white2tea

Intro Note I was having this tea in western style cups. I will update with Gong fu notes later (I already have them, but I will add them later, the score is overall).

Dry – Clean wood/earth note(no fermentation scent or musk), sweetness, cream/thickness.
Wet – Light earthy, tangy-tart notes, dark richness (faintly of dates, luo han guo fruit), hints of fruit/floral.
Liquor – Hues of Burgundy

1st 15secs – Light sweetness with medium ‘thickness’ or body and a kind of richness that reminds me of Luo Han Guo fruit up front. As it goes down, there’s a talc sensation on my tongue that reminds me of some Menghai ripes. Some more apparent but still mellow earth and wood notes are present with faint floral-fruit notes.

2nd 25secs – More forward sweetness with medium body and tart-bittersweet notes up front. As it goes down, the broth has a the same talc texture that is noticeable but in a smooth pleasant way. The faint floral-fruity notes appear at the end.

3rd 30secs – A little cleaner up front but maintains all the notes of sweetness with medium body and some tart up front. As is goes down, is is a bit weaker but very pleasant. It was mostly lack of adjusting steep from my part.

4th 45secs – Regained strength; Sweet with a medium body and some tart notes of front. As it goes down, it has the talc texture in the tongue and the sweetness is apparent with faint fruity/floral notes.

Final Notes
This is a very well balanced and mellow Shou. It is very pleasant to drink, it isn’t flashy in notes it is humble but assertive, maintaining its traits through out the steeps.

I went to the White2Tea page and read the description after finishing, I feel like I agree with the ‘Sticky rice’, to me is a combination of how mellow it is and the textural ‘talc’ that I described, which I guess starchy of the rice can accomplish too.

I see this as a very GOOD every day tea, as opposed to a ‘meh’ every day.

I was not gonna buy this cake, got a lovely sample with a recent, and obscenely large order. Really. I don’t need any more tea. Right??!!

Brewed up the sample. Talk about lovely leaves. I am assuming this is actual 2014 material, I am certain it is based on TwoDog’s blog. The good chunk of cake I got is gorgeous, and doesn’t disappoint in my Yixing, full of buds and also firm stems which is a sign of old tree. I brewed up about 7 grams, didn’t fill my pot but also used less water than my small pot holds since this is a sample. Two rinses, mainly to break up the leaves.

Spicy on the throat at the first 20 sec steep, but then, apricots in the smell and taste. Second steep I am feeling the heat in my back already. Fourth steep now I am getting a smoky leather taste, amazing since there is little to no age on this yet. I can taste the old tree difference, this doesn’t taste like green tea at all like another sheng would this young.

Astonishing tea…I mean it…say hello and good night to my wallet. The other reviewer is right, we only live once, and I am about 50. I need to drink my shengs now or never. My future unborn great grandchildren are screaming nooooo as my cash heads out the door, but I am in for a cake of this, small tho the cakes are at 250g. Bravo to White2tea…

A fine example of good YiWu tea leaves and another winning selection from White 2 Tea. Nice whole leaf; clear pale yellow tea liquor; very mellow and easy to drink. This is a gentle tea – nothing flashy or bold; no bitterness; no astringency. I think I prefer the 2011 Taochaju Yiwu Guyun (also offered by Paul at White 2 Tea) but this one is a bit cheaper and definitely a tea to purchase and enjoy.

This is another excellent sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. On his Misty Peak website, Nicholas Lozito says that some Chinese don’t drink pu’er until after the second, third or even fifth steepings. I beginning to believe lately that the fourth steeping is the place to start and this tea shows why. The soup has a nice light bronze color and it has a very nice smokey smell. Steeping one has a very strong smokey flavor. After steeping two, a light astringency makes itself present. Steeping threes finds a bit more astringency with a hint of kuwei. It is steeping four and later that the taste of this tea hits its stride. It has a great smokey flavor with an excellent balance between kuwei and astringency. This is another excellent sample that I will be definitely buying in the future!!!

A pleasant shu, I guess, as shu’s go. Although it has the obligatory boot-leather smell & taste, there is also a sweetness and lightness that is not unappealing. The website is correct when it says that “The taste is clean, smooth, and light.”

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 2:00 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4:00 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 7:00 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10:00+ min.

This is another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. All I have to say is, curse you Paul!!!!!! Now I have to break loose with $145 for a bing of this beauty!!! The soup to me is a lovely honey color. The taste is heaven in a cup. This Sheng is MELLOW and tastes, to me, like butter mixed with cut grass. Sounds weird, but it is mind blowing good, simply mind blowing. I am just finishing steeping five, my tastes buds are in Pu’er bliss and it is time to get cracking on steeping six.

This is another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. The 2014 White2Tea Manzhuan that I reviewed is Dr. Jekyll and this tea is Mr. Hyde. White 2 Tea says it best “An old arbor Menghai blend. Thick body, lingering kuwei [pleasant bitterness], and plenty of oomph. This tea is a continuation of last year’s New Amerykah. The blend is slightly different, focusing more on sweetness and body than on bitterness.”. This is an excellent young Sheng for those, like me, who like strong in your face Sheng pu’ers and it is definitely not a tea for those who don’t.

An awesome 2014 pu’er! Starts off very smooth and milky. After a few infusions there are pear notes, steamed leaf, charred earth, vegetal and sweet. A little astringency is present in the later steepings. In addition, 46 & 2 has lots of party time pu’er pump to it! I love the smoothness, the flavor notes and the wild tea ride it took me on!

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2014-white2tea-462-raw-puer-oolong-owl-tea-review/

It is no secret that I love young Sheng pu’er. This tea really intrigued me when I saw it on the White 2 Tea website, Sheng pu’er and honey are my two favorite things. However, at $122.50 for 200g the price was a little too steep (no pun intended) for me. Then that little voice in me started bugging me and told me you only live once. I will let Paul’s words describe this tea: “Pure ancient arbor Spring gushu tea from Manzhuan. One of the six famous tea mountains, Manzhuan has a long history of puer production. This raw puer is soft and supple with a taste of honey and sweetness.” You only live once and right now my taste buds are living very large on cloud nine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yiwu, one of the 6 ancient tea mountains, remains a sought after source of Puerh teas. Subtleties and generally soft flavors are what Yiwu unfermented teas are known for which is one of the reasons it is known as the ‘Queen’ of Puerhs and this tea delivers on that promise. This tea is very mellow with a smooth texture. Clear golden honey colored tea liquor. Sip at first is woodsy but becomes vegetal, sweet and a little creamy very quickly. Cooling with a dry coating around the mouth. The slightest bit of a very pleasant astringency. By the 4th steep, this is a very light apricot fruity tea – delicious! Still fairly young but offers a mellow taste experience with exceptional potential as it ages.

This is another absolute steal. One of the few cakes I’ve bought without bothering with a sample first (partly because I’d read some positive reviews, partly because of the price), and I don’t regret it. I really like the strong tobacco-flavor and smokiness (although it’s definitely not for everyone), and the endurance is just superb. Can easily go 15 infusions or more. It doesn’t come with a lot of surprises (or development throughout the steeping), but it’s a nice tea for everyday consumption for those of us on a limited budget.

The soup looks like sludge, and tastes like boiled boot leather (albeit well-burnished boot leather). Not great, but at least it did not engender in me the negative bodily response that other puers have done.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 2:00 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4:00 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 7:00 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10:00+ min.

I bought this Sheng after much scientific research. I love Asian Elephants, this tea is named Yexiangwang [Wild Elephant King] and it has an Asian Elephant on the wrapper so I bought it. Okay, enough of my scientific methods. The soup is a very light bronze color. The first steeping had me puzzled. The taste was a earthy, leafy, grassy, smokey mix (or, I really wasn’t sure what I was tasting). There was just a hint of kuwei and astringency that were not present in subsequent steepings. When I first tasted the second steeping I knew what the flavor was. To me it is a smokey tobacco flavor that is very mellow and pleasing to the tongue. I really liked the consistency of this tea. Steepings two through seven tasted the same. This is a great Sheng but if you don’t like teas with a heavy tobacco flavor then this tea may not be for you.

Really good aged tea & with a good price. Favorite of my whole order from White 2

So this tea came as something of a shock to me. Having only really gotten into puer a couple of months ago I’ve been sampling widely the selection of reputable vendors. Most of what I’ve had is fairly young stuff, so a necessary caveat emptor for this review is that I don’t have a lot of experience with aged teas. (Other than the White Whale under review here I’ve had some Mid 90’s CNNP Red Mark and a tea whose name or producer I don’t know, from 2001).

Anyway, this is aged tea and it’s very reasonably priced (I would say its downright cheap, but that sounds so derogatory). That calls for skepticism. I guess the reason for the pricing must be the lack of wrappers, for in terms of quality this really is a very good tea. It is earthly and deep, with a pleasant aftertaste. I didn’t find it all that complex, but it’s very smooth and it really has a lot of endurance (in terms of how many steeps you get out of it). This latter point surprised me the most, as I found myself really liking the first few brews I thought this might be one of those teas that dies before you’ve reached double digits. But no, this one delivers. I actually kept it in the gaiwan overnight and continued next day (something I normally don’t do) just to see how it would fare. Not bad at all! For reference I brew gongfu style with a good amount of leaves, not the most economical way (but at these prices, who cares?)

To repeat myself, I don’t have a whole lot experience with aged teas, and I certainly don’t know much about the differences between “dry stored” and “traditional stored” (or even wet stored) other than what I’ve read … But this really is a fine tea, justifying the name.

Another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. I will let their website say it: “Sweet, thick, and fragrant, the tea has already got a little bit of age. Much smoother than most of the teas from our 2014 production.” This is the smoothest Sheng I have ever drank. Expensive, but it would be worth every cent!!!

This is another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. Before this sample I had never heard of Hei Cha tea. Well I have now. This is an excellent tea. The color of the soup is a rich mahogany. The flavor is an earthy (earthy/muddy) and woody mix with just a hint of sweetness that is wonderful on the tongue. What really impressed me about this tea is the consistency, steeping six tasted just like the first steeping.

Sheng Yiwu snob alert. This tea was another sample from Paul at white 2 Tea. This tea is a blend of both spring and fall material. The color is a beautiful golden bronze. The first steeping was a bit timid to me. However, by the third steeping it really had hit its stride. This tea has everything I love in a Sheng from Yiwu. It has both great kuwei [pleasant bitterness] and a touch of background astringency and the combination of the two was very mellow. If you like young sheng pu’er tea that isn’t overpowering, you should give this tea a strong consideration.

Another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. Once again, the website says it all: …" this tea is burly. Probably too strong for inexperienced drinkers to drink immediately". This is an excellent Sheng in my opinion, but it is definitely not for beginners. The soup is a beautiful golden color. The taste is very burly and I had to cut back my steeping times or I think the astringency would have been over powering. My White 2 Tea 2007 Taochaju Yiwu and 2011 Taochaoju Yiwu Guyun have great kuwei [pleasant bitterness] with a touch of background astringency. This tea is the opposite, a lot of astringency with a touch of background kuwei. Once again, in my opinion only, this is an excellent Sheng. However, if you don’t like astringency or are new to pu’er tea this tea may not be for you.

For the story behind this sample Sheng pu’er look up 2014 White2Tea Red 3 on the White 2 tea website. It is a really interesting story. This is a very hard tea for me to review. I really like young Shengs that have a mineral/earthy taste with kuwei [pleasant bitterness] and some astringency. As stated beautifully on White 2 Tea website, this tea is “very sweet and direct, without much mineral or bitter character”. So it is not a tea I would normally purchase. So to the review. The soup is a very light green in color. The taste is truly sweet with a floral undertone and there is absolutely no bitterness or astringency. Is this a really good tea? Yes it is without a doubt. It is just not a tea for someone with tastes like mine, but it is a tea for those who love young Shengs but not the bitterness or astringency that can come with them.