261 Tasting Notes

79

Date drunk: 2023 Jan 16

- First opened this sample in Dec 2020, when I gave it a rating of 98 with little explanation :( “Wet storage” in Singapore for the past 2-3 years hehe.
- 5g in 100ml porcelain gaiwan
- Dry leaf smells clean and very little odour. But there were a couple of single nylon? paper? fibres/hairs stuck into the leaves which was a little gross.
- Rinsed once and wet leaves bloomed with strong aroma of old wooden furniture, almost rotting wood. Rinsed second time and leaves still smelled bad.
- 1st infusion (100˚C, 0:15)
- Musty smell is gone, or has faded into background as pleasant aged smell. Still getting old furniture. Liquor tastes flavourful, mostly mushrooms, slight sweetness like jasmine rice / dried jujubes, slight woody astringency.
- Rating: 85
- 2nd infusion (100˚C, 0:20)
- Liquor is a clear dark reddish-brown with a purplish hue (as Togo puts it so poetically). Still has musty smell.
- More woody astringency than before, and liquor tastes earthy, dirt, old furniture, mushroom notes. Tastes sharp and I’m not detecting any sweetness in the liquor. Full-bodied, tongue-coating texture and leaves an aftertaste of that aged flavour + slight sweetness on tongue. This infusion I will drink together with my breakfast because I don’t like the flavour on its own. Damn, I think the cha qi is pretty strong I felt it giddy me when I stood up…
- Rating: 60
- 3rd infusion (100˚C, 0:15)
- Aroma: sweet rotting wood and steamed jasmine rice, musty. Liquor tastes of wet dirt and wood, but fragrant and sweet – sandalwood, bamboo shoots. Long sweet aftertaste on tongue. Fascinating how similar it tastes to the previous infusion, like it has the same DNA but just some notes were dialed up or down on the equalizer and it tastes less sharp, far more mellow and balanced. Mmm now we’re talking.
- Rating: 90
- 4th infusion (100˚C, 0:25)
- Reminds me more and more of that tea that Gong Gong’s relatives gifted to us, that tastes like dry rotted wood… But with a sweet and mellow roundedness.
- Rating: 75
- 5th infusion (100˚C, 0:30)
- Rating: 85
- 6th infusion (100˚C, 0:50)
- Combined with 5th
- Rating: 85
- 7th & 8th infusion (100˚C, 0:40)
- Gave to Mum.
- Rating:

Verdict: Will not purchase. Want to try this again in Jianshui teapot.
Rating: 79

Flavors: Bamboo, Decayed Wood, Dirt, Earth, Mushrooms, Musty, Rice, Sandalwood, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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74

Date drunk: 2023 Jan 14

- 5g in 100ml gaiwan [[Gongfu brewing]]. Filtered water in stainless steel kettle with bamboo charcoal.
- Rinsed once but wet leaf smelled fishy so I had to rinse a second time. Wet leaf now has smell of baked bread.
- 1st infusion (100˚C, 0:15)
- Liquor smells slightly fishy. I guess even neglectful ageing in Singapore counts as “wet storage”. Texture feels flat (or sharp?), slightly metallic flavour. Do not like.
- Rating: 50
- 2nd infusion (95˚C, 0:15)
- Ah, much better. I’m getting a slightly rounder body now, a tinge of sweetness on my tongue. Fleeting hints of dark chocolate and mushroom. Still a bit of that flat/sharp texture that I dislike though (leather?).
- Rating: 70
- 3rd infusion (99˚C, 0:20)
- Far stronger aroma of baked bread now, a bit of roasting coffee – promising.
- Liquor tastes more chocolatey and full-bodied now. It’s the classic ripe pu-er (chocolatey, mushroomy, baking brown bread) but with a touch more floral and fruity quality. This tea has finally hit its stride! Again, still that flatness in the aftertaste which is quite disappointing. But it pairs well with my oatmeal with bananas and dried cherries; I think drinking this tea together with fruit is very nice.
- Rating: 82
- 4th infusion (100˚C, 0:30)
- Rating: 81
- 5th infusion (100˚C, 0:45)
- Ah finally – a smooth, full-bodied infusion! No more flat or metallic taste. This is wonderful when drunk warm.
- Rating: 87

Verdict: Now looking back on my glowing (yet lacking-in-concrete-notes) review from 2020, I have no idea whether I just stored / aged this poorly or if my tastes have evolved. Whatever the case, I simply did not find this tea very complex nor enjoyable today. I might try this in an Yixing / Jianshui clay pot next time. Even at 6.5 years of age, it needs something to even it out a bit to make it more drinkable for me.
Rating: 74

Flavors: Bread, Dark Chocolate, Fishy, Floral, Fruity, Metallic, Mushrooms

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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74

Date drunk: 8th Nov 2020

- 3.75g in 75ml gaiwan [[Gongfu brewing]]
- Dry leaf smells more like ripe pu-erh than raw, which is unsurprising
- Rinsed once
- Wet leaf has lovely woodsmoke scent + baking bread sweetness
- First infusion (94˚C, 0:15)
- Flavour very light but lovely – clear and sweet! I can see this pairing well with baked goods and dim sum.
- Rating: 87
- Second infusion (95˚C, 0:20)
- Stronger flavour, a bit salty.
- Rating: 87
- Third infusion (96˚C, 0:25)
- Rating: 88
- Fourth infusion (97˚C, 0:30)
- A little thin to stand up to a banana bread. Need to hit it harder.
- Rating: 85
- Fifth infusion (98˚C, 0:40)
- Stands up to Mother Dough chai slice wonderfully.
- Rating: 88

- My Rating: 87

Flavors: Bread, Smoke

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 75 ML

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85

5g in 100ml gaiwan

- Dry leaves smell slightly musty like an old room, but no fishiness, can tell it’s cleanly aged.
- Rinsed once. Wet leaves strong whiff of tobacco, someone just lit up a cigarette next to me. Like being at Gong Gong’s house. Upon further smelling, heavy sweetness like dried longans or red jujubes.

- First infusion (91˚C, 0:15)
- Liquor is the colour of brown citrine, reminds me of cheng tng. Tastes sweet, slight fruitiness, slight smokiness and some mushrooms and umami. But texture is thin and not much body or aftertaste.
- Rating: 80
- Second infusion (96˚C, 0:20)
- I’m very impressed by how intact and unbroken the leaves are, no small pieces.
- Darker orange colour, a bit more full-bodied, with a sweet-sour aftertaste on tongue.
- Rating: 83
- Third infusion (99˚C, 0:20)
- Whoa mushrooms! And more dried fruit and pleasant light smokey flavour. A tingling sensation on the tongue like menthol (similar to what I experienced with the 2018 He Tao Di yesterday). Now I feel like I’m getting the full flavour of the tea.
- Rating: 90
- Fourth infusion (100˚C, 0:20)
- Very drinkable, a bit bitter but although the thought popped into my head: do I really want to drink such a smokey-tasting raw pu-erh all day? I like the sweet aftertaste though.
- Rating: 85
- Fifth infusion (96˚C, 0:25)
- No sweetness in the liquor but some lingers faintly in the aftertaste. Quite a bit of astringency dryness on tongue afterwards but still decently pleasant. Cha qi is not strong for this one, which is fine for me.
- Rating: 83
- Sixth infusion (100˚C, 0:25)
- Rating: 86
- Seventh infusion (100˚C, 0:30)
- This is very enjoyable drunk with my quinoa salad lunch which is a bit dry.
- Rating: 87
- 8th to 10th infusions: Did not rate, but this powered through the afternoon to pair with my 6pm snack

Verdict: At $95 for a 357g cake this seems like good value for an aged sheng. I wanna taste the other aged raw pu-ers I bought in upcoming order before deciding whether to purchase a full cake.
Rating: 85

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Mushrooms, Musty, Smoke, Tobacco

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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85

Finally opened this cake after purchasing in late 2020. Unfortunately as a newbie to pu-er storage I may have ruined this cake by prying it apart into two disc + doughnut halves to try an A/B experiment… I’ve since scrapped the idea and put the halves back together to go back into the ziplock but placed the central loose leaf that fell out into a brown paper bag in unsealed plastic bag to “age”. This is going to be a trial run, then…

5g in 100ml porcelain gaiwan.

Wet leaf aroma: Intensely floral, the notes say orchid aroma and I can really feel that. (Orchid are my favourite flower, that’s what drove me to buy this in the first place). A lot of sweetness, a juicy note I can’t describe like it makes me imagine a fat aloe vera or fleshy jungle plant. Very pleasant. One of my favourite leaf aromas.
- 10 sec Rinse was already pretty deep-coloured and flavourful but had a bit of taste of grit so I ended up throwing it out after two sips.

1st infusion:
- Full-bodied, a bit vegetal/grassy, marine brine, very slight and pleasant dryness in the mouth. Sweetness is barely detectable but it’s not flavourless nor bitter. Smells a bit salty / umami like the sea (but doesn’t taste salty), and a hint of minerality. A very light and subtle infusion, not as flavourful as a fresh green tea, but like a (non-astringent) later shadow of one.

2nd infusion: Had to leave the house so the leaves sat there for about three hours before I could come back to them.
- Liquor now gives me a tingly cooling sensation in the mouth. Flavour is spicy (chili, black pepper), slightly bitter, mineral-rocky, and nutty (almonds or peanuts). No sweetness or fruitiness.

Verdict: It’s not my favourite right now, but I am excited to see how this will taste in 2026*!
*Unfortunately it won’t age as nicely as if I had left the entire cake intact, according to Mei Leaf’s videos about ageing raw pu-er cakes.

Flavors: Almond, Black Pepper, Chili, Marine, Mineral, Orchids, Peanut, Spicy

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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89

Sadly this tea is 1-2 years old and I believe it’s no longer in its prime. Still a very good tea but it’s time to finish it up (I have ~30g left).

6g in 150ml Chaozhou Hongni pot (which might explain why the aroma is more muted)
Wet leaf smells strongly sweet, fruit like grapes, honey peach and melon, florals, and a creamy fragrance that is not quite milk but maybe like a cantaloupe-flavoured soda / sugary milk drink?

1st infusion: 88˚C, 0:30
Liquor colour is almost white. Very light, not much flavour or sweetness coming through, slightly astringent. When cooled down it was significantly sweeter and balanced.
Rating: 85

2nd infusion: 88˚C, 0:30
Slight grassiness and hay now. Also a bit of minerality like I imagine I’m drinking water from a sweet mountain spring. Sweet and long aftertaste on the tongue.
Rating: 88

3rd infusion: 91˚C, 0:45
All that’s left is the florals, but damn they’re gorgeous. More astringency now, but it’s a lively dryness on the tongue, not unpleasant.
Rating: 87

4th infusion: 95˚C, 1:00
Liquor is more a gorgeous pale gold colour now, but almost more white than yellow. Still lovely mouthfeel.

Flavors: Floral, Grass, Hay, Melon, Peach, White Grapes

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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75

5g in 100ml gaiwan. Have had this for a few years and realised I left the half-open sample packet unsealed in semi-porous conditions, so it’s definitely changed a bit since I bought it in 2020.

Rinsed once.
1st infusion: 98˚C, 0:30
Wet leaves had top notes of fishy smells from fermentation/storage, but the overwhelming aroma is of baking brown bread.
Liquor colour is a medium mahogany brown – light and surprisingly clear for a ripe pu-er. Usually my ripes turn opaque brown/black within a few seconds of 冲水 but this was taking its time.
Tastes very subtle for a ripe pu-er. No bitterness, no sweetness either, pleasant notes of bittersweet chocolate. Tiny bit of astringency. Nothing lingers on the tongue/in the throat – clean and brief aftertaste.
Rating: 70

2nd Infusion: 100˚C, 0:30
Now the liquor is opaque dark brown. I get faint fishiness in the liquor itself now, liquor tastes more full-bodied, nutty, dark chocolate. A touch more astringency too and longer finish. This is more enjoyable than previous.
Rating: 80

3rd infusion: 100˚C, 0:45
Rating: 80

Verdict: A lovely, comforting, cleanly aged ripe, but ultimately unexciting and I don’t mind passing on a full cake of this daily drinker.

Flavors: Bread, Dark Chocolate, Fishy, Nuts

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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70

5g in 140ml Yixing pot.
Dry leaf doesn’t smell ike much, but leaves in warm pot smell incredibly spicy and warm: I get distinctive Cayenne/chili and black pepper.

1st infusion: 91˚C, 0:25
– Aroma of wet leaves is intoxicating: sweet, stone fruit, with a hint of smoke.
– Liquor is a medium peachy amber colour. Flavour is mild, unremarkable. No astringency but no sweetness either. Not picking out any distinctive notes here. This is probably just the “rinse” haha.

2nd infusion: 92˚C, 0:30
– I’m really not getting much flavour here. Will hit it harder next round.

3rd infusion: 97˚C, 0:30
– Quite a bit of astringency and slight bitterness now. Not my favourite.

I’m not experienced in how ageing affects a tea, so maybe this might be good if kept, but I don’t like this enough as it is to purchase.

Rating: 60

Flavors: Black Pepper, Chili, Stonefruit

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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89

Yixing Xuan is one of my favourite teahouses in Singapore. I love meeting friends there to introduce them to the wonders of gongfu cha, and the dim sum snacks they sell at the store are delicious.

Bought 50g of this on one of my tea outings there with my mother, for the eyewatering price of S$47 (US$35) for 50g. For this price I would expect pretty top-notch Oriental Beauty.

At Yixing Xuan we tasted both this Bai Hao Oolong (the famous Taiwanese Oriental Beauty 东方美人) as well as their “house 东方美人 Beauty of the East” (which was half the price) and we both found the Bai Hao Oolong more complex and were impressed at how many rounds we were able to steep it.

I bought this in a tin and the tea inside was placed in an open plastic bag. After two years, it’s taken on an aged aroma like what I suppose I should be aiming for with my pu-erhs. I don’t normally rinse my oolongs, especially small-leaf ones that aren’t ball-form but this smells a bit too funky for me.

Brewed 5g in 150ml Chaozhou Hongni pot. Rinsed, then 90-92˚C for 30 sec.
- First infusion: A mouthwatering woody bitterness, mellow sweetness, and fruity tannins like apricot skins. There’s probably some floral in here too but I’m rubbish at identifying flowers. Long sweet (honeyed persimmon apricot pear) yet astringent, mildly medicinal aftertaste in the throat.
- Rating: 89

- Second infusion: 93˚C for 40 sec
Wet leaves smell like parsley / cucumber along with some fruit. Liquor I get a nose full of woody florals like a cherry blossom tree or rosewood furniture, red plum fruit, and faint herbs.
Woodiness is still pleasantly present but has mellowed out. Fruitiness and sweetness are fainter now but still a lovely full-bodied brew.
- Rating: 89

Verdict: it’s a pretty good Oriental Beauty, and I might consider repurchasing if I crave such an expensive tea again. Maybe I’d seal it up in ziplock next time because I don’t really want it aged (feels like I’m wasting the first rinse).

Flavors: Apricot, Bittersweet, Honey, Pear, Persimmon

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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30

I don’t know if I did something wrong, but I tried this Western-style multiple times at different temperatures and kept getting a tongue-cuttingly astringent brew – super strong black tea and scented oils in the worst way where I couldn’t finish the cup. I got the bag fresh in 2020 as a gift from a friend a few weeks after he received it from the UK. Ended up putting it aside for a year and when I next opened it unfortunately it had gone mouldy. And I actually felt relieved that I could throw it away.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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