2000 Kai Yuan Green Stamp – Essence of Tea
Price: £0.52 ($0.77) / g ~£140 ($206) / 357g cake
88/100
8 grams in gaiwan.
Summary. An excellent tea which comprises a tart fruity note blended into softened smoke. The tea shows a mature flavour profile with a clean taste, possibly due to good storage. It is thick and oily in early brews with a thoroughly enjoyable mix of aged fruit and well integrated softened smoke. It lacks longevity and power.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-PmVFoDmM6DRWQmZm2uaTI-gP0-nmXh3H1g0
Dry:Very dark brown and flatly compressed. Very mild smoky cheese.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_-Hp8pIDuA9AQUfGPO9NqGY4a3txWifs3Oo6U0
Wet: Complex. Medium cloudy smoke; log burning smoke; beefy, deeper base. Bright, light furniture polish, old building – no bird cage. Warm soil. Soft pastry.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-SlTVIDvFfSwDuZOT9RqjiR3RfbylGyEB2b40
https://www.instagram.com/p/-Sp77oDvRlvZYfzlzmw0aacpeMgPlYzcJ85g0
Rinse: Very clear light gold.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_-HwPwoDuYkgvSnnbv5F6pcF9dobHDuh9QpLA0
10s – Med golden. Sweet sip, a tart fruity note in the body. Very long finish, which is sweet, slightly almond. Minute bitterness. Worn out tea. Smoke is very soft. However, it is currently lightly flavoured. The flavour remains long in the mouth like a grape has decayed into soil: soft, sweet, earthy, but with a gentle bright floral note. This is a special tea. The aged flavours are mature, slightly dry and oily. 88/100
15s – Light brown. Thick in the mouth. The tea leaves an oily residue. There are a variety of aged flavours: furniture polish and old books. The tart, fruity note is there and it blends into soft smoke. 88/100
20s – Light/med brown. Smoke is stronger, but it is very worn down. The fruit note sometimes presents itself as light furniture polish – it becomes that bright; at other times it is darker and fades into the finish. Again, quite oily and the flavours are more pronounced. 89/100
25s – Light/med orange brown. Slight astringency. Log burning smoke has softened. The smoke combines with the fruit note to give a smooth aged taste that lasts long into the finish and remains in the mouth. Here it is not the strong old building, furniture polish, but a heavy and worn down log burning smoke with a mild beefy taste. 88/100
30s – Light/med orange brown. The fruit note, this time is polished wood, appears to buzz in the mouth in the body and finish. The smoke remains steady into and after the finish. 85/100
35s – Light/med brown. The smoky fruit note reminds me of smoked paprika in paella. It’s not as bright, but it has that pungent, woody after-taste. 82/100
45s – Light brown. Thinner. Less smoke. 70/100
1 min 15 – Med orange/brown. Base sheng. Thin. Stewed black tea. Slightly astringent. 50/100
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another lovely review!
I see that you use the word oily quite a bit… are you referring to the tea’s viscosity and thickness or something else?
This tea is something else :) By oily I mean a residual liquid. Most teas you drink and they go down. This tea had a thick liquid left behind that I could feel go down very slowly. The 2008 Bulang had the same thing.
i do not think I’ve ever had an oily like tea :O
another lovely review!
I see that you use the word oily quite a bit… are you referring to the tea’s viscosity and thickness or something else?
This tea is something else :) By oily I mean a residual liquid. Most teas you drink and they go down. This tea had a thick liquid left behind that I could feel go down very slowly. The 2008 Bulang had the same thing.
i do not think I’ve ever had an oily like tea :O