2004 Dingji Yesheng

Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2004-dingji-yesheng-yqh

This is my second review of a YQH production, the first one being the highly acclaimed Te Ji Pin. Compared to the other YQH teas I’ve seampled this one has the strongest bitterness which is definitely a plus. Other than that, the most notable aspect is the face-melting cha qi.

The aroma is not very strong, but there are hints of vanilla beans, fermented fruits, dry earth, and wood. The woodiness present in all YQH samples I tried is fairly similar, but I am not going to speculate why that is exactly.

First infusion starts with a tart, medicinal liquor that is a little drying and has a distinct buttery taste. Second steep bring more umami, woody, and fruity flavours. Peach and roasted barley are among the most prominent ones. The aftertaste is very sweet and displays a brown sugar flavour.

The texture is decently active and smooth from the get go, but around steep 4 is when it gets really thick and oily. The rest of the session is fairly consistent – this tea definitely brews out over a long period of time.

Here’s to trying some more YQH.
I will admit that my tasting notes are all different in the way I write the and what not so let me say that I am writing this one after drinking 19 steeps of this.

I bought a sample of this off a friend because it’s one that I was fairly certain was a type of sheng I would enjoy; though I was told that all YQH will have that humid basement leather smell n’ taste. The price of a sample isn’t so bad really if you know someone: $5 is the same as a beer somewhere, but this will last 15+ steeps.

The first thing I did was take a picture: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFhaLLOxYAR/

I went ahead an tasted the rinse because I was curious. Silly me, the leaf of this cake is pretty large and needs to open up so after the rinse I spread the leaf and let the moisture and heat pry it open a little. About 7 minutes later I came by and drank three steeps back to back. There’s an upfront feeling with this, somewhat to do with not eating yet though. I drank these steeps quick because I know it was going to have some storage to get through. I was right, the more dry leather with basement came through with a peak one steep 2.

From there, I finally find a new note in sheng I have yet to come across: strawberry. Not the sharp tasting strawberry you get from the tongue, but that sweet taste on the lips. With that flavor coming through there was also a texture just like those oily dancongs; in a good way. This isn’t thick in a cream texture sense but in an oily way… think, leaves a residue but complex because while you think it’s moist there seems to be a lingering dry aspect to the taste coming from the leaf.
Now this taste, strawberry as the best I can describe it, continued for roughly 8 steeps and I really enjoyed it. Other teas have an apricot upfront and it levels off quicker than this one did so that was enjoyable. Unfortunately, this tea turned around and the old taste came back. It began to lose the oily texture and have more of that humid to dry stored… taste, smell, and whatever you want to reference it to.

This is probably something I wouldn’t mind buying another sample of later on, but I just don’t have the way to store it or else I would look into spitting 1/4th a cake because it really is unique and tasty. The tea was still going, but I am just not a huge fan on the old stored tea taste as I’ve realized so I cut it short by probably 6 to 10 steeps. For now I will do a second browsing of YQH to see if that other cake I knew I might like is still there.