2007 Xiaguan "FT" #4 Premium Raw Pu-erh tea cake

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bitter, Bread, Moss, Musty, Nutmeg, Resin, Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Wood, Peat, Smoke, Whiskey, Floral, Peat Moss
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 5 oz / 140 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I still have a couple of samples from derk to go through, this being one of them. I am anything but an expert on Xiaguan productions, but this one strikes me as a really nice semi-aged tea. It is...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Can’t believe I’ve not reviewed this tea before. I’m drinking it grandpa style at the moment due to lack of tea-making facilities in my new place of work. It’s strong, smoky, peaty and with a hefty...” Read full tasting note
  • “This is an enjoyable middle-aged tea. While it may not have the same depth that gushu does, it’s not at all lacking in complexity. There is smoke, meaty flowers, peat moss, and even a hint of...” Read full tasting note
    82

From Yunnan Sourcing

2007 Xiaguan FT Number 4 Premium Raw 400g
The #4 cake is produced from 1, 2 and 3 year old raw material and was blended in the traditional style of other Xiaguan products. This FT release is higher quality than regular Xiaguan productions and it really shows in the taste of the tea. The look of the leaves themselves is a dark green and brown color, the leaves are strong with lots of bud and leaf sets on a stem. The leaves are somewhat broken, this cake was tightly compressed using a hydraulic press. The liquor colour is a thick gold-yellow. The drinker will notice the pungent aroma that is characteristic of Xiaguan teas. The after-taste is sweet and there is a mouth-watering effect that happens quickly. Notice the aroma at the bottom of your drinking cup after each infusion.

About the Xiaguan Tea Factory “FT” Brand.
Xiaguan Tea Factory and the Taiwan-based “Fei Tai” business worked together to produce these super premium blends in the Xiaguan tradition of quality. These special leaf blends are produced from the highest quality Pu-erh leaves and are intended for export directly to Taiwan, hence the “FT” has also come be known as meaning “For Taiwan”.

Producer: Xiaguan Tea Factory under the supervision of Fei Tai Co. LTD.
Process: Picked, sun-dried, and compressed.
Date Stamp: July 16, 2007
Production area: Wu Liang and Bao Shan.
Other Notes: Limited to 4000 kilograms.
Tea weight: 400g

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

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3 Tasting Notes

83
943 tasting notes

I still have a couple of samples from derk to go through, this being one of them. I am anything but an expert on Xiaguan productions, but this one strikes me as a really nice semi-aged tea. It is tasty and offers a very good value, especially considering the fact that I easily got 200 ml/g out of it today.

The aroma is mostly in the vicinity of sandalwood, moss and nutmeg, and not very pungent overall. The taste is also somewhat light, but very well balanced. It is woody, sweet, and sour with a touch of bitterness. The general character is quite resinous with additional flavours of must, baked bread and moss. The aftertaste still retains some residual woody bitterness, but it’s mostly sweet and spicy all in all.

Liquor is very clear and of darker orange colour. It has a medium body on the thinner side, but with a mouth-watering effect. I also noticed a fairly strong warming sensation for a tea in this price category. On top of that, I felt that the effect the tea had on my mind was fairly clarity-inducing.

Flavors: Bitter, Bread, Moss, Musty, Nutmeg, Resin, Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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290 tasting notes

Can’t believe I’ve not reviewed this tea before. I’m drinking it grandpa style at the moment due to lack of tea-making facilities in my new place of work. It’s strong, smoky, peaty and with a hefty kick. It’s like the Laphraoig of teas. Definitely one for the whisky drinkers.

Flavors: Peat, Smoke, Whiskey

Rasseru

haha Laphraoig. Tbh I dont know much about whisky, but I like that one.

Roughage

It’s a decent whisky is Laphraoig. Even if you think you don’t know much about whisky, you are doing well there. Definite resemblance between it and the FT4.

JC

For non Whisky drinkers, I’d say gargle a couple of charcoal pieces for full effect. :P

Roughage

Pah, JC, that’s hardly the right effect! You need to mix the charcoal with TCP first! :D

Rasseru

I was gonna say TCP haha

Roughage

Great minds think alike, eh, Rasseru, or is it fools never differ? :D

Rasseru

or wise Chinese man say: good whisky taste like cheap medicine

Roughage

But only to those with an undeveloped palate! :P I do like my whiskies to have very high polyphenol levels though. And the best bit is that they are apparently good for you because they rapidly increase antioxidant levels in the blood and eliminate free radicals, although at a slight cost of reduced processing of the alcohol, potentially resulting in longer hangovers. Thus, taken in moderation well-aged malt whiskies are good for you. The research apparently shows that cheap, non-aged whiskies have the reverse effect, so you now have a good reason for buying only expensive whisky. :)

Rasseru

I’m a gin man. Been through quite a few award winners from the last ten years or so :)

Roughage

Sounds good. I was brought up drinking malt whisky, especially the Islay malts, so I am well used to that TCP taste. Wish I could afford the really good ones. :)

Tea and Cheese Lover

I love Islays. When I was 13 I had an unfortunate incident involving a surprise mixture of Old Granddad and Tabasco with my friends blocking this sink. It took until my mid 20’s but a glass of Lagavulin was love at first sip, and an instant recovery from my childhood trauma. I can hack other whiskys these days, but the single malts are the only ones that I can really get in to. Good to hear that they’re healthy for me too!

Roughage

Heh, yes, Lagavulin is a favourite of mine, as is Caol Ila. I just can’t stomach cheap whiskies at all, although Famous Grouse is acceptable. It’s the high content of Highland Park in it that makes it drinkable. The health news about whiskies is particularly heartening, and the fact that Islay malts are the highest in polyphenols also makes them the healthiest. Win, win, if you ask me. :)

Tea and Cheese Lover

Bowmore is my favorite, and a value. Always seems to be the quality of something 50% higher in price. The Legend was in the high $20 (US) range, and was more than passable, Their 18 yr is amazing and under $100 last time I checked. Bowmore Darkest (before they changed it to “Darkest 15”) was the best value I’ve ever found. It tasted like dark chocolate smores slow roasted above burning peat bog! But they stopped making it a few years back. Not Islay, but I’ve always found Glenmorangie to be a great value, too.
As for cheap Whiskies, I can only stomach Old Crow, but that’s a story for another day… involving music festivals and associated debauchery!

JC

Ha! I’m glad I didn’t miss this. I love Lagavulin 16, I love the sweet notes and savory notes under the smoke and that slight medicinal wood that lingers. Try Springbank 12 6in bourbon and 6in peated cask. and Longrow the red.

Roughage

I’m not familiar with Longrow, JC. One for me to look out for. The Sprinbank is a decent whisky but not one I have had often.

Tea and Cheese Lover: Bowmore, yes. Love it. Glenmorangie is what I used to drink as a student when I could not afford anything better. It’s not a favourite of mine, but it is certainly better than Glenfiddich which is what those that do not know my tastes often buy me, probably because it is cheap.

Rasseru

ha. All this talk about whisky – btw this is the best g&t gin I have ever tried (with fevertree tonic) http://www.thedrinksreport.com/media/news/2014/15449-540×335.jpg

other gins have different flavours but this one has energy, perfect for g&t

Rasseru

and I have tasted about 30 of them for my bar

Roughage

Well, at least I know whom to ask if I need gin advice then, although I wonder how much you remember after trying 30 gins (not all in a row, I hope!). :)

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82
41 tasting notes

This is an enjoyable middle-aged tea. While it may not have the same depth that gushu does, it’s not at all lacking in complexity. There is smoke, meaty flowers, peat moss, and even a hint of fresh bread. Soup is dark orange, not a terrible amount of qi, but it is smooth and has plenty of huigan.

Flavors: Bread, Floral, Peat Moss, Smoke

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