apoostrotea - Tumblr blog

[apoostrotea]

2021 Long Tang Old Tree | Raw Puerh | Yunnan Sourcing

This sheng greets you with a surprising smoky camphor note for its young age. The aroma is sweet, with a touch of beets and plums. The flavor profile is herbaceous, sweet, and fruity, with a hint of hay. There’s almost a sugary quality to it. These unexpected flavors continue to unfold each sip with little bitterness despite its youth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2021 Chapo | White2Tea | Heicha

This tea is a bit different from my current drinking habits. The hay aroma and flavor is at the forefront of this one with a hint of smoke. Like you’re visiting an old barn full of golden bales of hay. A distant campfire elsewhere at the farm adds a touch of smoke. A very familiar and intriguing tea. Cozy and comforting with good caffeine and qi. I was expecting this one to be darker! But it’s light like a sheng. I’m almost left wishing it was a bit smokier. The price on this one is great for those looking for this flavor profile.

★ ★ ★ .5 ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

15 Years Aged Golden Melon Ripe Tuo | Yunnan Sourcing

This aged ripe has a strong energy and thick flavor. It’s now one of my favorites from Yunnan Sourcing! The wet leaf smells of wood, chocolate, and mashed berries. I may have a bias for aged shou, but the flavors are very pleasant. A nice broad wet wood flavor with hints of vanilla at the forefront. Behind it, there are notes of brown sugar and rich earth. This tea lasted me many steeps, however the tuo is tough to break apart. You will need a strong tea pick for this one! I found this shou to be a perfect example of what an aged ripe can be. If you’re planning on making a Yunnan sourcing order, and have never tried aged shou, this is the tea for you. It’s affordable, but is a lovely goalpost for new sippers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[apoostrotea]

“One strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones.” - George Orwell • Take counsel from this fluffy fellow for tips on brewing the perfect cup of tea. 🫖

[apoostrotea]

1994 Xiaguan Tuo | Yeeontea | Ripe Puerh

Let me say, I love aged ripe puerh. Especially stuff like this from Yeeon. I don’t know if it’s the way they used to prepare and store shou back in the day, or if it’s simply the age. This tea is incredibly smooth and clean. Nice oily mouth feel, it’s a very easy tea. A lot of Yeeon’s aged ripes have this same quality — the leaves can take a good beating. Liquor color is nice, dark, and red with a very wet, woody, herbal aroma. The tea smells like the wet pile taste would be too much, but that flavor is nonexistent especially at this age. This leaf soup is an incredibly easy drink, bound to be enjoyed by most shou lovers. I do almost wish the flavor had been stronger, but you are always free to overleaf.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Did you win the wrapper contest? Where do you post your art for tea wrappings? I really want to see them and perhaps buy the teas with your art on them

Hi! I have placed in the Yunnan Sourcing tea wrapper contest two years now :)

Here are the links to the teas!: 2022 Yunnan Sourcing "Jinggu Ye Sheng Cha" Wild Tree Purple Tea Cake — Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Jinggu Ye Sheng Cha" Wild Tree Purple Tea Cake — Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

I'm going to enter again this upcoming year of course ;)

[apoostrotea]

True goodness is like water. Water's good for everything. It doesn't compete. It goes right to the loathsome places, and so finds the way.

—'Easy By Nature' from Tao Te Ching (道德經) by Lao Tzu (老子), rendition by Ursula K. Le Guin

[apoostrotea]

They Mad!!! | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

I am very silly, and bought this mini because the reference on the wrapper made me laugh. I love Documentary Now. Maybe I’ll ramble about it over on instagram later, but for now I will talk about the tea itself. The description of this tea that W2T gives is interesting; they note the tea is made of some older material they were waiting to press. Once again, we are all left to ponder what this material exactly “is”, which W2T always leaves a mystery. Aroma hit me as punchy, at first. I was worried about the bitterness as the aroma seemed young and green. But, it also smells sweet, sugary, and fruity. It smells a lot like Yiwu, but I’m uncertain as W2T is a strange mysterious wizard with its sources. Liquor is gold, crisp, soft. Cloudier and thicker than some young sheng I’ve had recently. This tea is a treat for sweeter young puerh drinkers. It’s quite a special tea. Notes of jasmine, wood, and fresh fruit. Leaning a tad on the floral side rather than the fruity. Give this mini a try if it sounds good for you. Maybe snag a cake if you’re feeling ballsy. It’s a good one.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Boat Captain | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

Consuming this nice tea in its mini cake form! I always love getting mini tea cakes or dragon balls from W2T. Makes it so easy to bring to work, but, today I’m having it at home. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Boat Captain that made me think I would enjoy it. Aroma is smokey with notes of tobacco and spice. However, this tea tastes very young. The smoke flavor is strong and forward, with hints of bitter tobacco and spiced wood. But the bitterness is still off putting to me. If anything, I would love to see this tea aged maybe ten years down the line. These notes are already appealing to me, and with age to settle the bitterness, it could become a very lovely tea. If it’s still available in a few years, I’ll have to try it again and maybe even cake it.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2011 70th Anniversary Xiaguan | Liquid Proust | Raw Puerh

This tea is coming off of an iron pressed cake with Taiwanese storage. I haven’t had much experience with Taiwanese storage except for some of the teas I’ve tried from LP. So, which one of these flavors is reminiscent of Taiwanese storage? I’m unsure! Immediately, the ripe fruit aroma coming off the wet leaves is very apparent. It smells like over ripened bananas. To me, this scent-note is important for the sweetest sheng. The tea brews clean, a nice clear gold soup. Later brews steep deeper into that gold. Flavor-wise is very smooth and sweet. The fruit flavors are all there, with some hints of honey. Fresh sweet leaves. Some good energy too with longevity. This tea lasted me many more steeps than just the first session. If you enjoy your sweet and fruity sheng puerh, you might enjoy this one. Steep it harder if you crave a bit more bitterness, but it’s a perfect sheng otherwise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Autumn deer 🍂

[apoostrotea]

1985 8592 Broad Leaf Menghai Ripe | Yee on Tea

This one was surprising to me! Of all the teas I’ve tried from Yeeon, I had assumed this would be a favorite. I’m surprised that I did not like this shou as much as their other’s. Aroma is very wet and slightly dank — wet wood smells. Flavor to me was uninteresting… Warm and smooth, yes. But, lands rather flat and not strong. This tea doesn’t brew as dark nor for as long as I want it to. Especially at the price point, I expected a bit more “bang”. There are some positives here; the tea is smooth in the mouth, like oil. It has that warm ripe feeling. Yet, if you want a good shou from Yee on, I’m more likely to recommend the purple mark cake or the best taste shou. Those are far cheaper and (imo) far better. Such a bummer ! But I only bought 10 grams so it’s okay haha.

I’m going to try to be more active here on tumblr, so if you’d like to see some of my art and stuff it’s @apoostrophe for my art side blog !

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2003 CYH Manzhuan Gushu | Raw Puerh

Finally back to drinking tea after some small health issues prevented me since June. Hope it keeps up 👍

Can you believe this tea is almost 20 years old? I cannot. Folks born in 2003 will turn TWENTY this year! That’s crazy. Maybe, this is even a birthday tea for you. The history of this one is a bit confusing — I know it’s originally from TWL, however, I received it secondhand. Thus, storage might vary. It smells nostalgic to me, it’s exactly how I would expect a Yiwu sheng to smell. That sweet raw wood smell. It brings me back to when I first started sipping puerh 3 years ago now, and discovering that distinct note. Aroma here is deceiving; the color of this tea is quite dark! Age has caused this tea to mellow out. It’s delightfully smooth, still very sweet, and has a strong energy. Later steeps get stronger, and hint towards some bitterness. Definitely do not drink this one without food first. It’s great for a long and meditative tea session. Maybe one of the tastier teas I’ve had recently!

I think I’d cake this if it were more available to me. This is the last I have of it!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[apoostrotea]

Best Taste | Ripe Puerh | Yee on Tea

Finally sipping on Yeeon’s number one seller. This tea lives up to its name and description. Definitely cost efficient and great taste; it gets you that traditional stored ripe flavor without hurting your wallet. Comes as a loose leaf, and you can smell the cellar on it even before steeping. Yeeon states it’s a blend of tea cakes and loose maocha. The flavor is deep and complex, lots of basement and smooth dankness. Some menthol notes but it’s very light. Mostly just damp wood and cellar. This is one of those ripes that I go and grab after a meal or with a meal to help with digestion. At this price, it’s certainly a tea worth trying. Although, it’s nothing crazy complex or super interesting. Just a lovely daily drinker.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2001 Yiwu Cluster | Yee on Tea | Raw Puerh

Finally got a new order from Yee on! Trying a good assortment of their teas and they almost always become favorites. This tea is no different. I under-leafed the this tea because Yee on’s stuff is usually expensive. This stuff is around the $1 per gram price range. It’s super smooth. That nice aromatic incense aroma, and sweet deep flavor. Only a little bit of camphor. Nice toasted wood taste with that infamous Yee on incense vibe. This tea steeps dark, which is always a good sign for me when it comes to sheng. Lasted many, steeps even though it was under-leafed. Not too much Qi here. Just a nice and smooth drink. Absolutely would get more of this.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[apoostrotea]

Mengku Rongshi Hao batch 002, 2007 | Raw Puerh

This tea (and probably the next few teas I review) is a gift from a member of the Liquid Proust discord server. Me and a few others are getting to try some samples thanks to the kindness of someone in the community. I recommend anyone join who wants to talk tea. It’s very beginner friendly over there.

Wet leaf immediately gives off a very green aroma, being from 2007 I can tell it has some age to it. I’m not really familiar yet with how different regions influence the taste of puerh, but this tea is allegedly an example of the standard Mengku flavor. If you all have any familiarity or resources on the matter, let me know! Tea is not too dark in color, pretty yellow gold. Very little bitterness on the first steeps; slightly drying mouthfeel. Definitely gave me a bit of the caffeine zoomies. Flavor isn’t anything too interesting or crazy. Has a nice refreshing, almost sweet, taste. A bit herbal and floral. When pushed a little further, the bitterness does come out amongst the flowery flavor. But, nothing crazy complex. I’m curious now what counts as a ���Mengku flavor”… What is the commonly known profile of puerh from that area? To me, this is a simple factory tea with a good bit of age on it.

[apoostrotea]

15 Years Aged Golden Melon Tuo | Yunnan Sourcing | Ripe Puerh

This is a recent favorite of mine. It reminds me of some of my favorite ripes from when I first started drinking tea. It has that nice musky almost fishy smell that some people might hate, but I enjoy. This could easily be a daily drinker for me. The flavor is very earthy, sweet, musky and nostalgic. Very deep, dark and rich. I totally recommend this one for anyone who wants to try an aged ripe. It’s one of my favorite categories of tea, and this is a great representation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★