Bing Dao origin shou pu'er

 

I reviewed a sheng pu'er from Bing Dao from Oriental Leaf recently, here, and this is a shou version, the pre-fermented pu'er range.  Many thanks to this vendor for providing this tea for review!

To me two thoughts come up immediately when considering Bing Dao shou pu'er.  1) is it real?, 2) does it make sense to pre-ferment (wet pile) Bing Dao material, to turn it into shou?

It's probably real.  It's from a main producer in that area, Mengku Rongshi, per description from this vendor, so that would comparable to questioning if a Lao Ban Zhang from Chen Sheng Hao is real (known for a long term sourcing contract in that area).  It could still be fake, and people can think whatever they want, and that conclusion is a knee-jerk reaction in some tea circles.  But it's probably not.

Does it make sense to pre-ferment some of the most exceptional tea material you could find in this way?  Not to me, no, but of course it's for people who like shou more than I do.  I'm a sheng drinker, and I'd rather drink above average sheng than the best shou available.  But is seems a bit harsh and judgmental to say that the range shouldn't even exist.  It makes no sense to me, but it would to some others, with different preferences.

Let's consider the vendor listing:

Bingdao Aged Ripe Pu-erh (2026 · Coin Cakes) — Mengku Rongshi

40 grams worth, five 8 gram coins, sells for $14.50, which does sound kind of low in cost.  It doesn't say when the tea material was produced, even though it claims to be aged, which people could take as a second red flag, if so inclined.  The divide between spring and fall material comes to mind; they could be using autumn harvest tea for this purpose, and the material would be worth less to start with, and the origin area would still be the same.  In sheng you can often pick up a bit of difference in intensity and character type, related to autumn harvest versions, but it may not stand out as much in shou.

I tend to value the tea experience more than the story anyway, so it matters less, from that kind of perspective.  Their description:

Ripe pu-erh from the Bingdao growing area in Yunnan — one of the most regarded tea regions in China — fermented using Mengku Rongshi's box fermentation method and aged before release. No waiting required. The tea is ready to drink now, packaged in individual tins of five 8g coin cakes. Each coin is scored with a cross so it breaks cleanly into four pieces — a practical feature for adjusting your brew weight. Available as a single tin (40g) or a full box of eight tins (320g). [that sells for $110, again lower than you would expect).

Bingdao is a tea-growing area in Shuangjiang County, Lincang, Yunnan — the same county where Mengku Rongshi has been based since the family began making tea in 1935. It is one of the most sought-after origins in Chinese pu-erh, known for material with a distinctive character: clean, sweet, with a cooling finish and strong salivation that lingers after the cup is empty. These qualities are not common in ripe pu-erh, where fermentation often softens or masks the character of the raw material. Getting them to carry through into a finished shou pu-erh requires both good material and careful process.

The Process

Mengku Rongshi ferments this tea using their box fermentation method — a controlled approach in which the tea is managed in enclosed fermentation units rather than open large-pile wodui. Temperature, humidity, and timing are monitored and adjusted throughout. The result is a cleaner, more precise fermentation with less of the off-notes that conventional large-pile processing can introduce...

Aroma: Sugar and caramel lead, with a background of fruit and dry wood. The cup aroma carries a clean, candied sweetness.

Soup: Deep red, clear, and bright. The texture is smooth — silky is the word that comes up most often. Not thin, not heavy; just even and continuous.

Taste: Sweet and smooth, with a distinct sugar-and-caramel quality throughout. The Bingdao character comes through in the finish: a light cooling sensation on the tongue, strong salivation, and a clean rock-sugar sweetness at the back of the throat that stays for several minutes.

Smaller batch shou processing has been a somewhat well known theme in "the West" for the past decade or so, but there isn't that much of it made, so there aren't lots of options to try different versions.  But it's no secret, and examples do turn up.  It's more typically presented as an experimental approach, not something a vendor has been carrying out for a long period of time, so results might vary.  

Here's an example of a Thai vendor, Tea Side, producing 2016 and 2018 versions, posted in 2019 here.  Those were good.  Not like this, but the material surely didn't have the same potential, and it was the results of processing after some trial and error, but not a couple decades of consistent production (or whatever this relates to).  This was a review of their 2021 version, in 2025, probably representing a more developed, slightly age transitioned version, as a more developed example (which they described as "Chocolate Noir;" both that and this Bing Dao version share pronounced cacao flavor).

Review:

First infusion:  I let this soak for well over 30 seconds, so that it would open up in the first round.  I didn't use a rinse, which wouldn't work as well for a pressed shape like this anyway, since you would be rinsing only the outside surface.

Flavor is really nice.  As shou goes; I'm not a natural shou drinker, which I'll address more in an intro that I add later.  There's a pronounced cacao note, the main thing you notice.  Then an inky minerality, and what comes across to me as rich dried fruit, that could be interpreted differently.  Some shou has a funky sort of fermentation related input that fades after a couple of rounds and if it's in this it's really moderate, and hard to notice.  It can taste like wet cement block, petroleum, fermenting cardboard, or in worst cases like fish, or fermented fish sauce.  There's really none of all that.

Body / feel is really thick, of course.  Cacao carries over most in the aftertaste, so far.  There seems to be a savory aspect included, that's not strong, so it relates more to background, giving it depth.  It tastes a little like sun-dried tomato.  That's quite a lot of aspect range for the first round, but then this is brewed strong.  Shou never really picks up problematic aspects when overbrewed, or put another way, it's hard to really overbrew it.  I'll try it lighter though, and see what that changes.

Second infusion:  this round I brewed for 5 seconds, just long enough to stir the leaves around a bit with the lid, then poured back out.  Intensity and feel strength drop, of course.  The flavor profile doesn't change that much, but how it comes across does.  Warm mineral tone evens up with cacao for intensity.  Fruit isn't as noticeable.  That fruit was so rich and heavy that I'd have to make up a dried fruit type to come close to capturing what it was / is.  Prune is close enough though, dried plum.

This is pleasant brewed light, and intense enough, but probably brewing between 10 and 15 seconds would be an optimum, for me.  That's a really strong infusion strength, for using 8 grams in 100 ml for a tea this intense, but it works for this type.  

Dark bread range seems to enter in as a main flavor range, replacing some of that earlier set, or combining with it.  Really dark bread, like pumpernickel, maybe just without that one seed spice flavor input.

Third infusion:  not so different than last round; that description still applies.  Heavier dried fruit range might be lighter, on towards a dried berry input instead.

Is this so exceptional that it justifies existing, changing what should have been great quality material sheng into a shou / wet pile fermented form?  Preference for types enters into that kind of analysis and conclusion.  To me no; this must have been better as sheng.  But for people into distinctive, unique forms of shou the answer might be different.  It's really for them, not for me.  It will be interesting to see how pricing works out, which kind of factors in, but again that's a separate theme.  I think ordinary but more exceptional factory shou is good enough, and represents the type range well enough, but again that means little coming from a shou drinker.

I've been through this before.  A friend passed on a gushu shou from some known tea area before, and I had trouble placing if it made any sense, for it to even exist.  It has been nice having that better shou available to drink during fasts.  I have other more ordinary range shou around for that, and I might have drank through half a kilogram or so of it on fasts over the last three years (I fast a good bit; four times a year, five days each fast).  But it's nice trying something a little different and better.  I've kept experimenting with what else my stomach can tolerate, without much success beyond aged white tea, and very limited other hei cha range.

In trying this round again the flavors seem to flatten out a little, losing distinctiveness related to covering more scope (now mineral and dark bread, plus cacao, and limited dried fruit).  It's nice that it's so clean; often a touch of what leans towards sourness comes across in shou.  You wouldn't identify it as sourness, necessarily, but it relates to aged books or old cardboard smell in way that starts to be comparable.  Cement block mineral is more of a Liu Bao thing, and more general mustiness often relates to a storage input, or at least seems to.  None of all that is present in this.

Fourth infusion:  the balance of those different flavors is interesting.  I let this brew between 15 and 20 seconds, and that brings back intensity that works better for me, of course related to infusion strength.  

Feel includes some richness and fullness, and aftertaste carries over, but for a sheng drinker all other tea range can seem a little limited related to those.  Shou can be oily and thick, so I guess it's just a different effect, not less of one.

The flavors I had already mentioned integrate well at this stage.  They're harder to identify as separate aspects or notes, which doesn't necessarily enhance or degrade the experience, it's just different.  I suppose the dark bread aspect is shifting towards a lighter spice note, which is still related to that dark bread theme.  You wouldn't really necessarily identify this as tasting like cacao or dried fruit at this stage; it combines with the rest, and mineral base, spice, and dark bread have shifted to be more of what you pick up.  I suppose I see it as including that range, giving it complexity, but you can't really separate out those notes as they seemed to be expressed earlier on.

I'll give this another longer yet infusion time, around 30 seconds, and that might be enough notes for this.  There is late stage transition to note and consider, but I'm often fine with skipping that part, seeing the main story as already told.

Fifth infusion:  it picks up more strength as mineral depth than the rest.  It's a relatively different context for a comparable effect, but Dian Hong black tea can land in a similar place, related to a general pattern, of expressing depth more than forward flavor.  I like that in Dian Hong; it works for me, even though it could easily be regarded as a flaw or limitation in a tea version.  In this it's fine.  I think a shou drinker would relate to it more as I do with that black tea, than how I do trying this round.  It's interesting, and not overly negative, but not necessarily appealing either.

Mineral tone changes.  I really could probably review this tea again and just write about how the mineral tone is coming across each round.  Descriptions of that end up being vague, mentioning rock types, or partial comparisons to non-food related inputs, like fallen tree bark or petroleum.  

I suppose as higher level, general character summaries go this may come across as expressing a clean version of forest floor notes, to some.  That can be very pleasant when it works well, and this is clean and positive.  Imagine yourself sitting by a bubbling spring, in a wet, cool, green forest, on a spring day, with pines sheltering you, and ferns filling in the forest floor.  It tastes a little like that would smell, with wet rocks and fermenting fallen tree logs standing out.  Of course I'm picturing a specific place in describing that; I'm from the forests of western Pennsylvania.  There's a feel to such places that captures your imagination, making you think that animated local spirit influences might actually be real.  I digress.

The tea is pretty good.  I'll add more about that in conclusions, after adding a vendor description.

Conclusions:

It's interesting seeing caramel in the initial product description.  That's the kind of thing that you would notice if you had read it in description, since it would bring it to mind.  Rich, warm toned, relatively sweet tea could always be identified as tasting like caramel or toffee.  I just didn't make that connection.

It's interesting considering how good this is; is the quality level really as high as shou tends to get?  Are the flavors and other character roughly as positive as any other shou that I've tried.  Sure, they are.  That would mean more to me personally if I loved shou more.

It would really seem a waste of this tea to drink it as something your stomach tolerates well when fasting.  Fasting doesn't exactly throw off my sense of taste, but how you relate to flavors is different then.  A baseline for a lot of life experience shifts.  To me it adds an underlying layer of stress to life experience; you are always not doing something, that your body is inclined to do, to eat on a daily basis.

Of course when I re-try a later round I notice pronounced sweetness, which I do associate with caramel (per the comment about the power of suggestion).  I'm writing the edited version in the early afternoon, which isn't usually how that goes.  This is probably the cleanest version of shou I've yet to try; there is no fermentation related murkiness.  It makes you wonder about the actual age; over just 3 or 4 years a lot of the early fermentation effect clears up, any off flavors, but over a decade or more depth picks up, tones clean up a little more, and some limited forward flavor range gets swapped out for that depth.  This could be more than 3 or 4 years old; it would explain that clean character.

For shou drinkers I suppose this would be a must-try sort of version.  Some people might even miss the rough edges, the heavy, complex, intensity that good factory shou brings across, bumping that intensity at the cost of including rougher aspect range, and edgier feel.  This might seem too refined.  But then it's interesting trying extreme ranges of different tea types, to help place the rest.  

To me that even applies to bad tea; that rough, harsh, problematic Chinatown shou, that's earthy in an off way, and a touch sour, helps you place the middle and higher ends of shou range better.  You might not make it through a whole cake of that kind of thing, if you end up buying it, and it might be better for your health if you didn't.  But it's nice experiencing the full range of what tea experience can be.  This version represents the "higher" end instead, which people would relate to differently, depending on their individual preferences.

Progression through a tea experience curve

first meeting a favorite tea friend in a favorite Chinatown shop

I wrote about how beginners might get into tea awhile back, about how themes like brewing, sourcing, and learning about types works out, here.  It's strange that was 9 years ago, now around half the time I've even been exposed to specialty tea.  I began exploring it more through writing this blog, starting 13 years ago.

The point here relates to seeing post after post--in Reddit now, since FB is kind of quiet in tea groups--about people just getting into tea.  It means different things to different people.  Usually someone posting there, in r/tea, will have only tried tea bag tea, or maybe beyond that mainstream, mass-produced options like Harney and Sons, or Twinings.  Ahmad and Fortnum and Mason wouldn't be so different, or loose leaf Ceylon from Dilmah (which is actually pretty good, within that range).

Already it could sound like I'm looking down on people at that level, that they will get around to exploring "real tea" only when they take the next step, and try out different kinds of sources, and learn about more tea types.  English Breakfast Blend is a tea type, in a sense, but I mean narrower origin, more original versions, like trying Tie Guan Yin oolong, or Longjing green tea, some absolute basics.  In part that works, just not the judgmental tone.  Someone could drink only Earl Grey and English Breakfast Tea forever and they would still be a tea drinker who is enjoying tea.  From my perspective that would be kind of a shame, because the really interesting scope starts right after that, or maybe two steps later, but it's their perspective that matters.

So this isn't intended as judgment.  I'll map out some types range and stages without this concluding that people making it to my exposure level and appreciation form have navigated a proper experience curve.  A lot of this is about types, about how people typically explore from one form and type of tea through a larger set, but I'll start with typical brewing and sourcing experience curves.

Brewing approach transition:  it usually goes from using a tea bag, on to using a range of Western approaches and devices, narrowed down to one favorite (often an infuser basket), then to Gongfu brewing, using a gaiwan or clay pot.  You can use other approaches, and what works best depends on the tea type, quality level, and form (broken leaf versus whole, etc.).  It's as well to just shift from tea bag to Western brewing, early on, and explore from there.

pour-over tea with ice cream.  it kind of makes sense, but also not really.

flavored Thai tea, brewed in a French press

Sourcing transition:  people start with whatever they run across or have on hand, so grocery store tea bag versions first, then any kind of loose tea, then onto loose tea versions that aren't random, that represent whatever is most available.  

Someone could stop at any one point; all of this is written as if it would be more natural to keep going.  They could only ever explore tea-bag versions, or only ever try out Western brewing.  Someone might never explore beyond Twinings, Ahmad, Harney and Sons, and Fortnum and Mason tin versions.  That wouldn't be terrible, but to many the more interesting range starts in later.  This extensive typical experience curve description following, related to types, covers how that often works out.

English Breakfast Tea and Earl Grey:  these could be tea bag versions, although loose leaf versions of almost exactly the same tea tend to be better, even from the same producer or vendor source.  Tea bag teas are so broken they're almost ground up material, because that extracts a lot of flavor from a small amount of tea (2 to 2 1/2 grams) in 4 or 5 minutes.  And astringency is increased, and more negative flavor range; that's the bad part.  Flavored teas are fine; I've liked Earl Grey versions I've tried in the past.  Better quality Earl Grey is nicer than what Twinings sells, loose or in tea bags, and that's harder to find.  

But moving on to the next step is the thing, to expand range, and try what is better.  Let's move back a step first though.

Flavored teas, blends:  there's nothing wrong with drinking Sleepytime from Celestial Seasonings or a popular cinnamon blend from Harney and Sons, whatever that's called.  I started on tisanes and these kinds of blends a long time ago, long before getting into real tea.  Tazo Zen was an early favorite, and it's probably still nice, if it exists.  But this is about the other kind of range, so let's consider what that even is.

this is pretty good; I just had it with breakfast, during editing

Tie Guan Yin, Longjing:  these are natural starting points for Chinese light rolled oolong and green tea.  Longjing is either an inexpensive copy of a fairly well established and high quality version, or that original form, which can also represent a developed end-point preference.  

I visited China relatively early in my exposure to tea, on business, about 18 years ago.  A local IT professional working in Bangkok, from China, mentioned that buying Longing in Chinatown is a good starting point.  He was right.  I tried a couple of quality level variations, and couldn't tell the difference, so I bought the next to most expensive one, and I was hooked.  Green tea turned out to not be my main natural preference, but I still like Longjing.

an old mall visit on my first trip to Shenzhen

comparison tasting Longjing cultivars

Light rolled oolong is just a good general tea range, easy to appreciate, easy to brew, good at varying quality levels.  Later people might well change oolong preferences, and like much better Taiwanese high mountain versions, that are more flavorful and refined, sometimes incorporating more oxidation and roast input.  Or Wuyi Yancha (Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui, etc.), or Dan Cong (Chaozhou, Guangdong oolong), that are either fruity or floral, versus Wuyi Yancha / Wuyishan, Fujian teas expressing earthier range roasted notes, and lots of rock mineral base.

To get to this stage you almost have to move past grocery stores as a tea source.  I see inexpensive Chinese Tie Guan Yin in specialty grocery stores in Bangkok, or sometimes sort of related local Thai Jin Xuan rolled oolong, but in general it's just not here either.  We need to go to a tea shop, or buy it online.  In a big city in the US a Chinatown market store should have some basic tins of teas, but it would usually have to be in the range of NYC size for that to come up.  And that's just to buy mixed quality level tea versions; it might be pretty good, or maybe pretty bad, just like in the specialty grocery stores in Bangkok.  So let's consider that next range.

Dian hong black tea, Keemun, Japanese and Vietnamese teas:  none of this is going to be in any grocery store (except maybe Japanese tea in a Japanese grocery store, which they have in Bangkok).  That first example is my favorite black tea category, Yunnan black tea.  You can buy pretty good versions that aren't expensive online, maybe for under $15 for 100 grams.  "Pretty good" is always relative.  In that 15 cent to 25 cent / gram low-medium price range value can become important, but it's not that much to be spending on tea.  People's budgets vary, and this content can't mostly be about that, or address it fully, so I'll be limiting that as a consideration here.  Beyond the Japanese teas range lots of types just mentioned might be closer to 10 cents a gram instead of 15, for pretty good versions.

Vietnamese black tea, essentially made in a Dian Hong style 

Keemun is an exception, relating to two different kinds of things now.  It's cheap, mass produced and sold Chinese black tea, just not as common as it probably was 15 years ago.  Or it's a higher quality range version from the same area and plant type (or types) that's fairly rare, something you wouldn't run across much.

I mention those other origins because it doesn't really work to assume that someone is going to explore only Chinese tea.  Japanese tea is often presented, approached, and consumed as higher end, limited character range, expensive tea versions, as better than average sencha, gyokuro, and so on.  That works, but those Japanese grocery store versions aren't exactly that.  I asked a local Japanese friend once what he drank, and he couldn't even name sencha as a main category description, and just responded "whatever the grocery store sells."

Vietnamese tea is so broad, and a subject so near to my heart, that it's problematic to even say why it's problematic as a category.  There are cheap teas from there.  Fishhook style green from Thai Nguyen (an area) is usually quite good for being so inexpensive, heavy on mineral base, vegetal, and intense.  But they make lots of tea there.  I've been drinking a lot of Vietnamese sheng (the same as sheng pu'er) for many years.  

Black teas from Vietnam can be great (or from lots of different places).  Both Thailand and Vietnam started copying Taiwanese oolong production back in the 1990s, I think, and Vietnam has moved on to making better versions than Thailand, at the higher end.  There are lots of local types and styles; it's a diverse subject.  So it would match to lots of what I'm going to go on to say about other Chinese tea range.

many tea types in a popular Moscow shop.  that guy was so nice.

Wuyi Yancha and Dan Cong oolongs:  I've mentioned that these are natural second levels to explore for Chinese oolong range.  Or at least that's how I see it.  Early on that might relate to Da Hong Pao (from Wuyishan, the Wuyi Yancha or rock oolong range).  That's also called Big Red Robe, relating to an old story about a tea plant being given a robe to wear, out of honor, related to saving the king's life, maybe that was.  Never mind about the myths; it's just colorful background, that doesn't mean much.  Probably the tea plants never actually wore a robe, since that doesn't make sense, or maybe they did.

Dan Cong, left, and rolled Tie Guan Yin

Quality level of these teas varies a lot.  Someone would normally experience the lower level as an intro, keep exploring, and feel like the range of what "real tea" is only unfolds for them in the second half of that exploration.  Dan Cong usually comes after some Wuyi Yancha exposure; it can cost a little more, it's less common to run across, an better versions can be more refined (and of course more costly).

It's tempting to describe the difference between a cheap Chinatown shop Shui Xian or Da Hong Pao and a better tea version, but I wouldn't do that justice in words.  You need to try them, and you can appreciate the quality of the second better after exposure to the first.  That's why listening to a vendor describe a version as communicating the real tea experience can be problematic, beyond that being a typical red flag for over-hyping a product.  You might end up paying $1 a gram for a tea that you can't compare to anything else that you've been exposed to.  It could seem good, but it could be impossible to place that.  It's as well to try some basic teas first.

really inexpensive Shui Xian from a favorite Chinatown shop, sold in folded paper

Better quality versions tend to be more refined, in the sense of conveying a range of very positive aspects that integrate and balance well with each other.  Flavor is usually better, but mouthfeel and aftertaste expression also can be.  A liqueur or perfume-like aromatic character comes across in some versions (maybe the first more related to Wuyi Yancha, similar to cognac or brandy, with strong floral character in Dan Cong seeming more like perfume).

Hei cha, shou pu'er, white tea:  along the way in exploration you end up trying all sorts of varying types, with very different character.  This is a nice part of exploring tea; you can keep trying something new and pleasant, that doesn't necessarily cost that much, for years.  Looking back you might wonder why someone would keep drinking one tin after another of a few favorite Harney and Sons versions, since they're missing this kind of ongoing exploration pattern.  For the same cost, even, or this exploration of different tea types might even be cheaper.  

It's probably as well if I skip over what these are, for the most part, beyond adding a few short phrases.  White tea is the least processed version, in some examples not as flavorful as others, but versions can also be bright and fruity, or warm toned and somewhat complex, just perhaps not intense.  

golden flowers mold, jin hua, on Fu style hei cha (a positive and valued input, oddly)

Hei cha is a category of fermented teas, more or less, with shou pu'er often regarded as one example of this (or as a separate thing; it doesn't matter that people use category boundaries differently).  Shou pu'er is definitely post-fermented (wet piled) sheng pu'er, which is sort of like green tea, just a little different.  Liu Bao and Fu zhuan are examples of hei cha.  

Shou pu'er, Liu Bao, and Fu zhuan are all kind of earthy, but in different degrees and senses.  Liu Bao includes a slate-like mineral base layer, and can taste a bit like pine, or in aged versions, or versions that are more pre-fermented, more like peat.  Like actual dirt, right?  But in a good sense.  You really need to experience that to see if it's as horrible as it might sound, or great instead.

I'm not implying that someone would try Tie Guan Yin first, then a good Chinese black tea, then Vietnamese teas, then white, and so on.  Everyone's path would be different.  But it is common to run through more common and typical types earlier on, and then expand on that.  But then I've missed a couple, so let's circle back.

Assam and Ceylon:  black tea from India can be basic and pleasant or high in quality and exceptional, from different places.  I'm referring to Assam, or Darjeeling--another area--might also ring a bell.  Ceylon, black tea from Sri Lanka, is an unusual special case.  At one time it was one of the main teas produced, in high demand, regarded as one of the best tea ranges to be experienced.  It's still good, but now it might be regarded as more ordinary range tea instead.  

good orthodox Assam

Why?  It's complicated, how trends and themes go in broad tea preference.  Darjeeling was highly valued as a tea origin and general type as well, and now it's a bit passé.  Teas from there--both places--can still be fantastic, but tea trends come and go.  Nepal teas were really popular for a few years, a decade or so ago, and now they're not trendy, even though it's common for versions from there to be exceptional.  Aged white tea preference seemed to come and go.  It is what it is.

Natural end points for preference:  this might seem a little misleading, because there's no reason why someone would need to settle on one or more types to like best, later on.  They could just keep drinking a broad range, and exploring.  But often people will settle into liking a couple types best, and then mix it up from there.  For me that relates to sheng pu'er, mostly as drinkable younger versions (not aged), and Dian Hong style black teas.  That's a pretty conventional final preference set, but there are others.

Wawee origin Thai sheng "pu'er," a current favorite 

Some love Japanese green teas the most, which is understandable, if umami flavor that leans toward seaweed is regarded as positive.  Or Taiwanese oolongs, or Wuyi Yancha or Dan Cong.  It would seem odd to me for someone to land on loving hei cha or shou pu'er the most, but that does happen.  An older Chinese friend from Malaysia settled on Liu Bao preference, and in Russian culture / tea circles shou pu'er is a main favorite.

It's worth considering why sheng pu'er ends up being the most typical final preference (per my experience in "tea circles").  There's no one answer, but a few possible causes stand out.  It's really two different types of tea, as drinkable newer versions (what I like), and aged versions, so that's actually two possible final preferences.  Younger versions are intense, often sweet, strong in flavor, including substantial bitterness, strong in feel, and complex in character.  I think a natural tendency to prefer more all of the time, of any kind of exposure, leads in this direction.  

Aged versions can be refined and complex in a completely different way.  There's a lot to learning about types, sourcing, storage conditions input, optimum age range, and so on, so people who embrace a learning curve and like the idea of exclusivity have a lot to work with there.

2004 Dayi purple label sheng, in 2020.  it's pretty much ready now.

What is too much learning and exploration input?:  this seems to be what moderates level of exploration; people only want to put so much work into a drink preference.  It's understandable.  It's not even about expense, since that's already occurring for coffee or boba drinks, for many.  It's about reading a 1500 word blog post, watching videos, or placing the first half dozen orders from vendors from around the world.  It can all be a bit much.

So people find whatever balance works for them, for most relating to trying whatever is already on grocery store shelves.  That can be ok, but for tea enthusiasts that's essentially what comes up just prior to the gateway to better tea experience.

rustic "witch's broom" form Da Hong Pao and sheng pu'er; later exceptions keep coming up

Good and bad aspects of scifi, in relation to The Expanse

 

(photo credit)

I just watched The Expanse series on Amazon.  I've been way behind in catching lots of streaming platform content, because we were many years late in subscribing to any of it.  We first subscribed to Netflix a couple of years ago, although we did catch some shows and movies using an account from an aunt who visited some years back.  

It just seemed like the kids didn't need to keep up with a large volume of entertainment content.  We had subscribed to Disney + for a couple of years earlier, related to a local promotion being inexpensive, but in general they spent so much time on Youtube, shorts, and Tik Tok that it seemed like more than enough.  They also probably watched cable tv a little longer than most American kids.

It was interesting thinking through the pros and cons of different scifi content in relation to The Expanse, which was generally pretty good.  I had tried to watch a couple of Netflix scifi series but it never worked out; the writing was just too bad to tolerate it, never mind enjoying it.  I'm not sure why my opinion would matter to anyone, but I also write to collect thoughts, so I'll do that.  I'll start with what worked well, why it was appealing, and there's a longer list of potential mistakes they might've made, and did.

Positive aspects

Without generally good writing shows of any type are hard to watch.  The story needs to be good, some main premise themes unique and interesting, and character depth and arc needs to be there.  They accomplished all of this.  Acting was great in The Expanse; I tried considering which characters represent thin spots, but to me there were none.  Some parts of some character themes didn't work, but in general every character had depth, was acted well, and contributed to the stories.

The show was based on a series of books, which helps.  In such circumstances an online show can adapt a strong story--or they wouldn't be using that source, and limit what doesn't work in that format.  If there are huge plot holes or inconsistencies those will probably carry over to the show, and I'll describe some examples of that.

The sets and effects worked; the general look was good.  They seemed to use a lot of very detailed models, for the space ships shots, and that can work really well.  Shows or movies can adjust motion and lighting, to make panning shots look very realistic.  They need to add back in some CGI for explosions or lasers and such, and all of that was ok.  In one unconventional scene they actually never got around to creating a critical part of a space-based battle, someone destroying a missile, which seemed to be late in the season when they were rushing to finish production, during Covid.  But in general not much looked unfinished or not quite there.  Quality of effects varied, but for a tv series it was good.

There were other parts people might like, like depth of the worldbuilding being reinforced by accent or language development, or ship systems being developed in a more complex form.  There weren't so many "hard scifi" / realism gaps, beyond the alien technology parts being a bit absurd at times.  So let's switch over to that, as a main gap, followed by the rest.

It's hard to emphasize just how well some parts worked, for example how an unlikely villain role really came together, how a terrorist could be framed as having a partially valid motivation and approach.  Good acting is required to pull that off, and good dialog writing to get the ideas across.  Some characters keep switching motivations, and "sides," and it generally all worked.  That's rare; it took careful development to make that happen.

Thinner spots; what didn't work as well

The alien proto-molecule and technology:   this part was whatever the series needed it to be in any given context.  It looked like a micro-organism or infection at one part, then made up a hive-like community structure, and later the same thing was used to create alien hybrids and vast new technological systems.  Those alien hybrids were invulnerable, like terminators, and people affected by the "virus-like" input were capable of long distance ESP sort of communication.  

It made no sense.  It was never supposed to make sense; it was a vehicle for supporting every plot point the story needed.

Character arcs:  this takes careful planning for different media form development, and it may have come across better in the source writing.  One character goes from being an ex-military transport pilot, based on a full career of experience, to a fighter jock in a few episodes.  Some characters are developed extensively and then just drop out, before that develops to real plot input (like the "Andersen Dawes" rebel minority leader; his part never came to much, even though it seemed headed to main character status).

Killing off a character for off-screen reasons:  part of why Dawes just disappeared related to his actor not being available, and one of the main 4 or 5 characters was deleted quickly due to "me too" themed accusations.  The actor probably deserved it, but that negatively impacted the show.  It would've provided limited closure if there could've been a real life resolution to all of that, some summary of what really happened, but that didn't occur.  30 or more women came forward to say that he had acted inappropriately, and apparently there was message or image based confirmation of that, so he was gone.

Over-use of music:  a music input can really add depth and emotional tone to a scene, but they overused it for this series, at times for extended scenes, so it would just keep going and going.  Less can be more; if it's not spanning 10 or 15% of the content time it can work better.

Parts that mostly worked that could have been better:

Time jumps:  for a long term saga sort of story this can be tricky, signaling when time has passed.  They did a good job of explaining when a gap had occurred, but with more careful writing they could've did more than just have one character tell another about an event.  Using flashbacks would be too much to demand to add more filming, CGI, and storytelling, but character interactions could flesh out critical themes without it just being short exposition ("this happened").  

One character formed a personal relationship with a villain character from the last season, turned into a sympathetic figure, and they crammed all of that transition into a short video call, mostly as context based, so the viewer could figure out what had changed.

Use of language differences:  for the most part this belongs in the "what worked section," to me, but that's a judgment call.  The story used a New Zealand accent to represent a minority group (asteroid belt residents), because a main character was from New Zealand, and it worked better to draw on an established accent than to make one up.  It seemed to me others were using more of a Singaporean accent, and one guy sounded a bit Irish.  For me that really worked, mixing different accent inputs, even for people from the same places, but someone else could see it differently.  

The same could be true of making up racial or origin area designations, or slang.  I was fine with all of it, but someone else might see it as overdone, as a bit beaten to death with repetition.

Complex story line gaps:  again this is part of what worked well and potentially huge gaps, depending on how one took it.  The alien technology themes were never really developed, as to what it all meant, and the show stopped before a conclusion phase that would resolve that.  There was a second alien input group that was introduced, and played a critical role in two plot points, and there was nothing at all developed about them.  

One character was transmitted mentally, in the form of a dead earlier character, and it was never really filled in what that meant, or how it worked, even though he was later split into two characters, as a fictional projection and as the real earlier guy coming back.  For some it would've worked well, and leaving parts vague could've been a big part of that.  For others it would seem like they just never told parts of the story, or those never even existed.

A story line about a new set of alien themes at the end went nowhere, there really only to develop a starting point for later possible exploration (and a time-gap later book series event sequence).  Maybe some found that interesting, and a positive addition, but in general wasting a couple of hours on developing a sequence that goes nowhere and doesn't interrelate is a negative.

Overuse of misunderstanding to move the plot along:  it's a little more trivial but the writing relied on explanatory gaps or misunderstanding between characters a bit too much, in spots.  Characters wouldn't say what they really meant, or explain themselves, allowing plot tension and conflict to develop and to be easily resolved later, when other characters understood what they hadn't initially.  It's a good work-around for a problematic point in a story, but if a writer uses it over and over it seems lazy, and takes you out of the story.

Dark tone:  this kind of thing is especially subject.  A dark, tense, somber tone can be a very positive context in a movie or series, if it matches the rest, and that's what the theme is.  It's a big part of what worked well in the first groundbreaking Blade Runner movie.  I think the main negative part relates to me being tired of seeing it, and not wanting to experience tension or dread over many hours of viewing.  They did break up the experience some with positive personal interactions, or it would've seemed relentless, but the dark imagery (literally, even; it was all dark), tension over ongoing conflict themes, somber music, and dark character themes were all a bit much.

On the whole

Most of it worked, really well.  They developed perspectives and themes related to Earth resident activities and themes, and those tied to Mars and asteroid belt culture and communities.  It was a lot to tell connected stories around, and it worked.  Some of the characters were really compelling (I guess especially the Amos character, a dark sort of antihero type).  It didn't draw on any of the minority representation or female empowerment themes that can be problematic; characters varied by race and gender in a seamless and sensible way.

Because it all worked so well the thinner spots, or what didn't work, stood out all the more to me.  I suppose the same comes up with Star Trek series, and the like.  If a series is weak, the acting is patchy, story lines make no sense, then only a limited audience can appreciate any of it.  But if it's strong then limited flaws can stand out all the more, story inconsistency, less realistic aspects, or one character that doesn't work as well.  

It's hard for me to say which character didn't work well in The Expanse, as a written character or related to the acting.  The series started slowly, and there were some jumps in character arcs, but in general all of that range was really solid.  These other gaps are the same; they stand out more because the rest is so well done.

Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin and Longjuan Meizhan Oolongs

I'm reviewing two random oolong samples from Moychay, a Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin and Longjuan Meizhan Oolong.  Pretty much only TGY means much to me; I'll cite their descriptions to explain what these are.

Flame Tie Guanyin Oolong Tea (Nong Xiang Tie Guanyin)  (60 grams for $23.36)

Origin:  China · Fujian · Sanming, Around 1,300 m · handpicked

Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin · deeply baked · traditional processing

A traditional deeply baked Tie Guan Yin with a rich and warming character. Roasted fruit and honey meet persistent orchid notes and smooth minerality.

The body is full and rounded, followed by a long, sweet finish.  The liquor is clear amber-red.  Main taste notes:  Roasted · Orchid · Honey...

The intensive baking transforms the greener character of Tie Guan Yin into a warmer profile of baked fruit, honey, orchid and mineral notes.

Longjuan Wild High Mountain Meizhan Oolong Tea , 7g  (only available as 7 grams for $5)

Longjuan Yesheng Gaoshan Meizhan Youji Wulong Cha (2024)

Meizhan is a traditional Chinese oolong tea from Anxi County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. Grown at altitudes between 500 and 800 meters, this tea is hand-picked during two main harvest seasons: mid-April to mid-May and mid-September to mid-October. The plucking standard is one bud with three leaves, and only manually harvested leaves are used...

When brewed, Meizhan offers a floral and toasty aroma, with a balanced, rich, and smooth taste profile.

What is Meizhan though, a tea style, cultivar, or something else?  Google AI weighs in:

Meizhan (梅占, or "Plum Blossom") is a versatile and robust tea cultivar from China primarily processed into oolong, though it is also adapted for black or white teas.

• Origin: Native to southern Fujian Province (Anxi County), Meizhan has also been widely planted in the Wuyi Mountains (Wuyishan) since the 1960s to produce rock oolong (yancha).

• The Bush: Often called "tall stem" or "big leaf" Meizhan, the plant grows into a tall tree-like bush with a distinct trunk and thick, leathery, elongated leaves. It is one of the earliest sprouting cultivars in the spring.

Note that primary references it is citing are credited there (Rivers and Lakes Tea, Tea and Whisk, and Nannuoshan's Youtube content).  That's not offering so much source credit, but at least it's a start.

So it's really a plant type.  Probably not necessarily a cultivar, in the strictest sense, since that's usually intended as meaning only a plant type with controlled genetic character, like a Taiwanese hybrid.  Older, broader plant types, like Qing Xin in Taiwan, or Rou Gui in Wuyishan, would vary quite a bit, as genetics drift over time.  It still generally means "plant type," I'm just making that clearer.

On to how the tasting notes relate to all of that.

Review:

Tie Guan Yin:  just getting started.  This is really promising though; the roast input comes across nicely, in a novel form.  There's a root beer sort of sweetness and depth to this.  It should be good, but I'll add more flavor list next round. 

Longjuan Wild High Mountain Meizhan:  also slow to fully infuse, but faster, related to this being open strip form oolong, and also very promising.  Warm roasted tones stand out in this, in a different kind of way.  This tastes like really nice Wuyi Yancha can, when deep floral range is brought out by roasting, instead of masking and replacing it.  One part inclines towards spice, not so far off cinnamon, just not exactly that.  It has great mineral range and depth, and a touch of brandy or liqueur like aromatic range, which is both pleasant and a good indicator of quality.  

For some tea versions I might struggle to place just how good a tea is, or how limited quality or positive aspects are, when one really doesn't stand out.  These stand out. 

Tie Guan Yin #2:  I infused this a little longer than the other, to account for the form difference, and it needing to open up.  Not long though; the other I brewed for 10 seconds or less, and this for not much over 10, maybe 15.  It's good.  There's always the question of why traditional style, more oxidized, and well-balanced roast input form Tie Guan Yin are rare, with the bright and light versions most of what you see (nuclear yellow, a favorite old blog reference would call that, Marshal N of Tea Addict's Journal).  

This isn't exactly that older and better balanced style.  Roast level is high but oxidation input is probably limited, with more on that to follow.  

It's good, but the other version is probably going to make it sound more limited than it actually is, for being so positive and novel.  It tastes like TGY, that characteristic floral flavor (which some could peg to actual flower types), just warmed and changed through more oxidation and roast input.  

Warm, inky tones are a balanced part of the rest.  I suppose it could be even better with very well integrated additional oxidation, which would sweeten and warm the flavor in a different way.  But it's good.  Often higher roast will seem to cover a flaw in a tea, for example to mask when a version is really a year or two old, and is getting a bit stale, but these results are so positive this could be an intentional optimization of leaf potential instead (or an attempt at it; it would be hard to plan for and identify a perfect outcome).  I'll try to break down the aspects more as a list as I go.

Longjuan Meizhan:  there is no familiar flavor profile or style to this.  I've compared it to Wuyi Yancha, but it's not a close match to the main conventional types of that, even though Wuyi Yancha covers a very broad range of plant types, terroir inputs, and processing styles, so it would be hard to say what couldn't be represented there.  

The combination of spice input with unique floral range is different, and this oxidation input balanced really well with the rest.  It's probably roasted, but you can't identify the inky and heavy input as with the other, a more conventional form.  It at least seems like oxidation input has caused the main transition, and roast input is light, and secondary, supporting that.

Feel is nice, but it could be a little thicker.  Aftertaste carry-over is positive too, but that could also be stronger.  Interesting and positive flavor is the high point of this tea version, which is a nice thing to experience.  Warm mineral base input works, balancing the rest, in a positive and subtle way.  It's all balanced, and to an extent refined, which is a concept or term I use to express that lots of subtle aspects fall together in a very well integrated way.  The other tea version hits a few levels and notes pretty hard, which does balance, but this ties together a half dozen more subtle inputs.  For a sheng pu'er drinker maybe intensity is limited, but then tea character blasting you is more of a sheng thing.

TGY #3:  it's still quite pleasant.  I suppose this is an example of a more roasted but lighter oxidation input TGY, not the older and differently balanced style.  But it works.  Just adding lots of roast to a flawed or limited light version doesn't get you this kind of result.  There's a good bit of floral range, an inky minerality, and a hinting towards spice.  Feel is full enough, and there's some aftertaste carry-over.  If someone was promoting this as some next-level, 80 cent a gram quality range version I wouldn't buy that, but it's a pretty solid tea.  Those inputs balance and integrate fairly well.  There are probably plenty of people who would absolutely love this style and character outcome, then others who wouldn't.

Longjuan Meizhan:  it's interesting how those different flavor inputs balance, and shift from round to round.  This now tastes like a different bark spice than cinnamon, a range of themes I was more familiar with in my 30s when I drank a lot of tisanes.  I think people would unpack a flavor list in vastly different ways, so even though it is complex, balanced, and integrated there probably wouldn't be much agreement on what flavors are going into that.  That would be challenging related to creating a vendor description. 

This is from 2024, so it has settled a bit already, and that wouldn't completely shift flavor but it might let it integrate in a different way than initially.  Roast input could soften over time, but this doesn't seem to have been heavily roasted anyway.

The feel effect is different in both.  You might expect that this kind of aspect range is a good way to distinguish a difference between these teas, and to describe both better.  The first version has a conventional fullness--moderate in intensity, not pronounced--that is common to rolled oolongs in general, and this version is harder to describe.  It's not astringent; there is no roughness, and it doesn't come across as a structured feel.  But it's that little bit towards that, from typical oolong fullness, more impactful in feel, just not rough or dry.

TGY #4:  these teas are far from fading away but I'll still do one longer infusion round (20 seconds or so) and stop taking notes; this runs long enough, and they're not transitioning that much.  It's as positive as it has been.  That set of aspects balances well, the warm tones, mineral, hint of spice, and warm floral range.  It's interesting how as a list it sounds like the other tea, but in actual experience it's all fairly different.  The tones within those categories aren't the same, and the general effect is different.  Maybe for some they would seem almost the same, but to me they're not.

The base of this experience is a somewhat greener Tie Guan Yin input, with that distinctive floral range.  After the roasting input it comes across as deeper and broader floral tone, lets say including lavender instead of just lighter tones, that I'm not good at placing.  Let's ask AI what it thinks:

Tie Guan Yin oolong tea most commonly tastes and smells like fresh orchid flowers.

Depending on the specific style and how it is processed, the floral notes can also feature other delicate characteristics:

• Orchid: The signature and most famous floral note associated with the Tie Guan Yin Oolong cultivar.

• Gardenia: Lightly oxidized, modern green-style versions can offer bright, dewy gardenia and spring floral aromas.

• Osmanthus or subtle sweet florals: Traditional roasted styles soften the sharp floral bouquet into a warmer, toasty, and creamy sweetness with faint fruity undertones.

I could kind of see the orchid but that doesn't sound right, even though there are lots of orchid types, and osmanthus is also close but maybe not that.

Longjuan Meizhan:  like it was last time.  Maybe it picked up a little depth and complexity, or maybe not.

Where the other tea includes 3 or 4 main flavor inputs that balance this comes across as a complex and well-integrated broad range of flavor.  People could describe it differently, since it's hard to describe.  To me a bark spice flavor is central, not cinnamon though.  Floral range might be next, and it also leans towards or includes rich dried fruit range, like tamarind, perhaps with a touch of citrus zest.  Aromatic tones are even harder to isolate.  It might include something along the line of vanilla.  There's a touch of creamy effect, that could be interpreted as relating to a caramel sweetness input.  There's a lot going on, but it comes across as a broad and integrated range.

I suppose I like the second version better, and see it as a more novel and higher quality level tea.  It's approachable; there isn't much to it that I would expect some people wouldn't like.  But it's nothing like a conventional more oxidized oolong version, like a rolled "red" oolong, even though it's kind of along a similar line in some ways.

Oriental Leaf Bing Dao sheng pu'er

 

I'll copy the vendor's site listing here before posting this review, and just write a few comments first, then the notes.  Bing Dao is one of the two higher profile, known sheng pu'er types, along with Lao Ban Zhang.  Other origin area types would be great too; it just worked out that way.

I've not tried much of it, at all, maybe only a couple of versions.  So this won't get far with describing what it type-typical, and will focus on this tea.  I think it should be sweet, floral, and complex, with great depth and refinement, supported by a pleasant mineral base, and balanced bitterness.  But then that works for a lot of sheng range in general.  Maybe the flavor range should be distinctive, in a way I'm not recollecting.  Let's see how it is, and maybe refer to a second or third reference later, beyond the product listing description.

This is presented as a coin, or tiny single serving cake.  To me that opens up faster and works better than the dragonball / pearl style, letting all of the tea infuse at the same rate.

  

It's in an 8 gram size, with an indentation in the coin enabling splitting it to drink in two 4 gram parts.  That would make sense; for better quality tea it can work to go lighter on the proportion (than 7 or 8 grams per 100 ml volume worth), to enable more careful control of brewing timing.  At 8 grams you are more just flash infusing the tea, versus really dialing in the strength you want.  

I'll still use 8 for this initial tasting; it's more my habit, my own personal norm, and that changes things.  7 grams would be enough, but 8 isn't too much, even though I'll probably end up mentioning the trade-off for using a higher proportion in this.

Let's check the Oriental Leaf site listing:

Bingdao Aged Raw Pu-erh Coin Cakes — Mengku Rongshi ($17.50 for 40 grams, for five 8 gram coins)

Raw pu-erh from Bingdao's core growing area, made from 2020 harvest material that was aged before being pressed and released. Mengku Rongshi — the brand widely credited with establishing Bingdao's reputation — has been sourcing from this area since 1984. Classic Bingdao character: rock-sugar sweetness, a clean cooling finish, and strong salivation that stays long after the cup is empty. Compressed into 8g coin cakes, packaged in small boxes of five. Available as a single box (40g) or a full set of eight boxes (320g)...

Mengku Rongshi has been sourcing from the area since 1984, long before it was a name anyone outside the local tea trade knew. When the brand released their first Bingdao tea, the "Mother Tree" ( 母树茶), in 2005, it was among the first to formally introduce this material to a wider market. 

The raw material for this tea was harvested in 2020 from high-grade Bingdao area gardens — one bud plus two leaves, selected to the same standard as the brand's other Bingdao products.

Rather than pressing immediately after processing, the brand held the material in dry storage at their Yunnan factory — allowing it to settle, integrate, and develop before compression. The first batch was pressed and released in 2023 after aging in dry storage. Subsequent batches — released in 2024, 2025, and 2026 — draw from the same 2020 material, pressed and released in their respective years.

After leaving the factory, the tea has been stored in Xi'an, in northwest China. Xi'an's climate is dry, with low annual humidity and clear seasonal variation — a natural dry storage environment that allows aging to continue cleanly and slowly, without the intervention of high ambient moisture.

To me that was interesting background, so I included a bit more than I usually do.  I don't include the typical "is it real?" discussion point in this.  It probably is, but some people always question everything related to high demand origin teas, and there isn't much more to say about that.  For some maybe the cost would seem too low; it is a bit reasonable, which some could see as a red flag.

So this is 2020 material; interesting!  I didn't guess that it was that age transitioned.  Value seems really good for this high an in-demand region, and the quality and character is positive.  On with the notes then.

Review:

First infusion:  the smell is already sweet and floral, before trying it.  This will be a bit light for taking notes on flavors though; it's still opening up.  Initial impression is positive; it is sweet, floral, and complex.  But the next round will tell a more detailed story.  There's a bright, fruity, creaminess to this already, even though the intensity is low.

Second infusion:  bitterness emerges, along with more other sweet flavor range.  Intensity is good; this really hits on a lot of levels, even though it's really still opening up.  The mineral is a little intense, along the range of a dry rock type, maybe limestone.  Bitterness balances reasonably well, but it's still evolving, not even at its normal, opened leaf infusion character yet.  Flavor range is mostly floral, but it leans towards fruit.  

Aftertaste is starting to pick up already, even though the tea intensity and character isn't in its normal form yet.  It's clearly quite good.  Given how this is coming across I'd expect the next round to be much more intense, even brewed fast, with bitterness, mineral, and an astringency edge as pronounced as it will be, evolving to soften over the next two rounds after.  But we'll see.

Third infusion:  intensity is interesting in this, even for being brewed fast.  So it's on to the trade-off of using a high proportion already; there is no dialing the timing down to try a lighter infusion, at this proportion.  The mineral tone seems to include a little dryness, which isn't coming across as a flaw, but it is distinctive in a way that some would love and others might not.  It will probably fade soon anyway.

Intensity is good; it's a strong tea.  Sweetness level is pronounced; that works.  Floral range flavors--they're mostly that--are positive, complex and reasonably well balanced.  All of this seems a little non-specific, but that's my early impression so far.  I'm wondering how new or aged this is; I didn't catch a year.  It has a bright, fresh, young sheng character, but the warm tones suggest that it may not be completely new, maybe 2 or 3 years old.  But it's hard to tell.  A tea could be this fresh after 6 years in cool and dry storage, or longer, and a year or so of heat and humidity could draw out this kind of character here in Bangkok.  Within 2 or 3 years teas start to take on middle-age form here, what would be more conventional after 5 to 10 years elsewhere.  [Later edit:  it's 6 years old, older than I expected].

At this stage the hint of dryness in the strong mineral base would determine a match to preference for someone.  Then if that evolves, as I think it will, it would be something else later.

Fourth infusion:  a syrupy feel picks up; this had expressed fullness of feel structure before, but now it's in a different form.  The flavor tones warm just a little.  It's still mostly floral, but a hint of caramel range is emerging.  Someone could interpret this as expressing a light citrus edge; that could make sense.  Or I guess if you are really "looking for it" it could be as fruity as floral, maybe along the line of including some mango, or dried longan.  It's complex, but within a limited range.

Then mineral is a lot of it as well.  The dryness that I associate with that mineral tone isn't dropping out, maybe only shifting form slightly.  It comes across in the aftertaste expression, and seems to match with a dry structure in the feel.  This includes bitterness, but it doesn't carry over as a strong hui gan aftertaste sweetness effect.  Moderating intensity may serve this well, using the 4 gram approach instead.  It has plenty of sweetness and flavor to express, and brewed quite light it might fall into a different kind of balance.  That's not intended as an "oh no, I've screwed this up" kind of observation, more about where an optimum might be.

I drank a little cold water to reset my palate after this round, and experienced that sweetness effect that can come up, where it tastes like there is sugar in it, a carry-over from the tea effect.  The mineral and trace of dryness seems to mask that part of the aftertaste effect, for me, the sweetness after swallowing, but the water really brought it out.

This tea seems a bit strong, the stoney cha qi effect.  It would be nice if I liked such a thing more.  I have a history with drug use, well in my past now, so I avoid almost anything that shifts my balance of perception, I guess with the exception of running.  Tea also does, but I eat first, or with the tea, to offset that.  My normal mental balance is fine; my energy level varies a little, but my mental state is typically clear and positive enough.

Fifth infusion:  this is the most positive this has been.  The bitterness and astringency edge are fading, and strong flavors stand out all the more.  Mostly floral, still, or that could be interpreted as floral with some fruit input.  The touch of creaminess that stood out very early on is ramping back up.  It comes across as creamsicle, as a touch of orange combined with actual cream, or ice cream.  The other fruit range I was describing included a hint of citrus, and the rest isn't closely related, but it adds to overall complexity.  Intensity is pretty good too; I'm not intending to downplay that here.  And overall balance, refinement, etc.  

This tea should evolve positively over the next few years, and then I probably wouldn't like it as much as a more aged version later on, since it's positive now.  It's not one of the more approachable, easy to drink, oolong oriented style sheng pu'er versions, but it's not challenging at all either.  Mineral intensity, bitterness, and a touch of dry feel (astringency) balance well with the rest, but those wouldn't suit everyone in the same way.

For feel input alone drinking 4 grams of this at a time might make more sense.  It's strong.  Five rounds of two teas--a common review comparison form here--usually doesn't contribute the same kind of stoney effect.  I'll either try one more round and get blasted or take a 15 minute break and come back to this.  Maybe the break; it's kicking in plenty already.

Sixth infusion:  it falls into better and better balance.  The bitterness, astringency, flavor range, and depth are all the best they've been.  Tones were warming, and I suppose that hasn't changed since the last round, but it's warmer than earlier rounds.  The flavor list stays the same as described earlier.  I suppose within a round or two the overall balance will shift enough that it will seem different, or if I brew the next round fast enough that might change things.

Seventh infusion:  for brewing two infusions one after the other, and a second one lighter, intensity finally dropped off a little.  It's fine this way, but it's not more magical, or completely different.  To me the feel range is positive in this, but it's also intense, with a bit of drying effect, just less than earlier.  Good sweetness and positive flavor balances that, but in other really nice tea versions that can come across more as fullness than structure, if that makes sense.  Taken one way it sounds like I'm describing oolong in comparison with sheng; I mean within the typical range sheng expresses.  

It's interesting that it's a cool morning, at 10 AM, but I'm sweating a lot.  This tea is affecting both my mind and body.  It has been an unusually rainy monsoon season, raining every day for a couple of weeks; that's a lot of it too.  

During that flooding cycle period last week it was over 80% RH during the days, the most humid I've ever seen it.  It must be in the high 70s just now (77%, 30 C, feeling like 32, my phone says; that relative heat index sounds a little unreliable).  A second source says it's 89 F (32), 73%, and feels like 103.  I'm going to go run in an hour anyway; I finally beat that foot problem I had, by taking a month off of running.

Eighth infusion:  smooth, balanced, complex, and tasty.  The mineral starts to resemble a hint of smoke, changing form from rock to include whatever other range.  It's definitely not dropping out.  For someone who absolutely loves sheng intensity this expresses an interesting and positive form of that.  That distinctive feel might not be for everyone, the heavy astringency structure and bit of dryness.  For a young sheng drinker it's just normal though, not even that pronounced in form, since remotely "young" factory sheng would express much more rough structure and dryness.  7542 would take a dozen years to be this approachable, or maybe 20 under dry storage, and by then the positive fresher flavor aspects would have shifted to a less distinctive, middle-aged form.

I suppose it's fair to say that I liked the Ban Zhang tea version character I just reviewed better.  Stronger sweet flavor range stood out even more, and feel wasn't as structured, or dry at all.  That's because I am acclimated to tolerate, or even crave, challenging, intense sheng versions, but I like strong flavored and sweet but approachable forms the best.

Conclusions:

So very positive.  It's not meaningful to say that I happened to like some other origin and source version better; that was more about my own style preference than a quality judgement.  Looking back on the review notes comment that might have related to really liking the fresh, bright, intense floral range that can tend to start transitioning to warmer tones within a few years, even if it can come at a cost in terms of heavier bitterness and astringency in some versions.  For me a broad range of bitterness is fine, if it balances with the rest.

It's interesting considering that this is a 6 year old tea version.  It had definitely transitioned some, but not nearly as much as any tea spending 6 years in Bangkok would, regardless of starting point.  The initial brightness and freshness is long gone when a tea spends that long here.  It seemed younger, to me, but that probably partly relates to that biased expectation of rapid aging.  10 year old dry stored sheng versions seem really fresh to me.

General quality level seemed positive, and character was nice.  It was a good sign that it kept brewing positive infusions, even well beyond the 8 described here.  It just wouldn't give out.  Let's consider their type-typical aspect description:

"rock-sugar sweetness, a clean cooling finish, and strong salivation that stays long after the cup is empty." 

I don't know.  It was sweet, and flavors were very positive, with good aftertaste expression, especially related to length and "returning sweetness" effect, hui gan, even without a higher than average level of bitterness.  Body feel and stoney effect really stood out; I tend to not notice that much, but for this I did.

I looked up an old Bing Dao listing to see if the character seemed similar or not, even though comparing two random versions of a general type or origin example is relatively meaningless.  The sample size is too small.  But I did review a four year old Bing Dao tea coin in 2022, here.  I guess it sounded a bit similar.  I didn't have a cost to compare it to; that seemed to be something a friend had shared earlier.  So I guess the point here is that you really need to keep trying different versions to have a baseline for comparison.  A couple of examples seeming somewhat similar is hard to place.

This tea experience reminded me of a recurring theme in this blog, about how sheng drinkers acclimate to bitterness and then later really crave the tea intensity (more about the second).  This tea was intense.  To me that's a great thing; it made for a very pleasant experience.  For others maybe it could seem a bit much, if they were more into oolong or whatever else.  It didn't have challenging feel structure, overwhelming bitterness, or unusually heavy mineral tone intensity, but it was intense across different range, just refined and balanced at the same time.  Especially for a 6 year old version; it must have softened and mellowed over time.