2008 Yue Guang Bai Premium Pu-erh Tea Cake 357g

I’m looking to start aging some sheng Puer cakes finally. I’ve been into Gongfu cha and loose tea for about a year and a half now and only got my first cake a month ago. I’m surprised I didn’t get more interested in that sooner, but then again it was more that I couldn’t afford to and hadn’t found the right cakes to purchase.

I ordered a sample of this because I love Moonlight White and I’m hoping this one will be nice for aging since it is a really good price for the size of it.

I tasted the rinse infusion just out of curiosity. It had a subtle honey taste and primarily a taste that reminds me of Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka.

After rinsing, the leaves have a bit of musty smell typical of Puer, but they also have a nice charming perfumed aroma with hints of spice. This is the aroma I’m used to with Yue Guang Bai, though I feel like this cake has a bit earthier scent than I’m used to and is maybe a bit more muted.

The first actual infusion tastes similar, light honey notes with a black tea body, the fruity tones I’m used to in Moonlight White are very subdued in this one if they are even present at all. By the second infusion, it’s tasting a bit more like raw honey with a creamy note, but I wouldn’t say it’s sweet. It’s the flavor of honey, not the sweetness. There is still a black-tea-like body present.

This tea is peculiar. It has some nice qualities and some that are not so nice to me. The flavor starts out somewhat enjoyable for me with the honey-like flavor, but the black-tea kind of flavor afterwards is not that enjoyable to me. After leaving the room and coming back, it definitely smelled like I had brewed black tea. With other Moonlight Whites I’ve had, the fragrance is much more perfumed and spiced, almost like a white wine or a nice scotch. This one just isn’t hitting me that way.

It’s not a bad cake. If you like the flavors, the current price is a really good one for such a large Puer cake. Would be good for beginners looking to experiment with Puer brewing techniques, but I don’t think I could recommend this tea for aging. It just doesn’t seem to have the complexity I’d want for a tea I’m going to age. Considering this one is already 7 years old, I don’t really see it developing qualities that would really change my mind.

All that said, if you like black tea with a bit of sweetness, this may be exactly the tea for you.

Sipdown Boo :( While I’m definitely happy to get a sipdown in, this one will be missed. I really do want to buy a full cake because it’s just a complete delight. But 357g seems like so much tea. I can’t help but wonder if I’m still going to love it 6 months from now, as taste seems to change quite rapidly. I’ll have to try the other two moonlight whites puerhshop has available and see if this is worth the purchase. Maybe I can make do with samples here and there.
I had to take a picture of the gorgeous leaves that drew me toward it in the first place http://instagram.com/p/wzblQzRWE7/

This is another uniquely flavored tea, no apricots or smoke. It has no bitterness either, really. Some sweetness and a very mild, relaxing feel. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon. I lost count of how many steeps I got… at least 10. It’s unusual for me to drink that many consecutively without getting bored and switching to something else (even if I switch back later). Short attention span!

I admit that I went ahead and ordered a cake. It’s not expensive, tastes good, and made me happy.

It brews up to a lovely golden color. Goldie loved it and it has the Sarsonator Seal of Approval, too!