2014 Laos Ban Komaen (Black)

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Apricot, Creamy, Honey, Wood, Dark Wood, Floral, Maple Syrup, Spinach, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Winter Honey, Lemon
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 3 oz / 100 ml

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6 Tasting Notes View all

  • “2016 Sheng Olympics I got 3 steeps into this tea today and hit my caffeine level. I can’t take much caffeine these days (another reason why I hardly have any black teas). It was a really good...” Read full tasting note
    88
  • “Triple Laos border tea taste test: This was my favourite of the three. I loved the rounded less fruity but dense flavour. I would like to say hints of veg & cream in there. I really enjoyed...” Read full tasting note
    96
  • “This is a tea that I will be stocking up on! It’s unbelievably fantastic! The cake is nothing special with a very typical scent of a dark wood and some dry grass. I warmed up my yixing and popped...” Read full tasting note
    99
  • “This has a pleasant apricot color. The scent of the liquor is mineral and rock though. The taste is like a white tea, but not a great white tea. It’s kind of drying and I mainly get rock and some...” Read full tasting note

From Chawangshop

Phôngsali is a province of Laos, bordering Yiwu, Yunnan. It is located high in the mountains, approximately 450–1,800 metres above sea level. Phôngsali is well know as ancient tea caravan in the past, is also one of the important origin of yunnan puer tea in history. In recent years, with the ancient tea market continued to heat up, more and more people set their sights on the border tea that come from unknown villages in Myanmar or Laos.
The ancient tea trees resources in mountain area are extremely rich, but the local tea making techniques are poor. Laos pu’er tea is seldom seen on the market. Many raw materials are bought by Yunnan tea makers and sold as more expensive Yiwu tea. A local told us that the distance between Gua Feng Zhai and Phôngsali is only 3km, the people from Gua Feng Zhai often come over to buy laos tea by motorcycle.
We made a trip to Laos in March and really got some nice tea from two villages .
Material came from the famous tea village named Ban Komaen. Ban Komaen have a really big ancient tea garden, many tea trees were planted in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The oldest tea trees are around 400 years old. The local government ban the use of herbicides and pesticides.

This cake is superior in material and excellent in workmanship. Material came from Ban Komaen, and are completely hand-made with wonderful skills of a Chinese couple. Stone-pressed in small tea factory in Menghai.
Yellow and clean tea soup, full and stimulating in mouth. This tea is similar with “Blue” Ban Komaen cake but this tea is more rich, stronger smell of wild flowers and very pleasant aftertaste! !

200g per cake, 5 cakes in bamboo tong For sample 25g please click here

Production date : 7.3.2014, pressed 18.3.2014
Harvest Area : Ban Komaen, Phongsaly, Laos
Weight : 200g (48USD per cake, 225USD per tong . 1kg)

About Chawangshop View company

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6 Tasting Notes

88
661 tasting notes

2016 Sheng Olympics

I got 3 steeps into this tea today and hit my caffeine level. I can’t take much caffeine these days (another reason why I hardly have any black teas).

It was a really good sheng. I didn’t take any notes but each steep was honey sweet with woodsy notes. A bit of apricot too and a thick creamy mouth feel to it. Steeped at 90C , 10 sec or less each steep and no bitterness at all. I really enjoyed this one.

Flavors: Apricot, Creamy, Honey, Wood

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96
338 tasting notes

Triple Laos border tea taste test:

This was my favourite of the three. I loved the rounded less fruity but dense flavour. I would like to say hints of veg & cream in there. I really enjoyed it, and every round this one just had a bit more than the blue one had.

I didnt take notes per se, just noted every round which one I preferred and this one was the winner.

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99
526 tasting notes

This is a tea that I will be stocking up on! It’s unbelievably fantastic!

The cake is nothing special with a very typical scent of a dark wood and some dry grass. I warmed up my yixing and popped it in. I had very low if not any expectations for this tea. I was not impressed, and I thought it to be a very basic sheng. I lifted my teapot’s lid, and all my doubt was instantly washed away. An incredible intense aroma of warm honey, mahogany, and pure maple syrup engulfed my tea room. The taste was so sweet and so potent, I was salivating. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The sweet and dessert flavor remained except a vibrant spinach tone now lie in the background. The liquor was a crystal amber color and steamed with delicate fumes. The brew began with a cleansing grass tone with a smooth floral wash. A quick nip at the tongue kept me alert and ready for the grand finale. Immediately after I swallow, a beautiful and deep huigan drowned my senses. I cannot describe how powerful and clear the honey aftertaste was. I literally looked up from my tea table and “wow’d”. This brew was so good, so potent, so balanced… I was in love. The flavor continued with a well arranged floral delicacy and tangy sweetness that lasted well into the night. The fragrance from my pot grew stronger and filled my tea room with an intoxicating perfume. The only fall this tea has, is the qi is very quiet and acts as a background fuzz that just slightly lifts the drinker. The sensation was subtle and obscure, but it still was a nice companion. This tea is fantastic if you want a sweet, decadent, and memorable sheng. I highly recommend it, and I will hopefully be buying a tong or two.

Flavors: Dark Wood, Floral, Honey, Maple Syrup, Spinach, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Winter Honey

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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790 tasting notes

This has a pleasant apricot color. The scent of the liquor is mineral and rock though. The taste is like a white tea, but not a great white tea. It’s kind of drying and I mainly get rock and some mild grassiness. Subsequent steeps didn’t really reveal any new flavor notes. S’okay but nothing I need again. Glad to have tried it, thanks to James for sending a share of the Sheng Olympics my way. :)

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1113 tasting notes

2016 Sheng Olympics

I can only be honest when I review tea and unfortunately this isn’t something I want to keep drinking. The other Laos tea I had the other day was wonderful, in fact I want to buy a cake; rather, I will. This tea though… not feeling it. The intimidate dryness after the sips is quite annoying since there isn’t a taste to associate with it. This tea lacks depth, taste, and anything inviting for me to drink it again. Hopefully the blue will be better, but I will try that tomorrow and continue with an oolong for the night.

Daylon R Thomas

Oolong, I need your consistent comfort…

Dexter

Is this the one that you’ve marked “black” on the packages?

tea123

James mentioned the Sheng Olympics on the latest TeaDB episode :)

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80
92 tasting notes

2014 Laos Ban Komaen (Black) Gu Shu Raw – Chawangshop

Price: £33.68 ($48.00) 200g cake = £0.17 ($0.24) /g.

8g in gaiwan.

80/100

Summary: A pleasant tea which exhibits a fresh delivery of medium bitter lemon notes and a lingering honey sweet finish. Endurance lacks, but what shines here is the good form, good slightly oily body, and slight complexity in the early steeps.

Dry: Med bright, concentrated herbal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAaNlvxIDmlh1ssocQFIkpCIoED9O2ANlKq8o00
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAaOPFtIDn1CyayVrkAxrRuXmw9HP2epKaJ5FM0

Wet: Straw, med bright concentrated herbal.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAfuRFTIDlYiOIQYvhmvnNveuOSFeuF9UNzhFY0

Rinse: Light yellow
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAfpCs2IDrVDMscZdCZXaG3y8hRljxEdvLfwFo0

5s – Light yellow. Juicy raisin sweetness with brighter sweetness returning after the swallow. Good body. 82/100

10s – Light yellow. There is a fresh fruitiness that is in most young shengs. However, this one is a little restrained and carries a little astringency – very pleasant though. Has a decent thickness to the flavour. 83/100

15s – Light yellow/orange. Well rounded flavour. Bitterness is not as sharp as a Naka, and it is met with a honey-like sweetness. I detect a light oiliness in here which is a plus. 84/100

20s – Light yellow/orange. The sip has a concentrated bitter lemon and sweet note, reminding me of honey and lemon flavoured drink for cold and flu. Flavours are a bit cloudy. For example the base becomes a bit clay like and astringent, spoiling that pleasant sweetness. 80/100

25s – Light/med yellow/orange. Flavour is thin, mainly a deep straw note. The bitterness has faded and the sweetness is cloudy. 76/100

30s – Light/med yellow/orange. Getting astringent; losing flavour. 75/100

35s – Light yellow/orange. Flat. Still a little bitterness with a quick sweetness, but the juicyness and vibrancy have gone. 72/100

Flavors: Honey, Lemon

Preparation
8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
mrmopar

Have you had the HeKai from them?

tanluwils

I did. I suspect chawangpu’s teas need more than a month to acclimate to the cold dry northeastern winters since both the He Kai and Meng Song are somewhat stale and flat tasting at the moment.

mrmopar

I agree. I rarely drink them fresh out of the box myself. I am just now getting to the Pin from the W2T November club tea.

tea123

I have a cake of the 2015 Hekai. I reviewed that here: http://steepster.com/tea123/posts/321995

JC

I agree with mrmopar and tanluwils, you may want to air cakes from them a bit longer and any cakes in the drier/cold seasons. I received YS’s order today after a long voyage and I’m going to hold up until probably end of feb or mid march to give them a try.

tea123

Thank you for the advice. If it makes the tea taste better then I will give it a try.

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