GuShu LinChang '15

I did a side-by-side tasting of this and Puerhsk Xiaoshu Lincang.

The leaves here are a bit darker than the regular lincang, and they have the same fresh floral, but I also pickup some brown sugar and molasses. This tea is alike the regular Lincang, but it doesn’t have a background of roast. I warmed up my shibo and threw this in. The scent opens into a sharp roast, mesquite, smoke, and some briquette. However, this type of roasting is different than the previous regular lincang. I would compare these alike a store bought pre-cooked rack of ribs ( reg. lincang) vs. a cookout style summer time self-smoked rack of ribs (gushu lincang). The later is less artificial. I washed the leaves and commenced the brewing. The brew begins sweet and smooth with a bit of smoke in the aftertaste. However, the tea continues to grow even more smoky and even more astringent. The tea is not that great, and it is a very “eh” tea to me. I did not finish my session.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPF6Cy2gKxS/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I really enjoyed this Gushu from Puerh.sk. The wet leaves have a pleasant nose with notes of ripe berries and peach with a little “mineralness”. The nose brings the 2009 Wuliang Gusha from EoT to mind.

The liquor is very agreeable in the mouth. It’s thick and powerful putting me in a state of bliss within the first three steeps. Definitely a lot of qi with this tea. The tea is very dynamic in the mouth and has a rather long finish in the back of the throat. Definitely a high quality fresh sheng in my opinion.

I’m really loving the oily mouth feel of these 2015 gu shu teas from pu-erh.sk. I think rustic is a good description of the LinChang. There’s no discernible floral or fruity flavors; instead, the broth is dominated by evergreen and smoke, reminiscent of a lapsang suchong. It leaves a little bit of brightness at the corners of the mouth but it’s mainly an earthy tea and, unlike the HuaZhu Liangzi, it calms and soothes.

So if you need a break from the ubiquitous sweet and fruity shengs and your predilection veers toward the more chthonic, give this one a try.