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Smallish leaves in this cake with mixed brown coloring. Very clear light yellow tea soup after two quick rinses. The tea has a little bitterness followed quickly by a gentle sweetness; offers a pleasant mouthfeel which seems to linger; grabs you quickly and gives you a modest kick. I experienced a little dryness in the mouth and throat and a bit of warmth moving through my extremeties.
The first two steepings present flavors of butter, pine, and mushroom blended together – interesting and enjoyable profile here. The next few infusions become more like a sweet tobacco with those pine and mushroom accents remaining. By the sixth steeping, the sip produces a woody base with hints of flavor – pine, spice, a rather mild fruit – and continues to be a pleasant cup of tea. Does not seem nearly as full or powerful as it did in the beginning of the tea session. I believe this Bulang is a more gentle tea than most from this area but I must say that I rather enjoy it.

Dayi introduced this tea to offer an improved version of their classic 7572. The tea produces a clear red-brown broth with sweet mellow flavor and a nice creamy aftertaste. Cake is of medium compression and fairly easy to pick apart; dark brown leaf with a good amount of golden buds. The “staying power” is most impressive – the leaf keeps giving and giving. The leaf quality is so high that I could begin with flash steepings – add water to 5g of leaf and pour it right into the cup. I’ve done 2 rinses and five infusions and I’m only up to 5 sec. A cake worth owning.

This is a highly regarded Dayi shu and I now understand why – smooth and mellow; very easy to drink over and over again. Medium compression of dark leaf with golden tips sprinkled throughout. Fairly easy to pick apart. Red-brown tea soup; flavors of cedar in early cups becoming more like oak in later cups; sweetness found in each. The tea is lightly fermented – ready to drink now but due to this lighter fermentation, also likely to continue changing as it matures. Therefore, I am enjoying and sharing this cake now and I have another cake on the way to me to hold for 3-5 years. This is a solid shu with a very appealing flavor profile – not complex but a very clean, nice sip.

This tea offers a smooth texture with a simple cedar wood flavor. Earthy with an interesting mouthfeel – spicy, sweet, nutty and leathery. Medium compression. Mostly whole leaf with a reasonable amount of stems. Initial scent of dry and wet leaves is reminiscent of walking through a damp forest. Not as much depth and complexity as I prefer but all in all a rather enjoyable tea session.

This sheng has character :
-nice whole Yiwu leaf;
-pleasant dry and wet aroma;
-good mouthfeel;
-nice cooling effect on the tongue and roof of mouth;
-decent huigan;
-staying power – 8 steepings so far.
A solid Yiwu cake with almost 10 years of age at a fair price ($46 at PuerhShop)!

Overall this is a surprisingly enjoyable tea. The 100g tuo is a classic Xiaguan ripe puerh. I’ve had it aging a bit for the past year. Tight compression but careful picking made it fairly easy to break apart. Very dark leaf without any golden teabuds. Dark tea soup with a pleasant aroma – did not detect the typical Xiaguan smoke (a plus for me since I am not fond of the smoke in my puerh). The sip is smooth and woody – a bit leather like. The flavor profile presents a bit of spice in the background. This recipe was originally made for export to France and has maintained its consistency. This is a budget friendly tea (purchased in mid-2013 for $6.50) and offers a favorable quality/price ratio. Definitely a respectable daily drinking shu.

Sweet and mellow with nice energy and it produces a lovely aftertaste! After reading an older note on Hobbes’ blog, I was intrigued by the history and attributes of this particular cake. I was determined to find this tea but I was somewhat doubtful that I would — then I actually found it at Puerhshop.com.

I was not familiar with Manluo Tea Factory (now Changdahao) but apparently back in the day they were highly regarded. This particular cake is made from high quality leaf gathered from an ancient tree farm on Mansa’s high mountain (in the Yiwu tea growing area) and is part of their 2005 Six Famous Tea Mountains collection. Produced using very traditional hand processing and stone pressing. The dry leaf is beautiful – intact large leaves throughout – moderate compression making it easy to pick off a small amount. Clear yellow-gold tea soup that tastes honey sweet with a nice huigan. A little pepper on the tongue in the first few cups. Nice balance and very pleasant in the mouth. I have thoroughly enjoyed this one over the past two days. Gotta love tea blogs maintained by experienced people (e.g., Hobbes) for great tea discoveries!!

Balanced, complex flavor and a sweet after-taste. Moderetly compressed factory cake – not too difficult to pick. Evidence of a few buds and whole leaf. Tea soup is a clear reddish brown with a wood and fruit flavor profile. Seems to resteep several times (4 so far) and still produce a flavorful cup. Appealing quality to price ratio making it a solid choice for an everyday ripe puerh.

This “melon seed” tea is one of the top ten famous teas of China. As expected, Teavivre’s version has a pleasant smooth green taste. Yellow-green tea soup with a distinctly vegetal aroma. Mixed taste of grass and green beans. The smoky, floral and sweet notes add to the complexity of the tea. A tiny bit of spice was detected in the second and third steeps. For those of us who appreciate green teas, this is a fascinating tea and one to enjoy.

This enjoyable high quality tea is refreshing and delicate. Tightly rolled, a lovely smooth, balanced oolong with floral overtones in the aroma. Greenish-yellow tea liquor which at times, yields both vegetal and buttery tastes in the sip. Li Shans are lightly oxidized and, therefore, resembling green teas in some ways. Delicious and easy to drink cup.