Reviews
Exemplary for Bulang character and house style
"The cold leaf in the bag smells of smoke, as does the dry leaf warmed in they gaiwan. There is smoke in the lid scent and smoke in the soup of the rinse. But also there is a potent sweet dry-cup aroma of old raw puer tea that never got close to being wet. The taste is crystal-clear on this point, though there's not much else besides smoke and sweetness in the first steep. The 2nd steep makes a soup that would be dark orange but for the smoke, which darkens it with a note of brown. Smoke, leather, tobacco, and that oxidized sugar sweet. And some bitter and astringent.The dry cup scent holds for a surprising long time considering it *is* 22-years-old tea. By the third steep it is opened up pretty good and you can see that the material is pretty choppy, as old bricks a likely to be, and that there are some sticks in there. A fair amount of char washing out every steep but getting less now. The smoke is less and the Bulang character of bitter and brisk is coming out more strongly. It will continue to make a sweet dry cup for another three steeps probably, and be getting pretty played out after 10. This is a nice example of the character Bulang is famous for, and an exemplary sample of the house aging style. It is not my five-star pick for 20-something-years-aged tea but it is somebody's, and if this style of storage that so perfectly preserves the origin character is what you like, it's a five-star one for you."
— Wade S. (5/5)
Very smoky but otherwise really nice aged puerh
"The aroma of smoke on first brewing this is overwhelming and is the only reason I'm not giving this tea 5 stars. It has a heavy smoke flavor, but underneath that it has a surprising sweetness with hints of wood and floral flavors. It's an excellent tea with just the right amount of age to have mellowed out without losing interest."
— Logan K. (4/5)
Drinkable
"There's no doubt this is a Bulang raw pu erh. There are still notes of the young raw pu erh. It doesn't have the fully aged taste, but it is quite drinkable and refreshing. There's a bit of sweetness at the end."
— Jason X. (4/5)
This brick is a bear to break up
"Pretty hard brick that breaks up in smaller chunks and also produces a lot of dust. Very difficult to find an entry point for the puerh pick and when you do you just get a small chunk, which require a lot of steeping to open up. I’m going to try a cold water 1 minute steep followed by a long rest period to see if that helps to open the leaves (crumbles) before actually brewing to drink. Flavor wise it’s clean with some leather and the slightest hint of smoke. I don’t think it’s complex at all. Medium plus thickness and a bit lubricating. A low level of astringency and short or nonexistent finish. I’m hoping that different brewing parameters with improve the overall experience of tea or I’ll be pretty disappointed in the purchase."
— James T. (3/5)
Great quality and value
"After a thorough rinse eliminated a slight storage stink, this tea blossomed into a rich, full-bodied and complex aged puerh. Scents of old wood furniture, lacquer, and dried fruits (apricot and raisin). Weighty, oily and mouth-coating, with none of the earthiness so common in many wet- stored teas. A very clean but complex Bu Lang, with a very long finish."
— robert c. (5/5)
After tasting 25g. sample considering bying a whole brick!
"I'm really impressed with this tea. It has such a complex character that you are truely delighted on every step of your session. Really strong but not overpowering, well aged but still with a light bite of young shengs. Slightly astringent but very smooth. I did not get much smokiness, but complex mix of floral, fruity and woody notes. There are also notes of wet ground. It's a delight to drink such tea in autumn months. And you have almost endless number of infusions even after first long steeps for opening the leaves. Consider to dedicate whole day for the session with this tea, you'll never regret it!"
— Lia K. (5/5)
I bought a brick after sampling
"I got the 2002 Bu Lang Mountain Raw sample in the February 2021 Premium Tea Club selection. I sampled it twice, the latest today, and I am so delighted by it, that I just bought a brick! I'm quite surprised that nobody has reviewed it, until me. Not very review experienced, I'll try my hand at writing what most impressed me. Both times, I've used a 200ml Old Steel Gray Yixing pot, 95C reverse osmosis water, starting with one 15s rinse, and two steeps each set, starting at 15s. There's a light smokiness to it; but, mostly a smooth, interesting, lightly floral and fruity taste, that continues after many steeps. It still has a faint bitterness and slight astringency. Mostly, I simply find this one of the most satisfying double decade raw in my collection."
— Mike (5/5)
