Yunnan Sourcing LLC - Reviews

[Trioxin]

Sorry I haven't been on much lately everyone. My free time as of late has been devoted to Fallout 3. To make up for it though, I bring you yet another one of my wonderful half-assed reviews. I thought I had a review of the same cake by sal in this section, but I don't seem to see it. Guess he's going to have to write me a new one.

2008 * Wild Tree Raw Pu-erh tea brick of Dehong
As reviewed by Trioxin This is one that I've been wanting to try for a while now. Seems I've actually had a sample for a while now and didn't even realize it. Salsero has sent me so many samples, they've just seemed to pile up. Not that I'm complaining.

First thing I noticed is that it didn't quite look like the picture. The sample I received is basically mulch. I don't think there was an intact leaf in the chunk. So yeah, it clogged the shit out of my Yixing and had to transfer it to the Gaiwan.

Leaf integrity aside, this was a very interesting taste. I can't think of any other pu-erh I've tried that I'd be able to compare it to. First thing I noticed was a strong note of Mango peel followed closely by decomposing grass, black pepper and a touch of smoke. In later infusions, the black pepper and smoke taste faded leaving a nice balance of the mango peel and grass notes. Even though the leaves were mulched, I didn't catch any bitterness in this tea. Maybe a touch of astringency, which in my opinion, complimented the tea nicely. Worth a purchase just for its uniqueness.

[Goose]

2002 Jingmai Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Brick

B&B group buy from YSLLC 3.25/25 g



Flavor – Strong and heady almost scotch like
Aroma- Smoke, old wood and marigold flowers
Mouthfeel – strong/thick
Hui gan – light but lasting
Astringency - perfect
Smoke – powerful tapering off
Dryness- medium
Chaqi- Like wrestling with an alligator
Overall value – very good
Purchase again – I would think so.

I used quite a bit of tea and made very fast infusions in the Gaiwan.

This was the most active and exciting tea I have sampled to date.
The caffeine and Chiqi affected me immediately. I began to sweat, get anxious and restless. The top of my head tingled and my jaw ached. What’s in this stuff anyway?
Later infusions became more domesticated and pleasant, alas, not as exciting.

[thanks]

2008 (801) Menghai "08 Qing" Tuocha 250g
This is a fairly big tuo weighing in at roughly half a pound each. Out of the two teas I'm writing about, this is by far my favorite. Also one of my favorite 08 teas period, for that matter. Deeply rich, thick, oily Menghai deliciousness is what this tuo is full of. Liquor is healthy bright yellow, and light amber when oversteeped. Bittersweet low tobacco, comfortable mouthfeel. Don't let it's tuo status bias your opinion, this is made of some quality Menghai leaf and it shows. Not the cheapest tuo available out there per gram, but this tea beats out some quality beeng offerings of Menghai's own line so all in all it's worth it's price. Virtually no chaqi to speak of, but that's fine. Also no noticeable effect from caffeine which is odd. All in all, this is really good tea. Right up my alley.
2008 (801) Menghai "Da Yi Jia Ji Tuo" 100g
This tea is super weird. After sampling this I'm not entirely sure if I love it, or if it's just "meh." Liquor on this is a healthy solid yellow, a shade lighter than the 08 Qing tuo. The leaf on this is complete mulch. I have tasted a lot of Menghai recipe blends, and believe me when I tell you that this is one of the most chopped up teas I've seen from them. Maybe it was my particular tuo, but it was pretty interesting. The huigan on this is massive! What's the deal here? The tea tastes like it consists of an even combination of Mengsong and Bada, with a dash of Nannuo. It's a very active tea. Not as thick or soupy as the Qing tuo, but still pleasant. Slight sour taste upon swallowing- this might turn some people off as it's quite pronounced. One thing that is interesting about this tea is that there is no unpleasant bitterness to be found whatsoever. There's some good decent ku if oversteeped, but nothing unpleasant when brewed normal. There's just a slight good bitterness compliment that's hard to detect. Very interesting tea.

Basically copy pasted from my blog then edited out the references to a small Haiwan cake I also reviewed so as to make sense. Tea porn can be found on my flickr http://flickr.com/photos/teajournaling/

[Trioxin]

Latest reviews have been added to the front page. Thanks Goose and Thanks. Keep 'em coming.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

thanks, do let us know if you make a final verdict on the Da Yi Jia Ji Tuo I'm planning on picking up a bag of those, awell as the other ones.

[thanks]

thanks, do let us know if you make a final verdict on the Da Yi Jia Ji Tuo I'm planning on picking up a bag of those, awell as the other ones.

Tried it for a third time this evening, and it's pretty "meh." Underwhelming, boring, and bland. Solid dark Menghai mushroom, with just slight bitterness, and fairly one-dimensional. Not really worth it for a bag, but one or two just for curiosities sake. I mean it's big M, so it'll probably age well for all I know. Amazing mouthfeel and huigan though, so that's interesting. Focus on the 08 Qing tuo more IMHO, although your mileage may vary.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

thanks, do let us know if you make a final verdict on the Da Yi Jia Ji Tuo I'm planning on picking up a bag of those, awell as the other ones.

Tried it for a third time this evening, and it's pretty "meh." Underwhelming, boring, and bland. Solid dark Menghai mushroom, with just slight bitterness, and fairly one-dimensional. Not really worth it for a bag, but one or two just for curiosities sake. I mean it's big M, so it'll probably age well for all I know. Amazing mouthfeel and huigan though, so that's interesting. Focus on the 08 Qing tuo more IMHO, although your mileage may vary.

I think i'll pick up just one of those to try then I could unse the extra money for a few other things I wanted anyway. Thanks!

Speaking of tuos, I'm wondering if anyone has tried either the Xiaguan FT "Jia Ji" or the Xiaguan "Hong Yan Yuan", both from 2008. Scott also has these 500g bags.

[Trioxin]

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Between upgrading my home theater and slowly remodeling parts of the house I've let my tea obsession suffer. I have though received a few orders and should be posting a few more drive by reviews over the next week.

2008 Yuan Nian "Blue Mark Iron Cake" Raw Pu-erh
As reviewed by Trioxin For $9.00, I decided what the hell and ordered a couple of these cakes. Considering the price, I wasn't expecting much, but to my surprise, they are rather nice. Very smooth, balanced and easy to drink, yet strong enough to maybe even Satisfy Salsero. Still needs to air out in the humidor before I make final judgment, but I'm confident enough that this will make a fine daily drinker and have already ordered a couple of more.

[shogun89]

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Between upgrading my home theater and slowly remodeling parts of the house I've let my tea obsession suffer. I have though received a few orders and should be posting a few more drive by reviews over the next week.

2008 Yuan Nian "Blue Mark Iron Cake" Raw Pu-erh
As reviewed by Trioxin For $9.00, I decided what the hell and ordered a couple of these cakes. Considering the price, I wasn't expecting much, but to my surprise, they are rather nice. Very smooth, balanced and easy to drink, yet strong enough to maybe even Satisfy Salsero. Still needs to air out in the humidor before I make final judgment, but I'm confident enough that this will make a fine daily drinker and have already ordered a couple of more.

Nice to have you back with us Trioxin. Thank you very much for the review on this cake, been wondering about that one. Added a few to my shopping list.

[hop_goblin]

2002 Jingmai Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Brick

B&B group buy from YSLLC 3.25/25 g



Flavor – Strong and heady almost scotch like
Aroma- Smoke, old wood and marigold flowers
Mouthfeel – strong/thick
Hui gan – light but lasting
Astringency - perfect
Smoke – powerful tapering off
Dryness- medium
Chaqi- Like wrestling with an alligator
Overall value – very good
Purchase again – I would think so.

I used quite a bit of tea and made very fast infusions in the Gaiwan.

This was the most active and exciting tea I have sampled to date.
The caffeine and Chiqi affected me immediately. I began to sweat, get anxious and restless. The top of my head tingled and my jaw ached. What’s in this stuff anyway?
Later infusions became more domesticated and pleasant, alas, not as exciting.

I have a few bricks of this particular CNNP. I must say that you review is certainly on the nose. I am not entirely excited to drink them just yet, but they do have great potential.

[tony shlongini]

If it wouldn't be too much to ask, could everyone please include the price/going rate for the standard size offering of the item?

Eg: 357g, $22.95

Thanks.

[puerhking]

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Between upgrading my home theater and slowly remodeling parts of the house I've let my tea obsession suffer. I have though received a few orders and should be posting a few more drive by reviews over the next week.

2008 Yuan Nian "Blue Mark Iron Cake" Raw Pu-erh
As reviewed by Trioxin For $9.00, I decided what the hell and ordered a couple of these cakes. Considering the price, I wasn't expecting much, but to my surprise, they are rather nice. Very smooth, balanced and easy to drink, yet strong enough to maybe even Satisfy Salsero. Still needs to air out in the humidor before I make final judgment, but I'm confident enough that this will make a fine daily drinker and have already ordered a couple of more.

Thanks for the review I just obtained one of those as well. Good news is always wecome on the pu front. Its my first tiebing after all.

[hop_goblin]

If it wouldn't be too much to ask, could everyone please include the price/going rate for the standard size offering of the item?

Eg: 357g, $22.95

Thanks.

Well, if your are talking about these particular bricks. I believe I paid something in the ballpark of 22USD for 250g. I think YS has sold out of them. Although I do believe Houde has them for sale. However, be aware that the YS reads Gu shu or ancient tree while Houde's doesnt. Nonetheless, they are made by the same factory and same year.

OOPs just checked, Guang is sold out of them as well.

[tony shlongini]

I meant in general, not just for this specific item.

[hop_goblin]

Hey guys, check out Teavana's storage recommendations!

http://www.teavana.com/What-s-New/New-I ... a-Cake.axd