“Finally getting around to trying this tea and having owned it for, oh I don’t know, four years!? Maybe even five, potentially… I brewed it up Grandpa style and I just don’t think that was the best...” Read full tasting note
“Very interesting tea. This is the first very aged Kunming tea I’ve tried. The flavor profile kind of reminds me of mid 2000s Guangdong sheng, but much milder tasting. There is a camphor-like note...” Read full tasting note
“I admittedly have less experience with aged sheng than young sheng, so I’m in the deep end here ;^) Upon rinsing the tea, I noticed aromatics like sweet tobacco, dry wood, raisin / date and a spicy...” Read full tasting note
“This is the oldest tea I’ve drunk to date and besides one semi-aged Xiaguan tuo my first foray into aged sheng. Perhaps my expectations were too low, but the leaves in the sample I received were...” Read full tasting note
Just shy of 20 years old, this aged raw puer still packs a punch. Any awkward phase in its development seems to be in the past, as this tea currently produces a smooth, yet lively brew. A noticeable energy and body feeling are accompanied by a lingering huigan – although this tea does not come off as particularly sweet up front. A deep, lasting camphor scent and pleasant “woody” fragrance is also present.
While there is little bitterness in this tea, its rougher side seems to be more or less restrained, but can still be brought out with longer infusions if you’re not careful. Energetic, yet mature, this is a thoroughly enjoyable aged tea good for now or the future.
This tea (along with its ’95 cousin) was sourced from a somewhat eccentric private collector we have known closely. Always entertaining to drink with, his stories tend to extend past the limits of plausibility and induce a reaction of “whatever”…
With that said, we have no reason to doubt that this is a 1998 Zhong Cha production from the Kunming factory, dry stored by only one previous owner. Each cake comes with its original wrapper, some of which may have bug-bitten holes.
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