2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Bang Dong Village"

Significantly stronger and with more bitterness than the 2016 Han Gu Di with also very nice leafes, but also no very unique character, which would make this tea stand out.

Image sand more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-bang-dong-village-ys

Wet Leaves: Jasmine flowers, dried apricots, pickled sourness, raw zucchini, and a touch of smoke.

Early Steeps: First two steeps were extremely light, had a hard time getting much of an impression off this tea. Steep 3 opened up to a soupy nuttiness that led into jasmine sweetness. Finish is a long, sustained (but balanced) kuwei bitterness.

Middle Steeps: High notes seemed to have disappeared. Vegetal nuttiness dominates and the finish is a really tasty blend of kuwei bitterness and apricot flavor. Astringency has kicked in too.

Tail End: The tea has stayed sweet, lightly fruity and floral with a long finish. Seriously, this finish literally evolves over time. Astringency has never really dominated. Slightly lightheaded at this point, but not much of an overall body effect here.

Verdict: This is really good tea. Almost seems like the definition of sheng meant to be drunk young. I’m sure this tea will evolve into something tasty over time, but it’s so delicate and nuanced that it’s perfect right now. I don’t know alot about terroir, but the floral sweetness of this tea reminds me more of Yiwu’s I’ve tried than a Lincang. This teas gentle but lingering impression reminded me of warm spring day, something that only white teas usually do to me.

If you’re open to gentle, subtle sheng – buy it.

I received a sample of this as part of the 2017 Sheng Olympiad. The dry leaf smells faintly of sweet apricot. With a quick rinse, the leaves smell like intensely sweet dried apricot. The first steep is extremely light but I can taste a background nuttiness.

Once this tea gets going, it’s apricot sweet and thick with a long lasting, mouth coating aftertaste. It’s mildly bitter and there’s some very light astringency on the tip of the tongue.

By the time my steeps are at about a minute long, the flavor profile has shifted to the vegetal side of things. It’s full-bodied but not as sweet as the initial infusions. With the leaves fully opened, I can tell that this is pretty high quality material. The leaves are large and mostly intact. They’ve got some real staying power as well. I haven’t been counting steeps but it’s more than what I usually get with teas at this price point (which is excellent at just over $.10/g).

The northern excursion of the Yunnan tour wraps up!

Region 2/4: Lincang. Location 2/2: Bang Dong village

Notes on tea:
Great tea. Starts off with complex, rich flavors that last several infusions. Most noticeable was a rich, fruity flavor that had a base not unlike dark chocolate. Intense and rich. Towards the end of the session, development and finish continue to develop with new grassy and fruit notes.

Although I didn’t get a bunch of different flavor notes off of it, all of the flavors were deep and complex. Sessions were interesting and very engaging. In addition, for a young tea, it shows quite a bit of finesse while still remaining powerful and flavorful. Based on my experience, it is easily in league with more expensive teas…

Notes on region:
OK, so two teas isn’t exactly a representative sample size… But, I really like what I found. Both teas (Bang Dong and Qing Mei) had quite different flavor profiles, but the nature of the flavors was similar – complex, deep, not easily described with single notes. I found myself saying things like “fruitcake” and “fruit-infused chocolate.” Also of note was their noticeable sweetness. Both teas had complex sweetness – saccharine and fruit sweetness that was accompanied by a solid base of “darker” flavors – spice cake, dark chocolate, etc.

I will be returning to this neck of the woods soon. Outstanding experiences, both of them. We’ll see how the fabled Yiwu teas stand up to these guys as the tour of Yunnan continues…
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Dry leaf – dried apricot, some leafy herbal notes, hints of grape. In preheated vessel: light sweet tobacco, fruit leather, sugarcane

Smell – grassy herbal – hay, a bit smoky, wet hay, wet soil

Taste – light tobacco and stable notes, fruity richness, cherry cordial, dark cherry-infused dark chocolate, some dried apricot notes. Later infusions had grassy/hay development and some baked apple notes in the finish.

This is an excellent puerh tea. It was quite sweet tasting at the start. A little bitterness crept in after a couple of steeps but didn’t last. Didn’t really pin down the sweet note but perhaps one of the flavors on the steepster page would fit. I think both fruity and honey fits although it was not as sweet as honey, I think it did have a bit of the taste. As far as rating this tea I will make a comparison. It is really quite good but not as good as the 2014 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Bing Dao for about the same price. It is a good tea overall. It had a very thick tea liquid at first, what you would call a thick mouth feel I guess. This is one I hope ages well because I bought the whole cake. Brewed this in my new Japanese Shiboridashi.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 120ml Shiboridashi with 8g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.

Sat down with LiquidProust yesterday to try my first sheng. We tried just about every brewing time known to man, so I feel like I got the full spectrum of what this tea can be. I also got a great lesson in playing with a tea to coax different flavors out of it.

Vegetable was the overarching flavor of this tea, no matter what temperature it was brewed at—specifically zucchini. When we did a longer steep on the leaves, it was unsurprisingly bitter. We did a couple of sessions where we let the water run straight through leaves and into the pot, and that was where the jasmine notes really shone through. After letting these short steeps cool a little, I got the slightest hint of a sweetness.

Overall, the flavor was pleasant, but not the darker, roastier, fermentier, deeper flavors I am used to. I think I’m still on the fence between simply liking and loving these “greener” teas. Time and experience will tell.

A HUGE “thank you” to LiquidProust for taking the time and the tea out of his schedule to come and educate me on puerh. I look forward to trying the others.

Drank the autumn all day at work today; lasted a solid 7 hours at four steeps an hour, I drink a TON at work.

This stuff is great. I tell new pu’ heads to try Bang Dong or Jingmai because they are light and easily understood while being tasty. Simple brew with some floral undertones. This leaf withstands those long spa treatments that we drink the bath water from quite well. Interested in seeing how the spring taste now, but this is solid… did someone say Bang Dong is coming to the 2017 Sheng Olympics?

Starting off from the first sip, I can tell I am in for a fun ride. This tea does not lack in fullness, bitterness, or sweetness. A musty undertone delivers a punch which echoes into a bittersweet aftertaste that lingers. The aroma on the lid of the gaiwan is somewhat astringent and somewhat nutty, very pleasant… Flavors ranging from sweet grass to nuts. Thick soup and great mouthfeel. Really enjoying this one.

Sinking more of this into my belly, it is apparent that the cha qi is tingly. This tea is very well balanced with awesome characteristics. There are great transitions from steep to steep that gravitate me towards brewing more and more. The strength in the leaves continue to pack powerful mouth-watering and qi sensations throughout the session. Although the bitterness calms down after the 5th or 6th steep there is still fullness in each of the lasting brews.

I feel vigilant, prepared, and kind of sweaty. The qi is reaching out and pushing me to go on, so I do. It is for sure going to be a fun next couple of hours. What a delight.

Sample from YS that sat in my pumidor for about 2 months or so. Really impressed with this tea. Brews a thick and full bodied nutty brew with lots of floral notes, hints of orange juice/ citrus acidity here and there with a nice tobacco subtlety. Great smooth bitterness that doesn’t get too grassy/astringent. This tea goes round after round without giving in. Great characteristics in the mouth, long sweet aftertaste, lots of saliva building on the sides of the mouth, great cooling sensation. This tea is basically what I want in a young sheng – powerful, enduring, great mouthfeel/characteristics, interesting flavor profile.

My sample arrived with leaves largely intact with a fresh sweet scent. Brewed leaves have a musky floral sent, kind of like raw crystalized honey. The tea soup is a clear pale yellow.

I found this tea to be much more subtle and gentle than expected. It has those characteristic Mengku florals, nuttiness, bitters, and pungency, but more subdued that the 2015 YS Da Hu Sai, for example. It’s very pure and refreshing, nicely thick, and quite active in the mouth and throat—I got tingly and numbing rather than creamy.

This will probably improve in a few years, I think. Floral notes here are more savory than sweet. Fantastic energy in here as well. I’ve learned that Mengku-like teas have a cha qi that, for me, are more cerebral than other regions. This is very pleasant to drink now, but I think waiting 3-5 years will give this tea the time it needs to reveal its potential.