Retried the cake version of the EoT Yuanwei. I've decided I don't particularly care for it--essentially in the same way I don't care for Hekai teas, especially like the Puersom Hekais. Used eight grams because I've gotten in the habit since last Monday, and this resolved a bit of the tasting issues. The taste was still weirdly elusive. It still has that corn note that I associate with that Hunan black tea, but after having had that Dinjin Nu'er, definitely not a hongchapu. There is a light bit of qi that is relaxing. Some cooling, and a bit of finish and shallow aftertaste. The best feature is that the taste is somewhat complex. However, I don't find it to have a strong personality that grounds me into the tea experience. Good tea is pretty much what makes my day, so I pretty much demand something that captures my attention. The whatever Bangwei I have doesn't have classically good taste, but I enjoy its rusticity and humidity, even though it's still bitter and needs more years of drying out and aging. Thing is, I remember my first try of the maocha to be a richer and fuller experience, so maybe somehow there is something wrong with this particular chunk of tea. Will keep it in mind when I finish the maocha off.
Since I didn't feel satisfied with the Yuan Wei, I decided to risk it and brew the last four grams of TeaUrchin 2013 Lao Banzhang. I had a pleasant time. This tea is broad and has depth with a relatively singular note of essentially sheng-mushroom-squash without nuttiness. So I had a real theme to drink to, and it does some subtle development over the session, verging towards citric, or to more honey, or to producing a slightly fruity yun for a couple of cups, etc. This is not a very exciting tea, and it's not very complex. A bit of cooling, and a touch of qi. Aroma is actually fairly low, and relatively barnyard. A good tea, but frankly, it's not especially superior to the 2013 TU Nahan which has a similar MO with better soup viscosity and aroma, for instance. Many better teas out there for the original $320 price. A good LBZ is really worthwhile, but I'm not sure how much for sale it is, anymore. Sanhetang hasn't done a LBZ since 2009, for example.
Since I didn't feel satisfied with the Yuan Wei, I decided to risk it and brew the last four grams of TeaUrchin 2013 Lao Banzhang. I had a pleasant time. This tea is broad and has depth with a relatively singular note of essentially sheng-mushroom-squash without nuttiness. So I had a real theme to drink to, and it does some subtle development over the session, verging towards citric, or to more honey, or to producing a slightly fruity yun for a couple of cups, etc. This is not a very exciting tea, and it's not very complex. A bit of cooling, and a touch of qi. Aroma is actually fairly low, and relatively barnyard. A good tea, but frankly, it's not especially superior to the 2013 TU Nahan which has a similar MO with better soup viscosity and aroma, for instance. Many better teas out there for the original $320 price. A good LBZ is really worthwhile, but I'm not sure how much for sale it is, anymore. Sanhetang hasn't done a LBZ since 2009, for example.