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“Dry – Sweet, sort of juicy/fruity hints, mellow earthiness. Wet – Sweet, woody(close to what damp white pepper smells like). Liquor – Dark Burgundy. 1st 40secs – Slightly sweet with hints of wood...” Read full tasting note
“Overall a well balanced ripe puerh with a slight earthy edge to it. It makes me think of the good cheap bricks of ripe puerh that while it is clearly not the highest quality is still good tasting...” Read full tasting note
Old Hongchang Pu-erh Tea Cake (鸿昌熟饼)
This CNNP made pu-erh cake commissioned by Hongchang Old Cha House in Hongkong brews a Bergundy alike liquor with a creamy, mellow taste, very smooth and a sweet aftertaste.
There are some lower grade materials used in this tea cake, yet its taste is so satisfying so you don’t really care what it is made of. This cake was the works of Mr. W.X. Bei, a famous tea master employeed by CNNP for decades. He was in charge of most CNNP 1998 – 2003 productions.
Pu-erh Tea Cake 380g
Fermented
Vintage 2002
Premium class
Loose tea leaves
Caffeine: Moderate
Special-Reserve
Company description not available.
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Golden Sail BrandDry – Sweet, sort of juicy/fruity hints, mellow earthiness.
Wet – Sweet, woody(close to what damp white pepper smells like).
Liquor – Dark Burgundy.
1st 40secs – Slightly sweet with hints of wood that mellows into some medium bodied thickness. It becomes, bread/yeasty(good) with wood notes that lingers with a mellow sweetness.
2nd 35secs – Sweeter and thicker up front with a more present earthiness that is reminiscent of yeasty bread. It feels cleaner as it goes down and becomes sweeter but retains some of the wood notes in the aftertaste.
3rd 35secs – Sweet and thick with some bread yet earthy-woody notes that are slightly more complex up front. As it goes down, it has a slightly more juicy persimmon like tartness that lingers in the aftertaste.
4th 45secs – Sweet, woody and earthy with strong woody notes up front. As it goes down, it wears some of the complexity from before but seems faded and woody taste is more apparent and lingers with some sweetness.
Final Notes
I bought a cake so I drank this one and set it aside to keep trying before I decided on the final notes. This Cake CAN deliver some sweetness and complexity, however it does it when brewed shorter times only. Even then, I felt like four steeps was the maximum you can get out of the tea before it looses its power.
I’m not a fan of this cake, I read the previous notes here and I have to agree that it does seem to be a LOT like cheaper bricks of Shou. In fact, I feel like this tea walks and steps over the line to be more of a Heicha tasting tea rather than a Shou. It has too much woodiness and slightly dries your mouth. If you go for stronger steeps you are going to get an overly woody and slightly bitter tea. Its an OK tea, but not for the price.
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Overall a well balanced ripe puerh with a slight earthy edge to it. It makes me think of the good cheap bricks of ripe puerh that while it is clearly not the highest quality is still good tasting and a satisfying tea to drink. While I really enjoyed the free sample of this cake, the cake itself especially now 9 years old is not worth the price that it is being sold for in my opinion.
