(Note refers to 2014 Spring) This tea has a very tight compression. Rather than shred it entirely, I left 5 small chunks in pot. After the first steep and a 5 minute wait, I had to break them up with a knife, and found they were still dry on the inside. The first two steeps reminded me of a green tea, but much deeper: grassy with a hint of green beans. A woody flavor that was barely there in the first steep grew stronger until by the third steep it dominated the taste. The overall power of the tea also grew.
The tea was a little rough, probably due to its youth. There was a tart, tannic edge that was just short of bitter. Not unpleasantly so, but it made the tea feel like it needed more time to settle out. The one constant was a very strong cha qi. It was so relaxing that I had to take a couple of breaks so I didn’t nod off during the session.
I’m not going to give a numerical rating, since I believe this tea should be judged on how it will taste in 5-10 years rather than how it drinks now. I enjoyed it, but would hope that it would become a bit more rounded and unified with more age.
I received a free “mystery box” of samples and also purchased a sampler. I’m not sure which teas were purchased and which were free samples, but want to thank Wynn tea for the opportunity to try their teas.
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Hi Dr Jim, we do agree that the Huangpian has a very tight compression, we usually break it up into really small pieces before steeping. This Pu-Erh is normally only drank by the tea growers themselves, and are made with the larger, older tea leaves which explains the rougher taste. However they tend to have sweeter notes to them as well since the larger leaves have grown on the trees for longer period of time. It gives you an insight of what the local tea growers enjoy daily.
As for the gift set, we were trying a new concept. Every customer had a different selection of samples, and it would only be revealed once the wrapping is opened, hence the ‘mystery’ gift set. The usual orders would have tea names on the outside:)
Hi Dr Jim, we do agree that the Huangpian has a very tight compression, we usually break it up into really small pieces before steeping. This Pu-Erh is normally only drank by the tea growers themselves, and are made with the larger, older tea leaves which explains the rougher taste. However they tend to have sweeter notes to them as well since the larger leaves have grown on the trees for longer period of time. It gives you an insight of what the local tea growers enjoy daily.
As for the gift set, we were trying a new concept. Every customer had a different selection of samples, and it would only be revealed once the wrapping is opened, hence the ‘mystery’ gift set. The usual orders would have tea names on the outside:)