2008 Hai Lang Hao Star of Bu Lang

Dry leaves: tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia) oil, smoke, tobacco. Nose on the liquor was rather dull — my cha hai just kinda smelled like it came out of a hot dishwasher(?) the whole time.

Steeps were bright, with a rounded feeling in a horseshoe along the back of the cheeks, some throat scratch. Herbal, smoky, tobacco punch, playdoh. That beautiful Bulang smokiness coming through from the wet leaf, along with tobacco, Chinese medicine, old wood.

This tastes younger than 2008 to me (a sheng baby, admittedly, but I’m thinking of a favorite 2010 Bulang that tastes more aged than this one does)… based on notes from 5+ years ago, it also doesn’t appear to have changed super-much in that time? YS’s relatively dry storage, maybe?

I enjoyed it but don’t feel the need to chase it at this point.

I used a lot of leaf this time, as it was the last bits of my sample and I didn’t want to break it in two light sessions. However, since I didn’t break it up much, it took a while until the leaves properly opened up. When it did though, I got treated with powerful and delicious infusions.

Let’s start with the smell though. Before the rinse, the aroma is quite woody I would say. As the leaves open up during the session, there are more complex and strong aromas unraveling. I still get the woody tones, like pine and sauna. But there is also some smoke and orchid. In the empty cup, I can smell something between a meadow and a field, there are hay and honeycomb aromas too.

The taste is brothy (mushroom), sweet, buttery, medicinal and bitter (mostly due to the amount of leaves I used). There is definitely a strong tobacco note to it that stays in the mouth. Astringency and sourness arrives in the finish, while the long aftertaste is somewhat spicy and has a decent huigan.

The mouthfeel is a mixture of milky and brothy, and with decent thickness. The body is not the fullest, but given the price of the tea, I cannot really complain.

Don’t get fooled by the price! This is a really good tea, not lacking in any way, apart from maybe the body. That’s really a minor point though. The tea has a pungent and pleasant smell; strong, evolving and memorable taste; long aftertaste; ok mouthfeel; and a powerful cha qi. It’s most definitely the best sheng in the ~10 years old category that I have tried thus far.

Working through my samples of sheng, this one is a real nice one to me. Nice light smokey flavor with something else I see in a lot of shengs this age but can’t name. Very enjoyable. As it goes through more infusions, there’s more smoke, but a pleasant smoke, very smooth.

Sampled this one among a few other Hai Lang Haos. Good value semi-aged cake. Seems to have been stored relatively dryly, but doesn’t have some of the sour off-notes that can sometimes be associated with that – good dry storage in other words. Still has some of its youthful bulang bitter punchiness, but tempered by a honey-sweet, woody finish. A good value buy for people looking for a daily drinker with some age on it.

Let’s jump to the end – buy this cake if you are fan of rich, bold puerh and great deals.

I bought this cake at the end of a short pu’erh tasting journey through various regions. I noticed that young Bu Lang had quite a personality, and frankly, was not something I enjoyed drinking young. However, my gut told me that it was the sort of thing that would age and mellow out – leaving great flavors and a big personality. To test my hypothesis, I bought this cake.

I think my gut was right. This tea has a lot of depth and personality. There is a rich savoriness that is balanced throughout, from smell to aftertaste, by an equally rich and complex sweetness. In addition, just enough sharp flavors like astringency and bitter herb help lift the whole experience – like a well-hopped beer.

I still can’t figure out Hai Lang Hao though. The dude has cakes going for almost $1K, and then he has stuff like this. In any event, I get to have a budget cake made by someone who knows what they’re doing, so I’ll take it.

This is a great addition for anyone looking to have some semi-aged stuff on hand.
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Dry leaf – aged spicy tobacco, hay, notes of spicy sweetness (like spiced jelly candy – clove, sassafras). In preheated vessel – dark tobacco notes get bolder and more notes of spiced jellies.

Smell – mushroom broth (vegetal, savory, earthy sweetness), hints of spiced jellies, hay and barn notes, sweetness like spice cake, hints of pine resin.

Taste – mushroom broth is primary flavor. Hay/barn and medium/sweet tobacco are secondary flavors. Light molasses and spice cake sweetness arrives in late development and finish. Chocolately body in finish and aftertaste, with returning spiced jelly sweetness balanced by savory notes from development. Some astringency in finish, with light bitter green herb.

Good tea! Really smooth cake. For a raw puerh it has almost absolutely no bitterness! crazy. Time has smoothed its edges really nicely. What it does have is a lot of smoke, and a twinge on the tongue of a little astringency or something I cant name. Brews up a cool orange color. Definitely has the classic flavor of a raw pu, but very light and not bitter. Would buy more

Clean nose in warm cup. Bite up front. 1st steep somewhat smoked and thick. Smooths out quickly.
A great value for a great tea.

From the Puerh TTB # 5
Backlog 25 August 2016

Smokey and floral notes throughout. There’s a bit of sweetness that lingers on the tongue (stone fruit?). There is a slight astringency in the mouth; which goes away after a while. The 9th steep has a slight honey note that arises from the tea. I sure do enjoy Bulangs!

I had this tea for quite some time, and I had no idea I owned it. I was attempting at some late spring cleaning, and I came across a jar of this. I decided that I should finally give it a go. The leaf is heavily compressed and gives off a smooth and sweet scent with some heavy woody base. I take in the familiar tang of tobacco common with most aged sheng. I warmed up my jianshui and placed a chunk inside. The aroma deepened into a thick candied fragrance with syrupy textures. I take in a light smokiness and some slight tobacco. The leaf gives an underlying aroma of brown sugar. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The mouth sensation consists of a full feeling thick like oil. The taste is sweet with honey syrup. A muddled grass tone lies underneath. The huigan is great and potent and lasts extensively after each sip. The later steeping brings on a slight bitterness to intrigue along with dry tones to wipe away the palette. The qi began as a wonderful cooling effect that washed over my body. The feeling proceeded to cause me to really space out. A lingering taste of sugarcane and sweet vegetables followed me. The qi began climbing and my hairs were rising. This brew was very stimulating, and the huigan was sweet and drowning. i really liked this tea. I love the teas that are not the prettiest looking and almost seem unwanted, yet they surprise you with such a memorable session. I enjoyed this tea so very much!

This sheng started with a little bit of oak wood flavor followed by tart plums. The body was thick, cooling, and smooth with light dryness and a shimmering mouth feel at the start.