Haixintang 2006 Wild Arbor Shu

I finally got a chance to relax & run through several gongfu steepings of this one today. The predominant element was a clean earthiness & a minty fresh sensation.

Edit: AND the flavor of Hominy (grits). That came up in later steepings.

Sipdown, 131. I was originally going to have a different type of tea for the afternoon, but then I decided it would be interesting to see if I could taste differences in shu puerhs. So I grabbed this one!

The initial impression is that this one is very similar to the Xingyang shu, but it reveals its differences. The predominant note is wood, but this is like pine rather than oak. This lacks the deeper aged bourbon notes, instead this is brighter and crisper. No candy sweetness either, a cleaner, sharper texture. As the steeps progress it got less woody. The grits/cornmeal/tamale crust that Terri mentions is spot on. Interesting. A hint of sweetness pops up.

I do enjoy trying out all these puerhs. Education! :D

Okay, so I’m drinking the first cup of this (brewed Western style because that’s how I roll) cold because I’m intimidated by it and I’ve been staring at it for the last 7 hours now without taking a sip. I have to drink 750 ml of it in the next 2 hours though or I’ll have to pour some out before I go home. I don’t like leaving liquids in the pot overnight.

An hour later, I forget myself and start drinking while talking and I made the most horrible face and had to interrupt myself, coughing. I do not like this tea at all. I liked the sheng version of this cake, but the shu version does not agree with me in the slightest. The ‘earthiness’ (the best word I can find, though it’s not exactly what I’m looking for) is just not to my taste at all. Still on the search for a shu that I can drink.

Tried this in a banko-yakipot with Kunzan tetsubin.

5g / 200ml
2xwash/15/30/45

Still do not like it. The ripe fruit just isn´t there. Earthy, perhaps a bit of sweet herb? A tiny bit mint?
Think ill dump the rest of the sample in the bin. waste of time when theres so many teas out there thats better.

A Shu with extremely thick and rich earthy taste. Brewing in gaiwan as per instructions and so far I absolutely love it.

Hello and welcome to a belated taste note on the Verdant Tea (special) Wild Arbor Shu!!! .
Thanks to David Duckler of Verdant Tea for the exquisite Tea tasting experience! So it is my understanding that Shu and Sheng, but more often shu is served with Dim Sum when you request tea whilst there having lunch. My first impression of Tea at Dim-sum is that tea is extent in the meal as having it not really be the star of the meal, but as a complement. That impression has changed somewhat after sampling the Haixintang Shu.
Initially, the smell of mossy ground in the forest pervades the nose. I’m certain of one thing, it’s going into the cup for many steeps ( No rules apply here, among this despareate crowd, once you go in you are never coming out,…sorry I had a Star-One flashback) And the first steep is mild yet I can sense a thickness already. Quite refreshing in the throat, maybe it has a different flavor later on.
Further, it takes on clear fresh mint flavor by steeping three. I’m quite fond of mint leaf tisane and somehow it’s managed to get into my shu. I’ll be unsurprised if this doesn’t go for round seven and eight. Like eating at Dim Sum, I just keep refilling my teapot.
It would taste so decadent with some chicken shu mai, or a little fried potato and bacon cake. I know, how come my tasting notes always makes me hungry? Don’ worry it’s causing the same sensation for me.
Further still, The total steep I went up was the last one with a pretty conservative long steep(4min) so It’s got many of the initial tastes now, rather I have acquired the sum of all the flavors in the final cup and even much more of the camphor trace. I normally don’t get chem-traces from tea, but this one is unique! How like a sheng, or then again a trip to the international district might be in order. Looks like the comparison to sheng is that this one has a darker liquor and highlights of mint. I really can’t stress the mintiness on the later steeps enough, don’t forget to take this one all the way to 8 or more.

I’ve never seen a tea that was naturally blood orange before. The flavor is so rich! It’s almost like a wine. The tea lasted for over 10 steepings.

Another of my puerhs from dinosara It’s a snow day here in Toronto and I AM LOVING IT! So i’m doing my best to be super productive work wise but also with my puerhs. My goal today is to get through THREE sessions! Mother is coming up this weekend for wedding dress shopping, so i won’t have much time to actually drink tea beyond what i take out with me. This was my morning puerh….though in retrospect i probably should have saved it for my evening puerh.

this was an earthy puerh but not overly so. as terri puts it – it’s a clean earthiness. For me, the first sip made me exclaim in surprise over how refreshing the taste was… and then i promptly had several more sessions in a row, standing in the kitchen….where my other half found me gleefully holding my little cup, drinking and smiling haha. This would be one of the few verdant puerhs i might consider reordering (though i doubt it’s available)….as i generally don’t find myself overly impressed with a lot of their puerh.

Thanks dinosara!