Oriental Leaf Fu zhuan hei cha comparison, Lincang and Fengqing versions

 

red wrapper Fengqing version on the left, in all photos

I'm comparison reviewing two exceptional Fu cakes from Oriental Leaf.  I think the zhuan part relates to a brick form, so I guess these aren't that, but it still helps identify the material type, for people accustomed to only seeing them pressed as bricks.  

I've recently tried what seemed likely to be the best example of Fu zhuan hei cha I've yet to try from them, reviewed here.  The comparison theme serves a few purposes.  One is to get through versions and samples of teas faster, so that I can review 10 or so teas a month, instead of 5.  

Then it also plays a role in highlighting minor differences between similar versions, which is why I'm using it for this review.  It would be hard to spot differences in feel, sweetness level, aftertaste expression, and so on when reviewing similar versions days apart.  Even isolating flavor aspect differences could be tricky, if a basic flavor range is similar.  It works best for very similar character versions; trying two completely different tea types just adds work, and probably limits what you can notice.

These will be exceptional, it's just a matter of how.  All of the Fu versions I've tried from them have been great, and that's not going to change for these.  That last version was surprising for eclipsing earlier examples, and just being on par with that would be good.  

I'll add the vendor descriptions here first, which I always add back in to the post review notes after trying the teas.  I should also add that these were sent by the vendor for review (many thanks!).  The days of bloggers connecting with producers and vendors to review teas are winding down, or just blog writing is, but it's nice carrying on that form, especially to communicate about interesting and unique teas.  

I had others try those earlier Fu versions in a number of gathering based tastings, and essentially every person saw the version we tried as a highlight.  Work out visiting me in Honolulu and Bangkok and you can place that for yourself.

On Taoism Jingyang Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea - 350g Cake (2020)  ($65.50)

A 2025 World Tea Champion winner where five years of patient aging and Yunnan's finest spring buds unite with Jingyang's legendary flowering craft to deliver a Fu Brick Tea of extraordinary golden flower density and silken, honeyed complexity.

Jingyang Golden Flower Fu Brick Tea — Naturally Flourishing Golden Flowers, Mellow Sweetness, Silken Body

Abundant Natural Golden Flowers (Jin Hua)

Masterful Jingyang Flowering Craft (Fahua)

Smooth, Sweet, Zero Bitterness

Ideal for Daily Wellness and Long-Term Aging

What Makes It Unique

2025 World Tea Champion — Superior Leaf Award: Internationally recognized for best leaf profile and cup character, validated by blind tasting from global experts.

Extraordinarily Dense Golden Flowers: This tea has everything we look for: excellent base material, perfect "Golden Flower" growth, and great aging potential.

Premium Yunnan Spring Bud Material: Unlike conventional Fu Brick made with coarse autumn leaves, this tea uses 2020 spring harvest with exceptional bud density from Lincang and Fengqing.

plenty of golden flowers (the Fengqing version)

the Lincang version

nice looking leaf material, not chopped, as hei cha in general would often be

The black wrapper version is from Lincang, the red from Fengqing (from good Yunnan Assamica plant tea material, where a lot of hei cha source material would come from elsewhere).  I could see why this stood out in an expo event competition; these are pretty good.  Again, as related to trying two other smaller cake versions earlier, one matches my personal preferences better, but both are nice, distinctive, complex, and lacking flaws.

Related to that pricing, $65 for 350 grams, these are much better than any pu'er versions you would buy for that cost range.  The type costs less in general, since demand isn't as high, but for tea of this quality in general under 20 cents a gram pricing is pretty low.

This review doesn't mention golden flowers (which are there).  They add a distinctive yeasty, fruity sort of flavor input, which at best comes across as fresh bread and honey or dried fruit.  Those flavors get mentioned, I just don't elaborate on guesses about the fungus causing them, versus the original material.

Review:

Fengqing:  very nice!  It includes the range one might expect, if anything a little more distinctive and pronounced than expected.  Sweetness stands out, along a toffee or light caramel range.  Flavors are relatively light and bright; a main flavor is similar to fruit cake, a mix of bright range dried fruits, particularly something like dried apricot.  There is spice, and warmer tones, but those are secondary, and the warmth is limited.  There is warm mineral range, but that will evolve more as the tea is fully wetted.  I'll do a longer flavor list next round.

Lincang:  spice is heavier in this, and the tone is slightly warmer.  It's also exceptional.  That spice range is going to be hard to describe; I think it's more than one thing.  One part might be clove, and another cinnamon.  

Of course there is a yeast-like aspect to both, so some description to fresh bread or cinnamon rolls would make sense.  I'll try to sort all that out next round.

Fengqing #2:  it's pleasant the way this set of flavors integrates.  It may or may not sound like that; it is atypical range, related to a lot of other tea types' character.  

Dried fruit stands out, a little stronger, maybe heavier toned this round (for being brewed lighter, or relating to more leaf input than fungus related flavor).  Yeast flavor has already dropped back, but another part of this does relate to a fresh bread flavor.  The type isn't easy to specify; maybe closest to fresh cinnamon rolls or sticky buns (which are kind of the same thing, just presented differently).  

Light and warm mineral supports the rest, giving it a depth.  Pronounced sweetness seems to help tie it all together, now more clearly in a toffee range.  It's very clean in effect.  Feel is full and rich, and it provides some aftertaste experience, with some of the warmer tones and sweetness carrying on after.  

Lincang #2:  spice develops further.  This is really more than one kind of spice.  A warm incense spice stands out, something like sandalwood.  There is no astringency bite or sharp edge to this, but it includes spice range like a cooked form of ginger, a different kind of medium toned note.  That's closer to cooked lotus root, if that's familiar.  It doesn't come across as sweet as the other, but it includes sweetness.

Mostly related to personal preference for sweeter teas and fruit range I like the first better, so far.  But this balances well; the flavors are complementary.  Slightly stronger dark bread tones works well with the rest.  I've been brewing these a little strong because they work well that way.  The flavor intensity would support lighter infusions still being pleasant.

Related to comparison with the other earlier versions these might be a little better.  It's been awhile, so it's hard comparing across months of time since earlier exposure.  And when I drink tea just to enjoy it, or even in informal tastings, I tend to break them down as descriptions less, which sort of could help with analysis and ranking.

Fengqing #3:  it evolves; warmer tones keep ramping up, and lighter sweeter range is replaced by heavier sweeter range.  The earlier fresh cinnamon roll is closer to a fresh darker bread now, not a heavy version of one, but not light either.  The earlier dried apricot has changed to a heavier dried fruit, or mix of dried fruits.  Feel is still thick and rich; maybe even a little heavier.

As a sheng drinker one might consider if teas that lack the intensity and punch are somehow less appealing.  Flavor intensity is fine in this, but young sheng, or sheng with limited aging, is typically aggressive, in terms of feel and flavor, and this isn't that.  I never completely stop drinking black tea, versions along the line of Dian Hong, or related SE Asian forms, so I stay in contact with preference for a different range.

Some of this character isn't different than flavorful and intense black tea, that expresses a lot of depth.  The flavor profile isn't a close match, but it does overlap.  The warm mineral base and fullness can be comparable, again only related to black tea versions that emphasize depth.  The bread-like range is different.

In giving it one last taste before the next round something like dried blueberry might make for a good interpretation of part of it.

Lincang:  this evolves to include more spice range, again along the line of incense spice, perhaps close to sandalwood (although my incense spice range memory awareness is now limited).  It comes across as a little dryer.  Really it is sweet and full, with good depth, but small differences across a similar range stand out in comparison tasting like this.  A touch of fruit edge might relate to a warm citrus peel, not like chen pi (aged tangerine), but still not so far from that.  

There's almost a savory effect.  It's not similar in flavor that it links to related to sun-dried tomato, the other form of savory / umami flavor that tends to be expressed, beyond seaweed that's more common in green tea forms.  This might resemble dried seaweed a little, the roasted sheets version.  But it lacks the vegetal range; it's just the savory edge.  And that is secondary to the warm spice and dark bread context, along with warm mineral base.

Fengqing #4:  this shifts a good bit.  That dried blueberry I had mentioned is closer to dried cranberry now.  It's not exactly tart, but the fruit flavor has changed.  Maybe dried dark cherry works better.  The warm tones have shifted from a bread-like yeast note closer to cacao.  This is much closer to one set of flavor aspects that can come up in black teas, that dark cherry and cacao pairing.  The base feel and deeper flavor range context is different.  It doesn't include any of that sharpness in black teas, present in a very limited form in soft and full black teas.

Feel is a little creamy.  You tend to only associate that with milk oolong, or at least light rolled oolong, but it works as a description for this.  It's reasonably close to a milk chocolate and dried fruit experience, layered on top of warmer mineral and earth tones.  It's harder to isolate the earthy range in this, since the rest stands out a lot more, but I think it plays a role in this seeming so full and complex, and balanced.  It would be natural to just interpret it as warm mineral, but I think it's both, also including mild and sweet earthiness.  

Something along the line of a touch of sweet leather gives an idea of what I mean, but this doesn't taste that much like leather, it would at most relate to a base flavor tone.  Of course that vertical layering is something I'm adding in interpretation; I really do "see" the flavors in that way, but it's probably more in how I frame them than a naturally occurring positioning that everyone else would also experience.

Lincang:  that one spice note dominates this, and then there is a lot of depth and complexity beyond that.  I guess how much one likes this tea might relate to how they experience that one flavor aspect input, as much as the rest.  To me it's squarely within the range of incense spice experience, but I guess someone else might see it as tying to medicinal root spice, or something else.  If you think "bay leaf" when you taste it then it seems to resemble that conventional cooking spice.  

Since other spice range supports that aspect experience it's really complex, even if it's natural to see it as simple, with one note supported by others.  The rest sort of resembles that complex mix of spice inputs in pumpkin pie spicing, which of course overlaps quite a bit with masala chai spices.  I suppose preconceptions about flavors, what one expects, or associates with different complex ranges, would affect interpretation.

Fengqing #5:  this will probably be enough for note-taking, even though these won't be finished.  

Somehow yeast range seems to pick back up.  Interesting; that had seemed to fade.  That relates to a complex flavor set the golden flowers contributes, which seems to extend well beyond yeast, into some of this fruit range I've been describing.  The feel of this is interesting, and pleasant, really well balanced and full.  There is still that pleasant set of dark cherry and cacao flavors present.  This would work well as a Christmas tea with nothing added to it.

Aftertaste intensity is unique.  It's not one main flavor carrying over, or a set, but the rich feel and depth of flavors, and sweetness, all linger on.  Compared to sheng intensity or oolong creaminess and floral range it's limited, but it has a lot of depth, so it doesn't come across as limited.

Lincang:  the main spice note falls into a more even balance with the rest, letting this integrate the best it has.  Those other complex flavors worked well as supporting range before, but now it's all of a similar intensity.  It comes across as softer and fuller, and maybe even sweeter.  A yeast-like depth resembles a light rye in this, a fresh bread note.  Apparently this will brew a few more infusions that are even more pleasant, complex, and balanced, instead of narrowing in scope.

Again related to my own preference the first version stands out more.  I can appreciate spice range flavors, layered with fresh bread notes, but an even sweeter dried fruit and cacao set of flavors works better for me.  This probably relates to a difference between people who are attracted to lots of sweet flavors and deserts, like dried fruit based deserts, or even chocolate and ice cream, and others who like a savory and spice oriented range more.  

Why not both, as differing experiences at different times?  I do crave plenty of intense, bitter, aggressive young sheng, but my main preference within that range is lighter, fruity, strong but approachable versions.  Then sometimes I'll have Xiaguan that's not all that close to ready, and the variety of experience is nice.  A Da Xue Shan origin (I think it was that) "cannonball" form version works well to cover both ranges, and to balance, even related to being transitioned but far from fully transitioned, from 2017 or so.  I just looked it up; it was 2018.  The point is that some of my favorite teas aren't sweet and fruity.

Conclusions

A lot is concluded in this already.  The teas are good, from good plant material, sold at a good value.  I liked one more than the other (the Fengqing material version), related to it being sweeter, a bit fruity, and for tasting like cacao, while the other included more incense spice range, that transitioned to being more balanced by other inputs in later rounds.  

Both kept brewing; I tried another pleasant round that day, and two more the next day.  They needed more time for those 5th through 7th infusions, but you could stretch timing and keep going, or even simmer that type of tea, if you wanted to get the last of it.  Plenty of tea types you drink until the character is unpleasant, but these don't drift into tasting like some version of wood in late rounds (per my interpretation; maybe that simmered round would be off in some way).

To me a next question is how these would compare to the last exceptional Fu zhuan I just reviewed from Oriental Leaf (a 2010 Jinyang version).  I don't know, but I can guess, and might write about comparing them.  These are quite good but I think that tea was great.

You tend to miss things in trying a tea just once, as I do in these reviews, but I have to accept that limitation or else I would need to write and compare two sets of notes for each post.  There might be a difference in body / feel, flavor complexity, or depth between versions.  You can easily miss an important input that's kind of "in the background," like a touch of sourness, or a minor flavor.  I noticed mint on a second tasting of one recently; it was secondary, in terms of intensity, but it adjusted how the rest came across.  I would probably just compare the version that I liked better; three way tastings get to be a bit much.

Those earlier two On Taoism versions (identical tea, listed here, and reviewed earlier here, but sold as 190 gram cakes) were essentially an equivalent option, just sold at less volume, and a slightly higher cost (but still around 20 cents a gram).  I had reviewed them brewing them Western style.  That works, but for teas this good it's interesting to me to see the development of them across Gongfu rounds.  

If I'm in a hurry in the morning I'll still sometimes brew exceptional tea Western style, to keep things moving, and it's nice that these work both ways, as better black teas do.  For good oolong you kind of lose too much from transitions, but for inexpensive and medium quality rolled oolong, as most Thai versions are, Western style is still fine.  If an oolong version is limited in quality or flawed enough Western brewing is better.  Initially I kind of expected more limitations from these teas, an extra rough edge or feel gap, but they're solid, complex and well-balanced.

an orange kitten helped with this tasting

Thai Wawee Assamica black tea and Moychay Fengqing Dian Hong

 

I'm reviewing another black tea from Wawee Tea, a sample sent by them with an order of sheng and black tea, and a Moychay Dian Hong for comparison.  Reviewing two teas helps place each, through comparison and contrast, and doubles the pace that I get through teas I'm reviewing.  A large set of samples provided by Moychay helps with that first role (many thanks for that, even though it was a thanks for helping them with some editing).

The Thai tea is presented as "Assam."  It's normal for local producers to call Assamica plant type based black tea Assam, whether the style is close to that origin range type or not.  I think they kind of mean "Assamica" by that, but it doesn't matter what they mean, the teas are what they are.  

There isn't any description of that from them, since there isn't a conventional sales site to refer to.  They would have outlets on the local online shopping platforms, on Shopee and Lazada, but people in other countries couldn't use those, and people in Thailand would often already know of those if they like that style of tea.  I order from them by direct staff contact, kind of the old fashioned way, when I see posts about something that look interesting.  This is a related Facebook page; that's where I'd see such things, in others forwarding those.  I could look this up on Shopee, but I'm not going to.

I did look up another citation of a different tea bag version on that Facebook page though, here.  

Wild Assam Black Tea with Osmanthus Flowers

This is Wawee Tea's unique blend, currently served in major hotels in Bangkok.

🍂The main ingredient is Wild Assam Black Tea, produced from centuries-old wild Assam tea trees on Doi Wawee.

Guaranteed by a silver medal award in a black tea competition. International Black Tea Competition 2019, China

🌼 Blended with Osmanthus (Guihua) flowers Authentic variety from Dali, China. Grown 100% chemical-free on our own farm.

🍃 Packaged in tea bags made from corn fiber, microplastic-free.

Brewing Instructions:  Steep the tea bag in hot water for no more than 2 minutes.  For 250 ml.

20 Baht per piece

20 baht is about 60 cents, so that should be about 15 cents a gram.  The tea is pretty good; that's fair.  Again that's an osthmanthus flavored version, that looks to be made from the same black tea base, but I don't know that, and I don't know that the pricing is identical (although there's a good chance that it is).

Those brewing instructions would probably work, but it would be a real shame to throw away that tea bag after it had brewed for two minutes.  It could surely make a pleasant second infusion.

Of course Moychay lists what their tea is, and it would be sold on an online platform, here:

Black Tea DIAN HONG CHA, Chinese tea from Yunnan Province (Red Tea), 70g, 7g  (70 grams costs 7.34 Euro, or $8.35).

Dian Hong, or Yunnan Red Tea, originates from Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, a region renowned for its ideal tea-growing conditions. First developed in the late 19th century, Dian Hong transitioned from green tea production to meet the rising demand for black tea. Its unique flavor and consistent quality have earned it recognition both in China and internationally, even being gifted as a national tea to foreign dignitaries.

Cultivated at altitudes of 1800–2200 meters in Dasi Township, Fengqing County, this organic tea is hand-picked during the spring harvest (March 25 to May 5) using the traditional standard of one bud with three leaves. The tea is made from the Mengku Da Ye Zhong cultivar, and its production involves withering, rolling, fermentation, and multiple drying steps, ensuring a rich, full-bodied character.

Dian Hong brews into a deep red infusion with a complex aroma featuring honey, fruit, and floral notes. The taste is smooth and rich, with a satisfying balance of sweetness and a slight hint of bitterness. Its long-lasting aftertaste is sweet and lingering, offering a comforting experience over multiple infusions.

Let's start with that pricing; it works out to 12 cents a gram (or it would be $12 for 100 grams).  That's pretty favorable, on the low side of the range for this type.  Maybe that implies that the quality level is moderate, or maybe it's just a good deal; it just depends.  Skipping ahead maybe a bit of both, related to writing this after doing the tasting part.

atypical presentation, compared to what I'm accustomed to

Review:

Thai  Wawee Assamica:  it's pretty good.  Warm tones match what one expect from black tea of this range, the earthiness, also covering range like redwood scent.  A bit of berry also stands out, something like blackberry, but one could imagine it being interpreted as dark cherry.  Feel is full and structured, maybe more structured than full, without dryness, or being too harsh, so that part works well.  

This would be amazing as an English Breakfast Tea replacement; a much better version of that general type.  Or maybe one category over, and just better than that, but comparable in some ways.  For the leaf material being as chopped as it is astringency is still mild.  I brewed it for around 20 seconds in a 100 ml gaiwan (for 4 grams), plenty to get it started, and it's not really overbrewed, although it looks it, quite dark and red.  

This doesn't need milk or sugar, prepared like this, but you can put milk and sugar in black tea that doesn't need it, if you brew it strong, and it can still be nice.  I was in a rush yesterday and did that, brewing their Wawee tea cake extra strong, and adding milk and sugar so I could essentially gulp it down, in a very fast breakfast.

Moychay Fengqing Dian Hong:  this is brewed a little too strong.  It's 7 grams in a 100 ml gaiwan, so 20 seconds was a bit much, even though it takes 5 to 10 for teas to generally just get completely soaked.  It has more feel structure than the other tea; I didn't see that coming.  Being brewed too strong changes that; we'll see next round.  I thought that the other tea being chopped would make it brew fast, so the 4 and 7 gram proportions might balance, since this is whole leaf.

This includes a few flavors, a set that hasn't fully integrated yet.  One part is tartness, not a personal favorite in black tea range, but it can come up.  Another is fruit; that I do love.  It includes some of that conventional black tea range, I guess oriented towards malt, which I probably should've used as a description for the other one.  It seems to include a hint of black pepper; that's interesting.  Then there is also some roasted yam, or something along that line.  Maybe sweet potato instead?  Or both, combining.

It sounds quite complex, and it is, but the flavors don't combine and integrate well just yet, and there's a thinness in one part of the flavor or character profile I can't pin down.  It all might just relate to it getting started, not being there yet.  In retrying the other I'm not really noticing malt, but it seems I did miss cacao.  It will be interesting to see how it develops.

Wawee Assamica #2:  these are both all but flash brewed, using a very short infusion time, but both look kind of dark red.  This extracted faster, per the color and darkness, but we'll see.

It's actually pretty light.  It's unusual drinking this style of tea light, more of a conventional black tea, but it works, beyond not matching a brewing norm.  There's plenty of flavor, but the feel seems light.  The feel that is present works, including some richness and fullness.  Flavor includes cacao and whatever berry range that is.  This is almost a Christmas blend flavor profile, without any adjustment from other flavors.  Add some orange peel rind and cacao nibs to dial up the fruit and cocoa flavor and it's there.  Of course it's already fine as it is.

It can be hard to notice what is missing.  This doesn't taste like malt, and tea of this character would usually include much rougher astringency.  It's quite good, for the style and presentation.

Moychay Dian Hong:  this is slightly stronger, in a more conventional range, but then it is brewing 7 grams instead of 4.  I didn't adjust timing, beyond pouring the second gaiwan out first, when it had been filled second.  Tartness is dropping out already, it seems.  Even though it's really subtle that limited pepper note is cool, adding a nice effect.  Roasted yam or sweet potato is a main flavor now.  It's hard to settle on it being just one of those, even though they are different.  It's not as distinct a flavor as it could be.

Related to comparison to Dian Hong I'm familiar with this is fine, but something is missing.  It doesn't include a depth of feel, and a heavy mineral base input, to the extent those often do.  Often some versions will lack flavor intensity while they express that depth, which can seem a little strange, although that can be pleasant if you are accustomed to it.  

I experience that as a gap in what I expect.  You get a good hit of up front flavor, and it trails after some as aftertaste, but the feel just isn't there, and some flavor depth is missing.  I'm not saying that the other version includes all of that, but it covers a normal range better, so to a very limited extent it is.  But it's not a tea that could pass for a good version of Dian Hong either.  I'll push both a little more going back to a 15 to 20 second infusion, and see where they stand further along the cycle.

Thai Wawee Assamica #3:  this is holding up pretty well, for tea that I freed up from a tea bag.  The character isn't different enough to go back through it again; it's just a stronger version of what I experienced the last round.  The balance works, how it all comes together.

Moychay Dian Hong:  this is the best this has been.  Feel thickens, and mineral base picks up; that's more like it.  The black pepper note is stronger.  Or is that white pepper?  It might be.  A touch of berry like range adds to the roasted yam / sweet potato, giving it more flavor complexity, which works well with the richer feel.  

This still isn't a personal favorite style of Dian Hong example, for me, but it's much closer.  A bit of cacao and a little more sweetness would really tie the rest together better.  But it integrates the best it has, and it's fine like this.  Very limited tartness isn't as problematic (I just don't like tartness), but it's more shift in the wrong direction.

To be clear Dian Hong is my favorite black tea type.  It's very familiar.  Versions from South East Asia can be just as good, and can match typical Yunnan style very well, or they can also vary, a lot.  There are outliers in Yunnan versions and styles too.  This is sort of conventional, sort of not, in two different senses.  It lacks typical depth, mineral range isn't as pronounced as it usually would be, and the tartness isn't typical at all.  But the other flavor range is right, and the lack of harsh astringency, the tea being full but not rough or dry.  They generally don't taste malty, and this doesn't.

At this stage I like the other tea a little better.  The tartness alone might swing that balance, or it all just integrates a little better.  It's not nearly as good as the black tea cake I bought from them; for someone with my preferences it would be as well to skip this tea and just buy that.  But then this is a different thing, and for a tea to go, the tea bag form it came in, it would work well, much better than anything Twinings or similar producers make.

Both teas, infusion #4:  the Wawee tea thins a little, but then it has been a challenge brewing 4 grams of broken leaf well.  It's still good.  The Dian Hong is still the best it has been, picking up a little more depth and complexity.  

It's an overall good sign that it improves across rounds; better quality tea will do that, while lower quality versions express their best range early on, and then die.  Or maybe that also relates to material type; low elevation grown plantation tea should be more intense at first, then fade, and higher elevation or more natural grown tea tends to have more durability.  Sometimes older plant material teas can lack exceptional flavor intensity but express a lot of depth.

In the round after these, #5, the Thai Wawee tea was really dropping off, and the Dian Hong wasn't, kind of as one might expect, that whole-leaf tea would brew out slower.  But again it's also a good sign for the Dian Hong quality level.

Conclusions:

Both were pretty good.  Both had their own limitations.  For comparing to standard tea-bag tea, chopped material range versions, the Wawee tea was exceptional, but it's an odd starting point competing in that range.  It was better than that; it was fine as a conventional specialty tea.  But I suppose it could have been even better as a more whole leaf version.

The Moychay version I judged more negatively for coming into the tasting with a lot of expectations about Dian Hong style and character range.  It was good, but some early lack of some range (mineral taste, feel depth), and inclusion of tartness, seemed a lot more negative for me expecting it to be a certain way, to be different.  It's not necessarily that it compared negatively to the other version, but the other Wawee tea was better in a couple of ways.  And the Moychay tea was superior in other ways; it held up better to an infusion cycle, and came to express more complexity and depth than the other, in "later" rounds (this was a pretty short infusion sampling cycle).  

If I had to pick one that I liked more it would be the Thai tea, but they were both fairly equivalent, and that was about preference for specific flavor range, not quality.  Maybe the Moychay Dian Hong was a little higher in quality level, in spite of it also being limited in some ways.

I've been trying such exceptional teas lately that any that seem good but not great might come across as more limited to me now.  These were both good.  For anyone that actually likes a touch of tartness in black teas the Dian Hong review might seem wrong; too negative.  And without specific expectations about feel and mineral base flavor going in it could seem all the more positive.  

Dian Hong drinkers would know what I'm talking about, and anyone new to tea reading this might think it's all nonsense.  Trueness to type expectations aren't really a made up thing, but they do extend how people experience tea into an abstract range, moving beyond "how good; how pleasant?," into "does this match what I expect?"

The Moychay tea is a really good value, for as pleasant as this is.  It may not work well for spending an hour just focusing on it, for me, for it missing my main personal preference range by a couple of aspects, but this would still be a great breakfast tea.  For someone with different black tea preference it may seem much better than that.

Chen Sheng Hao 2020 and 2024 blended sheng pu'er

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sourcing from Menghai, Yunnan

Blended (Multi-Region)

Tea tree over 80 years

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

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

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

Blended (Multi-Region)

Tea tree over 100 years

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

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

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

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

Review:  

way overbrewed, obviously; overestimating timing to get them started

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

2023 Bulang sheng pu'er

 

In this I'm reviewing a 2023 Bulang sheng pu'er from Oriental Leaf.  This is a fairly unusual form of review, related to tasting this tea twice to get to a workable final set of notes.  I used my normal high proportion for brewing the tea the first time, around 8 grams for a 100 ml gaiwan, and it was too much, and it was hard to dial down intensity, even with use of flash infusions.  

It's odd being a sheng drinker and having intensity be too strong.  I could've just edited that out, but it works to describe problems with a tasting process, and how things go when you get them wrong.

This tea was provided by them for review; many thanks for that.

I'll cite their product description and get on with it:

2023 Bulang Buds First Flush Raw Puerh Cake ($90 for a 357 gram cake)

Spring Buds from Bulang Mountain | Dry-Stored

Sourced from the first picking of 2023 on Bulang Mountain and pressed into only 95 cakes, this silver-tipped raw Puerh delivers the rare combination of Bulang's bold character and early spring's natural sweetness — clean, bright, and built to age.

Bulang Mountain's first flush of 2023, pressed into 95 stone-mold cakes — this is what raw Puerh looks like when the material, the terroir, and the storage are all handled without compromise.

Finding the right Bulang material takes time. Bulang Mountain (布朗山, Bù Lǎng Shān) in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna, is one of Yunnan's most storied raw Puerh origins. It has a reputation for producing tea with a powerful, almost aggressive character — thick bitterness (苦 (Kǔ)) that hits immediately, a bold astringency (涩 (Sè)) that grips the sides of the tongue, and a 回甘 (Huí Gān, lingering sweetness) that comes back stronger than almost any other mountain. That is the Bulang identity: force, then reward.

But this material is different. We spent a long time looking before we found it...

It keeps going from there; it's interesting checking their flavor notes: 

Primary: Fresh floral (orchid, white blossom), light grass, raw green walnut

Secondary: Sweet cream, fresh-squeezed green grape, a whisper of pine resin

Underlying structure: Light mineral, faint peppery warmth, clean vegetal bitterness that resolves quickly

As it ages: Expect the floral notes to evolve toward dried apricot, wildflower honey, and eventually light sandalwood and dry cedar — the classic dry-storage aging arc for high-grade Sheng Puerh...

I'll add more about how my impression matches this in the notes and at the end, but the "powerful" part expressed earlier on pretty much captures it.

first tasting, with too much tea in the gaiwan

Review, first tasting attempt:

the color shouldn't look anything like this; it's brewed way too strong

First infusion:  I screwed this up, leaving it sit for too long looking at something online.  The review will have to start with a too-strong infusion.  The earliest transition isn't usually much of a story anyway, but it's still unfortunate.

That's so, so strong.  There won't be much to say about it, beyond trying to see if this can say something about the much lighter character to come.  Intensity seems fine for this tea; brewed too long it's overly powerful.  

Maxing out proportion, my typical approach, probably isn't suitable for this tea.  I might write another set of notes later on using very little, more like 4 grams instead of 8.

Second infusion:  that's more like it, but still more intense and more bitter than I'm currently acclimated to.  All of that South East Asian sheng has been distinctive, flavorful, and approachable, while this is more about bitterness and intensity.  

Flavors are warmer in tone that I would expect for a 2023 sheng version.  But then if teas are stored in relatively more humid places that's pretty normal.  I recently drank some of the Thai sheng from Aphiwat, that local Chiang Mai area individual producer, and it was pretty far along for transition for being about the same age (although I forget the year version; it might've even been 2024, instead of 2023).  

I suppose floral range does emerge beyond the bitterness.  There's definitely a lot of mineral depth to this, and it's clean.  This tea could stand up to 20 years stored here in Bangkok, for sure.  But how is it now, as a more bitter and intense younger tea experience?  I'll check again next round.

Third infusion:  color indicates the intensity just isn't going drop off, even brewed fast, a flash infusion.  The flavor is strong.  It's more of a conditioning exercise, experienced like this.  It's definitely lifting the haze of feeling groggy from overdoing it at work and outside of work; after another cup or two I'll probably feel normal.  But the review will have to wait, until I try it again at a lower proportion, which I won't do today, for having drank so much tea already.  

Second review, a lot lower proportion:

First infusion:  I've again let this go for longer than I usually would, for over half a minute, again looking at something online.  I'll get this straightened out.  I added a flash infusion to it to get it back to drinkable range, and the next round will be more normal.

Flavor is good.  It's a little strong, but it balances ok, and it's still in a positive range.  Mineral base stands out quite a bit, and considerable bitterness.  I suppose floral tone fills in the rest.  As with trying it yesterday it's more age transitioned than one might expect for being 3 years old.  A tea can be darker and warmer in tone if it's a little oxidized instead, and I'd be one of the best qualified tea drinkers to make that distinction, since I drink plenty of unconventionally prepared sheng from South East Asia.  It's not oxidized; somehow this has changed a good bit in 3 years, even being "dry stored."

The mineral tone is so strong that it has its own character.  It leans a little towards coming across as smoky, but that's not it.  I suppose it's like when you drink artesian well tea, that includes a lot of mineral content, but stronger.  That actually links to one of my favorite memories from childhood, drinking from a naturally flowing well at one grandparents' house.  That water was sweet, rich, complex, and delicious.  This is a little like that.

Second infusion:  a little on the light side; that's interesting to experience, after trying it in a really strong range at first.  It had faded to a pleasant and drinkable range after a 4 or 5 infusions yesterday, but I had left off taking notes by then.

Sheng can tend to "loosen up" over the first 2 or 3 infusions, and this is in that process.  Sweetness, astringency, are bitterness are all in a decent range, but it will evolve to balance better soon.  I'll save a flavor list breakdown for next round.

Third infusion:  bitterness still stands out as a main flavor aspect, along with mineral.  It's possible to see mineral and bitterness as a taste, distinct from aromatic component conveyed flavors, which people might call aroma or flavor (a general term); people use the terms in different ways.  But in our experience the final experience form from the two inputs tends to come across as unified.  

There's still a mineral flavor input that leans towards smoke.  It's hard to separate out a vaguely floral range in the rest.  It has good flavor complexity, but it all runs together.  Blended material is often like that, a mix from different inputs, or I suppose a more narrow origin version, picked from the same garden, for example, could naturally be like that.  

The main positive or negative aspect range of this is intensity, even brewed fast, at a low proportion.  Bitterness and mineral really stand out, with some matching sweetness, enough to make it work.  For people who really value that intensity this would probably be good, and for others who can't relate not so good, until this ages more.  I've spent a long time acclimating to different sheng range, and I'm fine with it, but I do love fruity and milder sheng range best, to the extent that I'm open to versions that are so oxidized that they start to move outside of the type category.

Fourth infusion:  this is changing, with the astringency / feel structure and bitterness dropping off, so that other flavor range can stand forward more.  It's just starting though; it will probably be a more complete change next round.

It's interesting trying sheng again that seems to have pretty open aging potential.  

Fifth infusion:  apparent sweetness level might bump just a little, but I think that's probably from other range fading, letting what had been there emerge better.  I'm still not succeeding with a flavor list, beyond saying mineral stands out a lot, and the rest seems mostly floral, but not intensely so.  I'll let this brew a little longer, at 15 seconds or so this round, to see what that changes.

Sixth infusion:  intensity picks up, but it's not as if a list of other flavor now stands out.  Feel gets richer, and aftertaste experience increases.  The defining character range of this tea is intensity.  If someone feels like they can't get a sheng that hits hard enough, even for trying some pretty intense range, this one would cover that.  Someone on that page would probably be good with mineral range standing out quite a bit, and floral range being a main component.  It's not really a sweet tea though.  

If you drink it quite strong the bitterness evolves to sweetness after you swallow it, the hui gan effect, but the sweetness level is only enough to give it decent balance while drinking it.

Seventh infusion:  another strength of this tea is durability; it's really only coming into its own for balanced character now, and it's surely far from fading, judging from an infusion cycle yesterday.

The flavor range reminds me of a funny critique someone once made that all young sheng tastes like kerosene to them.  That's probably more related to teas like Xiaguan tuos, or Dayi's Jia Ji tuocha versions, but interpreted in a different way it could apply more broadly.  This definitely doesn't taste like kerosene, but for someone not on the page of loving intensity and pronounced bitterness and mineral range it wouldn't be good.  This takes some of that conventional sheng pu'er character pretty far in that direction.  

Chopped or broken material tea tends to be even more challenging, and Xiaguan material often has its own intense and unique character, both in terms of flavor and feel.  This isn't like that.  For a lot of tea types high bud content can lead to a more subtle output, especially if the material is all buds.  Not always; something like Jin Jun Mei black tea can be pretty intense.  But Silver Needle variations, white teas, are often at the other end of the spectrum for intensity, on the mild side.  The fine leaf material in this might make it quite strong, more so than the high buds content.  And it's surely processed in a traditional sheng form, not oxidized or kill-greened more than is typical to pull that style a little towards oolong or green tea range.

Eighth infusion:  this is as pleasant as this has been; it evolves well later into the brewing cycle.  Rich feel is the nicest it has been as well.  A lot of teas, even some sheng, would be fading some at this stage, but this is just hitting its stride.  To me one part of the flavor starts to evolve towards citrus, actual orange or tangerine, but mineral still stands out, and a vague floral designation could still apply.  It's not really a bright or sweet flavor forward tea though; bitterness stands out a good bit earlier on, and heavy mineral tone defines it more.  People could interpret this as resembling root spice, or some type of medicinal herb, but that would integrate with those parts.  

Three years old is probably pretty young for this tea.  It's probably going to get better and go through different phases over the next 4 or 5 years, and then perhaps it would make more sense again later, after a 20 or so year aging transition cycle, maybe best after 25 years.  Bright, fresh, sweet, very floral or fruity sheng tend to lose that appeal after 4 or 5 years, unless stored in such a way that it preserves them and prevents change, in cool and dry conditions.  This will probably keep changing instead of just fading.

Conclusions:

One part of what I consider after the direct experience, the tasting, is how value works out for the tea.  This is pretty good for a cake selling for under $100.  It can be hard to identify a final, objective, clearly determined quality level.  Preference issues mix in, related to how much one likes different styles and types.  Different strengths and limitations factor in, and concerns related to trueness to type.

Intensity was great; the main point stressed in the product description.  Bitterness level was fine, but also on the high side.  For whatever reasons hui gan, a transition of bitterness to sweetness after swallowing the tea, doesn't map directly to that level of bitterness, I suppose as much to the form of it.  It was only a moderate part of the experience, to me.  That mineral base flavor really carried over as a main thing you experience in aftertaste.  It was mostly positive in form, and pleasant, so that worked.

The flavor range could have been more distinctive, if the floral tones had stood out a bit more, or had taken on a more distinct form.  That kind of thing tends to tie back to material input and narrow origin area.  I don't think this was a blend of different inputs, which is one part that can limit that; my guess is that the material was just like that.  The other aspect character was too intense and distinctive, the intensity, bitterness, and mineral input, for a lot of blending to have evened out character.

It's odd that this could pass for a 4 or 5 year old tea, dry stored, or maybe even 8 or 9, since it was presented as dry stored.  They mentioned that it was stored in Xi'an, Shaanxi; I just looked up what the climate is like there:

In Xi’an, the summers are muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, mostly clear, and dry. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 25°F to 89°F and is rarely below 17°F or above 98°F.

So it might have been cool and dry half the time, and warm and humid some of the rest (but 89 F is kind of cool, compared to here in Bangkok).  

For most Western tea enthusiasts dry storage is considered to be a negative factor, but to me it just depends.  If a tea is approachable, with distinct fresh flavors, then moving away from that quickly through transition caused by humid storage input is negative.  If a tea is initially a bit challenging, with unusually high intensity, bitterness, or astringency then that same degree of transition works out well, and it's as well to get on with it.  

The next question, that's harder to settle, is if different forms of transition adjust the different aspect range in different ways, at a different pace for different parts of the change (for flavor versus feel, to look at it from a high level, or related to finer level changes).  People would have different opinions about that.  Bangkok storage seems to warm flavor tones, beyond increasing transition pace; I can leave it at that.  One typical concern over evolved flavors being too heavy, murky, or musty can relate to intentionally humid controlled conditions.  Malaysian storage is often on the humid side, or that can come up in Hong Kong, but it just depends on the specific location and how conditions are controlled, or if they're not.

I've mentioned in this that I like approachable sheng the most:  flavorful, sweet, fruity, less bitter and astringent versions.  At the same time I really do like Xiaguan teas, even though those often tend to be better after 20 years of relatively humid storage.  I've been drinking a Xiaguan tea ball that's an exception, and for whatever mix of reasons it's interesting and pleasant at less than a decade old (this one, a 2018 Reunion Xiaguan 500 gram Da Xue Shan tea ball).  Maybe the origin area factors in:

...made from early spring big-leaf tea trees from Daxueshan, Mengku, Lincang in Yunnan Province.

That brings up that some people might be looking for a narrower origin designation than Bulang, for this tea.

All in all it was pleasant and interesting.  It's a great tea to own a bit of, versus just trying a sample, because there is a lot of potential for positive changes to follow, over a long period of time, or it could be good in different ways at intermediate stages.

Bangkok looking a little like Seoul, on a recent outing

out walking in some intense heat with Kalani

home life relates a lot to cats

the last temple outing