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2014-laos-ban-komaen-blue

Strong, bitter-sweet and floral. Very refreshing bitterness.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-hekai-gushu-chawangpu

This brews out a bit darker than everything else I’ve tried from the chawang 2016 lineup thus far.

Pretty deep taste to it that comes with a little dryness on the back. Thea leaf when wet has a great aroma that is strong and the liquid comes out with a small amount of viscosity that would be above normal, however I think the mouth is confused by the dryness to think so. The huigan does come through quite nice on this tea as well with the slightest hint of lingering smoke.

Considering where this tea is at now, I really think it has great potential to be humid stored for 3 plus years before it gains some ‘legs’ and I really think that it’ll improve as the slight smoke goes away but the boldness of this tea sticks. For the price, it’s a good throw in the back of some area type of buy.

After around 12 steeps on this tea I decided to take a step back and think to myself: A newer raw puerh has to REALLY set itself apart to be looked at again in the near future opposed to potential for down the line.
With that train of thought I came to conclude that this was was quite similar to the majority of spring jingmai cakes that I tried from 2016 to the point that this didn’t really interest me much afterwards which is fine, however the question is how long the sweetness will last in this tea before it mature and takes on a possible new road if that happens.

Not on the bottom, not on the top, probably somewhere in the middle.

This tea was one I did not like that much. It was sour in the initial note and astringent for the first four steeps. It wasn’t actually terrible it is just that the initial notes were unpleasant and I only steeped this eight times because it was already late in the day for me to have caffeine.

I steeped this eight times in a 75ml teapot with 5.9g 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, and 30 sec.

Strong astrinent and flora.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2006-myanmar-kokang-mei-hua

Heavy, sweet and smooth.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-mengsong-old-tree-chawangpu

Spicy, herbal and slightly bitter.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2014-laos-ban-payasi

This is a fairly nice tea. Got it with the Chawangshop group buy. Got them a while ago but am really just getting to them now. This one started with a bit of a sour note but I didn’t notice it in the second infusion. It was slightly bitter and slightly sweet. A nice raw to drink now because it did not have an abiding bitterness that some sheng has. In the end I am not sure if it was sweet enough to say apricots and stonefruits but a nice sweet note was there.

I steeped this ten times in a 75ml teapot with 6.1g 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.

Finally starting on my Chawangshop group buy sheng. This one was good. There was just a little bitterness but not much. I persisted for maybe six steeps. There was a fair amount of astringency to this on. It quickly developed a sweet note although I do not think I would use the word apricot, it wasn’t quite that sweet. This one was good and is one I would consider picking up the next time I order from Chawangshop.

I steeped this twelve times in a 150ml gaiwan with 7.4g 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, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 minutes.

I don’t get to drink outside as much as I like because I am just swamped with stuff to do and yes I took it on all by myself!

80+ new puerh drinkers have packages going out to them. Teaching my gf how to break and weigh gifts; meaning exacts don’t matter :P
Pubertea… the pubertea side buy.
So excited to read through everyone’s sessions.

Anyways, this tea. This tea right here. Right here, this tea.

Light. Crisp. Everlasting?

Really enjoyable, but I think the pictures do justice for explaining the experience.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVQVeuPACTx/

I feel so zapped every night that it’s hard to sit down and just write a review; however it has been replaced with opening up IG/Reddit/Steepster and talking to others about tea : )

Still plowing through Chawangshop’s 2016 pu erh lineup from the recent group buy. Today’s tea was the Bada, and it was very good. Possibly the best of the bunch I’ve tried so far. It’s got some good huigan, a slight bite of bitterness, a bit of fruit, and energizing qi. So after I tried this, I looked it up on the website, and despite it being one of my favorites so far, it is only $20 for a 200g cake. That’s a steal!

Yum, another great tea! I forgot to take notes, but it was very good. Nice big leaves, nice color. Not much bite.

I liked this one a lot. The leaves are very nice, and the aroma is fruity and sweet. The brews are a bit on the light and crisp side, with deep yellow-gold broth, though the tea is viscous. One thing I really like about this tea is the huigan, or menthol cooling effect. It is one of my favorite qualities in a pu erh, and this one has a lot of it, though it is a bit subtle. Some bitterness emerges in later steeps, as one would hope and expect, though not too much. Another great tea from Chawangshop!

4g/50ml glazed shiboradashi 205F short steeps

Sampling it almost a year later. it is so enjoyable. thick bittersweet with minimal astringency and quick huigan. good even with pushing. the qi is quite noticable too. hope they offer it for sale this year as well. i go thru my 100g rather quickly…

https://instagram.com/p/BUulFRDj427/

Another solid 2016 production from Chawangshop. I have been impressed with the 2016 teas I have tried so far. This one is thick, with a mix of savory and sweet, with a subtle but noticeable huigan. The tea brews a pale yellow-gold. Buttery in early steeps, just slightly bitter in later ones.

Another solid 2016 production from Chawangshop. I have been impressed with the 2016 teas I have tried so far. This one is thick, with a mix of savory and sweet, with a subtle but noticeable huigan. The tea brews a pale yellow-gold. Buttery in early steeps, just slightly bitter in later ones.

This is the first tea I got to sampling out of the recent Chawangshop group buy put together by Andresito. I was a little worried about it after reading Dr. Jim‘s tasting note, as I am not a big fan of really smoky teas. I sort of figured I’d try this one first and “get it out of the way” before moving on to some of Chawang’s other shengs. The dry leaves did indeed sport a bit of a smoky scent, along with straw and maybe some tobacco. After a rinse, the smoke aroma was more noticeable, I’d say at a moderate level, but I could also smell some sweeter notes underneath.

The first couple steeps were visually unattractive, being a bit cloudy. There definitely was a smokiness to the flavor, especially in the first 3-4 steeps, but it was not overpowering or gross. Instead of tasting mostly like smoke, the smokiness lent a savory layer to the tea’s flavor. The finish was slightly woody with a fast and sweet huigan (I think that’s exactly what it says in the tea’s description on the site, but it’s true). Steeped as carefully as one might normally brew a young sheng, bitterness was never an issue, though around the third steep, right as the smoke was starting to fade from the flavor, a bit of astringency started to build up in the front of the sip. It reached a peak around the fifth steep, and dropped off from there. I took this tea probably around twelve or thirteen steeps, and even near the end, it could punish with some bitterness if I accidentally let it infuse too long. That suggests it probably had a bit more to give than when I stopped it. The sweet finish and huigan lasted throughout as well.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I didn’t find it too smoky, though the early steeps are not the most pleasant to my palate. This cake comes in at a very good price, and if others’ experience with the same tea in past years holds true, the smoke should be gone within just a couple years. I certainly believe that, based on the character of it in my sessions with this tea. I imagine it would age decently well, with the smoke contributing to a greater complexity of flavor, at least in the short(er) term.

This is a solid menghai raw pu erh from chawangshop. Typical menghai flavor profile, done very well, though none too complex. Strong in character, and powerful qi. It’s a nice tea, but expensive at $90 for a 400g cake.

First thing I have to say about this tea is that new material can still be found at a great deal like this cake here. $55 for 200g for what this is… great deal.

Now I have to get on to some other thoughts that I’ll make concise.

1) I disagree with Chawangshop about this tea having a bitterness to it.
2) The ‘fast huigan’ is a real thing with this, no way to not take a sip and not realize how quick it hits
3) There’s a good blend going on with what was pressed here. I found a three leaf and a bud in my first session with many 2 leaf one bud as well.
4) Very clean, but the astringency builds upon itself as the mouth is bombarded with hot liquids :p
5) I should of drank the lower end prior to the higher end… woops

It’ll be hard to not buy a cake of this before I get through trying the others though as this is something I think is my type of newer material.

This is a nice quality young sheng from Chawangshop. I would put this into the category of light and crisp, with some bitterness throughout. Aroma is sweet and floral. The brews start off buttery, then turn bitter. A little grapey here and there. Overall a fine tea.