2003 Changtai "Brown Jinggu" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

My impression of this tea mostly parallels Nate’s review. This tea is as good as the best aged shengs I’ve tried thus far, but it is a tad more expensive than those. It also seems to lean a little more on the sour and fruity side of the spectrum. I actually found the mouthfeel to be quite nice – plump and colloidal – especially in the first half of the session. However, the most memorable aspect is the fast, introspective cha qi for sure.

The one thing I found lacking in comparison to some other teas at similar and higher prices was the fact that after steep 6 or so, the tea lost most of its dynamicism and the session became a bit dull. Also, don’t expect an immortal tea, one can push it to get about 300ml/g, but not really more than that.

The taste is sweet and tart throughout, with a leathery and woody undertones. There are notes of sea buckthorn juice, cumin, fireplace, oak and citrus zest. Aftertaste is very long-lasting and not overly sweet. Indeed, the sour flavours linger for quite a while.

Not saying I’d pay $300 a cake for this. Not saying I wouldn’t either. I will say that if all the cakes of young Jinggu that I bought thinking I’d drink up quickly perform like this tea in 18 years I will be a happy camper indeed! First 2 steeps show light smokiness, sandalwood and spice. Next few steeps and the wild character peeks through with hints of grapefruit and tangerine peel. By steep 6 my face is numb and this stuff is much darker. Could be that I oversteeped it while grinning and staring at the floor. Anyhow no biggie. No astringency at all and now an oaky, fruity, funky taste that reminds me of a well aged Armagnac (minus the acetone) emerges. From here out it’s wood, spice, leather and citrus peel. My only gripes are I’d prefer a heavier body, although the huigan is long lasting. One can’t expect syrupy body from a wild tea… and the price…which means I’m trying to talk myself out of paying $300 for a cake of wild tea that I know I want. For a comparison, this stuff knocks the socks off the Qianjiazhai teas from EOT and those are excellent wild teas. I still have one session left with which to decide…one thing for sure, 4 years ago when I was new to pu I bought lesser teas for more money.