Free sample from last FL order. Don’t love this one, honestly. Given the price, I expected more. Smell of the wet leaves is bursting with fruits, but the liquor stays closed until infusion 5.
Mouthfeel is okay, but not very interesting. Aftertaste is mild and vague. Mild bitterness starting at infusion 5. Medium-low astringency starts at infusion 7. Cha qi is quite heady; very loopy by infusion 8. I understand that many puerh drinkers are going for this and care less about flavor. Thus, I’m giving it a higher rating than I would otherwise. Lasts 12+ infusions.
Origin: Blend from 5 gardens: Ai Ban, Nuo Gu Wan, Weng Bo, He Huan, and Guang Jing. All gardens are on the Da Ping Zhang Plateau, elevation 1500-1600 m.
Dry Leaf: Vegetal.
Wet Leaf: Tropical fruit, mango, apricot, star fruit.
Liquor: Vegetal, pepper, sweet, honey.
Flavors: Apricot, Honey, Mango, Pepper, Starfruit, Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Vegetal
I appreciated the subtlety of the 2018 Gulan but in general, Jingmai pu’er energy feels different to me. Jangly. Ephedrine. Uncomfortable.
I know it’s not a super popular region among lots of puerh lovers. I think I can see what you mean. I suppose the teas I’ve liked from FL have mostly been from outside of Jingmai, with the exception of the Nan Zuo.