2015 Last Thoughts

I decided that I needed a treat for my birthday so opened the sample of last thoughts I bought during the moving day sale.

The tea is amazing. Far and away the best tea I have ever had. The tea equivalent of Ch. Lafitte Rothschild wine.

Where to start? First steep was sweet, smooth, and grassy. Lots of cha qi. Very rich and powerful. Complex. Flavors drift slowly into a very long, lush finish. I’m flying high. Wouldn’t want to drive right now. 3rd steep: Nice nose: wood, with a hint of straw and smoke. Flavor is light straw and wood seems to move around my mouth as it activates different areas. Long finish and huge cha qi. I’m totally out of it after 5-6 ounces. I would need 3 times as much wine to get the same effect. This is more like whiskey.

At this point I took a break because I was afraid it was unsafe to go up or down stairs if I had any more. 5th, 6th steeps (2 hours later): Smooth and pleasant but not complex as before. Toasty nose. Rich toast/straw flavors, but weaker than before. Less finish. As it cools it devloped more flavor and complexity, displaying a syrupy, viscous texture. Still really powerful qi.

I went back to the tea about 24 hours later. Still gorgeous. Sweet smooth and complex. Silky in the mouth with excellent finish. This may be better than the earlier steeps because it is so well integrated. I’m seriously considering a cake for $439. The biggest problem would be that if I drank this regularly I would have trouble going back to normal teas.

This is a beautiful tea. This gongfu session will be one of my most memorable. I’m going to break this down to help describe this cake fully.

Dry Leaf:
This is truly prized maocha. The dry leaf consists of long and slender leaves. The stems are thick, and the leaf is large. These dark gold and bronze tendrils carry a sweet grape and lightly oiled leather scent. I took a deep inhale from my jar. This is an enticing aroma.

Warmed Leaf:
I warmed these treasures in my yixing. The aroma grew more in depth and became thick. A swift inhale brought me images of plump grapes, winter honey, and buckwheat syrup. This was going to be a tasteful brew.

Steeped Leaves:
I washed this once and prepared brewing. The leaves are massive and mostly intact. These long pale jade leaves become soft and sweet. They smell of stewed zucchini and have a thick vegetable aroma.

Finally, The Brew:
This is beyond fantastic! This drink is perfectly balanced. The brew starts with a thick honey sweetness. Then, it tips over into a light bitterness. The flavors of pepper and syrup combine. The major point of this brew, was its Qi. I’ve never felt anything like this. I’ve drank some aged sheng with a powerful kick, but this was an entirely different animal. The third steeping left me foggy, sweating, focused, and pumping with adrenaline. It was a mix between immense power and perfect serenity. The fifth steeping arose the question “can I really drink more…?” I managed to slowly continuing brewing. The brew became ever sweeter and smooth. The liquor remained a dull bronze color. I lost track of how many times I steeped these leaves. The qi walked along side me sip by sip. The flavor became completely floral in later steeping. The sips were like delicate orchids mixed with slight nectar. This is by far my favorite sheng so far. I’ve never encountered such a brilliant brew. I am so grateful to be able to try this, and I can’t wait to share this with others.

P.S. I wish the ratings could go past 100 xp

https://instagram.com/p/6i0scDTGUX/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

https://instagram.com/p/6i7jpUzGfC/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

6g in a 100ml yixing. Second session with this tea. First session was 9g in a 120ml gaiwan and it was borderline over powering, very strong stuff. I’m not one to talk much about qi since I feel that everyone experiences it differently and in varying degrees but this tea has it in spades. The first session left me with a narcotic almost pain killer effect. It was so strong that I couldn’t get past 5 steepings . The second session had some of the same effects but also left feeling me feeling amazing. Relaxed and calm as other good puerhs have made me feel but also extremely focused which is pretty rare for someone as ADD as am. Taste wise the tea had both elements of sweet and bitter in a good balance. I’d say this is less sweet than other Yiwu puerhs I’ve had and if you push a steeping, as I did on a few (you know, for science) it will get quite bitter. Highly recommend this to anyone that hasn’t experienced a puerh with qi and anyone that wants to get good and tea drunk

This is a true old arbor gushu puerh tea with a predominantly Yiwu floral flavor and a Menghai base flavor. Leaves and stems are large and thick and this tea steeps fifteen times or more. I used 5 grams of leaf in about 75-100 ml water, and this was too much for me due to a powerful head effect similar to what I experience with hydrocodone. Two cups and I was sweating, foggy headed, and heart palpitations, and had to sleep it off a couple times. Younger people might not need the nap, but one other person has confirmed the painkiller effect to me on his sample.

This tier of tea has layers of things to taste.I got mostly the floral Yiwu, some bitterness and astringency, along with hot pepper, grapes, aspirin, Chinese medicine, Apple vinegar and I don’t mean in a sour way, more that flavor of apples fermenting in wood casks. I’m certain as I continue to drink this tea I will find even more things to taste. The tea seems more bassy than last year’s, a bit more base than bud which to me adds more of those darker notes and rounds out the profile nicely. The painkiller effect is new, I’m certain that it wasn’t in last year’s edition.

I checked with TwoDog and he said the tea is the same arbor as last year, just different leaf of course. This cake would be interesting to see a Chinese medicine doctor try and learn about how it might be used as medicine. I hope to get a full cake myself. This is the best quality, highest tier of puerh tea we can acquire in the west. The best tea, period. I will never find better in my life than this.

A cautionary note for drinkers with heart issues, I believe I would be fine with a dosage of 3G/100ml but no more. You can read more on my blog http://deathbytea.blogspot.com and also take note of the reader comment who experienced a similar effect.

Very young sheng flavor – bitterness present in the first few steeps. Later steeps bring out a crisp taste that I define as a green apple with a little sweetness. Overall, a very nice sheng that definitely has some promise for aging.