2014 Yunnan Sourcing Mu Shu Cha Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

YS’ Mu Shu Cha from 2014 has been received well, and I think I can kind of see why. It is a really comforting tea, both in its mouthfeel and the body feel. The texture is smooth and thick and it induces a very relaxing state in a very non-aggressive way.

The liquor is also very flavourful with a balanced profile and very little astringency. The dominant flavour groups present include wood, minerals, and grains (especially wheat). The session starts with a few bright, spicy and sweet infusions, but later transitions into a more rounded and savoury experience. Among other marginal notes one can find forest, vegetables (bok choy), soy sauce, some flowers, and Santa Claus melon.

At 34 cents a gram this tea gets my bang for the buck award. There are too many floral, spicy, fruity and umami flavors to list and they change with each steep and as the cake ages. This tea strangely reminds me of a good Chinese stir fry in liquid form and goes perfectly with such a meal . The qi is of a chill variety, not bombastic or brain melt, just warm fuzzy contentment. If you want a rewarding gushu without paying a buck or two a gram look no further…

As I was recording my tasting notes for the 2014 Autumn Mu Shu Cha, I discovered that I have the Spring version as well. I couldn’t resist doing a sequential review.

The difference was surprising. The Autumn tea tasted of straw and wood, with hints of fruit underneath. This tea is all about the fruit. The first steep showed a sweet, tropical fruit flavor with hints of straw underneath. I immediately felt a powerful cha qi, but it is building on a base from the previous tea, so wasn’t sure how much is due to this tea. 2nd steep had the same tropical fruit flavor at the beginning of the sip, but builds up a strong astringency going into the finish, which is dominated by the slightly bitter astringency. REALLY feeling the qi. By the fourth steep, it was still fruity, rich and sweet. There is a bit of wood underneath the fruit that adds depth, much as a bassoon does in an orchestra. Still too astringent in the finish, which detracts from an otherwise really good tea. Still tons of cha qi.

I’m a fan of young sheng, and this one was clearly the better choice for current drinking. It was fresh and fruity, with enough hints of other flavors to be interesting. The Autumn version wasn’t bad, but was just a slightly above average woody sheng. Of course you pay for quality: as of May 2015, this tea was $118 per cake vs $45 for the Autumn.

I’m surprised no one has reviewed this one. Welp, I guess I’m the first one again.

This is one of the tea sessions that I don’t want to end. I could drink this brew forever. The cake is fresh loosely pressed maocha. The beeng is an array of dark greens, silvers, golds, and platinums. It carries a strong and deep vegetal aroma with a slight spice scent with just a hint of floral. I placed a generous amount of maocha and compressed cake in my warm yixing and gave it a heavy shake. The scent that filled my tea room was like no other. I inhaled a warm thick honey syrup scent mixed well with a fresh oak tree in the throes of spring. I washed this treat of dry leaf once to prepare for brewing. The steeped leaves were a vibrant green and smelled of wildflowers and a hearty vegetable garden. The flavor was amazingly complex! I was getting creamy tones of watercress and jasmine. Then, I would taste a deep forest flavor with light petrichor. This may sound strange, but this brew reminds me of a thicker Longjing with a fuller body. The tea had deep tones of plant life and finished with a long lasting huigan. The qi was something else entirely. The qi was subtle and built around the tea session almost unnoticed, until I’ve finished, and i’m struck with an expansive qi feel. This is by far one of my favorites sheng of all time. This is exactly what I would want in a sheng for a sunny day! Thank you so much tot his company for supplying such a treat. :)

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