Yi Ru Chang
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It may sound cheap or cheesy to say so… but this tea gave me a feeling of falling in love! So far I’ve only tasted one sample of this tea and have one more for later. But with just one tasting session, I am totally mesmerized!
I’ve been tasting a few dozens of tea samples in the past two weeks, and at certain point I was worried that I was losing my sense and couldn’t recognize what I liked the most. But this tea stood out easily. It’s a very unique tea made from old tree tea leaves from various regions blended. Usually blended puerh is made from plantation tea leaves, and old tree tea leaves are used to make single-estate teas.
Made by a small manufacturer of rising fame, this tea is very elegant and clean (no crumbs left at the bottom of the cup). In my mind, I always saw puerh as a “rougher” tea compared with green tea or oolong. But this one is so carefully made. The elegant outlook, together with its bright, long lasting aromatic taste, makes me feel this tea, in some sense, somewhat feels like a dan cong. I still don’t know why I feel this way!
I think I am completely in love with this tea and hence with the manufacturer too. I have only one sample left, but I think I will get a lot of it soon and will keep watching on any new products from this manufacturer. If I have to give up all the other puerh in the world and only have this tea as my puerh, it would be fine and I wouldn’t feel sad. That’s how much I love this tea :D
Preparation
Wow. Delicious, potent, yellow, rich with texture. This is good tea.
There are three elements to this tea that cause me to call it good. First, is the incredible rich honey aroma and flavor. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that this hasn’t been laced with honey. Wonderful. Second, a wonderful kuwei climbs up and settles pleasantly on the tongue, immediately after swallowing; a pleasing sensation. Finally, and I’ve experienced it at this level in a few teas before, many minutes after finishing the tea, the huigan brings a fresh, sweet, clean, and cooling mint flavor from the back of the throat.
The wet aroma is of very sweet/tart dried apricot and citric acid. A honeysuckle sweetness lays under the brighter aromas and the vapor carries an interesting camphor-like quality.
A palatable sharpness is evident in the bright flavor of the liquor making this puer seem very sprightly and alive. Light camphor and dandelion finalize the immediate taste and the hui gan is of beautiful apricot nectar which clings to the mouth for quite some time after the sip is down.
This one is atypically sweet for such a young specimen and does not carry an overwhelming bitterness or smoky character. Very easy to like.
You make me want to try it now. It’s so young! No bitterness?
mmmmmmmmm…. sounds real good
When I get more of this tea, I will have some samples to share with you guys :-D But I do need to have one more tasting to make sure this is not just impulsive love :-p
Cultureflip, this tea is definitely one of the least bitter type. I didn’t feel bitterness at all, but I am more tolerant to bitterness than most people. So I think when I get more of this tea, it will be nice to share with people and see what others think.
I don’t know where the leaf materials of this tea are from. There are a few regions where leaves, especially those from old trees (in contrast to plantation tea bushes), are much less bitter or not bitter at all.
But then, some less bitter teas may lack the “weight on the tongue” or depth of flavor as found in some more bitter teas. So it also depends on people’s individual tastes.
And yeah this tea is very young. I am quite cautious on drinking young teas. Generally I believe it’s healthier NOT to drink very young tea every day or too often. Then there is the question how this tea will change in future years, about which I don’t have much idea yet.
Ooh yeah, I know why you love this so much now. It’s really different! Rarely does young sheng taste “delicious” but this one does! Very fruity but still potent in it’s youth. Seriously, thanks for sharing this one. How much does a cake go for?
And it does carry some characteristics of a dan cong.
Cultureflip, thanks for sharing your thoughts about it and glad to know you like it! I haven’t stocked up large amount of it yet and don’t know what’s the best price I can get if buying a lot. But I may not get a large amount for the store since it’s not a well-known brand in US and is quite expensive (currently sold for $30 in China, and the cake is only 250g, not 357g). Let me know if you would like me to get one for you. But I am also examining a few other products and hope to find some of similar quality and better price.
it is good. i dont really drink a lot of younger sheng but this one stands out. $30 isnt so bad for a smallish cake. let me know what you find though. maybe one of these days when im feeling rich ill pick one up.