2005 Mahei Gushu

Name: 2005 Mahei Gushu
Item: 2005 Mahei Gushu
Rating: 3.5
Author: Tea Log

from The Essence of Tea

Wet Leaf Aroma

fruity-tangy with hints of: raisins, antique store, barnyard, unripe stone fruit

Tasting Notes

Opens sweet with a medium-thick body, slight fruitiness and a hint of brisk freshness. Somewhat malty. A fruity tanginess upfront and throughout the steeps, accompanied by a woody undercurrent and slight fizziness. tasty! An underlying sweetness is present but somewhat hidden beneath the dominant tangy fruit character. Good liquor and mouthfeel. Cleanly stored with no off-putting notes. Barely any bitterness, low astringency. Little development across the steeps, though leaf quality feels solid.

In a Sentence

Lively malty-fruity, cleanly aged.

What it feels like

refreshing and activating. - solid and steady.

Quick

Sheng ★★★ The Essence of Tea

Details

Entry Date

03.03.2026

Country

China

Region

Yiwu, Mahei

Storage

Xishuangbanna

Price EUR/50g

Link

essenceoftea.com

Rating (1-5)

3,5

Properties

Kōu Gǎn i Mouthfeel: texture, density, softness, or dryness.

coherent, silky and elegant.

Huí Gān i Returning sweetness after bitterness, perceived after swallowing.

Solid, lingering in a fruity reverberant way.

Qi (1-5) i The tea’s felt effect on body and mind.

2.5 I did not feel it very strongly, - has a revitalizing character.

Journal

2026-03-03

First I tried this tea in the Gaiwan. The impression was a nice cleanly dry stored character, a sort of fruity sweet maltyness tastewise with some sense of tartness/fizzyness.

In the EoT Hogni Pot quite similar, but the tangy fruity character got even more highlighted to a degree where to my personal liking was to much. > Zini is where this tea shines, bringing out more of the malty backbone, reducing the zestyness.

According to Essence of Tea, this comes from the same ex-policeman collector as their Yiwu and Youle offerings, all stored naturally in Jinghong. It has nicely matured, with good complexity.

For me the highlight its the clean taste and the enlivening feel which shows it has been cared for in production and storage.

Overall: lively, approachable and refreshing, - a solid tea.