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In general the huigan of this particular tea is not very intense but when I decided to double the dose I usually use, it made wonders!

The tea soup is much deeper, thicker and definitely more complex. It even has that sweet effect which can be observed on wine glasses when the wine tears roll down the glass leaving “bridges” on the side of the glass. I would call it something like “honey effect” as the colour, aroma and taste reminds me of honey. It even pours down slowly from a narrow mouth of my teapot, as if it was full of sugary nectar.

8g-10g / 100 ml:

Astringency: little
Smoke: none
Aroma: sweet, fruity, specific yiwu
Taste: sweet, fruity, honey and nuts, thicker
Aftertaste: stronger in higher amount of leaves and longer steeping , sweet and nutty

If you are interested in reading little more about this tea session, see my blog entry:
http://teadropping.blogspot.com/2011/10/2007-yiwu-taichun.html

The Jing Mai sample’s aroma is definitely sweet and fruity and the sweetness is well identifiable in the first infusions too. So is the bitterness which is not as strong as in my yesterday’s testing. Jing Mai just feels like You Le’s weaker sister, if it ever can be compared (sorry if you think it cannot). The first infusions were quite strong, I even thought for a minute I somehow happen to put too much tea in my little teapot but the fourth and fifth infusions were suddenly much weaker than the previous ones. I continued with warmer water and longer steeping but it unfortunately did not bring any better effect as the taste got really stable, even unshakeable by the influence of higher temperature and time. I ended up, however, with quite many brews and I really enjoyed the way the tea broth changes its colour, starting from shaded darker yellow to sparkling golden…

To read the whole review and view the photos from this tea session please see my today´s blog entry: http://teadropping.blogspot.com/2011/10/2009-douji-jing-mai.html?spref=fb

The smell of dry leaves in warmed teapot is just indescribable. It smells of something very very concrete, I just don’t know what it is. It reminds me of forest fruit jam or marmalade. The tea broth of the first brew is very thick and it becomes golden and transparent in later infusions as the tea leaves work exposed to air and water. I have been continually sticking my nose into the leaves for half an hour to be able to describe the aroma of wet leaves and it is typically gushu-ish fruity style, rather lighter and sweet, in contrast to the taste of the flavour. The flavour could be probably best described as soft sweet with higher bitterness and some astringency which altogether creates a nice symphony of tastes. After the sixth or seventh brew the color turns sparkling golden and the bitterness tones down in a very nice constellation, as if the tea got something MengKu-ish within to offer, a slight trace of bitterness which never paralyzes nor disappears, it just stays there and it gets smooth but long lasting. The aftertaste brings a tone of grapes.

To read the whole review see my blog:
http://teadropping.blogspot.com/2011/10/2009-douji-you-le.html

The first infusion is of really unusual colour, something between light orange, beige and brown which I associate with some lighter infusions of other hei cha. The smell of wet leaves is also unusual: dry and ripe fruit, wet wood and nuts all at once. The first infusions are nice, fruity, mellow, with almost no astringency and no smoke. The tea gets stronger, somewhat bitter-sweet, but none of it is really intense, it has a nice balance of tastes. The huigan is really impressive. It leaves a typical taste of walnuts on the tongue.
To read the whole review see my blog:
http://teadropping.blogspot.com/2011/10/2005-jinzhen-bulang-wild-tea-bing.html?spref=fb

This is an interesting cake. It smells first rather heavy, after rubber and typical fresh sheng, but when you unwrap it, it gets lighter and much rounder… The first magic happens when you pour hot water, rinse and smell again. Wet tobacco and a very special smell appears which cannot be described easily, it reminds me of something very ancient.. The second magic comes when you make the first infusion. I was careful first and used colder water cca 80ºC (5g/80ml), given the smell I expected heavy smoky tones and astringency, but to my surprise none of them were really present in the first cup. The cake was pressed rather tight but according to the wrapper it was 5 years and 5 months ago and you can really feel it. The tea broth is beautifully dark golden, it tastes mellow, somewhat tobaccoish.. In the second and third infusions I identified dry cherries and it was really nice surprise as I really like the smell of cherry pipe tobacco. This tea has a nice huigan, too, which can be experienced more in the third and later infusions. Nice tea.
To read the whole review see my blog:
http://teadropping.blogspot.com/2011/10/2006-shuangjiang-mengku-rongshi-qizi.html

Delicious tea, resembles a mixture of spice (maybe cinnamon), nuts and herbs. The colour is dark red-brown and transparent, the taste is so rich that it is extremely hard to describe. Good tea for colder days despite the fact that hei cha is considered a “cooling” kind of tea. It works well with gongfu style, this kind of preparation allows you to fully enjoy the abundance of tastes of the tea.

A nice brick, wonderful smell. Rather young but perfectly drinkable. I have tried twice so far, still trying to find proper words how to describe the taste: softer in taste, stronger in effect, resembles gentle green tea with some floral scent. Still experimenting with steep time and temperature.

This is the oldest and probably the best shu I have ever tasted. The color is coke-like, transparent, the taste resembles caramel and cream. It is smooth and “very friendly” tea. I would recommend pu-erh rookies to start with this brick, even though I waited a few years before ordering an 11-year-old one, simply to be able to compare, however, the taste of this one is so much different from many young bricks that it is worth tasting right now in order to remember how delicious shu can be (without being expensive).

This tea is sometimes considered cooked (Shu) Pu erh, although it actually should be considered another type of Hei cha (black tea), a larger group of tea where Pu erh, too, belongs. While Pu erh is produced in Yunnan province, this Tibetan brick is produced by Ya an tea factory in Sichuan.

This is a very interesting brick. I’d read many reviews even before tasting this tea myself so I expected many things. And yes, the tea is really sweet, and it has nothing to do with the common Shu taste..

The smell resembles a special mixture of wood leaves and nuts, maybe chestnuts, the color is light brown-red, very transparent.. it is good for digesting but does not have that strong effect on stomach, nevertheless, having something to eat before is recommendable. I really like this tea although it will probably work as a good breakfast or after-lunch ritual during the colder days in autumn for it does not have that cooling effect required by these hot days, rather the opposite.

One of my first encounters with sheng tuo and I guess I couldn´t choose better. The taste is fruity, smooth, but still strong, especially when steeped longer. It has beautiful golden color and nice smell, resembles dry apricot. This is how I imagined good sheng for daily drinking could taste. I cannot rate excellent for not being able to compare much, so I need to leave space for bigger impression, but still, this tuo is absolutely worth trying.