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2017 gushu version left, 2015 huangpian gushu right |
I'm back to trying more samples of sheng from Yiwu Mountain Pu'er. I could've been clearer on what huangpian even was prior to tasting it, but I suppose that worked out for the best, going in a bit more blind. They seem to only carry this product as an inclusion in one of their sample sets (listed here), not for individual sale.
There are references on that from another vendor (Crimson Lotus) and in a Tea Chat discussion, which includes a decent summary. A friend asked if I'd tried a yellow leaf version from Farmerleaf (probably this one) but they don't use that name in reference, huang pian. I'll combine two citations from the Tea Chat discussion that works as a good description (bearing in mind that even better reference sources can include ideas that could use a bit of further interpretation):
Yellow leaf or the older lower leaves on the plant stem. Fresh its a good drink. I haven't had much older than a few years though. It is usually sorted out of the tea harvest. Many minority tribes keep it and brew it to drink....
... Aged huang pian generally gets darker and sweeter with varying notes of brown sugar, wood, bark, Chinese herbs, etc. The character is simple becoming more mellow with age, the decent ones can show some depth.
This version is three years old, and the tasting description following helps make sense of the line of questioning in that Tea Chat thread if it mades sense to age huang pian. This Yiwu Mountain Tea vendor says a little about aging potential in a blog post about a differently presented similar tea, a bamboo packed (tube-shaped) 2005 version:
Huangpian is a very accessible tea as it has many traits that fit beginners:
it has less bitterness and astringency compared to standard leaves, Yiwu huangpian is especially so lack of offensive flavours/aromas (unless stored badly):
- it is forgiving to brew - it's hard to over-brew unless you totally forget about it
- it is cheaper to obtain
- it tastes and ages just like any other Puer
I'd been reviewing a number of different samples from the Yiwu Mountain Pu'er vendor before, just not the gushu versions, with a search for those posts here, which cites some unrelated other posts. This set of samples included these two teas, which I'll be reviewing here:
2017 Yiwu gushu
2015 Yiwu gushu huangpian
On to it then, cutting the rambling on and background short. As in this recent review of two different style shengs from two different regions (one from Laos) I don't expect that comparing dis-similar teas will shed much light on either. Comparison of similar character sheds more light on minor aspects than contrast does, but it moves through samples reviewing faster, and to some extent the contrast can be informative.
And it's interesting practice, trying to do that, becoming accustomed to extending that experience range. If I were newer to it that would be more difficult but tasting comparisons were more or less the running theme last year, some cases of which made sense related to being very similar teas and some didn't. I'd probably do more with describing feel related aspects of teas in a single version tasting but I'm not learning to prefer feel range in teas as much as traditionally trained individuals might. I don't notice that as necessarily critical, picking up a learned preference that doesn't occur naturally, but of course preference is the type of thing that varies.
I noticed later that I didn't do take many pictures of this tasting. We had a nice cycle going where I had Saturday late mornings completely cleared for long versions of tea reviews, with Keoni out at Mandarin class then, but all that business with Keo being a novice and the Songkran holiday season disrupted that pattern. One upside to all that: Kalani was in swimming class at the same time and she's getting it, probably at the highest risk of drowning now due to picking up confidence but not quite being there for skill level, but within this year she'll probably swim like anyone else does.
Related to that, there were kids around making noise for this tasting session, and towards the end plans for the morning changed from "not going to a water park" to "going to a water park." The basic description still worked out, it just cut the level of detail recorded at the end.
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with Pororo at a water park in Bangna; he's getting some color |
Review:
First infusion
2017 Yiwu gushu: it's not really bitter and astringent but that's part of what's going on. I went heavy on the proportion of tea for this tasting so I'll be using short infusions in general. Since the idea is to try this tea in different ages and since hearsay has it that some degree of this aspect range is a good sign for aging potential that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's quite approachable as it is, just with complexity in those ranges. And this is the first infusion; it'll loosen up. It seems as well to start in with taste and feel summary next round. It has a nice floral range going on for taste, and the feel comes across as a bit dry, which isn't necessarily good or bad.
2015 Yiwu huangpian: I won't say much about this either. It seems less floral, with an unusual root-spice range effect, only a little familiar at this point, but I'd have to go back through reviews to see from which other tea or teas. It has a bit of dryness to it as well but less astringency and bitterness, with a slight dryness but a softer feel.
Second infusion:
It's probably still too early to say a lot about these teas; they're still going through their early infusions transition. The "2017 gushu" version is still floral, with a little more astringency and bitterness backing up that range, and a nice long finish / aftertaste. It is of the type I interpret as hui gan, an experience tied to both bitterness and sweetness that settles into the rear of your tongue and throat, relating to effects in the range of both taste and a feel, but described more in terms of aftertaste. It will be interesting to see how that transitions in other similar older tea versions, and in retrospect a comparison of different ages of that same type of tea probably would have made more sense.
The 2015 Yiwu huangpian expresses a warm spice-type range that's not easy to describe, out towards a combination of root-spice effect and damp autumn leaves. It doesn't just drop out after you drink it but the aftertaste experience after doesn't take that one particular form.
Third infusion:
2017 gushu: brewed lightly and having went through a couple of infusions this tea is in a nice place. That astringency and bitterness falls into a good balance with the sweetness and floral nature of the tea, grounded by a mineral base that integrates well. It still has a nice solid feel, and plenty of aftertaste. Using really fast infusions this would probably keep going for a long time, making for a pleasant, long experience with this tea. It doesn't describe well as an aspect but it's nice and bright, and "clean." I'm not great with putting names to floral tones, and the mineral base is also hard to describe, on the light side, matching all the rest.
2015 huangpian: this tea is also much improved for loosening up a little, although it transitioned more in terms of flavor than feel since it was a good bit softer to begin with. Where the gushu version fell into a better balance based on the same aspects as in earlier infusions this tea's flavor range shifted. It's still on the "warm" side, and that spice-type range is still present, but it's diminished, balancing better, and a bit cleaner. It's moved from spice and wet autumn leaf more into dry autumn leaf, creeping just a little into wood or tobacco tone. It's a completely different range than the other tea but both work. The 2017 gushu version matches what I've experienced of better tea versions more, but aspects ranges do just vary. Mineral is subdued compared to in the other tea, and floral tones aren't a dominant aspect.
Fourth infusion:
2017 gushu: this tea transitioned a good bit in that round, "warming up," drawing closer to the other version in a sense. Strange. It still has more bitterness (which balances well; not enough to make it taste a lot like taking an aspirin), and more feel "structure" related to astringency, brightness, and floral and mineral range, but it picked up a depth of warmer tones. It'll be interesting to see where it goes next. It seems that transition occurred mostly related to brighter mineral aspects transitioning to warmer related range, although it may keep going. The feel has a nice structure to it, I'm just not getting around to saying a lot about where it impacts parts of my mouth here.
The huangpian version shifted a little but it seems as well to cover it next round since it'll keep going.
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brewed slightly longer that round (huangpian right) |
Fifth infusion:
The 2017 didn't transition much in that one infusion, so I'll skip describing one this time. I did go slightly longer on infusion time, around 30 seconds, and it's not an improvement, but that was about picking up how the tea comes across differently, not optimizing it. The bitterness falls into a different balance made that way; it's not as nice. The feel intensifies, and aftertaste, with no flaws standing out.
It's funny how differently the huang pian comes across brewed at a different infusion strength. That warm spice / dry leaf range works much better brewed lightly, and seems slightly funky brewed just a little stronger. I'm curious to what extent that's part of the initial tea's aspects and storage related. I'd think this tea would've been stored too dry for it to pick up anything remotely like that range in two years, so the unusual character is only a result of the difference in material instead of that or processing variation. Older versions might tell more of that story, if there is more to tell about how it transitions with age. One more lightly brewed version might tell enough about these teas, and I might just skip describing the late rounds transitions, as I most often tend to.
Sixth infusion:
The 2017 gushu is in the best place yet. I didn't mind that astringency and bitterness but it softened nicely, and the warmer range works really well with the floral and mineral tones that stood out earlier. The overall feel softened a good bit but it still has some structure, and the aftertaste effect may have diminished a little but there's still plenty to it a minute or two after tasting the tea. It would probably trail off for a long time (the aftertaste) but I'm not exactly testing that, not putting the time in just drinking this tea.
The 2015 version isn't changing. It's nice, different. The balance of aspects works well brewed lightly. That character is unusual, and flavor range, but I do like it. It doesn't have the same type of intensity as the other tea, not as much feel structure, or aftertaste, and the flavors are in a completely different range, but it's pleasant and interesting.
I checked a seventh infusion too; slightly longer times draw out more but these teas aren't exactly fading. Related to personal preference I like the conventional "gushu" versus huangpian better, but it would depend on someone's take on that warm spice / earthy range.
Conclusion
Not so much to add; these were two interesting, nice teas. This Yiwu gushu version matches character for other better versions of teas I've tried from that broad region. It's a bit hard to directly compare over time to others that were similar but it holds its own.
The huang pian wasn't a favorite but in this case I might like it better once I get used to the novelty of the style. I wonder how a few more years of aging would affect it, since it lacked the astringency and bitterness that seem part of the reason that it works well to transition character of other sheng through aging in the first place. Of course all of that is intended as an observation of one way preference might work out for one range of types of teas. People liking young or brand new sheng also makes sense, and Yiwu versions seem approachable across an age range in general, as much as broad generalities like that ever make sense.
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