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Decided to take a break from my daily morning puerh ritual and brew me some Dancong. It must be well over a year since I had any oolong at all so I searched my cupbord and found this one hiding in the corner, still wrapped up in a foil bag. For me Jing Tea Shop is my “go to” place for oolongs, especially Dancong. Their Milan AAA is delightful (I still have half a bag left from their 2012 Spring press) and I remember this one also being excellent. The Song Zhong Dancong is definitely one of their pricier teas…I remember paying about $50 for a 50 gram bag.

Anyway, I decided to steep 6 grams in my 130ml yixing to see how things have come along. Here are my notes…

Strong, fruity aroma from the dry leaves…still smells good. I don’t bother rinsing the leaves but do my first proper steep at roughly 10 seconds. Before sipping I smell the wet leaves…VERY fruity, acidic citrus aromas, zesty lemon? Sipping the first steep I am reminded why I always bought Dancong from Jing…it is excellent. Nice and smooth, great balance of sweet honey and citrus fruitiness, slight nutty textures, mild “dry mouth” affect that brings out more complex flavours that end up dancing on your tongue and at the back of the throat, VERY long finish.

Several steeps go by and it is more of the same…massive bursts of fruits…beginning to feel some nice energy coming from this, not really calming but more aggressive in nature. I think it’s strongest characteristic is its long finish, as all the complex flavours keep your mouth and tongue “entertained” for ages. Monitoring steeping times I feel is rather important because if you steep for too long the fruity tones negates all the returning sweetness. Good durability in this one as well…you can steep multiple times which yield the same excellent results.

So, this is an excellent example of a Dancong done right. It is just as good as I remember it to be. However, there is a slight sting in the tale. I love puerh too much now that other teas become a little insignificant. It certainly made a nice change, but come this evening I will be going back to drinking the tea that completely changed my way of thinking on what tea really is all about. In my opinion nothing will beat the joy of drinking a great, high quality puerh. It’s the little things that matter…the ritual of carefully breaking apart a cake or tuo, the differing contrasts between sheng and shu, wet and dry storage, differences between young and aged, and also the transformation that happens when a puerh suprises you after aging it for a while. I am simply addicted to puerh!

In my quest to find the “perfect” shu pu I have had an amazing opportunity to sample what I personally think is some of the best shu pu around. From the amazing 1995 9016 Tuo Cha, to the pristine 1980’s Ti Tian, both have left a distinct impression on me, and both have delivered ultra-tasty tea sessions. At £340 per 330 gram cake, to 99 euros per 250 gram Tuo Cha, there is one thing that is missing from my tasting lineup…a downright bargain. Cometh the hour, cometh White2Tea.

I recently noticed that they had some new ripe puerh for sale…the mysterious white wrapper immediately sparked my interest and beckoned me to make a purchase. White2Tea always tend to have a very keen eye for high quality puerh at bargain prices, and at only £55 ($87.50) for 500 grams of this stuff it is simply a no-brainer purchase. I trust Paul 100% and have never been disappointed, so with good faith I placed a rather large order. Here are my notes…

Carefully unwrapping the delicate white wrapper, I see a cute compressed 100 gram Tuo staring back at me. I give the tuo a quick sniff…aged aromas with a sprinkling of humidity comes forth. Breaking apart this cute Tuo is easy with a puerh pick…I chip away a nice 9 gram chunk. Two very quick rinses in my 140ml gaiwan and I smell the wet leaves…a hint of fermentation, lovely rich, bold and nicely aged aroma. I hope that this tastes as good as it smells.

First proper steep at about 2 minutes. I pour the liquid…black and syrupy…perfect. First sip and I am in shu heaven yet again…rich, thick, earthy, creamy taste, bold flavours, ultra-smooth and slick down the throat, sweet long finish. This is seriously good shu pu.

This is not just a one steep wonder…the same lovely taste progresses steep after steep. It does get a more amber colour at around 10 steeps, however it still delivers on taste. It never gets bitter, no matter how long I decide to steep it for. This lovely shu pu punches well above its price. In fact, I don’t think you will find a better shu than this at the same price.

I usually write longer reviews than this, but there is not that much more to say. It is a fantastic example at an awesome price. I would say it is just as good as the 9016 Tuo Cha, therefore I have given it the same score. Both are very tasty, however taste quite different, so it is good to have high quality variety depending on what mood I am in. Does it topple the 1980’s Zi Tian from its throne? I personally don’t think so but that does not matter to me. What does matter to me is getting excellent quality at good prices, and White2Tea has delivered this in spades. I highly recommend this shu to anyone that is into shu. Many thanks to White2Tea for the amazing shu pu!

I was also going to review EOT’s 1970’s Y562 Shu Puerh tonight however the 1970’s powerful QI has got the better of me. I will leave that for tomorrow…

It is a cold Autumn evening and I am in the mood for some good quality Shu. My current “benchmark” for reviewing Shu is that if the puerh is as good as the 9016 TuoCha I recently reviewed, then it is a really top quality tea worthy of purchase. I recently noticed this 1980’s Zi Tian on The Essence Of Tea website and I simply had to get some just to try out. At £340 a full cake is out of my budget, however I was happy enough to purchase a 10 gram sample. I have big expectations for this shu puerh, so here are my notes…

I like to push shu pu to the limit, so the whole 10 gram sample goes into my 140ml gaiwan. I was tempted to have 2 5 gram sessions, but thought it would be best to go “all the way”. I do two quick 3 second rinses of the leaves…the liquid is already looking dark and syrupy. My mouth starts to salivate with anticipation. I smell the wet leaves…earthy, woody, aged tones with a very slight hint of fermentation. This smells like “the real deal”.

First proper steep I push this to 2 full minutes. Liquid comes out black, thick and very syrupy. Exactly the way I like my shu. I take my first sip; thick, rich, bold, ultra smooth, silky, creamy, mature, sweet finish, a complex multitude of flavours that I find very difficult to describe…in short, very, very tasty indeed. I glug some more. Lovely mouthfeel, some tingling sensation beginning on my tongue, and a cooling sensation when I take a deep breath in. Not even a hint of bitterness, sourness or anything that will leave me disappointed. My first steep and it is already this amazing.

Second, third and fourth steep are more of the same, but now I am detecting other complex flavours…“vegetable” comes to mind but I am not sure what…maybe beetroot?, I am not sure. QI is starting to become noticeable as my body and mind start to calm down and unwind after a long, hard day at work. I smell the wet leaves again…the hint of fermentation is gone fully replaced by the earthy, aged aromas. I think I can even detect a hint of dark chocolate there as well.

Careful monitoring of steeping times goes out the window, there is no need to keep track of how long you steep this amazing tea. In my opinion the longer the better…you can push and push and you will still get that ultra smooth, silky mouthfeel. I am now beginning to lose count on the amount of steeps…this stuff just goes and goes, delivering tasty sip after tasty sip. Its durability is second to none.

Several hours later and my tea session comes to an end. I will carry on steeping these leaves tomorrow as I am sure I could push them a bit further. So, is this as good or better than the 9016 TuoCha? Well, in my opinion it is better…in fact it is the best shu pu I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. It does not beat the 9016 by a huge margin, however it has characteristics that I prefer slightly more. In my opinion it is more smooth and silky. It is also a bit more thick and syrupy. It has a longer, more complex finish. It really is the nectar of the gods.

I feel privileged to be able to taste shu as good as this one. Do I think it is worthy of the £340 price tag? Well, yes I would say so. In my opinion you are probably not going to taste any better shu than this. If you do, I would like some please :) I guess I am going to have to save up and hopefully snag a cake of this before it gets sold out. Between this one, and the 9016, you will be in shu heaven. Many thanks to EOT for an amazing shu pu session…it could not have gone any better.

This was one of the first cakes I bought over a year ago from Paul at White2Tea and it was his honest description that won me over. I quote “Intense kuwei [bitterness] and potency that will not disappoint lovers of brute strength. We promise”. I love puerhs that have brute strength and a big kick to them. I have about half a cake left of this (you can see where this review is going) and it has been sitting for over a year so decided to try it again for old times sake :) Here are my notes…

Tonight I decide to really push this puerh to the limit, so I use 9 grams in my 130 ml yixing. The dry leaves smell potent and strong with a hint of sweetness. A very quick rinse, literally 3 seconds, and I smell the wet leaves…hhhmmm potent with that buttery biscuit Bulang aroma…I already know this is going to be a great session. Before I tell you my tasting experience firstly a very quick note on brewing this monster…in order to tame it you MUST flash brew it. Literally 5-10 seconds is all you need. Anymore than that and the bitterness will destroy you.

I do my first proper steep at 5 seconds. The colour of the first steep is already golden. I slowly sip the first steep…lovely dense, thick mouthfeel that is actually surprisingly sweet. It tastes smooth and crisp. However the bitterness is there lurking in the background…it will reveal itself fully very soon.

Second steep at another 5 seconds. Liquid is even more thick and dense…the sweetness is still there but the bitterness is starting to come to the fore wanting to dominate procedings. I attempt to tame the bitterness with my 3rd steep at another 5 seconds. The liquid is now looking dark golden and I think to myself “this is going to be potent”. Indeed it is, the dense bitter liquid coats my tongue and throat without mercy initially, however after a few seconds I am getting a rather lovely sweetness. This puerh is not just all about bitterness and strength…there is a hidden complexity to it that can only be reached with successful brewing times.

I push this puerh more and more with several more steeps and now the liquid is becoming VERY rich and dense. I am starting to get a “dry mouth” effect which further enhances the contrasts of bitter and sweet. I am feeling positively energised. This is incredible stuff.

So, is this puerh as good as it was a year ago?…most definitely. I would say that after a year of storage it is even better. I definitely noticed more returning sweetness inbetween steeps that I didn’t really notice before. It is just as powerful and potent as I remember. I personally think this is a puerh you really need to push…for me more leaves yield the best results. But I will stress again, watch your steeping times for the best results.

This puerh may lack in the “elegance” department, however it more than makes up for it with it’s incredible character, richness and boldness of attack. I have thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this again…it brings back some great memories from last year. Many thanks again to Paul for unleashing this monster onto us mere mortals.

Out of all the puerh that I have this is only the second Autumnal cake that I own. I tend to steer clear of Autumnal puerh mainly because I have generally been pretty disappointed with what I have tried in the past. This cake, courtesy of pu-erh.sk, really intrigued me when I saw it on the website. It had a minimal description, and was quite a bit cheaper than the other cakes Peter had to offer. I am always interested in finding decent quality Yiwu, so I thought that 53 euros for a 250 gram cake was a decent deal if I enjoyed it. In short this autumnal cake does not disappoint. Here are my notes…

Picking apart this cake is fairly straightforward as it is not that tightly compressed. The dry leaves smell lovely…very, very sweet. I take a 7 gram sample and prepare my 130ml yixing with a short 5 second rinse. The wet leaves aroma is beautiful, again loads of sweetness with fresh fruity overtones.

I do my first proper steep at about 8 seconds. The yellow/gold colour looks really inviting. I take my first sip; Massive Yiwu sweetness, dense, rich, buttery mouthfeel, slightly fruity texture in the background. Clean, crisp, pure. Very long sweet finish at the back of the throat. This is lovely stuff.

Second steep and I am getting more of the same, however the fruity overtones are becoming a little more present in the taste. I am still getting that massive Yiwu sweetness. Damn, I love Yiwu…it has that “warmth” that emits feelings of comfort that you don’t find in most puerhs.

Third steep and the balance of fruity tones and sweetness are now perfectly in synch and are singing together in harmony. I am still getting the rich, buttery mouthfeel. The sweetness at the back of the throat is still there and will not go away. My body feels positive and calm…the Yiwu warmth has charmed me.

I push this puerh up to about 8 steeps and I bring my session to an end. The bottom line is that this is an excellent example of a young Autumnal Yiwu. I have no idea how a Spring Yiwu of the same year would taste, however I could not see it being any better than this. As I have said before in my reviews I tend to prefer bitter over sweet, however in Winter time I make an exception to this rule. For me in Winter there is nothing better than sipping a good quality Yiwu or shu.

Today I went onto the pu-erh.sk website and this Yiwu is still for sale at 53 euros. I cannot believe it has not sold out. Which reminds me, I only have half a cake left of this lovely puerh so I think it is time to get another one. If you enjoy your puerh sweet, with that typical Yiwu warmth and character then I think you should at least get a sample of this to try. As Autumnal puerh goes, this is the better, if not the best one that I have tried. Many thanks again to Peter at pu-erh.sk for another great puerh expereince.

Another day, and another pu-erh.sk review. I was very fortunate to get a cake of this last year. The pressing sold out very quickly, however Peter managed to find a couple more cakes and was kind enough to set one aside for me to get. I quickly drank up half the cake last year as I enjoyed it so much, but have let the other half sit for the whole of 2014. Tonight/this morning I decided to break off a nice 8 gram bit of it and see how it is coming along. Here are my notes…

Smelling the dry leaves I am getting honey type sweetness and fruity tones. Smells rather inviting. I prepare my 130ml yixing with a short 5 second rinse of the leaves. I smell the wet leaves which are not far off from the dry leaf aroma…plenty of honey sweetness, fruitiness and a faint hint of “biscuits”.

My first proper steep is only 7 seconds. The liquid comes out a beautiful, clean yellow/golden colour and I begin to sip. It tastes very fresh, very clean and very pure. Honey sweetness and fruit start dancing around nicely on my palate. This is a really good start, and is exactly what I remembered from a year ago.

For my second steep I brew for 10 seconds. Now the texture of the liquid looks more golden than yellow/golden, so I am expecting a stronger taste. The puerh does not disappoint and now I remember why I drank so much of this last year…there comes that strong bitterness that I enjoy so much. The bitterness does not overstay its welcome, and I begin to get a lovely returning sweetness after the bitterness has passed. The liquid is a lot thicker, more dense and rich.

The third steep yields very similar results, however I am beginning to notice dryness beginning to develop on my tongue. I don’t find this to be a bad thing at all, for me it actually creates a very pleasant “taste sensation” as all the sweetish, bitter notes are now dancing around on my tongue. I am not getting much QI, but my body is feeling positive.

Subsequent steeps I am getting more fruity overtones , the sweet finish remains for a long time at the back of the throat. One thing I will say with this puerh is you need to get a good grasp of it’s steeping times. It is pretty potent and punches hard. Brew it for too long and it will be too bitter…it requires a little trial and error however when you get it right you will know straight away as you will get that lovely returning sweetness. My tea session ends and gives me time to contemplate on this rather excellent puerh.

I always enjoy Peter’s cakes, but for me this was one of my favourite ones from his 2013 pressings. It really surprises you with its potency and richness. The dry tongue sensation was one of the highlights of this puerh for me as I could taste everything this tea has to offer. I don’t think that the tea has changed much with a year of storage…it is just as good as it was a year ago and is exactly how I remembered it. So, it is fresh, clean, pure, vibrant, potent, sweet, bitter, dense, rich and punchy. What more could you ask for in a young sheng? Many thanks to Peter for a great quality pressing.

I decided to get a full cake of this from Essence Of Tea about a year ago, and to be honest when I tried it I didn’t think too much of it. I felt it was good, but it did not excite me. It had a very good relaxing QI, but I felt it lacked a little on flavour and taste. I have never been disappointed with any of my purchases from David and knew that this puerh’s quality would eventually shine through. So, I decided to let it sit and have stored it for a year without going back to it. Tonight I felt like some semi-aged puerh and felt like revisiting it to see if there have been any changes. Well, I can happily say there are some BIG positive changes. Here are my notes…

I carefully used my puerh pick to get a nice 8 gram chunk from the cake. For tasting I have used a 130ml yixing and waited 5 minutes for the boiling water to cool down a little. A quick rinse and I smell the wet leaves…very malty, with balm-like qualities. The malty character is quite strong and dominates the aroma…it almost reminds me of when I used to live very close to a beer factory 20+ years ago. I am also detecting a mild aged aroma there in the background.

I do another quick rinse and then do my first proper steep at 15 seconds. As David states on his website this puerh starts out a little thinly and then begins to thicken…this definitely rings as true. I sip the amber liquid and smile…the year of storage has done wonders for the taste. I prefer savoury/bitter over sweet in my puerh, and the first thing I notice is the rich savoury/salty/malty taste. It hits my tongue at 100mph and dominates the first sip. There is the flavour that I felt was lacking a year ago.

Second steep for 30 seconds and now the amber liquid is really starting to thicken. Sipping the brew the mouthfeel is more robust and dense, the salty/savoury quality is still shining through very nicely. I am beginning to notice some interesting vibrancy on the tongue…a tingling sensation followed by a lovely coolness when I take a deep breath in. The QI I remember from this puerh is starting to develop nicely, relaxing my mind and body. This is the start of a great tea session.

2 hours later I am still sipping this wondrous brew and began to lose count of how many steeps I had done. It is still delivering on flavour and is still rich and robust. The salty/savoury overtones are still there however not as prominent, but I am now getting a nicely aged taste which is very pleasant. The QI has taken over and I am glued to my chair. Yet another amazing puerh experience.

So, overall I am stunned as to how much this puerh has developed and changed over a year. I personally think that this puerh is going to be perfect for long term storage. I would like to see more of the aged taste coming through in another 4-5 years. This puerh is great to drink now, but I think it will be exceptional with more patience and time.

From a price point I think this is a really good deal. I remember paying £72 for a cake of this a year ago and now checking on the EOT website it is still £72. I am really tempted to get another one and let it sit for 10 years. I am not the most patient person in the world, but this puerh deserves patience and time in order to reveal its full character. Many thanks to David at EOT for giving us a chance to try out this amazing, complex puerh.

A big thanks to Peter at pu-erh.sk for the generous 7 gram sample. Last year I bought quite a few of Peter’s 2013 cakes but for some reason did not get this one. I always know that I am going to get good quality puerh from pu-erh.sk so was very eager to try this out when I got the surprise sample. Here are my notes…

Dry leaves are pleasant with a sweet, almost fruity aroma. All the 7 grams worth of leaves go into my 130ml yixing. A quick rinse and I smell the wet leaves…rich, fruity, sweet like honey textures, with a hint of “biscuits” aroma not unlike Bulang.

I do my first proper steep at about 10 seconds. The liquid comes out looking a very pure golden colour. Sipping the brew I get a multitude of textures…rich, thick butery mouthfeel, the honey sweetness that I could smell is there in the taste, and a nice balance of “fruit and flowers” It is very, very good. Second steep at about 15 seconds and now I am starting to get a good amount of pleasant bitterness coming through. Still getting the rich, thick, buttery mouthfeel and fruity overtones.

My tea session lasts well over an hour with this one. Subsequent steeps I am getting a perfect blend of sweetness and bitterness which I find very pleasant. This is a very fine, pure tea. I am certainly interested in getting a cake of this so I go to the pu-erh.sk website to check the price. It costs 149 euros (£117) for a 357 gram cake…it is then I realise why I have not bought a young raw cake this year. Young sheng prices are beginning to worry me when I compare to the prices last year, and even last year I was starting to worry about price. I am not saying that this lovely tea is not worth the price, what I am saying is that it is out of my budget for young puerh. I would rather take the money and spend it on good quality, aged puerh, which these days seems to be more value for money and in a lot of cases works out cheaper.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed this puerh overall. I love the thick, buttery mouthfeel, and the perfect blend of honey sweetness and bitterness. It is a very fresh, pure, clean puerh that is definitely worth sampling. Many thanks again to Peter for giving me the opportunity to try this out.