For the 2022 August White2tea Club, we got a yellow tea and a 2007 sheng puer. Both of these teas would have been good to drink in the summer, but here I am drinking them in December.
Chuan Huang from 2022 August White2tea Club
Chuan Huang is a club commissioned Sichuan yellow tea. Yellow tea is uncommon and I can’t find in my posts if there were other yellow teas that appeared in the White2tea Club.
The dry leaf of Chuan Huang has a spring buttercup floral and grass scent. But in a hot gaiwan, this tea smells of nutty marzipan.
To brew gongfu style yellow tea, I used 1 gram of tea per 20ml of vessel size. My water temperature is 90c.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: The initial infusions are sweet toasted almond skin and flesh, buttery, and yellow straw. Chuan Huang is quite cottony thick in texture, oily mouthfeel, and drinks very smoothly.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: By the fourth infusion, Chuan Huang is starting to get astringent to dry the roof of my mouth. The flavor shifts to balsa wood and straw, with a sweet buttercup finish. The final infusion is quite bitter and stewy.
I dislike green and am fairly neutral/not interested in yellow tea. Chuan Huang is easy going, sweet, and a good mindless work drink. I didn’t mind it, especially with the lovely thick texture.
2007 Mengsong Sheng Puer
This tea is the continuation of the region rant from July White2tea Club. The leaf has a dank forest floor scent.
After a rinse, the leaves have a betelnut and forest floor scent. As usual, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml, gongfu steeped in boiling water with a rinse.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: 2007 Mengsong is sweet, bruised, and blackened peaches, wet wood, and fall leaves, with a buttery texture. The aftertaste is my favorite part here as it’s strong and fruity.
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: The meat of the tea! 2007 Mengsong is getting stronger with intense woodsy, forest floor and nuts, with more layers of blackened peaches. This tea is like an old, forgotten peach orchard in the late fall, without the peaches fermenting. Some sips are like bitter sandalwood. The more steeps here, the more it shifts to bitter wood and somewhat medicinal, with a peach aroma.
Eight, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Infusion: 2007 Mengsong is fading in flavor and is mineral woodsy sweet. In the end, the tea settles into amber, bruised peaches, boiled crusty leaves, and soggy wood.
I’m not big into aged puer but the aroma on this 2007 Mengsong was crazy good. The resteep ability is great and each stage of this tea is interesting, flavorful, and enjoyable. I first thought the 2nd bracket of steepings was the best, but the final infusions were excellent too.
