Review topics: ["taste","quality","smell","tea","kick","aftertaste","sheng","nuances","notes","stays","perfume"].
Reviews
Super delicate yet full flavor.
"Super delicate yet full flavor. Perfect balance of earthiness and woodiness."
— Nathan K. (5/5)
Very cool in more than one sense, superbly clean taste
"I flush twice with cooler water, then steep @ 212’F for 10s and get to 1 minute by the sixth steeps. This has the classic aged sheng itinerary: from a little astringency at the start, across a field of fruits and flowers, to a long finish in camphor. But compared to other shengs I’ve tried, it gets there much faster. The first hints of camphor and sweetness emerged in under five seconds for me. 15s in, it all starts coming together. You’re also traveling on plushier seats than usual, with a feel that is deep, soft and cool to the touch. Continuing with the same metaphor, the seats must have a massage function because the energy of this tea is both happy and highly sedative. It literally erased my slight back pain and gave my back a greater motion range. Me and my drinking mate started to laugh more. All of this arrived 15-20 minutes since the first sip. Another 5 minutes later it felt as if my extremities became nearly weightless, as if buoyed by water. I get the buoyancy all the time but it was more pronounced with this tea. Quite often, my favourite teas feel outright eroticizing for me, with all sorts of frissons and tickles caressing my skin. This one was not. Instead, I’ve felt the effects very physically in my joints, muscles and circulation. I have not noticed any caffeine or awakening at all. Quite on the contrary, this tea came across as happily sedative to me, suitable before bed. Just like the cooling sensation on the tongue, this tea was also cooling to the body. Tested on hot weather only. As if I didn’t sound tedious already, there are additional details for those who demand more than a label for this money. First, the camphor note. It’s an airy soprano, with a little smoke sweetened by mint. It goes along beautifully with the cooling effect, but I would have preferred more of a medicinal, saline baritone as you might find in a 20+ years aged. Just my personal preference. This tea is on the sweeter side. The other thing is the accuracy of the listing. I’m certainly not able to confirm or deny LBZ as the location of the harvest, but I believe that the rest of the description is accurate. I’m convinced that the tea comes from ancient trees, because no taste stands out above the rest. It’s clearly sourced from a very heterogeneous pool of trees, resulting in a complex and nuanced taste profile, but lacking the boldness or singularity of any particular flavor. I’d call it a plentiful chaos. The vintage must be correctly stated given the cooling and plush sensation on the tongue. And of course the tea has been superbly made and stored, as its taste stayed absolutely clean throughout all 30 steeps. I hope you’ll treat yourself to this experience and I wish you good night!"
— Martin (5/5)
un real
"This was my most memorable, intense and otherwordly chi i ever been smacked by, utterly groundshaking. Im pretty sure it steeped 22 times or something absurd. Hui gan was also very long lasting throughout and softly exquisite. Smell from wet leaves is something i have since always looked for when i drink sheng... like a new herb undiscovered herb scent towards the basil citrus and id even say slight touch of pineapple."
— T4U (5/5)
A Cracker of a Tea
"This was my first ever Lao Ban Zhang and it was truly exquisite. There isn't really a way to describe it, the cha qi is out of this world, like it was dialled up to 11. The initial steeps start strong with a touch of astringency before it becomes sweeter. We went for over 10 steeps at even then it was still performing well and developing beautifully. All through you get this lovely almost Chinese-medicine like smokiness that just leaps from the pot and cup. It is worth noting that for high quality, 100% Lao Ban Zhang, this price is incredibly fair, and the prices of these are only going to go up."
— Ben C. (5/5)
Good taste and smell
"Good taste and smell"
— Daniil B. (5/5)
Wow is right.
"I didn't think cha chi was a thing until I tried this tea. It has a slight citrus/Maryjane odour, floral definitely. Slight drying in the mouth with a sweet floral/herbal Hui Gan. The effect is quite overwhelming. This is bloody strong 'kick you in the face and lands you on your ass' tea."
— J-P (5/5)
no magic
"Have got the sample. Good tea with LBZ character, bright aftertaste, very light straw colour, quite young feeling because of (very?) dry storage (feels like like 3-5 y.o. tea). No magic. Imo heavily overpriced, but if you have the money and have no alternative - why not?"
— vk (4/5)
Just Wow
"One of the best teas I have ever tried. I decided to pick up a whole cake on the whim and oh boy was it worth it. The dry smell is overwhelming, once wet the sweetness was so evident in the nose with some vegital notes. similar to Monica's review, my Partner and I fell silent for the first 4 brews just out of the intensity of the cha chi and mouth feel. what a great Tea. I know understand why Lao Ban Zhang is so well sought after."
— Chris L. (5/5)
2009 Lao Ban Zhang
"When i opened the package all i could smell was the strong aroma from the tea. This legendary tea is really something special!"
— Peter L. (5/5)
ZeroZen's Review is Spot On!
"This tea left me awe struck. It blissed me out so much, I stopped speaking during my first session with it with my sis. She ended up leaving to give me alone time to absorb the experience. Every cup is a markedly different experience with this tea. I connected with this tea on a mystical level. The next morning, I woke up so happy and still blissed out at how beautiful this tea is. I read ZeroZen's review before buying a sample and wasn't sure what to think of the tea, the review or ZeroZen. After tasting the sample, I invested in two tongs, now follow ZeroZen on instagram and give him a lot of respect for being legit and writing awesome reviews. Thanks Scott for making such a beautiful tea available. And, thanks, ZeroZen for your lovely review."
— Monica Y. (5/5)
