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Another great puerh from YC! I just figured I’d throw this sample in my order as well, and it proved fruitful. I think this tea is really yummy with good staying power and hui gan.

The mouthfeel is decent. Not thin, but also not crazy good. The sweetness has great depth of character and lasting quality. The tea begs to be drank.

The price is quite nice too at $0.15/g. For arbor tea (qiao mu) that tastes this good, that’s a great value.

Tea Producer: Yi Cun Guan Yin (see below)
Location: Pressed in Lo Jiao Village, then stored in Kunming

Yi Cun Guang Yin ( 一寸光阴）
“In 2010, a young couple started off their own new brand of tea, named Yi Cun Guang Yin.
Before they were working like sales people tea brands or tea manufacturers like Da Yi , Lao Tong Zhi or Long Sheng. During those years working this kind of ‘no future job’ they’ve got an opportunity to get in touch with farmers, tea producers etc. Didn’t take long when they started to learn how the tea business works and opened up their own.”

So I haven’t had a traditional ZSXZ technically haha. All the examples I’ve tried have been unsmoked. I know it is hard to compare just one experience, but I think this one is not quite as much my style as some of the unsmoked versions I’ve had. That said, I definitely enjoy it and it is very unique with the piney flavor! Much more potent smell and flavor than the unsmoked version.

Moderate sweetness (in that umami teriyaki beef jerky kind of way). No astringency or bitterness. Mouthfeel is nothing special. Fairly complex. The roast is well done!

Flavors: Beef jerky, meat, pine, roast, umami, teriyaki, sweet

Decided to try a couple of YC’s blacks while I was at it. This one got good reviews in the past, so I figured I’d try it. Not much info about in YC website and I was unfamiliar with the name of this black tea. According to KTM, it is a style that means “Chinese Red” and was developed in 2007 as a blend of 10 varietals. It was supposedly given as a state gift to Prince William in 2015.

Anyways, it is quite nice! Has a bit more depth than most black teas, though this will never be my favorite category of tea I think. However, a good Dian Hong is something I like to sip on from time to time. The aroma and complexity of this particular specimen are quite fine. Good blackberry jam smell to the dry leaves, with chocolate and nut flavors to the liquor.

Harvest: Spring, 2025
Location: Feng Qing, Lincang, Yunnan

Ever since falling in love with the Haiwan 7458, I have wanted to try this famous cake of theirs. I found this older example from YC, and it is the primary reason I placed an order from them. I must say, this does not disappoint! A wonderful tea for the price :).

“Shen Shan Lao Shu” means “remote mountain, old tree.” The YC website acknowledges that this seems to be a blend of gushu and arbor trees. Nonetheless, it is an exquisite puerh. Thick, oily mouthfeel. Hui gan lasts minutes. Minimal, tickly astringency in some of the middle steeps. Longevity is great at 12-15+ steeps.

I want SO BADLY to buy a cake or two of this beauty. I would gladly pay $0.18/g as that is a steal. However, I am afraid to buy any at the moment as I refuse to pay the 145% tariffs that will likely be levied against its importation >:((((.

I got a Jianshui teapot from YC from my boyfriend for my birthday previously, but have not tried their tea until now! I wanted to give a couple of their puerhs a try, and thought I’d throw in some other samples here and there. Didn’t expect greatness from this Dancong, but it’s not bad!

Fairly mellow flavor profile that is simple for a Dancong. However, it’s nice with a bit of sweetness and some floral notes.

I also am drinking this tea from my new pretty teacup that was handmade by the Dai people. Very thankful that YC gives us easy exposure to handmade crafts by the people of the birthplace of tea :).

Harvest: Spring, 2024
Altitude: 800 m
Farmer: Liu Family

Not bad for a DHP, especially for the price! This was a free sample with my iTeaworld order.

Was glad to get to try a different tea category from iTeaworld. Will have to try more from them in the future. Now just waiting on my Long Jing pre-order from them…

So I was looking for a place that sold decent quality Qimen given I had not tried this tea in any loose leaf form before. I am pleased with their Qimen. I stumbled across The Sweetest Dew as a result of my search, and decided to buy from them, partially because this white tea was also intriguing to me. I had seen this vendor in the past, but did not have an excuse to purchase from them until now.

Anyways, the term Gong Mei here is not used to denote a “third grade” tea, but rather an “heirloom cultivar” of tea. I was enticed by this description, so I got some and I am glad I did! It is certainly a different flavor compared to most other white teas I’ve tried, though in a way that is hard to describe. The tea also comes as long stems with multiple leaves per stem, which is the most unusual presentation of tea leaves I have seen.

I was unsure whether to trust this vendor on the story of the change in meaning of Gong Mei, but on further research his claim is valid. See below from Rivers & Lakes regarding one of their Gong Mei cakes:

“This tea is a true Gong Mei, which now has less to do with the plucking grade bud-to-leaf ratio and is defined by its propagation. Gong Mei can now be thought of as an heirloom varietal synonymous with the preexisting names 土茶 Tu Cha “landrace tea”, 群体种茶 Qunti Zhong Cha “thicket grown tea”, or 菜茶 Cai Cha “vegetable tea”. In short, any tea plant that has escaped cultivation and propagates itself through cross-pollination and natural seed dispersal (as opposed to asexual clonal cutting propagation) can now be recognized by as a Gong Mei. Especially in more matured garden ecologies, it is common for the garden to become feral, with new generations of mixed-cultivar plants escaping into the surrounding habitat. In this new age of reclaiming abandoned tea gardens and selling their tea as 荒野 huang ye Wild, this new categorization aims to simplify the semantics as well as make room for the plucking grade defined expressions of Bai Mu Dan and Shou Mei to be built out further.”

So I wanted to try some legit Qimen, as the only time I’ve had some is in bagged form. This was about as expected, but much better than the bagged stuff (obvy). I figured The Sweetest Dew’s option would be good and it had a good QPR.

I see what he means by “forest fragrance.” Very lightly woody with a sort of fresh note to it and some crisp air. Mild sweetness, mild astringency, and no bitterness. Lasts about 8-10 steeps.

This was a sample I ordered from iTeaWorld with my pre-order for some of their pre-Qing Ming Long Jing. I chose this company for this years’ Dragonwell purchase given the good reviews some of their tea got on Teadb recently. They actually shipped this 10 g sample out separately from the pre-order, which I think is strange, but whatever.

I’m not crazy about this tea. It has too many herbal notes for a white tea. Otherwise, it’s not bad. However, it does not have much sweetness going for it, but the complexity is decent and the mouthfeel is thick.

Well this one is quite unique! I was expecting the typical Shui Xian profile when I tasted it, but instead was greeted with a more Taiwanese oolong flavor! According to the website, this one is still made with the Shui Xian cultivar, but is made in southern Fujian province near Anxi instead of in the north where Wuyi sits. I could get used to this one! Will have to buy more and sample the “traditional” version as well. This tea is like a hybrid between a Taiwanese oolong and a Dan Cong.

Great price to quality ratio at about $0.41/g. No sweetness, bitterness, or astringency. Buttery mouthfeel with a pleasantly sour aftertaste.