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Having this for the first time, forgot to add it in from a previous order I made. This is a very tightly packed cake as opposed to some of the other sheng cakes I have. I pried off about 3 tablespoons of leaf to put into the yixing. The first steep after the 10 second wash was way overpowering to me almost bitter and very astringent and overpowering to me. I reduced the steep time for the second cup. It still has a great deal of punch in it with a heavy camphor note. It retains most of the bitterness from the first steep but is a little more palatable now. the brew is still pretty thick with a citrus and grassy mix on the tongue. I will hope this one mellows out in time as it still has a lot of kick in the face notes. Almost a little too strong, but being a sheng I think with this much early kick it will age nicely.

Tried the offering from the cnnp factory tonight. This brews up incredibly dark and with a sweetness almost like a touch of molasses. It is as dark as a cup of coffee and packs a pretty good punch in the flavor department. It is very multifaceted with lots of flavor notes. Coffee, molasses, dark sugarcane and an almost raisin note. A pretty good one so far. Preparation in a yixing almost boiling water, ten second wash and a fifteen second steep.

Had this offering from the Xiaguan factory tonight. It is stated to be from the Jingmai mountain region. This is a very tightly compressed toucha with lots of green on the surface. Aroma is almost a metallic odor when pried off the toucha. Used the yixing reserved for sheng only to brew with. This tea is very light in terms of taste and aroma in the first brewing. I plan to do another tasting on this one tomorrow as young sheng tends to keep me awake if I drink it late at night. Not an overall bad cake maybe in a few years it will deepen in the flavor and aroma department. It still has the “bold” in your face bite of a young tea for now.

This tea is dark on the first couple of brews, an aroma of an almost peat mos like. Leaves were dark all the way through in color. It had an almost raisin like taste with a good deal of sweetness with absolutely no bitterness or astringency. A well aged shu that the years have been kind to and mellowed out very much. Since this is what the factory produces a large amount of I am sure it is blended with a good variety of different leaf. This cake is sometimes called the “purple sky” cake and very nice in most of the different years I have had the recipe from. A very consistent cake from Menghai.

This has been stored well it has no sharpness left in it. Very nice and almost sweet on the sides of the tongue. Pale light green brew,very nice to just sit and inhale the aroma. Not an overpowering one by far. Very nice and easy to drink. I think this will just get better and better with age.

Still has that “punch you in the face” bite in the first infusion. The green taste is still strong in this one . It has been dry aged I believe as much of this remains. The leaves are still showing a lot of green with the red starting on the edges. It became less harsh after the third infusion and became nice and easy to drink. I think this one with the strong qi will age very nice in proper storage.

This is my first Boyou cake and I find it to be very smooth and sweet with a dark brew almost like a cup of coffee. I am really enjoying the smoothness of this tea. It is made from material from 2008 and I would guess pretty heavily fermented from the color of the brew. I think this would be an excellent tea for a first timer. There is none of the fermented taste that you find in some other shu. This tea has been allowed to breathe to get rid of this aspect. brew at 210 with a 10 second rinse and a 10 second steep on the first cup. Overall a pretty good tea.

Two days without tea, had to get my palate right. Brewing this tea two ways. Both will be with spring water. First brew 200ml yixing pot. Aroma almost flower like, clear yellow brew, taste a lemony sweetness with no major bitterness or overpowering smokiness as found in some sheng. Very light vegetal taste with a good amount of “qui”. This really cots the inside of your mouth with a slightly tart taste. Easy to drink and this cup won’t last long. Very warming and enjoyable to drink. Leaves look to hand rolled almost gongting size. Wow this is stout! I think tea drunk for now. I will have to do the gaiwan later as I believe this will keep me going for a while. strong enough to make you sweat! Used boiling water with a 10 second wash and then a 10 second steep.

A very nice shou to be only a year or so old. Rich coffee like infusions with hints of caramel on later steeps(I added some sugar). Well worth the price on this one a definite winner and the first shou of this tea factory i have had. A good one.