14 Tasting Notes
7g 100ml Yixing. This has to be one of the best tasting puerh I’ve had to date. Lots of fruit, especially fresh green apples (gramdma’s apple pie anyone) and peaches. Thick and extremely coating, which I always love, maybe not quite as thick as W2T’s bosch but really hit all part of the mouth and throat and lasted for hours. It also steeped forever, 20+ steeps over the course of 2 days. First couple steeps were very strong and flavorful, followed by a slight drop off where it just stayed there for an eternity it seemed.
Could feel the tea flow down into my stomach, left a very farm feeling throughout the session and for hours after. Felt like the tea was coursing through my body. Started at at the back of my head, down my neck and in to my arm and torso. Usually take a couple cups for that to happen(if it happens) but this hit me fast, in the middle of the first cup, with lots of strength. Actually started feeling it from drinking the wash which was a bit surprising. Overall a great tea from a producer that I’m now excited to try more tea fromA quick shout out to Teapals who was great keeping in touch with me via e-mail throughout the shipping process which got slightly delayed due to them being away for a tasting event followed by the Eid Mubarak festival which closed down the local post office. Thanks for reading!
Preparation
7.5g 100ml Yixing. Second time drinking this and both times it floored me. Super thick and coating, like liquid pudding. A silky smooth mouth feel and a very full body make this tea enjoyable on just those merits alone. It was sweet and mellow but not without lacking complexity. No astringency in the steeps I drank, I was only able to get 6 or 7 down before I waived the white flag of total tea drunkenness . I pushed it (more like over steeped, not on purpose, was already pretty tea drunk) for a steeping and did get some bitterness but it wasn’t at all unpleasant and gave good balance to the thick oily sweetness.
Feeling of calm and relaxation started creeping in quickly, as soon as the first steep. It slowly intensified till that over steep when it hit me like a truck. I melted into my chair, muscle tension went poof. I am a ball of jelly floating along in a sea of qi. If I was on my couch I’m pretty sure nap time would have followed soon after. Eventually I return back to earth and drink a couple more steeps before my thirst for being tea smashed has been sated.
As I’m sure you could guess, I’d recommend this tea to anyone and everyone. This along with White2tea’s 2015 Last Thoughts and XHZ’s ‘06 black wrapper LBZ have been my favorites among puerhs I’ve tried.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all get a chance to try this great tea one day.
Preparation
goes on my wishlist. thanks ;)
wow, i just looked at the price
Yeah what I have was just a sample. Unfortunately the price is right up there with the other 2 cakes I mentioned which is to say quite high
i kinda guessed that would be the case just from you calling it a great tea. someday!
That was the last sample as well. I wouldn’t mind splitting a cake with 1 or more people. Price per gram doesn’t change but at least you don’t have to pony up 500 dollars for an entire cake. Actually I think they give discounts on multiple cakes so the more the better if poor were up for a group buy
If people*
care to differentiate the 3 you mentioned above in more detail? :)
I did a review on the last thoughs. The qi is similar to this but less of the my body is jelly and more of a focused alert feeling. Very unique, no other tea has made me feel like that. The lbz is a pure face melter. Last session with that tea my lips and face feel numb like I had drank too much alcohol. Took a few steeps to get going but once it did it was full force till I stopped. It’s been a while since I drank it so I don’t remember the taste too much but I remember it being woody and slightly sweet. The bitterness is mostly aged out. Dried stored for sure. No storage funk at all on this one. Taste is secondary in a tea like that imo. At that price you drink it for the qi which is much more uncommon at that level. That tea was 595 for a 400 cake at houde and I regret not buying both now that I have some more experience. All 3 still had some energy on the second day which also seems to be a rare trait. Most puerh good in my experience can get you tea drunk on the first 5ish steeps or so but all three of these could bring it deep into a session.
Now that you’ve sampled YQH deeply how does this stack up?
Many many many many teas later and this still holds up as one of the best I’ve had. Not perfect and just a bit more expensive than it should be but this is a great tea
6g in a 100ml yixing. Second session with this tea. First session was 9g in a 120ml gaiwan and it was borderline over powering, very strong stuff. I’m not one to talk much about qi since I feel that everyone experiences it differently and in varying degrees but this tea has it in spades. The first session left me with a narcotic almost pain killer effect. It was so strong that I couldn’t get past 5 steepings . The second session had some of the same effects but also left feeling me feeling amazing. Relaxed and calm as other good puerhs have made me feel but also extremely focused which is pretty rare for someone as ADD as am. Taste wise the tea had both elements of sweet and bitter in a good balance. I’d say this is less sweet than other Yiwu puerhs I’ve had and if you push a steeping, as I did on a few (you know, for science) it will get quite bitter. Highly recommend this to anyone that hasn’t experienced a puerh with qi and anyone that wants to get good and tea drunk
Preparation
7 grams in a 100ml yixing. Quick rinse and then a couple minutes for the tea to open up. First steep was a touch light but I knew that this was going to be a good one right away. Good sweet and savory flavors with just enough bitterness to balance it out. Extremely thick mouthfeel, rich and oily in the best way. Possibly the thickest of any puerh to date for me. Mouth and tongue were coated throughout the session. Later on a bit of astringency creeps in which once again gives good balance to the richness of the tea. Leaves you salivating and wanting more. Some throat feel in later steeps but not a whole lot for me at least. Lost count of how many steeps (not that I generally keep track) but I’d say around 10ish and the tea has at least a few more to go. Left the session feeling great, calm and relaxed. Any tension I had in my neck and upper back just seemed to melt away. Definitely recommend trying at least a sample of this if you are a fan of White2tea’s offerings or puerh in general
Just a short side note. This based on a single tasting and with tea that had just received less than 8 hours before drinking it. I’ve been finding that most if not all of the teas I’ve been drinking have improved after settling into their new home. Usually I’d wait but my patients is little to none for something I’ve been excited to try.
