2015 Poundcake

This was unexpected. I normally prefer more robust and smoky/savory aged raw puerh, so the first time I tried this I was really surprised. I had no idea that such young raw puerh could be so smooth, sweet and mild. It’s just so tasty and sweet, like the name implies. It’s very balancing too, as far as energy. I like to drink it in the afternoons when I am trying to keep the caffeine to a minimum. I’m not sure if it actually has less caffeine or if it’s just a perception but I feel like I can keep drinking it with minimal caffeine effects. Could be other things in the tea (GABA, theanine?) just balancing out the caffeine. Either way, I’ve really been enjoying this and I’ll be sad when its gone. I want to drink it every day.

Finally got around to trying this last night.. I tried some from the gourd instead of the cake, so I might get different flavors when I try the cake at some point. The steeps are nice and sweet, creamy, and a little fruity.. I noticed at steep six that I got some familiar bulang-type bitterness (which I was told later was actually Manzhuan). This only lasted for the one steep though. Overall, I would use the word “milky” to describe the tea, though not in the way that a jin xuan is milky.

I got this tea in the gourd shape from the monthly subscription and I’ve tried it three times. The second time I didn’t get the parameters right, so I thought I’d do it again before reviewing it. I had a nice long session with it today in my Jian shui pot. I used 7g and it was perfect. I also did very short steepings for most of the infusions, because it’s bitter if you push it too hard.

The first time I sessioned it, I got creamy citrus notes. This time, it was all creamy vanilla. Absolutely delicious! I’ve not had a sheng with vanilla notes before! I also got a nice energy from it, but it wasn’t crazy, and didn’t bother my stomach, which are all good things. My only complaint is the shape of the gourd, as it’s really compressed and you have to be careful or you will poke yourself with your pick. Also, I feel like it makes me break the leaf more. I would consider getting a regular shaped cake of this one, as the flavor is quite unique.

This young pu’er is really sweet! It was sweeter than expected that I accidentally poured it on myself (and prior to that stabbed myself with a pu’er pick). Besides sweet, the tea is a bit floral, kettle corn and steamed vegetables. I personally loved the sweet start of this pu’er but undecided on the vegetal final infusions, I think I need to play with times and temperatures a bit. The sweetness alone is enough to convince me I should buy a cake (and the sweet as f wrapper design)

Note – I’m referring to the 2015 Teaclub gourd, which is the same material. I’m curious how the cake may differ in taste due to tightness of pressing.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/june-white2tea-club-tea-review/

This is a delicious tea that has very little bitterness, almost none. It is sweet with notes that you could call apricots and stonefruits. This is the first time I am drinking this since I bought a cake during White2Tea’s moving sale. Last time it was a sample of the gourd from a good tea friend. This is just a really solid raw puerh tea. I do not know how the lack of bitterness will effect this tea’s aging. I have always heard that bitter teas age better. This is not a bitter tea. I used to add sugar to sheng because I was used to bitterness in sheng. Not sure when I stopped adding sugar to sheng.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 100ml Ru Kiln teapot with 8.3g leaf and 200 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. I’m sure I could get at least 6-7 more steeps out of this if it wasn’t for the caffeine. While I think this is a blend of teas it is high quality tea.

2015 Teaclub Gourd 100g “Pound Cake” It is the same material so I decided to put it here. I also have a sample of the Pound Cake, I’ll sample that one and if it is different I’ll update with another note.

Dry – Assertive sweetness, thick/creamy, bittersweet notes, fruits.
Wet – Fruity, Honey, creamy, sweet-corn, tart-fruits, bitterness, floral, apricot.
Liquor – Pale yellow with a green tone >> gold

Initial Steeps Fruity front with notes of honey. Smooth liquor that wears sweet-corn notes followed a pleasant (but still young-edgy) bitterness, floral notes with hints of apricot and similar fruits moving to a vegetal and grassy notes and some astringency at the end. Within this first few steeps the bitterness wakes up and move in to the front with the sweetness taking a back seat to it.

Mid Steeps Bitter to bittersweet notes in the front that move to vegetal and slightly medicinal notes (reminds me faintly of Gua Feng Zhai medicinal-richness), rich and bitter middle with a good medium body with a huigan that lodges in the throat. The finish is sweeter but still maintains its apparent bitter notes. Slurping this one enhances all notes.

Final Steeps Rich bitterness that has greener notes of vegetables-grass, faint medicinal sweetness, honey, fruits and floral bitterness. The bitterness becomes the main note in later steeps with more astringency developing and going strong although it has grown a bit puckery and drying. Allowing it to rest is a very recommended must for a smoother steep. It also benefits from a good Yixing or Jian Shui pot.

This tea has got me all jacked up at work this morning. I packed the gaiwan to the brim (once the leaf was wet it filled the gaiwan). This packs a great bitter punch to the face. Slightly sweet and mouth drying. I am tasting from the Gourd. I think if the cake is stone-pressed, then i just may pick one up.

I steeped a 99g weight gourd of this tea because I am unable to chip off any of this highly compressed tuo. I wasn’t just doing it to be funny, this is how I had to access the tea. And sometimes I eat an entire box of chocolates too. Cuz I want to. Cuz it is yummy. This tea is light and delicate enough. I steeped this using a 900+ ml Bonjour borosilicate teapot.

I went 8 rounds on this tea and the flavor justifies the “cake” name with thick yellow sweetness. As it happens, yellow butter Poundcake has been my favorite birthday cake most of my life, and only the nuns took the trouble to learn this about me and baked them for me, bless them. The tea here is sweet, motor oil thick, with notes of cloves and nutmeg on the early steeps.

After round 8, at 208 F temps, I’d literally stewed the tea. The leaves began to disintegrate into mush, rather like over cooked canned asparagus. The tea is probably best respected in the lightly compressed cake form which is what is available to buy, rather than the highly compressed tuo available only to tea club members. If I had the tea again, I would brew this at a far lower temp, maybe even as low as 170F to try and keep the integrity of the leaves. I think this is why the flavor dropped off for me well before the color or body of the liquid. The leaves seem like lettuce picked after a rain.

Having said that, I find white2tea’s house productions to be a memorable experience. I get why the fresh experience of this leaf makes it special. It is really easy to drink a big pitcher of this tea because it is so gentle, not bitter, not sour, just sweet and thick. In fact, I’d have a harder time drinking a pitcher of lemonade or beer compared to this. Spring honey all the way with this one. Drink fresh, it is not one to hoard to age.

This tasting note for Baby Gourd i got with my June Club offering.

its soo darn cute. i felt sorry to behead it but i had no choice.
Surprisingly easy, it took me just few secs. i guess i was just lucky finding the right spot.

5g 80ml glazed shiboridashi 200F
rinse/pause/ short steeps
I like this tea. its sweet, smooth, thick, creamy, some bitterness later on but not major. And i got sweet aftertaste long after i finish drinking it
I think its enjoyable for pu head and safe for beginner.
Im very happy with my Club subscription. thank you Paul ;)

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This tea… ohh this tea.. This is a really nice suprise from White2Tea. For various reasons, I canceled my membership to the teaclub and they send me this month by mistake and there was a 100g gourd of this tea in it. A very lucky mistake :)

Let put this in context, I’m a really really bitter sheng fan. The New Amerikah 2 is what I wake up to some days, it used to by my favorite of all time young sheng… now it is second… That tea is mesmerising….

Oily as it coat your mouth from the first sip
Thick as it feels like motor oil
Sweet as it isn’t harsh
Bitter to have some punch but way less than my beloved New Amerkah 2
Distrubing < some calls it Cha Qi > to a point where I had trouble concentrating…

I need a tong of this one… Buy this and drink it young, it’s all worth it < at least to me >