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Full steam ahead!!! This has got to be the most hopped up I’ve ever gotten from drinking a tea. I bought this on a whim, since the description implies it is similar to Mangfei teas. I love the Yunnan Sourcing Mangfei teas, which also get me quite hopped up, so I thought I’d give this one a try. It is pretty good. It holds up well, has a nice golden color. Some sweetness, astringency that you might expect in a young tea, and good all around flavor. It’s not stellar, but I like it quite a bit, especially for $22 a cake.

This tea is fairly strong, bitter, and astringent, but seems like it might age well. It is sturdy. Light and crisp, citrusy, but with medium body. I wouldn’t care to drink much of it now, it is quite young. But it definitely has character. I will put it away for a few years and try it again. And it is only $17 for 200g.

I purchased this tea with a recent order from Chawangshop. It was only $6.50 for a 250g brick, and I love Langhe teas, so I decided to give it a try. It is also wrapped in bamboo, so how could I resist? It is a pretty good tea, and a great bargain. It is a light ripe, burgundy color. Not heavily fermented like other Langhe ripes I’ve tried. But it is clean tasting and has that Langhe smoothness to it. If you like light ripes, this is a great one to try.

I have to agree with Tea Urchin’s description of this tea. It is quite nice, smooth with a touch of bitterness, a little coffee type flavor. Clean and medium bodied. And it’s gushu (wild trees), so that’s a plus! A quality tea all around. This and the Lang He Yu Pin are great ripe cakes from TU, I’ve tried the other two they currently have and they are not terribly interesting.

Another Tuochatea offering I tried, rounding out my tour of some of their teas this weekend. This one is a sheng from Guyi. Not nearly as good as the ripe I tried yesterday. It’s not terrible, but it definitely falls flat. Kind of that bad dull dirt type flavor, with some overtones of fruit and citrus.

Another nice tea and great bargain from Tuochatea. This one is $8.50 for 250 g. It’s not out of this world, but it is a clean mellow ripe cake, with some age behind it. No off flavors, medium body, a cleaner shu, not earthy or musty. Again, another one worth sampling if you are placing an order with Tuochatea.

My second pu erh from Tuocha today! Another good one at a great price. The first few steeps were a bit subdued, with somewhat damp flavor. Then, after about 4 infusions, it got much nicer. Fruitiness, and still thick, slight astringency. All in all a tea worth trying!

I decided to take a chance with my last order fro Tuochatea, and try two cakes I never heard of. Their prices are so cheap, it is worth the risk! Some of their cakes have not gone up in price since 2009! These days, with pu erh prices so inflated, that is saying a lot. This tea is only $16 (plus shipping). It’s my first tea from the Kunming Guyi factory. The wrapper is pretty (hey, you know you look!), though the sticker seal is impossible to undo without busting up the wrapper. This is a wonderful tea, and an amazing bargain. It is dark, rich and deep, clean and smooth. No off tastes, except for what I think is a little travel aftertaste from being in a box and on transports for 6 weeks (just got this a few days ago; I hope it is not something more serious). There is no earthiness or mustiness, this is one of those cleaner shus. It held up to a lot of steepings. This is a real keeper and I will have to get another with my next order!