Review topics: ["taste","feel","price","tea","bitterness","aroma","character","longevity","cake","astringency","raws"].
Reviews
Thoroughly Mid-Tier Experience
"Look, this is not a bad cake. But I was glad to see Wade S. 's comments which reminded me that it's okay to not feel like I'm missing much here. This tea has a mild flavor, mild qi, and mild longevity. My advice would be to rinse it, give it a couple of hard brews, getting all the flavor and the energy at once, and get on with your day. At least then, you will get to see what it really is, instead of lingering in a thoroughly mid-tier experience. What Wade S. said: . . . for going on 5 years, which is how long I've had the cake of it that I am now almost finished drinking. When I bought the cake blind I had been drinking puer for about 2 years. At first I thought it was pretty good. It really does seem to be not plantation material and is free of the defects that would go with that. On the other hand, it's not very strong tea. It has a lot of sticks and dust in it. It doesn't have strong compelling character. On the third hand, it really is not plantation tea. It might not have much flavor, but it does have a good feel. On the 4th hand it has pretty poor longevity, if you soak it long enough to make a cup with that good feel. The session I'm drinking now is about dead after, I think, 7 steeps. I am a little stupefied at how the price has gone up since I bought it. I don't really feel that it's a $100 bing, even with the way prices have been going for the last few years. I won't go so far as to say (as I might have, three years ago) "Scott, this one is a clinker. You can do better than this. " But it is still close to the bottom of the list of GD-stored cakes here that I would recommend to someone else"
— Shrimp B. (3/5)
Delicious, mild, easy to extract
"All my friends agreed that it's tasty and balanced. Seems to steep easily, can totally take cutting with some water 2:1 tea:water if you over do it"
— Emil T. (5/5)
A panoply of aromas.
"A lot going on here: camphor, candied sesame, honey, Chinese apothecary aromas. . . maybe white raisons. A little astringent and bright but not unpleasant. Complex bouquet. Didn't knock my socks off, but it's pretty darn good."
— René (4/5)
Good for a Guangdong storage
"Guangdong always ends up giving the fishy taste to whatever tea is stored in that region. It's just humid sub-tropical so don't expect Kunming storage in their teas. They aren't my cup of tea; however this sheng has managed to shed off most of the wetness leaving a quite pleasant puerh to drink. Very fruity and a delicate Qi. In my case the huigan was lingering at the front of my tongue. Brewed for about 15 times in a 60mL porcelain gaiwan. Good stuff. Recommended."
— Gerard (4/5)
Great tea - powerful and long lasting.
"This is a great 'all-day' tea. I forgot I had a sample and have been drinking it all day today. There's some light astringency, a strong 'clear' bitterness (if that makes any sense), and a nice, aged camphor sort-of aroma. Some subtle sweetness and fruitness somewhere in there, I think. The earlier steeps had a little bit of that funky, wet-stored taste, but it faded somewhat later on. The best part is the strong feeling and taste that sticks around in the back of your mouth for ages. It's a very 'present' tea - you don't have to look for the flavours or sensations; it hits you in the face with them. Likewise, cha qi is present, but not overpowering. Even after 30-ish steeps, it's still giving. Most (if not all) of the flavour is gone, but that rich 'essence' is still there in the background and is very satisfying. I was brewing at 100°C the whole way through, starting with 5-30 second steeps and pushing it more and more up into the minutes as the bitterness faded. Didn't weigh my tea, but I filled a 180ml gaiwan perhaps 3/4 of the way, so I was brewing quite strong. A full cake will be in my next order, I reckon."
— Jack V. (5/5)
I love all the tea
"I love all the tea that this company sells. This tea has such great complex tea"
— Sharon L. (5/5)
Amazing tea!!!
"Amazing tea!!!"
— Vasily B. (5/5)
I have been back and forth in my feeling about this tea...
"... for going on 5 years, which is how long I've had the cake of it that I am now almost finished drinking. When I bought the cake blind I had been drinking puer for about 2 years. At first I thought it was pretty good. It really does seem to be not plantation material and is free of the defects that would go with that. On the other hand, it's not very strong tea. It has a lot of sticks and dust in it. It doesn't have strong compelling character. On the third hand, it really is not plantation tea. It might not have much flavor, but it does have a good feel. On the 4th hand it has pretty poor longevity, if you soak it long enough to make a cup with that good feel. The session I'm drinking now is about dead after, I think, 7 steeps. I am a little stupefied at how the price has gone up since I bought it. I don't really feel that it's a $100 bing, even with the way prices have been going for the last few years. I won't go so far as to say (as I might have, three years ago) "Scott, this one is a clinker. You can do better than this." But it is still close to the bottom of the list of GD-stored cakes here that I would recommend to someone else."
— Wade S. (3/5)
Great vaue; tasty tea!
"After just the first steep, I am inclined to proceed with a review of this tea. If this seems hasty, I've been brewing in a 400ml teapot and keeping the brewed tea in a thermal vessel while I enjoy it. This may sound odd, but I generally brew one infusion per day until the tea is done revealing itself. Okay, on to the tea. It has a nice body to it; noticeably thick to me. It still has some "teeth", and I see what others mean about the camphor aspect. I wonder whether anyone else is getting a raisin essence from this tea. I am delighted to enjoy a tea this good at a great price point. Thank you Scott!"
— Alvis (5/5)
Great for 1st Aged Raw Puerh!
"This is my first aged raw Puerh and I really enjoyed it! Attractive camphor aroma like ripe puerh with mild camphor fore taste. Also present are mild honey note like floral sense. No bitterness and slight astringent taste. Pleasant and easy to drink. Good for relaxing too. Lastly, the price is afforable too!"
— Yingwei W. (5/5)
