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This is an appealing Dayi Factory shu blend with a nice amount of age on it. Smooth taste with no perceivable trace of bitterness. Decent richness and flavor found in the taste. My only criticism is that the leaf becomes rather thin by the seventh infusion but then again “cooked” leaf never has as much to give as raw leaf, does it. I actually think I might try using a little extra leaf next time. Thick and tasty dark soup that brings great enjoyment. In my opinion, this is a Dayi shu worth owning.

I must admire cakes made with traditional stone-pressing and high quality material. This cake is built with leaves from 100-300 year old tea trees growing near Bingdao village. Clean, pure and perfect processing. Lovely whole leaves. The wet leaf releases a lovely sweet and floral aroma. The taste is predominantly fruity sweetness with the slightest, slightest bit of bitterness which serves as a nice balance. Nice Qi – this is a “good mood” tea.

Revisiting this “gentle” tea built upon Manzhuan material found in the broader YiWu area. Softer and definitely less aggressive taste with a pleasant rather sweet lingering aftertaste. I always enjoy drinking it on a low-key day. Nice big leaves which have remained in-tact in the loosely compressed cake. Golden yellow tea soup with a sip that is not at all bitter and tastes of light stonefruit. The tea becomes a little sweeter with successive brews but it is never “powerfully” sweet. Not an earthy tea but should be considered a sweet tea carefully processed with high quality whole tea leaves.

Smooth and easy to drink shupu and a very affordable everyday tea (currently selling at $12 for a 250g brick). So many shu bricks are impossible to pry apart but this one was actually easy to chunk off. Clear syrupy tea liquor brews the color of a nice port. Offers a clean and sweet sip with spicy and nutty notes (rather like almonds). This is a good one!

The eye appeal of this cake is spectacular – great wrapper; nicely processed cake; beautiful whole leaf material (small leaf gushu). XiKong, Manzhuan and Yibang are all located in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna and understandingly their teas share many of the same characteristics. The scent of this cake is a subtle floral (rather like wildflowers). Light gold, clear tea liquor with the delicate scent of sweet floral and a granary sweetness in the taste. Decent mouthfeel with a low level bitterness on the edge of the tongue. The qi begins to make its presence known during the third steep. The mouth feel becomes thicker and pleasantly astringent as the tea session progressed. This most definitely is not a “knock your socks off’ sheng in terms of bold power but rather a delicate, sophisticated sheng that seeks to impress one with its underplayed subtlety (subtle aroma, subtle sweetness, subtle bitterness). The quality of the material is evident from beginning to end. This tea is best enjoyed when you can give it your full attention and drink it slowly so that you can appreciate all aspects of its elegance.

New acquisition from an experienced collector/private tea seller of aged pu’er. The dry leaf smells aged and nutty. Easy to pick off good-sized whole leaves for brewing. Clear orange colored tea soup with a tiny bit of cloudiness in the first two steepings but this cloudiness disappears after that. Lovely scents coming off the soup – somewhat sweet, a bit plummy and a little nutty. Smooth but full taste without bitterness. Appealing mouthfeel. I quickly begin to feel the tea – peaceful and relaxed. Nice longevity – 7 infusions so far; only up to 10 seconds; leaves have more to give. Lingering aftertaste to satisfy me until I continue tomorrow.

Finally breaking into my ChenSheng Hao teas after keeping them in storage for the past year. This particular selection is one of their mid-grade productions and is made from high mountain organic old tree leaves. The cake itself is beautiful. Moderate compression allows for easy picking and the leaves remain whole and intact. The leaves produce a dark gold tea soup which is clear and bright. Not particularly fragrant but the scent revealed is clean and sweet. The mouthfeel is light, fresh and floral with a heavier strength in the backend. Sweetness becomes more evident in later infusions. This sheng is not terribly complex, but it is straightforward and easy-going. At the end of the tea session, I was left feeling rather relaxed and quite happy.

Tribute Tea sources many things from Jeff Fuchs, the same man whose 100g tea cakes form the basis for the Jalam Tea Club selections. This aged Yiwu arrived as maocha rather than a pressed cake. Perhaps this explains why I was a bit disappointed by the tea during my first session –loose tea does not seem to age nearly as well as pressed cakes. I am a fan of YiWu material and I have several aged YiWu cakes but this one does not compare to those teas. The leaves are quite attractive and appear to be whole. Not much scent from the dry leaves (a bit earthy) but that is not unusual with YiWu material. However, there is not too much flavor in the cup and I must say I expected more. A nice dark golden color is found in the tea soup which appears to be quite clear. Earth and leather flavors come through clearly in the early brews which is rather smooth. Eventually a little sweetness appears but this turns quickly to a woody tone. I do not doubt that this is authentic Yiwu leaf but, for my taste preferences, it has lost it lacks the oomph I find in most Yiwu Shan selections.

Dayi knows shu puer and they usually do it very well. This tea is one of the staples in my shu tea cabinet -smooth, powerful and enduring. A distinctive, quality Dayi product. Always reliable and it is a fantastic everyday shu! Produced in small 150 gram cakes and very affordable. Rather complex flavor profile – wood, honey, vanilla, nuts, cream. I brew it heavy; it yields a syrupy cup; it lasts all day through many resteeps.

Yi Chang Hao is the flagship product line from the Changtai Tea Factory and contains teas made with raw material from mountains in the Yiwu area. With material from arbor trees reported to be 500-800 years old, the JingPin is a pleasing mellow aged tea with a full body and sweet overtones – very smooth. The tea is not just elegant, its power is easily felt. Moderate compression makes it easy to pick off leaves for brewing. Mix of whole leaves, pieces and a few stems. The aroma of the dry leaf is mild with the hint of nuttiness and wood but surprisingly in the mouth the tea is sweet and fruity with a hint of camphor. While the sweetness is clearly found in the sip, the fruit is more on the subtle side. Through my 6-7 infusions (with enough strength to support additional steepings) the flavor profile continues to mix fruit, honey, nuts, wood and camphor in a very rewarding way. Overall impressions – interesting mix of flavors; respectable Qi; enough power in the leaf to endure many infusions; lingering pleasant aftertaste. For those of you seeking the “heavy hitters”, this one might be of little interest but for all the other pu fans, this is a worthy tea from a factory with long established traditions – old processing techniques and stone pressing. Purchased this cake from The Chinese Tea Shop online store and you can purchase smaller amounts of this tea.