I do not crave very old tea like this very often, but this calming energy has been quite an experience. The description of the blend says: “It can changes your day.” - I can approve that. It is an 8582 type blend from supposedly the 1980s and 1990s which is ha…

Reordered this tea after three years, just to see how it fares. I remember really enjoying it back then. And yes, for taste alone it’s a no-brainer. There’s a hint of smokiness woven into a mouthwatering, sweet body, with a refreshing, minty throat and a soft,…

This is my first tea from Quanjihao, which according to the vendor, is a family-run processing studio based in Xiangming apparently in the 13th generation of tea makers. And yes, this session tastes like a good example of aged Yiwu tea. The taste is very appro…

Everything is gentle with this tea. There isn’t a lot of dramatic shift as the steeps progress, but it has such a soft, quiet quality that it’s quickly become one of my favourites. Its not hugely complex but a very round cup, - mouthwatering, with an aftertast…

Recently I’ve been drinking quite a few middle-aged sheng samples from Yiwu, most of them around twenty years old. Many of them share a similar character: a woody body with a certain bright zest, woven into a soft sweetness - more or less noticeable. This one…

I revisited this tea today using a Gaiwan - which turned out less bitter than the Hongni recently. This tea has nice aromatics. The fruity sweetness and aromatic nature stood out immediately, with very low bitterness. This combination of fruity and floral note…

There go the last pieces of this lovely tea — definitely one of my favourites. It’s the darkest month of winter up here in the mountains. The sun only clears the ridge for an hour or two each day. Perfect timing for a session on the balcony: just below zero in…

This morning I was craving something bitter, something with a bite to it, and Lao Man E immediately came to mind. I had tasted this tea a few times last year but never really wrote about it. It’s a good example of LME, I find. At first the bitterness is quite…

Quite a unique taste profile, comes close like medicinal engine oil;) I recommend trying it!

This tea is a quiet companion. However much one writes about taste, body feel, energy, or mouthfeel, none of it can fully capture the essence of well-stored, refined old teas. For me, it feels like a sort of communion - a coming together with an old friend, li…