Yiwu Gu Shu Sheng Pu'er 2003

Gongfu Sipdown (719)!

Picked this tea up from Zhen Tea at the Montreal Tea Festival – I was really intrigued by the tea description, and as most people are aware I certainly have a penchant for yiwu sheng. It was fairly pricey – $10CAD for 5g, but I guess that’s kind of reasonable given that it’s a sheng with sixteen years of age on it. I appreciate that the company was even offering sample/session size of it at all at the festival.

I’d normally have brewed this in my yixing pot, but 5g is too little for a session in that pot so I brewed it instead in an 80ml shiboridashi – even that was a little soft for me though…

This was a delicious tea though; very fragrant and sweet aroma. Plenty of ripe plum and penetrating florals. The taste started off very much like a salted plum with lingering sticky sweetness and a touch of smoke- that was the general flavour for the first three or so infusions. From there it was gradually getting more floral over time – but retaining that juicy plum note. Very, very mild and pleasant astringency; no bitterness.

Fourteen infusion session in total. Wow.

I’d definitely purchase this again is the opportunity arose…

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4sN9djgh3s/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_K0t5x4_3w

This was one of the best teas I tasted at the Toronto Tea Festival, so I got a 5g sample (for a very steep 10 CAD) to try it out at home. I got a piece close to the middle of the cake, but it’s not overly compressed. The leaves look quite coarse.

It is clear that the tea is aging very slowly, I was told it has been stored in Beijing since production. The leaves look somewhat green and the liquor is dark yellow, it hasn’t even properly started turning orange yet. There is a slight hint of fruits in the aroma, which is sweet and reminiscent of some cakes.

The first infusion after rinse is still very light with no bitterness and only a touch of astringency. It has a really nice sweetness, nothing overpowering. There is also a vegetal and floral character to it and the aftertaste is surprisingly strong given how mild the taste was. Second one is so smooth and already thicker. The taste I would describe as sweet grass with a bit of herbal bitterness. I can also feel its effects, clearing and focusing my mind. I have to say though that I am by no means in a standard state of mind, having just returned from a 90km long bike ride (the first one this year – spring seems to be pushing the winter away, yay!).

Third steep is a proper one. It’s such a nice mix of sweet and bitter taste, buttery texture, and a long floral and numbing aftertaste. Fourth and fifth are strong, but not as distinctive. I tried various types of brews next. The lighter ones are tasty and easy to drink, while the stronger ones have a heavy, peaty moss note to them and a much more interesting mouthfeel, which numbing and drying without being very astringent.

All in all, a very nice example of a dry stored Yiwu tea. If it was 4 times cheaper, I would even consider buying it! :P