Well, it's the only one of Jim's tasting kits that doesn't have its own thread, so I guess I'll do the honors. I sprang for this most expensive of the kits (but still pretty cheap for all the tea you get) a while back and have enjoyed it more than the "Year of Green" kit, which was my introduction to puerh.
At the risk of starting this discussion off on a sour note, I'm going to begin with my least favorite of this bunch, simply because I'm drinking it right now. I'm talking about the 2006 Tongxing Hao. My first session with this tea wasn't so good, but I figured I'd give it another try this afternoon. I'm still not impressed.
I don't think it's a bad tea, just not very interesting. I'm brewing it in a gaiwan using a fair amount of leaf and steeping it for about 15s after the initial rinse. It's not a pretty tea--the leaves are olive green and rather broken up with some twigs mixed in. The smell of the wet leaves isn't very strong and doesn't really remind me of anything other than sheng. The liquor is a nice honey color. Sadly, though, there just doesn't seem to be much going on here. On the first steep, I got an unpleasant feeling in the back of my throat, but that seems to have passed with more steeps. It really just seems like slightly sweet colored water.
I'm eager to see if this tea has any champions and if they could tell me what I should be looking for. I am a complete puerh novice, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
May 28th, '08, 19:16
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Ron Gilmour
May 28th, '08, 21:08
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tenuki
I like/own the green city peak but dont' intend to start drinking it for at least another 5+ years (strong bitterness and green still, may age well). please note YS has this cake for 23 bucks now, but shipping from china probably puts it in the same range.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
May 30th, '08, 18:18
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Ron Gilmour
Jul 17th, '08, 22:50
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I finally had a rather abbreviated session with the 2006 Tongxing Hao Puerh Tea Cake tonight. This is based on only one session and rather an incomplete one at that, but I didn't much care for it at first. I found the flavor sweet, light, very little astringency, full mouth feel, very low acidity. It reminded me of flat, warm ginger ale or maybe a yellow tea. Generally, the sweeter a tea seems, the less I am likely to enjoy it.
However, by the third infusion I started seeing a lot of similarity between this sweetness and the sweetness of aged pu. I also started finding aromas, flavors, and types of viscosities that really were getting my attention. Still quite a sweet tea, maybe cloyingly sweet, but there were other more mineral and white fruit flavors coming out as the infusions progressed, even revealing some camphor and smoke in the fifth.
I did gong fu in a pot with 5 gr to 120 ml and kept the first five infusions from 13 seconds to 30 seconds. The longer infusions tended to be pretty rough in the mouth and throat, but it is only a 2006, so that will get better.
While I didn't care for it at first, I am not ready to dismiss this tea yet. In fact, in my limited experience, this is quite a unique flavor/texture profile. I think I could get very comfortable with it, but it is different from what I am used to.
However, by the third infusion I started seeing a lot of similarity between this sweetness and the sweetness of aged pu. I also started finding aromas, flavors, and types of viscosities that really were getting my attention. Still quite a sweet tea, maybe cloyingly sweet, but there were other more mineral and white fruit flavors coming out as the infusions progressed, even revealing some camphor and smoke in the fifth.
I did gong fu in a pot with 5 gr to 120 ml and kept the first five infusions from 13 seconds to 30 seconds. The longer infusions tended to be pretty rough in the mouth and throat, but it is only a 2006, so that will get better.
While I didn't care for it at first, I am not ready to dismiss this tea yet. In fact, in my limited experience, this is quite a unique flavor/texture profile. I think I could get very comfortable with it, but it is different from what I am used to.
Aug 14th, '08, 12:29
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