Crimson Lotus Tea Spring 2015 Kunlu Shan Slumbering Dragon Sheng

Origin: Pu’er
Harvest: Spring 2015
Elevation: 2000m
Tree Age: “As old as the earth itself”



Today I decided to try Crimson Lotus Tea’s Kunlu Shan Slumbering Dragon, another of Crimson Lotus Teas that I am hoping not to fall in love with. This is a rather interesting tea according to the description the trees that were used to make this cake, supposedly the trees are as old as the earth itself so anywhere between 6,000 years and 4.5 billion years and frankly those trees are too young for me to be seen in public with. Crimson Lotus Tea describes this as:
This is a rare puerh. Of all the tea we sell this is the hardest to source and the hardest to pick. There is a village in Kunlu Shan that isn't even on Google maps. Once you're there you need to hike another 3 kilometers into the mountains to get to these trees. The hike is often steep. You gain 500 meters and it takes more than 3 hours to get there. No one there knows how long the trees have been there or anything about their history. When you ask locals the age they simply reply that they are as old as the earth itself.
On the north slope of a steep mountain ridge, surrounded by dense forest, these trees reach to the sky. The trees at 20-40 feet tall literally scrape the ceiling of the forest. Impressive does not begin to describe these ancient beings. The Chinese call these trees '高杆'/gāogān which means "Tall Pole".
These skinny trees often grow in a trio and remain branchless until near the top. Barefoot, only the young and the brave, carefully climb to the top to pick the Spring harvest. There are no ropes, harnesses, or soft landings. It is dangerous work. In an attempt to conserve their strength for the ages these trees each produce precious few buds and new spring growth. A day's harvest for a young eager picker often maxes out around just 2kg. After roasting and sun drying perhaps half a kilo is all they have to show for the days work. It took them 2 weeks to harvest what we bought.
In 2014 we had a chance to buy a small amount of leaf from these special trees. We pressed just ten 100g cakes. Five we sold and five we kept for ourself. Out of all we sourced last year this puerh was the most unique. The flavor is strong, pure, natural, and quite bitter, but with a transcendent chaqi. We made certain to visit Kunlu Shan to get more this year.
We named this puerh "Slumbering Dragon" because of the visual image of these ancient trees growing so peacefully in the mountains. They seem to us like dragons of a previous era in a deep slumber for eons. The strong energy in this tea mirrors the strength of dragons in our active imaginations. 
We present this tea as is. This is unblended, single origin, high altitude, wild tree puerh. It will not taste like a lot of the puerh out there. It is strong and intense with a very pronounced bitterness that can linger. The intensity of bitterness will fade with age. Our 2014 has mellowed quite nicely. The energy in this tea is quite strong, it will sneak up on you. We hope you get a chance to try this amazing and unique tea.
I’ll be honest, this is one of the few teas I actually read the vendor’s description before sampling the tea itself. Normally I try not to let the vendor’s tasting notes or description bias me, but I knew this was an expensive tea and I didn’t want to make a mistake when brewing.


Dry Leaves: I’m always impressed at how much better other people are at breaking up cakes, once again my sample at first looks like maocha, but it is obviously from a cake and someone more skilled with a pick (certainly not from someone who routinely stabs himself while trying to break up a cake). The dry leaves has a slight sweet and fruity aroma.



First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Five Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Camphor
Flavor: Super Bitter, Bitter and Citrus Peel
Tasting Notes: Like always I did three quick five seconds rinses, and used a little more than 5g of loose leaf. I initially thought I was poisoned, I have never had something so bitter and sharp and I liked it; perhaps not enough to drink this often, but this has an amazing sharpness. I had a lot of trouble identifying any flavor because of the lingering bitterness, but I think there was some citrus peel taste, but I am not exactly sure. According to CLT’s description their 2014 has mellowed out quite nicely so I suspect if this is anything like the 2014 it will be nicer in a year.



This was the sharpest bitter tea I have ever had even though the bitterness lingered for an absurdly long period of time, I waited around five minutes or so between steepings for it to go away even though I started chewing on a sprig of mint. As for the aroma it is a little weak I did get something fruity that I could not pin down as well as camphor. Despite the bitterness I enjoyed this tea; this is definitely a puerh person tea.



Second Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: 10 Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Camphor
Flavor: Bitter and Citrus Peel
Tasting Notes: Again I had quite a lot of trouble trying to identify what I was tasting beyond the very sharp bitterness. I almost described this as kuwei and while I can certainly see someone who likes a pleasant bitterness in their shengs to enjoy this tea I don’t feel comfortable in describing it as such because of the lingering aftertaste.



The liquor is getting slightly darker and the used leaves smell wonderfully fruity, but this is definitely ones of those teas meant to be hidden away and forgotten.



Third Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: 15 Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Camphor
Flavor: Bitter and Citrus Peel
Tasting Notes: Again bitter and I had trouble identifying anything beyond that bitterness.




I almost decided against posting this since I had so much trouble with how it tasted, but it has an amazing Cha Qi, I’ll admit I got very tea drunk off the first infusion something that does not happen to me much (perhaps because I tend to drink a lot of cheap young puerhs meant to be drank immediately). I have never had a tea like this before, it does not feel like one of those puerhs that is not drinkable in its current state, but I feel like this is going to get so much better as it ages. I decided to publish my thoughts on this tea because I think it is a good tea, as many of you may know I only write about teas that I enjoy or find interesting on this blog and this Slumbering Dragon fall between both those categories. This tea made me feel like a tea novice again, I loved how Slumbering Dragon made me feel overwhelmed and inexperienced. At the time of writing this Crimson Lotus Tea is selling a 200g cake of this for $120 and it is worth checking out if you have a little extra in your tea budget although this is a very unique puerh so if you do plan on purchasing it come with an open mind.  
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What-Cha Vietnam West Lake Golden Flower Lotus Green Tea

Origin: West Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam
I’ve been looking forward to this tea since What-Cha started selling Vietnamese teas. I absolutely love Lotus scented teas, although I do not often have the chance to drink them, since more often than not I find tea of dubious origin with a foul smelling perfume or dried lotus petals or stems. So I was very excited when I heard Alistair was sourcing a Lotus scented green tea and even more so when I discovered it wasn’t littered with garden waste (of course I had no reason to expect What-Cha to source a tea with filler. Regardless What-Cha describes this as:
An incredible rare tea produced on Hanoi's West Lake possessing a brilliant lotus aroma and taste!
It takes in excess of one thousand lotus flowers to produce a single kilogram lotus green tea! It is this extremely laborious process which accounts for the tea's high price.
The green tea base is specially sourced direct by Hatvala from a farmer in Tan Cuong, Thai Nguyen province.
Dry Leaves: Immediately after opening the bag I am immediately hit with the strong lotus scent. Definitely smells like this is actually scented with real lotus rather than a perfume, it lacks that chemical character you find in many perfumes. It might be a little overwhelming, I have quite a sensitive nose and I felt a little light headed when smelling this. As for the leaves they are mostly dark blue and tightly coiled in vaguely oval shape.



First Steeping
Temperature: 160oF
Brewing Time: Thirty Seconds
Aroma: Lotus
Flavor: Lotus, Floral and Sugarcane
Tasting Notes: I brewed this slightly below What-Cha’s recommended parameters, I intended to start with a full minute steeping, but I was feeling really light headed from the aroma of the liquor. This is incredibly creamy, probably the creamiest tea I have ever tasted.  Other than that it feels more like an oolong than a green tea because of the floral notes.


I got tea drunk off the first steeping. So far I love this, although I can already tell this tea is not for everyone, the floral notes while lovely are a very overwhelming. The leaves and the actual tea itself has a very pungent aroma, as a person with a very sensitive nose and often get headaches around people wearing perfumes and colognes I did start to get a headache while drinking this, although this did not defer me from drinking more.
Second Steeping
Temperature: 165oF
Brewing Time: Forty-Five Seconds
Aroma: Lotus and Orchid
Flavor: Lotus, Floral, Fruity and Sugarcane
Tasting Notes: The aroma of the used leaves and tea has gotten even stronger! And it is even creamier than last time, while the mouthfeel is starting to feel very syrupy. There was a new aroma this time, it smelled a little like orchid, but a more accurate description would be cymbidium. Other than that the individual tastes are pretty much the same as last time, but there are some new fruity notes, definitely on the lighter side of the fruit spectrum.


Still tea drunk and my headache is getting worse. This is quite an interesting tea, while I have had a few lotus scented teas in the past I have not had one like this; the other lotus scented teas in the past I felt I could taste more of the base tea than this. I am not sure if this is good or not, since this feels like a pseudo-oolong and the more I drink the more I realize I am missing the vegetal notes often found in green teas.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 170oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Lotus and Orchid
Flavor: Lotus, Floral, Fruity and Sugarcane
Tasting Notes: Pretty much the same as last time except everything is stronger and it is once again creamier than before. I rather enjoyed this tea even though it is a tad too aromatic for me to comfortably drink as often as I like. I already mentioned my sensitive nose and my disposition to get headaches around strong smells and while I did not particularly enjoyed getting tea drunk off this and a headache at the same time I did drink the entirety of my 25 gram sample and would buy more when What-Cha gets more in. But I’d feel irresponsible if I did not mention how uncomfortable this tea made me while drinking it, even though I did continue on despite that discomfort because I love this tea that much.


While I do love this tea I do wish I could taste more of the tea itself, this is incredibly scented I do not even want to hazard a guess at how many times this tea was scented with lotus, but I do feel the serious flaw of this tea is that the lotus scent masks the underlying flavors and scent of the tea itself. Currently What-cha is selling a five gram sample of this Vietnam West Lake Golden Flower Lotus green tea for $4.95 and I wish I could afford to drink this tea more often! This is definitely not a daily drinker, at a little under a $1 a gram although I do think it is worth checking out if just once. 



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White2Tea 2015 Milk, Cream & Alcohol


So I’ve been sitting on my new White2Teas for a little bit, which surprised me  because of how much I was (and still am) looking forward to trying them, perhaps because my ever growing pile of samples is getting dangerously tall. Nevertheless I decided to start off trying my Milk, Cream & Alcohol since it has the best design and I forgot to buy a sample of Poundcake. I am starting to think I am subconsciously forgetting to purchase all the teas I want so I can justify a second and third purchase soon after receiving the first.  Regardless of my forgetfulness White2Tea describes this as:
Menghai area character. Built to be a quality daily drinker. A blend that has all of the traits of a classic style raw Puer, at a price that anyone can afford. Drink now or store for the long haul.
Like all White2Tea’s description it is short and somewhat lacking for such an interesting tea.



Dry Leaves: The cake is tightly compressed, quite a lot of variety in the leaves. I see an awful lot of white and silvery tips. There is a fruity aroma.



First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling 
Brewing Time: Five Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Pine Needles
Flavor: Vegetal, Tobacco and Pineapple
Tasting Notes: This has an amazing pungent aroma; there is a very strong fruity scent as well as an incredibly clean pine needle smell. This has a nice cha qi, not necessarily strong, but pretty good for such a young sheng. I can certainly see one getting tea drunk off this tea in fact I did, but not until the fifteen or so steeping. Other than that there is a Tobacco taste that I did not really care for, the stronger vegetal notes and slightly weaker pineapple made this worth drinking despite the tobacco taste.



This was quite an interesting first steeping; it has some bitterness that quickly disappears because of the very sweet pineapple notes. At this point I could already tell I love this tea and will buy a couple cakes, perhaps even a tong of it.

Second Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Ten Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Pine Needles       
Flavor: Tobacco, Green Bean, Pineapple and Wood
Tasting Notes: The initial bitterness is a little stronger than the previous infusion, although like the last it is overwhelmed quickly by the sweet pineapple notes. I was a little disappointed to see the Tobacco notes become the strongest and most prominent, nevertheless this is still a very drinkable tea for me as someone who does not care for teas with strong tobacco notes.



The vegetal notes of the last have become green bean-y, which may be a sign that this is the type of sheng that should be drank now rather than aged and judging by the price I feel that is a pretty safe bet, although this is a White2Tea and in my experience I have not had (or read anyone else who thought) that White2Tea’s teas were suitable or benefit from aging.

Third Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Fifteen Seconds
Aroma: Fruity and Pine Needles
Flavor: Tobacco, Green Bean, Pineapple and Wood
Tasting Notes: The aroma is still amazing and is pretty much unchanged from the first infusion. At this point it is hard to decide what is better the aroma of this tea or the taste; right now I’m leaning more towards aroma, but in later infusions the tastes definitely become the star. Thereis not much more that I can say about this tea, in its present state it is a little simple, the kind of tea that I have no trouble drinking often and last longer than many teas I’d consider as daily drinkers.





As I already said I love this tea and will buy more of it, for some reason when I was drinking this I kept thinking of White2Tea’s 2002 White Whale even though it does not taste similar to it. Last time I had the White Whale I was starting to think it was getting a little old for me, the next time I order something from Whtie2Tea I’ll have to pick up another cake and see if I want more of it. Nevertheless the obvious difference between 2015 Milk, Cream, & Alcohol and 2002 White2Tea is that this is nearly two thirds the price of White Whale and twice the size, although this is nowhere as smooth as White Whale and in its current state is much simpler tea. At the time of writing this White2Tea is selling a small 25g sample of this for $2.35 and the whole 200g cake for $17.50 and is definitely worth checking out; because of its modest price I’d recommend buying a cake as a sample.
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M&K's Big Snow Mountain Pearls Sheng 2013

(Tea Provided for Review)
Origin: Daxueshan National Reserve, Yongde County, Yunnan, China
Harvest: Mid April 2013
Cultivar: Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica
I decided to try this first, I am not normally a fan of puerh pearls, but something about it seemed interesting when I was initially browsing M&K’s catalogue. M&K describes this as:
There are two Da Xue Shan (literally "Big Snow Mountains") in China's Lincang Prefecture, one in Mengku County and the other in Yongde County. This tea was picked in the Daxueshan National Reserve at the foothills of the Himalayas, with tea trees growing at altitudes reaching about 2,750 meters (about 9,000 feet). Unlike most Chinese tea, which uses the tea variety sinensis, these Pu-erh pearls were grown with the assamica (large leaf) variety. Tea enthusiasts will not be disappointed with these pearls, which offer a complex flavor and flowery aroma with hints of stone fruit, and allow for many resteepings! We recommend this tea to lovers of raw (sheng) pu-erh as well as green and white teas. 
It’s interesting that M&K recommends this to green tea and white tea drinkers, after sampling this I am not sure if I agree.
Dry Leaves: My sample included two pearls each about 5.6 grams, so a bit smaller than blooming tea, but larger than pearl or rolled tea. It does not have much of a scent, but I a suspect that may be because of how tightly compressed this is. 

First Steeping
Temperature: 200oF
Brewing Time: Five Seconds
Aroma: Floral and Grassy
Flavor: Pear, Vegetal and Floral
Tasting Notes: I started off with three quick rinses with boiling water for five seconds, and till the pearls are tightly compressed. While the early infusions are nice, if you wanted to skip ahead to the really amazing infusions you’d probably have to rinse it for a thirty seconds. It has a rather nice aroma, although it does take quite some time for it to develop (it was not till the seventh or so infusion that the floral nose started to become strong enough to be pleasant), while now it is a little on the weak side. 
There is some bitterness, and slight cha qi, both of which would not defer a new to sheng puerh drinker, but not enough to satisfy someone more experienced with young sheng puerh. Nevertheless this is a very pleasant and easy to enjoy tea so far, the sweet pear and floral notes are hard to hate, while the vegetal taste and grassy aroma may put some off. 

Second Steeping
Temperature: 205oF
Brewing Time: Ten Seconds
Aroma: Floral and Fresh Grass
Flavor: Pear, Nectarine, Vegetal and Floral
Tasting Notes: The bitterness is starting to develop and it has some cha qi that will certainly warm you up, but still a little on the weak side (although I do not think I have ever really felt cha qi in puerh pearls before, but then again I have not had a lot of puerh pearls in the past) 


Other than that describing the aroma is what I have the most trouble with. I feel that the floral scent is the most distinct aroma I can’t exactly describe it, I am sure I have experienced it before, but I can’t quite describe it; as for the grassy notes as I was drinking this tea I kept struggling to describe it, while I am confident it is grassy at times it reminds me of that very fresh grassy scent which can be found in gyokuros (like in this particular steeping) while in others (like the previous it reminds me more of dried grass). 

Third Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Fifteen Seconds
Aroma: Floral and Grassy
Flavor: Pear, Nectarine and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: It still has those sweet fruity tastes, perhaps a little stronger than the previous infusion, but the floral flavor is gone entirely which I am ambivalent about. While I did enjoy the floral flavor I do like the contrast between the pear/nectarine with the vegetal notes more without the floral notes, it feels like a much cleaner tea now. While I do not think the pear or nectarine notes have changed since the last infusion they feel much crisper now. The bitterness is starting to become stronger, not enough for me to describe it as kuwei. I don’t know why, but for some reason this reminds me of menghai sheng.






I enjoyed this sheng. As I mentioned before I don’t drink a lot of puerh pearls and I am not really one who purchases puerhs with the intention to age, I am more of a drink it now type of puerh drinker so I do not feel confident in judging it’s future potential, but it is certainly in a drinkable state right now. While it lacks the complexity of more expensive young shengs I feel it is worth checking out if you like young shengs. At the time of writing this M&K’s Tea Co. sells 50g for $10.49 which feels like a fair price to me. 
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