2003 Xiaguan Jiaji Tuocha in box 100g

2003 Xiaguan Jiaji tuo

Purchased from Liquid Proust
HK natural stored

6.0g, 100 mL gaiwan, 212f, Brita filtered tap

This was a pain to break apart and I ended up with a fair amount of dust and holes in my puer tray… the 6.0g here is all chunks though, so should be an okay session. Have never tried any XG tuos, so this should be an interesting reference tea session

20s rinse

Dry leaf smells slightly sweet, but nothing else of note. Not very aromatic, but I’ve also been noticing that some of my Bovedas need to be rehydrated so this might be dried out. I’m not sure.

Wet leaf smells just like aged sheng slightly mushroomy. But also none of the chunks have really come apart. Let it sit in the gaiwan for a bit before continuing.

8s: a light sweet mushroomy aged sheng taste, very slight menthol. Light sweet aftertaste. A warming feeling

10s: good aged light mushroomy woody taste, a hint of what might’ve been bitterness in its youth. A vegetal/minty and slight sweet aftertaste.

10s: slight sour medicinal aged mushroomy taste. Slight sweet aftertaste. Nothing special here but this is really easy drinking. If not for the pain of breaking up a tuo (some sessions probably will be majority fannings…) and slight annoyance at the rising cost, I would love to stock up on these for years to come.

10s: slight smoky bitterness atop the general aged taste. Cooling minty aftertaste with a nice bit of sweetness. Slight aroma mouth and upper throat.

12s: stronger sweet medicinal along with the usual sour mushroomy aged taste. Slight menthol and cooling aftertaste

12s: a slight sour rubbery taste. Leaves a drying feeling on tongue. Slight crushed mint aspect to it.

10s: light, nothing exciting

15s: light, mushroomy slight sour, but also slight sweetness. Tinge of astringency.

18s: generic aged sheng taste, very light medicinal bitterness. Slight cooling minty sweetness in aftertaste.

30s: color is still decent, but taste is pretty light, probably owing to the nature of a choppy factory blend. Will probably cap this session and thermos soon.

1 min.: surprisingly sweet woodiness. Slight hint of bitterness. Some drying, but fades pretty quickly.

1 min: light in taste, drying on tongue, but sweet aftertaste that turns into an almost wood chip like character. Sort of odd, not sure what to make of it.

2 min. 10s: Light taste, but still decently sweet aftertaste

2 min. 30s: similar

3 min. 10s: light herbal aged taste

5 min.: pretty light and not evolving much at this point. Will thermos remainder

Overall: some warming on the first steep, but slight warming comes and goes with the rest.

I like this far more than I expected. Also this steeped out for much longer than I expected from the other Xiaguans I’ve tried. ’03 must have been a good year.
Anyway, 36c/g isn’t terribly far fetched for a sheng in a nice spot with nearly 18 years of aging since this was produced back in December of ’03, but it’s painful knowing how cheap these were even a few years back. Someone has to pay for the prime HK real estate, I guess.

HGTTB

I started the morning off with this one and am thus far, not in love. I don’t hate it, but it’s nothing to write home about. there’s a bit of a smoky, sweetness to this and the after taste on my tongue is weird lol

I once thought that Sheng was feminine in comparison to its counterpart Shu; I stand corrected. This is a powerful brew! I opened the wrapper to reveal a dull green and jade Tou Cha. With pick in hand, I began separating a generous amount. A small and faint aroma of grass and shale emitted from the bird’s nest. I brewed in my yixing with boiling water. The wet leaves emit the scent of smoke, bitter greens and a sweet undertone. I washed the leaves. By the second steeping I was drunk. This brew has an intense overwhelming menthol flavor. It dominated with sharp and bitter with slight astringency. I could only hint at the sweet undertone after drinking and allowing my mouth to relax. I thought maybe that the sharp would die down and the flavor would plateau, but I was wrong. The intensity of this never died down. I assumed it to be slightly deepened, considering its twelve years old. I also came to expect a slightly lower quality considering price. I’m not sure if this Sheng is good or not, I couldn’t muster the strength to steep after round seven. If you enjoy an incredibly powerful sheng then this is for you. Also, as a last note, I do enjoy the box it comes in. I think it would come in handy for storage.

High quality tuocha, I don’t know any better Xiaguan Jia Ji than this (made after 2000). Very balanced and complex, much more interesting than usual Xiaguan smoke.