2015 EoT Huang Shan Shu 15 trees

Soft and heavy, due to a certain humidity a very nice moss note which also makes the tea look much older.

Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-huangshanshu-15-trees-eot

This is a nice young sheng, smooth vegetal flavor, I also noticed some very pleasant sweetness in it. I felt a long lasting mellow Qi, I was not expecting mellow from this tea because of its age and I was very pleased with the body and mind calming, meditative effects. 3 hours from the first sip I still feel nice and relaxed.

From the Puerh TTB #3. Thanks to EoT for the samples.

1st steep (10 s): There is a bit of spice in the nose. The taste is quite strong for a 1st steep. Smooth and sweet, with a rich blend of straw, toast and floral hints. The finish is also good; silky smooth and long-lasting. I’m feeling a lot of cha qi, but this is my second sheng of the day so the effect may be cumulative. 2nd (10 s): The tea is a medium straw color. Smell is richer; a hint of smoke? Really big and rich and super finish that seems to just keep getting bigger. Too big for my head!? Partly I think it is a powerful cha qi taking over. Between the finish and the cha qi it is hard to actually taste the tea. It is richer than the first cup, with wood and caramel flavors replacing the floral note. Also not as smooth; there is a bit of tartness and tannin, especially at the finish. This is the sort of tea that I’m tempted to just pound down and enjoy the cha qi, but I want to set a good example and review the tea since it was a donation to the puerh TTB and I was the one that required tasting notes for the donated teas. I’ll take a break then come back.

3rd steep (20 s one hour later): Light straw aroma and flavor. Less nuanced. Sweet, with a hint of bitterness underneath. 4th (30s): More wood than straw. A dark richness that’s hard to identify; not quite earthy. spice? (another review suggested nutmeg, and that is close) Finish and cha qi still dominant. Later steeps were mellow and rich and slightly spicy.

I liked this tea a lot, at least in part because it presented so many different facets. After the first cup I was thinking approachable. After the second I was thinking tea drunk. The third and fourth suggested the need for more age, and I’m now on about the 7th cup and it’s just really pleasant. Smooth, full flavor in the mouth, a finish that is still going strong, and a nice buzz from the cha qi. What’s not to love?

From the Steepster Puer TTB round 3

A really nice mellow sheng. Notes of apricot fruity, herby with a hint of spice and floral with a slick texture. The pu’er is also sweet and with a light dryness that tingles a bit making it a pleasure to drink for texture. Later steeps are more herby sweet and very nice. Great young sheng and totally ready to drink now. Lots of qi in this one too, I was flailing around at around steep 5 or 6.

That price though, it’s pretty high, but this pu’er is pretty good. This is my first try at Essence of Tea btw.

From the Pu TTB

Very mellow, thick, and sweet. The early infusions have notes of mushroom, minerals, herbs, and green wood and a slight floral touch. A well balanced tea with a strong qi that became apparent by the third steep. Great mouthfeel as well

Later infusions taste very warm and clean with a nutmeg note and nice creamyness. Under the influence I noted that it tasted like “drinking liquid candle light”

A super nice young sheng; I don’t know how it could be much better. I experienced some sticker shock upon seeing the price, but I do think this is the best young sheng I’ve had

Thick, oily in the mouth and throat, astringency peaks in the early steeps but is still evident mid-session. Pretty sweet with stonefruits, a familiar profile for good quality young gushu. Body is above average. If I were to criticize, it’s less dynamic than I had hoped, but it could be in part due to my lack of focus. Overall a very enjoyable clean and active tea.

At ~$0.50/g it compares well to other 2015 productions in the same price range, especially if you value body/texture. There is excess moisture in my sample, but it may be in part due to the air-tight bag it’s been sitting in.

Puerh Tea TTB. This tea is one that I at first, because of the coincidence in the name, took to be a shou puerh. It is a tasty young sheng instead. Only after drinking it did I find out the nature of the linguistic coincidence. Huang Shan Shu is the name of the village from which the tea is sourced, not shu in the sense of shou. It is a quite tasty sheng. It had very little bitterness to it. There were the traditional notes of apricots and stonefruits in this tea. It was sweet. It is also mildly astringent. There are no notes of smoke and I didn’t get any camphor. Overall I would rate this among some of the best sheng I have drank. It seems to have some qi as I am feeling quite relaxed after twelve steeps. Stopping now because of the caffeine but I’m sure this tea would have gone a few more steeps.

I brewed this tea twelve times in a 60ml gaiwan with 5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min. This is a good tea to drink now because of a lack of bitterness. I don’t know how it will age as I have heard that bitter teas age better.