I'm reviewing two more of the Chen Sheng Hao sheng pu'er samples sent for review by the producer (many thanks!). The others have been nice, diverse in style, with some variation in quality level, matching the general descriptions in the site reference for which really stood out.
These are identified as two more of their signature product versions, so they should be nice. They don't tend to list out a lot of aspect description, just some character reference, as follows:
2022 Yi Pin Chen Sheng Raw Pu-erh Tea Sample Box
2022 Chen Sheng #1 (陈升一号)
One of the featured and award-winning blended raw Pu-Erh tea of Chen Sheng Hao. Selected early spring large-leaf arbor tree leaves in the Menghai area. It has a balanced taste and good coordination in all aspects of aroma, taste, and “cha qi”. It is friendly to new Pu-erh tea drinkers.
2022 Emperor (霸王青饼)
Another award-winning and featured Pu-erh tea of Chen Sheng Hao. It is well known as a raw Pu-erh tea that has strong and penetrating characteristics like “Emperor”. It has strong bitterness upfront, penetrating aroma, pronounced salivation and sweet-after-taste, long cooling, and powerful Cha Qi. It can last for 15 infusions and still have good taste.
As for pricing 2782 baht comes out to $76.55 right now. I think this had been $79, and that change relates to fluctuation in currency exchange rates.
Is that good, is the value ok? It always depends on quality, since it's a relation of cost to quality. Then different people could be on different pages related to budget, so that for one person keeping spending in a very moderate range would be a fixed requirement (15 to 20 cents a gram, let's say), and for another 40 could be the same as 30.
This works out to 40 cents a gram, on the high side for pu'er per cake, but samples do run higher, and for exceptional quality level everything shifts a bit, maybe even a lot. It's jumping ahead a little but for these two that rate seems fine, because they are a bit exceptional, then maybe the more ordinary range versions don't hold up quite as well.
Looking at the expense in different ways might help place it. $90 to 100 per cake is pretty standard now for higher quality in-house versions from specialty vendors, and those are often 357 grams, but then you just get the one tea version, and if you don't like it as well, or if it works out to be lower in quality level, then that's it. As the sample description mentions if you were to drink 7 grams of each per day (one fourth of the 7 cakes) that works out to 28 days supply; about a month's worth. For me spending around $80 on tea for a month is a good bit, but it's not for lots of other people.
Review:
Chen Sheng #1 (Menghai): I let these soak awhile to get the brewing started, around 30 seconds, and this is a little too strong. It's fine for getting a feel for character, just in the opposite form that I usually do, too light for an initial round.
Of course bitterness stands out. From there floral range is a main input, all framed around warm tones, over a strong mineral base. This should come across quite differently brewed at more conventional strength. A tea friend visiting mentioned brewing teas strong to get a better feel for characteristics not so long ago, and I've sort of been doing that, but it could be more familiar. This is still pleasant and agreeable, but also too strong. Flaws or off aspects don't stand out, just that intensity.
It will be interesting seeing how a somewhat vegetal edge settles at more conventional infusion strengths. That may well be tied to normal astringency that shows up more early on then settles out.
Emperor: also too strong. A perfume-like floral range is quite pleasant in this already. It has good depth and complexity, and feel is nice, even though it's brewed wrong (wrong for anything but an odd form of evaluation approach). It's quite promising.
#1, infusion #2: brewed for just under 10 seconds infusion strength is more typical. The usual ranges stand out, bitterness, astringency structure, solid mineral base, but there's another catchy aspect that's hard to place, that sort of re-frames the rest. Along the line of warm spice tone, I think, but there may be some dried fruit in this as well, so it may really be two things standing out as related. Spice would be vague, but some type of incense spice. Fruit maybe along the lines of dried Chinese date, jujube. I love that flavor, and to me it works really well in combination with other warm tone range.
Emperor: rich and complex floral range stands out in this, but it's not just that. The feel is quite full; that lends depth to the rest of the experience. Bitterness might be slightly more moderate than for the other, or at least it comes across differently, positioned against different other aspects.
With the other tea a couple of aspects pull it into a unique and pleasant balance, and with this it's distributed as an effect from across the entire tea character. It won't describe clearly, since most of that range is floral. There's an aromatic, perfume-like character that some better tea versions tend to express, as if some of the solvent effect is also present. One might think of it as comparable to brandy or cognac instead. Sweetness is pleasant, but it's how that sweetness comes across, as linked to complex floral and warm-toned range, and associated with a thick velvety feel. I suppose the other may come across as more structured or drier in feel in comparison, depending on interpretation.
#1, infusion #3: it's interesting how this comes across as narrow in flavor set range, with a number of inputs kind of closely integrated, but still complex in a different sense. It's bright but also warm, sweet and approachable but also somewhat high in intensity with good depth. Bitterness has fallen into a nice balance with the rest, somewhat limited, in relation to where sheng in general or one in this style would be. It would be way too much for someone who only drinks oolong, but moderate for a young sheng drinker.
That one catchy range is still present; it hasn't transitioned away. I think it might be a spice range note combining with a clearer underlying dried fruit tone, the jujube. A hint of citrus picks up. How am I calling that narrow or simple then, since it's quite a flavor aspect list? There's an impression that it's all closely linked, that it integrates well, belonging to a somewhat unified whole. It's complex but the range seems to all link together.
Emperor: the perfume-like depth of this is really something. It's almost entirely floral, in diverse floral range, but one part might seem like rich fruit, like dried apricot. Bitterness comes across as lower in this than the other, but they're no far off.
It's interesting considering what these warm tones mean, where they are coming from. This is two year old sheng; it shouldn't have transitioned that much, in normal medium humidity and temperature storage conditions. Here in Bangkok teas change fast, but that's a different thing. Flavors get heavier and some early range drops out quick, even over two years. It almost seems like some of this has oxidized some, related to the warmth, dark tea color, and variation in color of the leaves. I'm more or less a fan of sheng that has transitioned from extra oxidation in processing, it seems, but that would probably come at a cost in relation to long term aging potential.
I should clarify, this is nothing like the Vietnamese sheng I've been drinking that is a short step towards black tea from conventional sheng pu'er style, quite oxidized. It still seems to represent standard sheng character, just a modified form of it. Maybe that is from early aging; two years is long enough for things to change. This version is compressed at a lower level than the other, much looser, and that could make a difference in relation to how it reacts to environment exposure over time.
Probably warm mineral plays more of a role than I'm describing. It adds a lot to the overall balance, even though the richer perfume-like / brandy / cognac range is more novel, and stands out.
I'm feeling these teas; 6 infusions is a lot to rush through. I ate a good-sized wheat biscuit breakfast cereal earlier to offset stomach impact, which would offset drug-like effect intensity (cha qi), but still it stands out. I'll eat a little food and drink water to get back to a normal baseline.
#1, infusion #4: it drifts towards warmer spice range; that's an interesting transition.
Emperor: the light citrus note in this shifts, to a different light citrus note. Like dried grapefruit peel? It's something novel. It works with the rest; it's interesting.
#1, infusion #5: not so different. I've shifted to brewing these relatively lightly since intensity is fine that way, even optimum, for me. They're not that far along for being brewed light, after that first round. These would go for another half dozen rounds easy, but I'll stop taking notes soon, off to do activities with the kids today. They'll both probably express at least one more interesting transition too; I'll see later, but may or may not make a mental note of that to include it.
Emperor: similar to last round. Again the shift in the citrus tone is interesting.
#1, infusion #6: I decided to try one more round brewed longer, a bit over 30 seconds, back to strong again. That intensity comes roaring back. Warm tones stand out a lot more made like this. Nothing like a flaw emerges, even brewed strong, a good number of rounds in. I had mentioned a vegetal note that I never got back to; that stands out more in this. It's almost in between warmer and vegetal range, between cured hardwood tone and heavy mineral, or towards a forest scent. It's complex; there's a good bit going on.
Emperor: this is softer and richer. Warm tones stand out in this too, but in a different way in a different other context. Rich floral range is still present, and that hint of dried fruit and citrus, a bit obscured by the heavier flavors in this round. This is pretty nice tea.
I've not made much of splitting out a quality level assessment against preference to type review here. There's plenty to go on in relation to both, but just listing shifts in the aspects seemed like a lot. Quality level is good for these. I can't judge best-of-the-best range, because I'm not out buying $300 cakes, or even sampling that kind of material, but these are definitely decent, well above average.
I like the second version, this one, more for being so novel. That rich floral and fruit range is nice, and the way a soft but full feel ties it all together. The citrus note alone really changes how all the rest comes across. I've not went on much about feel structure or aftertaste here either, again because there was so much to say just about sets of basic flavors shifting.
Pretty good teas; this has been interesting and pleasant. I didn't make more notes about later changes or additional thoughts after this, so that's it for a summary take.
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