2017 "Jinggu Bàng"

I still have some old CLT samples, and Jinggu Bàng is one of them. I found it a little boring taste-wise, and no other aspect particularly grabbed my attention either. However, today I did like it a bit more than at our first encounter – it seemed to have a greater depth of flavours with some fruity sweetness and camphor present.

Aroma is mostly reminiscent of forest floor, thyme, and mushrooms, with hints of alcohol, oregano, and peppercorn. The taste starts of herbal and honey-like, but quickly becomes very vegetal and astringent. There are flavours such as straw, spinach, kale, and ginger. Later on, the minerality gets enhanced too and further flavours such as fenugreek emerge. The aftertaste is long, cooling, and drying with a hint of smoke and a good hui gan.

I think the mouthfeel is actually pretty good in early infusions – soft, creamy, and active/mouth-watering – but it gets less interesting fast.

I received this as a sample at first it seems kind of light heartedly not offering up too much the first couple steeps, definitely not a fruit bomb. More vegital. Definitely more of a savory tea, with a dried herb notes and some kind of dried floral notes? But drying in the mouth. Behind my lips and the sides of my tongue. All in all I think a very approachable Sheng. I see that I could get bitter or astringent if you over-steeped, but overall fairly easy to contend with. There’s some residual sweetness in the background but definitely take second fiddle to the floral, herbal, and earthy notes that it has. It sweetens as you brew through. Finishes dry with that cotton ball feeling in the mouth. Resinous at times.

I think overall a good tea definitely a daily drinker as a lighter, and approachable tea. Definitely for a sheng. It’s just easier to contend with, on your casual drinking. However, I think I’m having a problem getting past the drying from the tea. I feel like it overshadows a lot of subtle flavors that it has. Its light, and fairly light hearted, but it kind of gets ran over with this inevitable flavor and feel. The herby, peppery, earthy notes are welcome. I wish I would of got these custard notes, as some other reviews, but no joy..

I wouldn’t seek it out, but I wouldn’t turn it away. Just not a lot of bang for me from the tea ;p

Coming back to Jinggu Bàng a year later, it has toned down a lot. No longer do I get green beans or creamy, custardy florals. Those have mellowed into a base of smokey straw and bitter kale tone with subdued dried yet damp meadow florals. Impression of mushrooms and bay leaf. It is savory-beany-vegetal, mineral, cooling in the mouth and body and bitter with very little sweetness. The bitterness might turn others away but I find it somehow refreshing. Astringency is short-lived for me. The aroma is savory and meadow floral with a hint of buttery apricot-osmanthus.

I’m actually quite enjoying the tea today. Nothing amazing but sometimes you don’t want sheng puerh to floor you.

Still smells like farts for the first half dozen steeps. Was not in the right mood for this one today.

I bought a sample of this tea, though I came very close to blindly caking it for the awesome wrapper. I haven’t taken detailed notes on it, but I think I’m probably going to buy a cake of it today (Black Friday). It’s got some nice spinachy vegetal notes, a bit of bitterness. Good body and a relaxing qi. One of the most notable characteristics of it is a unique huigan that reminds me more of what I’m used to from gaoshan oolongs than from sheng puerh. It is a pretty high and floral creamy finish. I’m very interested in seeing how the cake will age, so I might hang onto it for a long time if I can avoid drinking it all quickly.

Not sure exactly what to say about this tea. I’ve had Jinggu Bang white tea but never sheng before. For starters, I thought with a tea in this price range it’d be safe to drink 10g before work…oops. Good cha qi for the buck. That’s for sure. It’s fairly sweet and thick with nice floral notes, almost locust blossomy. That said, there’s something lacking, like that bright snap one often gets in a young sheng. I just found it sorta flat, like it needed a shot of acidity or something. I was half tempted to raid my homebrewing stuff and spike the leaves with a pinch of citric acid to see if that helped but I had no time for such experiments so after 6 steeps I tossed the leaves into a thermos and did the grandpa style brew which was pretty good. This cha is a little young to make a totally accurate assessment but it does have its virtues but it also leaves me a little flat. I have about 30g that I’m gonna let sit a while longer and revisit it.