Today’s tea is Denong Tea’s 2018 Gu Yun Sheng puer.
I don’t have much information on this puer other than this is a Menghai tea grown in Denong’s tea gardens.
“2018 Gu Yun Raw. Made from ancient arbor material grown in our own tea gardens in Menghai, this tea’s taste satisfies those who are well acquainted with Pu-erh.”
During the PDX Tea Festival I asked Jeffrey McIntosh his TLDR picks for Denong Tea‘s 2018 expensive line, he said the Nannou was good (but out of my price range) and his other pick is the Gu Yun. He said it is a lovely tea, though priced a little less because it’s their own tea garden. That said, I was able to taste the first steep, then I bought the cake for around $53. I am pretty sure I saw it on the site for the same price. I check the site today, and it’s now a $75 tea for 100 gram cake. Sorry all, it must have been an introductory price? Anyway, let’s drink this.
Leaf and Steeping Method
I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water.
The hot leaf smells like cream, sticky rice, sweet, floral, and stone fruit. Not a lick of pungency, and a nice sweetness to make my mouth water over just the scent.
Tasting of Denong Tea’s 2018 Gu Yun Sheng Puer
First and Second Infusion: Oh, what the hell, let me cry into a pillow as this tea is expensive and good. It sips in and all I feel is my body reacting. This sheng puer has an immediate sinking and hugs feeling. I can feel this tea hit my stomach and try and knock me out.
The taste is soft and sweet. It has an interesting gentle touch of savory mineral, salt, and butter, but with a contrast of floral leaning orchids. The texture is thick, slick, and meaty. The tea is complexly delicate but with a boss texture. I also get a crazy salivation after each sip.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: The floral has taken over, with a soft bitterness, it has drinking incense of an effect of wafting floral taste. This tea got me relaxed and numb. It already has a pleasant temple massaging feel along with being swaddled into voluminous blankets. Wheel me into surgery guys, I am ready. The aftertaste is strong floral breath and massive salivation. I starting to think this is the lobotomy tea.
Sixth Infusion: The Gu Yun is finally showing its youth and tasting that stewy bitterness. The thickness of the tea is still high, laminating a stomach coating so I don’t feel affected by gut rot. Oh, I didn’t have breakfast or lunch before tackling this tea, so this could have been a recipe for disaster.
The aftertaste is looooong floral. I know this as I’m tea drunk and currently trolling people online about teapot spouts that look like ballsacks.
Seventh and Eighth Infusion: That 6th steep was a weird awkward phase. The 2018 Gu Yun lost the stewy taste and is clinically clean, squeaky mineral and spring water flavor. It is thinned out in texture so it’s not drinking a stick of butter thick but still feels lip slippery. The aftertaste is failing, being a savory salted butter with a bit of floral.
Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Infusion: Nope, I stewed it again and this tea is done. It is bitter, teeth drying, and now my gut is punching back and wants carbs. The flavor is a bitter vegetal stew with a soft floral aftertaste but with more bitter on top.
Twelfth and Thirteenth Infusion: I do not know why I am still drinking this puer as it’s just bitter. 2018 Gu Yun starts with a sweet mineral taste, then reapplies the goose-is-cooked young puer flavor. I am feeling great though. I could go for a run down the street and chase cats. Hoot yeah, let’s bag some cats.
Comments
Denong Tea’s 2018 Gu Yun is a complex floral leaning puer with a heavy thick body, savory elements, and excellently long floral aftertaste. It does stew up easily, but it does run an incredible thick body you could steep a bit lower temperature to do some damage control, yet enjoy the body still. This tea has a crazy tea energy mix of knock out and logroll down a hill crazy, but certainly is a do not operate machinery after a session kind of tea. I quite enjoyed this puer and was happy I purchased it.
The 2018 Gu Yun priced is high. $53 for 100 gram cake was a deal for the quality, but $75 is ouch especially without being able to sample it first, nor samples available. Denong Tea’s puer has jumped in price for 2018 and only have a couple of lower-priced teas (2018 Cherishing Destiny sheng & shou) with a large number in the $75-$210 range.
