2020 September White2tea Club is epic. A large number of teas, prepackaged in 8 gram servings, the majority available for purchase. The teas are: 2020 Brown Sugar, Camphornought, Planetary Shark Feed, Prosbloom, as well as a club exclusive Yesheng Gushu Baicha.
2020 Brown Sugar
I actually own the first 2015 Brown Sugar shou puer and never tried it. When I got it, it smelled hella funky so I left it in my shou-pumidor forgotten. Now that I got these 2020 Brown Sugars, I cannot avoid this tea any longer.
In the 2020 September White2tea club is a 10 square x 8 gram pack, but a 200 gram brick is available. The tea has some shou pile funky scent – no fish, of course.
I used a whole square, clocking in at 7.7g, in a ~100ml gaiwan. I did two rinses with boiling water to ease the compression. After the rinses, the leaves have an India ink and fruity scent.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: 2020 Brown Sugar shou puer starts off with a hint of aspirin earthy bitterness, blackstrap molasses vibe, and finally finishing sweet in the back of the throat. The bittersweet swirls around the mouth after drinking and lingers. Interestingly, the texture is coating and sleek. When I bring the cup up to drink I can smell a bit of wet pile funk, but thankfully I do not taste it.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: As Brown Sugar steeps on, it develops a throat punching feel, it is thick in texture and I can feel it carve a path as I drink it. The flavor is still consistently bittersweet, molasses, sweet.
Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Infusion: The bittersweet is starting to fade around the sixth infusion. In place of bitterness are sugar and maple wood while the finish is briney driftwood. What has been throwing me off is this tea isn’t that potent in taste, but the aroma is high and sticky, sometimes it’s like I’m gargling tasting it when I’m just simply sipping.
Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Infusion: 2020 Brown Sugar has hit quite sweet, tasting rock sugar and driftwood, while drinking super smooth. The final infusions were very good, so it was worth milking all the flavor out.
Comments
2020 Brown Sugar Shou Puer is an engaging shou with bittersweet and woodsy notes with a high aroma and thick texture. It resteeps amazingly well too, so it makes for a great shou to drink all day.
2020 Prosbloom
White2tea’s Prosbloom, as well as Camphornought, Planetary Shark Feed, are available as minis or 200 gram cakes.
Prosbloom has a sweet, chocolate earth scent.
After two rinses with a rest in between, the boiling water melted the tight tea ball. The scent of the leaves is sweet earth with a bit of funky.
Prosbloom sips in smooth and earthy sporting a bittersweet dark chocolate flavor with a syrupy finish. Some sips have an abrasive earthy note while other sips are quite bitter like chomping on a semi sweet chocolate chips. I can smell a bit of fermentation while I drink, but it is on the lighter side. Overall, Prosbloom is pretty consistent tasting through the infusions.
After Seven infusions, Prosbloom is getting lighter and sweeter, but still an earthy bittersweet chocolate with a hint of sandalwood. I got eight infusions total.
Comments
2020 Prosbloom is a consistently reliable, easy daily drinker and earthy bittersweet shou. Likely, give this tea more rest time and it will lose the fermentation element. Or you might not notice it, my nose is overly sensitive to that kind of thing.
2020 Planetary Shark Feed
Planetary Shark Feed’s leaf smells bit underripe berries. After two rinses to open the compression, the tea has a tart berry and wood scent.
The flavor is soft to start, tasting of tart berries with a swirling background of sandalwood incense and wood. The texture of this is buttery, and finishes with a creamy aftertaste with more incense flavor.
Planetary Shark Feed slightly shifts by the fourth infusion, getting more woodsy and incense notes. I went in with a generous longer infusion on the fifth and it was straight up strong sandalwood incense in flavor.
The final infusions are mineral sweet and lightly incense, but I had to steep for 15 minutes to get all that flavor out. I got ten infusions.
Comments
2020 Planetary Shark Feed shou puer is a great daily drinker with some sandalwood and fruity flavor, over a creamy texture. I felt this one is ready to drink now vs Prosbloom, it is also smoother and doesn’t have a bitter element. It would be up to personal taste if you want bittersweet or fruit.
I quite enjoyed Planetary Shark Feed with extended infusions, this might be very good grandpa or thermos style.
2020 Camphornought
Camphornought‘s leaf has a zesty wood scent.
This one is the least compressed for me, it fell apart after a single rinse. The steeped leaves smell dark, woodsy, and peaty smoke.
This is a shou that puts hair on your chest – it is burly, dark, bitter, wet wood, and hint of smoke. It is mainly an acidic aspirin lime pith bitter (similar to Lao Man E teas) but the sweet wet wood and forest floor balance it out some. The aftertaste is a hint of smoke.
The third infusion looks like light soy sauce and it continued being very dark for 2-6 infusions. Camphornought continues on the bitter path but slinks in with some funky forest floor. It got a bit petrichor wood and earth here, peat, and smoke. The texture is a bit balmy. I steeped the last infusion, the seventh, for 15 minutes and it didn’t get any more bitter nor dry.
Comments
I think the 2020 Camphornought is going to be a hit. People who love bitter shou, dark peaty, woody, smokey flavor will want this tea in their stash! It is like White2tea’s Lumberslut but harvested a burnt and then rained on forest.
The only weakness is the texture isn’t thick or dense, but it is only $25 for a 200gram cake.
Out of all the small-batch shou here, Camphornought was the best but Brown Sugar was surprisingly a pleasing drink too.
Yesheng Gushu Baicha from 2020 September White2tea Club
As a bonus (or star) from the 2020 September White2tea club is the Yesheng Gushu Baicha white tea.
The leaves smell like gummy bears. I went for my usual white tea gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size and boiling water. I didn’t rinse, I went straight in. The leaves smell of gummy bears as something acidic looming.
Yesheng Gushu Baicha has a unique flavor to it, showing off honey, those baby chewing biscuits, and tulips. Further infusions develop more of the floral notes. After two infusions, Yesheng Gushu Baicha switched to pomelo zest, tulips, a bit of a wild herby character (like the flavors in a ya bao), and cider. The texture is buttery and it has a chest hitting energy to it.
Yesheng Gushu Baicha finished with a wild herb and pine note with a hint of astringency that dries the roof of my mouth. I got seven infusions.
Comments
Yesheng Gushu Baicha is a complex wild white tea. Interesting how Yesheng is in white tea. If you love ya bao, you’ll love this one, but this one is great for a long tea session to unravel all the flavors.
