Chawangshop

This is really smoky. I actually like smoky teas, and thought this one was pretty good in a smoky/woody style. Got a little bitter in the later steeps, but the early steeps were very approachable (did I mention the smoke?). I liked it , but others might not.

From the group buy organized by Andresito.

The nose is herbaceous, with hints of wood. Taste has some veggie, straw, and good mouth-feel. Very clean taste, and good clean finish. 2nd steep: Floral nose has hints of vegetation, apricot, and straw. The taste is more apricot, with a hint of bitterness. Finish is very tannic, but not bitter. This is definitely my favorite of the 2016 ChawangShop teas so far. Not a whole lot of cha qi. Later steeps show more of a tobacco/wood profile that is increasingly tannic, but still interesting, as the fruit and floral notes slowly fade away.

I’ve decided to go back and review all of the samples I got via the 2016 group buy. I’ve had the samples about 6 months, stored in a room that has averaged 60% humidity. This was the first sample, and the good taste is what inspired me to try all the others. I may have to place an order.

The first steep didn’t have much nose, but the taste is good: straw with some stone fruit underneath. Nice chewy texture. 2nd steep (10s): Much nicer nose shows spice and old leather. Powerful taste with full body in the mouth and strong finish. Strong cha qi. Strong, yet elegant. Slightly acidic, but not very tannic or bitter. 3rd (20s): Big and spicy and beginning to get very tannic (my mouth is all puckered). 4th (30s): Still very good, but I’m seeing less flavor; just tannin, though less than before. 5th (1m): Nose is rich and spicy. Excellent taste also shows spice. Much less tannic. I got another 6 steeps or so (much more than I normally get from a 4 gram sample. They were all very enjoyable, with good taste, not much bitterness, and gradually becoming less complex.

I was part of the group buy organized by andresito and am pretty much just drinking one tea per day. I realized that since these are relatively new teas, it was important to publish notes.

The first steep showed a really fine nose: rich and fruity. Good taste has layers of flavor. Sweet and fruity with hints of tobacco and straw. Flavor is all on the roof of the mouth, not the tongue. By the second steep the fruit was dominated by an excess of tannin (though not really bitterness), particularly in the finish. The fruit still appears occasionally, but the tannin dominates. I kept trying to like the tea, but it was just too tannic. Perhaps this will improve with age, but I’m afraid the fruit will fade away.

I’m not giving a numerical score. I initially had a fairly high score, probably based upon the first couple of steeps, but upon reflection thought that was probably too high.

I was hoping this would taste like the 2015 version. Unfortunately, it is quite different. It’s not that bad, but it lacks the floral sweet nature of its 2015 brethren.

This is a very nice, simple, high quality young sheng. It brews up thick, and the leaf quality is very nice. The flavor is not too complex – just a nice simple buttery fruity young sheng. There is very little bitterness until later steepings, and even then, it is muted. It is a great tea, and very cheap for this quality – only $24 for a 200g cake.

i think? this one was from omgsrsly i’ve had it a couple times now and i’m just not feeling it. No matter how much of the rind i put in, it just seems to be a lightly flavoured puerh. It’s not a BAD cup – the puerh is smooth and quite nice, but as far as the tangerine -it’s super light.

A very nice Bulang ripe. Bittersweet chocolate, roasty flavor with sweet undertones. Like some other Bulang ripes I have tried, this one has a very strong qi; it would be a great coffee substitute. A solid everyday drinker, and a steal at $4.50 for a 100g cake.

Got this sample from the Sheng travelling box and this is my first tried ever drinking a chawangshop lineup. I cant really describe the aroma, very particular. The tea is sweet, floral and also find some hay taste to it. I also like it’s not bitter. Little mouth coating and lingering. Long sweet after taste, very good overall. Good energy, got some tea drunk effect up in my head. Nice looking big leaf and green

Dry – Woody rich dark notes
Wet – Rich woody notes, broth-y/savory, wet storage, decayed wood.
Liquor – Light Brown
Initial Note/caveat – I’m drinking the loose version of this tea, the pressed version may differ due to the the pressing process

Initial steeps are smoother than you would expect for the scent of the wet leaves but still rich wet wood notes with cedar (spicy?) and some camphor and a fair amount of thickness that is brothy/leathery/musty (think mushroom soup) and as it washes down it has some astringency to it, but not unpleasant.

Mid steeps (4-6) were similar but with some of that ‘dankness’ of mushroom soup and leather mellowing down, but also loosing some of the body with each steep. Somewhere in here the cedar comes upfront, I think because the slight spice note numbs my tongue a bit and it also has some more astringency than I expected, but still not unpleasant at all.

Later on it keeps loosing steam in the strength of the steeps, so you have to start pushing it a bit. However, it does hold up well with longer steeps and gives more than I expected from it.

Final Notes
The tea kept loosing steam, but I lost steam a bit quicker. I came in biased with this tea expecting some bulang character and found none of it. I did a few more steeps and I was over it, I bet people who love wetter stored tea will love it.

This was in many ways a good tea. It did however have a lot of wet storage taste to it. So much so that I rerally couldn’t taste the fermentation over it. There was not a lot of fermentation taste but there was some. In the end it developed to a sweet note with a slight aftertaste of wet storage flavor or wet wood as it is referred to. I find that I dislike wet storage taste a little less than I did a couple of years ago. It still bothers me a little but not as much. There were of course other flavors behind the wet storage but it was hard to pin them down. Overall this was a good tea as long as you can tolerate some wet storage flavors. Some people really won’t like it. This is not one where I would order a tong, but I will put the cake in dry storage for six months and see if the wet storage flavors go away. This is what happened with the White2Tea White Tuo. Six months in dry storage and the wet storage flavors were gone.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 130ml teapot with 10.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 minutes. Judging by the color of the tea in the twelfth steep I would say there were two or three more steeps left to this one if I wanted to continue.

This is the first border tea I have tried. It was fairly good. There was an initial note for the first two steepings which I found unpleasant. About the third steeping a little bitterness crept in and lasted maybe two or three steeps. This was replaced by a sweet note. I am not sure what to call this sweet note either. I don’t quite get apricots but maybe that is because this tea has turned a corner on aging and lost that flavor. It was still a nice note.

I steeped this twelve times in a 75ml teapot with 5.5g leaf. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 minutes. The leaves were not done at twelve steeps. I am sure I could have gotten another four to five steeps out of the leaves if I wanted to continue.

7g, 100ml jian shui dragon egg teapot, aroma of dry leaves is one of the better smelling fruity/ripe fruit aromas I have smelled. I didn’t want to stop smelling it! aroma of dry leaves translated loosely into the flavor. Flavor was not weak, but well balanced. Flavor out-lasted me. Not sedating, but I did take a good long nap in the afternoon about 2/3 way through this session. Lasting aftertaste mouthfeel, but aftertaste flavor was not lingering. No bitterness even when pushed. Very clean flavors, no huigan, was still enjoyable tea. well processed. Its also CHEAP!!! Definitely worth getting a cake. daily drinker with some aging potential. qi is unremarkable.

This was in my third order from Chawangshop.

The Bulangs I have tasted, (different vendors) have been variable and enjoyable. I found this cake to be smooth and sweet with Bulang personality.

I bought two 100g cakes, I will keep one to age and drink down its companion.

I think I added too much water to this…thing.

Tastes like watered down fermentation. Drinkable, which is more than I was expecting, but nothing to write home about. I will definitely go for less water with the 2009.

I got a few remarks on the unique compression of the oolong tea. For some, this is a new concept. I like that. The dark rock smells of hay, char, dry wood, and mineral. I can see little dimples on where the press struck the cake. I warmed my gaiwan up and crumbled the brick inside. The aroma opens into hearty charred mesquite, roasted dark fruits, dark cocoa, and burnt sugar. This is a roasty one. I washed the leaves three times (sooper kompressed) and gave her a taste. The taste begins with heavy roast and a sweet and fruity aftertaste. The base is of mineral and the qi begins right off the bat. A nice heartwarming feeling complements the float-y headiness the brew gives me. The brick is heavily compressed so the session lasts for quite some time. The taste develops into some rich dry cocoa along with some black cherry. I can hint at the coffee notes, but I feel the brew was little too abrasive for that tone. The taste is decent even when it pushes into the char category. The energy is fair too. The qi continues to build and take up house in my head. I liked this tea, but after five or so steeps my stomach began to rumble.

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Its a small sample given in my last chawanshop order. Smells in the packet very old and dusty.

Taste is quite mellow really, tastes aged – not fruity but just old and stuff. reminiscent of a mellow shou puerh, but with a thinner-transparent soup. A slight oil & salt on the tip of my tongue but generally its unsalty/mellow.

Aroma is mellow leaf-pile. Apparently the mellow is a classic three-cranes style.

Not the best i’ve tasted, lacking depth & richness and the flavour is a bit dusty & old & twiggy, but if you like that/shou lover that wants to try everything, you might like it more than me. Its so cheap!

This 2016 Lao Man´e is sweet without any bitterness.
Using a porcelain Gaiwan I enjoyed the tea so much I placed another order to make sure I don’t run out anytime soon.

Steeps: rinse, f, f, f, 15s, 30s, 1min, 2, 3, 3, grandpa style.

Sadly, I don’t have much to say about this tea. It looked promising at first – not too tightly compressed, long sivery leaves, honey and floral aromas after rinsing … But the tea itself was consistently bitter with a barely noticable astringency over multiple steeps. Maybe there was some sweet aftertaste in the initial steeps. The body was on the thin side.
It wasn’t a bad tea and the bitterness wouldn’t be an issue if it had anything else to offer.

Maybe it just needs some time to calm down?

2003-2005 Hong TaiChang Ripe tea
The Initial smell of this tea was a bit off-putting as it smelt moldy. I decided to do two quick washes. The first steep that I drunk was earthy and very smooth. The tea seemed really thin to me, but it was also sweet. There were bits of mushroom tastes and perhaps a delicious wood flavor. I also believe there was a blonde hair in the piece of the tea. Oh well. The main thing that I really noticed about this tea, was that the lump of tea was really compressed through the first 5 steeps as none of the tea broke apart! I have not had a tea so far that did this. After the seventh steep the tea finally started breaking apart, but only a few little bits. I believe that I finally stopped drinking this after about the 12th steep or so, as I really lost track of how many times I poured water in the Gaiwan.
After all was said and done, I inspected the leaves and discovered that there was still some actual dry spots in the actual tea lump! This too was a first and it was really amazing. A good tea that would make a good daily drinker.

I’m a big fan of Hekai. It’s bite-y and crisp. This one lays right in those tones, and it’s great. The leaves are long, twisted, and shiny. An intoxicating aroma of warm honey, dry grass, and some light floral lift from the leaves. The fragrance is fresh, pleasant, and lasting. I warmed up my pot and placed a chunk inside. The scent opens into what I would describe as fibrous. A ton of oatmeal with nectar and maple wood. This is a rustic breakfast tea, haha. I washed the leaves and prepared to brew. The taste begins with a sharp bitter bite and instant power qi that washes over the body. Afterwards, a light sweetness calms the palate. I had to wrestle with this tea a little bit, for the bitterness continued to bite, and the qi was overpowering. I continued flash steeping, for I like a challenge, and it paid off. The calms down and presents a flavor profile of light white grape tang and dry sweetness. This is a nice solid tea with bite and soon after soothing qualities. I peek into my pot and notice the heavy bud usage and small stout leaves. I enjoyed the pulsing qi and thick sweet lingering taste in mouth for long after the session.

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