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“Very harmonious warming aged Sheng with a sugary sweetness to it like cane sugar. Very well balanced and so so smooth within its taste and texture. So lovely velvety. Aroma is a nice creamy mix of...” Read full tasting note
“I initially made the mistake of sampling this tea alongside more bombastic young gushu. At the time, I was like “yeah it’s smooth and warming but meh…” A few weeks later I sampled 8g by itself and...” Read full tasting note
“Is this tea really a GFZ? Who knows? My experience with “known genuine, pure aged gfz” is nonexistant, I just got a sample for the educational value as usual. Smooth, creamy and overall pretty...” Read full tasting note
This tea is a big mystery although a very pleasent one. The first time I had it in Taipei, I did not like it or rather it did not catch my attention. Event the fact that I was told that this tea was sourced from Yiwu remote village GuaFengZhai. The second time I had it was ok from the start then I could ‘see’ it’s beauty from about the 6th steep. Later, when I arrived home to Slovakia, I had it again, it was amazing. Crystal clear, although affected by storage but still very good. I had this tea again a few days ago and it was not the tea I had before. This session happened during rainy days here in Slovakia. I believe this tea is in its very active state, the humid days bring out rather the storage side of it. The transformation is in it’s turbulent state.
The other mystery about this tea is it’s origin. Some say that the first sold maocha outside of China from GFZ was in 2003. This tea maocha is dated 2003. It was pressed in 2004. LeeWeiWen from Taiwan claims its source from GFZ. He also reconfirmed with a guy from Yunnan who sourced this tea back in 2003. He said also that the best know villages were GFZ and LuoShuiDong at that time. In such cases, when going back so many year and a few mediators, it is really hard to claim that these leaves are from GFZ only, Lee says that these tea leaves were the best available old tea tree material in Yiwu back in those days.
It’s up to everyone who will or already tasted this tea. I personally believe it is a pure gushu with a strong calming effect. Now it is in a state of transformation that might take who ever how long. It will be interesting to watch how this will move/progress in dry storage in Europe and how in Taiwan.
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Very harmonious warming aged Sheng with a sugary sweetness to it like cane sugar. Very well balanced and so so smooth within its taste and texture. So lovely velvety. Aroma is a nice creamy mix of a very woodsy camphor tone, tree resin, wet tree bark, moss and old mossy wood covered with mushrooms like parasol mushroom. A fine bitter taste shines through in a subtle mix of dandelion and gentian. Beside that after a couple of steeps a fine darker chocolate flair gets clearer and clearer while the old profile transfers into a elegant fusion of old leather and Asian wood furniture scent plus a very fine subtle accent of smoked ham. This fine elegant aged fellow really gets better and better with every further steeping. It’s a feeling of meeting someone you get amazed by his or her present and with every minute and every following good and deep conversations you can’t stop listen to their voice – you are literally captured by their way of being and see the world through a different fresh and welcoming perspective. This tea gives you a feeling of being welcomed home, sitting in front of a cracking fireplace, seeing an Autumn scenery outside of those misted-up windows. Cozy and close to mother nature. There are so many ways to describe this fine heart warming tea session – the best way to find your way of telling this story is to start your own small journey with this aged buddy. Just Lovely!
This Yiwu ‘GuaFengZhai’ 2004 is an amazing example of a well aged Sheng with a lot of story telling which unfolds its pages with every infusion you dig deeper into its mysterious tale. This old fellow is definitely a story teller! Loved it! Perfect for an relaxing afternoon session.
I initially made the mistake of sampling this tea alongside more bombastic young gushu. At the time, I was like “yeah it’s smooth and warming but meh…” A few weeks later I sampled 8g by itself and the beauty of its subtlety hit me. Again, I make a beer comparison-Irish cream stout. Dark nutty, herbal, vegetal and forest flavors that hide amid the creaminess and oily texture. This tea is quite generous and generates warm fuzzy blanket body feel. The perfect thing to have with a bowl of French onion soup on a rainy day. The price is a little salty but this stuff really strikes a chord with me.
Is this tea really a GFZ? Who knows? My experience with “known genuine, pure aged gfz” is nonexistant, I just got a sample for the educational value as usual. Smooth, creamy and overall pretty amazing texture and mouthfeel. Sweet, nice humidity, coats the mouth and throat, good huigan, balanced astringency, good storage. Leaves are excellent quality, going strong at 9 steeps now.
With todays prices it’d be a no-brainer at $0.40, probable buy at $0.50, but it’s stuck at “maybe” for $0.70. It’s quite a bit of money and from first impressions I’m not convinced the value is there for me. I will consider it closely with the remainder of the sample though, because it is thoroughly enjoyable and good longevity, which to some extent can offset a high price..
Recommend getting a sample.
Liking the reviews. Appreciate the straightforward, honest assessment of value.
Thanks! My value judgement is not anyone else’s course :)
It just seems more important for clarifying my thoughts than “hints of spice in the Nth infusion”, especially for teas I don’t own.. so I decided to write it down
Yep! Agreed.
