Pure Ancient Trees – Tier 5

better than the (richer, more aromatic) CYH Yiwu Jincha of the same year.
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you account for the aging potential this tea still has without a doubt. Quite deep, complex enough, it's a bargain. I strongly recommend it.
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ut also notes of pine forest groundcover and barnyard. The aroma is rising, the tea has a pleasent aftertaste and a very nice, intense sweetness. Oily moutfhfeel in later infusions. The bitterness is lite and remembers me of grapefruit peel. Very enduring. I highly recommend this tea!
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successive cups, the effect of the tea's Qi built up. It was very centering and grounding. I had cups before meditating and before Qigong sessions and loved the synergy. If asked I wouldn't have said there was sweetness in the taste. But after 4-5 cups, I noticed a smoothness taking over from the initial powerful taste. It left my mouth feeling refreshed. Also the first thing I found I wanted to do after finishing a cup was...make another brew 😉
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e.
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ompanied by musty storage notes. The silver lining in my experience has been a deep, centering qi. Imho as other CYH teas from this era have done this tea for me exemplifies what teas from this area can be…however it is still an acquired taste and it took several sessions for me to understand this tea. Firstly, like many other CYH teas, this one benefits from flash steeping early steeps. The early steeps are unsurprisingly woody. My dad likened the character to the smell of sitting under a willow tree after a thunderstorm. Yep. Also, the soup is thick but not particularly sweet. The qi is pretty immediate and powerful yet refined. If Banzhang qi is a canon, this qi is a silk hammer. After about 6 steeps I start to push the tea a bit longer and sweetness emerges and the woodiness gives way to notes of cherry, not actual cherry but like the cherry esters one finds in particular English Olde Ales. In fact other than it’s relative dryness this tea reminds me of certain vintages of Fullers Vintage Ale…sorry I’m from the Michael Jackson school of beer nerds and although I no longer drink beer I will likely always find a comparison between certain beers and puerh tea as there are so many parallels, probably related to the byproducts created by the fermentation process, the oils contained both in the camellia and hops and the malty character inherent in many teas. Sorry for the long review. The shorter version is if you like woody teas this is a must try. If you dislike strong woodiness and prefer florals , skip this one and try the Yiwu blend.
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