2003 Rui Rong Hao Da Xue Shan Sheng " Big Snow Mountain"

This 2003 is an offering from Sampan Teas . I was excited to try this tea since I have a great affinity for Big Snow Mountain puerhs. Though Da Xue Shan teas are not as sought after as other famous mountains, they always seem to agree with with me. They are not aggressive and more often than not I feel I can drink them earlier than most others.

Unfortunately, I was unable to sniff out any substantial information about Rui Rong Hao factory through my detective work. However, if you will allow me to conjecture, my assumption is that Rui Rong Hao may be a subsidiary of the Chang Tai Factory from the looks of its wrapper. Nonetheless, it looks like a quality beeng but the proof as they say is in the pudding.

Initial Impressions

The aroma from the dry leaves was very intoxicating. It had hints of dried fruit and an overture of spice. There were no notes of smoke or unpleasantness to speak of, just a genuinely refreshing odor. The leaves are slightly dark which are accented by its nice glossiness and long stems.



Instead of the quintessential Nei Fei "inner ticket", the factory decided in a more classy approach adding a personal signature mark pressing a large broad leaf which is said to have been plucked from a 2000 year old tea tree right into the beeng along with a silk red ribbon of which you can see slightly in the center of the beeng. As to whether the claim of a 2000 year old tree leaf is true, I am not sure. If memory serves me correctly, I believe the oldest tea tree is said to be roughly 1,700 years old.

Brewing Session

Parameters

Vessel - 100ml Ming Guo Zhuni Yixing

Amount - 4.5g

1-15s
2-12s
3-25s
4-40s
5-65s
6-90s
7-100s

Aroma

In the first infusions, the liquor had a wonderfully long lasting musk that I enjoyed immensely. It lingered in the aroma cup relatively a much longer time than I am accustomed to making for a very aromatic session. As the aroma cup cooled, the pleasant musk transitioned into the always welcoming honey and floral notes.

In the latter infusions the liquor started to assert itself where notes of dried fruit and melon had become the theme. However, as the potency of the liquor started to wane, these sweet notes eventually transformed more in to a peppery spice coupled with a dried hay note.



Taste

I would have assumed that the liquor would reveal sweet notes as they were apparent in the beginning infusions in the aroma, but to my amusement, the notes were quite leathery and somewhat masculine. It had a berry acidity which kept things interesting which culminated into a decent huigan. Although the liquor was not as viscus as I had hoped, the flavors nonetheless lingered on the palate.

As for the latter infusions they were very consistent with the former, although somewhere after the 5th things started change a bit. The huigan seemingly became much more apparent wjocj was coupled with a nice chayun. Interesting to say the least as it seems counter intuative.

The liquor was very clear and wonderfully bright. Although quite green for its age. Possibly as a consequence of aging in a drier than normal climate.

Spent Leaves



Although the claim is that it is made of wild arbor leaves, the leaves quite flimsy. Probably plantation. The leaves also seem to be of different harvest - a mixture of Fall and Spring. They are not the best looking leaves - mediocre at best.

Final Analysis



The tea provided a pleasant session. Although I question the claim of it being wild arbor, it still provided nice sensations. The cha qi was light and really didn't make much of a statement at all. The aroma was its high point followed by its clarity. I was not very enthused by its lack of maturity. Perhaps it needs to be stored in a much more suitable environment. Be that as it may, I do not think its a younger tea since many of the adolescence has dissipated. Its an honest tea which can be enjoyed now.

Summer Finally

Hey folks,

Just wanted to say that I am still around. Please look forward to new post very shortly! :D I'm transitioning into summer so things are getting hectic. I hope all are well.

Cheers!

Bill

Need the right Equipment

Lin's Ceramic Studio 500cc pot and adjustable burner

Ahhh! New in the box


Here are my new acquisitions to my tea ware collection







One thing about Lin's is that they have superb packaging. Touch of class in a custom storage box.

Contents



Well, everything is here. Brochures and "how-to's" Even threw in a jet flame lighter whoohoo!


Wickless adjustable burner



I love these things, they actually let you control the heat from simmer to boiling. Great! Best of all no more cotton wicks to replace.



Clay Kettle



What makes Lin's great is that they are known for elegance and for quality in their designs. One of their claims is that they use a secret formula in their clay which reacts to the minerals in the water improving its quality.


Put all together





My new old Yixng Pot

Custom Made Wood and Silk Box




Pot nestled snugly. Wish I could get that comfortable!




The Pot



Old Zhuni Shuipin Pot 100cc Chop Mark "Jing Xi Hui Nan Meng Chen"

Nice Zhuni pot. Perfect size for drinking alone. Age - Circa Late Ming Guo making it well over forty years old. Acquired from Life of Tea

2002 JingMai Shan Gu Shu Zhuan Cha

Producer Information


The China Tuhsu Yunnan Tea Import & Export Corporation was established in June of 1938 in KunMing. Under the leadership of Geng Shang Rong, and the oversight of the CNNP (China National Native Produce and Animal By-products Imp. & Exp. Corp.) the company produces a variety of products which includes black teas, instant teas, green teas, and tisanes.

With an annual income of over a 1,000,000 USD and just under 1,000 employess, the corporation is a far cry from their humble beginnings. Now, mind you, this is not a tea factory per se; they contract tea farmers to produce teas for export and are quite successful with annual export rate is over 60%.

Brick Information


Despite the grandiose description of their corporation, they can still produce quality and at times rarer stock - this particular brick is one of them.

The 2002 JingMai Shan Gu Shu Zhuan Cha (JingMai Mountain Ancient Tree Brick Tea) was an extremely limited 2002 production. It is a single mountain brick composed of Jing Mai mountain material. For more information on JingMai Shan please refer to a previous post.

According to the description ticket, these bricks were produced of Spring first flush broad arbor leaves from ancient trees of least 1000 years old.



Initial Impressions




Though the bricks have been aging now for 7 years, you could smell a smoke odor emanating from their quintessential CNNP boxes - Not a problem. Some don't like the smoke aromas and I can only tolerate so much, but sometimes it is a nice change of pace. Please do not consider smoke a negative. Although smoke can be considered a production defect, it is still considerably acceptable.

Definitely machine pressed as you can see the 'nails' or the bumps left from pressing on the surface of the brick.

The bricks appear to have been stored in my opinion much drier climate as the colors of the bricks do not correspond to the age. I would at least think 7 years of aging would have presented more of a brownish hue. Nonetheless, the proof is in the taste.

Brewing Parameters

Vessel - Duanni Yixing Teapot 150ml

Water - Generic Spring Water

Infusions

2 Rinses
1-15s
2-10s
3-15s
4-21s
5-26s
6-34s
7-41s

Aroma

The aroma was very pungent. Fortunately,the smoke was not as heavy in the dry. I believe that 2 rinses before the infusion removed most of the peaty notes. There were really no floral notes to speak of. For the most part, the aromas were more grassy and less sweet. I found additional notes of grain, tobacco and what can only be characterized as raw potatoes. The latter infusions were somewhat less straight forward. Sometime after the 4th, the aromas began to exhibit its greenness.


Original art work by Aaron Fisher

Taste

The liquor certainly did grab my attention right away as it had grabbed every taste bud with vengeance - though not in a distasteful way. In fact, to the contrary. However, you definitely knew that you were not drinking a dainty brew. The profile was very masculine with its variable notes of smoke, leather and grain. The latter infusion became more subdued, yet still very aggressive. The woody and grain notes began to transition more into what you would find in a more youthful pu and became more oceanic - Very rustic indeed. The liquor had a tantalizing acidity and viscosity which could be felt as the liquor made its way to the back of the throat. The chayun was relentless and remained so throughout the session. The Chaqi was wonderful and quite numbing -almost tranquilizing.

Spent Leaves



The spent leaves were remarkable. They had a course quality that when manipulated with my fingertips, they had maintained most of their integrity. The leaves were thick and bold with a seemingly wild character.

Final Impression

Its power suggests that it is definitely something to store. It is one of those teas that grabs you by the shirt and throws you across the room. The flavors, sensations and chaqi were all quite pleasing albeit much too rustic to enjoy now.

2008 Bamboo Wrapped YouLe Shan Sheng Nugget 50g

I received this interesting offering courtesy of the Puerh Shop . According to Jim, the nugget was produced by the Chinese minority that live on YouLe mountain - part of the Famous Six Tea Mountains.

I am personally not as acquainted with unadulterated Youle maocha as I would like. When I have tried it, the maocha is generally a blend of different growing areas.

First Impressions



The tea was not that remarkable. It has what appear to be plantation growth fare which had a very light compaction. I did find unwrapping the bamboo a nice change of pace. The maocha doesn't really have much of a odor - no smoke, no greenness, nothing really. In fact, it was difficult for me to detect any. The odor I was able to be alerted to was difficult for me to discern whether it was a result of the bamboo leaf or the maocha.

Brewing Parameters

Amount 5.6g

130ml Gaiwan.

1 - 15s
2 - 12s
3 - 20s
4 - 45s


Tasting Notes

The aroma was not what I would expect. It really smelled like a roasted oolong type tea. In fact, I would say it smelled somewhat like Tiequanyin. The first infusion and second infusion were the best, and simply waned from there - very quaint to say the least. There were notes of roasted tea, melon and fresh grass which were for the most part very consistent.



As for the liquor itself, it was subtle yet not displeasing. Very light roasted tea flavor, with no bitterness and virtually no acidity. Despite its lack of development, it did have a charming Huigan. It had a wonderful color and clarity, something that I did not expect.

Spent Leaves




As stated previously, the maocha was unremarkable. The unfurled leaves remind me of green tea and pu-erh. Nice color.


Final Impressions

Well, definitely not something for aging. In fact, it is quite enjoyable now. It is a wonderful novelty which will certainly entertain a few. Frankly, the price is nice and it didn't really offend and somewhat amuzing. I would even recommend it to non-puerh drinkers as a green tea. :P

My WenGe "Cultural Revolution" Yixing Teapot

WenGe Teapots


An interesting class of Yíxīng teapots is from the WenGe “Cultural Revolution” period (1966-1976). WenGe teapots are distinctive, due to a large part for their lack of distinction. These plainly styled teapots were manufactured when the assertion of pre-Revolution Chinese culture were frowned upon. Workers and master potters alike were forbidden from placing personal marks on individual pieces. As a result, these pots were typically and simply stamped Zhong Guo Yíxīng “Yíxīng China”. The state exercised complete control over all aspect of the Yixing factories – the most famous of which being Yíxīng Factory #1. -Note- Zhong Guo Yixing does not authenticate the piece as a WenGe since Zhong Guo Yixing chops are still being produced either by Yixing factories who are sanctioned to do so, or fake artist passing them off as later pieces.

Zhong Guo YiXing Mark "Yixing China"






The State also controlled the mining operations for zishā ore. Consequently, most pots during the WenGe were produced with relatively good clays as there were no other competitors. Although at first glance, it may sound reasonably well for the State to be in the pot business, there is one caveat - many revolution teapots exhibit poor production quality.

In an effort to automate the manufacturing processes under the new State, many of the quality measures you would find in an artist studio were abandoned. For instance, many pots were mold made (such as this particular one), have muddy odors from having been fired too low; others have lids that are not level, do not fit properly and spouts which do not pour water in a straight line. So, why would anyone want a YiXing WenGe pot? Well, despite the sometimes low quality of revolution teapots and their non-distinctive artistry, they still command relatively high prices due the quality of the zishā clay mined during this period. Zishā mined during and prior to the WenGe is said to provide a “roughness” allowing more tea oil to be absorbed.



As anyone will tell you who has engaged in teapot hunting, it is virtually impossible to buy a nice pot online. And living in the States only exacerbates the situation since most of the nice and authentic pots are in Taiwan. Sure, there are Taiwan and Chinese auctions online; however how do you know what you are buying is authentic or “as described”? You can’t! Well, after doing a considerable amount of auction hunting (trust me difficult if you don’t speak the language) I had decided to go to the source and give Life of Tea a chance.


My Pot



This 150ml Shui Pin pot was made early in the WenGe and was manufactured through the use of a mold. Although the word "mold" can generate images resembeling a Play Doh Factory kit where a lump of clay is put into a press and voila - the word is somewhat misleading since the pieces were and are formed by hand and then assembled through the facilitation of a mold. Additionally, the pot was fired in an open kiln. If you look closely on the lid, you will see firing deposits on the surface from the "open firing". As for the clay, it has a lovly dense quality to it. It is also quite heavy considering its size. Perhaps, Xiao Hongni? ZhuNi? The texture is somewhat smooth. It has a nice 'ping' when tapped. A good sign that it was fired sufficiently. Its performance, well it has a nice pouring through its single hole spout. However, I am afraid that the lid did fall victim to the misfortunes of the era in that it is very loose and does not fit very well. Nonetheless, it makes a scrumptious tea! Note - The pot looks much more orange in sunlight or from a camera flash. It is really a very nice red.


These pictures are more representative of the true color *almost*





I was told ZhuNi, and I am starting to lean this way. Look at the texture of the clay. Beautiful IMHO. But then again, I am somewhat biased.


Qing Dynasty Porceline Teacups 35ml

2001 KunMing Factory Blue Mark Sheng Beeng 357g

This beeng is the 2001 Blue Mark offering of the KunMing Factory. In all honesty, the information I have on this example is unfortunately scarce. What I do know is that the KunMing Factory also produced a similar beeng - the Red Mark which was highlighted in the Newborn Puerh Book 1998-2003. Nonetheless, if this is 'truly' a 2001 production, than they were made prior to the pu-erh boom so I tend to consider them special.

Initial Impressions

The wrapper design is a throw back to the Grand labels of the 50s. I find the historical significance of the large middle characters quite charming. If one notices, the Chinese character for cha "tea" being encircled by the Zhong character which represents China. When China socialized industry, China wanted to take advantage of one of its largest exports - tea. In order to symbolize China's intentions of bringing tea to the world, the China Tea Corporation had developed this now well recognized symbol of "China" zhong bringing cha "tea" to the world". Enough history :D

The beeng looks to be well stored (the last 3 years of which I did personally). There seems to be no signs of infections or rapid acceleration to speak of which eases my anxiety that this could be a knock-off. The leaves appear to be corresponding with its age - nice darkening leaves with the occasional golden tea bud scattered across the surface. The nei fei or the beeng ticket seemingly appears to have absorbed some tea oil - also apparent on the outer and inner wrapper. Depending to whom you speak with, it is at times taken as good sign of mao cha quality.



The leaf aroma is not very pungent, though you can make out a flutter of floral note, a very slight touch of smoke and woody notes. There is also no warehouse scent which you will find on occasion in older examples, although 3 years in my storage would of remedied this if it did when I bought it. For the most part, it is actually a lovely looking beeng with its full intact leaves.

Brewing Parameters

Brewing vessel - Yixing 150ml Weathered HongNi pot

Water Source - Natural Spring of MI orgin

Infusion times



1-15s
2-12s
3-25s
4-35s
5-65s
6-80s
7-85s
8-125s

Tea Tasting

Aroma - The aromas were very in tune with what I would expect with a beeng of this age. For the most part the first few infusions emanated hits of musk, mature wood and a light hint of smoke which transitioned in to more sweet notes as the liquor cooled - very floral with notes of caramelized honey. In the latter infusions, the touch of smoke which was not all that apparent had dissipated and melon, camphor and tiny flutters of mint became more noticeable.

Taste - The taste was quite pleasant, and frankly just honestand straight forward. Although I was intrigued with its brightness, which made it a very active session. The berry like acidic quality to it which separated the notes on the palate. As for the true taste of the tea, dark notes were the theme - woody and nutty which were very consistent throughout the entire session. In the latter infusions, I could detect currents and pepper notes.

The sensations were very apparent and affected the sides of my tongue to a considerable degree. This was definitely not a flimsy tea with its wonderful viscosity. Though I must admit that I could tell by the way the tea had reacted to the sides of the cup and how it was reflecting light that it was certainly a soupy tea before I even tasted it.The huigan was somewhat of a tease, but entertaining I must say. As for the qi, it was not as apparent as I would have liked - somewhat disappointing. However, from what I could feel it was comfortable. Although I must admit that in the latter infusions I may have wiped my brow a couple of times to keep the beads of sweat from dripping into my cup.

Liquor




The color of the liquor exhibited its age and had a Scotch like character. It was also beautifully clear which added very much to the pleasure of the session.

Spent Leaves



The leaves seemingly appeared healthy and of choice. I believe that perhaps the beeng is not composed of a single harvest and may even be composed of different growths, both in age i.e plantation and ancient mao cha) and in region.

For the most part, I received sensations of old growth. I feel comfortable in making this assertion in that the sensations and profile differ from other known Big Factory plantation fare I have experienced of or roughly the same age. I also noticed that some leaves have ridges while others do not. Additionally, there were also varying differences in the back ribs of the leaf which may add credence to my assumptions that a blend from different areas, and/or different growths of the same region. This of course would certainly not be uncommon for a pre-boom factory tea. In fact, single estate fare is relatively a new invention. Whether this is indicative of the aforementioned possibilities, its just an educated guess OH and I like playing detective! :P

Final Impressions

The tea is good, albeit not as good as other pre-boom examples I have had the privilege of tasting. For the most part, the orgin of the beeng is very much a mystery. Nonetheless, something about its profile screams JingMai Shan, partly due to its nutty - meaty essence and that it does not remind me of 'large farm production fare'.

Though I am certain that a decade of aging has transformed its complexities and characteristics, it is still somewhat too adolescent (in a good way) to drink now, even occasionally in my opinion. Nonetheless, it has durability and strength and revealing promise. I guess only time will tell.

2005 First South East Asia Pu-erh Trade Memorial Cake Fair produced by ChangTai Group

The Changtai group was commissioned to produce this beeng to commemorate the 2005 First SE Asia Pu-erh Fair that occured during the weeks of 10/28-11/6 in Malaysia. At 300g it is a medium sized cake which is composed of single estate MengHai wild big-leaf material. Impressive! It has a very luxurious feel.

The beeng itself has this dense feeling to the touch coupled with am attractive but simple yin and Yang symbol that is printed on the thin cotton fiber wrapper. My speculation is that this symbol has become the brand mark of the Fair since subsequent beengs share the same design, albeit in different colors. As some of you know, I have become quite partial to Chang Tai products since they are very consistent in production where their products are an equal trade off between quality and price. It appears that this particular beeng is no exception.




Initial Impressions



For being a 300g beeng, it feels hefty. Hard to explain unless you hold it yourself. The cotton wrapper, as previously mentioned appears to be of choice - thin, yet sturdy. Nothing more I hate when storing a beeng is ripped wrapping! The beeng does not contain the ubiquitous CNNP nei piao but an attractive custom print, and like the wrapper, also made of quality paper.

The leaves appear to be hand arraigned on the face of the cake and stoned pressed. Nice elegant touch. After 4 years of aging, the mao cha seems to be darkening a bit, yet is still providing a very fresh young scent. As you can see from the face of the cake, the leaves are long with long stems and intact. Generally, intact leaves is what you would expect for a single estate example as there is no need to masticate them for blending purposes. Additionally, they appear to be quite glossy - a good indication of quality. Definitely a departure from big factory fare.


Brewing Parameters

Amount - 6.2g

Brewing vessel - Yixing Teapot 150ml

Water Source - Natural Spring MI

Infusion times

1-15s
2-12s
3-35s
4-35s
5-75s
6-80s
7-100s
8-120s
9-135s

Tasting Notes



Aroma

The first infusions aromas were very sweet. The notes were quite floral which transformed into dried fruit and corn silk as it cooled. There was absolutely no hits of smoke or must; very soothing and refreshing. The latter aromas were quite consistent with the first few; however I could detect a hint of citrus laced with musk, coupled with an almost berry like whiff. Indeed a nice and interesting change.

Taste

The sweetness was also the predominant theme in the first infusions. It had a very acidic quality which seemingly refreshed the palate after each cup. After the fourth infusion, you can certainly tell that you were drinking something potent. The liquor became thick with a nice silky viscosity, which consequently had caused the flavors to linger on the palate considerably. It was bitter, yet pleasing. You can say it's comparable to orange zest, not in flavor of course, but in sensation. In the latter infusions the liquor became less floral and and less sweet, and transitioned into hints of rubber, dried grass, toasted oak, and raw legumes.

It is definitely and active tea. The sensations were wonderfully apparent. Quite active on the sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. I was afraid that the youthful quality of the liquor would subsequently numb my palate but this did not occur.



Liquor

The liquor had the wonderful color of a slightly aged example. What was remarkable however was its clarity.

Spent Leaves



When it comes to wild big-leaf I tend to get excited when viewing the spent leaves. For the most part, I try to find ways to distinguish wild or semi-wild fare from that of plantation. However, I should preface this in suggesting that examining the leaf is a terrible way of discerning between the two. The appropriate method is to taste the leaf. A skill which I have yet to master (sighs). But I try. The leaves do have a robustness to them. JUST LOOK AT THE MIDDLE RIB! It is definitely stocky. The veins also look rustic. The underside of the leaf also exhibits a considerate amount of down. I have yet to see this in pure plantation material. Although this does not mean that plantation mao cha does not exhibit these qualities I just have yet to stumble across it. I must also note that the initially it was suggested that the beeng was made of spring material. However, I am not so sure. Some of the leaves appear to be of fall harvest so it could be a blend of seasons.

Final Thoughts

What can I say, it was a wonderfully produced item. The huigan and chayun were impeccable; the flavors were penetrating and appears to be aging nicely. Boy, for a memorial cake it sure ranks up there with the sacred cow producers' items.

My new Toy the "Tea Refresher"

Well, after using this new accoutrement to my tea wares, I believe it is worth noting on Ancient Tea Horse Road. I acquired this hand crafted piece from the Famous Lin's Ceramic Studio located in Taiwan from a special order from Dragon Tea House.

The process of heating tea leaves was first described in Cha Jing from Lu Yu and has been a common practice since the Tang Dynasty. Primarily designated for fermented teas e.g. oolongs and blacks, some minorities of Yunnnan currently roast or bake the fresh tea leaves such as using an earthenware pot or piece of paper before steaping the leaves. For learning how to roast tea leaves over a paper please visit Tea Obsession for detailed instructions on how to do this.

The practice of heating tea leaves over heat sources serves two purposes, which interestingly are not related. The first reason has to do with the Traditional Chinese Medicine's concept of "hot and cold" and its effects on the the human body.

Young sheng is said to be very "cold". As a consequence, this cold affects those who are already "cold" negatively e.g., stomach aches, heart burn, yes, even diarrhea. However, when young sheng is heated or "roasted" such as what some of the minorities of Yunnan do, the process is said to turn the "cold" leaves to "hot" making the drink more agreeable to the body. The aging of sheng is said to this process naturally.

It is important to understand that the words hot and cold are not used here in the conventional sense although heat is being applied. For more information please visit Hot & Cold: The Art of Traditional Chinese Medicine.


The second reason has to do with the flavor, essence, and in some cases the salvage of tea itself. To be honest, I was somewhat skeptical that heating tea leaves could enhance my tea drinking experience and purchasing this tea refresher was somewhat an impetuous buy on my part ^_^. However, after using this tool a couple of times, my skepticism had quickly vanished.

I first gained interest in heating pu-erh after reading claims which suggested that heating pu-erh, (especially wet stored and shupu) can make some of the off flavors to dissipate. After some trial and error, and experimentation, these claims were substantiated. Heating wet stored and shupu did indeed seem to limit some of these flavors from entering the brew; especially the dampness and the ubiquitous pond which can be associated with these types. The liquor became more, to some degree, layered and more fragrant. The liquor seemed to have become thicker making the flavors linger on the palate longer. From that moment I was sold. Now that it has passed the wet stored and shupu test, I wanted to see if the same could be said about dry stored and young sheng.



For my experiments, I dug out of my pu closet the 1996 Chung Cha MengHai Factory "Orange on Orange", 2001 MengKu Yuan Yieh Xian Thick-Papered Sheng, and the '05 Xi-Zhi Hao Lao BanZhang. I purposely had chosen the '96 and '01 since I have decided that these two did have more dampness than some others that I have and wanted to see if heating these examples could do what it did for the wet stored pu. As for the '05, there was no valid reason other than it was the easiest to access.

Of course I did not drink all of these in one session. That would certainly be a lot of tea drinking and most importantly, would numb my tongue to the flavors. I took my time and patiently delved into my test for each over a day and half.

The '96 and '01 were first on my agenda as I was quite anxious to see how the heat would affect these two. I used 6 grams of each which were both brewed in my 150ml Zhuni Yixing pot, spring water yada yada yada. No special methods were utilized other than the heating of the tea in my tea refresher. After my experiments, I can say without a doubt both seemed to have benefited from the heat. Both of the liquors were again fragrant and seemed thicker, and for some reason much darker than I remembered when I last tried these two. The dampness that I had experienced earlier seemed to be limited thus allowing more nuances to come through. There seemed to be more honey and to some degree a touch of floral than I had remembered. I could tell from the moment that I took the tea refresher from the heating element and placed the leaves in the pot, the heat had done something to to the leaves. A scent of a nice rich puerh was emanating from the pot even before I added water. Needless to say, I enjoyed the aroma of the dry leaves for a time before I moved on to the next step of the rinse. Now the young sheng.

When heating the Lao BanZhang, the fragrance from the tea refresher was different as expected. It smelled more like "roasted tea" than anything else. Needless to say I had become quite concerned that I was doing just that. I again used a Yixing pot that I have dedicated to young sheng and continued to brew the tea as I do with all my other young shengs.

Interestingly, the heat did not affect the tea as much as the previous two. For the most part, the liquor did seem to be more fragrant but none of the thickness. I am not too down however as fragrance is once of may favorite qualities in liquor. All in all I was pleased with the performance of the tea refresher.

The only theory I could come up with for any of the enhancement is that perhaps the heat had caused the tea oil to become active. As for the the wet off flavors, I can only speculate that perhaps evaporated the aroma. I am still searching for the reasons, but if you have any better ideas please let me know. :D

Heating Process

As you will notice from the pictures, the refresher has two parts which - the bowl and funnel, which should be self explanatory. You use the funnel in the down position to funnel the tea in the bowl and then place the funnel up to shake the leaves from the bowl in to your pot or tea tray.

Heat the bowl with the funnel in the downward position for approx 1 minute. Add the desired amount of tea leaves into the bowl and reapply heat for an additional minute. Take the bowl off the flame and gently shake the leaves in a circular motion to evenly heat the leaves. Voila!

2001 Yi-Chang Hao YiWu Zhen Pin "Precious Grade" Sheng Beeng Cha 400g

I always like Yi-Chang products, they are consistent and are really a nice balance between price and quality. This particular example is no exception. For more information about the factory itself, please visit a previous post.

This particular example was acquired from Eloi of Sampan Teas, a Canadian vendor. Although his stock is not expansive, he does have an interesting selection.

I always enjoy drinking teas that were produced prior to the Pu-erh craze. Some suggest, which I concure, that after 2004 the quality of pu-erh has greatly suffered as consequence of increasing demand - This is a discussion that perhaps I may touch on at a later date. Needless to say, 2001 may represent some of the best that Yunnan has to offer until this god awful craze comes to an end. That said, what makes this particular beeng even better is that the mao cha is from YiWU shan, a highly sought after growing region.

YiWu Shan has a devouted following primarily for two reasons 1. YiWu shan is rich in pu-erh history and 2. its mao cha is full pleasing flavors with an almost incomparable sweetness earning it the title of the Queen of Teas. Click here for more information on YiWu Shan.

Let's get to business

Initial Impressions

The dry leaf aroma reminded me of a quintessential Hong Kong product. Although Eloi suggests that it had been dried stored in Taipei for 7 years, excessive humidity has sped up the aging process to a considerable degree. Certainly Taiwan has a drier climate than let's say Macau or Hong Kong; however, if vendors do not properly rotate their stock or provide adequate airflow, their stock may 'age' faster than those which were. This is only speculation. Nonetheless, it should not be considered a defect since many pu-erhs which have acquired more than normal humid aging conditions produce great and tasty teas. Frankly, I would still consider this a dry stored beeng since it has not reached the level of a traditional wet stored product.

The leaves appear healthy with no infestations of mold, fungus or other undesirables. Undoubtedly stone presses since the leaves easily can be pried off effortlessly.

Brewing Parameters

Amount - 6.1g

Brewing vessel - Yixing Zhuni Shui ping 150ml

Water Source - Natural Spring MI

Infusion times

1-15s
2-12s
3-35s
4-35s
5-75s
6-80s
7-100s
8-120s




Aroma

The aroma had a nice woody fragrance which was coupled with leather, tobacco and cocoa' all of which were warm, toasty and inviting. However, after the 4th infusion, almost without warning the liquor started to reveal floral notes and camphor, definitely and interesting transition. In the latter infusions, the sweet notes had succumbed to very dry notes which consisted of hay and dried grass.

Taste

The notes were quite pleasing. It was expected that the woody character of the pu-erh would carry into the liquor; however it was not as intense as it was in the aroma - It had a soothing character of which I enjoyed. After the second infusion, the liquor acquired a spicy character which was accented with delicate notes of dried plums.

For the most part, the liqour was very consistent. Although I was expecting more matured notes as a result of its accelerated aging. However, to my surprise there was still a greenness to the liquor which made it very refreshing.

It had an impeccable acidity that kept things very active and complimented the huigan quite well. Furthrmore, the thickness of the liquor provided a wonderful oomph which made the flavors linger in the palate-certainly desirable. The clarity of the liquor only added to the pleasure of the brewing session. Nice!

Spent Leaves




They are indeed broad leaf which appeared to be healthy. Nice robust ribs which would suggest although not conclusively that they are wild arbor. The flavor did remind me of wild arbor and being that it is 2001 I would have to say that they are wild arbor.


Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this example. I believe that it still has some developing which will come with further aging, it is certainly off to a great start. I would label the tea very balanced and a tantalizing brew. When the session ended, I was very comfortable and satisfied. Although the tea was not as nuanced as I had hoped for, or can say that this was a great tea, it was definitely not boring. It had all of the qualities I would expect from a decent brew - pleasant flavors, pleasant chayun and a warm and inviting chaqi.