2013 Bao Tang Spring Raw

Smooth and balanced spicyness with a fresh-bitter aftertaste. Light Qi.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2013-bao-tang-tu

This was very yummy! The leaf is of moderate compression and is filled with soft fruity tones and some tang. A light floral (mums?) can picked off from the leaves along with brown sugar and molasses. I warmed up my gaiwan and stuffed this inside. The aroma picked up into crystalized sugar, wet oak, more molasses, and apricot. I washed the leaves and swished them around to prepare for brewing. The taste began an oil thickness. The drink is heavy, syrupy, and tasty. The flavor is 100% sweet with wildflower honey. The cup even smells like honey. However, a few steeping in, a light grass astringency blends with the desert qualities. The brew continues like this for some time. Later brewing yields some heavier floral notes (dandelion?). I really liked this. The qi is nice and warming and a constant buzz effect. The brew is nice, but it lacks some complexities. It’s a very yummy tea, but it’s not interesting.

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Another sipdown.

I’ve already reviewed this tea, but decided to add a review because the tea is a bit of a chameleon and wanted to capture this session.

The first steep had sweet straw and tropical fruit (or apricot?) dominate the nose and the taste. Very pleasant. Good long finish. After a few sips I notice a darker element lurking underneath. Medium-light body; no bitterness. Good cha qi. 2nd steep: The taste is now more woody, with less fruit or sweetness and a moderate bitterness ppears, especially in the finish. The fruit and straw are still there; they just have to share the stage. I’m really starting to feel teh effects of the cha qi. 3rd steep has a strong new flavor I just can’t describe. I want to say vegetable, but it’s like no vegetable I’ve ever had. 4th steep: Really good, but i’m getting tea drunk.

Every steep of this tea was different from the last in some way, yet with recurring themes. Like a good symphony. very complex and interesting. I rated this an 89 before but am bumping my rating up a notch because I am really enjoying the tea. Wish I had more.

Not something that I really enjoyed.. The rinse tasted like if you roasted baked beans over a campfire and could bottle that up in a taste-able form.. But then the steeps were super bitter to me at 195F. After a few steeps, nothing really changed, so I went to 175 and it was mellow and a little sweet. Too finicky for my tastes.

Light, no bitterness or astringency what so ever, grassy/sweet hay, slight “grass fed” butter flavor and hint of waffles in the aromatics , lasting flavor and feeling on the outer sides of the tongue.

A great value if lighter grassier teas are your thing not a favorite of mine personally but definitely indicative of older tress from a spring flushing.

This is VERY good! Thanks for the sample Marzipan <3

It has a creamy mouthfeel, and floral vibe which I always appreciate in a sheng, and is a little sweet but with a slight toasty or burnt sugar note I don’t normally get from sheng. If I ever win the lottery I’m going on a TeaUrchin bender…so many fine puerhs!!!

I believe this is my first experience with a Baotang tea. The quality of the material used in this cake is excellent. Baotang is a village in Mengsong township, Menghai. Apparently, in Baotang the trees are large & ancient, growing in biodiverse, organic gardens. Beautiful leaves produce a bright and clear gold tea soup with a crisp vegetal aroma and taste. Pleasant but not impressive at this point. Very soon the leaves open up and begin to produce a much more interesting cup of tea – increasingly thick in the mouth with a nice bitterness that turns into a pleasant lingering sweetness. Moving through five quick steepings, the cups become increasingly mellow and smooth. I was left with a lingering mouthfeel and a good mellow feeling. I like this tea!
Update: Seems to be enjoyable for 6 steepings and after that it fades.

Another truly amazing tea from Eugene and Belle (I sense a theme here). They say that this tea is “One of our hidden gems”, and folks it really is. The color of the liquor is a beautiful gold and it smells like hay mixed with a bit of butter and hint of brown sugar. The tea itself is very smooth with lots of great huigan and absolutely no kuwei or astringency. The taste of the tea is that of grass with light undertones of butter, nuttiness, and brown sugar. As with all Tea Urchin teas the energy of this tea is unbelievable. Almost forty minutes after my steeping session my taste buds are still excited and I can actually still taste the tea!!! Well done Eugene and Belle, and at $58 for 357g this tea is an outstanding bargain.