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the 6th round; it stayed pleasant and kept transitioning |
I'm trying the last sample of a set of teas from Tea Mania, shared by the owner Peter (many thanks!). This represents the end of a number of sets of teas I had to try from the middle of 2025; kind of an interesting symbolic turning point. I won't mind not reviewing much for a month or two, or if it's a slow year after that. It's a nice experience related to trying the teas, but it involves at least an hour of focus and writing, and then more editing later on. It's not the time that I'm short on, it's using up that much focus.
This tea was exceptional (I'm writing this just after writing the notes). I think every single sample from them was, in different ways. Some vendors are pretty good about only curating what works well. Farmerleaf is sort of like that. Yunnan Sourcing sells everything under the sun instead, which works in a different way. Then it would be a different kind of discussion if their in-house versions are comparable. I stopped ordering those roughly back when I first started to, just over a half dozen years ago, not because they didn't work out, but I just kept on exploring other things, and other sources.
I bought very little tea in 2025; flying back and forth to Honolulu and living expenses in that more expensive place shattered our Thai-based budget and income. I bought a 500 gram Xiaguan tea ball locally last year, as an exception, in a Bangkok Chinatown shop (Jip Eu), but the rest I bought was mostly just gifts. It worked out; I had some tea around to drink from before (as my wife tends to mention), and vendors helped by providing new teas to try. I'm ordering a few inexpensive cakes from a favorite Vietnamese producer source just now, but in general I'll probably stick to that form this year too.
I get it why people buy teas like this one I review, more towards the $1 per gram scale. They can afford it, and it represents a type of experience you can't access for 20 to 30 cents a gram. There's something pleasant about drinking more basic, more limited teas too though. The ever-escalating quality level or novelty theme experience expectations can be a sort of trap. It would never be enough. But then if someone can easily afford to spend a couple thousand dollars a year on tea then why not; there is range beyond this expense level that might even make sense.
I was going to add that past a certain quality level of material, or the experience enabled by one, it changes the experience to be one you can just focus on. But maybe that goes too far. I could drink a relatively basic Dian Hong, or even some good Darjeeling, or upper-medium quality green tea, and spend an hour outside in our driveway, between the garden spaces, watching our cats chase each other around. The tea wouldn't be as refined, and it wouldn't change as much across infusions, but the basis of the experience is internal, not from that drink input.
Maybe trying something new is a different thing; if this had been a Dian Hong I've already drank half a kilogram of the novelty of new experience wouldn't be there. But still, I think cultivation of being present in the moment of a pleasant and extended experience is not tied to experiential variety, as much as approach and perspective. It should be possible to drink ordinary tea in a shopping center parking lot and have a wonderful, peaceful experience. I suppose the parts to tend to build up to the whole though, and an ocean view or green garden spaces would work better, and better tea.
Like this one:
Gua Feng Zhai Gushu 2021 ($154 for a 200 gram cake)
Discover the exquisite craftsmanship of teamaster Panda with our Gua Feng Zhai Gushu, a distinguished tea known for its exceptional quality. Sourced from the renowned Gua Feng Zhai region, this tea is crafted from premium Gushu material, meticulously hand-pressed into pu-erh cakes at Yang Ming’s artisanal manufactory. The dedication to traditional, handmade processing and the careful selection of tea leaves are what set this tea apart, ensuring a product of unparalleled quality.
Gua Feng Zhai’s pu-erh teas are treasured for their rarity, produced in extremely limited quantities each year, making them highly coveted by collectors and tea enthusiasts alike. The Gua Feng Zhai Gushu is particularly suitable for long-term storage, with the potential to develop richer and increasingly complex aromas over time, offering a truly dynamic tea experience.
Harvest: Autumn 2021
Pressed: 2021
Typ: Sheng
Aroma: Strong, strong Cha Qi but also mellow taste
Terroir: Mengsong, Xishuangbanna prefecture, Yunnan province in China
That's a bit heavy on marketing, but at least the tea is as good or better than the spin frames it as. It's interesting that it's an autumn harvest tea. Flavors and other aspects could vary some, but in general those tend to be less intense than spring harvest versions. One comment here in the review kind of ties to that, but intensity was still pretty good. Bitterness and astringency were quite moderate, so feel and flavor stand out more, especially flavor.
This probably is a high demand local area, as this implies, or more or less plainly says. That would be why an autumn harvest version is being sold for this pricing, which for how good this tea is seems like a pretty good value. I end up concluding that it seems good to me now, that waiting to see how it changes in another decade wouldn't make sense (mentioned in that listing, about aging potential), but I guess that's a judgement call.
It would've been interesting to see more of a flavor list in this description, since I'd guess that it has changed some in the past 5 years. Those descriptions always vary by interpretation anyway, as the one that follows would.
Review:
Infusion #1: the dry tea scent was really fruity. Fruit comes across quite a bit in this first light infusion. It's close enough to dried mango. I'll probably keep changing that, or adding to it, but that works for now.
The tea already has pretty good depth and balance, even though it's just getting started. Complexity is limited, but it's not even wetted yet. There's a nice mineral layer base, and creaminess. That's more common in oolong but it can come up in some sheng, in a different way. This tastes like pear too, now that I think of it. That might be an overall favorite aspect inclusion, for me, when balanced with other flavors that match with it.
#2: Pear, dried mango, and mineral base is already a good start for description this round. There's a warmer range aspect that matches nicely with the rest, but it's integrated, not easy to describe. As always in this range interpreting it as partly floral also works. The two themes might even connect; chrysanthemum has a nice warm, rich, floral texture, and part of this is like that.
It's complex enough that someone like Don Mei could go on and on describing this round for 10 minutes. Maybe it does also taste a little like butter cookie, or like a yellow cake. Maybe seeing it as including a hint of spice also works, just a touch of nutmeg, or maybe there is a light citrus edge. Take all that with a grain of salt; it's complex, and there is more to it, but I think the first half dozen aspects that I mentioned make the most sense as an interpretation.
It's unusually good. Does that come across in listing the flavor aspects? It balances well, and that mix of depth, sweetness, complexity, and overall balance is just great. There is enough bright range to complement the richer, deeper flavors perfectly, and it's just not a heavy or challenging tea. Feel is full but aspects like astringency and bitterness don't really come to mind.
For being a 2021 tea this hasn't transitioned that much, but probably some. This is where more gradual, not so hot and humid storage really shines. In Bangkok this would've been heavier and further along by now, but it's better this way, I think. It would probably good in a different way in another 15 years, but to me it's too good now not to just drink it.
#3: it might integrate and balance even better, even though it's similar. Mineral picks up, and it had been pronounced before. I guess that's part of the "depth" people claim relates to gushu forms. And then another part, or other parts, might be harder to pin down. One positive input could just relate to it being this good.
Fruit does stand out less, giving up space for that mineral and warm richness. I guess that also makes the floral range seem to stand out more. You could probably emphasize the lighter, brighter flavor range by brewing this even faster (I'm using around 10 seconds), and ramp up feel and heavier aspects by letting it brew longer. To me this is pretty good, a nice balance. Maybe brewing it a few seconds faster would be as good, or possibly slightly better, and over a few rounds that would get you an extra round. I'll try it brewed fast next round.
#4: a flash infusion is probably a little too light. It still includes plenty of flavor, but the feel thins out. That really fast brew pacing is more for sheng versions that are overly intense. A spice note like sassafras shows up, tried out this way. Or maybe it was evolving towards that anyway. Again it's quite pleasant.
It has worked out well to try this tea last from the set of samples Peter shared; it's really pleasant and distinctive. It will be interesting to see what this sells for. It reminds me of a past personal favorite from Nannuo, that probably wasn't this good, but that paralleled some of these flavors.
#5: spice range definitely picks up, but it's broader than the sassafras was last round. Describing it clearly isn't going to work, even in parts. One part is that, and another is a driftwood sort of sweet and dry woodiness, like how balsa wood smells. Then that's rounded out with root spice, more like ginseng, maybe just not quite as punchy and medicinal as ginseng (which is also subtle, in a different sense). It has changed a lot over the last three rounds. That really short infusion approach could also relate to slowing the transition, or trying to, to get the most out of the tea where it's at in the cycle.
Of course these flavors link well with the pronounced base mineral tone, which isn't dropping out. Feel and aftertaste are significant, but those can be more intense in some other versions. Overall balance is the nicest part, the way it all comes together each round. Usually I'm bored with writing notes by this point but I'll describe one more round, even though it will probably change some after that.
#6: it changes less than it had over last rounds. Mineral and warm spice tones pick up enough that it's taking on a more savory character. Probably as a much younger tea astringency and bitterness would have been a bigger input, and these warm tones wouldn't have been nearly as pronounced. To me this represents when partial aging works, when limited transition can be positive, even without trying it then.
Then again I would've liked the intense bright flavors when this was quite new, even with more bitterness and astringency included. Bright floral range and lighter fruit range probably would have stood out. It's nice like this; these warm tones work. The tea retaining some light and bright range makes them balance well. Again I wouldn't wait a few years to drink this to see how all that changes; it's in a nice place now.
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