304 Tasting Notes
Breaking this out today.
I picked off 10 grams and gave a wash. The leaf carries a touch of smoke in the aroma in the Gaiwan.
I let it sit a few minutes before brewing.
The brew is somewhere between dark green and light golden. I think it has aged a bit since I have had it.
The aroma of the brew almost has a mineral, wet rock note to it.
The first sips are the punchy tip of the tongue with a fair amount of bitter to it. There are some hints of mint and pine just for a second lingering around. There is a medium level of the tobacco note in there as well. The tea held in the front part of the mouth feels almost viscous. This is nice and strong without being too harsh as some young teas can be. I don’t mind the heavy bitter and tobacco up front but this isn’t a hard hitter as some.
The first three infusions have gone well and I shall continue.
Flavors: Bitter, Mineral, Pine, Thick, Tobacco
Preparation
Getting this one out after having it a while. I am surprised I haven’t logged it yet.
I got out 9.9 grams to start with. I know a little off what I normally brew. I finally retired the old scale to the grand son for one that has a back-light to it.
I gave it a quick rinse and a wait of about 15 minutes to wake up a bit.
The first brew was about 5 seconds. The color is looking promising as it is getting closer to a light gold color. It has a heavy tobacco note in the initial sip. This one tends to hit the middle of the tongue. Some are at the tip or the end but this is at the middle.
Taken in small sips this tea is almost viscous. There are some subdued sweet notes in there but this is quick on the Ku Wei. I guess some would say its a bit astringent as of yet. This one is near Mang Fei which is known for bitterness. This one leaves a nice proactive finish after the sips.
I bought this along with the Wu Jia Zhai and I look forward to comparing it to this.
$30.00 a cake makes it a bargain for me.
Flavors: Bitter, Sweet, Thick, Tobacco
Preparation
I have a sample of this one. I really liked it
nice :) is this a sheng?
@Kirkoneill1988, it is a sheng and good for the price.
how many grams (cake)?
400 grams.
nice!
This one sounds interesting because I love that thickness combined with tobacco when we are in this cold weather, maybe it’s the rain outside but this sounds good.
Doesn’t sound dissimilar to the 2013 YS Mang Fei. Those flavors tend to grow on me.
To this day the 2012 Wu Jia Zhai is one of my favorites from Scott. I wish I would have bought a whole cake of it when it was available.
I think I have that one as well JeffMI.
Finally get to pull this one out of storage.
This cake is double wrapped and compressed like crazy. I had to break out the big pick on this one.
I pulled 10 grams out and gave it a rinse to open up a bit. The first 3 steeps were about 5 seconds each and combined into my big mug. The tea has decent body to it. The tongue is alive a bit as well. There is a touch of humid and it goes very sweet at the finish.
Next 3 were about 5 seconds as well and combined. I had let the leaf sit about an hour by this time. There is a little of the smoke and some of the nice bitterness is coming out as the humid part fades away. It is an almost sharp metallic hit in there somewhere. It is still alive and keeping the tongue alive and almost numb. This is till young at 4 years and is reminiscent of the other small sourced Bulangs I have drank. I think this has a bit more hit to it and I think this will be a wow tea in 5 more years, it is quite good now.
I haven’t had the Qui effect but it is still early . It does warm you as you drink it.
Steeped in the gaiwan.
Flavors: Bitter, Metallic, Smoke, Sweet
Preparation
I’ve heard this has been people’s least favorite out of the yqh bunch.
Probably so as I have only tried one other so far but I am a sucker for Bulang ,Mang Fei and Lao Man’E teas.
The bitters ;) I’ve heard some controversy over this Bulang; although, I could be mistaken. I just remember hearing one of the young YQH was a little “off”. Personally, I have not tried the Bulang.
The 2004-2006 YQH teas I’ve purchased to drink now. I’m looking forward to opening this one in 5 to 6 years – too young for me now.
It may be young but I liked it. I actually chose it from being the first one in the stack of YQH teas I have.
Not surprised you like it now – you go for the heavy hitters. ;-)
I think Mr.Yang has both great knowledge and good taste so we really can’t go wrong with any of his selections.
Considering the $/g is so low (it’d be something stupidly inexpensive like a $56/200g cake) it’s hard to go too wrong with this.
That being said, I think this is towards the bottom of Yang’s catalog. More of a sweet, not brutal Bulang. I also do agree with Dignitea a bit on this one. I had a couple sessions with it and I think it’s a couple years away from when I’d want to drink it..
So have you been storing it a few years? Is the humid flavor coming from your storage? O.o If that is the case, I’m shipping you my fridge and stash. :P
jschergen, I liked EOT’s Bulang a lot. It had a bunch more kick to it. I still think it needs 5 or so to be really ready. I think the 2007’s are starting to get there for the ones I have stored.
Cwyn, I just recently got this one and actually have it in a bag with the other 2 I got.
Which EOT bulang? The 2008 is excellent.
tea123 it was the 2008.
If the YQH teas are that sort of quality then they must be good.
This tea is very different from any of the EoT Bulangs. I enjoy those teas a good deal, but there’s a lot more pow with those teas.
In my anecdotal experience, qi really only becomes relevant from tea (1) when I don’t blend the steeps (2) when I’m very deliberately being calm and present with the ta and (3) usually cheating a bit and doing some basic qigong or taijiquan breathing and spinal alignment gestures.
Although, you get a raw tea old enough and it’ll pretty much qi you no matter what.
Yeah, I kind of favor that big cup too much sometimes. I do like the heavy hitters as many know. I like the brash kick in the teeth sometimes.
Other occasions I just like to sit and relax with a tea. This is really kind of rare but you have reminded me I need to do it more often.
I do a lot of blending with daily drinkers and teas I know well, but try not to with teas that are new to me.
Pulling this out after some time in the pumidor.
I remember some about this from the last time. The color seems to be about the same. The tea itself is coming along. It seems to have some more oomph in there. You can get the light notes of the camphor floating around in there along with some evergreen and the punch of the bitter is a bit more pronounced. The bitter hangs on the tip and sides of the tongue and subsides to a savory almost herbal note with just hints of sweetness to it. I have done 2 different sessions in the last 2 days of this one. It seemed I couldn’t put it down or maybe I was too full of turkey to get another out.
Good drinking none the less.
Preparation
Hmm… still only 30 dollars. Will sample.
I’m generally suspicious of cake made from aged mao-cha though… have had a couple bad experiences.
I interested to hear that you are getting ‘more oomph’ after storing it in your pumidor.
This has been clean stored. No excess humidity in this.
Well said, mrmopar. This one is quite exemplary in this regard.
Breaking this out for review tonight.
Nice thick wrapper on this one. I broke off about 11 grams to brew in the Gaiwan.
I gave a rinse and a little sit time before starting out. This carries a nice sweetness to it.
First brew are 5 seconds. The tea carries the sharpness and bitterness of a Bulang tea without being as intense as some. Still strong and still punchy. The tea is almost thick and viscous that coats the mouth and tongue in a good way.
Kuwei is nice and it causes some salivation between sips. There is just a hint of floral in there somewhere. Aftertaste lingers with this one.
Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Sweet, Warm Grass
Preparation
I’ve been wanting to try this :)
ive been eyeing this sucker for a while. havent actually placed an order with Tea Urchin yet….
neither have I Brian, It’s the shipping that deters me Dx
If you guys need a split I am sure we can work it out. The shipping from China from them ain’t bad though.
11 GRAMS in 90ml…. I do 6g in 90ml!!! DAMN You have a real WARRIOR STOMACH
I like a kick in the teeth. I do very short steeps although.
i’ll try this someday
@mrmopar Let’s be honnest, you like it WARRIOR STYLE :) nothings wrong with that :D
@paxl13 i have a strong stomach too
I got a sample of this on my last order. A blending of Jingmai and Meng song sounded interesting to me. I know Mengsong by itself is pretty nice. Jingmai can be hit or miss to me. I had previously tried the Huang Pia from this shop from Jingmai and it met my approval as well.
I got 8 grams out and gave a quick wash and allowed it to set for about 10 minutes.
The first brew was a light gold, very little char in the strainer indicating good processing. The brew was very clear as well.
Taste notes are nice. You can feel the burly part of the Mengsong and the softening the Jingmai gives it. The aromas of the wt leaf are somewhat floral. The tasting is deceptively sweet. It takes a second or two but the it s there. The later steeps bring the citrus of the Jingmai into the mix as well. This tea is viscous and thick with bitter, sweet and citrus rolled in there.
The leaf in the gaiwan is easy to pick the smaller Jingmai and the bigger Mengsong out in there. I am not sure but the larger leaf looks as it can be a bit older the Jingmai. It is making me sweat a bit as well from the Cha Qui.
Well done production.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Floral, Sweet
Preparation
I got this in my latest order. I bought 100 grams in hopes I could age it similar to the 2007.
I got 10 grams out to brew and gave a rinse. I let this sit about 2 hours since it was highly compressed.
After rinsing this tea gave off a very sweet aroma. The sweetness of the bamboo is present here. The color is a nice golden brew.
The initial brew is slightly sweet and then gets the light buttery punch in it. It is a thick brew that coats the mouth. Good feeling with this one. It starts to give the cha qui head sweat after drinking the cup. The aftertaste lingers in the mouth for a while.
Very enjoyable and I am glad they got this from the bamboo before shipping it.
Flavors: Bamboo, Bitter, Sweet
Preparation
I am brewing this up after a couple of days to read it a bit better.
I started anew on this one as it is time for a formal note.
I got 10 grams to start this one out with. I gave a quick rinse and let it sit a while. The wet leaf aroma was wet hay with a sweet note to it.
I did 3 quick steeps to start with. The color is a nice gold hue.
The cup carries the typical Mang Fei bite but it is much subdued from there. The bitter fades quickly in this one. It is brash but not overpowering. The liquor is thick on the palate.
I get the sweetness as described and the Huigan is nice.
This is full thick and bitter early that quickly becomes a sweeter tea with a nice lingering aftertaste . I would cal this the Gentleman’s Mang Fei.
Gong Fu and just under boiling to brew.
Flavors: Bitter, Freshly Cut Grass, Hay, Sweet
Preparation
Breaking this one out of the rotation to try tonight.
I got 10 grams out to start this one off. I gave a rinse and brewed a few minutes later. I used the Gaiwan to start with and the tea came out a little thin. I switched to teapot with more success.
The second round of brewing with extended steep times came out much better. The tea became more thick with a buttery consistency to it. Flavor is much more pronounced as well.
It gives some of the brothy tastes that many a Spring tea brings. It has a sugary hint in the aroma department. The wisps of bitterness fade away and the hints of the sweetness drifts in a bit. The hints of mineral are there mixed in with the hints of the bitter as well when allowing the tea to linger in the mouth.
I am a few steeps in and plan to enjoy this one a bit more. This isn’t the strongest tea of YS’s line up but hopefully it will age gracefully into a mature tea.
Flavors: Bitter, Mineral, Sugar, Sweet
i shall try this tea :)
out of stock :(