SOTD- sheng of the day

[shah8]

Some good and not so good tea this weekend, keeping it a little casual...

The shu of Friday is one of the good and looked forward to teas, the 2006 Dayi Banzhang Organic Shu 400g. This was a pretty solid guess for being the best modern Dayi shu, and I was pretty eager to try it. As well as the An Xiang, there is also this '07 that might be up there, tho' released many years later than '07-https://www.donghetea.com/goods.php?id=1514 . Anyways, how did it fair? I still favor my own particular storage of the '07 An Xiang. The '06 is not particularly well made, clearly made from an opportunistic waste-not of the leftovers from the sheng and the broken leaf stuff. One indication was that the chunk I used had many near laochatou nuggets that didn't seperate on its own. So pretty much all of its virtues are totally about the firepower of the original leaf. This is evident in strength of qi that also has a caffeinated energizing twist to it, strong taste, and good mouthfeel.

Alright, the aroma is retired smoke, wood, deep fermented bulang, a touch of bbq early, touch of fruit late. Taste is more or less the same as aroma, with retired smoke, wood, deep bulang barnyard, choco, deep plumminess, a slight bitterness/cool-soup-sourness very early. The retired smoke-wood combo gets nicely refined and less coarse beyond the initial set of brews. This is not very dynamic, so taste mostly thins and rises a bit in taste. Viscosity is very good with pudding texture. Aftertastes are a bit of yiwu huigan and a decent mouthcoat. Qi is pretty strong. Durability is not great. Anyways, well worth drinking.

The first sheng of the weekend was the 2013 Lynx from Teaside, a Myanmar tea. Interesting profile, but not a tea I enjoy that much. It's kind of a combo of a very floral and fruity thaipu and wild tea of the sour sort. There isn't a real depth to the aroma or taste, so got something of the feeling a flat fruit juice thing. Aroma has fruit, barnyard, mineral, and a bit of floralness. Taste is fruit, thaipu herbal bitterness, a bit sour in the earlier part of the session, and more of a fruit, floral, and mineral in the latter part. Decent-good viscosity with a sort of silky-runny honey texture. There is moderate astringency. Aftertastes are light, mostly yiwu huigan, mouthcoat, and mouth aroma. A plain sort of decent qi. I didn't push this tea very far. I moved onto...

2023 W2T Goldfu. I enjoyed it a lot, such that I seriously considered purchasing a brick right then and there before I calmed down. I didn't take any real notes here. Let's just say, taste was thin like huangpian, but not too much of that mineral bite that huanpian usually has. Of course, early brews are mushroomy, but after that, there was a sort of deep grain-near/high choco bottom to the mainly fruity taste profile, which was quite nice and not something I've gotten before. Aroma was good and mushroomy-fruity was it was going. Decent viscosity, kind of good for huangpian, not much astringency at all. It was capable of some decent moments with aftertaste at least early on, before fading late. What did not fade was a high quality strong qi, which had me drinking a lot of cups. Quite durable. Not dynamic after, say, four-six brews...

The main tea of Sunday was the 2008 YQH 888. Seems to me to be a Chawangshu. Tea is on the thinner side, taste/mouthfeel-wise, and also not the best of durability. Think there were some compromises made, different from the sort of compromises that went into the CYH '07 Ziwang. This was very enjoyable.

The aroma was consistently pretty nice however it smelled. Early was a more complex melange of wood, plummy, halibut, sugars. Late brews are more dominated by plummy with mineral, slight wood and barnyard, and a certain sweet floralness. Active phase of the taste is short, only about five brews before needing drastically firmer brewing. It was pretty goo while it lasted, with the traditional quality CWS profile of wood, deep choco, deep plummy, barnyard, halibut, mushroom, and a bitter pole. Later brews are dominated by a plummy and mineral, with a dark edge, depending. Viscosity is decent to good much of the way and good later on. Texture tends towards silky, and astringency bounced between light and moderate, more moderate level. Very early brews had a touch of feeling going down throat, and subtle pungent huigan back up. Strong mouthcoat, a bit of yiwu huigan, occassional yun and mouth aroma, all mostly early part of the session. Excellent quality strong qi. Agressive brewing keeps this going a ways, but I stopped at around thirteen brews before putting in fridge for the week.

This is better than Ziwang, but not as good as the '09 XZH GFZ. Has a lot of the feeling of the "lesser/worse of the best stuff rather than the best of lesser stuff", a bit like the '06 XZH. I also find it interesting that it is as expensive as it is, especially when a lot of the later YQH teas are pretty decisively better than this.

Last tea is some 2023 W2T Tianjian fuzhuan. I just wanted more tea and was messing around and didn't take notes. It's a pretty meh experience. Tianjian-mushroomy profile, not a strong or complex taste or nothing, decent mouthfeel. not very much aftertaste at all, mostly caffeinated feeling rather than any qi. Didn't do too many brews before putting the pot into the fridge as well.

 

[shah8]

Nothing too complex this weekend...

YQH 888 did not last well at all, so durability is pretty low. Hmph, this is pretty expensive, but is overall a tier lower than the best '06s and Xishi Shenpin, and definitely lower tier to the future YQH teas, but OTOH, it's the strongest and purest sense of what Chawangshu offers among YQH products, at least during the short active phase.

The shu of Friday was the '06 Taipei Expo commemorative. Very enjoyable and relaxing for me. There is a good sense of structure in taste and aroma (contrasted with last week's Dayi banzhang eco) and the qi was really nice.

I didn't take notes for the shengs this weekend.

Saturday was the 2007 traditionally stored Bada. Found lots of big stick in getting out the leaves. Interesting, some frost on the interior material of the bing but not on the exterior. Good aroma and taste, sweet, and early brews with a very recognizable Bada accent working through the tcm murk. Decent mouthfeel, aftertaste, and good qi. Unfortunately, definite myco issues, and my throat hurt a bit for a while after stopping. Didn't have such issues other times, huh. Also, this brews a gorgeous red and gold clear soup.

Sunday was the 2003 Key'xing Yiwu. There was a bit of trepidation from the slight humidity in these leaves, harking back to Saturday's Bada, but it's all clean root herbal and plummy aged Yiwu. Anyways, aside from smallness and "thinness" of taste, this is a relatively high end tea for me. Cannot get this sort of performance from today's sought-after micro-terroir Yiwus (well, not without paying $2/g or more. Good aroma and taste (I was reminded of the 2006 0803 thaipu and the 2013 thaipu--they really are kinda sorta close to yiwu performance, and I'm wondering why the 2016 bitter is the only at all recent tea like them). Mouthfeel is decent to good, definitely not a viscosity monster. However, during the first set of brews, it has excellent feeling (even a bit deep) in throat and a bit of pungent huigan coming back up. Also capable of strong and lingering mouthcoat (the marshmallow one was really nice). Qi was at about moderate and of good quality, not very intrusive. Durability seems good, but long brews is a single sort of root-herbal-wood theme with some nuance.

 

[chattea]

Second tea of the week was a long neglected "1998 8653" sample from puerh.uk that came with my order, and I was like, "uh...nuh-uh" and dumped it in the sample box. I had gotten a second sample of this, dumped from someone else' sample box, and peeps were talking about the '99 Iron, so I was like,"eh, how bad can it be, wanna second tea, let's try it out!" And the tea promptly mildly poisons me. It's not a real 8653. My best flight-of-fancy guess is that it's some kind of Fengqing or Fengqing-like black tea varietal taidi that didn't take great measures not to have pesticide and stuff still on the leaves. This tea does smell good and taste good/thick-earlybrews (more or less), plummy, wood, dark herbal, relatively close to an aged Fengqing. 80's 8653 is plummy in this way, but it's not woody or dark herbal quite like this. Viscosity is taidi with not much texture other than maybe a velvet sense? This leaves an uncomfortable feeling in mouth and throat, and throat discomfort lasted at least 12 hours. Wasn't much qi, mebbe anti-qi with a lot of caffeinated jitteriness. Obviously did not push the tea, but it did seem to be dying when I stopped at eight or so. Finished leaves are weird. Lots of chopped leaf steam, lots of smaller hard rolled leaves among the chopped mash.

A considerable stretch of time has passed since my last engagement within these conversations. Today, I immersed myself in the embrace of a seasoned 8653, a tea that exudes a captivating allure. Its flavor profile unfurled into a symphony of exquisite aged notes, adorned generously with the lush essence of plums that graced my senses. Among the array of recipes, this one holds a treasured spot within my preferences.

I confess to a certain astonishment at the stark divergence from Shah8's assessments, which depicted an entirely contrasting encounter. The notion of consuming eight steeps of what Shah8 felt was a potentially hazardous elixir does raise eyebrows. In my own exploration, I extended my journey well beyond, imbibing the liquid's essence for over twenty steeps. The outcome was nothing short of spectacular—an enthralling dance of qi that left an indelible mark upon my being.

 

[shah8]

I got in some Yiwu Mountain Tea samples this past week, so some interesting stuff to review...

The '03 Yiwu lasted well.

The shu of Friday was the 2004 6FTM No 1-Gold Medal. It was slightly underwhelming, in the sense that it's a clear step below the '06 Taipei expo, etc, but it was still a really good shu with good durability and later brews having a nice aromatic wood mouth aroma, for instance.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2000s Dry Stored Yiwu from Yiwu Mountain Tea. This is something that has been stored as maocha for a very long time in Kunming and later pressed and given a little South China love. While the blurb emphasizes the dry stored aspect, the key issue with the tea is the long term maocha storage, and it behaved like such. The material is clearly hewing to Classical Yiwu themes (not so especially different from, say the '06 Dayou 858 Museum), and the original material is obviously pretty good. It's not a terrible tea and can be a sort of huanpian ++ drinker, but it's also not a tea to take too seriously.

When there was aroma, it was mostly a honey and generally herbal, sometimes wood character. There can also be a subtle dry floral edge to the aroma as well. Taste is generally honey, herbal, verging on more and darker herbal with greater bitterness. There can also be some fruitiness and a light dry florals. Recent storage has given it a tendency toward fishy notes on occasion. There is a certain hollowness in the taste. Viscosity is at about good level with light to moderate astringency with said astringency turning a bit slick with age. This has some yiwu huigan and a good mouthcoat, at least early on. The qi was at moderate and of good quality. It's sort of dynamic, but not really in that interesting a way--basically just loses everything but herbals and maybe a bitterness depending on how firmly it is brewed. I didn't push durability that much, too boring.

I moved onto another shu. I had gotten into a discussion with a friend about aged shu, in particular a Theasophie offering of 2000 broken up 7572. I was making the comment that I had a similar 2002 7572 that I had little interest in drinking, and about how before like 2006 or so, the idea of premium shu was either associated with very light fermentation (and long term storage) or with using very tippy leaves, and not so much gushu/"gushu" material shu. So I took out that 7572 to figure out why I didn't want to drink it that much...

It's a pretty good shu in some ways. Core character is a deep plummy in aroma and taste, with some wood, old-tea (ginseng)-TCM with a bit of bitterness in the taste. It's fairly bold, and the taste is bigger/broader than post '06 shus. However, there isn't a great deal of substance or depth to that taste, and it's easy for me to drink it quickly. decent-good viscosity with poor texture. Light yiwu huigan to almond sweetness, and strong mouthcoat. Mebbe some qi, but couldn't really quite tell/seperate it from previous yiwu. Durability was okay as well. I'd say this tea generally better than later factory shu--it's a lot bigger than, say the '07 Dayi 8592.

The sheng of today was the 2021 YMT Jinchanghe (this is an area next to Tonqinghe, I think on the other side from baihuaqing). Free sample, and not really available in the online shop. Bet this was from a stash of the vendor's own sampling. I did a thermos, and was on the interested side of meh--it had a nice spice note that had me recalling that 2014 Tongqinghe that YMT sold out of long ago. I was also comparing to '07 YQH Qizhong and Linya.

The earliest aroma and taste in the session was dominated by a fruitiness. In later brews, aroma had fruit, herbal, a sort of bulang style pungency of alkaline and barnyard, and at least one brew had a nice wood and spice. After the fruit stage, the taste had a woodsy-dark herbal along with fruit, as well as a bit of bulang alkaline-barnyard pungency. Late brews are mineral with a bit of herbalness, mostly. There can be a light sourness. There is some bitterness, but it is most notable as it piles and grips at the tongue as one finishes the cup. Astringency does the same thing, but at least both sometimes contributes to aftertaste. In general, the taste is not substantial enough for this tea to be taking that seriously--it's not that light tasting, but there isn't a strong sense of substance/depth to this. This is also true of the mouthfeel--viscosity is generally at a decent level with not much detail in the texture aside from at least one good cup with a bit of pudding-oil. Aftertaste game is decent tho'. Consistently delivers yiwu huigan and a strong mouthcoat with good cooling feeling. One cup had a little yun. Durability is bad--only about seven brews before mineral is a major component. After a rest, and brewing very firmly, I got four more brews with light dark herbal taste. Put the rest in the fridge for the week, whatever I can squeeze out of it...

This was fun to drink and learn from at least. It's not really like the YQH teas

 

[shah8]

Okay, a not-too-eventful weekend...

The shu of friday was the 2012 XZH Dragon Brick. I found it to be more enjoyable than the '11 XZH Overjoyed (with that porno wrapper) because the aroma and taste were much more nuanced and fun to enjoy. It's sort of interesting since Overjoyed has a much more robust and deep taste and stronger qi. I must like the elegance or something. Anyways, while the Dragon Brick is not one of XZH's top shelf shu, it is one of XZH's better shu.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2023 Bohetang maocha from YMT. This is an enjoyable tea that definitely conforms to at least one archetype promoted as BHT. However, it's not super-great base material and it is tweaked pretty hard on top of that in the way that promotes a honey taste--so it's kind of good it's not going into a cake, will probably be at its best in three to five years and that's it. Not sure I see the value compared to a good oolong at a similar price per gram.

The aroma starts off green sheng-y with fruit early, then the fruit disappears and it's mushroom-sheng-y, and as the greeness fades late, it's mostly mushroom, honey, a touch of fruit. In terms of taste, most of the session is a broad honey-sweet mushroom. There are earlier brews with a deeper plummy-barnyard tone, floral, and fruit, as well as a light tart-bitterness. Lots of late brews with that broad mushroom taste with hints of plummy, barnyard, honey, etc. Viscosity is good, with oily texture. Light to light-moderate astringency. Early brews has some mouth aroma and light yiwu huigan, of which one was that BHT promoted mint taste. Has some mouthfeeling early as well. While other aftertaste expires early in the session, mouthcoat is more durable and a couple of cups had something lingering past its finish. The qi is one the lightish side but of decent quality. Durability seems good. Did thirteen or fourteen brews and could have easily done more brews, but I through out the leaves for the Sunday tea.

That sheng of Sunday was the Yiwu Mountain Tea Tongqinghe dragonball from 2019, at 8.3g. This was superexpensive at $29. Was it worth it? Nerp, but I knew that before buying. I just really wanted more experience with Tongqinghe teas. As the Tianmenshan dragonball was pretty much one of the best teas at that site, and one of the better TMS available, I figured that it would be a safe bet that the TQH will be a serious tea. It was, mostly. It was also kind of tweaked, but the base material is more robust than the Bohetang or the similar Jinchanghe. Interestingly, the Jinchanghe still had a better aftertaste game, even as this TQH is the more substantive and enjoyable taste and mouthfeel tea.

Aroma is good and dynamic. Herbal, caramelized fruit->citrus-fruity, barnyard->fruit, dark herbal->fruit, alkaline, mineral->fruit, cream-> varying levels of fruit, cream, mineral in lighter aromas late. Taste performance is pretty similar to a modern thaipu but full like normal puerh. One has plenty of dark, bitter herbal and fruit with a touch of barnyard and maybe nuttiness. Some aromatic wood in a couple of brews. Light fruit and mineral late. Mouthfeel is very good-- good viscosity and oily texture (in a way better than the BHT on Saturday). Light astringency, but there was some choke throat, and I did have a lingering light sore throat for some reason. One early brew has a bit of feeling down throat in one brew and a couple of brews had a very shallow pungent huigan/active yun back up. There were nice yiwu huigans to cream early on as well. A few brews had strong and lingering mouthcoats. Strongish qi. Durability is a bit meh--it turns minerally kind of quickly, like in six or so brews, but it still goes one pretty bravely. Did about eleven brews before packing into the fridge for the anticipated weekday brewing.

Kidz, there is basically no newish tea you can buy that's properly gushu under two dollars a gram, and it seems a ton of stuff has ascended to heaven beyond the reach of us mere mortals.

 

[chattea]

In this extraordinary session, I was enveloped by the exquisite allure of an exceptionally early pure Baichayuan Yiwu cake. Its origins steeped in history, this tea held the promise of unveiling a journey through time and taste. The storage conditions of this gem are a testament to meticulous care. A pristine natural quality prevails, reminiscent of an untouched forest glade. As the dry leaves released their aromatic embrace, an air of refined elegance filled the space. The aroma seemed to transcend the boundaries of the physical, evoking the memory of ancient forests and delicate blooms.

As the first infusion graced my cup, the texture of the liquor was nothing short of divine craftsmanship. It unfolded on the palate with the grace of a symphony, each note resonating in harmonious unity. The sensation was akin to a velvety caress, as if the liquid itself had been woven from the threads of a silken tapestry.

Amidst this symphony of taste and sensation, the infusion consistently graced my senses with the richness of aged plum notes. These notes, like fragments of history, added layers of depth and complexity to the overall experience. Each sip became a journey through time and taste, a bridge between the past and the present.

The qi that unfurled with each sip transcended mere physical sensations. It ascended to the head with a gentle yet commanding presence, akin to the sensation of a fist enveloped in the softest velvet glove. This subtle, ethereal connection between body and spirit was profound, a dance of energies that heightened the very essence of the tea. The crescendo of this experience was unlike any other—an orgasmic sensation that cascaded through my being. It was as if the tea had reached a pinnacle, a culmination of all its complexities, and offered it to me in a single, mesmerizing moment.

Priceless.

 

[shah8]

Alright, should be a less complicated weekend to write up...

There was a thermos of the 2007 XZH Mengsong that was really good, with less of the oxidative plummy, and much livelier than it's usual careless-taiwan-storage beatdown nature. So a bit of the leaves in the cake offer what should have been... Less dense taste without the deep plummy, more floral, wood, more active aftertaste.

The shu of Friday was the 2022 W2T Looncall In the Dark. Evaluating whether I want a second cake on that Black Friday sale. I also wanted to think about whether this was better than The Bringer, etc... What I came up with is that Looncall, after a year's worth of settling down is clearly more hollow and less bitter-pole in the taste than The Bringer. Again, fresh shu is really deceptive as to its overall quality in terms of taste and aroma. Anyways, the aroma and taste was dark and good. The excellent mouthfeel is the same as it was last year, as well as the strong qi. Astringency is a bit less than it was last year, at least in beginnings of cups. Tends to show up at end of cups now. As for aftertaste, it does a good job with coating mouthcoat. Durability is notably good. I'm a little iffy on buying another cake, as that contributing that $80 towards a more expensive overall purchase including a Goldfu brick might make me happier. OTOH, this is a relatively nuanced shu like the XZH Carefree (tho' the XZH is a bit stronger core taste even if higher) in a way I tend to enjoy.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2023 Yiwu Mountain Tea Paozhuqing, which is a sub-area in the Yishanmo area. I have a tendency to enjoy tea from this area so I felt safe to spend the money on this sample. That has largely borne out. The issue off the top is that this tea's taste is green in a way that suggests younger trees, shengtai, or something that has had a lot of fertilizer. Not too bad, tho. There isn't as much oxidation as the Bohetang, either. The viscosity is not great but the texture is. For all that there is some impression of non-gushu, this tea does a relatively good job with aftertaste game, which is a pretty authoritative way to say gushu.

Aroma was a bit dynamic, so...green sheng, light honey, fruity->honey, high barnyard, mushroom->honey, wood, high barnyard, mushroom, light fruity->light honey->light fruity and wood->mostly mushroom->light fruit and mineral-> later brews mostly being about mushroom, mineral, maybe light honey. The taste has wild honey, mushroom, high barnyard through most of the session. Early brews had some green sheng with a bitterness and tartness as such, late brews bends towards honey or mushroom flavors, maybe with mineral. Light fruitiness shows up here and there. One brew has a spike in bitterness and astringency. The viscosity is more decent-goodish with a high surface tension and sticky texture. Astringency is light with occasional bumps up though the session. Compared to the Bohetang, the aftertastes are stronger, and compared to both the Bohetang and Tongqinghe from YMT, the aftertaste game seems to meaningfully last deeper into the session. Anyways, this tea tends to have a strong yiwu huigan, which can be nicely wine. There is also a good mouthcoat. There are occasional light mouth aroma, and one brew had a yun. The first couple of brews had a sensate sweet tonguetip coat. Qi is one the moderate to strong side with nothing distinct about it. I took this tea about fourteen brews, and it feels there are casually more brews left before I put this in the fridge.

The sheng of Sunday was the 2010 Essence of Tea Mansai. I sort of feel the same way about this as I do with the taipai 2003 7532 I have. Except I wonder why I don't like Mansai a bit but not alot, whereas with the 7532, I just don't really want to drink it despite it smelling good, tasting good, and a good mouthfeel... Aroma and taste are pretty good, sort of birch syrup, birch wood, high barnyard. Mouthfeel is pretty good, light to moderate astringency, a bit of aftertaste, and light qi. Durable. The taste is smaller than many gushu teas, and I consistently tends to drink cups of this fast. Perhaps not enough nuance to make this a fun drink?

 

[shah8]

All great teas this weekend, no notes taken so...

The shu of Friday was W2T 2022 Lich's Tears. This one has held up, in the sense of being a robust and deep taste with a small bitter pole. After the first couple of brews, can detect layers of flavor. Aroma is good, not that strong or interesting. Good mouthfeel, interestingly to me, not as good as Looncall, interesting how that one is a class of it own. Aftertastes are not very loud, but with a reasonably good mouthcoat to start with, that lingers. Only subtle yiwu huigan, etc. Good qi. Durability is pretty good in a way notably better than W2T The Bringer, stays deep and robust much longer. Finished leaves show a mostly moderate fermentation tea with some light fermented leaves sprinkled in. If you already have good sheng, then Lich's Tears is a worthwhile product for the money in the vein of LBZ/LBZ proximate shus, like the 2017/19 Hailanghao LBZ shu, 2015 XZH Luyin Iron, etc, etc... I will probably get a second cake.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2006 XZH Youle. Again, pretty much top shelf stuff, and clearly aging towards being top shelf aged tea as well. I spent much of the session with wonder at just how much storage matters. The liveliness, brightness and sharpness of the aroma and taste, despite clearly being the same tea, still makes it different from the TW stored version I've had two tries with. Anyways, very similar to a 7-10yo LBZ this time around, with strong apricot, spicey aromatic wood in aroma, a relatively deeper taste than usual for this tea, with a bitter tartness much like an LBZ (tho' mostly due to dry storage and not that tobacco bitter-tart). Tasted more rich/thick than usual. Taste is also kind of sober and not that sweet. Good mouthfeel. Good feeling in throat, and full set of aftertastes. Very durable, probably did twenty brews over three days and I still probably wasted a good one-three brews when I dumped the leaves for today's tea.

The sheng of Sunday was the 2020 The Reserve from Teaside. I had a really good thermos of this tea and the Youle during the week, so was inspired to have them this weekend. The performance of this tea in terms of feeling, aftertastes, and qi was notably better than my first try--feels pretty unambiguously gushu in the meaningful sense. Aroma and taste were nice enough, but they are pretty clearly weaker in strength compared to a proper puerh. Not that fruity in the main taste, compared to what the blurb advertized. Interestingly dry floral in aroma and taste. Pretty generic modern-western thaipu flavor with most of the oomph being from that herbal thaipu bitterness, when it is there. Decent enough mouthfeel. This had an excellent combination of feeling down throat, a bit of pungent huigan back up, and good qi. I will generally forgive a lot from a tea if that tea has this sort of character--it feels very soothing and nourishing to both body and soul. This also had some mouthcoat, yiwu huigan to fruit, and some nice mouth aroma, so it's a relatively complete aftertaste game. Durability here is also good, but it's mostly the unimpressive taste, and not much else, late session. If it's consistently like this, decisively worth the money.

The last tea was another trusty tea: 2012 YQH Yehgu. Thoroughly love the tea. This session was extremely LBZ kucha style. Not watery/transparent whatever today. Dark, rich (deep plummy, deep barnyard, choco overtone, dark bitter) stuff with a bit of bitterness (bitterness has been declining, and it seems the tea has been getting darker tasting as well) and a really good aromatic wood character on top of that darkness. Plummy, sweet herbal-bluberry, etc is hidden underneath all that darkness until one gets deeper into the session. A lot of caramel sweetness in main taste and a bit in the yiwu huigan as well. Good mouthfeeling, low astringency. Feeling down throat, full range of aftertaste, but none that dramatic aside from the yiwu huigan--strong aroma and taste delivering most of the hedons this session. Good qi. Very durable and this is packed in the fridge with the thaipu for the week. I analyzed the bitterness, to compare with the recent Tongqinghe area teas I've had. This Yehgu is not very similar to those tea in terms of bitterness--it's more a bitter similar to GFZ/dark variant BHT style bitterness, but ramped up. Tongqinghe area bitterness is more closer to EoT 2012 Cloud Walking and Thaipu bitterness.

Man, this was a delightful weekend. Sorry to see it end so soon, despite only three days. Never fear, in a couple of weeks, I'll have two weeks off and will drink my way through that as well, read lots of manga, and in general, waste time.

 

[shah8]

Didn't do anything too fancy, no notes taken...

The shu of Friday was the 2021 W2T Reckless Daughter. Still judged as well worth the purchase, and since it has largely settled into character, I feel confident that it will stay that way. Big contrast with 2020 Nameless One, which has settled into something less potent and distinct over the last three years. The W2T blurb is still pretty accurate for the tea. It is explicitly floral in the early brews, which I enjoy, and it has a pretty strong and dark core in the early brews, which is a touch unusual for a more...finesse sort of tea as this one is. So now for the actual aging process in the decades sense... Does well with good mouthfeel, a good mouthcoat, and relatively strong qi. Durability is also good for a shu, tho' it does rises and thins in taste a bit quick.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2008 XZH Puzhen. Essentially the broader church of Bingdao, I guess closest to the 2010 Key'xing Bingdaos. A bit different from my expectations, in that this is usually kind of dark herbal and plummy. Instead, fairly high with honey, fruitiness, slight florals, slight mushroom in aroma and taste. There were lots of late brews that were sweet in a way that could be said to be mineral and rock sugar. The mouthfeel performs at its usual high level. Astringency is moderate to high. Some feeling down throat. Generally very good aftertaste game, and better than it usually is. Light pungent huigans back up, strong yuns, a bit of mouth aroma, and good mouthcoat. Qi was strong. This was a much better session than usual, and I wonder if I got something that hasn't aged as much or (really more likely) I got a better selection of leaves from a blend. Durability is good, I probably did about twenty brews and put the pot in the fridge.

The other pot was used for the 2007 XZH Dingji Yesheng, the Mengsong...This tea is generally a disappointment as that it's a bit overoxidized like most of XZH's '07 'banna teas, and a TW storage that did it no favors on top of that. I had a really good thermos week before last, so I figured I'd try it out gongfu. Yeah, the tea is brighter now, with a stronger sense of finesse in a brighter floral aspect to aroma and taste around a broader barnyard, dull oxidized honey, plumminess. Interesting to me, the character of the tea is pretty similar to that '05 Jixing Bulang I have, but nicer. Late brews have a nice, kind of milky depth of mineral, plummy, barnyard that gives it a substance in the taste. Decent enough mouthfeel. Strong mouthcoat, strong yun, some mouth aroma for aftertaste, especially in the early going--more sedate relatively quickly. Good enough qi. Durability was good, stopped at about fourteen brews and shoved into fridge.

Eh...at least for me, the teas wherein, I have plenty of and wasn't super excited to drink--they were just nice teas that I didn't have to dig out of my treasure pile for. Probably a few other people would think this was a pretty fancy tea weekend...

 

[shah8]

Okay, I've let the teas build up, eh? On vacation, as the past Saturday was my BD, so I've been having some good stuff...

A few broad strokes that I've thought in these first few days...

SanHeTang is a highly accomplished brand, and is the best one I am aware of--I don't have much chance of finding better, since good prospects are very expensive and hard to even get samples of, never mind the proliferation of super expensive highly tweaked-for-agreeability teas out there today. There are other brands with good teas, but the hit rate is much less (other than YangQingHao). Of course, I'm mainly talking about Sanhetang's efforts 2005 to 2014 with a few bright spots through to 2017. Today, SHT is mostly amidst the pack of premium labels that doesn't even really try to do new micro-terrior teas anymore (other than a bit of Tianmenshan), since Covid. Now, there are folks out there that try to talk smack about SHT, and...I just roll my eyes. Fine, Tony Chen stuffs his teas with border teas. *expletives* finest border tea, if I don't say so myself!

I really, really, really prefer dry stored teas, when it comes to gushu style teas. Memories of poor Taiwan humid stored gushu and what it does to the tea I was actively drinking was a big part of how I perceived my session. Poor storage really impacts the quality of the aftertaste and qi, never mind the mush it makes out a more delicate aroma and taste. I have been okay with how my teas are coming along, and they do change, but much slower and more subtly so. In return, I have been getting really refined experiences.

Anyway, let's get to the teas...

The shu of Friday was the 2009 XZH XiCongTianXiang shu. This is a shu that used broken maocha, and broadly accords to manufacture of Golden Needle, White Lotus gongting shus. Golden Needle, White Lotus is something I define for myself, tho' this was something Menghai Tea Factory first made in loose form in the '80s and '90s. GNWL tends to be labeled as like with gongting shu as that they both involve buds or buds with first and second grade leaves. However, I generally wish to keep these separate. Golden Needle, White Lotus shu has a floral component to it that oftentimes ages to an aromatic woodiness. Gongting shu tends to focus more deep and powerful brew, and is more bitter, less sweet. GNWL is a more refined experience and tends to be valued much more, and I don't really disagree. A good aged version with some of that orchid (grandma's furniture) aroma and taste, with some strong shu depth, is a much more impressive experience compare to devil's tea shu of more straightforward gongting.

My recent experience with this 2009 XCTX shu was really good. The aroma and taste were really layered, and the taste was quite potent and deep with a bitter pole. Mouthfeel was viscous and round like such teas should be, and there was a strong mouthcoat. Qi was also strong. There was some good evidence of aging in terms of the taste with aromatic wood, some of that aged tea tcm note, and other subtle things in the profile--like a good aged tea. Also, late brews, with the deep fermentation taste entirely absent, still had a strong wood and aged tea tcm note atop this hollow taste that made it worthwhile to drink, and extending a session longer than gongting/GNWL usually can last. I compared this tea banzhang style shus as well as the 2010 XZH Court Shu. Both teas are complex in broad strokes, but I got a better sense of refinement, I think due to dry storage.

The birthday tea on Saturday was what you'd expect, the 2006 XZH TaiChi Yin (black wrapper). I didn't take notes for this one, and it was more on the disappointing side. Hmmph, the '06 Youle varies a lot session unto session, but it's usually hits the high standard mark one way or another, while the '06 Black Wrapper is a bit more Mighty Casey. Anyways, the issue was that very early, the tea's aroma and taste was very closed, and I was a little panicky as one does as to whether I killed the tea somehow in storage. At about the third brew, it opens up with a soft depth of dark tobacco, deep plummy--you know the LBZ profile, with a touch of bitterness. The mouthfeel was pretty good, with good viscosity and texture, a bit more than I usually associate with this tea. The aftertaste game is still largely at the top end and with the full range of effects, maybe a bit muted. Qi is also pretty strong. Durability was okay, and I sort of felt that the flavor in the latter phases was actually about as good in terms of strength as other LBZ in the late phase--which reminded me of the basis reason I have this tea, it was more durable than any other XZH LBZ I tried '05 and '06. This was still a pretty good session, just short of the best that this tea can do.

The next tea was the 2007 XZH Yeshanlin (Manlin). I really should have gotten another cake of this during that time when it was so easy to buy top flight teas for cheap on Facebook Auctions. I didn't because TW storage did a number on this tea, as well aa a bit of excess oxidation such that it was pretty flat and boring. Very good taste, very good aroma, good mouthfeel, but really lacking in aftertaste and general liveliness. Recent sessions has had some vibrancy in there--not every recent session, and it's feeling like it's coming alive, perhaps like how the '07 XZH Mengsong is doing. I used to rank '04, '05 Biyunhao Manzhuangs higher than this XZH Manlin, but I guess I can't do that anymores. Anyways, an excellent session.

The aroma was generally pretty nice in a dynamic session: wood and choco->light camphor wood, Manzhuang cupcake, deep plummy->wood, choco->dark herbal, cupcake->wood->wood and cupcake->wood, mineral, plummy. The first three-four brews were deep and potent tastes suitable for lovers of high end robust DHP, RG, TLH, etc, and was excellent. We're talking deep plummy, a tcm bitter pole with associated wood, a bit of deep barnyard, a bit of choco, and a bit of halibut in varying proportions. Then the taste rises with halibut being more prominent for a while with higher plummy, cupcake, wood, and a bit of bitterness. Late taste has less plummy, and more mineral, wood, a bit of cupcake to it. Taste tends to feel darker and more robust as soup cools during this time as well. The mouthfeel has a good viscosity with a texture between pudding and velvet, while the astringency is often at about moderate even as this astringency is productive in generating aftertaste. There is plenty of cooling as well as good feeling down throat as well as the full range of aftertastes (even if it's not as loud as the LBZ previously). Qi is strong. The durability seems pretty good even if the really standout part is short-lived.

Usually, the XZH Malin is better smelling, and better tasting than the BYHs, while the BYH has better aftertastes and more...put together? When XZH is like this, it really leaves the BYH in the shade. The sheer yancha pleasure of this tea inspired me to do a yancha so, I did a 2016 Hui Yuan Keng Rougui. It was pretty good, early brews were a little sour, but aroma and taste are generally pretty good in the yancha sense, tho' nothing I recognize as congwei, and not much cinnamon, not really refined, tho' I'm not really very able to be very refined in brewing yancha. I was surprised at how durable this was, it last with good flavor a long way (and I did pack the pot with about a gram more than I would for puerh), and the late effective brews had a very nice soft depth and roundness to it, a sense of chocolate milk--something a bit more associated with more highly roasted yancha.

The next day featured the 2007 XZH XiShangMeiShao. Deeply excellent session. Made me think of the degree to which some XZH teas--'06 LBZ, '07 Puzhen, XSMS, '14 Hongyin Grade B, etc... are tails of dragons rather than heads of anacondas--clearly less potent versions of wildly excellent materials. This is supposed to be Kuzhushan and Dashisi Jinggu blend, and while this is believable, especially with the dry storage, I mostly judged it on Bingdao-ness.

This is a tea with a strong sense of sweetness in aroma and taste, balanced by a subtle darkening chicory, pretty much throughout the session and it was great. The sweetness usually being a robust honey with subtle fruit and mineral elements. The taste has the chicory be a bit bitter and with maybe a bit of underlying broad mushroom. Later taste has a bit of wood. More generally, the taste is flat like stale fruit juice, such as what you'd get from aging tea with a bit too much oxidation, but there isn't any major plumminess or malt here. One thing I had in mind was the memory of a TW stored version of this tea that is substantially darker, more plummy, and more woody than the tea I drank. Less aftertaste and qi, too. The viscosity is generally good-very good with a silky texture. Astringency is generally low with a single peak into moderate a bit into the session. Strong feeling down throat, plenty of cooling, and a light pungent huigan back up. Late infusions has the feeling of the throat being painted with flavors. The other aftertaste components show up for a full range. The qi early was very strong. It was an upper, but not euphoric...more like...erogenous. As I didn't actually have a partner on hand, the feeling maybe went to waste, but such an interesting effect was cool. The qi does weaken and become more normal after about midway through the session. I took this tea a long way, as the taste didn't quickly die off, and even flat, there were usually a pretty nuanced taste that was nice to explore. Thoroughly enjoyed.

The tea I did today was the 2006 YQH Qixiang. It was pretty good, but the active phase was over pretty quickly. This was the sort of session that had me really thinking about how the Qixiang wouldn't stand up to too humid a storage all that well. More broad Yiwu, not much Yibang this time.

Early brews had honey, barnyard, dark herbals or wood. Later brews are more wood centric with occasional honey or mineral or dark herbal. The taste early includes a light bit of tcm bitter pole, honey, barnyard, dark herbal/wood, and occassional plummyness. At about brew five or so, it shifts to a more broad and less detailed wood and (sometimes dark) mushroom, and sometimes there is a honey sweetness associated with that. Decent-good viscosity with a slight pudding texture. Astringency starts off light, become moderate for a while and then tails off. Aftertastes are mainly mouthcoat and yun, with the occasional yiwu huigan to sugars. Aftertastes are mostly gone after six brews. Qi is respectable moderate to strong. Durability is not great, tho' I wasn't trying for great since I started the tea at 5 PM after doing a couple of hours worth of weeding in the sun, feeding mosquitoes all the while.

 

[shah8]

So further along with my vacation...

Day before yesterday, I did the '05 Dayi Mengsong Peacock. I really have a habit of deciding to do this tea very soon after I've had '06 YQH QiXiang. Seems like an auto-reminder to the degree that Qixiang is tuition tea--albeit good tuition tea. It was just more expensive than a ton of better teas at the time I was buying it. Also, a bit less exciting than it used to be, but that's mellowing on the one hand, and a recognition that the original leaf wasn't quite as substantial as other stuff could be.

Anyways, the Dayi. It's really good, very sweet in aroma and taste before the late stages.

Aroma is mostly honey, sugars, retired smoke, wood. There is occasional barnyard. Taste starts off with a tcm bitter pole, wild honey, light fruit, retired smoke, wood. As the session evolves, the tea becomes less sweet, fruitiness going first, and ultimately in the late session, it's a thinner tasting kind of wood, mineral, retired smoke with hints of plummy, honey, or barnyard. Good viscosity with something of a runny honey texture. Moderate astringency. An early pungent huigan, but main feature of aftertaste game is a strong mouthcoat. There are very light yiwu huigans early as well. Qi is pretty strong, but does fade in late session brews. Feels like indeterminate durability. Can probably get retired smoke and wood a very long way, but I wanted to stop drinking well before. Yeah, not a ton different from the '00 BGT black stamp.


I did the 2009 XZH Jingmai yesterday. I know this already, but small leaf tea doesn't really age as well as large leaf tea, and it feels as if the Jingmai is sort of lagging behind (originally and still nominally) less expensive JingGu teas that are delivering really good sessions today. If you wanna store some, it is only worthwhile if the original material is clearly outstanding. Tight pressing is probably also important, since the aromatic qualities of the small leaf is a key advantage. This Jingmai isn't doing that badly as an aged tea, tho', just not as good as others. Think it's in a bit of an awkward stage as well. Another thing that has crossed my mind is how the Denong brand has had some notable successes among older teas. Evening Fragrant Jade is the standard I hold Jingmai teas to, and this XZH isn't quite up to it. There was also that 2007 Kunlu that is also really good.

Most of the time, aroma is mostly composed of wood and dark longan, and in some brews (particularly later ones), aroma is mostly fruity. This is reflected in the taste as well--wood, dark longan or tamarind with an occasional bubblegum fruitiness. Later brews have a thinner, more generic depth. Some brews are sufficiently firmly done to bring out a bitterness that feels appropriate. I think this bitterness will help enrichen the deep taste as the tea ages. Viscosity is very good early and late session, and good in between. Texture is a bit pudding and astringency is light. In the first two or three brews there is light feeling down throat and light pungent huigan back up. The mouthcoat can be strong and nice. Only very light yiwu huigan here and there. Moderate to strong qi of good quality. Durability is good, but one has to brew to bitterness for a good cup. Did about 15 brews.

Took out the '18? WuyiOrigin LaocongSX. This did not have the mineral jerky bite that the earlier rougui had, and was much more of a round and deep tea from the start. Taste was more yancha depth with plumminess compared to the previous yancha. Very slight congwei here. Also didn't start off as sour as the rougui. Wet leaves in the pot was really nice to smell. Rougui was very caffeinated while this SX has more qi. I thought this wouldn't be that durable compared because it started off so much softer, but it did last about as long. Am glad to have this tea and should drink this more often.

Today's tea was the 2010 Essence of Tea Bulang. It's pretty good, but it's not where elite bulangs are at. Not too dynamic, and it doesn't have huge nuance in taste or much aftertaste. Strong core taste at least early, though, and very good mouthfeel.

Fairly consistent wood and plumminess in aroma. Early aroma has alkaline and dark herbals. Taste has an asprin bitterness, deep dark herbals, not quite tobacco, slight choco, deep plummy, aromatic wood at its most potent with brews around it working up to this strength or falling off of this strength. As taste rises and thins in later brews, wood becomes more dominant and there is mineral. Very good viscosity, good pudding texture, and light astringency. The dominant aftertaste is mouthcoat driven by bitterness. There is a slight yiwu huigan in various brews, and a light pungent huigan in the strongest brew. Moderate to strong qi of no particular quality. I've done about thirteen-fourteen brews and it could probably do a couple more.

I didn't 'cause I wanted to try some nice hongcha--2017 YQH Millennial Wild Tea. Aroma is an outstanding fruitiness that is enjoyable to sniff. There can be slight barnyard and herbals surrounding that fruitiness. Taste is a bit hollow first couple of brews, but quickly fills in to a sort of rosehippy plumminess with some nuances. Good mouthfeel, with good viscosity and I think a slight oiliness moving the soup along down. Good feeling down throat. Aftertaste can shimmer a lot between yiwu huigan and dynamic mouthcoat. Strong, but sneaky qi, definitely left me feeling good. Not a dynamic tea, and I started this very late due to some interruptions, but will pick this and the bulang up for some more brews before doing Saturday's big tea...

 

[shah8]

Okay, pity me, a ton of teas to write about...

The tea of Saturday was the 2014 XZH Lanyin. It was slightly disappointing, in that much of its nice floralness in aroma and taste is gone, and the aftertaste game is less vigorous than last time. That left a performance that is very similar to the 2008 XZH Shuangxi Lingmen iron cake. Lanyin is more agreeable, sweet, and floral, but still roughly a similar tea. Anyways, I enjoy this sort of tea for calm, introspective drinking...

Aroma was really quite good through most of the session. The early part has aromatic wood consistently, and there was tofu (a savory white character), a woven honey, chicory, barnyard, or even nicer, sugars and butter combo with that mainstay. Later session aroma is more of a straight wood and butter. Sugars, fruit, honey, shows up here and there. The taste early had aromatic wood and a chicory depth along with subtle fruit and other notes. As the chicory depth rises and the wood loses punch, the taste becomes thinner and less complex. Eventually, a new main taste shows up in the form of brown sugar, and there will be subtle fruit, mineral and wood notes. Viscosity is at good, with a texture between runny honey and velvet, and with generally light astringency. There is a bit of feeling down throat, and one cup has a pungent huigan at the finish of that cup. There is yiwu huigan and mouthcoat. Oftentimes there is a good mouth aroma, and at least once, a yun. Some noted cooling feeling. Qi is at strong of no particularly discernable character. Durability is very good, a bit indefinite in brewing. I did more than fifteen.

The tea of Sunday was the 2006 HongThaiChang 0803. This wasn't as excellent as the last time I gongfu'd the tea, and I take up the idea that this might be a blend, and I just got more of the better leaves that time. Another thing I was thinking about is that this a fairly humid-stored cake, yet I still like it a lot. I still wondered what a dry stored tea would have been like. Much more bitter for sure. This was still a very enjoyable, high level tea that is easily drunk like a Yiwu, tho'. Teaside doesn't offer a full cake anymore, so I'm a bit sad. I'm not sure what to make of the 300g/320g cake offerings...

Aroma consistently has aromatic rotten wood and prune in varying proportion, sometimes the prune is a bit fruitier. The taste generally follows the aroma. Early brews have a lot of subtle nuances in that wood and prunes flavor, and later brews has dark herbal or mineral. Good viscosity, with a degree of pudding texture. Astringency starts off light and gradually builds. Ultimately, as before, and with other thaipu, it become more astringent than the taste is enjoyable. There are brews with good feeling down throat with a subtle pungent huigan up. Light yiwu huigan, but often a good, lingering, and interesting mouthcoat that causes lolipop salivation at its best. At least one yun. Qi is strong and pleasurable. Durability is good, did maybe fourteen or fifteen brews.

The first tea of Monday was the 2006 Yangqinghao Shenpin Chawang. More or less behaves as expected. It has a flavor profile consistent with Bohetang or Lengshuihe teas, not very dynamic and very soft and oxidized, high quality qi...Very durable. I kind of got to seeing this as the BHT equivalent to the 2006 YQH Chawangshu and its relationship to a properly powered up CWS. Still inclined to think of this as my favorite 2006 YQH. Something like the WuShangMiaoPin is more flashy and denser tasting, with more aftertastes than this tea, but it doesn't last as well.

The aroma generally has a bit of wood, some plummy, and some choco in varying proportions. Maybe there is an underlying mushroom here and there. The taste is largely wood, choco, plummy, and a touch of halibut here and there. There can be some sensate sweetness. Late brews has some mineral in the taste as well. Viscosity is about decent-good level with light astringency. Good feeling down throat, a touch of yiwu huigan, and a decent mouthcoat happens. High quality positive qi. Durability seems a bit indefinite with pleasant wood/choco/plummy notes. Just requires very long brews.

The second tea of the day was the 2018 Carbolic Soap pressed milan dancong from White2Tea. I wanted to see how aging was coming along... Well, it needs plenty of it, but is still enjoyable. The usual Milan profile, but with a lot of depth in the taste, bending a little towards the sober dark yanchas. Gets obnoxious in the usual dancong way if poorly brewed, and it's harder to brew well with chunks of tea instead of loose leaf. Heh, got a little soap in the flavor profile once or twice, and I smirk at the irony. Pretty good mouthfeel, a bit of yiwu huigan, strong and dynamic mouthcoat. Qi is good, too. Eeevennntuually, this should be a very good tea that is less fussy to brew.

Tuesday's tea was the 2007 Denong Kunlu Mountain originally from BanaTea. This was a bit of a disappointment, as I was expecting a session at least as good as the XZH Jingmai, and didn't turn out to be so. The tea was a lot more mellow and sweet, and didn't have the elegance and strong fruit/floralness I got in the first session.

The aroma starts off with wood, mineral, brown sugar, then transitions to sweet floral, brown sugar, mineral, fruit, and ends up with brews that have incense and brown sugar. Of course, all stages in varying proportions of the components. Muscovado/brown sugar and mineral are the consistent base flavors throughout the session. In the early part of the session, there is a subtle herbal/woody bitterness, also sometimes a slight sour plumminess. At various cups in the session one finds a bit of fruit or floral or both in the flavor. Good viscosity, velvet texture, with light astringency for mouthfeel. There is some feeling down throat and very light pungent huigan back up in early cups. Yiwu huigans are usually light, with a strong mouthcoat. There are hints of mouth aroma with one cup being overtly aromatic woody. Qi is about at moderate level and is kind of mellowing. Durability is okay and long brews routinely bring back good flavors. I probably did about fifteen brews before throwing the leaves out, and could have wrung one or two more with very long brews.

This is a subtle tea that I enjoyed much as I would the '08 XZH Shuangxi Lingmen, but this isn't as good as that tea or the '14 XZH Lanyin

Today's tea was the 2007 XZH Diangu. This was an outstanding session, and another piece of evidence to me that the good older Sanhetang stuff is beginning to pull away from tea made by any other brand I'm aware of. This tea didn't really have any weaknesses today. Complex aroma and tastes in a number of brews, aroma was lifted and easy to enjoy. Aroma and taste was also reasonably dynamic over the session, so I didn't have much of a chance to get bored until pretty deep into the session. The taste during the early stretch was full and deep like an aged dark-tobaccoey Northern Bulang, deep plummy-choco Manzhuang, dark herbal Fengqing, etc, etc. The mouthfeel was pretty good, with stretches of very good viscosity, and the texture was mostly runny honey, but the feeling also included a lot of pleasantly silty or sandy feeling as well. Does a bit of feeling down the throat, and a little pungent huigan back up, but has strong and strongly sweet yiwu huigan and mouthcoat. Not too much mouth aroma or yun, tho', so not a full deck aftertaste game. Very strong qi, and while it didn't have the character of, say, Xishangmeishao, it certainly had something. Durability seems good enough--stopped for now at about thirteen brews. A very solid A, and it would be extremely difficult to get anything to do better than this session at least for that A+. I mean, this wasn't even troubling for the tummy like most Diangu sessions are...

Anyways, here we go. Aroma was complex and dynamic so here goes: wood, artisinal clay, fruit (fruit here is not mango-my, but something actively fruity yellow fruit like peaches or mangos)->wood, fruit, underlying subtle barnyard->fruit, high barnyard->fruit, barnyard, creme brulee, slight soapy floral/wood->fruit, barnyard, light soapy floral->fruit, light barnyard, powder->mostly fruity and less other stuff->fruit, barnyard, wood->fruit, mineral->mostly mineral here on out with hints of fruit, wood, etc. The taste was also complex: thin taste with dominant fruit, strong sweet sensation, a bit of artisinal clay, wood->wood, fruit, dark herbal bitterness like normal Fengqing teas, bitterness is asprin-y, and tends to accumulate a little on sides of tongue, sensate sweetness-> dark herbal bitterness, fruit, sensate sweetness->dark herbal bitterness, wood, light soapy floral, fruit, creme brulee (may be very fast huigan)-> about the same as last, with less bitterness, wood->rising out of dark herbal depth, thinner, light fruit->depth, richness returns as deep barnyard, mango-my, light fruit-> same as last, with mineral and a bit of wood, and session generally continues on this vein. Mouthfeel consists of a very good viscosity very early and late in the session, and good viscosity in the middle. The texture is generally runny honey, but has episodes of a granularity like silt or sand. Astringency is moderate in most of the session with some lightly astringent brews. Astringency is productive for aftertastes. In much of the session, there is at least a light feeling down throat, and sometimes a light pungent huigan back up. Fairly consistently, a strong yiwu huigan to creme brulee from astringency much like LBZ and their sweet nutmeat or kahlua. Strong mouthcoat that does shimmer a bit and also lingers well past the cup. Sometimes a strong cooling feeling in throat is associated with the mouthcoat. Qi is very strong and sobering throughout the session, about as strong as the other strong Northern teas XZH made: '07 Puzhen '07 Huangshanlin, Xishangmeishao, the like. There was still plenty of taste when I stopped for the day at thirteen, so this should comfortably make eighteen brews at least.

Whew!

 

[shah8]

Alright, another long post to cap the end of my vacation... Four teas...

Thursday's tea was the 2011 Essence of Tea Mannuo. My last session with this tea was a bit uninspiring, and it has been outshone by the sibling Douyizhai recently. However, this session was really quite excellent with very much a LBZ-yibang profile, with the butterscotch twist. 2010 Essence of Tea, while good teas, were empathetically tuition teas, relative to what was on tap. However, 2011 Essence of Tea selection is probably their best year, especially for the money.

The aroma has two main phases. The first phase has butterscotch and wood in varying proportions and intensities. The second phase has this nice plumcot fruitiness take over, with some herblish-wood, with earlier featured butterscotch tiptoeing back in. Late infusions are, of course, mineral dominated. Most of the session has an LBZ/Northern Bulang style bitter-tart tobacco depth (narrower than a real teenaged LBZ), there is usually a wood rim. Oftentimes, there is mushroom, and on occasion, butterscotch or deep barnyard shows up. In late brews, the tobacco depth fades a bit, and a subtle fruit shows up with a more consistent butterscotch. Viscosity is good, with a soft, let's say cottony texture. Astringency starts off light and gradually gets a bit higher over the course of the session. There is feeling down throat, sometime with throat painted with flavor. Yiwu huigan to butterscotch and mouthcoat shows up most consistently, while some interesting lingering bitterness promoted aftertastes, mouth aroma, and yun shows up here and there. Good quality moderate qi. Very durable session, gotta be over seventeen brews.

Friday's tea was the 2013 Baifuzancang Xiangyun (Baiyingshan). This was a really nice session, and again, approximates an elegant version of more potent Fengqing type teas. I was a bit anxious because a recent thermos was pretty thin tasting...

There are mostly two phases, again, in the aroma. The first phase is aromatic wood, barnyard, dark herbal, and mushroom in varying quantities. The second phase loses barnyard, dark herbal depth, and gains a regular strawberry/strawberry milkshake sweetness. Late brews has some mineral as well. The taste sort of follows the aroma--aromatic wood, barnyard, broad mushroom, dark, bitter chicory depth early while in later brews, the taste rises and has a fruitish or strawberry element. In general, the aroma and taste is very elegant and agreeable/enjoyable. Good viscosity, runny honey texture, generally light astringency. There is feeling down throat consistently, pungent huigan in early brews. The mouthcoat and cooling feeling can be strong. light yiwu huigan early. Good qi.

Saturday's tea was the 2007 XZH Dinjin Nu'erCha, the purple tippy Diangu offering. This was an excellent session, and I enjoyed it a lot. I wanted to try it and compare the changes in taste with the changes I noted in the 2007 XZH Diangu I had recently. Overtly, this tea didn't change that much--it's less floral, and there is a subtle mineral and wood edge where floralness used to be. It also has a more substantial dark depth, specifically in later brews. While much of that is your deep plummy from the sort of oxidation this tea had when made, there was a suggestion of dark herbal character as well. Anyways, super agreeable taste and aroma, top shelf mouthfeel-maybe nonpareil, very good aftertaste game, and strong qi. Heh, one of the amusements of this session was in checking out how many long lasting bubbles existed on the soup surface after pouring. LOTS of saponins.

Aroma is a bit dynamic so: light fruit, pleasant white savory, let's call it tofu alkaline->stronger version of last->grain syrup, fruit, subtle mineral->same as last->fruit, mineral, wood->late brews mostly mineral with subtle fruit. Taste is also dynamic: yellow fruit, citrus, mineral-> sweet floral amost fruity, wood, small bitter pole, a touch sour-> sweet floral, deep light sour plummy, bitter, woody-> general taste gets less intense, but more prominent woody-> general taste loses much deep plummy, adds grain syrup, mineral->more intense, dark herbal, a bit of deep plummy, a bit of fruit->later brews mostly fruit, mineral, a suggestion of depth of generic dark herbal or plumminess. The mouthfeel is intense with very good viscosity and a stiff, velvety texture. There is a consistent electric mouth making sure everything's lively in there. Feeling goes down throat consistently with a bit of pungent huigan back up and a one time painting the throat with flavor. Pretty much every aftertaste but mouth aroma is active with this tea, but the often strong yiwu huigan is nice to sugars and the mouthcoat is dynamic, lingering. Qi is very strong and of high quality--kind of uplifting and made me feel the separation between me and the environment around me weakening, or something. Durability is excellent, did about fifteen or sixteen brews with plenty left to put in the fridge.

Today's tea was the 2003 Zhongcha 7532 originally from TeasWeLike. I do not really like the tea, but had it because I didn't really have enough time for a proper session, and figured this was a nice sacrifice tea. It was okay. This tea did a lot of maturation and gotten darker since I had it last, but while that made it more interesting, it also made it less agreeable.

Aroma is generally this dark, sharp herbal that approximates spice, wood, and deep plummy. Late brews have a sugars sweetness woven in. The taste generally follows the aroma and is a deep, potent taste, with a notable deep plummy base that is similar to other aged teas that have had a bit too much oxidation in processing. Early brews are a touch sour. The taste starts thinning a bit quickly as session goes on. Mouthfeel is good. Good viscosity, fairly round feeling in mouth, and a bit of astringency. There isn't that much of an aftertaste game, but there is a bit of yiwu huigan to sugars, and a very light mouthcoat. Qi is mainly aged caffeine. I didn't press with durability, I think I only had about ten brews.

This tea reminds me a lot of aged wuliangs and some mengku aged teas that also has some of that spicy-ish dark herbal character.

 

[shah8]

Easygoing tea weekend with no notes taken...

the 2003 "7532" performed well in late brews after work, and the finished leaves look good, too. Said it before, good process, mediocre actual leaves.

'07 dinjin nu'ercha was excellent, primarily in the qi.

The shu of Friday was the '07 Dengshihai. Excellent. Very much a kind of Fuding Silver Needle sort of shu. Delicate taste, delicate aroma, with very little fermentation taste or depth. Camphor woody, a touch of depth from herbal and brown sugar. Slightly weird taste, but not sour, for once. Good mouthfeeling. Excellent shimmering mouthcoat. Excellent qi. Very durable. Finished leaves had a few nonfermented or very lightly fermented leaves.

Sheng of Saturday was the 2001 SiRui liubao originally from Teapals. Very enjoyable. Pretty typical liu bao aroma and taste with plenty of wood and betel, but core of the taste was kind of candy fruity in the early brews before transitioning to more normal liubao taste. Good mouthfeel. Has yiwu huigan, good mouthcoat, and good qi. Also pretty durable.

Sheng of Sunday was the 2007 XZH Shangpin. I had been having good thermoses from this tea recently, so had a session. Still the weakest early period XZH Northern tea, but still good. Traditional aged kuzhushan aroma/taste, wood, dark herbals, sort of a fruity core like the liubao the day previous. good viscosity, but is relatively bitter and astringent (at least without care in brewing times). Yiwu huigan, mouthcoat, moderate level qi.

woah, pretty quick for once. Anyways, problem is that I keep not getting started early enough for a completely full session, wind up having some the next day, and pushing later the fresh tea of the day, and so on...

 

[chattea]

Today's delicate tea is the vaunted 2007 XiZiHao Shangpin. It exudes an air of refined elegance with its subtle wood and woody perfume aroma. As you journey through each infusion, the flavor gently transitions into a sweet, honeyed elixir with hints of fruity undertones that dance gracefully on the palate, creating a delightful repetition. Notably, the initial brews introduce a captivating cooling sensation, akin to the refreshing touch of mountain air. This tea bears the semblance of a Bingdao substitute, offering a unique and enjoyable experience.

As I sip this tea, the question of whether the 2007 Shangpin is valued at $1600 (official XiZiHao price) or a mere $60 remains a perplexing conundrum. Recent reports suggest it changed hands for the latter sum, and it leaves me torn. My heart aches at the thought of this exceptional tea being traded at such a modest price, causing me to question my own judgment. Could it be that I have been overly idealistic about its true greatness? Regardless, I shall continue to relish its charms and remain a fervent advocate for the profound beauty discovered within the realm of XiZiHao teas.

 

[chattea]

Easygoing tea weekend with no notes taken...

the 2003 "7532" performed well in late brews after work, and the finished leaves look good, too. Said it before, good process, mediocre actual leaves.

'07 dinjin nu'ercha was excellent, primarily in the qi.

The shu of Friday was the '07 Dengshihai. Excellent. Very much a kind of Fuding Silver Needle sort of shu. Delicate taste, delicate aroma, with very little fermentation taste or depth. Camphor woody, a touch of depth from herbal and brown sugar. Slightly weird taste, but not sour, for once. Good mouthfeeling. Excellent shimmering mouthcoat. Excellent qi. Very durable. Finished leaves had a few nonfermented or very lightly fermented leaves.

Sheng of Saturday was the 2001 SiRui liubao originally from Teapals. Very enjoyable. Pretty typical liu bao aroma and taste with plenty of wood and betel, but core of the taste was kind of candy fruity in the early brews before transitioning to more normal liubao taste. Good mouthfeel. Has yiwu huigan, good mouthcoat, and good qi. Also pretty durable.

Sheng of Sunday was the 2007 XZH Shangpin. I had been having good thermoses from this tea recently, so had a session. Still the weakest early period XZH Northern tea, but still good. Traditional aged kuzhushan aroma/taste, wood, dark herbals, sort of a fruity core like the liubao the day previous. good viscosity, but is relatively bitter and astringent (at least without care in brewing times). Yiwu huigan, mouthcoat, moderate level qi.

woah, pretty quick for once. Anyways, problem is that I keep not getting started early enough for a completely full session, wind up having some the next day, and pushing later the fresh tea of the day, and so on...

It's only now that I've realized the serendipity in our shared experience, partaking in the same tea and contemplating it concurrently. I must inquire, do you regard your 2007 Xizihao Shangpin as a tea appraised at a mere $60 or as a truly exquisite gem commanding a princely $1600? Personally, I hold the conviction that it surpasses the 2007 Diangu in terms of sheer superiority.

 

[shah8]

Both the liubao and the Shangpin lasted well through the week. I entertained the notion that the '03 7532 performed better in late brews with a more solid, round taste, but Shangpin, despite weaker taste, bitterness, roughness, has more interesting taste, more aftertaste, and more qi.

The shu of Friday was the trusty An Xiang. Best session among recent sessions. Compared with recent shu, in particular the Dayi Banzhang Eco from 2006. Banzhang had stronger taste, aroma, and a more robust mouthfeel. An Xiang's qi is actually stronger and of higher quality (it really is pretty high quality for a shu), An Xiang's aftertastes are somewhat superior with a stronger and well integrated yiwu huigan, and same level mouthcoat. Durability is much better than Banzhang. Anyways, a really enjoyable session with a shu that essentially only has strength of taste be a weak point.

@chattea Yes, you can get '07 XZH Shangpin for about $100 from Facebook auctions. No, it's not really worth $1600 from Sanhetang. Anyways, look, puerh is a scam, like Bitcoin. There are all sorts of fantasies about rare aged teas from the '50s-'70s, or that gushu from 400yo trees etc etc etc. These scams always depend on a germ of truth--that is, if you can get a 1950s Lanyin in good shape, you were pretty golden. But most of those non-rich people who could possibly afford it, bought it in the '90s. If you could get the cool 80's teas like the early '80s Daye (8582) or the 88QB, well, normal people who could afford to buy were around in the late '90s and early 2ks. How about them really nice late '90s teas like the '99 Big Green Tree? Mid-2ks. Gushu? Well, I got my start in 2010, and at least theoretically, much of the gushu stuff was available to me, from YQH, XZH, Diancha, Denong, CGHT, CYH, and I grabbed what I could. But I did not grab blindly. The root of the issue is that puerh is not priced rationally or even close to rationally. Puerh is priced accordingly to how well a vendor can fleece their customers, by successful marketing. Thus, the major issue is that you have to know *what* teas to buy, and that part is always the hardest part, not about having enough money. Today, there isn't that much super potent gushu being sold, and there are a ton of vendors who are trying to sell tweaked good teas as top of the line gushu, and it's really easy now to buy really expensive small cakes or maocha that are more aggreeable than good. And it's all geared towards immediate consumption as 100g cakes or maocha do not lend themselves to aging. That's why when I see stuff like 2023 Spring Loose Sheng Pu'er Survey - https://daxuejiadao.com/products/2023-loose-sheng-puer , I'm like "I would be so mad if I bought this maocha at these prices, and get similar experiences to other tweaked teas I've had. I do think it's sort of safe with daxuejiadao, but I also don't want to drink fresh maocha either. That's why when I got an opportunity to buy a 2012 Baifuzangcang Pasha and 2012 Baifuzangcang Zanglu (should be high end Mengku) for a total of $431, I went for it, because they well be better than any new fresh sheng I could buy, at really rather low prices, despite how stiff $215.50 feels for a 400g cake...

That Shangpin is a better Kuzhushan than one made from any other brand I've tried a Kuzhushan from, and if you can find yourself an opportunity to buy some at $100, $200, you should seize it. XZH made a ton of teas in that 2005-2010 era when there was not the competition there is today, and collectors bought a ton, thinking that there would be good price rises. Today, disappointed, or financially stressed collector dribble out stuff like Shangpin to some lucky folks...

Alright, back to my teas.

Saturday was a glorious day with '08 XZH Shuangxi Lingman iron. Yeah, the aroma/taste profile is a bit different, but it rolls very much the same as the '14 XZH Lanyin. Anyways, a very mellow and nuanced session that was very much what puerh would be like if it was a lightly roasted yancha.

Mineral is a core aspect of aroma and taste, in a pleasant way. Early aroma has a sort of carrot-plumminess, some wood, while mid session has sugar cookie. Late brews have a more dominant mineral with very light carrot-plumminess, and white sugar. There can be subtle floral notes or barnyard at various times in the session. In terms of taste, early brews are very nuanced, with a bit of sourness, bitterness, and composed of mineral, carrot-plummy, mineral, subtle floral, wood, and slight chicory depth. By mid session, the sourness and nuance fades and it's a more carrot-plummy broad taste with some mineral, and a slight bitter chicory depth. Taste simplifies as I go deeper into the session. Viscosity is generally good, with silky-oily texture, and moderate astringency that can lean toward high astringency. There is feeling down throat in many brews, not much pungency coming up, but there was at least one brew where throat felt suffused with aroma. Yiwu huigan is very good towards sugars, some mouth aroma, long lasting strong mouthcoat. A yun or two. Qi is moderately strong and contemplative. I didn't push the tea too far on account of being very slow drinking it, so plenty left in the pot that was put in the fridge.

The sheng of Sunday was something uncomplicated, as I spent the morning drinking more '08 XZH. '18 XZH Chocobrick sheng that's mainly a tweaked Bulang. Its potentcy is about the same as it always was, not so much aftertaste, and not very high quality qi, but it was quite pleasant. The taste was a lot more robust and deep instead of green and fruity fresh Bulang, like I've had before. Anyways, stuff like Eot Mansai is better than this stuff.

Fruity and barnyard very early in session for aroma, but a little later is sugars and barnyard. Taste starts off dark herbal, bitterness, wood, mineral, choco and generally becomes less defined and more mineral as the session moves along. Good viscosity with velvet texture and light-moderate astringency. A bit of feeling down throat early, with light yiwu huigan, mouthcoat, and yun. Later brews have rather little aftertastes. Not much qi nor is it high quality. Didn't push this for durability before place that pot in the fridge as well.

 

[chattea]

@chattea Yes, you can get '07 XZH Shangpin for about $100 from Facebook auctions. No, it's not really worth $1600 from Sanhetang. Anyways, look, puerh is a scam, like Bitcoin. There are all sorts of fantasies about rare aged teas from the '50s-'70s, or that gushu from 400yo trees etc etc etc. These scams always depend on a germ of truth--that is, if you can get a 1950s Lanyin in good shape, you were pretty golden. But most of those non-rich people who could possibly afford it, bought it in the '90s. If you could get the cool 80's teas like the early '80s Daye (8582) or the 88QB, well, normal people who could afford to buy were around in the late '90s and early 2ks. How about them really nice late '90s teas like the '99 Big Green Tree? Mid-2ks. Gushu? Well, I got my start in 2010, and at least theoretically, much of the gushu stuff was available to me, from YQH, XZH, Diancha, Denong, CGHT, CYH, and I grabbed what I could. But I did not grab blindly. The root of the issue is that puerh is not priced rationally or even close to rationally. Puerh is priced accordingly to how well a vendor can fleece their customers, by successful marketing. Thus, the major issue is that you have to know *what* teas to buy, and that part is always the hardest part, not about having enough money. Today, there isn't that much super potent gushu being sold, and there are a ton of vendors who are trying to sell tweaked good teas as top of the line gushu, and it's really easy now to buy really expensive small cakes or maocha that are more aggreeable than good. And it's all geared towards immediate consumption as 100g cakes or maocha do not lend themselves to aging. That's why when I see stuff like 2023 Spring Loose Sheng Pu'er Survey - https://daxuejiadao.com/products/2023-loose-sheng-puer , I'm like "I would be so mad if I bought this maocha at these prices, and get similar experiences to other tweaked teas I've had. I do think it's sort of safe with daxuejiadao, but I also don't want to drink fresh maocha either. That's why when I got an opportunity to buy a 2012 Baifuzangcang Pasha and 2012 Baifuzangcang Zanglu (should be high end Mengku) for a total of $431, I went for it, because they well be better than any new fresh sheng I could buy, at really rather low prices, despite how stiff $215.50 feels for a 400g cake...

That Shangpin is a better Kuzhushan than one made from any other brand I've tried a Kuzhushan from, and if you can find yourself an opportunity to buy some at $100, $200, you should seize it. XZH made a ton of teas in that 2005-2010 era when there was not the competition there is today, and collectors bought a ton, thinking that there would be good price rises. Today, disappointed, or financially stressed collector dribble out stuff like Shangpin to some lucky folks...

Your counsel is greatly appreciated, and I extend my gratitude for the insightful review of Daxuejiadao. I am now inclined to allocate my resources toward a thorough exploration of their tea offerings. With a collection that includes many teas from the 1980s and 1990s, I can heartedly appreciate your perspective on the often exorbitant prices of post-2000 teas. Indeed, many of them fall short in comparison and can be rather disheartening. However, the optimism within me persists, and I remain open to granting new tea productions a fair opportunity to captivate my palate.

 

[shah8]

Alright, a Baifuzangcang weekend...

First, the shu of Friday was the W2T 2020 Nameless. To put it bluntly, not a n00b-friendly shu. It has lost most of it's depth from its youth, and only had a hint of depth with dark sugars and a bit of fermentation note. Early brews has a good sugars aroma. The taste through much of the session is a delicate wood, brown sugar, brighter shade of dried fruit. Much like the 2007 Dengshihai, is not much of a typical shu profile. Decent mouthfeel. Strong and lingering mouthcoat, strong qi. Pretty durable. While it's all artsy-fartsy, this was a good shu session.

The sheng of Saturday was the 2012 Baifuzangcang Zanglu Bingdao Zhengshan. Post 2014?, Zanglu line of tea drops the Bingdao characterization. This was substantially better than the BFZC Bingdao sample of unknown year I've tried before. Compared to Sanhetang, most Northern Teas 2010 and before will beat this Bingdao, because they're just bigger teas, but I'm not sure any non-Diangu Sanhetang northern teas 2011-2013 will clearly be better. Things like 2011-2013 Lao Wu Shans or the 2012 Xishangmeishao aren't better. 2011 Jinggu Chawangbing might be better... Now, size aside, this Bingdao has a richer, classier, aroma and taste than most XZH Northern teas aside from things like '07 XZH Shangpin which has a similarly big woodiness in aroma and taste. Other comparisons...This Bingdao is a little less like Tailian '02 Intl/Mark than the sample was. I'd say it's clearly better than the 2012 or 2014 ChenYuanHao Bingdaos. The main thing that keeps me from being very enthusiastic is essentially that it's not that sweet, and in particular, there isn't a strong, sweet yiwu huigan.

Alright, in the first part of the session, aroma has a rich incense wood character, a bit different from the savory patchouli + wood character in Tai lian or previous sample. Underneath that wood is honey/sugars and a canned peas umami. Latter part of the session has a subtle fruitiness show up, with a lighter, plainer wood, and sugars. Chicory and mineral shows up here and there. The early taste has some gentle sourness, soft chicory depth, light canned peas, and light incense wood rim. A very light bitterness early along with a couple later firm brews. As the session moves forward, more mineral shows up, the chicory depth fades as taste rises. Good viscosity with a distinctive oily texture, that going through my notes, is found in a lot of explicitly named Bingdaos. There is light astringency early, that quickly rises to high side of moderate level, before falling the rest of the way. There is regular feeling down throat, and quite a few pungent huigans back up. Very early brews had some dynamic aftertastes, with some tonguetip coating sensate sweetness, developing mouth aroma, yun, and strong mouthcoat. Subtle yiwu huigan. Through most of the session, there is a strong, dynamic, and lingering mouthcoat, and pungent huigans, along with a small yiwu huigan, often to fruit. Strong qi. Durability is very good, did between fifteen and twenty brews, and still had something before I through out the leaves. Late brews aren't very rock sugar, more of an oily woodiness. Again, a slight disappointment.

And that's my first official actually name Bingdao cake into the collection...

The tea today was the 2012 Baifuzangcang Tibetian Blessing, which, through to maybe 2014, is explicitly a Pasha. I got the brick version for the sake of maybe having material less beaten down by the storage or something. Anways, this is a very big tea. Big on flavor, very big on mouthfeel. Can have a pretty strong apricot fruitiness. Not hugely lively, and doesn't have super strong aftertaste game, but does have enough. Good qi. The baifuzangcang guy hates bitterness, and that philosophy shows here--quite low bitterness for a potent Menghai tea. Doesn't really have tobacco bitter-tart, more wild honey like Mansa tea for depth. Overall, it's a big, lumbering tea like the 2011 XZH Wangong Classic, W2T Queen of Clubs, or 2014 XZH Golden Brick. This also reminded me of the '05 ChenYuanHao LaoBanZhang.

Aroma is generally a slightly aromatic woodiness with herbals and a bit of barnyard depth. Can have strong apricot in various brews. Taste more often includes apricot in a tea that is deep and rich with dark herbal, wild honey depth and a touch of aromatic wood rim. Early brews has a teensy bitter pole. Later brews thins a bit and has more apricot as noted before, as well as mineral. Viscosity is very thick with pudding texture and light astringency. There is a little bit of feeling down throat, an occasional yun, and a decent mouthcoat. Moderate level qi of good quality. Did about sixteen brews and can guess these leave has plenty more, so pretty durable.

All in all, a pretty successful weekend for tea drinking.

 

[shah8]

It wasn't a dramatic tea weekend, but it was sort of a good one, lessee...

The shu of Friday was the 2018 XZH Revolutionary (Jujube) brick, essentially a 7581 take. This is a very mellow shu with the big leaves. It doesn't have a strong wood and medicinal note like many, and especially the classic 7581s (and Xiaguan bricks) do, so the aroma and taste is a very round dried fruit, guess jujube taste with a slight wood rim. Mouthfeel is good enough, and qi is strong. However there is no aftertaste with this tea. It was quite easy on my system, though.

The sheng of Satuday was the finishing off of the more special Ke'xing Bingdao from 2010 sample. I wanted to compare with the Baifuzangcang. There are some similarities, but it's pretty different. It's a good tea, but relatively small.

Aroma usually has creme brulee and mineral in it. Early aroma also has some florals, while late aroma has sugars. Taste essentially follows the florals. There are hints of chicory bitterness here and there, and in late brews, there is a broad mushroom underneath the creme brulee. Viscosity is good, and texture is between silky and oily. Astringency stays light until late session. Early brews has pretty decent feeling and aftertaste, with feeling down throat, cooling along with yiwu huigan to florals, a shimmering mouthcoat, and a touch of mouth aroma. Later session is more of a light yiwu huigan to sugars and a bit of mouthcoat. Good quality moderate qi. I didn't push the durability that much, maybe about eleven or twelve brews before putting it in the fridge.

The second tea of Saturday was the 2022 w2t loose liubao sheng. It was a pretty simple tea. Aroma and taste are honey based. Early brews have hay, then a subtle fruit, and a hint of a sweet root herbal tones added to the honey in late brews. Viscosity is thick. There aren't any real aftertastes. Mostly caffeine feeling. seems durable enough, but too boring to pursure beyond ten brews. Can easily be overbrewed into being very bitter.

The tea of Sunday was the 2007 XZH Yuanshilin, the Pasha tea. I wanted to compare with the 2012 BFZC Pasha. BFZC is bigger in taste and viscosity, maybe durability. It's also not plummy from oxidation. The XZH has a more aggressive nature, with a stronger, more distinctively nice aroma and taste, but with a bit more bitterness, tartness, and astringency. It also has a nicer aftertaste game, and the qi is stronger and of better quality. A good Pasha really is pretty close to a LBZ in the sense of the 2010 ChenShenHao LBZ brick, at least.

First few brews have tobacco, wood, plumminess, and varying levels of deep barnyard in aroma. Aroma gradually becomes dominated by plummy with a bit of wood/tobacco to it. The taste has a bit of bitterness and tartness, but not as strong as it used to be, and it fades as the session moves on. Tobacco, wood, generic dark herbal depth, and deep plummy is the general nature of the taste, and most of the dynamism is involved in the taste becoming more plummy with nuances left of the original taste. Viscosity is good, similar texture of pudding like the BFZC. Astringency starts off light and builds as the session goes on, and then declines in late brews. A couple of brews have strong feeling down throat and good cooling. There is a very shallow pungent huigan/active yun, a quick yiwu huigan to fruit and a slow astringency-fed yiwu huigan to almond sweetness, as well as some mouthcoat. I was watching the Phillies game, so I had not gotten super deep into the session before putting the tea in the fridge, but I reckon about thirteen brews.

One thing I was thinking about is that a bit of excess oxidation isn't that big of a deal, and that I let this influence me too much in not buying more of this tea. Yeah, too much oxidation, along with a bit of humid storage will get you plum-core, but it also seems like aging works well on what is left and the hit in quality once past a certain age so far in my experience is reasonably low. Of course, it's easy to guess that this only counts if you are talking about leaves with sufficient native potency.