Chen Sheng Hao 2020 and 2024 blended sheng pu'er

Someone mentioned really liking a value-oriented Chen Sheng Hao sheng pu'er online awhile back, so I ordered it, and a second cake to make a free shipping threshold (for orders over $70; that's quite fair, on the low side).  I don't remember which cake it was that they liked, of the two that I ordered; probably the 2020 version, but since personal preference varies it could have been either.

I like the idea of producers being able to make above average quality, low cost, blended input sheng pu'er cake versions.  That was always the theme for the Yunnan Sourcing Impression cakes, to be better than Dayi 7542 versions, and not cost much.  They gave up that second part; most Impression versions are over $100 now, or at least they had been, when I last checked.

I've tried a sample set of mixed versions of Chen Sheng Hao sheng before, sent by them for review.  Some samples (mini-cakes) were really exceptional, some pretty good, and some more in an ordinary range, but that was the idea, for them to present a set covering different range.  Previous individual posts would say more about all of that.

There was a problem with the shipping for this; Flash Express, a local Thai shipper, misplaced this on the last transit step.  Eventually I did get it, after some delay.  I think that's the second glitch in getting tea through them in about four tries, so they're around 50-50 for losing and then finding packages again, for me.  

Maybe it relates to the labels not being in Thai script (their local alphabet).  Transliterated place and address name use is very common here, but that may not work well for all local companies.  For people living in Thailand, and ordering tea from abroad, you really need to have it sent by standard mail / EMS anyway, so that import taxation is assigned at the local post office, versus packages being held at an import center, that they can't really make it back out of.  The process worked, this time, and as things worked out I have lots of other tea to be trying and writing about anyway, so the delay didn't matter.  But I'm getting to this fast, after getting it, because I've been curious about it.

2020 Fu Raw Pu-erh Tea  ($57 for a 357 gram cake)

Sourcing from Menghai, Yunnan

Blended (Multi-Region)

Tea tree over 80 years

The specially made Pu-erh was skillfully composed by Chen Sheng Hao with an elaborate combination of selected ecological ancient arbor tree aging material teas from tea mountain in Yunnan, China.

It affords liquid with a pure aroma and fine taste and is characterized by a sweet after-taste all its own. The tea has been well stored in the storage center of Chen Sheng Hao. The storage will help the tea to transform its bitter and astringent character into something rich and complex.

2024 Gan En Raw Pu-erh Tea  ($41 for a 357 gram cake)

Blended (Multi-Region)

Tea tree over 100 years

The 17-year development of Chen Sheng Hao owes much to the recognition and love of tea enthusiasts who have stood by us through thick and thin.

To express our gratitude to all those who have supported the growth of Chen Sheng Hao and accompanied the Chen Sheng Hao brand, we are proud to introduce the "Gan En" Raw Puerh Tea (357g ) and Gan En 99 Ripe Puerh Tea (200g). The name "Gan En 99" (感恩99) is a homophone for "Gan'en Jiu Jiu," (感恩久久) which means "Long-lasting gratitude."

The raw Puerh "Gan En" has a high, lasting aroma, a mellow and full flavor, and a sweet aftertaste.

There isn't really that much in those descriptions about flavor profiles, but that sort of makes sense.  Whatever they would have written originally about a 6 year old version would have kept changing from year to year, and even a description like "pronounced bitterness" may or may not apply well in a few years.  I'll add plenty of my own description here.

Review:  

way overbrewed, obviously; overestimating timing to get them started

2020 Fu Raw Pu-erh Tea:  warm in tone; I don't remember the age of this, but it can't be that young.  Bitterness and astringency aren't high, yet, which I would have expected from the color, but I'd expect the next round to be quite different.  This is quite promising.  Hints of pleasant warm toned floral range stands out, and there will be plenty of mineral evolving in this, it seems, and other complexity.

2024 Gan En Raw Pu-erh Tea:  a good bit sharper, with more bitterness and astringency, and one unusual vegetal range flavor, that borders on mineral tone, or overlaps with it.  It seems to include some citrus as well, along the line of dried orange or tangerine peel.  

Of course I've screwed up the proportion again; that's more or less my norm now, never adjusting for teas being on the intense side.  These are maxed out, at 8 or 9 grams, which means that I won't get too far through them (or rather I did, by way of drinking a lot of tea, and throwing away the last of some of the rounds).  It would make more sense to brew these using 5 or 6 grams, even for drinking one alone, I just don't usually make tea in that way.

A infusion #2, the 2020 version (I wrote notes without looking up names, which didn't add much later anyway):  brewed light these seem to still be opening up.  Bitterness and astringency are higher, and overall intensity, even for a flash brewed round.  Floral intensity and complexity is good; it's pleasant.  Feel is nice, although that will keep developing, as aftertaste also will.  

For a moderate cost version sheng this already stands out.  It doesn't seem like a lot of blending input has rounded off the more distinctive form of individual aspects either.  It's mostly covering floral range, which can seem a little general, but some depth to that could be different things, like cooked pumpkin or ripe papaya.  A flinty mineral edge is pleasant, and there is warm depth to the mineral as well.  It's nice.

B (the 2024 version):  that one bitter aspect really ramps up.  Someone would have to be ok with significant bitterness to like this.  I've eaten a lot of bitter gourd this year, or bitter melon, maybe some call it, grown in our garden in Hawaii, and this reminds me of that, the vegetal range mixed with pronounced bitterness.  I'm fine with a good bit of bitterness, but I tend to like more approachable sheng more.

This is so bitter that the aftertaste carries over as both bitterness and sweetness, which is interesting.  Usually the bitterness transitions directly to sweetness, but this still includes both.  Other flavor seems to be heavy on mineral.  That citrus fruit tone might re-emerge once the rest settles down a little.

A #3:  not so different; it might be a few infusions until this evolves further.  Bitterness, full feel, with considerable astringency, and warm floral and mineral tones stand out.  The balance is good.  I think it will be better once it loosens up a little more, in a couple more rounds, but it's pleasant now.

B:  other flavor starts to develop beyond the bitterness, but that bitterness really still stands out.  Did I ever read the product description, prior to ordering this?  At least it has plenty of intensity to continue to evolve; there is no way this tea would just die, over any time-frame.  

People might place this vegetal range differently.  There's a sharpness and heaviness to it that reminds me of pine sawdust, for example when you are cutting a lot of plywood, maybe to put a roof on a house.  It's also not unlike bitter melon, or bitter gourd.  I just bought that as a pre-prepared herb tea, sold in Royal Project stores here.  It's a bit intense, to be infusing as a tisane, even in a trace amount, but if it's as healthy as the rough taste implies then it would be worth it.

A #4:  this evolves into a spice range depth; that's pleasant, and a good sign for further aging transition.  It's along the line of an incense spice, some exotic bark flavor, agar wood or whatever (just placing the range; I really can't identify that particular flavor).  It's not really "loosening up" in terms of initial intensity and punch softening, but it should get there.

B:  this does continue to evolve to soften and come across as more complex, but the other has been more approachable and less intense across all the transitions.  I don't find that somewhat extreme vegetal range off-putting; it kind of works.  It's distinctive, and pretty far from the not so pleasant "tastes like kerosene" sheng flavor that puts people off, the more typical factory version input.  Maybe this starts to taste like leather instead of pine sawdust, a positive transition.  

But it's not as unpleasant as that makes it sound.  Sweetness is good, bitterness kind of works, feel isn't so bad, full and intense, but nice enough.  You're in it for the ride, with this degree of intensity, and challenging character, but it works, within that range.

A, #5:  now it loosens up, a little, gaining even more warm spice complexity.  It's hard to pin down what that newly evolved aspect is.  Let's just leave it at warm spice, and give it another read as rounds progress.

In re-trying it during editing I don't mention a dry edge to the feel, which seems to link to a particular range of mineral flavor.  For some people that would balance nicely with the rest, for others it could be inconsequential, and for others yet it could be a deal-breaker, a very negative aspect range that ruins the experience.  Higher end, more expensive, often presented as gushu material sheng tends to be different than this, to express a softer but full feel, and a lot of depth.  So I suppose it's not just personal preference in relation to aspects and styles that factors in, but acclimation to different other ranges of sheng pu'er experience.

B:  this loosens up too; that's pleasant!  Bitterness evolves to soften and fall into a lower range balance with the rest.  Tones seem a little warmer.

A #6:  this integrates as a unified, balanced experience better than ever.  It's definitely punching above its weight for a well-balanced, complex, and intense moderate cost sheng.  Feel is pleasant, and intensity carries over to a nice aftertaste expression.  Warmer mineral tones, now transitioned to include a good bit of spice, balance the lighter mineral, bitterness, and floral range.  

This doesn't include the aggressive, harsher intensity that might indicate it would still be intense in complex in another 25 years, but it doesn't seem like it would just die either.  It's in a nice place for medium age range transitioning, no matter how old or young it is just now.  Within the next 5 years or so it should keep on picking up warmer tones and depth, before it eventually might fall into a "teen years" sort of off character, not balancing as well for changing from one thing to another.  It would be pleasant during those transition years (the next 5), because it's pleasant now.

B:  it's interesting how floral range really seems to pick up in this, as if perhaps it had been there all along, but it needed the bitterness and other vegetal range to quiet down a little to show through.  It has a really pronounced green vegetal note, which I've been describing in different ways, as it keeps evolving.  Sure, it still tastes somewhat like bitter gourd.  But that flavor is quite different when it's hitting hard as a very dominant tone, and when you can get it to integrate with other range (I mean related to cooking with it, but here as it works as one component among others in an infusion).  

This may loosen up well too, over the next 5 years, with that heavy astringency, bitterness, and vegetal range giving way to whatever it transitions to.  It's not as pleasant just now, per my own preferences, but I suppose for people really into bitterness this is already just the thing.  It will probably be the best it has been within another 3 infusions or so, which I may not make it to during this round of note taking.  A dozen rounds of intense sheng is a lot to get through.  I've been throwing away some of the last of these rounds, to get a little further through, but I've been drinking most of it, so I'm 10 intense infusions in, which is an awful lot.  I'll probably do another, to mention some last thoughts on transition patterns.

It kind of goes without saying but brewing 5 or 6 grams of just one of these teas would be a lot more optimum than brewing 8 of both together.  On one level I already knew that, but it's a hard habit to break.

A #7:  the best this has been, but I could write the same words as the last round and those would work.  Warmer mineral and spice tones balance what had been present well.  I'll probably taste both of these again and notice that I missed some pretty obvious flavor descriptions.  I tried that one Viet Sun maocha again, one of the Y Ty versions, and noticed pronounced mint in later infusions, which I hadn't mentioned.  It can work out like that.  

There is so much warmth and depth in this that one part reminds me of a very light roasted coffee flavor.  You know when the berry notes present in some coffee can still emerge, because roast hasn't pulled it so far in the other direction?  Like that.  It's not overly berry-like, but something like dried blueberry might fit one part of it.  I'm not really pushing the tea hard enough to get the most conventional flavor expression out of it; these have still been very quickly brewed infusions.  That would surely mean these are only half spent so far, so that I'll miss the second half of the rounds in taking notes.  That's fine.

B:  again this balances better than ever too.  A full, syrupy feel is much more pleasant than a harsher blast of intensity in earlier rounds.  Sweetness stands out more, and floral range.  One part probably does relate to a dried citrus peel note, which was much lighter earlier on.  It's still a bit intense, and the feel is still a little harsh, in terms of pulling at the sides of your mouth, especially after you drink it.  

This might not have fully "loosened up" just yet; it may be best after a couple more rounds, at infusion 7.  If I had brewed 5 grams instead of 8 it could be much further along, for using longer infusion times, and speeding up that cycle.  Somehow this seemed like a mistake that had to be made.  I really don't understand why, but then I'm guided by intuition as much as reason, and I'm probably just botching lots of range of experience in making random choices like that.

A #8:  it might be time to start using longer than flash infusions for this.  It still provides plenty of intensity in that form, but the character would change some.

B:  for this one intensity is high enough that extending brewing time probably wouldn't help; this is enough.  The aspects description from the last round still works for both though.

A local Thai tea friend, who I don't know very well, that one guy that gets presented as a tea expert, Stephen, gave me a quite bitter sheng version a couple of years ago, that this reminds me of, in part.  It has softened and deepened to be quite pleasant, of course not losing all of that bitterness.  This probably includes a little more of a distinctive vegetal range flavor; that was just straight bitterness, with the usual floral and mineral range supporting that.

Ninth round, combined notes:  the bitterness, feel structure, and intensity ramp up for the first version, when brewed longer.  The balance does shift, back to more typical young or slightly aged sheng range, a couple years into transition.  The other tea picks up even more green wood character.  I suppose I hadn't been calling it that, but that's where it has shifted to now.   

Conclusions:

Very pleasant teas, considerably better than I expected, or even hoped for.  They're not even finished in terms of me getting a full experience of them, in general or for this brewing cycle; I can change brewing process and they'll be much different.  Within another year or two they'll be different in a different sense, actually evolving some in terms of fermentation transition, no matter how old they are.  It will be interesting looking up what these are, and commenting in relation to that.

Related to value you tend to never spend a moderate amount (around $100 for these two cakes, when many in a comparable range cost that for one), and see good results, and these were really nice, for value-oriented versions.  Again opinions would vary on that; some people would love them, and find them much better than the factory sheng that they've been experiencing, and for others accustomed to other range they could both seem off-putting.

The "older" version, from 2020, is at a decent place, for people who like a tea with a number of years of transition.  I'm accustomed to teas transitioning fast, living in Bangkok, and they surely weren't stored that hot or humid.  The storage input seems fine, related to conditions, to the extent someone can say anything about that.  They would've been better preserved, if stored quite cool and dry, so at least they are transitioning.

It's interesting to speculate about the high bitterness level and unusual vegetal nature of the younger 2024 version.  I think within 2 years it will probably come across quite differently, and I can't really guess about how it will change (especially flavor range, I mean).  For a tea sold at that price point it's great, because that's down in moderate cost factory tea range, and it's much better than that.  Of course someone needs to be ok with significant bitterness.  It doesn't include the challenging astringency that comes with low elevation grown, chopped plantation material versions, but it still packs a punch.

If you spend twice as much you can find versions like the 2020 tea that include slightly more distinctive flavor profiles, and more positive feel, but at this selling price point you probably can't do any better, if you can find anything remotely comparable to start with.  It's a perfect tea for a daily drinking rotation, when you feel like that style range; the role I hoped that it would fill.  It might hold up well to another decade of storage, and more complete aging, but I may well not find out, since I'll go ahead and drink it.

The 2024 tea might be much better after 2 or 3 more years of "early" character evolution; time will tell.  It's fine now, if an intense, bitter, somewhat vegetal range experience works for someone (with more floral flavor range expressed, but a little green wood or bitter melon flavor really stands out).  It might age well in the longer term; I really don't know.  One part of the "benchmark" theme related to the Dayi 7542, and the like, or typical Xiaguan character, is that you can expect common, known early character type to change in expected ways, but this is a little different.

Rishi Wawee Thai sheng (2022) and Phousan Laos sheng (2021)

Thai version right, in all photos (this is the third round)

 

I've been meaning to try Rishi sheng versions from South East Asia for awhile, and finally got around to ordering two.  Whether or not someone calls them pu'er doesn't matter to me; that are that type, regardless of a Chinese regional designation for that name.  Per my understanding the type was produced in lots of places long before Chinese people adopted that village name for it.  They are these:

Doi Wawee Sheng Pu'er Vintage Spring 2022 ($45 for a 200 gram cake)

The Doi Wawee Pu’er cakes we source are part of the incredible history of tea in Thailand. Throughout northern Thailand there are many old, abandoned tea plantations that have been left to grow wild from centuries past. Known locally by the Thais as “Assam tea,” these trees are part of an ancient tea journey that traces its roots back to the 11th and 12th Centuries...

This 2022 Doi Wawee sheng Pu’er has a wonderful balance of density, power and elegance. The floral and aromatic wood notes are present over the course of the several infusions. For being such a young cake the tea is very smooth and lasting in sweetness. The powerful energy and awakening vibes of Doi Wawee’s ancient tea is incredible.

The history of tea in lots of places has been lost, but the earlier existence of the plants can be confirmed, especially since some can live a long time, so it's a living history.  I don't remember what I've heard about time-frames, but the history of Thailand importing ceramics production from China goes back a long time, for centuries, so tea was probably around too.

Laos Sheng Pu’er Tea Cake Vintage 2021 ($48 for a 250 gram cake)

Our 2021 round cake pressing of the first picked, early spring tea is lively and energetic with luscious wildflower honey, ripe fruit and piney aromas. The Xiengkhoung region of Laos is demonstrating its consistent performance as one of our favorite origins for Pu'er tea. The tea has a long-lasting impact on the palate with a mouthwatering sweetness and deeply refreshing quality. The delicate floral aromas give way to an emerging pungency, stimulating strength and minerality that builds up in the subsequent brews. The tea is pressed a bit hard, so it comes out slowly and elegantly over the course of many infusions...

It is pressed really hard; that will probably slow aging transition.  They mention positive cha qi (feel) in that description too, but I tend to not notice that, unless it's very pronounced.  They mention a little more on local growing areas in the website, about elevation, and include harvest timing; the whole story of both is on the site pages.

South East Asian sheng has been my overall favorite type for a long time.  Thai versions can be very nice, distinctive and pleasant.  Laos versions tend to be less consistent, but in the best cases they're very positive too.  Vietnamese sheng seems to often stray further from Yunnan production style, to include some extra oxidation, or maybe the kill-green step is sometimes different, leading to slightly different results.  I've had exceptional versions from Myanmar, and they might be a little more consistent in general, and as true to type related to Yunnan versions as any of the others.

Review:

Wawee #1:  pretty nice.  A bit of pine comes across early on, and some sort of stone fruit note, close enough to plum, but that interpretation could vary, and it will probably evolve.  It's clean, intense, and balanced, and not at all light in relation to this being the first round.  Bitterness is significant, but also moderate, which is what I would have expected.  

Maybe flavor tones have deepened and warmed since production, since this is a 2022, but I can only guess.  I've tried a reasonable amount of other Thai sheng and this compares well, and is similar in character.  But then it's too early for that level of judgment.

Phousan Laos:  an intense more vegetal note hits right away; I'll need to brew this fast to optimize results around that.  It's in between green wood and mushroom, but warmed and softened a bit, so maybe that's partly cured wood and dried mushroom.  It's missing the fruit range in the other tea.  

One could interpret some of the vegetal range as pine but it seems to represent wood more.  This might evolve towards incense spice, if the less pleasant vegetal range diminishes, based on what it tastes like now.  At least at this level it doesn't really compare favorably to the Thai version at all.  It lacks the same sweetness and cleanness, with flavors that aren't nearly as positive.  You can't really judge sheng by the first round though; they will often develop a bit between the first and third infusion, and continue changing after that.

Wawee #2:  bitterness and vegetal range picked up a lot, which is to be expected.  

I overdo it with proportion, as a matter of habit, generally always using about 8 grams per 100 ml gaiwan.  Since that's my norm I tend to just go with it.  You can use faster infusions and get similar results related to using a more conventional proportion, but they might be more optimum using 5, so you can adjust timing better.  

I was just talking about that with that Teas We Like founder I just met at the last meetup (described in the last post), and I can't really justify the practice of using a high proportion as somehow better.  It's just how my tea brewing evolved.  It's a good way to drink a dozen rounds of tea on the intense side, and I'm drinking for beverage experience more often than tasting, even though I do both, and approach for the two mixed.  If intensity is too high for a round, which can happen, you can just flash infuse the next round and mix them, although I don't do that during review tasting sessions.

The depth is nice.  Astringency / feel filled in, and it's substantial, and bitterness falls into a different balance.  The sweetness and complex flavor range makes it pleasant.  Some aftertaste expression carries over; it's definitely not thin, or limited in any way.  The fruit note is especially pleasant.  Pine isn't really prominent; probably that's something you would either notice in that first infusion or else not get.  I can't say the more vegetal range tastes like wood, but it's hard to place it otherwise.  I would guess this will evolve towards spice some, which is also a best case for the Laos version.

Phousan:  wood is still the dominant flavor.  At least the mushroom edge to that has evolved away already.  There is a more positive spice range entering in; this is improving fast.  That main wood flavor is a well-cured hardwood, with a touch of greener wood range beyond that.  The vegetal scope isn't all that green, so the spice seems to tie in with that.  It could be interpreted as medicinal herb, or even along the line of some type of basil (maybe tulsi / holy basil).  It's starting to work better; I think the third infusion will determine how the rest will go.

I didn't include it in the tasting theme post but we also discussed the use of comparison tasting, that tea vendor / expert and I.  He said that it's a good tool for a beginner to use to notice differences that would be harder to place otherwise, which would help with sorting out tea evaluation in general.  Of course that's part of what I'm doing, and what I started using it for.  It has evolved to where I'm mostly trying two or more teas, but usually two, to get to more versions with less tasting and writing time.  I might do 80 or 90 reviews in a year, and write about well over 100 teas, maybe 150, so I would be writing even more posts to try them one at a time.  I guess it's down to 70-some posts in total and maybe 60 reviews now, but it works out the same.

It may not seem it but writing one detailed review a week is a lot.  It takes more than an hour to write the notes, or maybe two, and another hour to edit photos and text, and add reference citation.  It's not the time that's a concern though, it's the focus required.  You have to use the time that you are most dialed in, rested, and relaxed, or it won't work.

Wawee #3:  overall balance is improving, the way those aspects already described come together.  This isn't really a fair comparison because Thai sheng is among my personal favorites, with lots of what I've tried from the Wawee area.  I've tried a good bit of Laos sheng too, and some was great, but only the Farmerleaf version I mentioned in the last meetup theme post stands out as on the same level as other better versions from elsewhere.  That's in recent memory; I was drinking a good bit of Laos sheng 5 to 10 years ago, and a couple of versions back then were probably pretty exceptional, but more weren't.

I should get around to describing Thai and Laos sheng in relation to Yunnan versions, in terms of style (typical style--both vary a lot), typical quality level, and terroir input.  It's just so much to get to, and every point would involve a troublesome spiral in describing exceptions and normal range of variation.  Maybe I won't.

Phousan:  clearly the best this has been, right on schedule.  Green and cured wood is giving way to more spice range.  It's not just a touch of basil now, something along the line of celery seed is prominent.  I've been using dill seed from our garden as a food spice; it's not too far from that, but probably still closer to celery.  It's more pleasant than this description makes it sound, like some sort of basil and seed spice tisane, with a bit of wood.  Let's free-form associate what makes it more positive, as a flavor list description.

The wood tone I've been describing moving into incense spice range is part of it.  Sandalwood, maybe?  I really should revisit that incense scent theme again somehow.  I have no idea how agar wood would vary, and I've even lost track of what patchouli smells like, which would be a slap in the face for one former Deadhead roommate, and lifetime best friend, who always smelled like that.  Sweetness also picks up; that helps the flavors tie together.  Limited bitterness, which I tend to not mention much, if it's a normal low-background input, probably also helps in this case.  Feel is fine; it has fullness and structure, it just doesn't stand out, so again I see it as normal background context.  I'll revisit this next round, as it continues to evolve.

Wawee #4:  this is where I might start hitting a wall for drinking a lot of tea, and the next round is usually where I tap out.  If I'd been more practical and used 5 gram proportion I could brew these even lighter, and get to a 6th (a dozen in total).  I might mention that I'm re-warming water to keep this brewing using very close to boiling point temperature, not dropped much between that boil and the next infusion, in this case under a minute of cooling.

There's a pleasant sappy feel to this that works well with the rest.  It connects with a positive aftertaste expression.  Flavors have evolved, and I've not kept up with describing that.  I interpret a main pleasant input as fruit, but others might not, and that could even sound wrong to some.  There's a good bit of range, so that it could work best to describe general range scope and then individual flavor inputs.  Stone fruit is on the list, but vegetal range is more pronounced.  Or that really overlaps or mixes with a spice theme, again probably mild incense spice, which more often occurs in a very different overall flavor context.  Bitterness stands out, of course.  Sweetness might include a bit of toffee edge, but that's not easy to pick up, given the stronger vegetal and spice range.  Interpreting more of it as green wood could also work.

Phousan:  spice still stands out, incense spice (mostly), along with seed spice and a touch of basil.  Those warm tones and sweetness are pleasant.  Mushroom and wood have generally dropped out, although someone could still interpret the one part as cured wood, but I see it as having evolved more to incense spice range.

It's hard to guess about how these have evolved over 4 to 5 years, but since I've drank a lot of comparable sheng I could attempt that.  Earlier on they would've been brighter in tone, and even more intense.  Probably some of the early floral range has evolved to what I'm describing now.  It's odd getting to round 4 and never mentioning a floral aspect, but that is a natural transition pattern.  The teas tend to be more approachable in terms of bitterness and astringency evolving; these aren't challenging.  Depth increases, which is kind of an emergent property, not closely tied to just one or more main aspects.

Whether or not they're better--now versus when newer--would depend on preference.  That's if someone is averse to that early bitterness and astringency, or they see it as positive, when coupled with sweetness and bright floral range.  These warm wood and spice tones would have resembled green wood, or other vegetal scope, often sort of like plant stem, and some could find that challenging.  I might prefer a stronger astringency and vegetal edge trade-off when younger, since it couples with freshness and more floral range, typically.

I really don't care for the grassiness in some green teas, but sheng tends to be vegetal in a different way, more along the line of either green wood or edgier fresh herbs, like some other types of greens.  Warmer medicinal spice notes evolve more later, after aging.  Those are often along the line of ginseng, and these will continue in that direction, but change-over will take time.  I don't think these were stored in overly wet / humid and warm conditions, but they're not as preserved as dry storage causes either.  In the middle is good for storage conditions input, letting them evolve kind of slowly, but to keep changing.

Wawee and Phousan #5:  not so different than last round, so this might be a good place to keep this short, and add more final thoughts on a next round.  The Laos version is picking up more sweetness and a touch of fruit, maybe along the line of dried mango; that will probably evolve to be more noticeable, given the transition direction.

Wawee #6:  I'm still using relatively fast infusion times, 10 seconds or so, and that finally relates to intensity dropping.  The tea isn't fading already, but the early infusion strength is reduced.  This is probably an easier intensity level to evaluate, but that kind of thing does shift which aspects you experience.

Everything is integrating more, so it's harder to break it all into a flavor list.  It's the same range as before, but less distinct.  There isn't enough shift in relative balance of aspects to make it worth unpacking that.  

One thing I haven't mentioned:  these leaves vary in color.  That's surely related to them being heated a bit much in some rounds of kill-green (sha qing) processing.  It's complicated how that might work out, or probably did.  A touch of extra roast can add a positive flavor input, according to discussion of this very point by William of Farmerleaf (covered in this post on "oolong pu'er,").  It might add complexity, using a slight range of processed material.  Then it's harder to say how that would work out related to aging potential or tea character changing across rounds of infusion, since--per my understanding--oxidation and roast input both trade out flavor change but slightly limit tea's durability, how many positive rounds it will brew.

Phousan:  the best this has been; it kept evolving positively over the rounds.  It's interesting how the Thai version was so much more positive early on, and now this seems more distinctive, and complex in a different way.  Fruit even evolves, which I guess we can call dried mango, even though it could be closer to dried longan, or something else.  This tea is better than the Thai version at this stage; so odd.  The earlier spice notes are still present, transformed in how they come across, and now supporting tones instead.  Apparent sweetness seems higher, maybe related to how we naturally associate some flavor range as sweet, more than tied to how some compounds cause that effect.

For really preferring dried fruit themes in sheng this is interesting, seeing how other range can fulfill a different but related function, even though this finally does express some fruit as well.  It's interesting how this evolved to be cleaner, fuller, and better balanced, while the other version became less distinct.  I suppose that might mean more to someone else.  I'll brew both on the stronger side, giving them over 20 seconds to infuse, and pass on final thoughts on that.  Seven rounds of two versions is an awful lot of tea; it will be plenty.  I drank water and ate some nuts prior to this round, and took time with this process, which helps with extending it.

Wawee #7:  this heavier infusion strength works well with the tea character at this point.  That sappy feel returns, and a toffee note stands out again.  Incense spice range, alternatively interpreted as cured hardwood, picks back up.  In between the light last round and this more intense form would still be fine, probably a more natural optimum.

Phousan:  ordinarily I wouldn't like a tea with this aspect set description this much (incense spice, seed spice, basil, with a bit of dried fruit).  It all balances well, supported by a positive feel, a nice level of bitterness, and good aftertaste expression.  I suppose it's even possible that this has better aging potential than the Thai tea, even though that aspect set is more familiar to me, and more a match to my evolved preference.  

If I bought just one of these of course it would be the Wawee tea, related in part to my bias for Thai sheng.

Conclusions / other consideration range:

It's hard to evaluate long term aging potential.  Would be these be great in another 10 to 15 years?  As a young sheng drinker I tend to see the transition optimum within the first 3 to 5 years as a good place to drink the teas, if that works well.  Some are best within the first 6 months, and others better 2 or 3 years, only changed some.  Often it's early challenging nature that indicates a related tea's best form will occur 2 or 3 decades later.

I've tried more old Thai sheng that is kind of ok but not great in the 15 to 20 year old range, and probably only a couple that were older (but I do lose track).  These may be like that, destined to still be fine later on, but not exceptional.  Someone would really have to hold onto one to know.

What about value?  This Thai tea is $45 for 200 grams, with the Laos version nearly $48 for 250, so they might be around $80 cakes at a 357 gram standard size.  That's not bad, for what they are, sort of a Western industry norm.  If anything lots of vendors might place the same range at just over $100, especially for valuing limited aging input as a positive, and a cost on the vendor's side.  Of course buying tea within Thailand or Laos you might do better, for equivalent teas.  I've seen vendors play up an old plant source theme and pass off similar teas for a lot more, but that's normal, that's just how pu'er sales often go.

So as I interpret it these are good value, but also just normal in relation to Yunnan range, pretty much at the standard level.  If you interpret the origin novelty as positive, and value the limited aging input then value is great.  There's not a lot available in this price range, to be better or worse.  If you think SE Asian sheng should be priced lower than standard Yunnan range, as definitely occurred over the last decade, then value might not be good.

Over and over again we see gradually increasing product quality, distinctiveness, and desirability pairing with rising product costs.  It would be hard to find examples this good 10 years ago, or maybe even 5, so it's not comparing apples to apples to reference past options.  The same happens with Viet Sun's Vietnamese sheng; their pricing is much higher than it was just a few years ago, but the teas are better.  Yunnan Sourcing's Impression series started out as blends competing with Dayi 7542, at that cost level too, $30-some to $40 per full sized cake, and now they're mostly all in the general $100 range, but again it's better tea.  The days of buying a full sized $40 cake are over, unless you switch back to factory teas, which are more comparable to the older range from South East Asia.  The form is different; factory teas were often mass-produced blends, but the flaws in older off-area teas made the quality level comparable.

People who drank sheng 10 to 15 years ago are familiar with another earlier form that fills in how things worked then, the white paper wrapped higher quality range, generally custom pressings.  Those would often cost up towards $1 a gram, and came with descriptions that would be familiar today, related to narrow origin sources, and probably even old plant input (gushu).  That probably less often related to wild origin material.  We've done well to experience some of that form transitioning to quite good $100 to $140 standard cake offerings, as that became a more mainstream form, now selling for much less.  Maybe not if it's still gushu, but those claims are hard to evaluate now, as then.  This runs too long to dwell on that tangent, but I do associate a range of character as relating to old plant input, to a mineral base effect being different, with greater general depth, perhaps associating with more aging potential.

the Wawee tea plants (credit Rishi site)

All in all these were pretty good.  The former Wawee material versions I've tried set a pretty high bar to match, and the Thai version was in line with that.  It was interesting how the Laos tea evolved through rounds better, after a less favorable start.  Both are pretty good examples of SE Asian sheng range, and both are a pretty good value, for what they are, and where other options stand.

Where else can you get South East Asian sheng, that are as good as these?  Tea Side sells Thai versions, but their pricing is high, so although quality is good value often isn't.  Chawang Shop sometimes sells versions, but I don't think the quality of any stood out, maybe not quite on these tea's level, even though these are just good, but not necessarily great.  That one Farmerleaf Laos tea is better, but it's priced at $140, for a 357 gram cake, costing a lot more.  

Rishi holds up as a good source option.

Tea Mania Yibang and Mengsong sheng pu'er, from 2013 and 14

 

I'm reviewing two partly aged sheng pu'er versions from a Tea Mania set of samples I received awhile back.  Many thanks to Peter, the owner, for sharing them for review!  All their teas are exceptional, for the most part, so that drops out one potential concern, about whether I'll like them or not.  

Farmerleaf is like that, to add a reference point for people who aren't familiar with them.  Styles vary some; Farmerleaf is oriented more towards what that particular harvest year turns up in a local area, mostly in Jing Mai, but also beyond there, and Tea Mania uses limited input from a very reliable set of producers, from different areas.

In recent Reddit tea sub (group) posts two themes came up that relate to these, which I'll only touch on a little here.  One is semi-aged tea, particularly relating to dry storage, and the other relates to brewing dragonballs.  I didn't know where these were stored, when writing the notes, but the site listing usually includes that.  It wasn't in a place as humid and warm as Bangkok or Malaysia, and probably somewhere in Yunnan, where conditions vary a good bit.  

My input was that it can make a lot of sense to drink medium aged teas (in the roughly 10 year old range) when they are aged in dry conditions, changing very slowly.  Note that people use the terms aged or semi-aged in different ways.  For some aged sheng is 20 years old, period, so 15 years is semi-aged.  Others would shift around those times.  It really depends more on fermentation level, which ties to storage conditions input.

The same teas would push through a fermentation transition cycle fast where I am now, in Bangkok, losing the initial freshness and brightness over the first 3 to 4 years.  That's great for teas that need to change a lot, like Xiaguan tuocha versions, since they're much further through the process at 15 years, and pretty much completely ready at 20.  But for high quality sheng, versions that are approachable to begin with, it's not so ideal, unless you do actually drink the tea within that first 3 to 4 years.  Or you can wait for another dozen for more complete change-over, with 15 years old being the low end threshold for mostly age transitioned, even in wetter (more humid) storage.  This review covers more on that related to these two examples.  

But let's start with the vendor listings:

Yibang Gushu Spring 2013 (120 CHF, $148, for a 200 gram cake)

For this Pu-erh cake, teamasters Panda and Yang Ming used tea leaves from up to 300 years old tea trees (Gushu) and processed them into 200g cakes. We were especially looking forward to this Pu-erh because we personelly like tea fromYibang. The tea trees in Yibang are very special. The tea leaves of  the Yibang tea trees are noticable smaller in size and some of them turn under certain conditions purple.

Sichuan tea storage

Teamaster Panda was so kind and has left us some bing of this great tea. Since this tea was stored in Sichuan, the home of Panda, the riped very well. Sichuan is not as humid as Xishuangbanna but also not as dry as Kunming. In fact, it’s just the level we prefer.

Harvest: Spring 2013

Pressed: 2013

Taste: Fruity, a lot Cha Qi and a sweet aftertaste

Terroir: Yibang, Xishuangbanna prefecture, Yunnan province, China

Mengsong Dragon Balls ($62 for 80 grams, 10 8-gram balls)

My friend and mentor, Tea Master Panda, has once again dug up a rarity. Year after year Tea Master Panda has inspired us anew with fresh and well-known Pu-erh teas from the old tea mountains. But the lovers of stored teas were a little bit forgotten. For them we now have a well stored Mengsong Gushu from spring harvest 2014. Dragon Balls, Long Zhu in Chinese language, of 8g were made from the tea leaves in Yang Ming’s tea factory to offer the tea in small quantities or as a sample. The tea was stored in Xishuangbanna under natural conditions until 2020 and is already very ripe.

Harvest: Spring 2014

Pressed: 2014

Aroma: Mellow aroma, strong Cha Qi and fruity taste

Terroir: Mengsong, Xishuangbanna prefecture, Yunnan province, China

This same material is sold as 2014 gushu Mengsong cake, here, listing for $222 for a 357 gram cake.

Review:

Yibang:  that's very nice.  There's a really distinctive spice tone in this, in between sassafras and driftwood, or including those, and maybe some other range.  It could seem a little fruity, but it's mostly that.  Tones are warm, but this hasn't transitioned that much for being a dozen year old version.  It must have stayed in a cooler and dryer place.  Yunnan?  I'll check the description at the end.  Feel is nice, but it's too early for describing that just yet.

Later editing note:  Peter (Tea Mania) is describing this storage as in between humid and dry, but my own baseline relates to where I live in Bangkok.  Teas change fast here.  I don't think that's ideal for all types for all aging levels, but it is perfect for moving things along, if that's the intention.

Mengsong:  one of the challenges is going to be getting this to open up.  There never will be a parallel to the infusion cycles.  One positive about brewing dragonballs, which is mostly negative, as I see it, is that since the inner part starts to infuse over the first 4 rounds or so there is fresh, bright character being extracted across a lot of rounds, instead of it all transitioning over the first 3 to 5.  But beyond that it's a hassle getting it to infuse, and you don't get as clear an impression of the tea character at different stages for that mixing together of parts of the infusion cycle.

It's too light for description just yet, but this tea is really good.  There's a pretty good chance that I've tried it before; it seems familiar.  It's bright, floral, sweet, and light, but even for all that you get a sense of great intensity and complexity setting in, and maybe even refinement.  This tea version is probably worth the trouble of messing with dragonballs.  But in talking to Peter in the past, the Tea Mania owner, they pressed dragonballs to use as sample references for teas, not to sell as those, so someone buying this version--if it's still available--might relate to the cake form.

Later edit:  they sell both forms; that's convenient.

Yibang #2:  that interesting spice range picked up.  It includes medicinal herb spice as well, a general range that may or may not seem descriptive.  I get a sense that there may be a spice related flavor I'm missing referencing, that something out there does match this.  Or it's probably so complex that only a most distinctive range could match, and there would be more.  This includes sassafras, and also something like ginseng, and some medicinal spice or even incense spice (sandalwood, maybe).  Someone really dialed into this range would absolutely love it, and others might not like it.

Feel has a bit of body and dryness.  I suppose that seems to connect with what I'd expect from bark spice flavor, and again the specifics within this range are pretty open to different interpretations.  It wouldn't be unusual for someone to see that as connecting with warm mineral, or for others to miss that in a description list.  Brewing it on the fast side, slightly faster than I have been, is probably optimum.  Flavors are plenty intense, and as is typical for many warmer and mineral or mild earth oriented teas a lighter brewed intensity works better.

This certainly isn't "going dead" in terms of being in an in-between aging / fermentation transition phase, the awkward teen years theme people mention. 

Mengsong:  starting to infuse.  Warmer tones pick up in this already.  It's still fairly light and bright, especially for this age.  Where it lands in the balance is fine.  Bitterness has mostly evolved out of the flavor profile, as for the other, but I would have surely loved this at half this age, at higher intensity, with more bitterness, some extra astringency, and lighter flavor tones.  It seems like it's going to be quite positive just now, so I don't mean that as criticism.  

Flavors and feel don't always make sense at different ages and transition levels, but these both seem to.  Maybe because it's not a bit further along, because the transition process was slower due to cooler and dryer storage?  I'll add more on that in an intro at the editing phase.

A more flavor-list oriented description will probably make more sense next round.

the fermentation level color difference is obvious, but the Mengsong does darken over rounds

Yibang #3:  brewed light this is really nice; intensity is still high, and complexity comes across even better.  I broke form and didn't brew 8 grams of this, maybe more like 5 or 6, and it was a good call, to help moderate intensity.  It's odd that so much intensity comes up this far into aging transition.  It's not bitter or astringent, it's just that the flavor is intense, and you get plenty from it brewed light.

It's still in that broad spice range, all warmer tones, just not heavy in character.  Again it's sassafras, some medicinal spice (maybe back spice oriented?), with some incense spice, along the line of sandalwood, to the extent I can remember that scent.  It would be funny if this tastes a lot like patchouli smells and I just don't remember that.  

There is also a light mint note in it, that integrates with the warmer spice so much that it's hard to identify.  Thais love to smell very strong scented mixes of spices, ya dom, to clear their nose or brighten their mood, and this isn't so close to that typical mix but it might overlap a little.  That mint might be evolving into camphor range, where it had been brighter before.  Camphor probably should be on the short list of main flavor aspects.

Mengsong:  this is finally unfurled enough that I'm breaking it apart, ripping it with my fingers, so it will brew much differently next round, and the one after it will be expressing a more developed character.  At this stage it's still quite light, but also very pleasant.  It's sweet, floral-oriented, and creamy.  

I'm starting to get blasted on these teas and this one isn't even really infusing completely yet.  I may need to eat something and walk around a little after the next round.  

Ordinarily it doesn't make sense to drink two together like this, not so much because you can't identify the effects of just one, although some people value that, but because you can't make it through a 7 or 8 round infusion cycle and still drink the 14 to 16 cups of tea.  I'm not throwing this tea away to rush the process; it's too good to do that.

Yibang #4:  the proportion of the long list of flavors I keep mentioning keeps shifting.  Now camphor stands out all the more, and incense spice has replaced a lot of the rest.  It's the best this has been, and it was pretty good in earlier rounds.  Feel is smoother, richer, and not dry at all.  Depth picks up, and aftertaste intensity expands.  All of that is from using a pretty fast infusion time too, 10 seconds or so.  

This is on a path of evolving and improving so much that it may be as good or better for a couple more infusions, then I'd expect complexity to taper off a little in later rounds.  Infusion 7 isn't exactly a late round, but I mean this has been evolving to be better and better, more complex and with more depth, and usually that doesn't keep up for the whole cycle.

Mengsong:  it's a completely different tea, now that it has started brewing most of the leaves.  Flavor range is similar, but intensity is completely different, and the balance seems different, even though the character is really the same.  Mild spice tones pick up in this.  Nothing like the intensity and complexity of the other version, the Yibang, and this still connects back to warm floral range, and a lighter mineral tone base.  Sweetness is really nice in this.  It's not missing in the other, but it stands out more in this.  

Layers of complex flavors mix together.  One part seems like floral or spice, as I've mentioned, then others could seem vegetal, in a sense that's hard to identify.  It connects through a warm wood tone range, which is back to sandalwood, or even a touch of cedar.  It integrates and balances well.  For anyone who doesn't drink young sheng it may seem to include bitterness, but for a sheng drinker the inclusion is so moderate that it's easy to miss the role a very limited input of that plays.  Sweetness and other flavor range are much more intense.

These kind of show how I think that slower, dryer aging works for some brighter character teas.  In Bangkok the heat and humidity would have overpowered and shifted the brighter range in these at half this age, at 5 or 6 years instead of 11 or 12.  That's fine for making Xiaguan more approachable, or Dayi numbered series cakes, because those need a lot of transition, but these would have great to drink at half this age / transition level.  And they're still exceptional now, just in a different form, and sense.  

Next one might wonder if you couldn't just drink a wet and hot stored version of these at 3 years old to get the same effect, and although it's a personal judgment kind of the call I think not.  Moving so much faster, based on fast bacteria and fungus input, the effect isn't the same.  Bright tones drop out quickly, within 3 or 4 years, and the warmer range that enters in is slightly different.  I'm not saying that wet stored tea has to become musty, although it can be, but flavor range tends to be heavier.

Yibang #5:  I let these brew longer because someone delivered a package just as I poured that round.  It's a different perspective on the tea, I just wouldn't have tried it without that prompt, for how these were in the last round.

Intensity is a bit much.  It's not ruined, but the character is much different.  A sappy sort of resin flavor and feel emerges.  Camphor is still pronounced, and a different balance of all that spice tone I kept going on about.  It's good like this, and nothing really shows up as a flaw.  Some people might not like this flavor set or character, but to me that's not related to a quality limitation.  It's a positive sign that it drinks well overbrewed (a little; I didn't leave it for too long).  Effect is still clean, and that dry edge to the feel isn't unapproachable, it's just more resinous.

Mengsong:  this approaches the other tea's character more than it had last round.  It also picks up a woody, aromatic spice resinous character.  A hint of cedar is pronounced, and beyond that it's more incense spice range.  These might be good as truly aged teas, in however long one judges that to take, maybe another decade at this somewhat slow transition pace.  They're not fading in intensity, and the evolved character for both is still positive.  Some versions seem a lot more woody, but that often relates to a lower quality level and less positive character earlier on.  

At a guess I would have liked this tea better at half this age, better even than as fully aged, in another 8 to 10 years.  That's more about me liking younger range sheng than how this is changing, or probably will change.  I get it that many people like refined, complex, deeper flavors of aged sheng, that it's a very natural preference, especially as a developed one.  If I would have been drinking more aged sheng than young versions over the last half dozen years maybe I'd be on that page.  I do drink some, regularly, but I love the freshness, brightness, sweetness, and intensity of younger sheng, even though bitterness and more astringency go along with that.  Not the kerosene oriented flavor and harsh feel of cheaper factory teas; I mean related to versions that are good within the first few years, or even as brand new tea.

Yibang #6:  brewed lighter again the balance changes.  It is taking on a slightly more woody flavor; this is kind of fading.  This could have easily been where it was at infusion #8, if that last round had been for a normal timing.  This is still really nice, complex, with a decent feel, and good balance, but it's on the decline.  I did brew a few rounds later on and they were still positive, not noticing any unusual flavor transitions, or fast decline.

Mengsong:  this could be where part of this tea only being on it's 3rd infusion helps.  It retains some of that early-round brightness and freshness.  I suppose some of the late-round extra bitterness is already entering in too, since it was infusing for longer earlier on just to get it decompressed, so it's a mixed effect.  

This is still really positive.  A little more wood tone enters in, but not to the extent the other is moving in that direction.  The brightness includes a touch of citrus; that's something I probably missed in the last two rounds.  A little of that creaminess and floral range reminds me of the high mountain character of Taiwanese oolongs; that's pleasant, along with the rest.

Related to my own preference I do like the Mengsong better.  Again I might've liked it more 3 or 4 years ago, but it makes sense at this level, and shows promise for how it will be as an aged version, much later on.

Conclusions:

That's already most of what I thought of these.  It's hard to express in terms of aspects just how good these teas are.  They're good; quality level stands out.  It's odd saying that along with commenting that I tend to like younger versions, so for me they'd probably have been better a few years ago.  It's not at all a conflict, as I see it.

Value can be hard to assess, because the range of what is out there like these is limited, in comparison with younger / newer tea range.  Same for quality level; plenty of tea this good is available, but not as much as more ordinary versions are.  You'd have to know where to look to find it.

The Yibang version sells for $148 for a 200 gram cake, equivalent to $264 for a 357 gram version, and the Mengsong for $222 for a 357 gram cake of the same material.  That's a bit.  Only people with somewhat open tea budgets would consider these, but for sheng enthusiasts who value higher quality aged versions, who have that budget, $300-400 cakes are not such an unusual theme.  Or $1000 and up; there's no limit.  It's beyond the range I'm familiar enough with to critique, really.  But it's probably fair, maybe even a good value.

As I mentioned in the notes I've not leaned into exploring better aged sheng versions, and kind of couldn't, given that this higher pricing extends all the more to sample range, where none of it would be under $1 a gram.  In that sense buying 80 grams of the Mengsong for $62 is a good value.  People already feel however they do about the dragonball form, who are already in the process of exploring above average quality sheng pu'er.  It seems like a dozen years ago the conventional reaction was that it's a great way to try a little of these types of teas, and then within 8 or 9 years ago a loose pu'er community consensus was that they don't brew very well, so they stopped turning up as frequently.  Of course they're still around, even as newly pressed versions, but not like a decade ago.

cats coming down with the flu has been a running theme lately

her too

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.