Tea Side’s 2013 Unicorn is a sheng puerh-style tea made from old growth trees from Thailand. I should note (as I have in the past) that as the material doesn’t come from Yunnan this tea can’t technically be called puerh, but I have had some wonderful puerh style teas in the past and love that…
Fangmingyuan 2008 Nannuo Sheng Puerh – February 2020 Review
A sample of Fangmingyuan’s 2008 Nannuo came to me as a free sample last year from Tiago over at Tea Encounter. I hadn’t heard of Fangmingyuan before checking out the Tea Encounter’s site, but I have been very impressed with the couple of teas I have tried from them so far. Initial Impressions The dry…
Bitterleaf Teas Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good Sheng Puerh – January 2020 Review
Alright, time for another check in on Bitterleaf Teas’ 2019 Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good! This is my ninth write-up on this tea, so if you’d like to read my past reviews you can do so here, otherwise lets just get to it! Breaking the Cake As expected from past sessions, the dry cake doesn’t smell…
Yunnan Sourcing 2002 Jiang Cheng “Ye Sheng Gu Cha” Sheng Puerh – January 2020 Review
When I started getting into tea I remember laughing when I saw people say “Just found this in my pumidor, bought five years ago then totally forgot I had it!” Well… I’m starting to understand. I’m pushing 150 samples and cakes for sheng alone now which isn’t as hectic as many others out there, but…
Crimson Lotus Tea 2019 Low Rider Sheng Puerh – December 2019 Early Look
Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2019 Low Rider is another new sheng puerh blend for 2019, made with the intent of being unique and in Crimson Lotus’ own style. Their description says the tea should be easy going, smooth, crisp, clean with balanced astringency and not much in terms of bitterness. As usual, Crimson Lotus doesn’t give…
Bitterleaf Teas 2019 Long Live The Queen Sheng Puerh – January 2020 Review
It feels like forever since my last post, but I’m back! If you don’t follow me on Instagram, I had a terrible flu for while that made it impossible to critically drink any tea. I’m happy to say I’m feeling much better now and have been itching to get back to it! Today I am…
Bitterleaf Teas Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good Sheng Puerh – December 2019 Review
Time for my last check in on Bitterleaf Teas’ Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good of the decade! If you’re a regular, you know the drill here. If you’re finding this for the first time, I have been doing monthly updates on this cake since it showed up at my door, and you can check on the…
Crimson Lotus Tea 2019 Rum Barrel Shou Puerh – December 2019 Review
Have you ever thought to yourself “hmm… I wonder what would happen if I took some shou and aged it in rum cask?” No? Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about it because Glen and Lamu over at Crimson Lotus Tea have done it for you! Their latest batch of Rum Barrel Shou is something…
Yuanjiutang 2003 Ban Zhang Sheng Puerh – December 2019 Review
Yuanjiutang’s 2003 Ban Zhang is a sheng puerh made from material that’s… well… probably not from Ban Zhang. This tea came to me from Tea Encounter, and on their site they make it clear that they themselves are not verifying or even claiming what the origin of these tea leaves are, and the Ban Zhang…
Dayi 2006 602 8582 Sheng Puerh – December 2019 Review
Continuing on with trying to get into factory puerhs, I wanted to try a couple of the popular Dayi recipes with a bit of age, so I ordered a few samples from King Tea Mall from 2006 and 2007. Based on descriptions I’ve read before, I think the 8582 will be most up my alley,…