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Purchasing from different vendors has taught me about my storage preferences. I’ve had several sessions with EoT’s 2012 Qi Sheng Gu, 2012 Bao Tang, 2014 Long Lan Xu 2006 Wild Peacock, and their 2000 Green Peacock. They all share the similar aroma and strong initial flavor of smoky prune in their first 3 steeps. I’m not a fan. I can only assume this is a storage issue since the affects are the same across teas. This is unfortunate, as I’ve heard nothing but good things about EoT.

The tea soup starts out cloudy orange and gradually transitions to yellow, which I find interesting. The smoky prune aroma is a turn off and only begins to recede after the 5th steep when the leaves release a tingly/numbing sensation and subdued floral notes I associate with 2015 YS Bang Dong and some YS Jinggu teas. I’m a big fan of this characteristic.

I’m annoyed by the fact that the storage has dominated the flavor and overall experience of what is probably a lovely tea (and other EoT teas), so far. I hope to return to this tasting note with positive edits.

Shout out to Honza for including a sample of this in my last order. The other two Chawangpu cakes (Mengsong and Hekai) tasted a bit off due to shipping and the dry DC winter, but this sample doesn’t seem to be affected by its transcontinental trip or the environment.

The dry leaf came as one whole tightly compressed chunk and smelled like charred sandalwood with subtle hints of fruit. The wet leaf aroma is reminiscent of a smoky yesheng purple tea varietal without being overly so and with more sweet grass in the background. The leaves are mostly small and only somewhat broken due to my poor prying efforts.

Flavors:
Initial steeps are much brighter, lively, and savory than I expected. The smoke, though still there, moves to the background after the 3rd steep revealing classical pu’er flavors of camphor (some have interpreted as gasoline), dried fruit, sandalwood, sweet peas/grass, and other sharp savory/floral notes I associate with an unmanaged tea garden.

Sensations/textures:
The tea soup is very pure, bright, nicely thick, and oily. Good Bulang energy that stays in my chest instead of my head which I like very much. Not much in the way of mouthfeel, but pleasant savory/borderline floral aftertaste.

It’s a comforting tea. Not impressive, yet it’s hard to explain why I this tea as much as I do. It’s certainly worthy of drinking now or aging. Here, the smoky hint is actually comforting and interesting. If the price stays this low, I may just add this to my next purchase from Chawangshop.

Addendum: 9 steeps later, the tea leaves are still flavorful with good strong energy. I’m only now noticing the mouthfeel and cooling/tingling sensation that accompanies the huigan. This is good base material.

My sample arrived with leaves largely intact with a fresh sweet scent. Brewed leaves have a musky floral sent, kind of like raw crystalized honey. The tea soup is a clear pale yellow.

I found this tea to be much more subtle and gentle than expected. It has those characteristic Mengku florals, nuttiness, bitters, and pungency, but more subdued that the 2015 YS Da Hu Sai, for example. It’s very pure and refreshing, nicely thick, and quite active in the mouth and throat—I got tingly and numbing rather than creamy.

This will probably improve in a few years, I think. Floral notes here are more savory than sweet. Fantastic energy in here as well. I’ve learned that Mengku-like teas have a cha qi that, for me, are more cerebral than other regions. This is very pleasant to drink now, but I think waiting 3-5 years will give this tea the time it needs to reveal its potential.

Perhaps the most notable features of this tea are the visual appeal of the tea soup, velvety texture, and the smooth creaminess. It’s not super infusable—maybe no more than 7 steeps, but still very enjoyable in terms of mouthfeel and subtle flavors. This one is particularly soothing during those cold winter nights. The tea soup is a very clear and a beautiful deep burgundy.

I’ve decided to stop ‘rating’ teas with numbers since they mean nothing to anyone but me. It’s hard to review teas during periods of irregular weather. This one is no exception. It was only after trying this tea 4 times using both a gaiwan and yixing over a week after it arrived was I able to pick out its true character.

Dried leaves smell like sweet grass while wet leaves are floral and musky. They are largely intact, veiny, large, and very green. Initial steeps are straight up bitterness with some hints of high floral notes, and vegetal notes of grilled asparagus and raw brussel sprouts. This is a powerful tea. Strong energy up front that eventually calms down going into the 5th brew. Nice mouth feel, superb huigan, and very persistent aftertaste. It’s obvious this will age into something interesting.

In mid-steeps, the bitterness while still there gradually is replaced by thick sweetness—the brown sugar type. The tea remains thick, textured, sweet-medicinal and vegetal until it finally gives out—by then I’ve lost count of steeps. This of course varies according to your brewing parameters.

Lovely tea! Dried leaf: intact, attractive shapes, and are easily pried off the cake with a lovely floral fragrance. Wet leaves have a delicate wild flower aroma and are of a respectable olive green, nice and veiny. I normally taste the wash of teas I’ve been anticipating to try out.

The initial steeps have an upfront floral sweetness, cooling, tingly sensations, and almost spicy/nutty notes of raw/roasted brussel sprouts. Honestly, if there was a liquified form of honeysuckle it would taste like this. That kind of delicate but prominent floral note comes more to the fore as the tea soup thickens. The body on this is just wonderful and consistent through later steeps. It has a very pleasurable mouthfeel. There is strong cha qi that spreads to my core rather than to my head. Tea buzz sneaks in on the 3rd or so steep. Mid to later steeps are consistently honeysuckle-floral, wild flower honey, thick/velvety, and tingly/cooling, with that good kind of bitterness I look for in pu’er.

I’ve tried this with my gaiwan and yixing. The sweetness seems to be somewhat enhanced with the yixing, but not by much. The honeysuckle and vegetal notes are more obvious when using the gaiwan. The tea remains active in the mouth for a while after drinking. I can’t get enough of that mouthfeel and tingly sensation! I ended up purchasing two cakes.

Dark dried leaves are largely intact and spindly. I placed 7 grams in a 100 ml gaiwan and allowed the leaves steeped after the rinse to sit for a few mins. Steeped leaves are highly fragrant—ripe grapes and star fruit. Initial steeps are very fruity and rose-y (like rose hips). That robust purple pu’er tea astringency is almost absent in the medley of sweet flavors. It remains a delicate tea with an almost decadent mouth feel and gentle, but very present, cha qi. While this one is much softer and approachable than the Dehong purple tea, I actually prefer the latter for its sharper notes.

Edit: Having tried this several times, I figured out why I prefer the Dehong purple over this one. I actually dislike that unique (kind of herbal) flavor present in all purple pu’er. This flavor seems to stand out more in the Wuliang due to the lack of sharp bitterness that is present in the Dehong. While tasty in its own right, and despite my positive review, I’m not a fan of this tea.

I’ve had several sessions of this tea and I found it quite different from the 2013 version. This one has a more subdued energy that builds up through the steeps. It has typical Mang Fei taste profile of sugar cane, tobacco, bitter melon, and a hint of all spice. My favorite attribute of this tea is its varied sweet notes of raw cane sugar, caramel, and molasses. It has a pleasant mouth feel, persistent aftertaste, and consistent energy. I would recommend this tea to those looking for a less aggressive Mang Fei.

This is a gentleman’s sheng. It has a rugged pungency and robust bitter, nutty, and tobacco-like flavors. Mid steeps are more herbal and bittersweet. It’s a very comfortable tea. I imagine myself sipping on this on a cold evening in front of a fireplace. It’s highly infuseable and has consistent energy that only fades at after the 13th or so steep. The leaves are quite large and thick. Very distinctive!

Letting this one air out for a few weeks in between sessions has definitely allowed its unique attributes shine through. The brewed leaves have a wonderful caramelized brown sugar sweet aroma. Since then it has grown on me.

With 7 grams in a 100g gaiwan, it’s quite complex in its flavors, textures, and sensations. It has excellent body, mouth feel, and expansive huigan with a cooling and almost numbing sensation. Prominent flavors are minty, sweet tobacco, complex woody notes, bitter melon, and roasted brown sugar. Smoke is almost absent and completely disappears after initial steeps. Sweet flowery notes dominate the first two steeps. Steeps 4 to 10 or so are characterized by straight up bitterness with sweet and savory accents.

After that it coasts with for seemingly endless smooth, mellow, and savory sweet steeps. Impressive consistent energy that doesn’t cause drowsiness or upset the stomach. The tea soup is a clear and deep golden hue.