14 June 2008

2007 Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan (Spirit of Yiwu)

Another in the Spirit of Yiwu tasting from Puerhshop.

Fat whole leaves on the stem, loosely compressed, uniform throughout the cake, make the leaves of this cake the highest quality of the offerings in the sample set.

2007 Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan - dry leaf

One odd thing about the tea: it does very well in a pot, but gaiwans don't make this tea shine. In a pot, this tea is thick in flavor. In a gaiwan, this tea is thin, despite having the same aroma. I can't place what factor does this, but with many differences between pots and gaiwans, any of them could explain it: differences in heat retention, thickness, porosity, and/or pour time. Either way. In both cases, the aroma coats the nose with the usual straw smell, with finishing spice, maybe cardamom or cinnamon.

2007 Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan - infusion 3In a pot, the Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan offers syrupy texture, flavor of dry grass, and lingering sweet aftertaste. When it cools, rather than being bitter or sour, it becomes salty. The vegetal notes taste sweet, like the way grilled zucchini or eggplant is sweet, kind of gourd-like, and at times buttery. Oddly enough, I found no florals in this tea. It activates the sensors on the hard palate. Lovers of young sheng, like myself, would probably like this tea. Collectors, too, maybe: it tastes like "factory" tea without the bitter and smoke.

The only bad is it's a bit metallic in flavor at times, doesn't brew well in a gaiwan, and is temperature sensitive: anything under a full boil doesn't give the best flavor. But these are all small complaints. Actually, one thing that could be bad is that, while this tea tastes great, it tastes awful after eating something sweet, like botched green tea. Maybe, though, any sheng pu'er would taste that way after eating something sweet, like mixing cranberry and milk.

I really enjoy this tea. I've drunk almost all my sample.

2007 Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan - spent leaf

5 comments:

Salsero said...

I confess I have been sorely tempted by the shincha senchas and oolongs of the world lately and have neglected my puerh tasting kits.

Thanks for inspiring me to dig into Jim's Yiwu Goody Bag and set this Yongpin Hao out for tomorrow.

Another lovely and educational review. Always a treat.

Anonymous said...

FYI

2007 Yongpin Hao Yiwu Zhengshan Cake is from Fall harvest, that explains why little floral scent found.

Interesting to note that some Guanzizai products were made by Yongpin Hao.

Thanks for another great review.

Jim at PuerhShop.com

Bearsbearsbears said...

Interesting to note that some Guanzizai products were made by Yongpin Hao.

Aw. That doesn't inspire confidence. The leaves of the Yongpin Hao did appear better processed. Have you had any older teas from Yongpin Hao? How long have they been in business?

Anonymous said...

Yes, some Guanzizai cakes were made by Yongpib Hao. The latest 2008 Guanzizai Yiwu cake has Yongbin Hao as a co-brand maker as seen at http://www.shopyn.com/Shop/413.html.

On the Yongpin Hao, I got to know it since I asked around in Kunming 'who makes genuine Yiwu tea'? Yongpin Hao's name came up quite a few times.

The brief introduction on Yongbin Hao can be found at http://1greentea.com/node/154

Hope this helps.


Jim at PuerhShop.com

Anonymous said...

When I checked Guanzizai's blog, I was shocked. It looks like all Guanzizai products now are made by Yingpin Hao!

http://blog.sina.com.cn/gzzhl


Jim