yakar- im drinking the rinse

9 iyar 5781

 

to clarify. this is about 2 pricey teas, which doesn’t necessarily mean it is fancy or even above average. this is my first time drinking an expensive puer. im trying not too let any expectations affect this. i only bought a sample, so if it’s just good and not great, im not gonna feel bad about spending the money.

 

it is from YS who i don’t tend to buy from, but i wanted some decent shou quick so i ordered from their US warehouse and threw on a couple samples.  '

 

fancy sample number 1: 2003 changtai brown label jingu wild material. this cake costs $300, whoah. so how does it taste? this is definitely a good quality tea but is it $300 good? dry clean storage. a little cooling on roof of mouth. taste lingers a lil bit. have to do short steeps or it can be bitter. brews for 12+ rounds. it is smooth, but not thick or luxurious. lots of stimulating energy and a lil expansive which is nice. i prefer teas that are more calming. so yes, it is a good tea but definitely not $300 good. no way. 

 

fancy tea number 2: 2002 custom wild 7542 for $188. it is from 2002 but was stored in Taiwan since 2005. where was it stored before 2005? how long was it stored in Taiwan before moving into YS Amerikan storage? the YS website does not answer these questions. 

 

i have had some 7542’s, not a lot, so it is nice to have other things to compare this to. it has the right amount of smokiness which i like. some sweetness. nice texture. there's more astringency and bitterness than i wish. i like bitterness to balance things out but there isn’t enough sweet or depth to balance the bitter and astringent. it is going for a decent amount of steeps, but the later ones peter out and aren’t very interesting and taste pretty thin to me. it leaves some cooling sensation in the mouth and has some nice returning flavor and throat coating that lingers. there is quite the caffeine oomph for sure. some qi. nothing superb but it’s there. is this a good tea? sure. is it great? nope. i bet i can find similar quality not for cheap, but for cheaper. it tastes like a good 7542, but one that definitely still needs to age. 

 

something important to consider. these are from YS. i historically do not like their aged shengs. even if they were stored in Taiwan, i think they also spent a good chunk in YS's US storage which i presume is very dry. i usually do not like dry. also, these are both 'wild' or 'ye sheng'. this term has gotten confusing in modern using. in the traditional sense, ye sheng/wild, meant camillia sinensis v assamica trees that were uncultivated growing wildly. nowadays, i think because of 'western facing vendors,' the term is used to mean 'non standard varietals' or hybrids of camillia sinensis v assamica with other c. sinensis trees. 

 

i will try more samples of expensive tea but form different vendors to compare so stay tuned for that. (