2003 Farmer's Cooperative (Mt. Banzhang) Wild Arbor Sheng

I’ve been drinking both green and ripe pu-erhs for a few years but I can’t claim that I have the experience or refined tastes of the people at Verdant whose sample packs of Pu-erhs and Oolongs came in the mail yesterday. I steeped this teas using the Western method prescribed by Verdant (five 2.5 minute infusions) and while the tea is quite good for a youngish sheng, I wasn’t having the epic experience I was expecting from the tea—based on the comments of other tasters (some of whom are affiliated with Verdant). Maybe I’ve been drinking some pretty good shengs, or maybe it’s a case of having high expectations, but I didn’t have the aha moment I’ve had when drinking the best examples of other types of tea. This just didn’t outpace the other shengs I’ve had by such a degree that I would pay the steep price; while I would like to support the farmers who make this, I feel I can get a satisfying pu-erh experience for $30 a cake rather than $40 an ounce. I have enough tea for a couple more tastings, so I hope to be able to revisit this review soon.

One really shouldn’t go in to Sheng pu’er until they have come to a point of understanding Shou pu’er. At that point one can begin to start trying Sheng to venture in to the realm of understanding what they will evolve in to. Considering this, understand that 95% of the Sheng pu’er that makes it to America is unbearably foul and does an injustice to Sheng. If this has been your experience with Sheng, I hope you take time to try this wonderful tea.

Assertive. This tea knows what it is. It is not at all bitter, but rather possesses heavy notes of hazelnut and a new rain. Incredibly complex. The sheer quality and size of the leaf matter is overwhelmingly beautiful. The tea is nearing ten years in age yet the leaves are in perfect condition because of the delicate and hand pressed manner in which they were produced.

I would say to go for this tea only if you are ready for the highest quality in Sheng and are looking for something unique, assertive, and perfect for aging.

Ever since trying Pu-Erh I never thought it I would get hooked to it! Here I’am some years later writing about it and find it so lovely! Now, this Pu-Erh came with my sample of Yunnan Black (another wonderful tea), it did not came in pressed chunks but broken down to every leaf. The leaves are finely aged to shades of brown, it has a nice earthy,woody,wet leathery, almost irony smell accented with slight smokiness that alludes to a Lapsang. The brew in succession of 4 steeps all gave a slightly astringent and sharp taste that kinda bites(in a good way) on the tongue. It has an almost starchy component almost like eating raw noodles, and it mellows out at the last steep to a plummy taste that hits the back end of the palate to give it smoothness to the minerally and earthy flavor. Throughout the the steepings there are some subtle spice notes mainly ginger and some pepper with a brown sugar like aroma. Quite a tea and Cheers!

So I brought this to work yesterday and brewed it side by side with Teavana’s only straight pu-erh (Nan Nuo Shan) which is limited to an expensive gift set that is currently sold out after being on sale. I let everyone smell the dried leaves of this and the other Verdant sample packs. They were impressed that they didn’t smell sickening sweet like Strawberry Slender. However when it came to tasting only one of my co-workers liked them. I should have used less tea, rinsed twice and done short steeps (but i couldnt connect to the website in the back room). I rinsed once and did a 3min steep and both the teas were bold, bitter, bitey and dry.

However this one had a nice smoke thing going on and I had to do a second infusion, this time only 30 sec and the results were much better. The smoke was still present and there was a nice creamy mouthfeel with just a hint of butter. I get the redwood and on my third and forth steep I got the licorice root and mint so yay! I do like this and have just enough for a second session. I probably won’t be repurchasing soon for the price but I would probably buy another sample for a tasting. Next weekend we’ll try the two other shengs and the silver buds Yabao.

Edit: drinking a fifth infusion this morning and I must say yumm!

Brewed this again last night in my gaiwan. I had left it alone for months. My first attempt at brewing it didn’t go very well, but I’m now certain that the method I used at that time was wrong for this tea. Verdant’s steeping notes for Sheng Pu-er generally prescribe 7 grams of leaves for Gongfu brewing, and I think I must have missed the note that for this Farmer’s Cooperative tea a pretty big exception to the general rule is suggested. For this tea, no more than 1 teaspoon of leaves is prescribed for Gongfu brewing. It seems like too little when you’re looking at it, but these leaves are apparently loaded with flavor. Verdant also suggests that you wash the tea twice before drinking any of it, and I think that definitely makes a difference. Following these guidelines last night, I found the Farmer’s Cooperative deeply satisfying.

This is the tea I remember impressing me when I initially tried it at Verdant Tea’s first pu-er tasting. I love the slight numbing sensation that it produces in the mouth, somewhat like menthol in its effect. Probably had around six infusions before I had to leave the apartment, so I haven’t even reached the peak of its profile yet. It’s still in the gaiwan and I plan to drink more as the day progresses.

Nothing else of detail to say at the moment, except that this is really an excellent tea! I’m glad I learned how to properly prepare it because the first time I tried (using too many leaves) I thought the tea was not so good. I was preferring to drink Verdant’s Golden Strand Shou while I neglected this one, perhaps only because I was preparing that one right and this one wrong. But then they’re two different classes of pu-er, and really suited to two different moods, so I’m not making a direct comparison. I’ll have to return to the Golden Strand as well at some point and post some notes on that one. For a Sheng Pu-er, the Farmer’s Cooperative has come back into my sight, restored to the great appreciation it deserves. This is a tea worth giving your attention to.

I think this is the tea I have – the label on my sample says "Mt. Banzhang Farmer’s Cooperative ’03 Sheng.

Brewed it in my gaiwan, in my typical clumsy fashion. It seems like I always try to do a gaiwan brewing when I have other stuff going on and I’m constantly interrupted.

This is nicely smokey – not overwhelming like the lapsang souchong I tried a couple weeks ago.

And man… it goes good with the marshmallow filled chocolate easter bunny that I just bit the head off of :D

Very Good tea with a very smoky character in beginning steepings, and mellows somewhat on later steeps. Smoky flavor reminds me alot of a black tea or a smoky green tea..very light, but noticeable! I pick up more of a sweetness than an earthy flavor profile and a dry/puckering (astringent?) mouthfeel… which is not quite as characteristic for most pu-erhs! A very smooth pu-erh that would be very nice for someone being introduced into the world of pu-erh’s! As always …an excellent tea from “verdant” teas,..they have never disappointed me yet ;)

I’m very tempted to give this a perfect score, but seeing that this is my first tasting note, that’s probably bad protocol.

David generously sent me a sample of this and the 2008 Xingyang Shu nuggets as an introduction to Pu’er. The 2008 Shu was a fantastic horizon-expanding first, but this… I’ve been drinking this pretty continuously for two straight days.

With the 2008 Shu, I could see why a lot of people are turned off by Pu’er. My friend tried the Shu with me, and it was his first Pu’er as well. He simply described the smell as “fish” and the taste as “tree”. Overall: “best cup of tea I’ve ever had”.

With this Sheng, however, I can’t imagine why anybody would dislike it. The aroma it puts off reminds me of the aroma inside of a sauna. It’s just this excellent, warm, cedar-ish scent. I don’t really know how to describe the taste. I suppose the taste is pretty similar to the scent… Just imagine wood, but not in the musty, moldy, or damp sense. More like if someone were to refer to a nice Scotch as “woody”.

My favorite part of this, though, is the aftertaste. It realllly lingers in your throat, and you can taste it as you exhale. It’s surprisingly powerful, considering that the upfront taste is pretty subtle.

I know my review isn’t very useful. I’d say just try it for yourself!

I am by no means an expert when it comes to Puerh, but even I can tell that this tea is something special. The first infusion was truly amazing, with a smoky yet slightly sweet aroma that was astounding. The taste of the tea was also exquisite due to spicy flavors and smoky undertones.

EDIT:

Sorry it took so long. Anyway, as the infusions continued, the smoky flavors diminished, and the other flavors becam smoother and more harmonious. By the third infusion, I was very impressed with the tea, and was getting ready to order more. What was better was I got seven infusions out of the tea, and that infusions had enough flavor for me to guess that I could have gone for at least three more. Truly an excellent tea.

This pu-erh has been sitting in my tea cupboard for a few weeks now as I am the resident tea brewer for my office cube, but it turns out most of my co-workers favor green and oolong tea; drinking tea is not quite the same without drinking buddies, but it’s Monday morning and I have been thinking all weekend about having an assertive savory tea to start the day. So there.

I am brewing this gongfu-style, with a new yixing pot for pu-erh (only used once before). Cleansed the tea leaves twice and brewed it subsequently for: 30s, 45s, 1m, 2m, 3m, 4m

Early steepings: Mellow earthly sweet taste with smokey woody scent. The color is a robust brown color. The flavor is complex as you might expect from a “sheng” or raw pu-erh: gentle taste at the first sip, transitioning to mild bitterness and then transforming to a smooth sweet taste that lingers.

Later steepings: The taste starts becoming smooth and brisk, with the same satisfying sweet aftertaste. The tingling mouthfeel is very very good.

For lovers of sheng pu-erh tea, this comes highly recommended.

This Pu-Erh was fascinating. I liked it. I want to give it another, more thorough tasting. I’m not sure how many grams I loaded into my steeper, but the first steeping had a very smoky flavor. It was full bodied, and delivered exactly what I anticipated. The second steeping was close to the first, only a little fainter. The third steeping disappointed me, a little, as it seemed to “fall off.” Still, I rated it highly, because of the first two steepings. They held the sort of earthy, smoky flavor I expected. I think that if I procure a gaiwan, load up a little more tea, and brew it in the “gong fu” style, then it may deliver the sort of Pu-Erh experience for which I’m looking. I’ll try that, then update my notes.

This tea has a very dark brow color and is very twiggy looking. The leaves are all crumbly and folded. It has a musty, earthy, alfalfa scent. The scent reminds me of a old hay loft.

1 Tbsp / 8 oz water / 2 minutes / 208 degrees fahrenheit

Rinsed twice and the leaves started smelling more woodsy and kind of like burning wood.

The liquor from the first steep was a light golden brow color and was very clear. It still had a musty scent and smelled slightly like cedar wood.

This is a very smooth tasting tea. It still has that pu-erh taste to it but its so smooth. It has a smokiness to it. It tastes like drinking a campfire. The aftertaste is a bit peppery tasting.. Never experienced that while drinking tea.

I think next time I brew this I’m going to use a bit more. I think this tea would be better if it was a little stronger, purely my opinion though.

I’m on my fourth steep of this sheng and am really enjoying it so far. The amber color, along with smoky earthiness, is a nice change from all the sencha I have been into lately.

I was hesitant about whether or not I would like this tea. When I was in China a few years ago, I bought some oolong and jasmine green tea, along with a yixing, gaiwan, and other tea accessories. What won me over was the oolong – light, floral, and slightly sweet. Because I had a sizable purchase, they threw in a tiny brick of pu’er that didn’t interest me at all. I associated it with black tea (or the way I would end up drinking black tea) – oversteeped and bitter to the point where it would make me nauseous.

Every once in a while, like when I was sick with a cold and needed to take a break from coffee, I would tear off a big chunk of pu’er and put it in a tea ball to steep for a couple minutes. The end result – gut wrenching. I figured I was given this dried up tea because no one wanted it.

Fast forward six weeks ago when I had the killer flu. During this time, I miraculously lost all interest in drinking coffee and started drinking tea. I wanted to learn more about the varieties out there and became addicted to researching what and where to buy. I came across Verdant tea through Steepster and decided on giving the Wild Arbor Sheng a try (now that I broke all my bad steeping habits).

I’m happy to say that this tea offers a dynamic profile unlike the other teas I usually drink. It’s a full dose of earth, if that makes sense without sounding gross. It really does change my perspective on pu’er teas.

Today I jumped into the world of Pu’erh. And what a magnificent world it is. I was not expected the whoof of strong, earthy smells to come out of the bag when I unzipped it. It’s a great aroma, and I’m so glad it stuck around after the steeping. I only steeped it very shortly as I was scared to make it too strong. Even with about 10 seconds of steeping the tea turned out with a good, wooden taste that lasted throughout. It went down smoothly and was a pleasure to drink. For my second steeping I’ll be trying longer times to make the tea even stronger.