2009 XiziHao Diangu: Orange Blossoms Peachy Floral Heartbeats!

This sample was also acquired from Liquid Proust.  He also used to sell the whole cake on his site as well…

Dry leaves are a sweet creamy talc rose woody odour.

First infusion has an icing sugar with a rose and woody paper taste.  There is a watery creamy kind of fruity finish in the mouth.

Second has a tangy perfume floral cardboard box sweet taste initially.  It has that turnip taste and a sort of dirt and mint taste too.  The coolness in the throat is much more with this than the 2007 or 2008.  There is an almost peach edge to it.  The mouthfeeling is more juicy and lubricating too not the same as the 2007 and 2008 which was more fine sandy slight gripping… it might get there in later infusions…

The third infusion has a peachy fruity rose perfume creamy lubricating sweetness to it.  The coolness goes deep into the throat and expands in a peachy creamy perfume way.  There is some bitterness throughout here now and a flat cardboard taste.  This infusion is a nice balance of sweet, cooling pungent, bitter and bland with sweeter overall.  The Qi is quite strong in the Chest closer to the 2007 than the 2008 in its strong chesty heart beats.  The Qi is more invigorating and energizing than the 2007 and 2008.  The 2007 has more of a deeper profound effect with pronounced bodyfeelings which the others don’t.

The fourth infusion has a medicinal cardboard cherry cough syrup taste that the 2008 definitely had- bitter, sweet, kind of sour and dense.  There is a juicy bitter sour fruity thing with a dose of significant perfume.  The liquid is much thicker and oily than the 2008 and 2007.  There is a peachy, creamy bitter cardboard taste that comes out in the aftertaste.  Nice strong Chest sensations and intense energy.

The fifth infusion has a strong medicinal bitter cherry cough syrup and cardboard taste with edges of turnip.  This infusion is strongly bitter and leaves an oily but underneath fine sandy aftertaste.  Strong Chesty Qi and Heart beats with energy bursts.

The 6^th is left to cool and gives off a creamy bitter cardboard parsnip bitter sweet taste… mainly bitter with a lesser perfume body.  The aftertaste has a perfume and almost sour fruity cardboard taste to it.  This is bitterer than both the 2008 & 2007.  With more dynamic movement between initial taste and aftertaste.

The 7^th has a lubricating Sweettart candy like taste that is both sweet and sour and almost artificially tasting.  This infusion is more sour and less bitter or sweet.  The taste is really delicious and candy like here.  The aftertaste is pretty long but not at long as the 2008 or 2007 which would go even 10-20 min later some infusions.

The 8^th is left to cool and is a bland cardboard bitter woody sour fruity perfume kind of initial taste that extends into the aftertaste.  There is a kind of sour floral orange blossom perfume finish that lingers minutes later.  Decent Heart pounding Qi.

9^th infusion is very peachy pear onset with almost no floral bitter cardboard tastes.  It has a bit of a sour orange peel taste to it with orange blossom.  Nice citrus taste here that is a touch sour and bitter but volatile fragrances and mainly sweet.  The mouthfeeling is a faint fine powdery feeling.  The throat is deeply more cooling than the 2008 and 2007 but the mouthfeeling is less strong or full.

10^th infusion has a peachy pear taste with a subtle cardboard flat woody taste.  There is lesser bitter notes in there and lesser sour and still a floral perfume but not as strong.  The mouthfeeling is a fine sandy feeling that the other years have.  This one has a bitter orange peel and orange blossom finish.  Qi has still some chest action going on with some energetic focusing.

11^th has a bitter woody dirt floral nuance to it with an orange peel blossom bitter woody taste. The dry sandy mouthfeeling feels like the 2008 and 2007 now.  Nice mild energy still uplifting and mildly Heart racing.  Although this is the youngest of the tasting it isn’t at all raw on the stomach like the others can be in a few of the infusions.

12^th has an oily peachy pear fruity onset with not really any bitter or floral or spicy left.  There is an nice oily texture with some cooling deep throat and a bit of sandy undercoating with a mild energy now.

13^th has a strong Asian pear and lesser honey taste, pear peelings, nice sweetness of melon now.  Light fruitier notes are coming out now without any bitterness.  Nice mouthwating sensations.

14^th much of the same peachy, melon, pear tastes that really taste like Yiwu puerh here.  The 2008 and 2007 didn’t have the last handful of infusions that were very fresh and fruity with no bitterness.

Mug steepings of all three spent leaves…

2009 is bitter woody cardboard dirt like taste a faint underlying sweetness of candy melon that barely makes its way through the bitterness.  Big Chest pounding in this long infusion!  On the whole significantly better than the 2008.

2008 is a sweet plummy initial taste with some bitter cardboard underneath taste with a strong cherry cough drop cool pungency.  I think this is that weird minty taste working out.  Overall tastes quite delicious.  Very oily and lubricating. 

2007 is a deep sweet resin incense taste with this very sweet initial pop of flavour.  It’s weird that this mug steeping reminds me lots of the 2001 Naked Yiwu? Strange… but delicious.  More of a deep complex lurking bitterness underneath.  There is this deep penetrating perfume taste that just lingers for a long time on the breath.  2007 is by far the best of the samples mainly due to the strong Qi and bodyfeelings and very intense unique tastes and long stamina.  The Houde storage is significantly better to this year than the Taiwanese storage of the Liquid Proust samples.

These long steepings do much to reveal at its core the differences between these Dianggus!

Peace

2009 Liming “Yi Wu Moutain Big Green Tree”= A Good Cheapish Yiwu

Liming has been popular in the west for its cheapness as well as its easy to drink-ness.  There has been lots of Liming teas currently flooding the market.  When asked why that was, I responded to a commenter some theories here and told him I’ll put up a review soon.  Here is that review...

I love cheap factory puerh especially when it’s done right.  I haven’t sampled Liming in a while and don’t currently own any but it’s always been quite agreeable, easy drinking.  In my mind the Liming I’ve sampled before many years ago had a kind of more mild but sort of similar to a Dayi 7532 feel to it.  That’s what my shoddy memory tells me, for what it’s worth…

On a day I am looking for something slightly aged, comfortable on the body, and nothing to overly complex in my life.  I got this 2009 Liming “Yi Wu Mountain Big Green Tree” sample ($75.00 for 357g cake or $0.21/g) sent free last year with an order from Yunnan Sourcing ..  I hope to push some solid tastes out of this one by leafing it really hard…

Dry leaves smell of faint fruity almost raspberry odour with flowers the leaf looks mild humidly stored, nice tight factory compression.  Its smells delicious..

First infusion is still a fairly compressed infusion and steeps out with a creamy watery sweetness with a subtle watery peachy fruitiness.  A soft creamy vibe.

Second is a watery creamy sweet onset.  Faint with faint returning sweetness.  There is a nice soft watery fruity taste in there that returns with mild fruity sweetness.  There is a nice berry taste in the aftertaste that is a like raspberries and blackberries.

The third has a watery almost creamy kind of fruity onset.  The mild pungency pushes out a slightly sour and returning subtle sweet berry taste.  The mouthfeeling is faint and slightly sandy.  The throat is not significantly stimulated.

The fourth infusion has a creamy fruity taste initially.  There is a nice easy simplicity about the taste in a soft light mouthfeeling.  The aftertaste is enjoyable with a creamy berry taste returning after faint pungency.  The compression is starting to loosen a bit…

In the fifth there is a nice light woody base developing.  The tastes are all quite smooth and easygoing.  There is a bit of a sour pucker- very light but deepens the taste significantly.  Some woody berry, some creamy sweet, a touch pungent.  This is a nice tasting sheng.  Overall the taste is creamy berry soft sweetness.  The Qi is very mild with a slightly alerting and slightly relaxing feel.

The sixth infusion has a creamy woody onset with a creamy rolling berry fruity taste.  There is a slight woody almost sour but then pungent faintly creeps in and gives out long creamy sweetness.  This is a very nice complete tasting Yiwu sheng.  The mouthfeeling in this infusion strengthens a bit to a more puckering fullness and the taste is noticeably deeper.  The Qi is slightly warming now and the face flushes and I can feel the heart pound.  A nice vigor breaks through.  I feel clear.

The seventh infusion has a creamy almost pear and peachy with berry fruity onset the wood taste is becoming more prominent and the sweetness is starting to become less now.  There is a deeper throat sensation upper-mid stimulation from the slight tart mouthfeeling.  The sour tartness is really low actually and is just enough to let the taste really run loose.  I’m really enjoying the classic Yiwu tastes in this one.  Nothing too strong, nothing too crazy but not overly simple either, smooth, easydrinking Yiwu.

The eighth infusion has a nice strawberry onset with a nice woody base.  There is a bit more sour woodiness in the mix up front and building in the profile and the returning pungency has a more difficult time punching through sweetness but it does come in the form of delicious berry tastes.  The mouthfeel is moderately full slight puckering.  Stimulating upper throat.  Nice alerting Qi with Chest Qi and a relaxing that makes me want to stretch.  Straightforward Yiwu tastes, if not a bit simple than easy enough to enjoy.  The astringency is increasing and is a touch hard on my empty stomach now- showing signs of a 9 year factory puerh rather than say 12-15 where this discomfort would be aged out. 

The ninth is fruity almost pear and apricot now, a nice mellow but vibrant and clear tasting fruity with no astringency and a creamy fruity retuning sweetness.  The sweetness rules again in this smooth and not really woody profile.  The pucker is also less and allows for a soft smooth mouthfeeling.

The tenth starts again with this mellow but clear pear-apricot sweetness. No more astringency or woody just nice satisfying fruity taste with slight creamy returning aftertaste.  The aftertaste is developing more complexity too with some almost spice notes, deeper foresty woody notes and a touch sour and manly creamy fruity and sometimes berry fruits.  Sunny taste on this sunny day.

11^th has a sweet pear taste with some almost dirt taste and woody mild pungent and faint returning sweetnss.  The infusions have dropped off in complexity here a lot so I push the next infusion for a good minute long infusion… Oops ended up being 5 minutes..

12^th comes out with a thick syrupy fruity and woody infusion with a lot of syrup thickness and cherry sweetness.  This tells me that I can probably take this one for a while with just a bit longer infusions.  Classic Yiwu not-pretentious taste a bit blended with some more complex nuance to some of the infusions.  This puerh is really tasting and satisfying for me.

13^th I long steep…. Thick fruity syrup, date, woody oily very sweet overall with an oily like cherry date sweetness.

This is a great drinker Yiwu that has enough nuance to enjoy and explore.  I would be happy if I cake ordered this one.  Another great cheap drinker from Scott at Yunnan Sourcing.  I could easily see this costing more for what it is- a very nice solid well stored factory semiaged Yiwu.  But then again, it is a factory production so the price makes sense.

Vs 2006 Rong Chang Hao Yiwu Qiao Mu.  I initially purchased a few of these cakes as a cheaper semi-aged Yiwu gushu option for days I don’t want to drink more expensive but higher quality Yiwu such as Yang Qing Hao.  The problem with these cakes is that my Yang Qing Hao cakes really outperform this Rong Chang Hao stored right next to it, I almost always pass it by.  I’ve since taken it to work and seem to be enjoying it there.  I think this 2009 Liming Yiwu Big Green Tree could be a similarly enjoyable Yiwu when you don’t feel like drinking up the good stuff.  In some ways it might even be a better option for me to store next to my Yang Qing Hao because it has a nice factory feel to it.  Both of these are actually very nice   However, these two Yiwu are just so so different.  The Rong Chang Hao is really a Gushu Yiwu in every way- the feel, energy, taste, look of the full leaf everything.  The Rong Chang Hao is also a bit more astringent and bitter with a stronger throatfeeling.  It had a decently humid Maylasian storage too so it has a deeper rich more semi aged taste.  The storage is probably optimal for something with a bit of underlying bite like this Rong Chang Hao.  It also has a loose stone pressing. 

This 2009 Liming is Kunming dry stored and it really benefits from retaining all the high Yiwu nuances.  I like the blended depth and complexity of this one.  It tastes obviously Yiwu even looks that way with the classic Yiwu wrapper.  It has a nice clear and clean vibrancy to it.  The leaves have a bit of factory chopped appearance but are some of good quality full small leaves as well.  I applaud the very tight compression and optimal dry Kunming storage which takes what the decent materials are and only amplifies them.  There is a nice purity to this factory blend that surprised me and is rarer to find in factory productions like this. 

On the surface of things, the price seems a touch pricy for a 2009 Liming cake, but on the other hand, the storage and performance of this cake easily exceed the price.  I could see myself enjoying this one in the same way I enjoy the 2006 Rong Chang Hao but this one is $25 cheaper than what I paid a year and a half ago on the Rong Chang Hao (the cake has likely even gone up more in price)and in some ways I like this 2009 Liming more.

Peace

Aged Korean Tea: A Reroasted Four Years Aged Kim Jong Yeol Balhyocha

The concept of aging Korean tea is a new one, even 8 years ago, you would be hard pressed to find a Korean tea shop owner or drinker that had even tasted aged Korean tea. Back then a few tea masters that one respected both said that ddokcha can and should be aged. Conversely they also claimed to have never tried a balhyocha (Korean yellow tea) that had improved tremendously with age. They had claimed that often people store balhyocha in oongi wear and some claim that balhyocha stored and aged in this way does, in fact, improve with age. Years ago one had stock piled many boxes of Jukro Uricha to age but, after aging experiments with 2 years old and 3 years old boxes. One had come to the same conclusion as those wise teamasters, it tastes much better consumed fresh within the first year or two. The high price of Jukro balhyocha (uricha) simply made it not worth the risk of storing and the boxes were easily consumed.


Enter Pedro of O5Tea. In 2009, Pedro acquired a large amount of Kim Jong Yeol's (Butea) balhyocha and sold it under the now defunct Dao Tea label. In many great conversations and tea meetings with Pedro that followed he decided not to order the 2010 balhyocha and instead sell off the leftover from 2009. If you ordered any balhyocha from Pedro in 2010 you, in fact, received balhyocha from the 2009 harvest year. This was done as the teamasters he consulted with recommended that balhyocha was certainly just as good if not better when left to age for a year. Many producers don't even release their balhyocha until a few years pass (see the comments in these posts on Jukro Balhyocha and Ssangkye Chun-Go-Hyang).


It just happens that Pedro had recently found a bunch of leftover 2009 Kim Jong Yeol (Butea) balhyocha. Walking though the door of this O5Tea shop in Vancouver a few months ago the air was filled with the scent of slow roasted balhyocha. That same balhyocha first sampled at the Victoria Tea Festival three years ago was in a frying pan on top a conduction heater set to very low heat and had been roasting for a hour or so. One picked up a bag of that tea and had let it mellow over the last few months. With the pot of water boiling... let us prepare some of this tea...

The leaves smell of distinct piercing dark chocolate they have a slight edge of buttery odours and faint woods under the distinctly chocolate smell.

The first infusion delivers a muted, very light, peach taste with slight creamy-soapy finish. There is even a slight spicy cinnamon edge to the taste. The mouthfeel is watery, very very light. Hotter water is needed to push this tea harder than a fresh balhyocha.

The second infusion is prepared with much hotter water and delivers a mellow, very soft fruity banana peach taste with almost unnoticeable suggestions of chocolate. The tea has a thin mouthfeel with saliva pooling somewhat in the back of the throat. The taste profile is simple, soft, and light. The qi is very relaxing-tranquil in the body. It is noticed especially in the head, softening it.

The third infusion gives the mouth malty, smooth, barely woody, mainly indistinct fruity taste. This light malty-fruit taste is terribly simple but nice. A woody note spans the taste profile.

The fourth infusion is a watery, flat-juicy-dry faint fruit taste. The mouthfeel is thin but coats the entire mouth, even the mid throat where the feeling is slightly dry. A gummy-raisin very faint aftertaste is found a few minutes after swallow.

Infusion number five is much the same simple profile as above now a bit more dry and woody. It slightly scratches the throat now. This tea delivers a very mellow qi. There is an almost licorice-wood finish minutes later on the breath.

The next handful of infusions deliver soft, fruity monotone wood and indistinct peachy-fruity taste. The thin all-coating mouthfeel becomes more dry. There is a lingering peachy aftertaste in the mouth minutes later. With each infusion, more flavour is lost until it becomes barely flavoured water.

It is put to an overnight infusion which gives off a tangy, flat wood taste.

Compare the above notes to the notes of the fresh 2009 balhyocha or to other tea bloggers notes on this fresh tea.

Peace

2009 & 2010 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Man Zhuan

Thought it would be interesting to prepare back to back notes on these two autumn Man Zhuan cakes (only later did one stumble on Hobbes post which also featured both these two cakes as well). Thanks to Hobbes for sending these guys last year in a big box of samples. The cakes are both available from Yunnan sourcing (see here and here). What makes them interesting is that they are from the same family farm. Found it interesting, but not too surprising, that they had such pronounced differences. Let's see what the two sessions have for us, the 2009 pictures are on the top and the 2010 pictures on the bottom both are above the relevant text.

The dry leaves of the 2009 smell of gritty, foresty, light, barely menthol, pungent odours in medium chunky leaves. A faint malty plum is also found in there but is very very faint.

The 2010 leaves have a sweet, light, fruity-floral smell over a sweet-tangy, wild forest smell. Already the differences are quite apparent.

The 2009 first infusion yields very watery, bland, sweet notes with just the slightest edge of strawberry in the aftertaste. Mainly there is just watery empty tastes. The mouthfeel is also very light.

The 2010 is watery, but with a creamy floral initial taste which fades into a faint spicy-plum over nice creamy notes. Minutes later a foresty taste is left in the mouth. The mouthfeel is chalky in the mouth.

The second infusion the '09 starts off with an empty-watery, forest and buttery initial taste with only a slight sweet edge. A slight, cool edge makes a ghostly return to the mouth with slight, barely fruit odours coming later. The mouthfeel is light and pasty up front, sticky on the tongue and root.

The '10 has a sour-dirty-pungent, forest initial taste that leaves a sweet-floral taste in the chalky mouthfeel. There is a dirty forest-tobacco like taste that comes up later.

The third infusion is still the same initial taste for the '09 but the finish is now a forest, buttery, slightly cooling, barely fruit taste. The mouthfeel becomes quite expansive and opens the throat to an increasing returning coolness. The mouthfeel seems to bind the aftertaste into something substantial from a rather empty initial taste.

The '10 presents a sour-floral, dirty-forest, initial taste with the creamy floral taste stuggling under the gritty base. The mouthfeel is a slightly coarse-chalky type with the top throat begining to open a bit. Minutes later a cooling, dirty, slightly tobacco taste comes up and fine floral taste is in the breath.

The fourth infusion of the 2009 starts an empty, watery, creamy initial taste with a very soft barely forest, buttery sweet, faint floral finish that feels like a cloud on the mouth. Its creamy sweetness seems fused with the sticky mouthfeel now coating the mouth and upper throat. Minutes later a soft spicy note mixes with the sweet buttery creamy. The qi si mild and lightens the chest when breathing. The substantial mouthfeel holds flavours in the mouth for a long time.

The fourth infusion for the 2010 was less revealing. I delivers sour, dirty-tobacco like initial taste which turns into heavy, malty, sweet florals. The florals slowly lighten into a more creamy sweet base. There is a cool sensation in the top throat. The qi causes one to breathe deeper and lighter as it disperses mainly in the chest.

The 09 fifth infusion offers up a very soft, sweet, malty initial taste which transfers to a creamy, sweet, fluffy aftertaste which lingers in the mouth. Overall very similar to the fourth.

The 10 looses some of the harsher sour edges in the fifth infusion. It presents with malty, slight forest initial taste which contains a sweet, malty, floral-cloudy, creamy buttery finish which is left on the tongue. A slight apple taste is had on the breathe now.

The 09s sixth and seventh offer a watery, empty, even bland initial taste with thick, buttery, malty, bland-sweet aftertaste. The aftertaste has subtle creamy floral dimension that also stays on the breath. The sticky mouthfeel continues to hold.

The 10s sixth and seventh offer a lighter, malty, slight forest initial taste. The finish becomes a obvious malty, sweet, creamy, long cloudy floral finish. The mouthfeel is a touch dry and lightly chalky. The qi is mainly felt in the chest and warms the head.

In the eighth the 2009 cake presents a bland, malty-pear initial taste which now has a spicy-malty edge over a predominately sour-bland base taste. The creamy tastes have now subsided and is just lingering in the background. The ninth infusion sees the bitter profile dominating the initial taste then slowly fading barely revealing any creamy sweetness. The tenth infusion sees a watery, barely sweet apple inital taste with barely creamy aftertaste. The eleventh is much the same with very faint spiciness in the aftertaste.

In the eighth, ninth, and tenth infusions of the 2010 cake, the initial tastes become more empty and watery with a sour-bitter edge now becoming dominant. The aftertaste slowly looses its long high note, creamy sweet floral finish after each infusion. The qi is starting to beat up the stomach a bit here and the mouthfeel becomes grainier with the chalkiness dropping off completely.


Link to Hobbes (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes


Peace

2009 Yunnan Sourcing Lao Man E

This sample comes care of Hobbes of The Half-Dipper and is available for purchase at Yunnan Sourcing. There is great article on Lao Man E from the Tea Urchin that is worth a read if you haven't (here). With the unseasonably cool, rainy, and cloudy spring in Victoria, one has been drinking lots of puerh. Next week the Korean tea will start arriving at the doorstep but if the weather doesn't improve prehaps one will still be drinking puerh?

Today is one of those unseasonable days. Let's stay warm with some puerh from Lao Man E...

The long, hairy, dry leaves are filled with many white buds and smell of pungent, barely sweet forest odours with a deep sweetness staying in the nose.

The first infusion has an initial taste of deep mushrooms with a subtle sweet taste. There are pungent-foresty-spicy notes in the finish. The breath has a soft returning coolness over the pungent forest base which is quite nice. The mouthfeel is soft and thin and already its presence is felt in the upper throat. Its qi is felt tossing in the stomach even after the first cup.

The second infusion is made up of a creamy, mushroom-forest pungent tastes that trail into a long very light pungent but creamy sweet aftertaste. A soft creamy-cooling sensation lingers in the mouth. Their are some muddled berry tastes minutes later on the breath. The mouthfeel is very soft but now reaches deep into the throat.

The third infusion has much the same flavour as above however now slight bitter notes infringe on the taste profile- the higher notes seem muted by this new show of strength. The mouthfeel becomes somewhat thicker and slightly pasty on the lips. The qi swells up in the chest and swirls in the stomach.

The fourth infusion delivers soft, smooth, light mushroom-pungent-forest initial tastes. It develops into smooth-sweetness over a faint smokey-roasted coffee-forest depth. There are distinct cherry notes in the aftertaste as well giving it an interesting complexity.

In the fifth infusion the liquor reveals clear, slightly creamy, almost nutty-chocolate tastes. It has a cool nutty finish. The qi now seems to toss the mind about and one can feel the heart beating in the chest from this powerful chaqi.

The sixth and seventh infusions have clear, light foresty notes that carry a slight but distinct dark coco edge. The taste finishes in the mouth with a light, dirty forest and slight coco taste. The taste becomes more simple in these infusions. The qi has a nice warmth to it and brings warmth to the head, face, and spine. The mouthfeel is sticky, full and throaty.

The eighth infusion is much like the last but simple fruity notes can now be noticed.

The ninth infusion becomes more brackish with soft bitter, dirty forest, and coco still easily found in the taste. There is also still a nice cool finish in the throat with berry edges in the aftertaste.

The subsequent infusions become more dirty and muddled with a very simple distinct bitter-coco taste. The chaqi is powerful even into the twelfth infusion.

Link to Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

2009 Fangmingyuan Jingmai

This cake is 1 of 3 that one piggy backed on a friends Taobao Order (the other reviewed being the 2008 Fangmingyuan Bama). Let's see how this cake stands up on this chilly spring day...

The dry leaves are small-medium in size with odours of muted, earthy, and musty earth-forest.

The first infusion delivers a flat, watery, sweet-spicy almost cinnamon taste up front which develops into a spicy, light creamy floral finish. Overall the taste is very faint. The mouthfeel is a touch sticky and thin in the mouth. There is a long creamy aftertaste with some sweet strawberry finish in there as well.

The second infusion sees barely sweet muted flavours over a slightly flat-bland forest-earth taste. This taste develops into faint, sweet, almost berry-like soft notes with a slight bland taste. The mouthfeel is full and slightly coarse in the mouth.

The thrid infusions offers muted-bland tastes upfront with just some creamy notes and faint notes of berry-sweetness found in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is full, even gripping in the middle-low throat, and still a touch coarse in the mouth. The qi is such that it brings heat to the head and relaxes the mind to the point that things feel slow and look clear.

The fourth infusion has a distinct muted-bland-bitter taste upfront but this time a bit of sweet fruit tries to be noticed underneath the initial taste profile. The aftertaste is slightly creamy and sweet-fruity under the bland-bitter notes. The tongue feels gritty and the teeth sticky- this tea grips somewhat deeply in the throat.

In the fifth infusion the bitter-bland taste has retreated somewhat in the initial taste with more faint mellow creamy notes lingering with a flash of cinnamon. Certain simple fruit notes pop up in the aftertaste over a blandish base taste.

The sixth and seventh infusions see the bitter-bland taste has dropped off leaving some simple creamy notes somewhat suppressed as well. A softer, vague creaminess lingers in the aftertaste with a very subtle spice and nutty fruitiness. The mouthfeel is deep and grainy.

The eighth infusion develops a soft, grainy-bitter initial taste with butter-creamy finish. A simple taste with a simple course mouthfeel is left in the mouth.

The following infusions see very simple tastes of watery berry sweetness with a bitter-bland base taste.

Link to Hobbes (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

2009? Wild Lapsong Souchong

Zhengshan Xiaozhong (aka Lapsong Souchong) is one of only a handful of teas that can improve with age although most outlets that sell this tea don't age it. The lack of aged lapsong in the market likely indicates the use of artificial smoking or poor production techniques. This sample was gifted by Pedro of Dao tea, he aquired it from the owner and highly recommended I try it. It is from an online store called Wild Qi Tea where the site claims that it is 2/3 years aged.

Lapson Souchong has an abundantly warm thermal nature. Although all hong cha has qi that is warming, lapsong's heat is even more warming. This is because it takes on the essence of fire as it is smoked with pine during its production. One of the reasons why this tea is aged is to remove some of the smokiness and bring its energy into a more harmonious state.

Very sweet smooth grape smelling odours emit from these very small tippy mixed black and gold dry leaves- not the typical zhengshan xiaozhong leaves one remembers. Its been a while. A wood pine chalkiness welcomes then slowly transforms into sweet caramel transferring back to subtle smokey wood in the mouth. The transition between these tastes is slow and smooth, the mouthfeel full, wide, and chalky.

The second infusion starts with a sweet, open-watery taste which is filled with caramel then slowly fills the mouth with pine woody notes as the chalky mouthfeel slowly encroaches on the edges of the mouth. The aftertaste has a strong cooling undertone that is noticed with each in-breath. The chest heats up like an oven and the head feels light, the mind and eyes clear, and then focus ensues.

The third infusion starts with a taste that is less sweet and has a longer blank-empty-watery taste with each resulting infusion. The wood pine note is noticed under the whole profile. The aftertaste here is woody and more dry in the mouth. It has subtle hints of soft, smoky currents and is still quite cooling.

The fourth infusion has an even longer empty dry wood pine taste which slowly encroaches upon this emptiness. Sweet woody-gummy-grape aftertaste comes out in the aftertaste which still carries a coolness- the subtle smoky pine base is present throughout. The qi seems to heat the chest, heart, and imparts coolness to the head and limbs. The stomach and digestive organs are energized and softly vibrate. The fifth infusion is much the same but is considerably weaker.

The sixth and following infusions are reduced to dry wood and soft fruit. It is enjoyed like this for a few more pots.

Peace

2009 Hai Lang Hao Yi Wu Zheng Shan

Have been recently following ol' Hobbes recent run-ins with Hai Lang Hao factory cakes. It seems he had slipped one a few samples of the 2009 and 2010 offerings a few months back. Scott of Yunnan Sourcing still stocks this cake and offers some brief background on his site. Today lets have a closer look at the Yiwu Zheng Shan from 2009 produced under the direction of tea master Hai Lang...

Early in the morning these red tinged, longish, dry leaves smell of muted creamy and sweet scents with suggestions of floral notes to come.

The first infusion pours a light green yellow and presents first with creamy and spicy florals with a mushroom finish mixing with an interesting spiciness. The mouthfeel has a soft, light gritty sandy feel to it right off the bat.

The second infusion starts with a barely creamy green-woody taste transitioning nicely to wood, spice, and mushroom tastes in its finish. It seems there is a green-wood-bark type of base underneath its overall profile.

The third infusion reveals an initial taste that is more dirt and wood bark tasting. It is more dry in the mouth now, still sandy. Floral notes start arriving here later in the aftertaste with dry wood and dirty, meaty tastes. There is enough going on to make this tea interesting.

The fourth infusion presents a green, sour, woody start then finishes as dry spicy wood. This tea has watery almost empty moments but slight floral appearances continue to make it interesting. These tastes are much more obvious in the fifth infusion. In the fifth the floral tastes come along with the returning sweetness after the tea is swallowed. The bright morning sun brightens the room.

In the sixth, seventh, and eighth infusions the subtle floral nuances are most noted over a light dry woody, grass base. Minutes later in the aftertaste tropical fruit tastes such as papaya can be sensed and enjoyed. The qi of this tea is also very light and barely detected by one's sleepy body and mind.

In the ninth, tenth, and eleventh infusions wood notes turn grainy and smooth in the mouth with swirling sweet florals which come later with the very subtle returning sweetness. This tea has lots going in its very light profile.

This tea is taken to seventeen infusions where tropical fruits are highlighted. This tea has very good stamina, a very subtle tea.

Link to Hobbes (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Link to Jakub Tomek (T) Tasting Notes

Peace