LangHe Tea Factory

This tea is very tasty. It had a fair amount of fermentation flavor to it. I saw Rich said he detected some fishiness to it. I didn’t find any. There were some notes of chocolate or perhaps bittersweet chocolate. Not really getting a fruity flavor from this one. This is a highly enjoyable tea and the price is right, only $46 at Yunnan Sourcing. That’s not a bad price for a good quality ripe from 2005. It would be nice if the tea soup had completely cleared but it is good. I’d say I detected fermentation flavor through the first four steeps.

I steeped this eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 9.4g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. I could have gotten a few more steeps out of it but I have a desire to drink something else entirely.

This one is playful with a curious undertone of bitterness, ostensibly Naka material. Knowing nada about Naka, I say ostensibly because the very same wrapper is mostly used to sell a certain ripe. Red ripe, get it? Imprinted on the wrapper is the “sheng” character, so relax already.

Been working on it for two days now. I’ve noticed if it gets back-to-back steepings, the second or third will be decidedly bland, but if it gets an hour or so between steepings it comes back with a fruity, floral, bitter effect. Light mouthfeel. Leaves and broth produce an outstanding aroma. If you over infuse, the bitter overpowers the experience. Yields more than ten infusions and the body seems to be developing as it “cooks.” Yiwu types will enjoy this.

Fantastic tea! Very loose compression, especially for a shou. Big broad leaves in this one, I used around 8g in a 200ml yixing with a rinse and 10s steeps initially. The color was a little lighter than expected, a deep reddish brown. The tea was sooooo smooth! It just flows in the mouth with little to no resistance. Flavors showed good complexity with notes of leather, dates, and spices. The hui gan of this tea kicks you right in the mouth! Lots of times I’ll have to breath in or out to notice the hui gan of a tea, but this one has an immediate numbing sensation on the roof of the mouth and tongue. Great cha qi too! An awakening, reassuring calmness is what I got from this tea and I quite enjoyed it. Based on reviews I bought a whole cake before sampling it first and I’m not disappointed in the least! This is one hell of a shou pu erh!

A very nice tea. Similar to the Boyou I tried recently, a coffee type drink. Slight bitterness and deep flavor. It didn’t give up too many infusions, but is was hearty nonetheless. I tasted a touch of fishiness in the later steepings. A keeper. I really like this style of shu.

Very enjoyable to drink. Smooth, silky, sweet and rich; pleasant in the mouth and throat.
Two quick rinses; then left it for 20m to open up. The first steep produced a clean mahogany colored tea soup; pleasantly appealing woody smell mixed with the aroma of fresh leather. First sip was welcoming and pleasant – no bitterness at all with accompanying tobacco undertone. Later steeps became full and smooth with subtle cacao tones and sweet aftertaste. Took it through nine steeps and I could probably get another one or two but I’m ready to move on to something else.

I think I have found my new favorite shou pu’er. This tea is incredible. It is incredibly mellow, yet extremely flavorful. There are layers of flavor that I cannot even begin to properly describe. I am five steppings into this delightful tea an my palate is in pu’er heaven! Well worth the money.