Oriental Leaf Jinyang Genshe 2010 Fu brick tea

 

This reviews an exceptional Fu zhuan (brick) hei cha version from Oriental Leaf.  This was sent by them for review (many thanks!).

I've reviewed a number of other versions from them, over last year.  A general theme was making Fu zhuan hei cha from different types of higher than usual tea material, for example from Yunnan Assamica usually used to make pu'er, or from already processed white tea.  

I've never really explored hei cha processing that much here, how it differs from producing other types, or how fermentation is induced through different processing steps.  I read, and mentioned, some background on Liu Bao awhile back, but it was a bit complicated to sort out by simplified summary.  This includes "golden flower" fungus growth, which is regarded as a positive input, but I also don't get into that much in this.

It works to mostly just describe the tea itself, the typical blog review theme.  Which often starts with citing the producer / vendor description and details, as here:

Jingyang Genshe 2010 Vintage Fu Brick Tea | Golden Flower Dark Tea  ($218 for a 468 gram brick, but it is also sold as a 30 gram sample for $17)

In 2010, in the ancient tea-trading hub of Jingyang, Shaanxi Province, master craftsman Jia Genshe 贾根社 pressed this brick using techniques his family has guarded for generations. The "Jingyang Fu Brick Tea making technique" was officially recognized and listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. This designation reflects the extraordinary skill required to cultivate the Golden Flowers that define authentic Fu tea—a process that historically could only succeed under Jingyang's unique climate and water conditions.

What sets this brick apart is the preservation of an increasingly rare production step: the tea-oil infusion process (熬茶油, Áo Chá Yóu). After the Hunan Anhua black maocha (黑毛茶, Hēi Máo Chá) undergoes initial fermentation (渥堆, Wò Duī) and cutting, it is simmered to extract a thick, concentrated tea liquor. This potent essence is then poured back over the leaves before the flowering stage (发花, Fā Huā) begins. The result is a Fu brick with noticeably richer body and more complex flavor than standard production methods can achieve.

Hand compressed Fuzhuan is easier for the Golden Flower to grow than machine compressed. Since the hand-compressed tea is not as tight as the machine, there will be more space and moisture for the fungus to grow and propagate. Master Jia's entirely handmade approach—from pressing to flowering—ensures optimal conditions for the beneficial Eurotium cristatum to flourish throughout the brick.

So the description offers a good bit of build-up, with more description content in the listing.  And the selling cost of this is considerable, perhaps the highest Fu zhuan or hei cha pricing I've seen.  It would have to be one of the best hei cha versions I've ever tried to justify that.  And it is; this stands above anything else I've experienced within the entire hei cha range.  Surely this represents the high end of Fu zhuan potential, regardless of where it stands within that higher end range.

Mind you the difference between quite good Fu zhuan and a great version could seem narrow, to some.  Their "On Taoism" pressed cake examples were already pretty good, and for people assigning value (and limited cost) as a main selection input they could be good enough.  This tea is something else; it's for people really on that page.  Or buying a sample would provide the experience without the $200+ expense (for a brick version amounting to nearly half a kilogram; that's a lot of material to keep experiencing).

I've mentioned sharing that earlier tea experience, those other versions, with people in tastings (in posts here), and in general essentially everyone who has tried it has found it interesting, and liked it.  I think that relates to why Oriental Leaf is open to sharing tea of this amount and value (which sort of requires explanation, per one take on it).  It could seem like a way to "buy" blogger or reviewer support, to convert a positive reviewer into more of a proactive supporter or "shill" role, but I don't see it as working out like that.  

If I like a tea I communicate exactly the same thing, whether a vendor has sent a sample or else more tea than that.  If I dislike a tea I generally won't cover it, seeing that as an uninteresting story to tell, unless a tea is bad in an interesting way, for example a Lapsang Souchong version is way too smoky.  

I don't end up buying much bad tea, and vendors don't share it with me, so I typically review whatever is interesting enough to write about.  I bought some generic local black tea a year or so ago that wasn't; that kind of thing happens.

Review:

Infusion #1:  of course it's really something, novel, complex, and exceptional.  A rye bread like flavor stands out initially, with lots going on beyond that.  There's a sweetness that might be like honey, or maybe closer to caramel.  A spice tone matches well with the fresh baked bread flavor effect.  I suppose it's like one part of nutmeg, which works out to be a complex flavor.  Feel is full and rich, and it contributes some aftertaste experience already.  Mineral depth is warm and pronounced.

The tea is very clean and full, related to an overall impression.  There is no murkiness or heavy earthiness.  This may well be the best Fu zhuan version I've tried.  To an extent that has to be framed in relation to a personal preference, since that's the final yardstick, but you can also extend that to be an objective conclusion, it just functions in a limited sense as that.  

Editing note:  these notes were written before I read the description, heard anything about the tea, or knew the cost of it, per my standard approach.  I don't go back and edit tasting descriptions to sound more like the product description.

#2:  heavier flavors pick up.  Using a relatively high proportion, maybe 8 grams, relates to this brewing to be strong, even with limited infusion time (maybe 15 seconds this round; not that long, or that limited).  Brewed lighter sweeter, lighter flavors stand out more, and brewed heavier heavy flavors and warmer tones tend to be more of what you experience.  Astringency is stronger when a tea is brewed stronger, but this doesn't include a lot of that.  It has a full feel, and a lot of body, and that's it.

This has shifted from a fresh baked light rye flavor range to a darker bread range, on towards pumpernickel.  Spice tone is still present, but lighter, and sweetness plays a less pronounced role.  More earthy and mineral range depth stands out.  

You can taste a golden flowers input; that has a specific, characteristic flavor.  Some of what I'm missing, that I'm leaving out in notes, relates to that.  There's a touch of sourness to it, a yeasty sort of effect.  If you've tried to use brewer's yeast as a supplement, or something along that line, it's pretty close to that.  I think most people would like the flavor, and overall effect, but there's nothing necessarily universal about that; some also wouldn't.  People could apply interpretations like cardboard or cured hardwood; that could make sense.  To me it's still in a bread range, more so.

she helped out with the tasting

#3:  I brewed this faster, at less than 10 seconds, to see what that changes.

To some extent lighter tones do emerge, but it's also in the same general range.  There's a catchy flavor set, in the way these particular flavors combine.  A lighter, sweeter sort of caramel tone is more present in this round.  The spice that I identified as nutmeg is probably closer to an incense spice.  Eventually I'll try out burning some decent incense sticks, but until then I'll have trouble placing which ones.  Sandalwood, maybe?  

The feel is exceptional, that fullness, with a good bit of structure, but that's at the same time very approachable.  It doesn't contribute aftertaste in the same sense as sheng pu'er.  Flavor definitely trails afterwards, and feel does, but it's more that the whole experience stays with you.  It's also the feel across your entire mouth, and a residual flavor echo that's not the same as what you taste drinking it.  Mineral tone stands out more, like a rich, warm version of clay.  Some people might think "yuck, clay," but the range of scent tones that clay can express can be remarkable.  I played with clay a lot as a child; it was that kind of a strange, rural, old timey sort of experience of youth, for me.

From there I think other people might "get" other flavors.  One part might resemble pine cones, and another some type of curing hardwood bark.  It tastes a little like beeswax.  There's a lot of depth and complexity to both the flavor and feel experience ranges.

#4:  I'll go back to brewing this around 15 seconds; I think it will do well more fully extracted.

Spice tone stands out a bit more.  It's hard to say what spice; it's complex, so really more than one thing.  The main part is along the line of sandalwood.  I suppose this tastes like how you'd expect the "spice melange" in Dune to taste.  Let's check that:

In Dune, the Spice Melange is consistently described as smelling and tasting like bitter cinnamon. However, the experience is highly subjective; characters note that it never tastes exactly the same twice, taking on complex, life-like variations that can induce mild euphoria.

Because "melange" translates to "mixture" or "blend" in French, many culinary interpretations suggest it relies on cinnamon as a base while weaving in notes of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. The dynamic flavor profile is also frequently attributed to a "learned-flavor reaction," where your body recognizes the substance as life-enhancing and interprets the taste as intensely pleasurable.

(with the AI sampling that last part from here)

One part of this does taste like clove, but it's a very soft, rich part of the entire clove flavor range.  Maybe the spice depth isn't unlike ginger too, but again there is no strong, spicy edge.

Aftertaste is quite pronounced, probably a little stronger for brewing this stronger.  That sandalwood sort of effect really carries over.

# 5:  feel is changing, more than flavor tone, but it's also both.  It's still rich, full, and approachable, but a bit more edge enters in, a trace of dryness.  That aftertaste effect also sort of builds up on you, over lots of rounds.  You could always drink water between rounds, or some neutral food, like a rice cracker, to get it to dispel, but it's a pleasant effect.

This feel and flavor will continue to evolve; this tea is far from finished.  But I only have so much patience for taking notes, and I drank some of sheng versions left over from yesterday before starting this, with breakfast.  Breakfast was pretty exceptional today, but also kind of normal for me:  eggs with amaranth (Thai or Chinese spinach), lychee, left over pastry (egg tart and taro with latticed danish), and a small local donut.

In drinking the last of this round it again occurs to me how clean in effect this is.  For listing all of these relatively earthy or warm vegetal flavors you might expect it to be a little harsher, but it's clean and light in tone (compared to some flavors being a little heavy).  Feel is rich and full but not harsh.  Maybe related to aging input settling out rougher edges?

Conclusion

There isn't too much to add; I really liked the tea.  Flavor complexity, depth, intensity, feel, and refinement were all very positive.  Novelty was great; some other similar teas I've tried could include comparable individual aspects from this, but nothing else has come close related to pulling it all together.

I guess from there I can get back to value issues.  Fu zhuan tends to be inexpensive, and those earlier versions seemed like middle-range pricing to me, on a somewhat higher level than might be most typical ($38.50 for 190 gram cake, kind of in sheng pu'er range, relating to a $70-some 357 gram cake).  

But the most "ordinary" and low cost Fu zhuan tends to include a number of limitations, eg. moderate flavor intensity and complexity, a limited amount of off flavor range (earthiness, tasting like less positive forms of clay), rougher feel, etc.  I think that's a great place to start hei cha exploration, but eventually people might naturally want to try better versions.

Maybe citing an earlier experience will clarify this, from this post in 2017:  Yi Qing Yuan factory Hunan Fu brick tea with golden flowers

That tea sounds fine, and somewhat comparable, but from that description it doesn't sound like it's on the same level.  The tea was from Yunnan Sourcing, but they don't still list it (of course), and instead of that being from 2009 they seem to mostly only list 2018 and 19 versions now (so still a comparable age as that had been then, 8 years old).  Eight years probably does settle out quite a bit of the rougher edged range of a lot of hei cha, but 16 is probably better, for a more complete transition cycle.  

That review includes a bit on what golden flowers are (the fungus); I was doing more with looking up and including such background back then.

To be fair it's hard to place my 2017 perspective against my current exposure to hei cha, and a broad range of teas.  I was new to the range then, and I've tried a good bit since, but have focused more on pu'er.  This was written mostly to communicate the aspects as I experienced them, instead of placing the tea within a range of other Fu zhuan hei cha that's out there, but a little discussion of that seemed in order.

at a local Bangkok convention center (Queen Sirikit)

Lincang and Fengqing (Yunnan) material Fu zhuan

 

I'm reviewing two exceptional Fu zhuan (hei cha) versions made from Yunnan Assamica material, from the Lincang and Fengqing areas.

This is an unusual theme, re-trying versions of tea I reviewed over a year ago (sent by Oriental Leaf for review; many thanks!).  I think vendors have sent the same samples more than once before; it could be hard for them to keep track, as I have to look up what I've tried in the past.  It should be interesting though, because I've been trying more Fu zhuan style hei cha recently, and quite a bit of Liu Bao over the last few months.  I should be more dialed in to that range.

Part of the point here is to compare the style to the other Fu hei cha processed versions I've been reviewing, with two of those based on white tea material.  This is from Assamica material typically processed into pu'er, from Yunnan.  I'll cite the vendor description to fill that part in and get right to it.

On Taoism - Jingyang Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea - 190g Cake ($38.50 for 190 gram cake)

This 190-gram round Golden Flower Fu tea cake is the miniature packaging version of another of our best-selling 350g cakes. Although it is small in size and a bit lighter in weight, the quality of the tea is the same as that of the popular product.

The classic Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea from On Taoism Tea Factory is a signature product of our tea house.

We offer two options:

One is black-wrapped, made from grade one dark tea from Lincang, Yunnan, with a more intense tea aroma.

The other is yellow-wrapped and made from a particular grade one dark tea from Fengqing, Yunnan, with a deeper tea aroma.

Both types of tea undergo post-fermentation and flowering processes in Jingyang. The buds in the red packaging are more tender, while those in the black packaging are more durable for brewing.

These high-quality compressed tea cakes were produced in 2020. They stand out for their ability to be stored long-term and transform, resulting in a more mellow taste.

The most distinctive feature is the high density of golden flowers in the compressed tea cake. These golden flowers, a beneficial microorganism, signify high-quality Fu Brick Tea. To emphasize this feature, workers split the tea cake in half before it left the factory, allowing you to see the dense golden flowers upon receiving the tea. As mentioned in a previous blog, the number of golden flowers is a crucial quality indicator of Fu Brick Tea; the more golden flowers, the better the quality.

This Fu Brick Tea, with its unique round cake shape, supports the traditional and natural growth of the golden flower fungus. Unlike the brick shape of traditional pressed tea, this tea undergoes a unique post-fermentation process using Jingyang water in Jingyang. This process, involving controlled exposure to moisture and air, enhances the tea's flavor and aroma. Thanks to the cotton paper packaging, the rich, high aroma can be appreciated even before brewing.

The Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea offers a unique taste and brewing experience. The tea leaves, known for their durability, can be brewed over 15 times. The taste combines fresh, sweet notes and a returning sweetness with a clear and bright soup base. The On Taoism Tea Factory maintains a clean workshop, ensuring the tea's high quality without washing.

These probably do change a little year to year, but maybe more in the way shou / shu pu'er transitions quite a bit over the first 3 or 4 years, and then changes are gradual and more limited after that.

That pricing is equivalent to a $72 357 gram pu'er cake.  For some Fu zhuan versions that would be on the high side, but these are exceptional, so that seems fair to me.  It would be hard to find other versions that are as distinctive, high in quality, and pleasant, and especially difficult to find anything better.  From there it's down to styles matching preference, which I hope gets described in the notes.

Review:

Lincang material, black label (left in all photos):  I didn't use a rinse; that's a judgement call.  I'm not sure where conventional wisdom stands for rinsing this particular tea.

Flavor is pleasant, rich and complex.  A dark rye sort of bread like aspect stands out.  It's not as heavy, not as dark, as it might be.  One part is lighter, even leaning towards citrusy.  In between complex tones could be judged in different ways.  One would have to mention spice to fill in a decent list, but it's complex enough spice that it's not simple to break down, along the line of incense related spice.

Fengqing material, yellow label (cream colored, really):  even heavier; this is closer to a dark rye, or on towards pumpernickel.  It's clean though; none of the earthy tones seem musty or off, also true of the other version.  An unusual mineral range stands out in this.  Usually mineral tones are light, like flint or limestone, or else quite warm, onto darker colored rocks range, but this isn't so easy to place.  A different spice tone stands out.  For sure that fungus, the golden flowers, is contributing a lot of that to both, so for people familiar with it I could just say these taste like two different variations of golden flowers.  A bit of beeswax sort of flavor comes through, and beyond that again spice tones are hard to place.  Maybe dried fruit plays a role; I'll try to separate a list better next time, but this will probably transition a little already, with a lot of the outer fungus rinsed off in that round.

In retrying both just before going on to the next round the lighter colored first version, in the black label, has a bit more of a distinctive heavy towards actual fungus range, like an old tree bark or log smells in the forest, and the darker colored second version is lighter and brighter.  Interesting.  I don't remember which of these I liked more the last time I tried them, but it will be interesting to see if that changed.

Lincang, black label #2:  even brewed very fast, under 10 seconds, intensity and complexity are great.  Mouthfeel is even full, with a bit more structure to it than last round.  This is giving off a tree bark sort of tone, in a good sense; it's clean, rich, and complex.  Bright tones stand out too, giving it a nice balance.  It's mostly in the range of spice, perhaps with a bit of dried citrus peel standing out.  This is probably the kind of tea that no two people would describe in the same way, so a text description may be of limited helpfulness.

Sweetness, rich feel (with a hint of dryness), and aftertaste really contribute to the experience.

Fengqing, cream colored label:  warmer tones are interesting, especially in contrast with the other being as light as it is.  That seems to have switched, that I just said the opposite in the first round.  I think that round was about the flavor of the fungus that had been rinsing off, and this one relates as much to brewed tea leaves, which are just getting started.  This tastes more like a dark bread, again.  There's a hint of the warm, rich earthiness present in shou / shu pu'er, that peat range, but not much.  It's light and clean in effect, and integrated with the rest in this.  It's more in the dark bread and spice range.  

To me, based only on limited past exploration, to be clear, you don't tend to see this much complexity, balance, and depth in hei cha of this type, Fu zhuan.  The intensity is unusually pronounced.  As I recall, although I didn't re-read an earlier review, these are made from high quality Yunnan material used to make pu'er, not something a bit less (distinctive, or lower in quality?).  I mean the material probably had more potential than hei cha material often does.  It's not made of sticks either, and probably not based on old leaf material as much.  It's just a different thing, across all of those dimensions, related to origin, plant type, and plucking / harvesting standard.

Lincang, #3:  I gave this a little longer, 15 seconds, although the intensity was fine before, maybe on the high side.  It would probably make more sense to use half as much of this tea, dropping the proportion, and brew it on towards 20 seconds.  That's just habit from maxing out proportion most of the time, not an earlier guess about an optimum.

There's a spice oriented range in this that I'm probably never going to describe well.  It reminds me of the Dune theme; this probably tastes a lot like their melange spice would.  It's full and sort of earthy, but also bright and complex.  It hints as lots of spice tone, and also lighter range like dried citrus peel.  Mineral is a part of it, but it's so integrated that it's hard to place, as light or dark, tasting like some particular rock.  Feel is full and rich, but it has an edge of dryness.  It's like how a black tea might include a touch of astringency giving it a little dry feel.  I suppose some might connect this feel and the flavor to that experience, and say that it tastes like the malt in Assam.  It does, a little.  That's probably what I was missing, to the extent it's not just a set of lots of flavors.

Fengqing:  a creaminess picks up; that's interesting.  It's in the form that creamy feel, sort of tied to tastes, emerges in stout beer, like Guinness.  Hints of rich dried fruit also pick up.  Where the other is spice-oriented with dryness this is now on to really tying back to the heavy, dark bread range, not unlike stout, with sweetness picking up.  Feel is rich and creamy, not dry at all.  It's missing that malt edge in the other, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on preference.  

From there one might see parallel with warm tones in fallen logs, with tree bark.  It's also leaning a little towards cacao, but I don't think many people would make that association, because it's not quite there.  It's the way that rich flavor range, soft feel, and complexity come across that implies something like it.  

At this point I like the cream colored label version better (later I'll swap in tea plant material origin locations for main descriptions).  That complexity, spice, and dryness in the first works, it balances in a positive way, but this second version is really unique.

Lincang, #4:  not so different than last round, so I'll mostly skip repeating it all.  Maybe a bit of extra sweetness picks up, an extra dried fruit oriented flavor that's hard to place, partly related to dried citrus peel, but there is more to it.  As to form of citrus I'd say it's red grapefruit.  An Assam drinker might really love this.  I mean someone drinking really good orthodox, high quality Assam, not the ground up stuff that requires milk and sugar.  It includes some of the same malt and fruit, plus an extra dimension or two.  Astringency is very limited, to just a bit of dry edge, but to me that's a good thing.  

Fengqing:  a different kind of spice range enters in, a root spice effect, along the line of sassafras, just not exactly that.  Warm tones stand out all the more, although I guess that was also true in a different sense in the last couple of rounds.  It's creamy in a slightly different way, leaning towards root beer, instead of stout (actual dark beer).  

This is a really unique tea experience.  Both are, but it seems like parts of the other version's character turn up in other places more, in other types.  You just don't end up drinking teas that land right in between dark bread and root beer for flavor range, or maybe really spanning both, including them.  If that somehow didn't make sense together, if it didn't integrate, this could be really off-putting, but it ties together beautifully.  I'd be surprised if I didn't like this tea version more last time.

Of course the teas kept brewing, without changing character that much over the next few rounds, eventually fading later.

Conclusions:

I had reviewed these earlier here; one of the points of this review is to compare notes.  I brewed them Western style, which isn't typical for me for most tea types.  It's not a bad call, related to this style of tea, but you experience more distinct flavor aspects when you Gong Fu brew them.  It also helps with dialing in infusion strength.  

It makes it hard to compare impressions, because they were made differently, and expressed character differently as a result.  The general impressions match, but this second review adds a lot more detail.  This tea is good enough that you probably should Gong Fu brew it; you see an extra dimension or two that way, and it's worth it.  Or if you don't feel like going through that some of the time results are fine the other way, unlike brewing a lot of range of sheng pu'er, which typicall just doesn't really work out well.

Drilling down to finer flavor aspects more, and feel character, it was interesting how one part of the Lincang range reminded me of good orthodox Assam experience, the slightly drier feel, and touch of malt.  You might only associate the flavor with malt if you could make that connection, since it's natural to be "looking for" other earth, spice, and dried fruit range instead.  

The Fengqing expressed more spice range in the Gong Fu brewing based review, like sassafras, coming out more after the first couple of infusions.  Brewed Western style those same generalities turned up, but in far less specific form.  Someone might have even interpreted it as leaning towards cacao, when I saw it as closer to root beer in the last round.  If it sounds like it's closer to shou / shu pu'er I would say that kind of partly works, but it's not related to peat flavor, which is pretty common in shou.

Compared to the other Fu zhuan versions made from white teas these are just different.  Those might have been a little lighter in character, possibly slightly sweeter, maybe with different pronounced fruit tones.  There was a little fruit range in these too though, and earthiness was present but not in a way that dominated the character, nothing unusual, that necessarily would be regarded as a flaw, or negative input.

I should be able to say which matched my preference most, even though that alone can be tricky comparing over weeks of time, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything to anyone else.  Often when you try a tea a few times your impression changes, and you relate to it differently.  That last Fu zhuan tea was pretty good; I can't say that I like either of these more.  It had a clean, bright, fruit intensive range, with lots of depth, that all balanced well.  But there is something really interesting and appealing about the Fengqing version, the way that particular spice range and varied depth come across.  The other is good too, and for a tea to have with food it might be better, but in terms of this impression I liked the Fengqing version more than the Lincang. 

Tea China 7572 Dayi (Taetea) shou / shu pu'er

 

I'm trying the last sample from a small Tea China vendor's set (sent at no cost for review; many thanks!).  

The posts need to have some sort of story that they tell, and often that's about something completely novel, a new style or origin.  This isn't that; this is a very standard type.  But it could be interesting referencing back to what that standard is.  I was still looking into types and background back in 2014 when I wrote a bit on what Dayi / Taetea 7572 is, in 2014, and on storage issues with tasting notes on multiple versions in this post.  I can't directly compare back to experiences 11 years ago, but I can try to look at this experience based on trying dozens of versions of shou / shu since.  

I'll just call it shou here, but I have trouble deciding which is more correct.  If whichever version matches the best standard Romanization practice is less conventional then it would be hard to say.

Their site listing:

Yunnan DaYi Pu’er Tea 7572 Classic Ripe Pu’er Tea  ($18.53, for 250 grams)

Pu’Er ripe tea from the famous Yunnan Menghai Pu’Er Tea Factory (Dayi). 7572 is a classic formula for Pu’Er tea and a benchmark for Pu’Er ripe tea.  We purchased these Pu’Er teas in 2022.

Dayi 7572 is a bulk Pu’er ripe tea from Menghai Tea Factory, which has been produced since the mid-1970s. It undergoes moderate fermentation, featuring the iconic reddish-brown and thick liquor color as well as a mellow taste.

Taste Profile:

In the new tea stage, it has a rich caramel aroma with a sweet scent, and after brewing, the lingering sugar aroma at the bottom of the cup is rich and full-bodied.

As the storage time increases, its aroma gradually changes. For example, after 3 years of storage, the aged aroma and sugar aroma begin to emerge and become more prominent, while the pile fermentation smell and woody aroma fade away. For ripe teas aged over 7 years, the aroma is mainly dominated by the aged scent.

I suppose that works.  One part of the sales listing says it's 250 grams, and the other 150, so I take that to be a typo / accidental mistake.  It's 150; that's listed on the packaging they show.

Review:

First infusion:  brewed a bit strong, using maybe 4-5 grams of tea to brew over 250 ml, maybe nearer to 12 ounces instead.  I did use a quick rinse this time; that's relatively standard, and it could cut back mustiness or funk a little.

Level of funk stands out most.  Shou often has a damp cardboard sort of scent to it, which others could associate as still within the range of peat.  It's pronounced in this.  Moychay shou versions, which are typically pretty good, tend to have a characteristic form of that, which I guess someone could love or else dislike.  Storage conditions input would enter in.  I think that aspect is mainly coming from the original tea character, which transitions over time, but storage would change how it is expressed, especially if a tea is stored very dry or very wet (diminishing that range, if quite dry, and changing it and increasing it, if stored wet or damp).

It has always been interesting how Hong Kong is considered quite damp storage, with Malaysia also described as such.  From online discussion it sounds like these are two consistent themes, based on conditions in those areas, but in reality vendors could, and probably typically would, adjust humidity level in storage conditions.  Malaysia, and Bangkok, are both much warmer and more humid than Hong Kong.  I've written about that here, and I wrote so much on that subject that I wrote a summary of it all here.  But the second of those was in 2019; I've learned a lot more through experience since.  And I write less now; that's how that tends to go.

Back to the tea, flavor is complex in this.  It's generally positive.  I think these benchmark Dayi / Taetea numbered shou are a great representation of good, basic shou character, and are positive to experience.  Of course they would vary.  Beyond the heavy earth baseline in this some hint of dried fruit and rich spice stands out, or aromatic dark wood.  It all mixes; it's hard to express as a list.  Maybe this does taste a bit like betel nut, the traditional Chinese herb input used for chewing, maybe like how people experience chewing tobacco.

This wouldn't be completely separate from the flavor range of chewing tobacco, just not all that close to it either.  Probably the larger leaf version, with a richer, deeper flavor, than the sharper, lighter, more stinging version of "snuff," the ground version.  I've never experienced much of either, but I did do a tour of vices back in my teens, as was common in the 1980s.  Right, I'm getting old.

That's already describing most of the flavor, but in unusually general terms (like spice, like dried fruit or dark wood).  Maybe I can narrow that down a bit, along with describing transitions, in a next round.  But since I'm brewing this Western style it would typically only make about three strong infusions.  This would also be pleasant to experience brewed Gongfu style, and you would see more transition between rounds.  Not a lot, typically, for this tea type, but some.  

Most people seem to like shou brewed inky black, and there is no limit for astringency or other limitations entering in, so it can be as strong as you like.  It's good for thermos brewing, which is just what it sounds like, using a very low proportion and the longest possible infusion time in a thermos, that you take with you.  It's so gentle on your stomach that it's the only tea I drink when fasting, beyond a little aged white, and I'm on day 1 of a planned 5 day fast today.  It's no problem to have this without breakfast.  Rushing through an extra strong brewed 12 ounce mug to write notes on the next part is a little more questionable.

Second infusion:  lighter, brewed faster.  Some of the peat range drops out.  It wasn't really musty before, kind of clean in effect, but describing a fermentation input like peat is hard to clarify related to that.  I think this may really relate to what people describe as like betel nut, as a main flavor.  I really should try that; it's out there in the local Chinatown (in Bangkok; I'm not in Hawaii now, where I also live sometimes).

The rest is still complex, but still not so distinct.  Warm tones do seem like dark wood, and some supporting range like dried fruit or spice.  Maybe sandalwood?  Dried fruit is perhaps closest to jujube, dried Chinese date.  And then it's hard to make any of that more specific.

Feel is decently rich and full.  Aftertaste expression is limited, but it doesn't clear from your mouth immediately, so those two parts give it some complexity.  It doesn't come across as amazing quality tea, but it's solid, and pleasant.

Conclusions:

On to guessing, limited to age, since I already know what it is.  As I see it shou tends to undergo two main transitions related to aging, related to the early fermentation related off notes clearing, typically over 3 years or so, then within 10 to 15 a version can pick up depth, and a less fermented style--which is more rare now--can transition even more.  I would guess that this is around that 3 year age range, that whatever off notes remained have had time to clear.  That's a bit unreliable, because some shou expresses less of that within the first couple of years.  And some more; some is better after about 4 years, which is really long enough for most of that to settle.

That just leaves placing the quality level, or match to what I like in shou.  It's as good as it's supposed to be, lacking significant flaws, so it's already in the top 50% of the range.  I'm just not sure it's better than 7572 would be from most sources, given it had some age, in appropriate storage conditions.  

All shou seems to resemble all other shou more than for most other tea types, to me, kind of like how there is low, medium, and high quality light Tie Guan Yin, and the versions don't vary as much as you'd expect between examples at the same level.  Of course plenty of people would reject both assertions.

So it's good; it's how it should be.  It's down to pricing and considering aging input, related to where to get it.

Malaysian stored 2003 and 2018 Liu Bao comparison

Hilltown Jin Hua version left, in all photos

I'm trying two more Liu Bao from a Malaysian vendor, Legend of Tea.  The last experience with another Liu Bao version was great, one of the best versions I've tried.  I would expect more of the same, that these will be really nice.  They're this:

Jin Hua Liu Bao (2018, $16 for 100 grams)

Jinhua Liu Bao tea features small golden particles on the surface of the tea leaves, known as "Jinhua (golden flowers)." These golden flowers are a hallmark of high-quality Liu Bao tea. Their presence indicates beneficial microbial activity during the tea's aging process. The enzymes secreted by these microbes accelerate the transformation of substances in the tea, enhancing its flavour and enriching it with health-benefiting compounds. Jinhua has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, boosts immunity, and promotes cardiovascular health.

Jinhua Liu Bao tea has black-brown, tightly rolled leaves. The brewed tea is a rich, bright red colour, with a mellow, sweet taste and a pure aroma that combines floral and aged notes. The tea leaves are uniformly soft and moist, showing vitality and a deep, vibrant colour.

Aged Bing Lang Xiang 032 Liu Bao (from 2003; the page doesn't have a 100 gram option, so it's $63.40 for 250 grams, $25 for 100 grams when sold at that higher volume pricing)

Aged Bing Lang Xiang 032 is made using the traditional "double steamed, double pressed" method and aged for years in a clean cellar, resulting in its unique betel nut flavour. Its vibrant blackish brown colour tea leaves are plump, even and supple. The radiant dark red tea liquor envelopes a rich "chenyun" taste, along with a delightful interplay of thickness, strength, and sweetness that lingers long after each sip.

It is a harmonious blend, where the betelnut aroma is enticing, while the smooth, fresh sweetness fills your moth. The enchanting aftertaste, refreshingly enduring, will leave you yearning for another blissful moment with this extraordinary Liubao tea.

I can never do much with flagging a betel nut flavor / aroma (what Bing Lang translates to, with Xiang meaning flavor or aroma), because I'm not familiar with that.  I also can't place the "double steamed, double pressed" processing method.

It's interesting hearing of those differences in relation to the aspect and character differences, described following, which I wrote out prior to reading these descriptions.

Review:

#1, 2018 Jin Hua version:  this is a lot lighter in brewed liquid appearance, for what that's worth.  For tasting these blind I don't know what that means.  It could be a younger tea, or the other may be fermented more during processing (through a wet piling type of step).

This is heavy on mineral.  I'm drinking the first infusion, with no rinse, or at least the review starts there.  More people would rinse Liu Bao than wouldn't, I think, at least in "Western tea circles."  The review would just start at infusion two, in such a case.  

The mineral is that slate mineral that's common in Liu Bao.  The other flavor range is also present, some pine, sweetness that could emerge as dried fruit later, and medicinal root sort of flavor, ginseng.  It's pretty clean, but I think mineral range will probably drop back from here, and the rest will balance better.  That's the equivalent of sheng pu'er being more approachable after the first round or two, just related to different aspects.

I may be picking up more preference for Liu Bao, from these tastings.  It helps that lots of these have been exceptional versions (although I'm on the 4th and 5th from two different vendors, so it's not that much of them).  I've been drinking Fu hei cha style teas as well.

#2, 2003 Bing Lang Xiang:  so different!  The flavor is much warmer and heavier, not a complete surprise given the color difference.  So is this a much older tea version, or is it fermented more by processing?  It could be both.  It would be surprising if additional processing fermentation wasn't an input, but with 25 to 30 years of aging maybe Liu Bao could shift to heavier, warmer tones.  Or maybe 20, in Malaysia, in a naturally hot and humid environment.  Like here, in Bangkok; it's 30 C / 90 F in the rainy season now.

This tea is complex as well; I'll add more of a flavor list next round.

still a lot of brewed tea color difference, even with both brewed quickly

#1 (2018), second infusion:  even more complex.  Heavier slate mineral is still present, but the drier side of that softened and deepened, and the rest balances better.  This is really nice.  It balances the standard complex flavor range (mineral, pine, ginseng, some dried fruit).  Warm, heavy tones are pleasant.  It doesn't remind me of shou pu'er range, not that earthy and heavy, but it's a little towards that, along the line of fallen timber, which would smell like curing tree bark.  [later edit:  I missed betel nut.  Maybe it tasted a lot like that, I wouldn't really know.]

Sweetness is good, feel is nice and thick, and aftertaste is pronounced.  This might evolve a little for one more round, to balance even better, but it's already there now.  Slate mineral might be a bit much for someone not on that page, but to me it's pretty much as it should be.

#2, (2003):  that changed even more; the list from last round and this one might be slightly different.  A little char emerges, like charcoal.  That wasn't present last round, that I noticed.  A heavy, inky mineral flavor range picked up as well, only partly related to that.  Sweetness is good, balancing that.  Pine is part of the flavor range, and maybe a little ginseng, it's just not as pronounced as in the other version.  Rich feel is nice, and flavor depth.

#1, third infusion:  an aspect towards smoke or char is picking up in this; that's interesting.  I really would have expected that to be present earlier on, if it was going to show up.  It's on even ground, the same intensity, as that other range that had been present.  It links nicely with the slate mineral, and being supported or balanced by the ginseng / herb and limited fruit range is nice.

#2:  not changing so much.  These are actually much closer in character than they've been, related to the shift in the other version.  This is smoother and deeper, not matching as much slate mineral as the other expresses.  The rest kind of comes together.

#1, fourth infusion:  this will probably be it for notes, since per usual I have other things to get to.  That mineral note is all the stronger; interesting.  It's moving off charcoal, onto being complex, again with plenty of slate.  If someone was averse to this general range they might see this as tasting like a cigarette butt, but for me it's more slate mineral with some charcoal.  

#2:  a new catchy aspect entered in.  Like root beer?  It might also relate to fruit, but to me that new range is centered on root spice more instead.  These both might have a couple of interesting infusions to go.  But I really need to suspend this tasting for now, and I'm not great at picking it all back up in a later second session.  

My wife will go back to Honolulu before too long and I need to go do some clothes shopping for the kids, to fulfill some orders they've placed (for extra pants, and at least one more bucket hat for Kalani).

Conclusions:

I did try more rounds of these, just without taking notes.  They were more similar than they'd been for the first few rounds, maybe with a little more richness, depth, and complexity in the second version.  But they were similar enough that I think people not really dialed in to specific preferences related to Liu Bao might see them as in the same general range.

Considering how I place them later, in reference to my own preferences, earlier on I would've strongly preferred the second version.  It seemed richer, with more complexity and depth, and was going through some interesting transition in later rounds.  But I've come to be able to appreciate what I take to be standard Liu Bao range more.  

The first version is "only" 7 years old, with aging and transition perhaps speeded up a bit by contact with golden flowers (jinhua fungus, which sometimes goes by a scientific name in Western based tea descriptions,  Eurotium Cristatum).  Maybe I'm more open to this style related to recently trying versions of hei cha exposed to this from a different vendor source, Oriental Leaf, in the latest examples as two kind of unusual hybrid hei cha forms.  

This first version did express a slightly more challenging form initially, with heavier slate mineral dominating the flavor profile, but it softened a few rounds in, gaining complexity and better balance.  The second was rich and deep in warm mineral and other flavors from the start, just transitioning to other aspect scope after those few rounds instead.

I suppose I did like the second version more, but there wasn't that much difference.  If value was a main factor buying a good bit of first would lead to a similar positive experience.  But then again that extra depth was nice.  I'm not sure about "will leave you yearning for another blissful moment with this extraordinary Liubao tea" but it did seem to highlight what is most pleasant about higher quality Liu Bao, in versions that are better than one might normally run across.  It's probably also the case that if you buy 22 year old Liu Bao that's been stored in Kunming it would need another decade to fermentation transition to this level.

Not intending to "pick on" Yunnan Sourcing, probably the main Western vendor outlet for pu'er and hei cha, but let's check on the version in the top of their Liu Bao listings that is closest to this in age:

2002 Aged Wild Liu Bao Tea "803" from Guangxi ($69 for 250 grams)

Small artisan produced Wild Liu Bao grown in a remote part of Wuzhou County in Guangxi Province. Expertly processed and then stored for almost 15 years in Guangxi. This tea has been re-packed 500 grams per bamboo basket. The basket is numbered 803.

The tea itself has some camphor, vanilla, and betel notes. The large leaf with stems makes for an interesting and unique aged Liu Bao experience. Highly recommended for those who want to try something aged and unique.

That costs $5.60 cents more, is one year older, and probably hasn't fermentation transitioned as much (given the storage location difference), although spending 15 of those years in slightly more humid Guangxi would help keep it from being as "well preserved."  

it's hard to place the color differences, large leaves, and stem content in the YS version

these leaves are darker (probably good), and more chopped (maybe not as positive)

It could be not nearly as good as these, or perhaps even better; you can't really tell from vendor descriptions, or even customer comments.  Most Yunnan Sourcing comments were about people loving that version, with one guy saying "Good, I drank better but this is quality good."  Per lots of hearsay input Yunnan Sourcing would almost certainly remove any negative comments or low ratings on that site, so it's hard to place what may have been commented but isn't there now.  

I take all this to mean that 20+ year old, exceptional quality options are out there, and $60+ for 250 grams could be a standard market range.  It would be interesting to see how they compare directly.  This "Hilltown" version is among the best Liu Bao I've ever tried, a full quality level beyond what I've tried in the past, other than those two recent versions.  But who knows what that means; maybe I've only tried ordinary versions before that.  I've tried a few from Yunnan Sourcing in the past, probably reviewed 8 or so years ago now, but I probably bought more mid-range, value oriented versions, and of course I can't clearly compare across that kind of time-span.  

Those teas more or less led to me not exploring Liu Bao much more (although I've drank a half a kilogram since, since a friend in Malaysia sent me a good bit of it), but I think for some tea types it takes a critical mass of exploration to really "get it."  I drank sheng pu'er on and off for years before taking it up as a favorite type.  Fu zhuan / Fu brick hei cha I liked more right away, but it can be pleasant and approachable while giving up some complexity, depth, and refinement to teas like these two.  And it seems to help to sort through versions for that, to try a few to get to styles that work best for you.  Once you do experience value in relation to cost can be really positive.

I plan to retry a couple of Fu hei cha style versions from Legend of Tea, essentially the same that I've tried before.  It should be interesting placing them again after all of this recent--in the past 3 months--exposure to varying hei cha versions.

Shaanxi Fu hei cha processed Lincang material

 

The last review of an Oriental Leaf tea (sent by them for review; many thanks!) was of a relatively unusual type, a Shou Mei white tea used for secondary Fu hei cha style processing.  It was good, and of course unique.  This could be just about anything, based on that.

I wrote the review notes without knowing what it was, which I looked up later.

Chang’an Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea Mini Cake 2022 – Yunnan Leaf, Shaanxi Fermentation

In ancient China, tea merchants carried Raw Mao Cha (黑毛茶) tea from the misty Southern China mountains to the imperial capital of Chang’an, where it became beloved for its warming, restorative character during long Silk Road journeys. Our Chang’an Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea Mini Cake pays homage to that tradition, marrying first-grade Yunnan Lincang 临沧 dark tea leaves with the historic Jingyang 泾阳 fermentation that nurtures the signature “Golden Flower” probiotic bloom.

Beneath its smooth black-brown surface lies an amber-red liquor reminiscent of aged whisky or polished carnelian—bright, clear, and resilient across many infusions. The aroma evokes toasted wood, aged barn oak, and a gentle hint of honeyed dates, while the palate unfolds with velvety malt sweetness, subtle nutty tones, and a whisper of warm earth. Its finish is clean, slightly sticky-sweet like glutinous rice candy, leaving a long-lasting, soothing warmth.

Unlike dense traditional bricks, this 60g thin mini cake breaks apart easily by hand—ideal for gifting, travel, or brewing a single session without waste. Its Chinese name, “Bashui Run Chang’an” (“八水绕长安 Eight Waters Nourish Chang’an”), celebrates the life-giving rivers that cradle the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty, infusing each cup with the poetic soul of Shaanxi.

So it's something different, again.  Really it would help to unpack more about that general tea type, and distinctive type-typical local variations from that area (Shaanxi province), but I may never get around to that.

I should clarify that Oriental Leaf may specialize in hei cha, and Fu brick style teas, but they sell a broad range.  I think they're sending me these more interesting versions just now because they think I'd find them interesting, and I do.

Review:

#1:  it's tempting to guess the tea type even before listing out aspects.  It's in between black and hei cha styles, it seems.  The color is reddish; that's typically oxidation.  Flavors, the primary range, are mostly black tea oriented, towards fruit and floral, with pleasant mineral grounding that, maybe into dark wood a bit.  But there's something else, a type of spice range that's unique.  And malt; that's back to standard black tea character.  

Maybe there's even a little distinctive sourness, which can come up in some types of black tea, but which stand out in different ways in hei cha.  I'll try a second round to get a different perspective on the tea, brewing it a little lighter, since I let this go a little long, to get the compressed tea to open up.

#2:  woodiness picks up a bit.  Intensity is considerable, especially considering this was a flash infusion.  Proportion is higher than it needed to be, even though it's just in the normal range that I use.  That distinctive spice note stands out.  It's almost closer to what I've experienced in different tisane ranges before, than in standard tea.  It's hard to put a name or type to that though.  It's not dis-similar to some heavier flavor floral herbs, like roselle.  A different part relates a lot more to a bark spice herb, or the like.  To use tasting shorthand people often reference something tasting medicinal, when it's hard to place; I guess that works.  I take that to mean "vaguely like ginseng," but of course it would mean different things.  

It's less similar to a standard black tea form, this round.  Those other flavors pick up, even a range I'm describing as sourness, which people might place in different ways.  Do you know how when you sharpen a pencil in an old-style sharpener, how that graphite mineral smell and the well-cured wood smell mix, in a much more sweet and aromatic form than a bit of wood and graphite shavings should produce?  It's like that.  But a bit more earthiness enters in, like a touch of dried mushroom.  Floral and fruit tones are also present, but they're hard to describe in a distinct way.

#3:  it all ties together all the better.  It may just be how I interpret it, versus an objectively clear transition pattern, but the fruit seems to pick up a bit now.  It's at the overlap between heavy floral range and dried fruit, towards Chinese date, jujube.

It would be funny if this was a tisane blend.  It's too complex, and expresses too much of what stands out in "real tea."  But a tisane like willow herb (fireweed / Ivan chay) can be quite complex, and it's typically not so different than this.  I think this still has too much complexity and depth for it to be that.  There's a limited range and depth to all tisanes, for the most part, which can be hard to work around even when blending inputs.  Real tea gives you that complexity, structure, full feel, and aftertaste input.

Again I'm stumped, for the second time in a row.  I'll try a couple more infusions to discuss transitions, then check what this is.

#4:  it's evolving, just not changing too much.  That distinctive sourness is fading, and richer fruit and floral tones stand out all the more.  If someone used half this proportion that could've potentially happened a little faster, and the final infusion count wouldn't go as far.  

Feel is nice in this, full and rich.  Sweetness is good; without that this particular flavor set wouldn't tie together as well.  It might be that only someone open to novel experiences would like this.  It's really not so far off black tea character, as some flavor aspects go, and it could just be that, but it would have to be a very distinctive version of that, something really different.  But it's not like hei cha forms I'm familiar with either.

#5:  I read what this is:  it's Lincang Assamica material processed using Fu hei cha methods, including exposure to the Golden Flowers fungus.  Cool!  Their description (cited above) is as close as I'm probably getting.  It's interesting that it turns out like this, from those starting points.

Conclusions:

Another fascinating and novel tea, something completely different.  The character was clearly positive, beyond the novelty, including complexity, depth, and balance.  Not everyone would appreciate this experience, but then that's common ground for both pu'er and hei cha experience (or if someone sees them as parts of the same set then that's redundant, unless you add an "other" back in modifying hei cha).

Our descriptions weren't identical but they overlapped quite a bit, and the spirit was the same, just different ways of describing the same tea.  Often vendors hold back from being that descriptive, for a few good reasons.  Teas can change over time, so then a few years later a description might seem off.  And people tend to interpret experiences differently, so conveying the general spirit might still seem to miss getting details right.  It's possible that a vendor might describe a tea in the best possible light, for example leaving "sourness" out as a description, which could seem like adding a biased spin, even though again the aspects list conclusion is fairly subjective.

This tea costs $18 for 60 grams, but it's hard to interpret that value part since this tea probably doesn't exist in any similar form from any other source.  That's costly as hei cha goes, but hei cha comes in a broad range of forms and quality levels.  This quality level of hei cha is unusual, and the style is a lot more novel than that.  It's made from pu'er material, it would seem, one main input to that cost.  I don't think that a per-gram price means much, since that kind of comparison just can't be done.  It works out to 30 cents a gram, for what that's worth.

Intensity of this tea stands out; that could be easy to miss, in a comment about it being a bit too strong for my typical proportion, which I'm using for young sheng pu'er.  It's fine if you flash brew it, not too strong, but using less would make more sense.  That intensity makes sense given that it's Lincang material, which one would expect to be bitter (in the sheng form, maybe not prepared as a hei cha), sweet, clean and complex (in good quality versions), and intense.

In the end this is pretty far from the character of typical inexpensive, lower quality material based Fu zhuan or Fu brick versions (which can be nice; a rough edge here or there doesn't always take much away from pleasant character and interesting flavors).  Let's check Google AI's input about that:

Fu zhuan is a type of Chinese dark tea (hei cha) from Hunan Province that is pressed into bricks and fermented to develop a beneficial fungus called "golden flower" (\(jinhua\)). This unique process gives it a distinctive taste, often described as sweet and herbal with woody notes, and it is historically linked to helping nomads with their high-meat diets. It is known for its potential health benefits, including supporting digestion and has a smooth mouthfeel that is very flexible for brewing.  

Just to clarify this is the production origin site:  Fermentation Site: Jingyang, Shaanxi, China

That description isn't too far off (sweet, herbal, woody).  What I was describing as medicinal bark spice can be interpreted more simply as wood character.  Or as aged barn oak, per the vendor's take.  It's complex enough that a broad range of interpretations would be possible.  And at the same time clean enough in effect that beyond a touch of distinctive sourness (which does seem related to the Golden Flowers typical input, now that I think it through) that there aren't many off or negative aspects to describe in any way.  

It's main strength and weakness is that it's unusual, which people could take in different ways.  The aspects character part is nice.

Golden flower Fu-style fermented white tea

This tasting experience was unique because I didn't even know the tea type when trying the tea.  I'd initially guessed that it must be a hei cha variation, but then it wasn't clear if that was right when trying it.  

This is from Oriental Leaf, a vendor source based in China that I've tried teas from before.  It was sent for review; many thanks to them!  Their other teas have been pretty solid, some a very good value, so it will be interesting to see how this works out.

It turns out it's white tea, a Fuding Shou Mei made with a secondary processing step, with a reference to golden flowers (the hei cha-specific type of fungus, that is usually intentionally inoculated).

Oriental Leaf's product description adds some detail:

Golden Flower White Tea Single Serve Packs (ten 3 gram individual squares, for $15.50, so around 50 cents a gram)

This exceptional tea redefines the Fu brick category by using premium Fuding Shoumei white tea from Fujian province as its base, creating a truly unique sensory experience.

Key Features:

Innovative Base: Crafted with high-quality Fuding Shoumei white tea, known for its delicate flavor and numerous health benefits.

Extended Aging Process: Meticulously aged for 1095 days (3 years), using 2018 Fuding Shoumei, packaged in 2024 for optimal flavor development.

Dual Fermentation: Undergoes both golden flower fermentation and traditional Fu tea fermentation, resulting in a complex flavor profile.

There's more description, that's just the main points.  It's interesting that this is both an aged tea, now 7 years old, with an atypical secondary processing used.  One main thing is always how it comes across, here reviewed without knowing any of that background.

this looks like pressed black tea, to me, Dian Hong

Review:

1:  malty!  This is nice.  It's probably some kind of hei cha, I'm just trying it completely blind, so I don't know the details.  Versions that get sold as Fu brick are often similar.  It's been awhile, but I think Fu brick might translate to "brick brick."  

This has so much flavor that there's lots more that I could add.  It's creamy as well, and very clean in effect, with good sweetness.  On the flavor list side warm malt notes are present on a base that's not so far off cocoa (or cacao; cocoa is the hot chocolate drink made from cacao).  Other warm tones are towards woody, but not quite wood, more like the warm base scent from well-dried wicker or palm leaves.  There's just a touch of a sour edge, but it wouldn't be natural to interpret this as sour, in terms of primary aspects.  It's quite pleasant.

I'm pretty sure that I'm brewing two 3 gram small square tablets, so 6 grams.  It's a good match for my typical Gong Fu brewing approach.  I'm in a hotel room, a Hop Inn, so the lighting is a bit directional from the window, not exactly ideal.  On the third round I'll try moving it right under the window, instead of beside it, since I've just taken a picture for round 2.  I brewed this a little longer than it really needed, in order to get the two tablets to open up.

that hotel, with an unusual light streaking effect

#2:  much lighter, because I used a long minute-plus steep for round one to get it started.  It's pleasant like this but a typical 10 to 15 second infusion time seemingly isn't ideal for this, since there are no negative aspects or high intensity to "brew around."  20 or 25 seconds is probably better, and it would be fine to drink brewed 45 seconds, quite strong.  Shou / shu pu'er is like that, that stronger is kind of better, but this flavor range is quite different.

Malt still stands out.  Not the harsh edged, mineral intensive malt in Assam, I mean like a malted milk ball, or chocolate malt milkshake.  There's some mineral base to this, but that warm sort of in between woody and spice range note is secondary to the malt, and limited cacao.  It's not completely different than the flavor of cooked bamboo, to switch it back to food flavor range, just one that lots of people may not encounter so often.  It's a normal food item here, in Thailand.  This is actually pretty close to that.

#3:  malt and cacao drop back a little and the bamboo / wicker / dried palm effect picks up.  This is still nice.  A slight sour edge some might find objectionable, but I don't.  This reminds me a little of how some Dian Hong comes across.  This could even be that; it's closer to it in style than to just about any hei cha / Fu brick I've tried.  It's too sweet, complex, and clean to resemble the other range.  My guess is that it's an atypical hei cha, unusual for being a bit better, and closer to how ordinary oxidation changes tea.  

That Dian Hong range can come across as slightly sour too, but it's easy to miss that interpretation, because it's so minor in intensity, and it integrates with the rest of the flavors, which are what you'd expect more.  If I tried this thinking it was black tea I'd probably be mentioning dried fruit; funny how that works out.  It's not exactly like dried tamarind, but along that line.

#4:  this is probably going to "brew out" relatively quickly since I extracted so much of it in a long first round, as much as two early rounds might have using shorter timing.  To me this tea would work well for brewing a smaller number of good and strong rounds, setting aside an expectation to drink 8 to 10 rounds, which applies to other types, and just get 4 or 5 good and strong versions out of it.

The flavors more connected to astringency (which is limited in this) extract more now, in part from using a 45 second or so round instead of around 15.  It's a little towards rust.  I mean that in a positive way; framed more positively it tastes a bit like some forms of bark spice, just forms that people wouldn't tend to be familiar with, not cinnamon.   Or maybe it overlaps some with cinnamon, but lots of the range is beyond that.  The feel changes, and the part like sourness picks up (or it is just sourness, but a moderate and well-integrated expression of it).

#5:  even for stretching this a bit, using those towards a minute brewing times, this is still pleasant.  It's thinning a little already, the character range.  Feel is still nice, and some sweetness still stands out.  It's pleasant.  For a sheng drinker maybe the limited intensity could be an issue, but there's a lot going on, and complexity is good.  A Dian Hong drinker, someone preferring that black tea type, might relate to this especially well.  It would be funny if it is just that.  Malt is heavier than is typical for that type range, but then that's not exactly a typical Fu brick / hei cha marker, that I'm familiar with.  Flavor falls in that general range, for sure, but I'm not sure if it's often exactly that. 

I'll leave off notes here and probably stretch an extra round or two out of this.  It should keep thinning, and that one edge should stand out more.

Conclusions:

Really nice, interesting and pleasant.  Apparently it's a sort of one-off for tea style, a hybrid form, so there was no way I was going to place it trying it blind.

I'm a bit skeptical of vendor site reviews, since those could be made up, or at the least they could filter everything negative off there (some vendors do), but I suppose those people's takes might fill in how others experience it.  They liked it.  The first one is an example of that, and maybe the most detailed input:

The dual fermentation process creates a complex flavor profile that is truly unique.

Was it though?  I guess; the review description had trouble placing it.  And it was very pleasant.  It's a little pricey in relation to standard Fu brick hei cha, but I suppose evaluating it within the range of Shou Mei might make more sense, or really it's not exactly that, given the extra processing input.  It's something novel.  There is no type-typical pricing point for a tea that doesn't exist elsewhere.  

I guess most people would know if they favor repeating experiences with their favorite type and style range of tea, or if they want to explore further in that same direction, if they're still exploring basic ranges, or if very novel experiences are appealing.  This didn't remind me of only white tea or Fu hei cha experience, and sort of combined in some typical black tea aspect range, so it was very unique.

That covers that part; I'll share some more of that limited travel experience, going out to Chonburi, a smaller community an hour's drive outside of Bangkok.

sticky rice as something like a rice pudding, at a local market

dried squid and mortar and pestles; lots of options

looking for stone goods at a local outlet

you don't normally wai to Ronald McDonald; she was a good sport about the photo op

four people ate all of this, a lot of food

back in Bangkok, on Ban That Tong road

the picture version that she told me to delete