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I received this as a sample from Scott in my last YS order. After reading the description, I’m definitely excited about sampling this tea. I begin by breaking apart 5 grams from the sample chunk. I immediately note the number of white silvery buds – very nice. The wet leaves are of a green/yellow colour with some tints of red. There is a smoky, fruity aroma emanating from the beautiful leaves. The resulting soup is of a golden amber colour which turns out to be very clean. I find the prominent feature of this tea is its mouthfeel. It leaves a pleasant dry mouthfeel in the mouth with a subtle sweet hui gan rising up from the throat. For those who enjoy some astringency, this te ais definitely drinkable. However, some may find this tea requires some aging – which, of course, the tea will definitely benefit from. 81/100

If you’re looking for something special and VERY different, here you have it. Upon first impression, the chunk of tea, thanks to JC, looked like a chunk of dusty dirt with small plant roots embedded within. As the tea seemed very dusty, I decided to give it two washes instead of one. There is one way I can describe the aroma of the wet leaves… an intense wet forest moss… much more so than most shou puerhs I’ve had. I mean, it literally smells like dirt/forest moss! I would say the taste of the tea itself is somewhat consistent with the aroma… very interesting and pleasant. I recommend this tea to anyone who enjoys that earthy taste. Very unique tea. 80/100

For anyone who enjoys fruity shengs, this is definitely one. The cake itself is 200 grams. This small bing has a rather tight compression. Upon a wash, one can immediately see that this tea is comprised primarily of chopped up material. Despite its poor appearance, the wet leaves do produces a heavenly fruity aroma… a “smoother” fruitiness than found in, say, a Jingmai. Very nice aroma. The liquor is smooth (to a unique degree) with a suble sweetness… notes of berry and citrus intertwined, again, something I find unique to this tea. The soup is thick with a fair share of astringency in the mouth. The hui gan is there but a little light. Overall, I do enjoy this tea despite the leaf appearance and cloudiness. An 80/100 is a fair assessment.

This is my fourth sit down (by sit down, I mean formal sit down) with this tea and I find myself gravitating more and more towards it as my everyday tea. I begin with 5.0 grams of leaf. The wet leaves have a pleasant subtle fruity (berry-like or apricots?) aroma accompanied by a slight vegetal aroma… a pleasant nose. At 5 grams/100 mL, the soup is wonderfully balanced. There is nice pure sweetness with a little citrus note that sneaks upon your taste buds. The hui gan is a little light but I do sense an abundance of cha qi. I have begun sweating within the first 3 steeps. I’ve become fond of this tea… an 81/100.

This morning I’ve decided to sample a 2009 Lao Ban Zhang Premium. I received this tea from a friend the other day and am very pleased to be able to sample it. I begin with approximately 4.2 grams in my gaiwan. I cannot say much as to the dry leaf appearance as it looks like your typical arbor leaf. What I can say is that it is mostly intact – very nice. A brief wash (my washes tend to be about 5 seconds) of the leaves bring out a unique nose. .. perhaps a slight smoky (not the smokiness found in Xiaguans) hayness? The nose isn’t very impressive – typical of the region. However, where the nose lacks, the soup makes up for! The soup is a beautiful light amber colour with a wonderful profile. Upon sipping, there is a kind bitterness which greets all the taste buds. In a fraction of a second, this bitterness transforms into a subtle sweetness. One can easily detect this transformation in the mouth… very dynamic. The tea is thick in the mouth and leaves a nice coating. The hui gan is a little light, but perhaps I under leafed? Perhaps the sender could comment on this. I do detect some cha qi, which, naturally, is very nice. In my opinion, this is an excellent tea. It’s dynamic, complex and tastes nice! I will give this tea an 84/100 =).

This tea brings about a wonderful experience. I began with 4.2 grams of leaf and arrive at a beautiful orange-red liquor. At first glance, this liquor seems to display wonderful solidity. The wet leaves produce a pleasant aged-like aroma. Again, I often find it difficult to relate familiar scents/tastes with characters found in tea. I will say that there is some spiciness in the immediate aroma…perhaps accompanied with buttery-like, woody notes. The buttery -like note within the aroma is definitely new to me. Upon a sip, I find the liquor isn’t as thick as the first glance suggested. However, I still consider this a very nice tea. There are some spicy notes accompanied by an aged woody character… within seconds a cool mintiness joins dance. This tea has, what I sense as, a strong qi and very pleasant hui gan. Excellent tea which seems to display excellent storage conditions. Easily an 85/100 in my books.

This sampling session is accompanied by Joao Choras O homem do Ribatejo. I enjoy Fado music. Anywho, I begin this sampling with 4.8 grams of dry leaf. Leaf appearence isn’t very impressive.. however, this may be due to the fact that the leaves I received are from the interior of the bing. The wet leaves produce an aroma that I can only describe as floral.. perhaps a grassy floral? The liquor is a light-medium amber colour… typical I suppose. The tea is well balanced with a clean, pure sweetness and pleasant mouthfeel. There is an immediate qi that flows into your body from the tea – something I detected immediately from my first sip. The hui gian and hui tian is apparent. In conclusion, I enjoyed this tea. I think an 80/100 is a fair grade.

Edit : In later steepings, a slight bitterness opens up.

I’ve decided to review this sheng as I am definitely a supporter of organic tea. The bing is rather medium-tightly compressed.. a little tighter than a Mengku tea factory compression. Initially, the wet leaves have a slightly smoky aroma. However, this quickly transforms into what I can only describe as a fruity smokiness. The resulting tea liquor has a golden amber colour with some cloudiness to it. I, personally, do not find this tea smooth. It is bitter (I dont find this bitterness very pleasant) with some sweetness in the background. The smokiness is there as well. There is a slight huigan, which is nice. After a couple of infusions, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a decent everyday tea. However, not something I personally enjoy very much.