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A very nice budget option. Tastes a lot different than a standard “smokey/leather/earthy” shou. It’s got a wonderful almond note accompanied by a bit of sweetness that really keeps you coming back for more. Mouthfeel isn’t crazy thick. Pushing the leaf a little heavier seems to remedy that well. Qi is present (chest/body warmth and calming), however it isn’t a “Qi Bomb” or anything.

Haiwan teas so far have been very interesting to me and worth checking out. I think I read that it was started by one of the guys who was the head of shou production at Dayi, so you’ll get a similar vibe in their teas. A very under looked and underrated tea factory IMO.

Update: Decided to bump my score up by a few points as I’m really enjoying this tea lately. It’s not quite in 90’s territory (that’s reserved for perfection/near perfection) though it is very close. I think if it had a better mouthfeel and better Qi then it would potentially get up there. After letting it rest a further week I’m now noticing that it has a flavor note that’s very similar to the rice milk “Rice Dream”. Which is very,very nostalgic as it’s what I drank as kid. That and that persistent almond note are really great together.

This is an incredible shou. Vanilla,aged whisky barrel,cherries,caramel/butterscotch, and a little camphor too. Qi is also hearty and warming. This is a tea that deserves your undivided attention, and even commands it every time you take a sip. It did take two 10 second rinses to really open up, once it did though it was immediately awe-inspiring. It invokes the feeling of drinking an ultra fine whisky. Each progressing steep gives you a little something more to think about as you move through it.

It’s also my first foray into Dayi/Menghai tea factory and I don’t think I could have picked a better tea to start with. They very clearly know what they are doing! You cannot go wrong with this tea if you enjoy shou. An instant classic.

This is one of my favorite shou puerh. It is the benchmark for which I judge all the others. It’s got great mouthfeel and has a very calming and grounding Qi. Mostly earthy,woody and a tinge of sweetness on the backend. Maybe a little bit of chocolate in there as well. You wouldn’t expect this one to be all that great as it’s fairly cheap (cakes range from $15-$30), yet it’s one I keep coming back to time and time again.

If you enjoy shou then I can almost guarantee you will enjoy this. I’m currently drinking the 2014 batch of this which is near identical to the 2013. Neither are a complexity bomb, they will however scratch the itch quite well as a daily drinker. The Guinness of shou puerh!

A fairly decent well-priced aged offering from Xiaguan. Notes of leather,resin, a hint of plum in the background. A nice sweetness that carries through each steep. It’s not mind blowingly complex or anything, but for the price ($40 a cake) it’s really enjoyable and goes down easily. Qi was a little bit fast for my liking. Definitely a tea that’ll kick-start your day. I’d rank it a bit above their Jia Ji tuo’s. While those are a little one-note, this will give you more to ponder on during your session.

If you enjoy XG then you’ll almost certainly enjoy this. They once again have proven that you don’t need to blow your wallet to get a good aged sheng.

Classic Xiaguan tuo that is a really solid bang for your buck. It’s mostly inoffensive, and could be a competitor for a solid daily sheng drinker. The two issues I have with it is that it’s really, really hard to break apart without turning into dust (I’ve good luck with using a small flathead screwdriver and hammer) and the cha qi from it makes me feel slightly stoned/dissociated. One of the few teas that hits me in that way and due to that I can’t drink it a lot.

You can’t really get much better for the amount of aging and price. It’s got some smokiness, a bit of of tobacco and almost a tart fruitiness to it. A tea that I suggest everyone at least try once and is a good benchmark for Xiaguan to contrast and compare to their more up-scale offerings.

This is a tea that very clearly is a budget pressing, and that you could easily place under “you get what you pay for” tier. It was bought from a Taiwanese seller who was selling the cakes for $8USD each (I think they go for around $20 on Ebay). Flavors are extremely mundane and predictable (mostly a tinge of earth, and possibly leather if you are lucky that day). If it does have any redeeming factors, it’s A.)The price and B.) It can be a good ripe to introduce people to the category without grossing them out. Not something I can or want to drink daily.

As a side note – after letting it settle for two months, I got a strong smell and flavor of instant mashed potatoes in the brews. None of my other teas have taken on this smell (nor do I cook such things), so it was very strange and it makes it almost undrinkable.

YMMV but I would steer clear of this and there are much better budget shou’s on the market to be had (I’m preferential to the Xiaguan 8663 at a similar price).