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For the last day of the year, I brought out a sample of “Last Thoughts”. Thankfully, I made a sensible decision not to use a whole 10g I had left and rather split it into two sessions :D

2020 will obviously be remembered for the pandemic, and rightfully so – we should definitely keep such events in our collective consciousness. However, at a personal level I want to avoid painting a picture of this year with a too broad a brush. This tea is indeed very suitable for reflection, and thus I used it to remind myself of all the love and great connections I experienced throughout the year. At the same time I realized I haven’t been to a live concert for the whole year, this being the case probably for the first time in something like two decades. I decided to at least watch recording of Cult of Luna’s gig from 2013 – not the most suitable music for this particular tea, but they are among my favourite live bands so I thought it served a purpose.

I don’t want to go into the particularities of this tea now. It is good, the huigan is amazing, cha qi likewise. However, there is no way I would buy it for the price it is going for. There are teas with comparable huigan and cha qi at half the price, while being more complex and in accordance with my taste preferences.

Here’s a tea that everyone into ripe pu’er should try imo. It is unlike any other one I’ve had. But it’s not just unique, it has a lot of qualities I look for in tea, which make it one of the best shou I’ve encountered. For starters, the complexity is almost unparalleled, even if we include other types of tea in the comparison. The full-bodied, voluminous, and coating liquor is very pleasing to drink. Also, it is a perfect tea for relaxed sessions with its strong cha qi that is mind clearing without inducing drowsiness.

And if that wasn’t enough, it has a beautiful colour too, something I don’t often pay that much attention to. The rinse has a bright orange colour that’s a bit more like an aged sheng than shou. Later on in the session, the liquor takes on an elegant crimson red, which coupled with extreme clarity, make this a visually very appealing tea.

Dry leaves smell quite unusual – main notes resemble candle wax, currants, and sawdust – indeed a weird sounding combination. The aroma gets more complex after the rinse, but it’s ever more strange. There are hints of yeast, vinyl, juniper, window cleaning liquid, nutmeg, coffee, milk. In spite of all of those associations, however, it is a kind of “sweet” scent.

There is considerable complexity in the taste from the get go as well. First infusion is nutty, sweet, mineral and mildly sour with a savoury finish as well as light woody bitterness. Flavours of walnut, gin and dry wood are among the most prominent ones here. Second steep brings new notes of fish meat, cocoa, cumin seed, brown sugar, and truffles. I lost track of all the associations, but it is quite a mineral and smooth affair throughout, with a noticeable red wine flavour in the middle of the session.

The aftertaste is a little astringent and acidic. There is a persistent woody bitterness which is very nice, as well as some floral notes. As for novel flavours, I noticed raisins, cinnamon, honeycu and blackberry leaves. Mouthfeel is among the highlights too, it is smooth, oily and quite mouth-watering.

All things considered, I greatly enjoyed every session I’ve had with this tea and will be saving it for special occasions. It’s a shame it is not pressed into cakes, because I don’t have the capacity to buy loose tea in bulk at present.

This is probably the first aged tea I encountered that can match up against the best examples of young sheng I’ve had. It’s just a shame that it is so expensive. I like the taste, although it really only shines after swallowing with its neverending huigan and a unique, sort of expanding and numbing, mouthfeel. The liquor texture is likewise among the best – slick and full bodied. Cha qi is pretty heavy, but not extremely aggressive. The energy seems to be mostly focused around head and spine.

Shortly after I got this sample, there was a noticeable humid storage aroma reminiscent of dungeons / castles, more so than in the other YQH teas I got. Now, after almost a year in my storage, this note is basically gone though. The aroma is crisp, warming and nutty with notes of milk and incense instead.

The taste is very sweet, woody and tart initially. Texture wise, the liquor is bubbly and smooth. There is a mild camphor sensation as well as some astringency. In the second steep, the flavour profile gets quite heavy with notes cedar wood, celery root, and vegetable broth. Mild bitterness appears in the very thick and full-bodied third infusion. The aftertaste is sugary sweet with a hint of vanilla to it.

There is definitely more to uncover here, the flavours are basic yet unique in some way. For example, for 12th steep I wrote: “woody with a twist of coffee and soil”. If I get another order from YQH and it is still available, I may grab a cake.

Like another 2020 YS cake I got recently – He Tao Di – Jiu Tai Po also has a character that could be described as sitting somewhere between Jinggu and Yi Wu. However, there really isn’t anything like a classic Jinggu tea, they are too varied for that. And, sure enough, He Tao Di and Jiu Tai Po are very different from each other as well.

My impressions of the 2020 version are very similar to the note I wrote for the 2019 vintage of which I had a sample to try. This time round, I got an additional note of eggnog in the dry leaf aroma and of barnyard after the rinse. On top of the basic mixture of bitter, sweet, vegetal and grainy tastes, there are also flavours of butter, bread, vanilla, sunflower, and brown sugar. I don’t really have much to add in regards to the aftertaste, the mouthfeel or the cha qi – they seem to be pretty much in line with my experience of the 2019 tea.

Compared to the more aged 2004 Dehong “Ye Sheng Zhuan”, this tea has a much more of the Ye Sheng character. This is especially noticeable in the woody and honey-ish aroma, but also in the herbaceous, metallic taste. There is a nice woody bitterness, tree sap sweetness and a note of wet grass, but overall the taste is fairly muted. Texture is smooth and buttery, but not overly thick. I get quite a strong numbing sensation in the mouth. All in all, the warming and defocusing effects of the tea are very strong.

When I tried this tea more than a year ago, I thought it was nice – as a green tea. It really smelled and tasted like a Yunnan green tea, had a lightly coloured green/yellow liquor, very green leaves and little bitterness. Maybe only the wet leaf aroma was a bit distinctive in that regard, with notes such as sage, manure, and freshly cut grass.

Since I’ve heard that pu-erh processed on the green side doesn’t age well, I decided not to finish my sample but rather keep it around to see how it progresses over time. After today’s session, I can definitely say that the tea has not improved in one year – quite the opposite. While before it had the bright, crisp and floral character with sugar peas sweetness and notes of green bell peppers, apple skin, or lemongrass among others; now it just tastes like a stale green tea. The liquor is still lightly coloured for a 3 year old sheng, although a bit more on the brownish side. The main problem is that the taste is very muted and lost most of its edge.

There is some nice huigan for sure, but the aftertaste is also affected by this taste of stale green tea underlying it. In terms of cha qi, I feel like the tea hasn’t lost anything and it is probably the main aspect that would differentiate it from an old green tea. In particular, it induces a strong throat-warming sensation and makes me feel full of energy.

Having greatly enjoyed the sample of last year’s White Crow, I decided to get a cake this time round before the tea sells out. I am happy that they are pretty similar. So much so that I am actually finding it hard to observe any distinct features of the younger one, although it is true that the last time I’ve had the 2019 tea is almost a year ago. In any case, it’s one of the best white teas in its price range and I can highly recommend it, both for drinking now and for future aging.

This is a well aged pu-erh, and probably my favourite “Ye Sheng” one I’ve had to date. It is very smooth, sweet and woody, with a mild vegetal undertones attesting to its wild origin. As Scott’s description mentions, it almost completely lacks the mouth-puckering bitterness of young examples of this varietal, even though there is still some astringency enhancing the mouthfeel.

The aromas are mostly reminiscent of forest and dry earth. There are, however, some unique notes of garlic, black grapes, and fir wood as well. In terms of specific flavours, I detected menthol, rock sugar, ash, orange, and honey; followed by a spicy aftertaste with rapeseed and conifer like notes. I also really like the mouthfeel, which is active and mouth-watering, with a sort of buttery texture to the liquor.

This single-origin tea from Bang Dong carries a hefty price tag for a Lincang tea that’s neither Xigui nor Bing Dao. Although, Bang Dong is pretty close to the former of course. As one would expect from a production made from a small number of trees, it is an extremely clean tasting tea that isn’t as complex as some other gu shu in this price range. The profile is vegetal with some umami and mild sweetness. Mouthfeel is thick and oily, but also quite airy in the beginning. It is not among the most full-bodied ones, but there is an interesting bite to the texture. I wouldn’t call the cha qi overly strong or aggressive either. However, its calming and uplifting effect lasts for hours.

I didn’t get a whole lot of notes as far as aromas are concerned. The dry leaf scent is quite unusual though and it reminds me of peach and apricot pits.

The taste is grassy, vegetal and cooling initially. Bitterness appears around steep 4, but it never becomes abrasive. Overall, I found the bitterness here to be particularly interesting. It is very much in the background and yet very present in the way that it round up the profile.

With infusions 5 – 12 one gets the most pungent and full-bodied brews. Throughout the session, however, both the texture and the taste remain extremely smooth. Flavours of butter, alpine meadow and clean smoke appear in the middle. Then, around steep 9, the profile moves into a more floral and nutty territory. Notes of coffee and various seeds and oils are to be found here. The tea remains floral until the end, complemented by a sort of medicinal character.

The aftertaste is very expansive, fresh and cooling initially. It is neither too sweet nor flowery. There are notes of garden peas, sunflower oil, plant roots and sugarcane that arise beside the ones mentioned already.

All in all, a very nice tea to experience, but not one I am likely to seek in the future given its price.

What a lovely tea! It is delicate, smooth and comforting, while possessing a powerful bag of aromas and a long-lasting aftertaste. In short, it is like a FF Darjeeling with more fruity and umami notes and less astringency.

The main aromas I found were those of fruit tree flowers, honey, and vanilla. The taste starts off tart with lots of high floral notes and a cooling mouthfeel. Flavours of cantaloupe, citrus skin, and butter are among those that show up in the first infusion. Second steep then has more bite, a mildly grassy note and interesting olive oil / focaccia flavours. The umami flavours unravel even more subsequently, with the third infusion tasting of roast beef and thyme. The aftertaste is very flowery and protracted. There are also some yeasty notes such as those of kombucha and bread.