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I’ve always held Hai Lang Hao teas in very high regard and this tea lives up to that easily. If I had the budget I’d buy a cake of this without hesitation. Alas, I do not so I only have a sample. The aroma of the dry leaf is kind of tart, maybe cherries? I only have a sample so it isn’t as intense as the full brick would be. Once wet, the aroma loses some of the tartness, becoming more dates with some almond. This seems to be medium to medium light fermentation – doesn’t taste like HK stored sheng like my Chen Yuan Hao ripe in a slightly higher $/g range though the price of that is supposed to double. This still has the “shou” taste so has more everyday appeal to me. Some fermentation flavor but nothing unpleasant – more like obscuring the other flavors. Mostly bittersweet with chocolate tones early on. It opens up to become more of a neutral dried fruit flavor with lots of sweetness later on. Some tartness and almond flavors also emerge but come and go. Throughout the session the tea is thick, creamy, and oily. Honestly, this tea is best slurped down hot and fast and normally I like my tea to cool a bit since I am super sensitive to temperature. It also has a hard hitting sheng like qi which isn’t what I normally look for but other people will probably love.

I just finished my first tea session of the new year with some 2014 Hai Lang Hao Bu Lang Tribute shou puerh from Yunnan Sourcing. I’ve had this sample for about a month, plenty of time after shipping and while this was good when I tasted it fresh off the porch it is even better now! It still has the Bu Lang aroma like the Hui Run but now with more sweet cherry to it. The tea soup is very flavorful and changes throughout the session, opening up with bitterness and an almost saccharine sweetness. It very quickly reveals a strong cherry flavor, between dried and fresh, alongside a chocolate which eventual evolved into s nuttiness. Mouthfeel is very oily and cooling. Qi isn’t super intense but is definitely there. I usually drink shou for the overall experience as opposed to chasing qi anyway and the qi isn’t actually lacking. I always enjoy Hai Lang Hao puerh and this is no exception. The overall brick is an entire kilogram which makes the buy in price higher even though the price per gram is extremely good. This is definitely on my list of stuff to stock up on.

Just finished an amazing session of my sample of Special Sauce by Crimson Lotus Tea courtesy of Liquid Proust. Before the rest of my post, go buy a bing of this – only about 5 are in stock and it is totally worth it! The leaf of this is very nice looking, loosely compressed which suits my horrible skills with breaking apart tea. The aroma of the dry leaf is sweet and floral with the signature Liquid Proust storage aroma which is a nice musky mustiness. Wet, the aroma is very similar but sweeter. Taste is similar to the aroma – sweet, musky, and floral. Sweetness really, really lingers in the mouth and there is heavy presence in the throats right off the bat. Qi is very hard hitting, warmth and tingling around temples and sinuses started on my 3rd cup. Highly, highly recommended. Glen says that Slumbering Dragon has a similar musky floral character so I’ve got to check that out next. For some reason I thought it was a ye sheng purple so I’ve been avoiding buying a sample.

I bought this on a whim for the novelty of ginseng and was pleasantly surprised. I can definitely taste chocolate and the ginseng and flavor stays in the mouth for quite a while. Pretty balanced – not really sweet or bitter. My biggest complaint is that there is a fair bit of dust. It almost certainly doesn’t effect the flavor but does make this a bit messy.

Just finished my second session with Crimson Rooster from Yunnan Sourcing. It’s probably my favorite of their 2017 shou productions of Hui Run, Rooster King, and itself. Dry leaf smells like dark chocolate, a little maple syrup, and a little bit of funk but nothing that can be put into words. Wet, it opens up more and smells like dark chocolate, earth, and sweet caramel. The soup also smells similar and is very aromatic. There is some bitterness in the early steeps which I like quite a bit along with a hint of funk but already nothing compared to how it was maybe a month ago when it arrived which was very much like hot dogs. There are hints of caramel throughout and sweet dried fruit emerges later on. I didn’t get as much spice as last time but I suspect that was due to some difference in brewing. I think I leafed it harder in the very least the first time. Some tartness emerges really late which I think really rounds out a shou and will hopefully continue to emerge. The mouthfeel of this is so nice – probably the creamiest tea I’ve had lately, super thick and oily too. Compared to Rooster King and Hui Run I’d say that this is the middle ground – not as sweet as Rooster King but not as bitter and pungent and Hui Run but more than enough to provide a really interesting session. I’ll definitely be picking up more of this.

Drank Whispering Sunshine from Crimson Lotus Tea again! It’s really tasty. I also really like the prominent folds in the wrapper – I’m actually good at refolding this one. The dry leaf of this smells like cucumber, something vegetal, lemongrass, and some peppery pungency. The wet leaf is similar but some tobacco comes out and more vegetal aroma comes out. The flavor of this is the main draw for me. It starts off with a bit of tobacco and lemongrass but eventually becomes more of a savory sweet soup with a great huigan and stickiness in the throat. The savoriness is very similar to saké. I got a lot more cucumber when this arrived and not so much now but it still has a lot of freshness to it. Mouthfeel is okay with a kind of watery thickness and will probably improve with time. There’s also some cooling but not a massive amount. Qi is also not super intense but is there. The draw of this tea is definitely the unique savory sweetness of Baiying teas.

I was inspired by the videos from Scott so yesterday I drank Man Tang Hong Number 2 for the first time and today I’m revisiting the Man Tang Hong Gong Ting. I bought the 2011 sampler with both a few months ago so they’ve had plenty of time to rest. The dry leaf of this one smells like dark chocolate and both it and the tea soup are more pungent than Number 2. That said, Gong Ting is actually rounder tasting and sweeter with a sharp cinnamon taste that quickly fades to more of a feel that goes well with the general thickness of this tea. This tea is definitely smoother than Number 2 with a plummy tartness that emerges in the aftertaste that really rounds out this tea. This tea also leaves a sugar sweetness on my lips like the 2013 Golden Needle White Lotus but this actually has character to it. Number 2 really is a drier tea with more spice flavor and less sweetness. Both definitely share a lot of character and are really nice teas. This one is more of a daily drinker for me due to the more rounded character.