Pure Ancient Trees – Tier 5

s. Really astonishing frehness of fragances for 2011 leaves.
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aves pressed to perfection. Easy to like...a lot. A feel-good tea. Definitely one of those reasons to be cheerful.
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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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the bowl, whereas powerful aromas from the pot in the spectrum of passion fruit. Not a hint of structural components (polyphenols) at this early stage of the session: a sweet silkiness that’s still refreshing. Very balanced tea. By the fourth steep I pushed brew times up to around 40 seconds and took the temperature down to around 80C from 90C. That gave the tea shape with a strong point of intensity, a twist of liquorice root (that wonderful balance of acidulous and sweet), and mouth-coating thickness. At this point the tea transformed into impressions, a numbing effect back of palate and throat, and extraordinary persistence lasting an hour. Qi builds on the bridge of the nose, behind the eyes and back of neck. Breathing is clear like mountain air. It’s characteristically very stable once leaves are hydrated and the long steeps keep delivering. The only drawback is that there is a cumulative effect that made it difficult to finish the session - in effect there’s a latent power underpinning this tea that creeps up on you (especially on an empty stomach) and makes you realise it’s something of an iceberg. Most suitable steep times for me I think will be 20-30 seconds for steeps 4-8 to enable a whole session to be completed comfortably. Less in the early steeps for the aromatics, longer for double digit brews. This is the greatest young tea I’ve experienced. That from someone who loves mid aged and mature shengs. Thanks a lot to Paolo for opening my eyes to what elite young tea can offer. A must have experience.
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ld mention is a very singular umami effect that I haven't experienced in any puerh. It's hard to describe. Not the gyokuro kind of umami, of course, it is not the taste, just the effect on the tongue. Very unique, amazing tea.
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ick and sweet with main tasting not of honey due mellon. great session, lasts along time with no suddenly drop off. hope you enjoy.
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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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