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“My new friend Scott sent me a sample of this with my order. I drank many many steepings all evening. Before I started I was pretty drowsy, but that changed nicely. The dry aroma was so soothing,...” Read full tasting note
“My (uneducated) thoughts: A very nice, calming cake. It’s got a tiny bit of age too it, so the bitterness I normally associate with newer shengs is not really present. I keep waiting for it to get...” Read full tasting note
“Brought this tea into work today and was very happy. https://instagram.com/p/9uIbInRYHz/ I bought this because it is priced very nicely for the look of it: https://instagram.com/p/9pC8CwRYMI/ Now...” Read full tasting note
This tea is made entirely from first flush of spring 2013 high altitude Wu Liang mountain tea. The Wu Liang mountains peak out at about 3300 meters, making them the highest mountains in Simao prefecture. The Wu Liang mountain range is in the county of Jingdong which borders both Lincang and Dali prefectures. This tea is grown in the area of Wu Liang known as Zhong Cang village (中仓村) at an altitude of 2300 meters making this some of the highest altitude pu-erh in existance. Due to the high altitude most of the tea trees in this area are a naturally occurring hybrid of large and small leaf (sinensis and var. assamica). The trees are healthy 200 year old trees growing naturally on steep hillsides and ridges. These tea gardens are arguably some of the remotest tea gardens in all of Yunnan. Lack of roads and access has kept the environment of this area in good condition, mao cha prices are significantly lower than comparable Banna teas, making this an affordable yet.
The tea itself is aromatic with hints of orchid aroma (兰香), and a strong mouth-feel. Even when young this tea is full in the mouth giving the drinker a persistent warmth and lubricated mouth feel. It brews evenly across 10 to 15 infusions never too harsh and neither dropping off suddenly, thus revealing the healthy characteristics of the trees and environment from which it came. This tea will develop gracefully through years building its character and providing the drinker with ever more complex textures.
Our 2012 is unique from previous productions. Not quite as tippy as 2011, but fairly tippy and with a heavier pungent taste. Nice and prolonged mouthfeel couple with noticeable but not overpowering cha qi. Very infusable!
This tea was compressed in a small tea factory near Kunming where stone presses were used. Low temperature drying (about 35C) was used to dry these cakes after the compression process thus preserving their integrity! The cakes are wrapped in Dai Minority hand-made paper and then bundled into bamboo leaf “tongs” with seven cakes per tong.
In total just 140 kilograms of this tea has been produced
Net Weight: 400 grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)
Harvest time: Late March 2013
Harvest Area: Zhong Cang village of Wu Liang mountains, Jingdong county of Simao
Company description not available.
2013 Yunnan Sourcing "Wu Liang Mountain" Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake (duplicate)
Yunnan Sourcing2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Wu Liang Mountain" Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea cake
Yunnan Sourcing2019 Yunnan Sourcing "Wu Liang Mountain" Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
Yunnan Sourcing2015 Yunnan Sourcing Wu Liang Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea cake
Yunnan Sourcing2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Wu Liang Mountain" Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
Yunnan Sourcing2018 Yunnan Sourcing "Wu Liang Mountain" Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
Yunnan SourcingMy new friend Scott sent me a sample of this with my order. I drank many many steepings all evening. Before I started I was pretty drowsy, but that changed nicely. The dry aroma was so soothing, the tea itself was so restorative. I used to prefer Shu over sheng, but now I love them both.
Thank you Scott!
My (uneducated) thoughts:
A very nice, calming cake. It’s got a tiny bit of age too it, so the bitterness I normally associate with newer shengs is not really present. I keep waiting for it to get astringent or bitter, but it doesn’t come. Not exactly very sweet, but it has a really nice mouthfeel. The thick broth rolls down the tongue nicely, warms the belly and chest and makes me noticably calmer and singularly focused (on the tea).
By the 5th infusuon, I’m not noticing any big changes, still silky smooth and enjoyable. Maybe some slightly fruity/sweet aftertones?
In summary, a very pleasant semi-aged puerh tea. Still has many similarities to your average sheng, but could make a nice daily drinker. I used about 6g in my 75ml pot, so maybe I should add more leaf next time?
Brought this tea into work today and was very happy.
https://instagram.com/p/9uIbInRYHz/
I bought this because it is priced very nicely for the look of it: https://instagram.com/p/9pC8CwRYMI/
Now at 13 cents a gram, it’s less than $1 per session which is quite appealing. Now this is one tea that is not as smooth as what I am going to compare it to, but I enjoy the flavor much more. Today I also finally tried the 2014 Wild Monk from Mandela which is a tea I have contemplated buying a tong of because the 2012 version was amazing. Unfortunately, this Yunnan Sourcing tea is more promising in regards to taste. The cake breaks easily, smells nice, brews beautifully, and includes levels of taste as it steeps throughout a session.
I’ll more than likely buy another one in a few months once I finish this one off :)
i shall try this one someday
it appears it may be out of stock, i cant seem to find it. can you help me find it?
thank-you very much! :D alas, i cannot afford any cake over 30$ :(
but i will try and buy it sometime hopefully
I believe the 2013 YS “Wu Liang Wild Arbor” is not the same tea is 2013 YS “Wu Liang Ye Sheng”. It’s confusing since although “ye sheng” means “wild”, that version is actually a purple tea and tastes entirely different. It’s seems to be quite popular here on Steepster, whereas this tea “Wu Liang Wild Arbor” is not a purple tea, but the common base species “zhong xiao ye zhong”. Not trying to show off or be pedantic, but I’m curious which one you reviewed since I purchased this one and am letting it air out in my drawer before i dig into it. It hasn’t received much coverage online.
@tanluwils, what about ys’ 2013 Yunnan sourcing autumn ye sheng raw puerh? is it a true wild tea?
I don’t know if really any of these “wild” teas are truly harvested from Yunnan’s forests. From what I understand, “Ye sheng” mainly indicates that a tea is from the purple-leaved cultivar. The purple color is part of the this varietal’s built-in defense system against high exposure to UV rays.
the tea doesn’t look purple
No, but the processed dry leaf is much darker in color than your regular base species. On the plant, they actually are purple.
ohhhh! i get it now :D
Me too on preferring shu over sheng…but I must admit that I still am suspicious. Sheng can sneak up and pop your tastebuds with a shy dry smoke in an acrid assault. (Granted some less than stellar shu can be too sour or flat if I’m being fair and honest)
I know what you mean Bonnie, & my early Sheng experiences were not particularly favorable, most likely because I used too much leaf and/or steeped it too long. When I get a new sheng now I smell it, & if the smell is very raw/sharp, I start with 2 G. This one had a lovely fresh aroma, so I went with 3G. I also started with very short steepings (after the rinse). The first round of 3 steeps was 4/6/8. The next round 10/12/14, etc.
I kept adding 2 sec until I got to 30.
Anyway, this was a very nice Sheng, especially considering how fresh it is! Hopefully next time I can be more descriptive, but the main thing that came to mind was ‘restorative’. And it was!