2014 Yunnan Sourcing Qing Mei Shan Old Arbor Pu-erh tea cake

Qing Mei Shan is the only tea I have three different harvests of, so I may do a vertical comparison at some point. This note is just about the oldest of the three, one from 2014. At this stage in its development, I find the mouthfeel and cha qi to be the highlights. The flavour seem to suffer a little bit from it being in a sort of transition stage.

Dry leaves smell of honey, orange peel, animal fur and garlic, but neither of those particularly stands out. During the session, I get mostly herbaceous aromas with notes of moss and plant roots.

The first infusion is very mineral with a light and airy mouthfeel and yet a very thick texture. It is a bit sweet and nutty with light forest and mushrooms notes. Second steep is woody, more bitter, and has a slightly sour finish. It is followed by a sweet, floral and cooling aftertaste that lasts for a very long time. Some of flavours that emerge include cabbage, potato pancakes, kumquat, apple, kiwi, brown sugar, and sunflower seeds.

The profile is very well balanced and even though none of the flavours are too memorable at present, I have little doubt that the tea has a bright future ahead. This is especially apparent from the very pleasant and defocusing cha qi and a great mouthfeel.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAqof9xXa_k

This is a nice puerh with a fair amount of bitterness in the early infusions. I also noticed a sour note for the first couple of steeps. This could be because this teat was dry stored in New York for a few months before I decided to try it. After a few steeps a sweet note emerged in this tea. Pretty much the standard notes for young sheng, apricots and stonefruits I would say. Overall this is pretty good tea. It has an aftertaste that lasts a while. It is very pleasant in later steeps. As far as qi goes I didn’t feel any from this tea but I rarely feel qi from any tea so it does not surprise me that it is sadly missing. Maybe I’ll feel it as I finish my last cup who knows.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 150ml gaiwan with 8.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min. It had not weakened much in the twelfth steep, it would have gone a few more steeps but I had reached my caffeine limit for today.

I purchased the 2015 version, which is a real treat. Tasting 2014 feels almost like cheating since I get to see how this tea’s sweetness evolves. Similar to the 2015, I get ripe apricots, sugar plums, rock sugar, and a pungent orchid aroma at the bottom of the cup reminiscent of fragrant summer nights (heightened in the 2014). Later steeps reveal interesting textures, savory notes, and a spicy sweetness.

True to their description, Qing Mei Shans are extremely pure tasting and buttery. No doubt this material is well sourced. The cha qi gently sneaks in there, but is quite powerful once it takes hold. I’m feeling tea buzzed after the 4th steep. This tea great body and is expansive in the mouth. Wonderful mouth-feel and hui gan! It’s almost blissful. The aftertaste is very pleasant and persistent. Time will bring out more interesting textures and sophisticated sweetness from this tea.

Note: Previously, I’ve been using mouth feel and hui gan (returning sweetness) interchangeably, but I learned from drinking this tea that they are, in fact, quite different!

Progression notes 1 year since purchase:
This has become a better tea. It’s developing more complex and distinctive floral (honeysuckle), sweet wood (sandalwood and maple) and spice notes (peppercorn and arugula) with more pronounced cooling effects covering the tongue.