2017 Yunnan Sourcing Teng Tiao Cha

Very decent Puerh! I got this tea from my recent YS order, and it generally is quite good. Beautiful leaves with a decent proportion of buds, rich wet leaf aroma and a decently vibrant liquor. The flavour is quite decent, good semi-aged pu-erh flavour profile with a slight freshness still there, bitter, floral, etc. Texture is immense, juicy and astringent. Character is decent as well, with a good steep variability for the bitter lovers and a nice tail end to the session. Finish & aftertaste is potent, which is nice. Cha-qi is semi-potent, good buzzy feeling, and steep longevity is decent, topping off at steep 11.

Overall, good stuff.

I really like it. It is sweet and there is a peaty kind of fullness to the afternaste. No bitterness, nice coating astringency that isn’t drying.

This raw Sheng really build his home around a lot of different types of vegetables. Especially within the steaming scenting part there is a lot to discover. Starting with cauliflower, broccoli followed by further bouquets of carrots and a fine mix of chestnuts and sweet potato. There is definitely more of a bitterness tart layer to it as with most

of the other Lincang samples. Taste-wise this tartness is definitely something different within this buddy here but also a more peppery sharp tone to it with also a certain flowery bitterness of dandelion and gentian. There is definitely a strong corn juice within its profile but without the sweetness. Generally said there isn’t much sweetness inside this fellow. Quite different as its colleagues he is more located at the tart, bitter and vegetable frontline. There is also quite a stony and mineral taste to it. Another thing that’s quite high quality-ish is the saponin levels – so many bubbles and they stay at their spots nearly as long as you finish drinking this cup of Teng Tiao Cha.

I totally agree with the description that this raw buddy is different as those other Big Snow Mountains and also Lincang sampler fellows BUT…! I guess with so many things in life also this Pu here might be a matter of taste because it did not impressed mine that much to be honest. For me personally it’s a bit unbalanced and lacks to much within the sweet and field flowery aspects generally with a wide range of complexity within its tasting profile. There is a lot other stuff going on but that’s not really my type of character I prefer. It really depends if you’re a lover of the taste & flavors, of the effect & Qi or both. For me taste and flavors comes first then through this experience the impact for example of warmth and relaxation sets in. So it starts with one thing and ends with the satisfaction but in this case I missed this a little bit. But try it for yourself – maybe it is exactly your thing! ___

More Reviews and Photos at https://www.instagram.com/zerozen_artlab/