2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Chen Xiang" Aged Raw Pu-erh of Wu Liang Mountain

Another quick note. And also, thanks to Scott from Yunnan Sourcing for the nice sample.

I love Maocha. The Sweetness that is hidden behind floral perfume notes and hints of smokiness. This was no exception, it is really good and pleasing, it still has some strong bitterness that I’m sure will mellow as it ages. BUT that doesn’t mean that this bitterness is unpleasant, in fact is its pretty pleasant and satisfying. Recommend if you like Maocha or just raw puerh with some personality.

6g/90ml celadon gaiwan.
wash/wash/15/15/20/20/30/30 @ 100C

Ah, this is good. Last sheng was a dissapointment so this one cheered me up! Powerful astringance, slightly bitter. But well balanced so its not unpleasnt. Did longer infusions this time around and it payed of! Since it late i stopped at 6. The taste lingers long in the mouth, a bit of a tail on this one. Good stuff!

Thank you Yunnan Sourcing for this free sample!

Leaf Quality:
The smokey leaves were tightly compacted and were a bit dark, showing some degree of oxidation. The rinsed leaves were smokey, slightly earthy and reminiscent of tree bark and moss. The brewed leaves smelled very smokey and mossy as well.

Brewed Tea:
The first steeping proved to be rather strong given the short steep time. I halved it for the second brewing. Nice smokey notes as well as sweet moss and tree bark were prevalent. The light amber liquor had quite some character to it.
Second Steeping
Though the brew time was halved, I still noticed a little astringency or bitterness at the end of each sip. This wasn’t a negative quality, as I actually enjoyed the way that it blended with the other flavors. Each sip was slightly sweet, but this quality was easily overlooked by the smokiness and mossy notes.
Third Steeping
With this cup, I noticed floral notes. However, the smokiness remained the dominant flavor. Sweet, floral, and smoky were an interesting combination to drink. The bitterness was lighter than the first two brews.
Fourth Steeping
In this brew, I noticed a flavor like that of a fungus or mushrooms. This complimented the mossy and woody notes from the earlier brews. The smokiness was still present, and the floral notes grew stronger with the sweetness. This was my favorite steeping.

I really appreciate a nice Sheng pu-erh every once in a while. Again, Thank you for the free sample.

A nice interesting sheng, it’s smokey, but not too smokey, minty (or something similar), strong and punchy, a little dry, and a bit rough from being the last crumbs from bottom of the sample bag. Also, really awesome iced. The price seems a little on the high side, but it’s certainly got personality, the worst thing a young sheng can be is bland and boring.

Edit: the interesting flavors faded way too quickly, leaving behind just an unpleasant strange sticky astringency, i think this one needs at least a few more years on it for that to age out.

Picked up a sample of this one a while back when I was seeking out puerh pressed with aged maocha. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. Leaves had a smoky, slightly pungent aroma. The taste followed closely, with smoky notes dominating. There was a sweetness and pleasant finish to the brew, but between the smokiness and the smaller material, this one was a bit rough.

Could be quite good once that smokiness starts to fade, though will likely retain a punchiness throughout its life due to the small material. Reminds me of a Dayi 0622 that I have. It certainly did seem a bit more aged than I would expect from 2012 material.

Beautiful dark tea. Very strong smell of earth and smoke after a rinse. Smells like Scotch Snuff which I would guess very few people reading this have smelled before lol! 5g to 80ml which is standard for me. I’ve been reading through the archives of MarshalN so I’m trying to take his advice and leave tasting notes out. This review is mainly for me to have a list of what I want to buy a cake of when the money comes. There is a lot of body warmth happening with this tea, and even a tingling in the nose now and then a bit like when you burp after a heavily carbonated beverage. There is some bite on the tongue and cheeks and a long-lasting dryness in the mouth. Hitting my stomach rather hard considering it isn’t empty. I’d be very curious to try this cake again in a few years! Not sure I’ll be buying one right away but it’s fairly cheap and I look forward to drinking the rest of this 25g sample.

Solid mouth feel with this one. The camphor notes that you get are that of a wet one, not dry; which is nice. Hint of smoke provides more of a body as it wouldn’t if the tingle wasn’t there. A linger taste with mouth feel gives it a positive remark from me. No bitterness, but if there is… well, it’d be disguised within the mouth feel. Not my style of sheng, though I can tell it is better than many that are like it. Makes me curious as to finding out how long smoke and camphor notes can exist, surely a matured cake wouldn’t still have these notes would it? Say in 15 more years, wouldn’t it vanish from all sorts of storing/aging?