289 Tasting Notes
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!
This tea sounds so good. What else is good to order from them?
The Menghai 8582 from here is really good.
Thank you Rich, I got it and shared w/other ppl. We love this tea and its very affordable too.
Oh, good, glad you liked it. Did you get any other teas with your order?
Yes. Why not, they priced good. The only thing I didn’t like is very slow ship. Now I’m thinking I ordered it during summer. It took 59 days. Maybe spring and summer busier than now. I also got 2008 Menghai 8582, 2008 Haiwan 908 and 2008 Menghai Hong Yun Yuan Cha.
Just received my second Tea Urchin order, what a great company. They put their cakes into individual little boxes. Everything was packed with care. This tea is a blend. It was pretty good, as usual from Tea Urchin. It had some interesting flavors, a moderate amount of bitterness for a Lao Man E, and strong cha qi. My wife and I got a little tea drunk. It lacked somewhat in zip and strength, which are my top preferences. But it was very nice nonetheless.
I think the last rating of this tea was a few years ago by another person, so this is somewhat of an update, though of course we are different reviewers. This is now 5 years old. It is a nice gentle and interesting tea with good staying power. Somewhat fruity, especially in later steepings. It has probably mellowed out since it’s youth. It lacks a little on body and punch, but is a nice tea nonetheless.
