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I am working my way through several teas produced by Tea Urchin using 2015 material. Material from Pasha Mountain in Menghai is hard to come by so I am always on the look out. This Pasha cake is beautiful to look at – whole leaves were carefully pressed to form the beeng. Pleasant fresh smells comes from the material. The tea liquor is a clear yellow-gold color. I used 4 grams of leaf in a 60 ml shibo with flash steeps. Thick and smooth with only the lightest touch of bitterness. Vegetal with a definite buttery sweetness coming through. Coats the tongue and has a bit of a drying effect on the mouth. Qi hit me after the third infusion – a nice relaxing feeling took over and I decided to take a nap. I think this has possibilities but since I have grown accustomed to drinking sheng with at least 8 years of age on them, I’ll be drinking this one rarely as I wait for it to mature.

A cool spring morning like today’s requires a good shu puer. This Jingmai definitely fits the bill for it is strong and bold. No real fermentation taste but it tends to become a little astringent when overleafed or brewed too long. The tea soup is dark and thick. This is not an overly sweet shu but it is smooth. It is not full of the “chocolate” notes we often look for in our ripe puer but the taste always appeals to me. The richness and depth of the material allows for many resteeps. I know from past experience that I can take this one for 10-12 rounds of brewing. These Gu Ming Xiang productions are worth owning and I owe thanks to Scott at Yunnan Sourcing for introducing me to them.

I do not drink this tea for the taste (although it is good) but rather I enjoy this one for the great cha qi. It has never let me down. Strong enticing aroma coming from the dry leaf and the scent of the brew is sweet. Good character pleasant tobacco taste mixed with a very nice sweetness. Full in the mouth with no bitterness in the finish. Typically the qi hits me after the third infusion as it did today. I was shocked to see the current price (understandable given the current market demand for authentic LBZ) since I paid less than half this amount when purchasing my cake from Yunnan Sourcing in June 2014 .

A decent cheap everyday shou. Picked this one apart and let it sit in a clay jar airing out for a month. Since I was drinking this in place of my usual early AM black tea, I wanted a thick and soupy brew. 11 grams in 120 ml shibo resulted in a thick liquor which was deep in both flavor and texture but also quite smooth and mellow. There is a deep sweetness backed up by a touch of light bitterness. Decent mouthfeel with an appealing lingering aftertaste. Turns out this was a very cost effective purchase – 250g brick purchased in March 2014 for $14 (less than $.06 per gram).

What an exciting tea session I had today! My life has been so hectic over the past 10 days that I have not even had time to do one gong fu session. I missed them as part of my daily routine so today I could not wait to begin a session and I knew it had to be something special. I chose the 2006 YQH Chawangshu. This is definitely an extra special tea! Sourced from the Chawangshu plantation in Guafengzhai, you know that the material has to be high quality. Beautiful leaves which are obviously carefully stone-pressed. Flash brew and then the first smell – rather interesting sweet notes dominate. Clear and bright golden yellow tea liquor. This liquor is very agreeable in the mouth – coats the mouth; fills it with the sweet tastes of fruit, honey and wood; begins to promote a bit of salivation. Cha qi is very individualized and for me, I began to feel this one after the second infusion – a nice relaxed feeling began to move throughout my body and continued to build throughout the session. Thank you Emmet for bringing this tea to me!

This tea has a stable, warming character. Most often I gravitate toward puer of the smooth and mellow variety – this particular aged sheng is best described as smooth and heavy so I have learned to lighten up on the leaf. Seems to be made with high grade material. It is clean with good body and the sweetness is of the deep meaty variety. Nice mouthfeel with a little tongue-tickling and a light cooling sensation. Dark brown leaves with a few tips and twigs. Clear and bright orange liquor with a nutty sweet aroma. Good durability (I’ve steeped it 12 times). Age has served this tuo well.

This is a factory production which I have had carefully stored for over two years and now it has had 10+ years to develop into something worthwhile. I quite enjoyed my time with it yesterday! The material is comprised of mostly “chop” – very few, if any, whole leaves. Pleasant enough scent though – sweet and pure. The liquor is dark gold in color albeit a bit on the cloudy side. The sip is quite mellow and smooth – looks like ten years of age really has helped this mid-level quality material develop into something interesting. A bit fruity and a low sweetness; no real bitterness and a cooling and decent sensation throughout. Mouth action adds a little tingle to the tip of the tongue. This cake is part of the Six Famous Tea Mountain Tea Factory (Liu Da Chashan) series of six cakes composed of old tree material from well-known tea mountains in southern Yunnan (Jinggu, Youle, Mengsong, Bangwei, Bulang, Nannuo). Each cake is 100% material from that particular mountain.

This is a very solid tea – both welcoming and encouraging. A fairly young tea although the “greenness” of the leaves that you would find in younger sheng has dissipated. There is a floral and deep honey aroma coming from the dry leaf. Tea liquor is light gold – very clear with a nice sheen to it. The smell from the cup has notes of hay, dried wood, and a light honey. First cup is sweet with a bit of astringency. There is also a slight metal hit coming through in the first brew but this disappeared in the other brews. The taste lightens up in the following infusions to become very smooth with a longlasting finish and no astringency; quite effervescent on the tongue. Now offering an appealing sweetness with fruity overtones and the aroma is both floral and fruity. During the fourth cup I could detect a quiet relaxing qi settling in. Overall the tea is complex enough for me to feel that this is a rich and powerful tea which offers a pleasant worthwhile session and interesting possibilities for aging in the years ahead.

Spent time yesterday with this Blue Mark Zhongcha. This is a nice tea with good age behind it. Loosely pressed so it is easy to work with. Leaves offer a thick, sweet, viscous tea liquor with good mouth action and a lingering aftertaste. A dark sweetness dominates the flavor profile but the aging process has also introduced a hearty woody base – the combination is very appealing and offers a warm and spicy presence. The true character of “old tea” is undeniable.

XiZiHao (XZH) is a high quality “boutique” brand of puer. I set out to taste their 2013 “Que Zhen” and “Xuan Xi” shengs in order to make a purchase decision. Nicely compressed whole leaves with a few buds mixed in. Appealing aroma coming from the dry material which yields a clear and bright golden yellow tea soup. This gradually darkens as the air works on it. There is a honeylike tone and good body in the sip. An appealing sweet finish with a pleasant mouth-watering effect and a cooling aftertaste. Sweet and fruity top notes with a darker base. Good longevity – no signs of weakness after ten brews. This is a tasty quality tea which provides a pleasant experience. Worthy of a purchase but I opted to add the Xuan Xi to my collection instead of this Que Zhen.
Note: Both samples acquired from Houde http://houdeasianart.com/