Yunnan Sourcing

Gongfu Sipdown (805)!

Thank you to Hachachacha for sharing this tea with me in 2019 – I’m sorry it took me a while to try it, but it made for a really lovely session this morning!

I found this pu’erh strong and assertive, with some early on coating astringency. The liquor was thick, with notes of artichoke hearts, cumin, and smoked paprika and sweet floral undertones slinking into the finish. This tea had a great huigan & feeling in the throat!!

Thank you so much for sharing – this is a pu’erh I likely would not have selected for myself, so I appreciated how pleasantly surprised I was with the session!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8CdUCEgC30/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFpVjJoogw

The description says it’s between Yishanmo and WanGong but has a bit more in common with Yishanmo. Sort of accurate, however I got more WanGong notes than I expected. The tea definitely has the thick, sweet herbal notes of Yishanmo but has a WanGong attitude. Big evergreen foresty notes although not as in your face as say a Tongqinghe. The qi although milder than a gushu WanGong still is quite potent and stoning. I got a dozen good steeps out of this before a kill steep in the Cha hai and found it’s evolution to be linear, that is it didn’t start sweet and herbal then turn potent and foresty. Both of these components evolved together and finished with a nice woody oily character. Good WanGong tea runs close to $2-3 a gram these days and may not be sweet enough for some Yiwu fans. At $.80some a gram this tea is a great compromise. For me I’m not a big Yishanmo, Walong or Manzhuan drinker as I like more umph. This tea nicely fills the gap.

Opened the wrapper and Inmediatley teleported to the fruits section of a farmers market. Cake itself smells intensely to grapes and celery.

Did a tiny session 90ml Gaiwan/ 4g/95c. It tastes bitter, with a grapefruit type bitterness. Grapeseed, muscatel flavours and fruit skin are all over intensely, with a dark bread and tree bark back.
Quite complex, with a long and entertaining aftertaste.

I see myself buying this one every year.

Just noting that I’ve been through more than a kilo of this tea as it is one of my favorite daily-drinkers in the office.

Prepared in my Jian Shui gaiwan, and served in my porcelain tea cup via my glass cha hai. Filtered Santa Monica municipal water just off the boil throughout.

Lasts maybe 6 – 8 infusions brewed gong fu style:

Rust liquor; dense aroma suggesting charcoal-baked Murasaki sweet potato, and a touch of burnt toast if pushed. Very slight floral/vegetal notes emerge in later infusions as the core yam notes soften; sweet, rich, malty palate entry with hints of chestnut and longan leading into a medium-dry, lightly earthy finish with a whisper of smoke; smooth, medium body with hints of starch more than cream.

While the processing doesn’t taste “artificial,” it is difficult to believe this aroma/flavor was achieved without any additives to the tea given how prominent the “sweet potato” notes are from the aroma of the dry leaf on through multiple infusions in the cup. While lacking the chocolate notes I sometimes get from Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, this remains an indulgent, almost dessert-oriented tea.

Had a sample of this in my stash for 1.5 – 2 years in pretty lazy storage so very young. Gaiwan, 1g:15ml. Did 8 solid steeps, then one where I forgot about it for 15min or so.

Big aroma throughout: citrus zest – grapefruit?, dampened dried wild grasses & flowers, slightly woody like hardwood in the later steeps. Reminded me of late summer nights when the damp night air rehydrates the dried grasses and flowers and it’s got that heady floral quality.

Flavor was pretty solidly young sheng: crisp greens, artichoke, toasted grasses, and some fruitiness. Not a total gut bomb, definitely still bitter and astringent but manageable. Good sweet aftertaste. I could drink this, but I wouldn’t pick it often.

The last “wildcard” 15min steep was a real winner, big stonefruit/apricot aroma and flavor, hardly bitter. Was very light though, not sure the tea had much more to give.

I’m not really familiar enough with (young) sheng to really confidently evaluate it or how it might age, just trying to write more tea notes.

Wrote up my impressions of this only to realize I had already done so for the Spring 2016 crop, which I found to be much the same.

This is a well aged pu-erh, and probably my favourite “Ye Sheng” one I’ve had to date. It is very smooth, sweet and woody, with a mild vegetal undertones attesting to its wild origin. As Scott’s description mentions, it almost completely lacks the mouth-puckering bitterness of young examples of this varietal, even though there is still some astringency enhancing the mouthfeel.

The aromas are mostly reminiscent of forest and dry earth. There are, however, some unique notes of garlic, black grapes, and fir wood as well. In terms of specific flavours, I detected menthol, rock sugar, ash, orange, and honey; followed by a spicy aftertaste with rapeseed and conifer like notes. I also really like the mouthfeel, which is active and mouth-watering, with a sort of buttery texture to the liquor.

This was one of my last sipdowns of 2019. I had been curious about this tea for some time, and after a conversation about the lifespan of teas in storage with a fellow Steepsterite in which this tea was mentioned as being one that didn’t hold up, I decided to break it out and give it a try. Leafhopper, I know I promised you I would post a review of this tea nearly a month ago or something like that. Sorry about the wait. Anyway, here are my thoughts on this tea’s vitality after nearly two years of storage: I could not tell that what I had of it had faded at all. It was a little more mellow than a super fresh Dancong oolong, but I could not pick up any signs of deterioration. As a matter of fact, I greatly enjoyed this tea. I found it to be a great Dancong oolong. I went into my review session expecting to end up kicking myself over waiting too long to try it, but by the time I wrapped the session up, all I could think about was how spectacular this tea struck me as being.

Now, with all of the above being said, I could very well be the outlier here. My experience may not reflect that of others in any way. To be sure, there will be differences in perception from person to person. The amounts of tea that different people will receive from the same batch may be of different quality. There will be differences in a tea’s lifespan in storage based on individual storage practices and differences in environment. Certain pouches of tea can even be sealed improperly, resulting in contamination and/or deterioration prior to shipment. So many things can happen that can lead different people to have totally differing opinions of the same tea, and that’s before you can consider things like differences in equipment used, water type and quality, brewing methods, the overall condition, attention span, and experience level of the person doing the tasting, etc. It’s very, very rare that two opinions will be identical, and it may very well not happen at all as every palate is different.

Anyway, I prepared this tea gongfu style. After rinsing, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of rose, cream, butter, custard, pear, lychee, tangerine, and sugarcane. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond and grass. The first infusion saw the rose aroma intensify and a subtle coriander scent appear. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of rose, grass, butter, cream, and sugarcane that were balanced by subtler notes of lemon zest, cracked pepper, coriander, pear, custard, and green apple. The subsequent infusions teased out aromas of lemon zest, orange candy, cracked pepper, grapefruit, green apple, dandelion, basil, and baked bread. Stronger and more immediately apparent impressions of green apple, pear, coriander, lemon zest, and cracked pepper appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging lychee and tangerine notes and impressions of orange candy, minerals, dandelion, dandelion greens, and yellow plum. I also noted hints of basil, violet, baked bread, grapefruit, and roasted almond. Each swallow left a lingering herbal coolness and a pleasant aftertaste of rose and green apple. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, green apple, grass, pear, dandelion greens, lemon zest, coriander, cream, butter, and sugarcane as well as suddenly amplified impressions of roasted almond. Subtler notes of rose, dandelion, custard, tangerine, and basil lingered in the background.

This was a very challenging and unique tea, but it was also very enjoyable. It was very tightly layered and demonstrated a good deal of complexity. This tea also displayed a number of aroma and flavor components that I do not often get out of Dancong oolongs. Overall, I did not have a problem with this one, though I do have to admit that I think I may have gotten a bit lucky with it. Teas that are very tightly composed and have tons of little intricacies can produce a liquor that seems totally dead on the nose and in the mouth if you have recently had anything to eat or drink or if you are having any sort of sinus and allergy issues. I have chronic sinusitis and terrible seasonal allergies. I normally get infection after infection over the winter months, but I have been fortunate so far this winter and tried this tea on a warm, clear day when I was not having any issues and had not consumed anything else prior to my drinking session. I think that’s why I got as much out of this tea as I did. And who knows? I also may have gotten lucky with the amount of tea I had in the sense that it may have just held up better in storage for me. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing. But yeah, I did enjoy this tea and found it to be an excellent offering overall.

This was another of my recent sipdowns. It was also the most recent spring 2017 black tea to be finished by me. At this point, I only have one pouch of spring 2017 black tea left to finish, 100 grams of Yunnan Black Gold that I bought specifically to age. Anyway, this was an excellent Yunnan black tea. Like the others I have tried this month, the extended time in storage did not seem to have affected it much if at all.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of smoke, malt, cedar, pine, and molasses. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted peanut and roasted almond. The first infusion brought out a baked bread aroma as well as a subtle sugarcane scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of smoke, malt, cream, butter, baked bread, roasted almond, cedar, and pine that were chased by subtler notes of molasses, raisin, sugarcane, plum, and roasted peanut. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of cream, butter, raisin, caramel, marshmallow, anise, vanilla, sweet cherry, chocolate, roasted pecan, and orange zest. Notes of minerals, caramel, anise, marshmallow, vanilla, sweet cherry, stewed apricot, chocolate, roasted pecan, and orange zest appeared in the mouth alongside hints of earth, camphor, and black pepper. As the tea faded, the liquor settled and emphasized notes of minerals, malt, baked bread, cream, smoke, raisin, caramel, chocolate, and marshmallow that were balanced by hints of camphor, anise, sweet cherry, sugarcane, butter, roasted almond, and vanilla.

This was one of the more interesting Yunnan black teas I have tried. Generally, I expect Yunnan assamicas to be very assertive and robust in the mouth, but this tea was gentler and sweeter. Its age may have had something to do with that, but I think a good deal of it was just inherent. I also appreciated that I could immediately pick out the characteristics imparted by the Jinggu terroir. I have long felt that Jinggu teas have some very unique properties, specifically a pleasant and lively mouthfeel and fresh, earthy, uniquely sweet, and herbal aroma and flavor characteristics, and such properties were on clear display in this tea. Overall, I would recommend this tea or a more recent version of it to people who are established fans of Jinggu teas and/or those who are interested in getting a feel for the characteristics of the Jinggu terroir.

This was another of my sipdowns from earlier in the month. I had always heard that higher end Yunnan black teas could hold up well in storage, and so far, I have found this to be the case. This tea, in particular, came out swinging. It was so lively and strong that it did not seem to have lost a step.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of malt, baked bread, honey, sugarcane, sweet potato, and molasses. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of camphor, cream, pine, butter, cinnamon, roasted almond, eucalyptus, and black pepper. The first infusion brought out scents of earth and straw alongside a subtle grassiness. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, butter, baked bread, roasted almond, sweet potato, and eucalyptus that were balanced by hints of honey, sugarcane, earth, camphor, black pepper, grass, and cooked green beans. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of marshmallow, juniper, cocoa, lemon, vanilla, and plum. Stronger and more immediate notes of camphor, black pepper, earth, grass, sugarcane, and cooked green beans appeared in the mouth. I also picked up impressions of minerals, juniper, caramel, cocoa, vanilla, lemon, birch bark, marshmallow, celery, pine, orange zest, molasses, and cinnamon. Subtler notes of anise, plum, and coriander were detected as well. As the tea faded, the liquor settled and emphasized mineral, earth, baked bread, malt, cream, butter, roasted almond, grass, and marshmallow notes that were supported by subtler impressions of sugarcane, caramel, lemon, cooked green beans, cocoa, and orange zest.

This was an extremely complex and challenging Yunnan black tea. The liquor had an explosive, highly energetic presence in the mouth despite this tea being just shy of three years old. I loved what I got out of my time with this tea, but I can say that I feel it would be a little too intense and overwhelming to be an everyday black tea, and it would also most certainly not be appropriate for a beginner or a more casual drinker. If you are a fan of Feng Qing Dian Hong and have quite a bit of experience with such teas, then you would probably love what this tea had to offer. If you are new to Feng Qing teas, or Yunnan black teas in general, you may want to get some experience under your belt before trying a tea like this one.

Yes, I am still alive and still capable of writing. I keep having to tell myself that. It seems that I get more pleasure out of reading the tasting notes of others and commenting on them these days than I do writing notes of my own. Anyway, I have been aware that I needed to get back to writing for a few weeks now, but I have honestly just been too lazy to do it. Now that I have spent a good deal of time finishing up some of my remaining 2017 teas, I figured that I could not let my backlog grow any further, so it was time to get some reviews out of the way. This was a tea that I forgot I had, and when I found it in my tea stash, I just had to start on it. It was a very nice, mellow black tea that somehow held up remarkably well in storage.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 5 seconds (my new kettle does not allow me to set 194 F as a temperature). This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, cedar, baked bread, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and black pepper. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, cream, geranium, and butter. The first infusion brought out a slight camphor scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered up notes of cream, butter, malt, baked bread, and roasted almond that were chased by hints of roasted peanut, geranium, and cinnamon. The subsequent infusions introduced cocoa, smoke, sugarcane, tobacco, roasted walnut, marshmallow, and orange zest aromas as well as very subtle plum scents. Slightly stronger and more immediate roasted peanut and geranium impressions came out in the mouth alongside notes of sugarcane, cocoa, earth, minerals, black pepper, eucalyptus, straw, caramel, orange zest, roasted walnut, tobacco, and marshmallow. I also noted hints of smoke, cedar, camphor, red apple, plum, honey, and ginger. As the tea faded, the liquor began to emphasize notes of minerals, earth, cream, malt, baked bread, and caramel that were supported by subtler notes of butter, roasted almond, roasted peanut, cocoa, tobacco, and orange zest.

This was an incredibly pleasant, aromatic, and flavorful Yunnan black tea. In truth, I am probably underrating it a bit, but a score in the mid-80s just felt right to me when I was drinking it, and it still feels right to me now. I have had better, stronger, and more challenging Yunnan black teas, but this one was so pleasant and so easy to drink in its maturity that I could not even dream of being disappointed by it. If you are looking to acquire a very good, very likable Yunnan black tea with your next Yunnan Sourcing order, strongly consider seeking out the newest harvest of the Bu Lang Mountain Black Tea from Menghai.

Gads! I am in love… again!!! This is so delicious, light roasted? Not sure, but it is resonating with my taste buds and the flavor is sweet, kinda baked goods, and smells of ripe fruit! The mouth feel is thick, and I taste this well after the cup is empty! This is crazy good to me!

I truly enjoyed this!!! At first brew She was beautifully light floral and a little something sweet that I can’t put my finger on, with a slight ‘Rock’ mouth feel..but not too much… The second brew was just a bit less floral with the same slight ‘Rock’ mouth feel. BUT let me say this… She stayed with me for a while! I could still taste the sweetness half an hour later! I usually will only do 2 steeps since I brew Western style, however, I probably could have pushed this tea farther! In fact, I will certainly be sitting with this beauty in a Gong Fu session!

I still have a couple of samples from derk to go through, this being one ticked off the list today. It’s a nice semi-aged tea that’s different from the ones I own in a similar age category. Instead of being herbaceuos or fruity, it is more on the nutty and bitter side.

In the aroma, I could smell some wet storage notes, but this didn’t translate into the taste. Instead, the profile was sweet, vegetal, bitter, and nutty (walnut skin, chestnut). The aftertaste was nicely warming with a touch of a camphor note to it.

I also quite liked the mouthfeel, something I often find to be a weak point of these kind of teas. It was soft and active with good viscosity, but felt light in the mouth at the same time. I also got a hint of a sedating sort of cha qi.

Bright, sweet, fruity. Love this one. Way more than the Dian Hong you might expect. This is the daily tea that I actively avoid drinking because I would demolish my stash so quickly. You can come back to this tea multiple times and find something new each time.

Also drank this during my virtual tea session tonight. I noted ‘dark sweet raisins, with a bit mineral notes at the back of the mouth/throat. Astringent, but not bitter.’ I only got 5 steeps in before pausing for the evening. I was getting the tea sweats/energy that comes with semi-aged teas. I need to take a breather for the night, allow the leaf to dry out, and start earlier in the afternoon. Strong tea drunkenness, though.