Cloudwalker Teas

I’ve had this kicking around in my cupboard for years but as this is a pu-erh I doubt that the extra bit of aging hurt it too much. This is very kind pu-erh and one I’d probably recommend to someone who had never tried a plain pu-erh before. It has that earthy flavour characteristic of pu-erh, but though it’s distinct it’s also quite gentle and mixed with a bit of malty smoothness. There’s a sweet undertone and I agree with the other bloggers who think that there’s a slight floral note to the tea as well. This tea just might encourage me to drink pu-erh more often.

Tasted this today and loved it. Quite like the shape too. What’s next? A pu erh football for the WC2014?

This is a tea we will be adding to the Cloudwalker family of teas. A shou pu erh from the 90s, this tea is buttery smooth on the palate leaving a lasting hui gan and the flavours are light and hint of hazelnut. There is almost no aroma to the infusion, but the chi packs an instant punch that will wake you up, regardless how tired.

I’ve really been drinking the pu erh this morning. I started with a really spicey cake pu erh from the tea master’s shop super early. This guy is so blissed out that my partner and I used to call him the “tea dude.” He’s timeless. He could be anywhere from 35 to 65 years old, but it’s hard to say without asking him (which might be construed as rude). Anyway, that’s not the tea I’m rating here anyway. Joy: my thoughts on taste, aroma and chi remain unchanged. I am always amazed at the drinking longevity of this tea however. I’ve already steeped it three times this morning with no noticeable loss of concentration in the tea soup. Yesterday I had this tea in the morning as well and managed to brew it four times before the leaves started to produce lesser concentrations. And I continued to brew it into a ninth brew, which was still flavourful and aromatic. I should mention that I did this with a mug, hot water and one of those tea guru mug strainers, not my traditional gong fu sitting, which is preferable but not always possible. I should also mention that the energy has me floating toward the sky and highly focused.

I don’t really have enough time to be logging this tea this morning, largely because I drank this tea this morning. I totally lost track of time. I cannot believe I haven’t logged it before. This was the very first aged, sheng, wet stored pu erh I have ever tried and it is smooth. The initial steepings have just a hint of bitterness, but otherwise it is quite sweet for a pu erh. The aroma is of dampness on a moonlit evening in a farmer’s field and the energy is potent and lasting. Every time I drink it I’m reminded of my introduction to excellent, vintage teas. The tea master sprang this on me, and man it’s good.

The old tasting notes for this tea stand: smooth, clean and ending on a sweet note. The energy is a potent mix of yin/yang. So I was already a very happy camper this morning after waking up tired. I’ve also been trying a new methodology to enhance the chi experience from tea: following good tea with a rare form of internal kung fu I learned while in Taiwan. Conclusion so far? Really enhances the energy experience of the tea!

Had this tea again this morning. All this pu erh is definitely having a cumulative effect. I am sleeping less, I have more energy throughout the day and I can focus more intently on one project at a time. Perhaps this is the cumulative effect of the chi energy? I haven’t changed anything else in my lifestyle, so it has to be the tea coupled with meditation in the morning. Anyway, my tasting notes haven’t really changed from the previous posting the other day. Same steep times/temperatures in the gong fu style; the only difference is that this morning I shared it with my mom, who thoroughly enjoys having tea with me like this. Earthy, woodsy, loaded with chi: my kind of tea.

Good grief. This tea is smoooooooth. If you’re into pu erh, which I am, this is surely one of the best sheng, aged, wet-stored pu erh I’ve had. The liquor is smooth on the palate, leaving a lasting hui gan (returning sweetness in the back of the throat); it is almost sweet forward on the tongue, but with that infamous hint of dark forest floor. The aroma hints at the flavour, but with a just detectable foreign spice. Upon smelling the first cup I was immediately hit with the chi of this tea and sounds of the world faded away as I drifted deeper into meditation with each sip.

Drank this tea this morning by accident, thought I was pouring some other leaves into my little teapot in the bleary-eyed semi-darkness of the morning hours. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this was the tea that I tasted! Such a soothing energy. Calming. Unlike most pu erh, it has a bit of a floral hint to the aroma and flavour, while retaining some traditional pu erh malty darkness.

I drink this when I’m looking for something closer to the more complete fermentation of a black tea, while still wanting a hint of the pu erh earthiness: Dian Hong always delivers. The aroma is indeed sweet smelling for a pu erh and the flavour speak of hints of chicory and perhaps black licorice. Energy is light and breezy.

I highly recommend this tea for those interested in trying pu erh, but have traditionally not liked it. This is a good tea; trust me.

Ok. I’m not going to lie: I broke off 4g of this tea, put it into an 80ml 1980s red clay yixing teapot, heated my water to a fisheye boil, cooled to 96 degrees C and started steeping. I rinsed for ten seconds and poured off. Then steeped for 45 seconds. The first pour was incredibly dark red, tasted slightly green with that classic pu erh earthiness, and smelled of a fall day in the woods. Energy for such a young, sheng pu erh was mellow and relaxing. I kept resteeping this tea, 20+ times and it was still going strong when I stopped. I’ll probably use less leaf next time. All around, I liked this tea, and it’s only going to get better with age. There’s also quite a bit of tea here for the price as well.

Mmm Mmm good. Cloudwalker Teas is now stocking this tea and it is available on our website. I had some this evening as a pick-me-up before going out to meet some friends. Dark, earthy with a hint of sheng bitter, the taste is all pu erh, and because it is a compressed cake, it’s pretty good value for money. There’s a lot of tea in one of these mushrooms. The energy is lasting as well. Really good stuff.

We’ve been looking for some time at Cloudwalker to find another pu erh tea in pressed form that will be affordable to our clients but still meet our very high expectations for the teas we sell. This one is a gem. I’ve had it several times now, but this last time I really got the leaf quantity, and steep time just right. I steeped it a little longer and used a little more leaf than I usually do with pu erh and the dark red/brown liquor that resulted showed I’d done the right thing. This tea is sublime. The aroma hints of a walk in the woods on a fall day and the flavour is sweet with a hint of the sheng green bitter, but just a hint mind. And the energy. I felt it blasting through every chi blockage in my body. After drinking the Da Yu Lin this tea’s energy was particularly potent! In one word, I’ve already said it: sublime.

I took the day off from work today. I didn’t much feel like going in and besides, I wanted to drink some tea. So I did. I started with this one, which I haven’t had in awhile and was immediately pleased with the choice (of course). Oolongs have a special place in my heart because of their long lasting and widely varying aromas and flavours. The dry leaves of this tea smell of malty roast. The liquor scent has extreme longevity in the smelling cup. It seems to go on forever smelling of exotic sweetness with a hint of spice. The flavour is, as I mentioned in a previous note, malty, and smooth on the tongue leaving a long lasting hui gan (returning sweetness in the back of the throat). When I exhale I still get the flavour of this tea and it is very pleasant. The energy hits with a wallop as well. You don’t so much feel it coming as simply sink into the moment and completely lose track of time. I have a feeling drinking such high energy teas the past few days is having a cumulative effect on me. Everything around me seems crisper, clearer and more focused. An excellent tea, to be sure.

I drank this tea this morning. Sublime. When I lifted the smelling cup to my nose I held it there for nearly a minute as the aromas transitioned from honey to apricot to plum to a distant wildflower field. Flavour also left a maltiness in my mouth and a lasting hui gan (returning sweetness on the tongue). Energy: potent. Very potent. This morning it was tough to go to work. I’ve had this tea before after first drinking a pu erh and the energy is overpowering, and when following a good pu erh like Bliss or Rainbow, I was left in a deep meditation for a couple of hours.

I tried this tea after a long hiatus. It practically jumped off the shelf at me this morning when I was deciding what to have before breakfast. I heated my water, prepared my yixing teapot which has been seasoned for aged oolongs, got out my gong fu cups and promptly forgot about the world with the first several inhales and sips of this tea. I really do enjoy oolongs, they all have such a rich depth of flavour and aroma. The sweet, honey notes were well pronounced in this one, especially in aroma and the taste was velvety smooth with a hint of roast as it went down. And the energy was potent. Somehow 30 mins disappeared and I nearly missed my bus. I still had to iron a shirt and pack my lunch but caught the bus in the nick of time. What an excellent tea! Except now I’m all spacey at work. Hopefully no-one notices…

Dark. Earthy. Very smooth pu erh. This time when I drank it though I tried to be present with the tea, as sometimes my mind starts to drift to mundane daily living if I don’t focus. This time I got a hint of the exotic, even a bit of spice, anise and cloves maybe? Just a hint mind you, but really added to the drinking experience. Energy left me wired as usual for the day!

Earthy, woodsy, and with a hint of spice, this tea goes down smooth and leaves a lasting hui gan in my mouth, a velvety mouth-feel long after consumption. This is probably the darkest, earthiest pu erh that Cloudwalker Teas carries. Lasting, yang energy as well lights the inner spirit on fire and leaves it blazing through the day.

Drank this tea again this morning. Never ceases to amaze. I think it is the darkest and strongest smelling of the aged, wet-stored, sheng pu erh that I have. It also has the greatest depth and longest lasting flavour. The smoothness on my tongue lasts for at least an hour after drinking (even if I eat something after drinking!). An excellent pu erh tea. The energy lies more in the yang category, and very potent.

I’ve gotten into the habit of getting up early and sitting and drinking good pu erh teas gong fu before going to work and it’s been a great way to start the day. This tea is, as I’ve stated before, dark and earthy in flavour. It leaves a very smooth feeling on the front of the tongue and a hint of tang on the rear. The aroma is that of rolling in the hay of a freshly cut farmer’s field. The energy is strong and not understated, making it very easy to clear the mind of earthly thoughts and focus on each movement of the making of the tea with intention. Good stuff.

I drank this tea this morning after I woke up in the traditional gong fu sitting. I was nearly late for work as a consequence. I blissed out for about half an hour before quickly cleaning up and getting ready to go! Dark, earthy and wit a hint of spice, I really like the depth of energy to this tea. Awesome. First steep 30 seconds, increased by 10 seconds per steep thereafter. I think I ended up getting 10 steeps out of it in the end!

I just drank this tea for the first time in a long time… As a shop owner, I suffer from having too many choices sometimes and as a consequence some very good teas go untried for too long. Even though I didn’t drink this tea in my traditional gong fu method, by only filling my mug half full I was still able to appreciate the incredible aromas: apricot and honey mostly. The flavour is light, roasted oolong with a hint of anise and the energy is quite deep when I permit myself to close my eyes. An excellent tea to be sure.

It’s been awhile since I had this tea and it’s always a pleasant surprise. Takgoti’s recent review reminded me to try it again. I had never really been able to pull out the white grape flavour, but I definitely know what others mean now. The aroma is so honey/apricot sweet and the flavour matches. Energy is potent, and followed with a pu erh, particularly so. An excellent tea, to be sure.

I have got to stop pairing such energy potent teas. I’ll never sleep tonight at this rate. It was a crummy day at work (online tea companies don’t pay my bills, as awesome as that would be so I took a full-time job as well) so I decided on an intense tea session. Started with the 20 year old oolong, one of Cloudwalker Teas more popular teas. I have to pretty much agree with my previous post, except to add that if you’re feeling down and in the dumps, this tea will pick your energy right up and flip the negativity the other way. I’ve always been amazed at this. I think the energy of this tea paired with the gong fu ceremony and meditation really is good for the soul. So there: a soulful tea of complex flavours and aromas.