King Tea Mall 2018 old tree Laotian and Ban Pen sheng comparison

This should be familiar ground, even though I'm not really familiar with the "Bo Ya" reference.  I last tried an old-tree locally produced Vietnamese sheng the day before yesterday, and I've tried a half dozen versions of Laos sheng in the past half a year or so.  These samples were provided by John of King Tea Mall for review; many thanks for that.

Editing note:  these notes stayed a draft for over a week due to travel, but that doesn't change much, except the timing in that one statement is now relative.


The Bo Ya product description follows, along with an explanation of that name:

Tea Name: BoYa written as 伯牙 in Chinese Character which belongs to 1st one as below:

1) 伯牙 (BoYa)，sheng cha
2) 子期 (ZiQi)， sheng cha
3) 桐琴 (TongQin)，Shou cha.

高山流水遇知音(GaoShanLiuShuiYuZhiYin) is a well known story happened more than 2000 years ago in China. When BoYa was playing zither, occasionally ZiQi came by and attracted by the melody and directly pointed out when the melody was describing towering mountain or babbling stream. So ZhiYin(知音, understanding melody) is used for describing bosom friends from then on.

This tea was made from spring tea materials of GuShu(old tree) and wild tea both from BanPen (班盆 where belongs to BanZhang tea area, also called one of five BanZhang villages) . Unique aroma from dry tea leaves from ancient tea tree with refreshing  mountain flavor and wild tea floral flavor...


So it's a blend of different materials--different, but not that unusual.  Some might be put off by the idea that old-tree sourced tea really would be used in a blend, but I take all the origin accounts with a grain of salt anyway.  The tea is what it is in final character, and either that's a good thing or not, and the story-line or actual background seems less relevant, in terms of it being normal for marketing exaggerations to change details a little along the way.  To the extent that older plant sources or more natural growing conditions ("wilder" teas) change aspects and outcomes those are completely relevant, as the origin location is, but as soon as you try the tea it all becomes academic since it is what it is in terms of characteristics.

That listing goes on to describe it further in terms of character, which I'll leave out here.  Related to cost this sells for $38.99 for 100 gram cake, so out towards the top of an upper middle price range for sheng, at least given my bias towards seeing a moderately priced range as typical.  For some people versions that tend to interest them might typically start at $1 a gram and go on from there.  It's simple enough math to sort out that this would relate to around a $140 357 gram cake, which is more than standard sized new sheng often tends to cost, except for those $200 per 200 gram cake versions, which are presented as relating to a different quality level and in-demand type.

Xishubangbanna prefecture, from the King Tea Mall site, image credited to this site, more info

May as well reference the other tea description while I'm at it:


Made from tea leaves of Gushu (old trees ) in MAN KA village located in Laos near the border of Laos and Myanmar.

Tea leaves were picked and processed in the Spring of 2018 year...

That is a flavor I have never tasted before. Though there is near the south border of YI WU tea region in China, but the taste is far different. Also different from teas from other regions in Yunnan.


This tea is selling for $24.99 per 100 gram cake, so at least in a comparable range for quality as implied by the pricing.  It would equate to just under $100 for a 357 gram cake, so really more in a standard upper medium range, with the other in a less common middle ground just beyond that.  Demand for teas varies quite a bit by origin location though, and for all I know that's on the low side as Ban Pen versions go, since it's an origin that comes up.

The main detail listed is that it tastes different than Yunnan sheng; that kind of works.  I can't imagine that I would ever feel like I have any baseline at all for all the sheng from Yunnan but there's no need to state that as a criticism, or imply one, just pointing out the obvious, that it's an unusual point to make.

In terms of process I'm switching form here and using a light proportion of these sample amounts versus the whole sample to result in tasting a packed gaiwan (the other choice I more or less always make, given an option to brew a high proportion or low one).  I'll need to extend infusion times a little beyond what I usually go with and the transition cycle will run faster, but this will probably allow me to go beyond 6 or so infusions I normally taste in one go and see the teas through until a relative end.

Since I like sheng brewed on the light side compared to almost all other tea types it might've made more sense to be using a related approach all along, and maybe it is time to alternate and experiment with that.

Review

Laotian Man Ka left, Ban Pen version right

"Man Ka" Laotian:  that's really nice right out of the gate, not even fully saturated yet.  There's a novel buttery quality to it that stands out right away, in terms of sweetness, softness, rich feel, and even flavor.  Everything else balances really nicely, that sweetness, the subtle richness, a mild level of bitterness, and subdued mineral undertone.  Other flavor range is more towards wood and floral range that hints towards fruit.  I cut a part from the description that works better cited here:

Since local people are not good at process puerh tea, my supplier brought workers from Yunnan to there and taken sun dried completed Mao Cha back to Menghai, Yunnan.


Of course I believe that was accurate related to production process (what really happened).  I've mentioned lots here from suppliers and review assessments that Laos sheng (and from SE Asia in particular) are quite inconsistent, but it's going too far to say that no local producer in Laos can make decent sheng.  I've tried versions that would contradict that myself.  To be fair they weren't as close to the style of better Yunnan versions, in general, or maybe even as a whole, across all of them, so this discussion is about relative consistency and variation as well as trueness to type.

I see this more as another case of not being careful with language use rather than as an inaccurate or biased statement.  I've cited a video before from William of Farmerleaf, who worked with Anna of Kinnari Tea and other parties to do processing training in Laos (covered further in this review post), and in general small farmers there were said to typically benefit from improving prior levels of processing skills.

This tea is good; that's the main thing.  It will shift as it fully infuses and might transition a good bit beyond that, given the other quality markers standing out early on.


"Bo Ya" Ban Pen sheng:  that flavor is really catchy.  I tried a tea presented as a Lao Ban Zhang some months ago that had a really interesting fruit-like flavor (or maybe floral, but in an unusual form) that this may or may not resemble.  I don't recall that I wrote about that since I tried it in that one local shop here, in Jip Eu, sold as coins (or "flapjacks," as White 2 Tea markets at least one related product shape).  After trying it again I'd go with complex floral as a main flavor range, as a good bit of floral flavor scope collected together.  Bitterness is quite moderate but it is just getting started; the final character, the early version of it, will show up more in the next round.

It's hard to keep track of inputs but I've notice that more "wild" tree sourced material (or teas presented as such; who knows which claims are most accurate) tends to be flavorful in distinctive ways and more mild, related to bitterness and astringency.  Then older tree material, versions sold as gushu, tend to be on the intense side, often with significant bitterness and pronounced mineral input, often with pronounced aftertaste as an aspect.  Of course teas vary by so many inputs and I'm so far from sorting it out those observed patterns may be of little value, along the line of guesses about generalities.  At any rate I'll do more with the experienced aspects description for both in the next round.

Second infusion

Laotian version left, Ban Pen right (still unfolding)

Laotian:  the flavor transitioned quite a bit, and it may have one more round to go to get to its normal aspect range in the early cycle.  It's hard to describe.  It's still smooth, sweet, floral (in part), and a bit buttery but the vegetal range shifted some.  It might be closest to wood but I would mean something relatively completely different by that than I usually do, and it always relates to different things anyway.  It's nice the way the tea is soft in feel but has some fullness to it, but a really pleasant aftertaste carries over anyway, an increase in sweetness right after you drink it.  Most often that would pair with an experience of bitterness but somehow something comparable happens with this tea with very little of that first scope; experience of sweetness bumps up then without much bitterness as a prelude.

It's different, in a good way, and obviously a quite pleasant version.  I kind of want to say it's "good tea" but that's almost too loaded a term to use in most cases.  Oddly it gives up a little, to me, for being this refined and subtle, since more local Laotian teas often express more flaws or style inconsistencies but they gain back something in truly novel character to compensate, as distinctive types of flavor intensity.  This is unusual but it's similar in style to Yunnan versions, just the end effect and flavor profile shifts a little, but not much.


Ban Pen:  I won't really be doing this justice in describing it; what's appealing about it is subtle.  Both of these are on the light and soft side related in part to me brewing them so lightly; cutting proportion enables moderating intensity.  Complex floral still works as a description but an unusual edge of mild bitterness and feel complexity has kicked in, completely changing the tea.  Aftertaste effect was interesting in the first version but really pronounced in this tea, even for drinking it quite light so far.  I'll let both run a little longer for infusion time to say more about feel, aftertaste, and flavor aspects next round.

Third infusion

Laotian:  gaining a little more infusion strength bumped up the input of bitterness and altered the feel a little.  This works well across the range, from what I'd consider to be very light earlier to what is normal for me now, or I suppose what others could still consider to be a light infusion (although their impression of an optimum I'd have trouble relating to).  The aspect range is well-balanced, refined, and catchy.  A little more bitterness might still work just as well but given the unusually positive flavor it's nice with that limited too.  And it's nice that the feel is full in a different way than normal, and that a reasonably long and complex aftertaste experience works out with minimal bitterness included.  The other tea is probably what a lot of sheng drinkers are shooting for as more of a better-case range but this works well for me.


Ban Pen:  I don't see this as completely unrelated to the other in character, just different.  They're both sweet and floral, both mild, both working well for being grounded by very limited mineral ranges, which might play more of a role in overall effect than is apparent.  Mineral range is less limited in this tea's case, but the floral tones stand out more, and a trace of integrated bitterness contributes a lot, on the low-medium overall level.  The feel isn't as structured as for a lot of sheng but it still works as significant; the overall balance is good.

Back to that "presented as LBZ" version I had mentioned, I was struck by how a really catchy flavor range paired in an interesting way with other character that was mild in nature.  It's easy to see types of intensity as a marker for really good tea, more flavor intensity, more bitterness or mineral, aftertaste, etc., and those being moderate but balancing well makes for a different effect.  More isn't always better, even for aspects regarded as positive.

I feel like I should say something about "floral" flavor range, in either of these teas' cases, but I won't, leaving off trying to describe that.  For someone more on that page, for floral scent awareness, that would probably be the main story to these and a natural place to add the most description but I'm just not there.

Fourth infusion

Both of these are transitioning a little, and will continue to, but for as vague as these descriptions are coming across I'm thinking of shutting the tasting notes down and just enjoying the teas.  They're both more similar than ever in this round, coming from different places and working towards not being all that different.  The butteriness in the first isn't in the second, and the way bitterness plays an interesting role in integrating with a complex floral tone is missing in the first, or at least a similar form of bitterness at a comparable but moderate level.

The flavor profiles aren't as far off as I would've expected though, the "complex floral" ranges found in both.  The bitterness in the second couples with an extension into a mild wood tone, give or take, giving it more complexity, and the aftertaste experience is more pronounced.

Conclusion

I don't have more to add since I'm finishing this post from notes form over a week after I actually tasted them, due to traveling some last week (to Udon province in Isaan in Thailand, if that rings a bell).  To me they seemed to represent good examples of middle-range sheng versions, of teas a good bit better than better-version factory teas or higher quality but still inexpensive blends, which themselves are better than the random low-cost sheng I've been running across in travels and reviewing.

I can sort of get why sheng versions billed as a good bit higher in quality (often pegged around the $1 per gram price level) are different and really better, but these teas are probably about as good as I tend to appreciate as different, with others just standing out for markers for higher quality level being present as much as them matching my preference better.  Some sheng enthusiasts might automatically react that I've just not tried enough of a better tea version range, versus only developing preference, and I can't reject that as a possibility.  Surely that's part of it.  It's not exactly how I see the themes and types as mapping out but I have another dozen or so versions to try at home now, between samples and new cakes stacking up, so maybe I'll know better where I now stand in terms of different variations in another two months or so.

As I keep re-trying the same teas I've been writing about a theme I've mentioned lots of times in this blog comes up:  a review based on only one tasting is just something of a first impression.  It's hard to gauge if any number of different factors might not throw off how I interpret any given tea on a certain day.  I was tasting a lot of them in upper 30s C / around 100 F temperatures lately, and I'm not sure if that couldn't affect either taste sensation, or just re-frame of internal reference enough to change things.  Acclimating to a slightly new range of aspects by trying a tea version a few times helps, and working through variations in parameters used.  Just changing expectations that vary according to what I've tried in the recent past can change impression.

These aren't intended as excuses for being inconsistent in descriptions; it really does seem like the experience of the same teas varies a little across different sessions, or in some cases more than a little.  I think interpretation has more to do with it than any "raw experience" input, and at a guess I'd expect everyone to experience varying degrees of being inconsistent in how they interpret the exact same experiences over time.  Teas sitting around longer, acclimating to local conditions over more than a month versus just two or three weeks, might well make a lot of difference too. 

Per usual none of this is heading towards any tidy summary; just rambling a bit about context. I might get around to doing a re-tasting of some sheng versions I've been drinking regularly to see if it bears all that out or contradicts it.

the main new thing has been rejoing my kids after their 6 weeks in the States

supposedly a Naga (dragon spirit) resides here.  I should write about that.

3000 year old human remains, from a 5000 year local history

all of this might be 3-4000 years old; it makes you think

On tea themed gatherings, and a local one hosted by Sasha

the perfect size for a small gathering:  small

rough version of a two picture composite photo, his Bangkok apartment view

Typically I wouldn't mention such an event, gathering with a few friends for tea, or meeting new people, unless there is a clear point.  I'm returning to the idea of holding or speaking at events, still in the planning stages, and this ties in with what would work for that, and might also give others ideas for hosting small and informal gatherings.  Sasha is this guy; he and his significant other Nok have turned up in lots of outings mentioned here.

As background context, I just took a week off tea, which doesn't come up so often.  I don't think caffeine and whatever else is in tea is all that potentially dangerous, even long term based on high exposure, but I still try to moderate the habit anyway.  For me that includes getting a break from caffeine once a year or so.  It's also about just taking a break, to keep it from getting too routine.  I made sure to drink a decent amount the day before this gathering, just to help adjust, in case this session went long.  I could say more about how quitting cold-turkey works out, or how I use very limited caffeine input to taper off on breaks, but that's all a complicated subject.

breakfast on a Koh Chang hiking day; they had this strange tea substitute

This made for a good chance to meet an online-associated local tea enthusiast, Pop / Danitha (Thais essentially always have a nickname and a formal name), and her boyfriend Yusuke.  Credit for these tea photos belongs to her; I tend to get too caught up in talking to get around to that.  It's an unusual extra connection that she recommended the tea source in Vietnam for the sheng from there in an online discussion, a tea I'll say a little more about here, and will review later; cool how the themes interrelate like that.

In addition to describing the details of this outing this is also about what might work and might not for informal gatherings, for other tasting formats, but still I'll start with an account of what we tried during that visit.

nice and basic set-up, just enough to cover the function, with no extra stuff

We drank a half dozen kinds of tea or so, a good amount, and all interesting and unique kinds (all but one of which Sasha provided; he is good about sharing novel teas).  Those sessions tend to not follow a very tight tea category subject theme and this time we started on white, tried a Vietnamese sheng I really liked, and moved onto some black teas.  It seems to make sense to taste lighter to heavier and those more or less followed that pattern.  Sheng is complex enough that it doesn't naturally fit well into being considered light or heavy, but placing the tone in between white and black works.  Following that pattern if we'd drank an aged sheng or shu it would go after a young sheng, and still probably before black tea, but it didn't come up.

Two silver needle or silver tips whites were kind of subtle (how that goes), and one moonlight-white looking atypical white version was a bit towards sweet and savory, pleasant and interesting for being novel.  I think that I've only ever tried one golden snail black tea version before, a coiled-style tea that seems to more or less resemble a black-tea version of bi luo chun.  It was nice; the character was light but really pleasant.  A golden needle was a bit similar but even more subtle, and a good version of jin jun mei was heavier for having a heavy enough flavor tone that it almost seemed like a roasted tea.  There is no such thing as roasted black tea, I don't think, it was just oxidized more and worked out like that.  It covered a lot of range in interesting teas.

The others present didn't seem all that taken by the Vietnamese sheng; so that goes.  I think I've grown to love that characteristic "more local" sheng range, how Vietnamese, Laotian, and Thai Northern region sheng versions seem to be.  The flavors and style might be a little off what is typical for Yunnan versions, an idea I'll be coming back to soon enough in posts here, a couple more times.

golden needle, or at least that's how I thought of it

unusually shaped black tea, sometimes called golden snail, I think

looks like a Moonlight White (Yunnan version) but I'm not certain it was

a stem-only version I left out; this was nice, subtle and pleasant

Onto the second theme about what works or doesn't work in small gathering tastings, getting back to more about how it went on this one.

Tasting or tea event variations

Narrow theme:  we didn't go there, but for experienced tea enthusiasts who already know each other more (limiting the social introductions scope) a very narrow tea-type theme would work best.  It's easy to compare teas to other very similar teas; it makes it easier to match up minor differences and get a feel for what really stands out from a common baseline (eg. thickness in feel, length of aftertaste, sweetness or bitterness, flavor complexity, overall balance).

Switching between category types moves away from that comparative referencing.  It can get to be a bit much to experience; tasting a half dozen completely different teas in a sitting could easily just become a blur of varied input, while trying that many that are very similar would just be a bit much, with 4 or 5 an easier number to focus on.  If the focus is on the social aspect all that matters less anyway.

a Yiwu village themed tasting event, hosted by Bank (Thaneadpol), on the left

Setting a schedule or conversational tone:  it would be natural to set a very narrow tone for tasting process in some settings, making it more like a wine tasting class.  A central authority on a subject might act as more of an instructional leader or guide.  I wouldn't typically be as into all that; it's nice to talk about other subjects just as much or more as the tea.  Then again it depends on what you are tasting, with who, and why.


In a more social outing when people don't know each other initially random, fragmented conversation can make a lot more sense, which matches up well with not really trying to critically assess the teas, or to compare them to each other.  A local tea expert (of sorts; that's almost always a relative designation) / online contact held a tasting once more along the lines of a wine tasting that followed that premise and structure; everything I discuss here will relate more to themes along a spectrum of a few friends gathering, or something else more in the middle.

meeting a local tea authority at my favorite shop (Kenneth of Monsoon at Jip Eu)

Setting:  this has been coming up as a stumbling block related to doing other public versions of tastings, like that one in a park or in a local zoo.  For a very limited number of people tasting in someone's apartment is perfect, sitting on cushions on the floor in a small circle.  That would work well up to including around a half dozen people; for a group of 8 it just wouldn't hold up as well, and beyond that it wouldn't really work at all.  The park theme was cool for being different, and outdoor, but the noise level in a zoo food-court area for another event really took a lot away from what one could notice about the teas.

Air conditioning is something of a must for tasting now in Bangkok; it's in the upper 30s these days (C; that's upper 90s in F).  I do review tastings around noon now when it's exactly that hot without AC but I've been drinking hot tea in hot weather for years, so it's just normal for me.  The only work-around required is using a napkin to wipe the sweat from my forearms off the keyboard.

trial run at public tea tasting; that guy was an interesting addition

Timing:  tasting in the late morning or early afternoon works, but even drinking a lot of tea in the late afternoon wouldn't match everyone's daily cycle.  We tried to start at 10:30 for this event and of course I ran late; unfortunately that's normal for me.  It might seem like drinking tea for an hour could relate to drinking a lot of tea but 2 to 3 hours works better for a time-frame, given a slow pacing to trying lots of teas, over many very small cups, with plenty of time for conversation.  Tasting one or two teas for a written review can take a good bit over an hour, with some allowance for messing around; the focus on round after round takes time.  I can't relate to the endurance-session theme some people mention about drinking tea non-stop for six hours, burning through a dozen versions or more.


For larger group size:  this moves onto considering what else might work.  Those group gatherings for public tastings did run slightly larger, up to 8 or so people per event, and I've been considering how to go further.  It's way too much of a concession to switch to Western style brewing, but that would enable tasting by 15 people or so, easily enough.  I can only think that having two people pour tea in two groups might enable extending gathering size up to around that level (15).

In theory Gongfu brewing is really about proportion, not the device used or specific quantity, but I could do without ever attempting to brew a half-liter at a time for a large-group tasting by somehow ramping up the same proportion at higher volume to a Western-brewing scale, just based on different ratio and timing.  Someday I probably will try it though, Gongfu brewing at high volume in large ceramic teapot.

Unless there is some formal function demand it would seem like going further to having three or more groups would be too much (but this older 2007 tea blog post covers an event where that made perfect sense given the context, was planned in detail, and worked out).  Even doing two group tastings in one session trades out everyone missing half the discussion and personal association at the event, and doubles up the logistical concerns (gear required, water, setting, matching parallel structure, form, and timing, etc.).

in the middle as events go, small but a little structured

Mixing intro and advanced themes:  this never seems to come up, but at some point it might be a real concern.  Anyone could have appreciated the teas we tried that day but it would seem natural to switch themes if a more narrow-focused tasting was the idea, and to focus more on the tea versus conversation.  In a sense it doesn't matter, but for people already really into the theme and drinking rarer teas the focus might tend to shift on its own.  We barely even commented about the teas at this social gathering, more focused on the thread of discussion, which works for me.  Description doesn't do tea experience justice anyway, it's more something you just do, and I overwork that theme in this blog writing.


Adding background discussion, mixing event themes:  I've been considering this related to doing a health-interest group function event here.  Before those two open, casual tastings I held a couple of more structured events designed to serve as introductions to the subject that were different in tone, one an actual presentation, the other a small-group tasting (in the last picture).  All that would seem to link up well with a narrow-type focus, something like exploring teas from an area, or within a type, to set up focus on the general type, or enable exploration of more minor differences.  Rolling in a secondary underlying theme, like the health aspects of tea, might lead in that direction.  A more set time-table might make it trickier, if the point is to combine tasting and group discussion, especially problematic for larger group size, over 8 people.  I'll see how that goes.

at an expat subject presentation event, more or less

Shop based tasting events:  this always seemed like the most obvious way to work around these issues, to base an event out of a shop.  That would simplify staffing, role assignment, related gear use, and timing, since the location would already be set and time-frame could be an open span of 2 or 3 hours.  I've considered setting this up for some time but haven't just yet.  It's a huge trade-off to just present teas from that shop, and shifts theme to ordinary marketing, and I may never choose to go there.

I've met friends at my favorite shop, a good number of times, so maybe it will have helped experiencing a really informal version of such a theme before.  It's cool how at Jip Eu, my local favorite shop, sometimes the owner will share teas he doesn't even sell (more often than one might expect), so it's not really just product promotion.

Again it all wouldn't work as well if the participant count increases, within a really narrow range.  Back at the outset of planning those public tastings I had thought through last-minute work-arounds for variance in participants (eg. mix in a round or two of Western-brewed tea), but the simplest fix would be to control and limit the number.

a local Seven Suns cafe event; that was an exception

a cool tasting in a Moscow bookstore, with Laos Tea, Alexander and Dasha

always great seeing that baby try it out; Huyen and her nephew on location

Comparing 2017 and 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Impression shengs

I just bought a cake of the Yunnan Sourcing 2018 Impression sheng, and had part of a sample left over from a 2017 version from a Liquid Proust sample set, so I'll try them together.

Per the earlier description of the product series these teas were intended to be something like the 7542 classic Dayi sheng series; a blended tea on the intense side, appropriate for aging, versus what most people would like best right away.  The actual character of the 2017 version didn't remind me of what I've tried of 7542 (although to be honest I only own one cake of that, a 2014 version, last reviewed in 2017 but I've tried it again since, so others' opinions might serve a better reference).  This 2018 product reference clarifies that background:


This year's Impression cake is a blend of tea leaves from Spring and Autumn, originating from Mengku, Bang Dong, and Jing Gu tea gardens. Unlike previous years this is a 400 gram cake (not 357 grams).

The tea has been grown naturally and processed in the traditional method. We blended various teas together to achieve a powerful blend that has strong mouth feeling, cha qi and a balanced sweet, bitter and astringent profile.

In 2012 I created the first impression blend to be an alternative to a Xiaguan or Da Yi 7542, but it has far surpassed those mass market teas in both quality and value!  I also feel strongly that this tea being very strong in aroma, mouthfeel, bitter/astringent, infusability and Cha Qi, makes it a good choice for long-term aging!


It crossed my mind that it might be interesting to compare the two side-by-side, Impression and 7542, but with that age difference (related to the version I own) it just wouldn't work.  It also doesn't work to compare sheng that is well-chopped leaves and whole-leaf tea; it's a lot to factor back out as a difference.  It's normal enough to think that more whole leaf is always better, and to an extent that seems right, but in a different sense I think that much more astringent character, from different levels of some compounds being extracted from chopped leaves, may contribute a lot more intensity, and that might well work better in a version that's been sitting for more than a decade. 

I should phrase that as a guess instead:  to some extent the difference in character and intensity may cause aged versions that are the same in other regards but different in that one (how whole the leaves are) to work as well as chopped leaf versions, conceivably even better (although that might seem a stretch), even though in general teas across most types processed that way aren't as good.  This is one more variable I'd have a better guess on in another decade, with an intermediate level of experience versus just getting some basic exposure now.

I say that about the tea (2017 Impression version), that it didn't seem as well-suited to long term aging as it might be, because it was mellow, not that bitter, and not necessarily intense related to astringency, flavor, or other character.  That worked well for me for a blend, for something not presented as a higher-end single-type character; the balance was nice and it was quite approachable, even one year old.  I'm still sorting out how autumn source teas factor into character but including such material may have toned down some of the intensity, but in speculating across what aspect range I'd be going too far.

The versions comparison here is the thing, and I'll surely get around to mentioning how I think a year of age has factored in, and how both might change over coming years.

Review

color difference evident already (2017 left)

2017:  it's not completely opened up yet, on one relatively longer infusion after a short rinse step, but it's pleasant already.  A good, moderate balance of bitterness with plenty of sweetness works well.  Mineral range supports that. 

Someone just pointed out that I tend to include mineral description in most sheng, but that they're not noticing it as pronounced in many versions.  To me mineral is part of the standard sheng profile, like considering degree of bitterness or sweetness, or to what extent floral range plays a role, or doesn't.  The flavor complexity is nice in this tea, and the feel works well, and overall balance.  Even the aftertaste isn't bad, moderately long for a tea just getting started.  I want to go ahead and describe the taste since I still tend to focus on that but it seems as well to wait a round to instead.


2018:  on the similar side; that works, given how nice the 2017 version was and the series context.  There's a pronounced wood-tone / pine flavor range that comes across in both, the main part of the flavor aspect.  2017's seems a little richer, milder, and slightly less bitter, but age alone could account for that.  Given this is a blend I'd expect them to vary, that putting together a very similar tea two years in a row wouldn't work out, even using the same exact inputs, since weather and harvest conditions are one of many main inputs to final outcome, but it's a little early for general conclusions.

Second infusion

2017:  more of the same, woody and piney, with decent intensity, sweetness, and bitterness working along with that.  As weaknesses go it's all a bit non-distinct; those aspect ranges give it complexity and balance in a sense but it's all a bit more vague than a single-source tea might be.  On the other hand there's a part to feel and flavor aspects that seem to relate to each other, on the flavor side that pine note, which seem to connect and stand out.  Aftertaste isn't missing but it's not notable; I never do get around to saying much about that range here because of that.

Based only what I'm experiencing so far I'm not sure when this tea would peak, at what point in aging it might be best, but this could be it.  Another year in hot and steamy Bangkok storage conditions will age it fast, and initial brightness, intensity, and some flavor range will become more subdued.  It's not as if the bitterness and astringency need time to fade; it's fine as it is as those go.


2018:  if you project back to a guess at where the 2017 started a year earlier you'd be pretty close to this tea.  They're very similar, it's just a bit more intense, with a bit more brightness, lacking a little smoothness and depth, but not much.  It's so close in character that minor changes in initial fermentation over a year could account for all the difference.  The feel is a little drier, which goes along with this version including a good bit more pine flavor, the same flavor present in the other version but stronger.

Third infusion

lots of color difference with leaves wetted (2017 left)

2017:  there's a catchy aspect to the feel and flavor profile I've not done justice too yet.  On the feel side it never works all that well to describe those; if I say it feels juicy, sappy, resinous, or oily that would mean something clear to me but others would probably use different concepts, or use the same ones in different ways.  "Thick" is a bit vague since feel varies in so many ways. 

On the flavor side there is some green wood, more cured wood, and pine tone, and mineral, but what I'm talking about now is something else.  People tend to jump ahead and just match it to the closest fruit, since a catchy aspect that's somewhat paired with sweetness is halfway there, even if it maybe hasn't really covered the second half.  I think in this case that works; it's around the range of dried pear, warm and rich, soft and a bit subtle, but with depth to it.

I probably should have bought a cake of this when it was still available (it's sold out now).  As for alternative interpretations since "floral" is even more of a default it would be possible to interpret a vague, secondary fruit aspect as towards that.  Or one might interpret mineral input as covering some of the range I'm calling pine here; it's as much a feel paired with an unusual flavor as just a taste, and there is other mineral to pick up as well.


2018:  this flavor is warming as well.  I'm working with two slightly different proportions in these samples, which is going to throw off any direct comparison, related to not having as much as usually use left over from the 2017 version sample.  The year of age difference already did that, threw off a truly direct comparison of versions, but I mean comparing including that as a factor.  Very minor differences in infusion strength, brought about by proportion and timing differences, shift the character, in ways one learns to expect and appreciate as related to that.  To help flesh that out I'll do a flash infusion next round, trying both very light, describing how that changes things.  This is sticking more to pine range as flavor goes, but again I think it will cause that to become less noticeable doing that next fast infusion, and shift the feel.

These two teas might well be best after 2 or 3 years of aging (or where the 2017 version is now), versus right away, or storing them for over a decade.  Time will tell for this one, since I just bought a cake, since I'll keep part around for that purpose of experimenting.  One of many sheng truisms comes to mind related to that, that "a cake is a sample," which I think is from "Marshal N" of Tea Addict's Journal, the pen name attribution for one of them most classic tea blog authors.  The idea is that to really explore a tea a cake isn't enough to work with, since you can't both drink it many times and leave it to age, and then experience it at different ages.  That kind of works.  I see what I'm doing as sampling as much as drinking these teas I'm now buying for daily drinking stock, or for truly holding any significant quantity for long term collecting and later drinking.

I'd like to get to that, to keeping a dozen or so tongs around for later consumption, but I haven't yet.  My daughter is 5 now; if she takes up drinking a lot more tea at 18 then 13 years is a decent time-frame for aging sheng.  It would still be a decade away from what a lot of people would consider fully aged, even here in this heat and humidity, but it would be a nice place to drink teas regularly to keep tabs on that later transition cycle.

Fourth infusion

2017:  it's actually a little light for being brewed as a flash infusion this round (a long version of one; brewing two teas at once slows things), but that kind of was the point.  Feel thins down to a range that doesn't work but the flavor is still positive.  Really checking on the other tea was more a concern, seeing if that different flavor and feel range moved closer to where this one had been over the last couple of rounds.


2018:  pine flavor is just as intense (it really stands out) and feel is much softer, although you can still tell it's completely different than the other version, drier as opposed to just having a different form of thickness in the 2017 version.  The dryness works better lighter like this but the relative proportion of it didn't change; I don't notice as less prominent (versus me saying that's what would happen).  This could be a bit of a special case because it's not as if a number of aspects stand out and I could shift the proportion of what I notice by varying infusion strength; this tea version is all about that pine and dryness, it's what you experience.

Fifth infusion

2017, 2018:  more of the same really.  It's interesting how similar these are, except for that difference in one pine aspect and feel that I keep going on about.  The 2017 seems slightly sweeter, with just a little more flavor complexity, across a broader range.

Back to that idea of interpretations running towards what one expects, or tends to notice, that reminds me of a recent exchange in a FB post thread comments.  I'm noticing pine because a sheng recently tasted so much like pine that I couldn't miss it, but before that I easily could've written a similar aspect off as other types of wood tones.  Another blogger mentioned tasting cherry in a lot of teas at one point (probably in reviewing black teas instead), to the extent that he was taking it back out of notes for final edited and posted versions of reviews.  Tea tastings tend to be interpretations, and what reviewers notice tied to expectations is probably as significant as any skill in objectively reporting experienced aspects.

Sixth infusion

The 2017 tea is probably better than it had been earlier in the cycle, but not so different.  Holding up well across infusions and even transitioning in interesting and positive ways can be seen as a marker for tea quality, but to some degree teas just vary by aspects, including that.  I'd see extended length of aftertaste, pronounced mineral base, and bitterness transitioning to sweetness as clearer quality markers for sheng.

The 2018 version might be thinning a little, but softening works well for evening out the balance.  That hint of dryness is really a version of astringency, not an unpleasant version of it but not necessarily positive either.  These teas have rounds more to go but I'll brew a slightly longer infusion, more like 15 seconds, and leave off with final thoughts on that.  These teas aren't transitioning so much in character there's a lot of story to be told there but how well a tea holds up through a full infusion cycle does indicate something about it.

Seventh infusion

Again the sweetness and that one catchy flavor aspect in the 2017 version stands out.  In an earlier review of multiple teas from a Liquid Proust set I interpreted that as citrus; that works.  It would be closest to dried orange peel as those go, maybe even tangerine peel.

The pronounced pine in this 2018 version is diversifying, warming and changing, maybe as close to spice tones now.  Citrus would be a stretch for interpreting that but if one was so inclined it would be closer to a red version of grapefruit, or that fruit combined with the dried peel of that same fruit instead.

Conclusions

Both are nice; I liked both.  The 2017 seemed a little better, and I can't be sure but at a guess the extra year of aging did improve it.  Both are pleasant, mild, and drinkable now, and it would depend on preference for aspects and character how much someone like them.  Blends tend to be a bit more non-distinct but these aren't bad as that trade-off goes; single-types tend to allow specific aspects to come across clearer, but these still have their own interesting character, and don't seem too averaged-out. 

As value goes the tea works really well; I paid $28 for a 400 gram cake of the 2018 version.  Unlike with the random inexpensive Chinese tea market cakes I've just bought this version was tested for pesticides residues, with details referenced in that product write-up.


If the 2018 version swaps out some astringency (dryness in feel, in this case) and what I've interpreted as pine flavor for warmer and deeper flavors, and a slightly less dry texture, it will improve.  I don't see both as bitter, astringent, and generally intense enough to be good candidates for aging into really exceptional tea in another decade, but to be honest I'm guessing about that.  And the aged sheng versions that I've tried that did seem to lose a lot of intensity, to really flatten out and fade as much as just transition, others may have liked more than I did. 

It's not as if more is necessarily better when it comes to those aspects being present, since a couple of the aged sheng I've been trying recently include plenty of intensity but also a good bit of "dirt" flavor aspect (or geosmin, to put that more positively, with more on what that really means here).  A little dirt flavor can balance well enough, to me, just as a touch of tar or petroleum in a shu can be fine, or char in a roasted oolong.  It just doesn't take much of any of those to throw off the balance and positive effect, to me. 

I've been wondering if some of that present in one of those aged sheng (which I've not mentioned in a review, but will) might not relate to rapid aging, to being pushed to transition faster in a more-humid environment to be sold as an older tea than it really is.  A Chinatown-purchased version I did write about improved a lot over the course of months due to some of that fading relatively quickly, which may be the case related to that other tea version I bought in China instead.

Since I can't really pass on a well-informed guess about what this 2018 version's character and flavor profile will be like in 10 years I'll have to only drink a little here and there to observe the progression and then wait and see.