Yunnan Sourcing

Just received this today, so it is available. This is a pleasant pu-erh tea. Nothing too special, but very drinkable. Had a slightly different aroma to other pu-erh teas which have the damp wood in a basement smell. This had perhaps damp jeans or something in there too. Can’t put my finger on it, but I love using Mini Tuos for travel and will be taking these with me for when I want a pu-erh fix. I am not a big fan of pu-erh so I am steeping it quite fast. If you like to get a full bodied “liquor” see other reviews.

This is the first (and to this day the only) Qian Liang tea that I’ve tried. I am definitely intrigued – it is a really unique tea, which I also haven’t found the right way to brew yet mostly due to it being pressed so tightly. It seems to require a rinse of several minutes followed by a lengthy rest at the very least.

It is a very comforting and warming tea that seems very much suited to late autumn days. The main flavours includes earhty, spicy (bay leaf, caraway, star anise) and sweet (tamarind) ones.

So yeah, Steepster frozen again, again on Friday. Oh well.

My oldest tea in my stash (aged); and sipdown 67. Soon I won’t have teas to sipdown I guess. No, just kidding, still lots of tea over here. But much less!

I drank this tea for last time when I was celebrating my 24th birthday. Like really? Does the time fly that fast? I was thinking I could finish those small puerh samples much earlier.

I used 8 grams, which was quite a lot! And my faithful, 125 ml gaiwan. I didn’t wanted to keep some funny amount worth grandpa brewing only… And there was approximately half of “loose leaf” and half in chunk. I did fast rinse and steeped with 10 seconds increments.

I have to say, this tea is thick. And I have to agree with Togo, its scent is interesting and I would say I have noticed the bell peppers in aroma after the rinse. Now, after first steep it’s indeed more raisiny, nutty and buttery; while taste is quite weak and not lasting much. It is fruity somehow though, with herbal undertone, but not impressive in any way. The rating I gave this tea almost 2 years ago, 96, is certainly too high, but I just hope I don’t have to lower it below my average. As for price… I can’t tell as it was sent to me for paying shipping only from France.

2nd steep, brought more of the herbals, and honestly very sweet, gaiwan is full of autumn leaf pile which started to decay. I noticed resin last time and maybe it’s that herbal note I declare with something added. It truly gets the vegetal note as well.

3rd steep and in gaiwan I feel I have truly bell peppers. It is certainly that. Kind of unfortunate they are in tea bowl as well. Yep, I completely get this note. Highly vegetal note. It’s smooth at least. No idea where I brought up the pine.

4th steep; honey-ish taste, sweet. Something lacking. Certainly I have been expecting a longer aftertaste, that is in this tea almost non-existent.

6th steep. A nice cup, but nope, it is way too similar to previous. I am truly missing the aftertaste. There is almost none. And that is sad about this tea. It is tasty, completely unoffensive, but lacking that typical puerh note.

Result: Lowering rating from 96 to 88 as it certainly lacks some long taste; some steeps were indeed boring. Sad to see it go, but ageing doesn’t help and maybe I was just hyped about that tea back then. Certainly it doesn’t deliver any astringency or bitterness… as they say. Even 88 could be considered very high. I know and I have to agree. But as I had it just two times, and once I was truly amazed and now I am considering rating it around average (which is around 75 in my case), I would keep it this way.

This tea is just 5 years younger than I. And as I have birthday today, I decided to make oldest tea I have in my stash. Maybe I have some forgotten tea bag somewhere in collection which is older, but bleh, I do not want to try to find it and drink it. Rather old cake. Tea cake.

I received this one from Donatzsky again, so thank you!

About 15 seconds rinse, preheated gaiwan as well the cup.
1st steep is as well 15 seconds long. I noticed whole leaves in that compressed chunk I have in gaiwan. It weights 4.5 grams, which – let´s see if enough, too much or not enough for 85 ml gaiwan.
Wet leaf aroma is bit fig, bit piney (or rather resinous). Fruity.
In taste it is mellow, but the taste is nothing distinctive. Maybe as I am drinking it rather cold?

Second steep. 30 seconds long. Pour green, clear liquor. It is more resinous in aroma as well in taste. But it is still so mellow. Bit honey.

Third steep, as well 30s.
Still mellow, still resinous and honey and mellow in taste. Some sweetness I am not able to recognize. Maybe like a candi sugar?

4th, 30 seconds once more.
Now it is not enough, it is bit watery.

5th 45 seconds
It is such a strange, chunk is still compressed, leaves do not separate itself, so I helped them a bit (let’s see if it will change something in next steeps)

This steep though, is again resinous.

6th, for a minute.
It became bit like a vegetable broth.

7th 1minute15seconds
Similar to previous one. I like that it is still very smooth, even it is more vegetal and less resinous.

8th 90 seconds
Who knows? My thermos is empty now. So last one.

Okay, it is bit vegetable, but little fruitiness takes place too (again). As well the resin. And of course bit of everything is there.

And as a festival of classical music about 10 km away from my hometown called “Smetana’s Litomyšl” let me post song pairing (made by Bedřich Smetana, who was born there): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI8iTETiSqU

Actually the song pairs the tea quite well.

And overall? Certainly a nice tea. First half I enjoyed more, resinous taste is pretty interesting and I liked refreshing taste of it. Okay, not really refreshing, but the lightness of it. Nothing “heavy” in taste.
Second half became vegetal, which was not a bad thing too. Heavier in taste, but still easydrinking and smooth.

I prepared this tea gong-fu today, but wasn’t doing tasting note while drinking.

4g/85 ml gaiwan, not preheated, rather long rinse, long steeps.

At first the bamboo were quite noticeable, adding quite a pleasant experience, not smoky! Bit woody, deciduous-tree forest. Yummy.

Then it goes through wet forest floor, thick, roasted, bit earthy notes. Honestly, I don’t remember too much, because I was doing lots of other things – mostly studying mathematics for Friday exam. I am not even close to I want to be, I am completely stuck in first two chapters and can’t go past them somehow. I feel bit “that stuff isn’t that necessary” but actually it is as well, of course!

There were some notes of stonefruits, but not in fruity way. Hopefully I will have chance to try this tea without any disturbance, because this tea is worth it.

I closed accidentaly window while writing this tasting note. After 3 steeps.

Okay, I made fast rinse, let the leaves absorb the humidity, and then following steeps I made (from memory)
1st, 7 seconds – it was very bamboo in aroma, lots of camphor aroma as well. In taste it was nice and mellow.

2nd, 15 seconds – bamboo slowly disappear, but camphor was there. Taste turns to chocolate notes a little bit, but wet forest and wet wood was still very prominent.

3rd, 20 seconds – even more wet forest is there, bamboo gone, camphor in aroma still there.

4t, 30 seconds – not a bad steep, although quite similar to previous one.

5th, about 45 seconds.
The camphor disappears, but still there is wet forest aroma/taste, it is still mellow as well. I thought I notice chocolate notes, but… I don’t think anymore.

6th, around one minute.
It is closer to some herbal? Maybe more mineral. Maybe roasted I noticed last time. But certainly less present.

7th,
I steeped for too short time probably. It’s just bit roasted taste, hot water.
8th
Last one. Quite long, maybe two and something minutes. I think this tea is over. But it was nice and pleasant.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-YHU6BwPR0 – I found out that I really enjoy R. E. M. songs, even their lyrics are quite deep.

Preheated 85 ml gaiwan. Notes of chocolate, bitterness. No rinse, just 15 seconds first steep.

1st steep (aka rinse)
Quite sweet, but full bodied. Light smoke notes. Thick.

After almost 3 hours at garden. All humidity is in the leaves :)

2nd steep
15 seconds again.
Notes of smoke are still in, thick, dark chocolate.

3rd steep
30 seconds.
Smoke more present, more dark chocolate notes, bit roasted. Very thick.

4th
45 seconds
Smoke taste transformed into roasted notes. Interesting change. Also chocolate notes are disappearing.

5th
45 seconds
It tastes like semi-roasted oolong. Roasted pears, maybe – with little of nice notes of bamboo. Very long mouth-feel.

6th
60 seconds
Very similar to previous one, but bit weaker.

7th
75 seconds
Roasted oolong with woody flavours. That would describe it best I think.

Some technical data:
85 ml gaiwan, preheated, then cold only.
4.5 grams of tea.
Drinking more than 4 hours, but three hours I did not made any single steep, as I was in garden.
Chocolate pairing: Framboise intense by Lindt.

In garden I had to showel lots of soil so all my body hurts. Mostly my back. Did some weeding too. Lots of “nipplewort” plants were there – I like the name and I have not seen them before there.

I was surprised it was so full in taste, and that it was like oolong a bit.

I have not passed today exam, but it was kind of expected. But it was not really hard. Much easier than expected, I just need to study more. Mostly theory.

I am going to work in summer – today I received an e-mail that they count with me and they will send me date for medical check-up.

Awesome!