2010 YS "Bang Ma" Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea cake

I was craving something sweet-ish this morning, but at the same time I wanted to try out this sample I got from derk. Well, I went ahead with it, thinking it might have some sweetness anyway. It turns out, this tea was perfect for this occasion, although under normal circumstances I would probably find it too sweet for my palate :D

The smell is a mix of vegetal and slightly aged and smoky aromas. After all, the tea is soon to enter a semi-aged category, if it’s not there already. In the empty cup, the aroma is sweet, sticky and honey like.

Taste of the tea can change throughout the session, highlighting different aspects, but on the whole it is a combination of honey sweetness, a lot of herbal notes and a tart edge. Most of the time, I found it refreshing and tangy. Honey is the strongest note, but there are a lot of herbs/plants like anise, mint, eucalyptus and pine present too. The aftertaste is mineral, sweet and slightly bitter. There are hints of autumn leaf pile and I can kind of see the comparison ZeroZen made with Bai Ji Guan primarily in the aftertaste, if we discount much of the sweetness.

The liquor has a medium body and is slippery and very coating. There is some astringency. In particular the feeling after drinking is a touch dry, especially at the back of the mouth and in the throat.

Bouquet: Even within its steaming unfolding this Raw with a tiny touch of age is highly mouthwatering and astringent with a sour layer followed by great hay field herbal flower nuances, steaming hints of chestnuts, leather and a certain pleasant elegant woodsy smokey flavor. You can literally feel Autumn within those already slightly brownish leaves.

Liquor: One major thing about this excellent buddy is its cooling mouth feel. Starting off with a lovely forest honey layer but just a hint of it – plus also subtle hints of beeswax. The cooling effect is really astonishing! It is like an actual cooling sensation – Like if you had an eucalyptus candy in your mouth and suck the air in and you feel this cooling breeze inside your inner mouth region. But on the other hand this buddy produces a very warming and relaxing body feel. There is a certain iron sourness to it which also combines some nutty aspects of pistachios in it which in whole reminds me somehow of a Bai Ji Guan Wuyi Oolong. There is also a nice composition of Autumn leaves, leather and slightly smokey wood within its actual tasting profile. But you can also find a nicely placed sweet layer within its unfolding which contains little traces of vanilla pudding with a fine lemon note to it but also sugar candies with an even more subtle mix of eucalyptus, thyme, sage and buckhorn and last but not least of sweet corn. The Hui Gan effect is one of the remarkable experiences within this slightly aged buddy. While the cooling atmosphere stays a mouthwatering sweetness is coming back within the aftertaste. Inside later infusions the sour sweet mouthwatering construction is gaining more and more in their importance. Great and affordable raw Sheng ~ perfect for immediate enjoyment and for aging.