Tea Mania 2017 Bulang and 2018 Hekai gushu sheng pu'er

 

2017 Bulang left, in all photos

I'm reviewing the oldest of the Tea Mania sheng pu'er samples (sent by Peter, the owner, for review; many thanks!).  At these ages these won't be truly aged sheng versions, so this will be about where they are in that process, and how intermediate stage sheng work out, what being part-way through a fermentation cycle is like.  It would vary by the tea version, in relation to the starting point, so this should be interesting.

I'll start with the vendor's description of these:

Bulang Gushu 2017, (357 gram cake for $188 USD)

Experience the excellence of our Bulang Gushu, a remarkable tea born from the collaboration of Tea Masters Panda and Yang Ming. Crafted exclusively for us, they have meticulously captured our deep appreciation for Bulang teas. Stored for seven years in Xishuangbanna, this tea has matured beautifully, becoming wonderfully ripe and developing a subtle hint of camphor aroma. It evokes memories of the legendary 2015 Bulang Gushu—a favorite that has long since sold out—offering a similarly captivating allure.

Building upon the legacy of both the 2015 Bulang and the distinguished 5-Village Blend, this Bulang Gushu holds special significance—it originates from the tea gardens of Yang Ming’s former schoolmate. 

 

Hekai Gushu 2018,  (200 gram cake for $88, equivalent to $157 for a 357 gram cake)

These leaves, from the venerable 300-year-old Gushu trees of Hekai Shan, were skillfully processed into 200g Bingcha cakes at Yang Ming’s boutique tea factory. The tea distinguishes itself with a signature Hekai aroma, enriched by the deep, clear essence of the Gushu leaves and a subtle camphor nuance. Ideal for long-term aging, this tea’s flavor is designed to evolve and refine over time, embodying the essence of Hekai Gushu.

Funny camphor is almost the only flavor referenced in these; I wrote notes for the next review already and joked that maybe it would make more sense if I described them as tasting like camphor.  Typically that's a reference to a sub-tone that's not all that close to the camphor that stands out in balms or Thai scent sticks.  Or maybe people really are tasting that, but I tend not to.

Review:

Bulang #1:  warmer aged tones stand out initially; I suppose that's a good sign.  Per usual this will need another round or two to get going.  A flavor range along the lines of tobacco stands out, or that could be incense spice, or old furniture, antique tropical wood [or per the intro section theme, maybe camphor]. Brighter floral tones have probably evolved away.  Some bitterness remains, but this is approachable.

Hekai:  much brighter and sweeter; interesting.  A jammy sort of flavor stands out this early on.  It's towards a blueberry or black cherry jam.  There is some warmth to the character range, but not like in the other version.  A savory note rounds out that sweetness and cooked fruit range.  This should be interesting.

Bulang #2:  that first description still works: there's an interesting mix of complex, warm flavor tones.  It picks up a little depth; maybe a touch of marshmallow joins the rest.  Of course I wouldn't expect most people to make that association, especially within that context of warm tobacco, tropical wood, and incense spice tone range.  Feel has a bit of dryness, and plenty of structure.  That's not overly pleasant in this, and not negative, but it may relate to it having complexity that could support additional transitions, to aging potential.

Hekai:  root spice tones are dominant now, with a bit of fruit remaining.  By that I mean along the line of ginseng, so an alternate interpretation of herbal medicinal flavor would be saying the same thing.  Maybe it relates a little to sassafras too, tasting a little like root beer, just not much.  The lighter tone is nice, the brightness.  It matches well with the sweetness, and that flavor complexity.  Brewing both of these fast should work now; they're intense enough for that to work well.

Bulang #3:  to an extent intensity dropped back for trying out an infusion of less than 10 seconds, but in another sense this is still quite complex.  Feel stays full, and one part remains behind in aftertaste expression.  The warmer tones are a little less intense but it's still complex in that same way, still covering that same range.  There isn't that much floral range to speak of; that seems to have largely evolved away.  Bitterness is present but very moderate.  I suppose this is the kind of tea that match to preference would determine placement for, that some people would love this, and others not like it.  

It's not exactly at an in-between age that doesn't make sense, but it probably would have seemed more positive a few years ago, and will balance in a different positive way in a few more.  So in a sense that's it, but it still balances reasonably well now.

Hekai:  this definitely seems to make more sense at this current age.  The warm tones, good sweetness, and root spice all work together well.  It seems like another half dozen years of transitioning in the same direction might be quite positive, but it works well now too.  Feel is a bit richer and fuller, while the other includes a dryness that takes over what you notice.

It's interesting considering fermentation level; are these less transitioned than the 2021 versions I've been trying that were stored in Malaysia, and if so, how are they different?  Yes, to the first part. 7 and 8 years of transition doesn't add up to the same degree 4 or 5 did for those other teas (from Legend of Tea).  Change has been slower, more gradual.  I suppose heavier flavor range doesn't enter in as fast, instead of the level being a linear distance or amount sort of thing.

Bulang #4:  it's changing, but only related to the proportion of what I've already mentioned.  I suppose that it's softening, in a sense, with the flavors becoming warmer and richer.  Feel is also softening; that dryness is dropping out.  I suppose a green tone may also be picking up a little.  

This is a sort of in-between age theme, just not in a form I'm completely familiar with.  Warmer transitioned tones picked up quite a bit, with what I assume was earlier floral range shifting to now be expressed as green wood, earlier on more in the range of warmer aged tropical wood.

Hekai:  that spice note is catchy.  Maybe within a year or two this might make less sense, being more in-between, divided between where it is now and where it's headed.  For as gradually as these seem to be transitioning it might be a long wait to more fully aged character, possibly relating to another decade, depending on where it is stored next.  It would be a real shame if it just faded.  I'd guess that it won't, that it's intense enough now, even for dividing character across a significant range, that it will retain decent intensity for that longer term. 

Kalani helped take this picture; I usually leave the toast out of it

Bulang #5:  depth is good; a charcoal sort of mineral range picks up.  It stands out more than the green wood range that has evolved.  Tobacco still works as a main flavor interpretation.  

Hekai:  that interesting spice tone stands out, but some green wood range is fairly pronounced now too.  I think these aren't at the best stage for drinking just now, probably better younger, or much more aged.  They're pleasant, and clearly good tea, intense, complex, and balanced, but this fermentation level isn't a natural optimum.  I'm not sure what I expected, looking back.  Whatever storage they experienced--in comparison with the other two I've tried, and in general--doesn't push the pace of transition, so they would be right in between newish and aged.

Infusion #6, both:  more of the same, just slight differences in aspect balance.  To me both are at an age where it could be interesting trying them once a year to see what changes, but they're just not there for transition to a place that makes the most sense.  

Then the problem is that if you buy a small cake, 150 to 200 grams, if you try it even once a year for a decade it's mostly gone by the time it gets to where it's going.  I've bought two cakes of the same tea for this purpose before, to keep trying one, and to have one for later when it really does make more sense.  But are these a great prospect for that?

I'm not sure.  I can't really judge in relation to an in-between-age snapshot related to later direction and aging potential.  I haven't tried enough versions over a long enough time-frame to tell.  Even if I had been through that experience a few dozen times it may not be enough.  Different factors could always be entering into play, related to different storage conditions, different inputs that tie to aging potential (like origin, tea plant age as one factor, or processing style).  It would be easy to experience the same types of patterns over and over, and to skip entire ranges of inputs and outcomes.

Still, I should be able to guess, right?  Something must trigger some pattern recognition.  Not really though.  I've experienced more of factory tea themes, related to relatively fully aged versions.  Related to gambling on lower quality, more inexpensive cakes--which is easier, in terms of budget allocation--I'm more familiar with what tends to go wrong.  These aren't just fading; they avoid that limitation.  They are picking up a woody character, but that can be expressed in a different form that never does fade, a warmer, cured hardwood sort of tone.  As I take it this vegetal range these express will change over, I'm just not sure to what.  

So potential is good?  Maybe, I just can't really conclude that either.  It's promising that they are clean, complex, intense enough, and well-balanced, even though they are at two different places in intermediate aging transition stages.  The quality seems quite good, intensity is more of a concern, if they'll fade over the next decade, and then what aspects will be like once they change over.

Myra visiting early in the session

Moychai 2020 Hekai gushu sheng pu'er

 

Moychay sent some really good tea to try with versions in a set; I've not started in on the best of it yet.  I was busy with some other samples and don't tend to try teas in any particular order.

I don't know more about this tea than the year or location.  I reviewed a Hekai maocha (loose) version from Chawang Shop last year, and that post included a map of where it is, in Xishuangbanna, in the Bulang area within Menghai County.

Xishuangbanna prefecture, from the King Tea Mall site, original image credited to this site

I hadn't planned to say more about locations or even try to compare it to a local area version I tried a year ago.  Per my understanding teas vary a lot based on different factors (general area location, growing conditions, age and type of plants, processing, etc.).  To add more depth to that part I'll cite a reliable, well-written source for pu'er input, a vendor business owned in part by Jeff Fuchs, Jalam Teas:

...Red clay earth, superb humidity and drainage, and not so much sun have long provided ideal surroundings for tea to thrive. The Lahu people have long been one of the lesser-known minority groups in the area and their teas have long been collected by others to produce outside of the region because of inconsistent production. Now the Lahu have benefited from being ‘tutored’ by the nearby Hani people, and their teas have reached level of predictable strength. They now cultivate, harvest and produce their own teas and Jeff’s expectations have been sated.

He Kai lies west and south of Menghai in southern Yunnan province near the fabled ‘Ban Zhang’ area of consistently high quality teas (and stupendous prices). Teas from in and around the Bulang Mountain region have a long fabled history and now command huge interest and the expected prices...

The "gushu" part I've had some exposure to, but even for trying a good number of teas represented that way I'm still more or less guessing on generalities.  It seems a little strange to be saying roughly the same thing about exposure level that I would've said three years ago, before spending those years focused mostly on sheng, trying a lot of versions.  I guess I'm still somewhat new to exposure but in a different sense now.

Dry leaf scent is very promising, sweet, fragrant, and complex.  I don't typically start any breakdown until the actual brewed tea though.  I can cite the vendor description, which I didn't read before editing:

Hekai Gu Shu Cha, spring 2020

"Hekai Gushu"(“Old trees of Hekai”) made in Hekai village (West Xishuangbanna) from the spring shoots of ancient tea trees.

In appearance: large, twisted tea tips with long cuttings. The aroma is restrained, woody-balsamic. The infusion is transparent, with a shade of white grapes.

The bouquet of the ready-made tea is fresh and vibrant, woody-balsamic, with floral, herbaceous and nutty notes. The aroma is complex, woody-balsamic. The taste is refined and full-bodied, sweetish, oily, a bit astringent, with a fruity sourness and minty chill, turning into a juicy finish.

Brew tea with hot water (80°C) in a gaiwan or a teapot made of porous clay. The proportion is 5 g per 100 ml. The time of the first steeping is about 5-10 seconds. After that do short steeps (just for 1-2 seconds)

That lists for 50 cents a gram, which may even be a good value for what the tea is.  But I don't have the right background to make that judgement, lots of exposure to very similar origin-source teas.  To me it seems quite fair.

Any brewing advice is a matter of preference, and that sounds reasonable, maybe just a bit fast.  It would be fine for using flash steeps, and the proportion is ok, but I'd expect conventional preference to brew rounds between 5 and 10 seconds, so fast, but not that fast.

About the flavor description, I probably would have flagged it as being more like white grape if I'd read that first.  It seemed more citrusy to me, and then with mixed floral range filling in the rest, and mineral, etc., but fruit definitely works as a general identification, with potential for differing interpretations.

Review:

First infusion:  just lovely.  There's a creaminess that's present in the feel that seems to extend to the flavor, adding a cream taste.  A citrus note stands out as much as anything, with a nice complex floral base beyond that.  It's almost disrespectful to a tea this good to bring it up but the citrus (which really does seem to be between lemon and a sweet version of orange) along with the cream resembles a creamsicle a little.

Bitterness and astringency are at a nice level, enough to add those dimensions to the tea, but not enough to overwhelm the rest.  I have a reasonable tolerance for bitter newish sheng but this doesn't draw on that; if anything bitterness and feel-structure are present but moderate, approachable.  A pronounced base mineral tone is present, which I take to be characteristic of gushu versions.  I won't be evaluating this in relation to a standard gushu form though.  If I'd been trying more of those lately I might have ran through some prior guesses about standard patterns, but I'll skip that part.

All of that was about the tea just getting started, a fast first infusion; it will show more of how it really is over the next couple of rounds.

Second infusion:  base mineral ramped up a bit.  I let this go longer than I typically would snapping a picture of it brewing, so this will be about a slightly strong infusion, probably trying it on the light side next time to define the range.  It's quite catchy.  A bit more bitterness is still at a level that works really well, translating into a very sweet and positive aftertaste.  I don't tend to even mention "cha qi," the feel effect that is said to adjoin some sheng versions, because I'm not especially sensitive to that, but it is odd that I'm feeling this before finishing the second round.

Changing the infusion time alone should ramp up the other flavor beyond that bitterness and mineral, at a cost of dialing that down just a little, but this was still developing.  It might just stay even for intensity and character / aspect balance brewed faster.

Third infusion:  that shift did occur, with the lemony character ramping back up for brewing this fast.  There's still plenty of mineral undertone, but the bitterness level scales way back.  I'm going to be really feeling this tea; different.  It's kind of a heady buzz already, more than a body sensation, if all that rings a bell.  Flavor alone is catchy but the extra layers makes this interesting, the way bitterness and mineral balance it, the way a mild dryness adds mouthfeel complexity that doesn't intrude, and a longer aftertaste than I've experienced for some time.   The effect of intensity is interesting too; even brewed light this hits on those different levels.

For age a half a year of rest is a nice stage.  It's interesting and quite pleasant trying sheng when it's essentially brand new too, but per some limited exposure it kind of comes together with extra rest like this, more than it really gets started on changing character through fermentation.  Further storage in Bangkok humidity and even the cool-season weather (it was down to 21 C / 71 F last night, more or less our annual low) will let it change some more over the next month or so, and a more noticeable amount over a few months.

Fourth infusion:  it's cool to be three infusions in wondering when I'll have to throw in the towel.  I don't value this "cha qi" buzz as much as some develop related preference, but it is novel.  This isn't transitioning that much so far so I'll not keep on about that.  It's in a nice place.  It's interesting how lemony fruit range fills in more than floral tone.  It's been awhile but at least one of the supposed LBZ versions I've tried seemed a bit like that, approachable and interesting as flavor went.  Maybe just not as clearly lemony.

unfurled in this brewing example

Fifth infusion:  it all links together in a different way this round; the feel picked up more creaminess, a velvety sort of edge.  Some of those more pronounced notes seemed to fall into a nice even balance with each other, with a touch more floral fragrance ramping up (like plumeria, much as I can flag those).  Sweetness level is fine, and bitterness is pronounced but moderate; that works.  It's really the synchronicity of this that works best, more so than any of the individual inputs.  I would imagine that getting stoned on the tea would tend to draw out appreciation for that, more so than that being seen as negative.  

Even brewed light there's an intensity to this that's hard to describe.  That flavor list hits a lot of tongue range, so much so that you seem to taste it with the sides of your mouth too.  There are aromatic components to appreciate, also called fragrance by some, but this hits hard across tongue based taste, mouthfeel, and aftertaste intensity.  Then it's odd that there's nothing really edgy about it, no negative range, not even a woody flavor aspect, it's just intense.  Underlying mineral being that intense would seem more unusual if that's not on the normal side, just atypical related to what I normally drink.

Sixth infusion:  it's not changing a lot but it is interesting that the experience shifts enough that it's not the same.  Warmth is picking up.  I interpret that as within a floral tone range more than most of the rest, or that lemon part really dropping out, but I think people would interpret it in completely different ways, related to specific flavors.  The aftertaste is really smooth, creamy, and fruity now, tied to a different fruit tone; that part seems to be changing.  

I get the sense that you can dial up or down the bitterness and mineral base level quite a bit by shifting infusion time just a little; drinking it however you like it.  With the overall intensity being high that costs you nothing related to drinking it strong, even brewed relatively fast.  It's strong both ways, brewed relatively quickly (10 seconds or so, or even less), or towards double that timing, just "strong" in a different sense, with a different aspects balance.

I did eat some breadsticks to keep my stomach settled and to moderate the effect of the tea, the drug-like effect.  I don't suppose this would be that hard on your stomach given astringency seems moderate, but the feel effect is pretty significant.

Seventh infusion:  not so different than last round.  I'm getting the sense that some of the aspect range might fade from here, with some warmer mineral picking up, replacing slightly dryer mineral range from earlier on.  I never did try to fully identify which rock-type the significant mineral reminded me of.  It could as easily be extracting from a clay, so a description might better tie to a type of that.  It's a bit much guessing that out.  

I think this is far from finished but it seems to have started a downward trend related to intensity.  At this rate it will take it 2 or 3 more rounds to that be much more noticeable, then it will be on to the later stage range, probably for as long as I'd stick with it, maybe with this at the half-way point.  It seems a good place to leave off taking notes, since I really don't want to go through another half dozen rounds quickly.  This would be a great tea to take a couple of hours to drink, to not bang through a fast dozen rounds.  Or to share with people, so they could get the effect, probably more suitably divided up among a half dozen people if brewed through a full cycle quickly.

I went way too far with a more basic sheng getting grandpa style brewing wrong this weekend, and it's interesting comparing common ground and the difference with that experience.  I tend to only use that brewing approach for road trips, as I was then.  It's hard to scale back putting half or less what I usually brew in a tea bottle, with one third probably most appropriate (so about 2+ grams, at a guess).  Drinking too much caffeine and taking in too much astringency does blast you, on two different levels, but the effect only overlaps so much with drinking a stronger tea.  You feel not-right, where this is more a buzz.  Sometimes cha-qi can be more a stony body-feel effect, but this went to my head.

All in all a very pleasant experience, on a few different levels.  It's nice trying a better version of sheng than I typically drink.

back to a school routine, in between December vacation outings

including the other one

Guangbie and Hekai 2019 maocha from Chawang Shop

Guangbie left, Hekai right

On to two really fresh this-year sheng from Chawang Shop, described as from Guangbie and Hekai. Both of these teas were a last minute addition to this order, not the main theme I was looking for (young, old, and middle range versions to check on aging process).  Given that I only bought a little I won't see how they age, and may or may not get around to sharing any.

Per usual I reviewed the teas without checking a detailed vendor description first, but based on later copy and paste from their sales pages that follows.


Guangbie: 

Guangbie belongs to Hekai tea mountain. The price of ancient tree tea here is also very high because it is close to the Lao Ban Zhang. We chose this small trees tea with good quality and reasonable price. The tea made from tea trees of different sizes grown in ancient tea gardens. Compared with pure ancient tree tea, this tea is more bitter, but it's very comfortable after drinking.


This tea lists for $9 for 50 grams, so equivalent to a $63 357 gram cake (although this might more naturally be pressed as a 200 gram version; that's just for comparison).  As far as trying tea goes a $9 good-sized sample is perfect.  In these posts I'm often thanking vendors for giving me tea for review purposes but since I've purchased these that doesn't apply.  It's nice that they make interesting teas available though; I'm still grateful.


Hekai:


The origin of this maocha is the same as the cakes we made a few years ago. It comes from the same ancient tea garden in Man Nan Lao Zhai, Hekai.

The palate is fresh and fruity, with notes of wild flowers. Sweet and round, slight bitter and long lasting pleasant aftertaste.


That sounds odd, given what I remember of the tasting notes, since I've just added this days later in an editing process.  This tea was $12 for 50 grams.

Xishuangbanna prefecture, copied from the King Tea Mall site, original image credited to this site

Sure enough He Kai is in the mid-lower left, not far from Lao Ban Zhang and some other familiar place names.  I just did draft notes of a Bada version, and reviewed a Ban Pen tea recently, and some of those other names keep coming up.

Review

Guangbie: really bright and sweet, fresh tasting. Bitterness isn't an issue, in the first light infusion at least. There's a butteriness to the flavor profile, which may extend to a soft and rich feel, that's more common range in oolong. Even the rest of the floral and mineral range reminds me a little of Taiwanese high mountain oolong, that bright, intense pairing of both that's characteristic. It's interesting.


Hekai: totally different; warm mineral range along with deeper, richer flavors. I often say tasting only very similar tea versions together makes sense but the contrast in these might be interesting and pleasant, it just won't help in placing either. I keep going on about teas reminding me of cedar; this is back to that. In the right balance I really like that and it works well here. Sweetness and warm floral tones support the cedar flavor range but that part really stands out.


It's too early for a judgment call, but since I'm adding this comment during the editing I can point out that the Guangbie seems closer to the review description for the Hekai, but there was no aspect description in the Guangbie to match up or else not.  I liked both teas, and it's interesting how much they vary for having a similar local origin, so that part doesn't really matter. 

Guangbie left (as also shown in the following photos)

Second infusion

Guangbie: the butteriness, sweetness, freshness, and floral nature is still present but mineral and bitterness pick up. The level of bitterness is still moderate since I'm going with a 10 second infusion time, but intensity level is more than enough. For some this might've been brewed for too long. Given the mineral range warms a little (towards copper, I guess, but still clean in effect) it's closer to the second, but still closer to where it started.

It's good. The feel works well, wet but with a little fullness, with good after taste. The brighter range and overall balance define the experience, along with that complexity.


Hekai: this is even more intense; 10 seconds was pushing it. It's not bitterness that comes across as strong but instead the entire aspect range. Character shifted more than for the other tea. It still includes warm notes, and floral range, but cedar transitioned to include more green wood tone, again as with the other balanced by sweetness, moderate bitterness, and plenty of mineral. That green wood range tips a little towards dill pickle, not so much the vinegar sourness part but the other flavor. The feel might be less catchy in form than for the other tea but both have lots going on, across that and other range.

Third infusion

Guangbie: more of the same, but this already had been a really unique and positive experience. The floral character may have deepened a little into fruit range, a white grape / pear flavor range close to what was dominant in one of my favorite sheng versions, a Moychay tea from Nannuo. I just tried that again two days ago to see how it was transitioning and I think I did like it the best brand new (to me), less than a year old then. At some point I should buy the next year's version.

Again the flavor is positive in this, and the complexity, and feel, but it's the overall balance that clicks.


Hekai: more warm mineral and cedar for flavor (now less dominant). This covers less range than the other, with less unique character, but on it's own it's a very nice tea, positive and well balanced. I can't really say for sure this tea isn't as good as the other version because there's a type-typical concern for regional origin I can't place, and it's hard to divorce the other Guangbie tea character matching my preference from being good in general.  That tea seems a little atypical per the broader range of other sheng, which makes that kind of call even harder, although it's not all that far off another presented as LBZ (which may or may not have been; I always take that kind of seemingly unlikely claim with a grain of salt, but that tea was nice).

This version isn't far off a Vietnamese sheng version I've been drinking and reviewed. That other tea might be slightly simpler yet but I like it. Right about now brewing a round stronger to check for feel and flaws might make sense but I think I'll skip doing that.

Fourth infusion

Guangbie: it's an insult to a sheng to compare it to an oolong, in general, typically meaning the style is a newer sort not intended for aging, with softer feel, low in bitterness, etc. In a limited sense that really works though, with the flavor profile matching most, but with the type and level of mineral and bitterness clearly placing this as sheng. On the subject of flavor maybe even oolongs never tend to express this white grape / rich pear aspect that I like. Beyond that the brightness, freshness, intensity, and feel all really balance well; even the mild bitterness helps with that.

This probably wouldn't be for everyone, but I mean that in a relatively opposite sense of describing earthy aged versions that literally taste like dirt as positive (or beet, or geosmin; different ways to put that).  A good bit of sheng shows intense floral, a slightly different kind of mineral tone (lighter and dryer, as I use concepts for that), a certain kind of feel structure, and really long aftertaste, and this is just something else.


Hekai: pretty much an opposite range, and not transitioning much. Warm mineral, copper, and cedar come across as more balanced and pleasant than that might sound. This would probably seem even more pleasant if I didn't like this other version as much.  I think that mostly relates to it clicking with personal preference, and linking with one of my favorite prior tea experiences. Even for that Nan Nuo version the first time I tried it (using Moscow filtered tap water from a hotel lobby; far from ideal) it was clear that random selection cake buy had been blessed by the tea gods.  That tea balanced nicely but the intensity really stood out, in the flavor range, with a soft and rich feel for a younger sheng version.

Fifth infusion

Guangbie: bitterness is picking up a little, at a level of balance that still works well. It's a little off the fruit range more into green wood.


Hekai: wood is picking up in this too, but an aged wood tone instead. That cedar had faded back but never really dropped out so it links with that, or at least seems to. Both are onto taste range shifting to be stronger than aroma, not that it would always have to work out like that around this point.

Conclusions

Both are really nice. It's interesting how both really reminded me of other individual teas I'd recently been drinking. It's hard to guess how both would age (that recurring theme), but both are really positive now, one just matching my preference better.  Since I've not posted (or edited) the review for the Vietnamese sheng I'm remembering as similar in character to this Hekai maybe I'll try them together before completing that.  It's easier to catch more in a direct tasting than relying on memory.

I've been saying about different teas that they seem good examples of a medium quality range that could fairly justify selling for more than a moderate standard $40 per 357 gram cake and these seem like that to me, at a rough guess worth double that.  Of course the final version of this post included a price, cited earlier, with both equivalent to a $63 and $84 "standard" size cake.  As I read back through this part I'm reminded of teas I've recently bought priced in that general range, and really these two compare favorably to them; they might well be better.

Of course that also depends on the demand side, tied to an area and typical type preferences, all subject scope that I'm far from sorting out.  A match to personal preference seems more relevant anyway.