304 Tasting Notes

Brewing this in the Gaiwan, 10 grams with a short rinse and about a minute rest period for the tea to open up. This is nice thick and pungent tea. It starts slightly sweet very full in the mouth with a hint of tobacco and bitter melon with a good bit of bitter at the end. Mang Fei teas of good quality always seem to carry this well into the brew. Very nice for now for those with the strong upfront qualities. I will look forward to see how this progresses in the years to come. A very upfront tea for sure.

Flavors: Bitter, Bitter Melon, Sweet, Tobacco

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 10 OZ / 295 ML

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I have actually enjoyed this one most of the day yesterday as the rain fell all day.
I got this one out grabbed 10 grams and headed for the Gaiwan. This has a kind of light aroma of hay in the dry leaf. I gave a quick rinse and started. The first 3 infusions done a 5 seconds each were a little light in color. The taste of these 3 had a subdued floral note with a touch of bitter. Steeps 4 through 9 is where this one really shined.
The color was much darker as I increased the steep times. The flavor came on with some fruity and floral that had a hit of bitter that faded to a sweetness at the back of the tongue.
I think I did about 15 steeps till this got too weak for me. I did save the brewed lea and put them with a fresh batch of hot water to season a new Yixing I recently purchased. Hopefully that will add a bit to the pot.

Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Fruity, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 3 OZ / 103 ML
boychik

Oh, new Yixing ! What’s the capacity?

mrmopar

200 ml.

Cwyn

Nice! I seasoned one too this week for a friend.

boychik

You are downsizing, mrmopar ;-). I’m looking for 100cc but should be fast pouring .

NofarS

boychik, have you tried Yunnan Sourcing’s selection? It’s pretty good, and decently priced. mrmopar – congrats on the new Yixing! They are always fun to season and use.

Terri HarpLady

MrM, do we get a photo?
You know how much we all love photos go teas & tea paraphenalia

mrmopar

Terri I don’t have an Instagram account or anything similar. I am still new to this computer stuff.

boychik

mrmopar, Instagram is so addictive. I started taken pics just recently. So much fun. Plus others pics its just like teaporn;)
NofarS, I did get Yixing fr YS but its big like 180cc . I love YS pots. I need 100cc for Yancha and good quality clay. Maybe I should ask Scott to source smaller pots ;)

Terri HarpLady

If its any consolation, I joined instagram at least a year ago, & just posted my first 2 pics a few days ago. :)

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Breaking this one out after the "Chairman"was a bit indecisive tonight. I received this courtesy of a tea friend to try. I read the vendors note and am fairly excited to try this one.
The sample I was sent had 7 grams so I brought out the Gaiwan on this one. I am trying to season a new Yixing and I was afraid it would soak up a lot of this teas character. The dry leaf has a pleasant fruity and flowery aroma to it. I gave it a quick rinse and then steeped it. a 5 second or so steep done 3 times and into a 10 oz. mug. This tea pits up a sharpness quality to it. A good mix of the bitter and sweet and a nice little tingle to it. To be a young sheng it really doesn’t carry the astringent quality of many young teas but it has a good strength to it. The sharpness from earlier in the note is how quick those notes arrive in the cup. Some teas take a while to “put it on you”, but this is a straight to the point one.
I am enjoying this pretty well but only one cup tonight as the day starts early tomorrow and I don’t want this to interfere with me counting sheep tonight.
Getting a little brown sugar and/or caramel notes as it cools a bit.

Flavors: Bitter, Caramel, Floral, Fruity, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
KittyLovesTea

Oooohhhh this one sounds delightful!

mrmopar

Wish I could afford a cake of this…

DarkStar

Thanks for your notes mrmopar. I have been wanting to try Tea Urchin’s puerh for some time now (well over a year), but always got distracted by other vendors for some reason. Your posting has reminded me that I really need to get some samples from Tea Urchin. Their Guafengzhai 2012 in particular is really tempting me…thanks again.

mrmopar

I like like like this one DarkStar. Very nicely done tea for sure.

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I received this from a great tea friend to try. I have always been intrigued by this companies productions from the “heyday” of the good puerh production. I used 10 grams in the Gaiwan for this one. Gave a 5 second rinse to start things out. I did a 5 second brew 3 times and put it all in the cup ( my gaiwan is about 3 oz. ).
It brewed up a pretty nice aged color to it, a darker hue of yellow. Almost a light bronze to it. It has a bit of smoke in the brew. It gives some notes of bitter and sweet mixed.The leaf seems to be a mix of chopped with some whole in there if you dig around a bit. Aroma does have some touch of floral to it. later steeps have less smoke and color to them.

Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Smoke, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 10 OZ / 295 ML

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Bringing this one out myself as the “Chairman” is occupied elsewhere tonight. I looked over these little leaves and thought “Why would someone toss these?”. I know tea lea is sorted to look “pretty” and “Fit for the Emperor” but as to why to not include these would be beyond me.
Tea leaves are tea leaves and I will drink most of these with anticipation to see how they brew. Huang Pian, sounds a bit different but I think these leaves will prove they are worth their mettle. I “officially” tried this a while back and as Steepster was down I decided to do this again. Today is the again.
I shook out 8 grams of this to start. Wow that looks like more than 8 but the scale doesn’t lie. Nice long wiry leaves for sure. I put them in the pot and gave a quick rinse and then a sniff to inhale the aroma. Fresh peas in butter with a little sharp spice in there. I let these sit about 10 minutes to open up in the pot.
Very quick steep on this one. Results nice yellow cloudy little brew. Don’t let that fool you. Very vibrant and mouthful feeling brew. Some bitter and astringent notes up front that seem to mellow nicely at the end of the sip. A nice floral sharpness to this. It is an almost “thick” tea you could cut with a knife. I guess if processors toss out this type of tea and I am still around to drink it I will keep some of this on hand. Years ago I would never touch sheng but as I continue to grow and the buttery , vegetal touches on this one make it nice. The thickness on this is really nice. Yum and yum.
I would say to Gong Fu this but as I used a teapot I will gong fu this with the remainder in a Gaiwan at a later time.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Peas, Spices, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
Terri HarpLady

As thick as pea soup? :)

mrmopar

Well not that thick, just give a very full taste not too subdued.

AllanK

Chairman Meow was derelict of his duty, huh?

looseTman

mrmopar, Congrats on your 200th tasting note!

Crimson Lotus Tea

ooh, I haven’t tried this in a pot. I’ve only done gongfu. :-) I’ve found that all the leaf we got from Kunlu this year had a noticeable thickness and palpable body.

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This was singled out by “Chairman Meow” this afternoon. The chairman was showed 2 choices and this was her pick. After making it she made a quick exit from the scene.
Brewed in the Gaiwan.
This was gifted by a tea chum because Xia Guan’s can be somewhat smoky. Well actually not somewhat but in about all cases.
The dry leaf has a little fruit and dried apple to it. I am thinking 10 years old maybe the smoke is gone. It was till I hit it with the rinse, poured it out and opened it up to inhale the aroma and it pops your senses.
Color is an almost bronze but I have 6 year old tea with more color. Probably due to XG’s tight compression. The brew is definitely full on puerh.
Full on woody, smoky, tannic ,citrus and bitter notes. The first 2 cups have been strong and punchy. It gives the slightest hits of sweetness as a quickly fading taste at the end of the swallow. It gives a nice feeling with a warming sensation as you finish.
Not for ones that don’t like smoke but it would be a nice one for those that don’t mind that or the bitterness of it.

Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Smoke, Tannic, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
drank Xikong 2012 Autumn by Tea Urchin
304 tasting notes

Breaking this out as the "Chairman’ has picked and ordered for destiny in my cup. This tea is loosely compressed out of the sample bag. A nice hay and clover aroma to it. I got out 10 grams for the Yixing to start with. Dry leaf very nice looking. gave it a 5 second wash to open it up. Wet lea has a nice floral aroma to it. Brew is a light yellow color. I did 2 quick steeps for the cup. It is a “mixed” bag. Some sweet some bitter but not overpowering in either category. It is more of a “soft” tea with a little tongue buzz but not punchy like a spring tea. I would guess this would be a very nice “starter” sheng to bring someone into puerh. As mentioned in earlier notes I think a Spring version would have a bit more strength and punch to it. A nice really easy drinking Sheng with none of the notes of a Spring tea. Aroma on this is really good and I quote another “Spring tea for the strength and Autumn for the aroma”.
A nice easy to drink Sheng that shouldn’t keep me awake too long after drinking. Relaxing and very mild one to have. Slight honey aftertaste.

Flavors: Bitter, Hay, Honey, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
Cwyn

Yay the Chairman is back!

mrmopar

Yeah the “Chairman” hopes the site will stay current and not lose all the notes.

ashmanra

My daughter is laughing as I read this to her. She loves the “Chairman!”

Kirkoneill1988

too bad ys does not have it

Kirkoneill1988

ouch! tea urchin is kind of expensive :(

JC

Yeah, I felt the same way about this. And for the price you can get better ones. Spring Xi Kongs are mellow, but delicious Shengs.

DarkStar

I wonder if the price tag was the same when they first released it. It seems expensive for an Autumn tea. However I would not be too harsh on Tea Urchin. Their Guafengzhai 2012 is priced at $199. Look at Essence Of Tea’s 2014 Guafengzhhai price at £340 (nearly $550). You can get nearly 3 cakes of Tea Urchin’s for the same price and with a little big of age. It is all subjective…aged puerh appears to be the better deal at the moment…look at Tea Classico and white2tea…their prices are very reasonable for aged sheng. Raw young sheng is becoming more and more expensive.

mrmopar

Oh no It wasn’t meant to be harsh. Tea urchin has very good tea I just like one that kicks my teeth in when I drink it. It is nicely balanced I just like the kick of some teas.
They are great sellers and I have quite a bit of their stuff.

DarkStar

I was referring to Kirkoneill’s comment about Tea Urchin being expensive.

Yeah I’m with you on that one…I prefer to have puerh that kicks my teeth in also :)

mrmopar

I got you. I like the kick a lot. I just had a Menghai Sheng brick from 2005. A bit musty but a heck of a kick to it.

Kirkoneill1988

either way, i prefer ordering from yunnan sourcing :)

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Broke this out during our “Fritz” on the site. Still trying to keep up.
Got 10 grams off the cake for the Yixing. Gave a 10 second wash and went with it. Semi-dark brew as I think this is a lighter fermented shou. No off flavor in this as I am finding about 6 years and the shous are coming in like the shengs do. It had a nice raisin and semi-sweet flavor and just the slightest touch of bitter/astringency.
I only did 2 brews with this over 2 days but it has been pretty nice and you get a little earthy and woody on the second day.
Enjoyable on a cool rainy night.

Flavors: Bitter, Raisins, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
SarsyPie

Sounds like a really good one, mrmo! I love the ones with a little sweetness!

mrmopar

I think the light fermentation in Dayi cakes are nice. I have a couple of others like this kind of a mix of shou and aged sheng.

SarsyPie

I recently heard about both things. I did not know that there were different levels of shou fermentation. I think I fall solidly on the side which prefers a lighter fermentation. And someone was telling me about pu’erh that is a mix of sheng and shou. So that’s also on my list of things to try. :)

TeaBrat

wow, Dragon Tea House has so much stuff! I don’t see this tea on their site. Maybe they sold out of it?

mrmopar

I think they are out. I just checked their site also.

Kirkoneill1988

i don’t think they have this on YS :(

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I got this from a friend to try. I have found it hard to post anything much with all the site issues but this I will.
I used 10 grams in the Gaiwan for this one with a 5 second rinse and about 10 second steeps. This isn’t as dark golden as some other shengs but that wasn’t a problem. This one brews very nice. Smoke is present in the wet leaf and the brew but not to an overly strong note in my opinion. It has a bit of astringency to it but in a nice way. It give a floral and semi-sweet note in the cup. It is a rather “meaty” tea that gives a bit of tingle and a nice mouth filling taste. not thin and weak but with some punch in there.
I looked on the site and price for experience this would be a good tea for the money in my taste profile. Thanks to the generous one that sent it and I think it will be on a future order.

Flavors: Floral, Smoke

Preparation
10 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
boychik

I’m trying it right now. It is "meaty " and I love it!

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77

Going back into this sample I got from Dragon Teahouse.
To be “Fair” the sample I got was from the middle round divet of the cake, so it was really compressed. I got 10 grams from it and found a surprise when separating the tea.
It still has the smoke aroma of the wet leaf. Color has darkened a bit.
1st steep. 10 seconds, very light in flavor , aroma and color.
2nd steep a bit more “golden” as an aged sheng would indicate. Flavor still a bit off.
3rd steep it opens up a bit. Some smoke a little sweet and a slight astringency to it.
Not my favorite Haiwan cake but hopefully will age a bit more as I think it is still a bit young. In a “fairness” the middle of the cake piece may not have aged as well as the edges of the cake.
Holding back rating as I intend to pass this sample on in the future for a better analysis than mine.

Flavors: Astringent, Smoke, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 10 OZ / 295 ML
SimpliciTEA

What was the surprise you found when separating the tea?

mrmopar

Oh I shouldn’t say but I think it was a piece of hair in it.

SimpliciTEA

Thanks. I was thinking it was perhaps something worse.

mrmopar

Nah I have found hair and the plastic from the sacks but nothing more than that. I do hit it with boiling water so the should kill anything.

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