304 Tasting Notes
Got this one out after forgetting to post a note about it a while back. Worthy of a re-do.
I got 10 grams out to start this one out with. I am brewing this up in a new Gawain I got at a good price from a friend, bounteaful from Instagram.
I brewed it up after a wash and a period for the tea to open up. The first brews were a bit thin so I let it rest a bit longer. I went went some longer steeps from it and it was a full on brew from there.
It actually brews darker than some of my older teas, a gold with that I’m turning the corner on the aging process.
This tea became very thick. Notes of veggies, some mintiness and a good hit of nit you biterness. It has a note of butter and tobacco as others have notated. This is not the subtle one that you drop on your new tea people to drink but the experienced ones will enjoy this I think. The huigan is really nice as you can taste it for a while after drinking it.
The aromas of mineral rocks and some wet hay in there as well.
Nice invigorating tea.
On a side note. A new friend has joined our site and looking for some people to follow and followers as well.
stock man. From Spain and hoping to share our experiences and notes on here.
Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Hay, Mineral, Mint, Tobacco, Wood
Preparation
Getting this one out a second time as I forgot to post the first time.
I got 10 grams out and gave a rinse and let it sit a while. I brewed this quick with short steeps. Color looks good on this one. Seems to be aging well.
The color is golden in the cup. For Bu Lang’s I do short steeps as the can get bitter.
This one has turned pretty thick with a good mouth buzz to it.
I get notes of bitter, some woodiness to it as well as a bit of saltiness. It is engaging and a bit energizing. The bitter will remain a bit that goes to a cooling with a deep breath after drinking will bring that effect on.
I am partial to these Bu Langs so I am liking this for the punchy bitterness it exhibits.
Flavors: Bitter, Camphor, Salty, Wood
Preparation
Bitter and salty with wood…. do they still sell this!? Sounds so good lol. I like bulang, but I feel like I found some that are punchy bitter-medicinal messes and then I get one that has more fruit and thickness to them. So I guess I need to learn more about the areas within bulang.
I think this came from Jasetea. I am in the boat on the BuLangs as well. Really starting to enjoy them.
Thanks! I’ll look around.
Finally bringing this out after some aging.
I got 11 grams to start this off with. I gave a rinse and let it sit about 30 minutes. I knew from the rinse that it had aged a bit.
First brews at 5 seconds each and into the mug.
This has a nice golden color emerging in the brew. This one is till pungent and bitter in the cup. I get smoke , wood and the bitter notes from this one. Still pretty strong and there is the hint of camphor in there. It is a fairly full bodied head on one, just still very young for and XG in the age department.
Flavors: Bitter, Camphor, Smoke, Wood
Preparation
I have a 90s Xiaguan that still has some harsh notes to it, the only thing I’ve noted is that is is thicker and smoother, it started developing that reddish spectrum of amber. I hope it keeps aging. it would be awesome to get to that day where you say ‘WOW! it happened!’ lol
nice4 review. :)
mrmopar, how long has it aged for?
nice^
Kirk, I have had this in my storage for about 3 years now. I hope it keeps aging away well.
:)
Brewing this up tonight.
I got this out a few hours ago and did a rinse and let it sit to open up.
Brewing was about 9 grams in the easy Gaiwan. I got some nice chunks with good leaf from this cake.
I did 3 quick brews into my big cup. This one is soft but really nice. The flavor notes are across the spectrum. Early notes in the sip are buttery, some bitterness and the sweet comes early without searching for it. The aftertaste will linger a while on this one. The brew was a light golden that didn’t indicate this level of notes. Most younger teas don’t exhibit the broad spectrum of this one. The later aftertaste is reminiscent of some LBZ I have had. wish I had a tong of this…….
Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Sweet
Preparation
i love this one
Haven’t tried mine yet, but this review makes me want to.
Isn’t it so intriguing…
It sounds very intriguing.
A tong!
I get super hungry when I drink this tea. Anyone else get that?
With most puerhs I experience that effect.
Me too. i eat whatever is around. Non stop. not only with this tea, with sheng in general. My theory is its working my metabolism cause i dont gain weight.
It’s supposed to improve/increase digestion. I drink puerh sometimes for my indigestion and acid reflux.
@teatortoise I love shou when the re flux gets acting up for sure.
Sheng gives me the munchies big time especially younger ones
I agree with all the above. Munchies, interesting and metabolism.
TeaDB recommends Cheetos.
Even a strong high afterward.
Shous are definitely your friend when the stomach is feeling weird. Young Sheng does help me if I eat greasy food, I feel like it subsets fat the or aids my tummy digest it.
I’ve yet to try this one, but if mrmopar recommends I’m looking forward to it :D
Having a 2014 Ma Hei mini tuo from I think the Tea Horse Family production.
I received this from a friend and I am still waiting on some more info on it.
I let this one open up overnight after rinsing it twice.
Impressions, I worked the tuo open and saw some decent leaf in there.
Brewing it, light yellow color. Brew itself, it starts a little soft like a Yiwu and then it kicks like a Lao Man E. Not bitter but the bit of mouth numbing effect to it.
Cooled it gives a touch more bitter but not enough to turn anyone off for such a young sheng.
Why let it sit all night?
Tuos can be hard to break open without destroying the tea. A rest period after the rinse lets the tea open up a bit before brewing. Usually gets a better brew early on after the rest period.
Because it releases the flavor by steeping with the moisture, just like shou, right? But what I’m wondering is, does it really take all night for this tea?
I never thought about letting a puerh “open up” for an extended time. I need to try this! I am humbled by your great knowledge and skill, mrmopar!
This is a a must for tightly compressed Puerh for sure. This helps you avoid over steeping the outer layer of the leaves by the time the piece of the cake/tuo opens and exposes the leaves inside.
Mrmopar have you ever tried steaming your tuos for loosening them up? sounds cool, but I feel like I’d damage my tea, or not let it dry enough for storing it again in loose form.
ashmanra, just a trick I learned.
JC, I have seen the videos but I haven’t tried it. I think my ability would fall short on that technique.
I actually did this two days ago so I am doing it again tonight.
I am pretty sure I grabbed this from Jasetea after roaming their website. A Yunnan Sourcing tea from 2009 and sold out on the YS sites.
I got all the shake and little pieces from inside the wrapper to brew with. I think it was about 12 grams and in the gaiwan to steep.
I rinsed it and let it sit about an hour before brewing to open the leaf up a bit.
This one is just about to get into the darker gold/copper color.
The brew was done in 3/3/3 sec brews. It sips light and goes quickly into a full thick almost oily coating with a nice good bitter punch to it. It gives some sweet but it is a while after sipping and the bitter subsides before this comes to front.
This one is turning into a good strong tea in its middle age. I will be interested into seeing how this ages in the future.
Flavors: Bitter, Hay, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Interesting. I enjoy thickness and oiliness in a green liquor more and more, for shu. Definitely growing on me. It’s a nice alternative to a thick,oily black tea. One doesn’t want to be limited.
On another note, the more I drink puerhs, the more I agree with your sentiment that shu is more enjoyable than shen. You can definitely appreciate the flavor and the process much more, not to mention that, although shen benefits from aging just as shu does, it really doesn’t seem like it would “improve” on itself, if you know what I mean.
I got this out to actually review last night and kind of forgot about it.
I got about 11 grams in the easy steeper to start with. This is a loose maocha and the aroma is of a sweet hayfield.
I dropped this in and gave rinse to start with. The tea-pet enjoyed it,
The aroma on the first steep, a bit tannic.
This one is a Jingmai so the citrus is expected. It is there but this has a good bitterness on the edge as well. It really compliments the cup. The color is darker than most teas from this age. I would say due to the storage being loose maocha.
It is a nice complex brew that give the body a good feeling on a cool Summer night.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Hay, Tannic
Preparation
Grabbing this one to wind down with. I grabbed 10 grams of this for the yixing gave it a rinse and let it sit a bit before brewing.
This one has a deep dark color to it, The aroma I get is peat moss or earth. I gave about a 10 second brew when I started. It has settled nicely. Wood, peat moss, camphor and earth are the notes I get. It is very similar to some older humidly stored shengs I have had.
It’s an earthy and full bodied on to drink. Very rich mouthfeel.
Flavors: Camphor, Earth, Peat Moss, Wood
Preparation
Got this one out for brewing tonight. I picked 9 grams off for the gaiwan. I gave a quick rinse and then 3 quick steeps as fast as I could pour.
The liquid is a very light yellow color. It has an almost tropical aroma as some one mentioned. Vaguely like an aroma of pineapple.
The tea is mineral and vegetal in the first cup. There is some light citrus and it has a medium body mouth feel to it.
Second steep(s), The tea opens up a bit more. It has a bitter punch that goes sweet and back to a faint bitterness. It starts to give a little tongue buzz on the tip and sides. Just a wisp of smokiness in there as well. Very nice leaf opening up in the gawain.
Flavors: Bitter, Mineral, Pineapple, Smoke, Sweet, Vegetal
Preparation
I guess I’m the first review on this one. I had a friend mention it in a blog and another had it in their cupboard and another post on how good this shop was. I agree.
I got 10 grams out and gave a quick rinse. I did 3 steepings and put them in a big western mug. I read the sellers description and started sipping.
The brew is light golden in the cup. First sip gave a touch of bitterness that faded quickly a wisp of smoke and the closest note I can find is cotton candy on the taste buds. It gives a bit of tingle on the tongue as well. The 3-6 steeps were as far as I got today but the bitterness is increasing in the later steeps.
This is a very interesting tea for sure.
Flavors: Bitter, Cotton Candy, Smoke
