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“Tea Swap Sample I’ve been trying to get the samples given to me throughout the past year out of the way, so I can really start to tackle the “purchase shelf” teas. When observing the leaf of this...” Read full tasting note
Gushu raw PuErh from the legendary Lao Ban Zhang village. Jasmine and lilacs. Chalky dry rock minerals with a hint of bitters switching to floral sweet throat gan.
There are a few places on Earth (all in Yunnan!) which are revered for producing the finest quality Raw PuErh. Lao Ban Zhang is at the very top of this list and while this fame has led to some unscrupulous practices, this area’s reputation is for good reason. A light and floral character with a strong mineral sweetness, definitely a luxury PuErh to treat yourself or your teahead friends.
This tea is part of our dinosaur editions of PuErh all coming from the same Bulang mountain area of Yunnan. It is the most floral of the three PuErh’s. It is made from leaves plucked from at least 300 year old tea trees (making it a Gushu PuErh) which have been withered, hand fried, sun dried and compressed into 100g cakes.
SCOPE ANALYSIS
Season: Spring 2016
Cultivar: Da Ye Zhong Assamica
Origin: Lao Ban Zhang, Yunnan, China
Picking: Bud and up to 3 leaves
Elevation: 1700m
Company description not available.
Tea Swap Sample
I’ve been trying to get the samples given to me throughout the past year out of the way, so I can really start to tackle the “purchase shelf” teas. When observing the leaf of this one, I was pretty skeptical about whether this would be an appetizing session or not, since the leaf was in bits and pieces. I assumed that it was probably the “dust” and bits left from the stash, so I gave it a go anyway…
The dry leaf didn’t really have much of an aroma to it. I heated the gaiwan and put the leaf into it, so as to illuminate the smell of the leaf. I noticed a small amount of a jasmine/floral notes, but other than that, it really didn’t have much of a smell.
First Steep: Slightly bitter, but there was a bit of a “fruity” note present; although, I wasn’t sure what the fruit may have been.
Second Steep: Bitter, a bit leathery, & mouth drying.
Third Steep: More bitter & more astringent.
I had stopped taking notes there, however, there was a note made that it “went like this for a while (noted @ steep 6)” and I felt like this tea wasn’t doing it for me. I stopped at steep 8.
I hope it’s not harsh to say that it could’ve been the bits and pieces that gave it such an unpleasant experience; however, it could’ve been the hype of getting to try a Mei Leaf tea, and it just didn’t live up to the expectations…No idea…However, thank you, dear tea friend, for the opportunity. I apologize that it wasn’t my cuppa tea. xD
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Fruity, Leather
totally agree with your review! about 2 years ago i decided to buy the whole gushu experience (incl. Bloom Buster, Cone Bandit & Pip Killer), after seeing the videos about these.
yesterday, my girlfriend took out some of the Bloom Buster Leaves (NOT BROKEN) from my collection and my experience war pretty similar to yours.. disappointing .