111 Tasting Notes
I want more of this tea. It’s outstanding. Glen sent a sample in the spring and I read reviews of how undrinkably bitter it was so I began with cool 75 deg steeps for like 5 seconds and ramping up the time and temp. Using this method I was able to get aggressively bitter tea that was balanced by honeysuckle and apricot flavors. It truly reminds me of a new school west coast IPA. The qi of this tea made me more aware of my surroundings and boosted my creativity while I had a permanent smile. Can’t wait for the 17. If anyone wants to trade some of this I’d be willing as C lotus sold out.
Interesting concept. The black tea produces a chocolate note that reminds me of a Fujian golden monkey but without the body. The finish has the fruity floral counterpart of the white tea. Steeping time and temps radically alter the ride. I’m reminded of drinking a dunkleweissen, a dark wheat beer that starts off big and chocolate caramel like and you expect a beer with heavy body . Then that fades instantly and you’re left with thin bubbly beer that tastes like clove and banana. To my palate, this tea was better and aromatic when fresh. I know it’s an experiment so let’s see how it ages. I do get a little brandy as well
This has become the semi aged sheng by which I judge all others. I gave up cigars last year and gave up cannibis in the mid 90s and this tea strangely satisfies any desires I have for either. Good cigar smoke flavors, wood, pepper and perhaps a bit of Ardbeg scotch. This tea relaxes the mind and the muscles and makes one warm and tingly. This tea is actually very good for muscle pain. In fact, my back is cramping up…time to start the kettle!
This is quite nice. Has the characteristic LBZ smoothly bitter background with a touch of camphor and cocoa. Also has the qi you’d expect from such a tea. My only gripe is that it’s not as generous as I’d like. For me, 6 steepings and its cashed. This is a brew that you want to get 20 steeping from. Think I’ll let er sit a few years and see how she evolved. I bought a cake before the price increase. Don’t know if I’d pay the current price.
Best Yiwu I ever had. From about 1991 til last year I was a second flush Darjeeling fanatic, Singbulli,Jungpana, Castleton, Thurbo etc. Then I discovered Yiwu sheng last winter and realized it gave me everything that a good Darjeeling could and more. My Darjeeling collection is probably going stale. Anyhow, this tea transports one to another place. It’s loaded with notes of jasmine and what I liken to the smell of the evergreen rainforests of the Olympic peninsula in Washington. In later steeps, notes of honey and almond seep in. The qi is outstanding and takes one to a land where it’s always afternoon. Can’t wait to try rareness 2 and 3. As for Yiwu in this price range I also really liked Hai Langs . It was more aggressive with more wild jungle taste…but I found it’s qi to be unremarkable. Of course qi is rather personal. Anyhow, you need to try a sample of this. Wish I could afford a tong!
Malt, smoke and caffeine…pretty simple. Reminds me of a German rauchbier or perhaps Alaskan smoked porter not peat smoky like a scotch but wood smoke. If you are the type who likes to eat burnt ends from leftover barbecue for breakfast whilst getting wired on cheap coffee, get you a cake of this.
At 34 cents a gram this tea gets my bang for the buck award. There are too many floral, spicy, fruity and umami flavors to list and they change with each steep and as the cake ages. This tea strangely reminds me of a good Chinese stir fry in liquid form and goes perfectly with such a meal . The qi is of a chill variety, not bombastic or brain melt, just warm fuzzy contentment. If you want a rewarding gushu without paying a buck or two a gram look no further…
Tasted this side by side with Yunnan sourcing 2016 Hai Lang Hao LBZ and not surprisingly got quite tea drunk. While I find most of the LBZ I’ve tried to o be monolithic (in a good way like Lagavulin scotch) this tea had an amazing complexity that evolved in each of twenty some steeps. I’ve also reviewed the HLH here and found it to be like a mighty warrior. Thus far I’ve had 5 LBZ teas and all have a distinctive backbone of this smooth bitterness, camphor and perhaps a bit of cocoa. This tea has this but it’s in the background. While the HLH beats you over the head with these flavors, the Crimson Lotus tea uses them as a subtle backdrop. There are also a myriad of floral, stone fruit, almond and forest floor flavors that I haven’t experienced in an LBZ tea. Had I been given this tea in a blind tasting I’d have a difficult time believing this tea came from one region much less one tree. Yes it does have that LBZ background flavor but it sports jasmine notes I’ve had in high end Yiwu like Puerh-SK gushu rareness and apricot notes like a good young Naka. There are countless other flavors that unfold as well. I recommend you chase that dragon yourself. As for the qi, forget about it! I drank a 4g pot of HLH and an 8 gram pot of this and found myself dancing on my left ear for hours like a stoned roadrunner.
In the vintage guitar world, when comparing prewar Martin acoustics, one author likened the tone of a 14 fret model to a cannon and the 12 fret model to a silk hammer. That’s how I can best compare these teas. The Hai Lang Hao is a cannon. The Crimson Lotus is a silk hammer. Thanks to Glen and Lammu for making this available. Had I obtained a mere kilo of this tea I’d be tempted to keep it for myself…
