Your favorite 2012 Sheng so far

[debunix]

another half dozen infusions, and I'm still enjoying these, but the essential flavor profiles haven't changed--the more accessible YiWu, the more aggressive Dehong, and the enjoyment of both.

[debunix]

another half dozen infusions, and I'm still enjoying these, but the essential flavor profiles haven't changed--the more accessible YiWu, the more aggressive Dehong, and the enjoyment of both.

[Drax]

another half dozen infusions, and I'm still enjoying these, but the essential flavor profiles haven't changed--the more accessible YiWu, the more aggressive Dehong, and the enjoyment of both.

That's a great comparison of the two, debunix, thank you for sharing! I'm curious to try the YiWu version now...

[TwoDog2]

Prompted by the discussion in this TeaChat topic….

Head to head, 2 grams tea in small porcelain gaiwans

1--2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Yi Wu Purple Tea"

2--2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Ye Sheng Cha" Wild Tree Purple Tea of Dehong

Dry leaf
1--scent of herbs and anise
2--sweat socks, worn daily for PE and not laundered for a year

Quick rinse with 205 degree water, letting sit 5 minutes to hydrate leaves

Flash infusion: pour water in, lid on, pour out
1--sweet, anise, delicate--no hint of sour, no how, no where
2--smoky, but also spicy/herbaceous--there might be a hint of sour there somewhere in the aftertaste--somehow related to the smoky gym sock element, but the overwhelming sense is the smoky and spicy

2nd flash infusions: pour water in, lid on, pour out, less than 10 seconds altogether

1--delicate, anise, sweet, light, could do a little longer infusion
2--still smoky, but now pleasantly smoky, campfire smoky, not gym socks, and still the lovely spicy, with just hints of that maybe sour element



3rd, 4th flash infusion--no significant change

First impression: the YiWu purple is immediately friendlier, milder, while the Dehong is aggressively smoky-young and needs some air time to release that excessive smokiness--just not immediately as approachable as the YiWu. I do like the spicy background flavor A LOT and think this is going to be just lovely after this smoky phase calms. The Dehong may well be the more interesting tea in a few years.

5th infusion now 20-30 seconds
stronger and more pleasing spicy/anise flavor in the YiWu, as expected, YUM!, no sourness of note here; the Dehong is getting sweeter and spicier as the smoky fades a bit. There's a hint of sourness still, perhaps, but less than in the earlier infusions, again leading me to think that was more a feature of the heavy smokiness rather than intrinsic to the tea itself.

And somehow I'm again out of tea and must infuse again…but the kettle is nearly empty and it's late, so I'll post this preliminary report now.

Thanks a lot for this post Debunix - I will throw up my pics and notes as well, for a comparison. I have a sample of the Dehong, but have not yet cracked into it. By the way, I hope none of my comments seemed aggressive or aimed at you, I am more so just curious about our different takes on the tea. Great report!

edit: The first thing that jumped out at me, which I forgot to mention, is that I tend to overload a bit on steepings, with fast pours/long sessions. 10g in a 120ml gaiwan is not uncommon for me, with 5-10 seconds on off pours. I will have to consult my notes when I get home, but I am certain that I loaded the gaiwan quite full. Could be a factor

[debunix]

By the way, I hope none of my comments seemed aggressive or aimed at you, I am more so just curious about our different takes on the tea. Great report!

.....The first thing that jumped out at me, which I forgot to mention, is that I tend to overload a bit on steepings, with fast pours/long sessions. 10g in a 120ml gaiwan is not uncommon for me, with 5-10 seconds on off pours. I will have to consult my notes when I get home, but I am certain that I loaded the gaiwan quite full. Could be a factor

No offense taken. I was just dumbfounded by the description of sourness when I remembered such a different experience, and I had to wonder if there was something I hadn't paid attention to or would simply have described differently. And I did find an element that could have been your sourness, that I would not have noted without your making me more aware through this tasting--just in the Dehong, not the YiWu.

[shah82]

You know, this could all just be dumb luck, in that TwoDog got a bad piece of the bing. There were areas of my (now consumed) 250g YS Yongde Big Snow Mountain that were smokey dust fragments, and not very good at all.

[Charlotte_J]

You know, this could all just be dumb luck, in that TwoDog got a bad piece of the bing. There were areas of my (now consumed) 250g YS Yongde Big Snow Mountain that were smokey dust fragments, and not very good at all.

This is a good point!! 25 grams of one cake is really not much - tea is not homogeneous!!

I have had some cakes with variation before too

[bagua7]

Any other YS cakes that you liked so far?

[Istari]

Yunnan Sourcing posted this thread on Twitter. Teachat should get a Twitter account.

[Drax]

Okay, okay, so it's no 2012, but Scott posted some extra 2009 Guafengzhai over the weekend.

[tst]

Okay, okay, so it's no 2012, but Scott posted some extra 2009 Guafengzhai over the weekend.

Saw this yesterday. Seems a bit pricey to me, but I can't say I've ever tried this tea.

[TwoDog2]

Okay, okay, so it's no 2012, but Scott posted some extra 2009 Guafengzhai over the weekend.

Saw this yesterday. Seems a bit pricey to me, but I can't say I've ever tried this tea.

That's not a bad price for GFZ from 2009, especially if the quality is good. I have never had it though, anyone here sampled it?

[TwoDog2]

To interested parties, here is my write up of the Yi Wu purple that Debunix and I were talking about earlier in this thread

[apache]

Okay, okay, so it's no 2012, but Scott posted some extra 2009 Guafengzhai over the weekend.

Saw this yesterday. Seems a bit pricey to me, but I can't say I've ever tried this tea.

That's not a bad price for GFZ from 2009, especially if the quality is good. I have never had it though, anyone here sampled it?

I still have 2/3 of a cake left of this. It's o.k. (sorry, not much of a taste note!) but I think YS XiKong 2010 is even more interesting. I haven't tried 2011 & 2012 versions yet, so I don't know how these would compare with GFZ 2009.

[TwoDog2]

I still have 2/3 of a cake left of this. It's o.k. (sorry, not much of a taste note!) but I think YS XiKong 2010 is even more interesting. I haven't tried 2011 & 2012 versions yet, so I don't know how these would compare with GFZ 2009.

I have not tried the 2010 YS Xikong, but have some of the more recent YS Xikong's. I will post info after I try them. I had one session with the spring 2012, and remember liking it