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“A few months ago, I purchased a lot of samples and one inexpensive cake from Mei Leaf. I was always curious to try their product since they are typically overhyped. They do use the keywords: Gushu...” Read full tasting note
“ABOUT THE PUERH
Too many Chen Pi and PuErh blends use mediocre quality tea. We want our ‘Find Your Sunshine’ series to be different by using pinnacle teas which we would happily release as a pure tea.
We took a while searching for the Ripe PuErh for this sequel. I wanted the tea to differ from ‘Find Your Sunshine 1’ by choosing a tea which had a more rounded and creamy taste to offset the bright citrus notes of the Chen Pi. Eventually, we came across this old -arbor Mengku Ripe PuErh which has a delightful white chocolate start moving to a cocoa finish – from light to deep in the mouth which both pair perfectly with the mandarin aromatics.
ABOUT CHEN PI
Chen Pi (mandarin peel) is a valued ingredient and Chinese Medicinal herb used in cooking and medicine. Its flavour and medicinal effects increase as it ages and it can become very expensive, selling for between $1-5 per gram for Chen Pi aged over 30 years.
The ageing of Chen Pi concentrates and deepens its aroma and effects while calming the very transient volatiles and settling the flavour. Aged Chen Pi is used in Chinese Medicine to move Qi downwards and is often prescribed to stop bloating, belching, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting.
Chen Pi also dispels dampness making it a common ingredient to relieve chesty, heavy coughs, reduce phlegm and general feelings of being congested in your respiration. Chen Pi should not be taken for dry coughs.
The character of aged Chen Pi is gently warming while still providing a comfortable, cooling citrus sensation in the mouth. It is very settling and grounding.
The most famous area for producing the best Chen Pi is Xinhui in Guangdong.
The Chen Pi used in this tea blend is from 2014 making it nicely aged (and it will continue to age with the PuErh tea) and it has been sourced from Xinhui. It is blended at about 20-25% in proportion to the tea.
There are many blends of tea with young Chen Pi – they can be bright and delicious but do not have the same effects so we had to find some good aged peels.
ABOUT THE BLEND
We all know that Ripe PuErh (Shu) is a fabulous digestif to settle the stomach but when you add Chen Pi, these settling effects take on a whole new level of potency. This is a very grounding and settling tea in the body with a very clear and bright mind making it suitable for all times of day and for solo or social sessions.
We wanted this tea to help everyone to settle in the present moment with clarity and lightness no matter what your day is like and to ‘Find Your Sunshine’." – Mei Leaf
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A few months ago, I purchased a lot of samples and one inexpensive cake from Mei Leaf. I was always curious to try their product since they are typically overhyped. They do use the keywords: Gushu + layers of taster notes. Obviously this was a company I had to try eventually.
Jump to today…three months after making the purchase. I finally opened this sample. I was backlogged on trying teas from various vendors, since I was playing along during Advent season (I’m still catching up from that). I hit a wall with wanting to drink tea regularly – different hours (midnights), back at the office 4x per month (I’ve no right to complain), etc. – so, I went with the natural flow.
Alright, that sets up the review. lol.
Flavors: I’ve had better shou/citrus peel blends. This had a good citrus bite, but it was maybe too much of the citrus flavor. I wanted a better balance of shou. While the tea brewed dark within the first 2- 3 infusions, it immediately changed in flavor, color, and texture after the 3rd infusion. All I really got from 3-5 was citrus notes, and then nothing. I even brewed it heavier than I would’ve, if I had a full cake. I brewed all 15g from the sample in my 150 ML yixing.
But do not fret, this may have been the most subpar of the batch of teas….so far.
Flavors: Citrus
