China Cha Dao, Douji 2011 Douji "Hong Da Dou" Raw Puerh Tea Cake

China Cha Dao an eBay Chinese Tea store located in Guang Dong, China.

The fifth and sadly last sample from China Cha Dao. This is the most densely packed of the samples. Pulling enough tea off the cake took some effort. The dry leaf is dark and is the most shredded of all the samples. 2g of leaf and near boiling. 10s wash. 45s steep. The wet leaf is dark olive/brown and grassy as was the dry. The liquor in the cup is between a deep rich gold and a copper color.

The first cup is difficult to describe. It’s not overly earthy, grassy. It’s not fishy, bitter, or syrupy. The best I can do is say it is a comfortingly mellow and it makes the sides of my tongue tingle. The first cup is not as complex as most of the others, but I am ok with that this morning, as it is a warm and happy cup. Cup 2, the leaf was spinachy. The brew is still mellow, no tingle, slightly grassy, more complex, or maybe I am just awake now. 3rd cup very slight fishiness. 4th or 5th cup (lost track) developed a bit of a coppery taste. This is the first tea I have experienced the liquid feeling not syrup but thick.

China Cha Dao 2011 Yang Pin Hao Jing Mai Raw Puerh Tea

China Cha Dao an eBay Chinese Tea store located in Guang Dong, China.

This is the fourth of five samples given by China Cha Dao. The dry leaf is long, wiry, and twisted. I noticed some are pretzel shaped. I am amused. The leaf is very dark with some lighter touches. It smells fresh and grassy. Used 2g of tea and below boiling water – same as with the other puerhs except the first. 10 second lightly swirling wash that I poured out.

1st drinking steep – 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of grass, hay, and seaweed. Also catching a bit of earthy dirt. That’s what I picture when I think puerh. I have never noticed smokiness in any of these samples. The first sip is not what I expected at all. It is very light and green. In fact the first cup is too light. I can tell there is real flavor here that just isn’t coming out using my method of brewing.

I decided to increase the steep time on the 2nd cup to 1 minute. The leaf smells strongly of seaweed. The brew in the cup is honey/caramel colored. Sip – ah, there is that musty, rich soil flavor I knew was here. Because I only used 2g it is not overwhelming. The 3rd and 4th cups, also at a minute, are the best yet, very even, mellow, and rich. With the 5th cup a coppery taste and color develops that continues through cups 6 (2min) & 7 (3min). Cup 8 (4 min), the color is very light and clear in the pot. There is still an amazing amount of flavor here. Cup 9 (5min), musty, earthy, sweet. Starting to get weak. Cup 10 (15 min) The copper notes are back but loosing depth. Still good. Time to accept these leaves have given their all. But come on, I got ten, 12oz mugs out of one spoon of leaf!

China Cha Dao 2011 Pure Mengsong Raw Puerh Tea

China Cha Dao an eBay Chinese Tea store located in Guang Dong, China.

This is the third of five samples given by China Cha Dao. This is a green puerh also known as sheng puerh. The dry leaf is beautiful. First impression is this is the longest leaf of any tea I have used to date. It smells fresh and green. The color range of the leaf is from dark green to almost white.

Used my typical western approach. 2g of tea. Water is same temp as I typically use for my greens. Heat the water to just boiling, turn off, wait until the pot grows silent. Seems to work. Did a swirling wash with a few ounces and poured off.

First drinking steep at about 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of fresh hay – a great smell to a country boy and mushrooms – like springtime morels. Yum. I love green puerhs. Now that the leaf has relaxed, I can see that the length is due to the inclusion of stems. The brew is pale yellow-green and very clear. With the first sip I immediately notice that slightly sweet sticky lip feel that I get with other puerhs. This is followed by a spectacular slightly earthy green tea flavor. A bit creamy. Zero bitterness. I did not notice any fishiness. This is a light and mellow but not boring puerh. Halfway through the first cup I can tell you I love this. I could drink this all day long. Oh wait, with multiple steeps I may be able to drink it for two days! Woot!

I had 4 cups of this today and each was very similar to the last. I gave the third cup to a co-worker- traditionally the best cup. He grumbled, “it tastes like sweet dirt” and poured it out. Guess he is entitled to his opinion, even if he is a stupid head.

Day 2. Today I started with a 2 minute steep using boiling water. Why? I have no idea, I just felt like it. This is the best cup yet of a tea I already loved. Apparently I have a soft spot for sheng puerh. The sip is warm, rich, and earthy, not bitter or fishy. The aroma which is a way better experience than it sounds is of hay and clay. I am at once transported from my office in to a sunny field somewhere far away, experience. Life is hard but tea makes it better. Only had time for 3 cups today for a two day total of seven. All smooth and sweet. The last was a beautiful deep golden color.

China Cha Dao 2011 Menghai Dayi 7542 Tea Garden Tea Sampler

China Cha Dao an eBay Chinese Tea store located in Guang Dong, China.

This is the second of five samples given by China Cha Dao. This is a raw sheng puerh. The leaf was a little hard to break off from the sample cake. I don’t have the proper tools for the job. Used about 2g of leaf (1 spoonful). Water heated to less than boiling (no fish eyes). 10 second wash swirling the leaf in the water and poured off. Kind of botched the first steep. I poured the wash in my drinking cup, so I was in a bit of a panic finding another cup. My first steep was maybe 45 seconds. The liquor was pale yellow green and quite clear. The aroma in the pot was a bit scary. It had that puerh smell towards the fishy side. Weird but did not have a bad aroma once poured. Must have left with the wash. The wet leaf is made up of small broken pieces. I don’t think I did this chipping it off the cake. First sip is very light and pleasant. Not at all what I expected. The earthy taste is there but subdued. It became a bit more pronounced as the cup cooled. This is very easy to drink but for my taste lacked the character of the Nan Nuo I’ve tried. I won’t record all my steeps this go around but I did 5 today and I imagine it will go that many more. Each cup today was pretty much the same as the last. Smooth and even.

Update – Day 2. Sadly, the leaves did not survive the night well. The broken pieces of leaf deteriorated into even smaller pieces. I thought this tea would go ten cups but I only got two additional cups out of it – for a two day total of 7 – but today’s cups were weak and bland. My mug is 12oz. So I got 84oz out of the 2g of leaf. Really only 60 of it were proper strength. Still that’s impressive.

China Cha Dao, 2010 Douji Pure Series "Nan Nuo" Raw Puerh Tea Brick

China Cha Dao an eBay Chinese Tea store located in Guang Dong, China.


They say:

Tea Type: Raw Puerh Tea Cake
Origin: Yunnan Province, China
Vintage: 20th April 2010 / Batch 1001
Brand: Yunnan Yiwu Shan Mountain Tea Co., LTD
Weight: 75 grams

Product Detail:
Douji’s Pure Tea Tree Series / Single Mountain
Made with Nan Nuo area tea leaves only, without mixing any other area tea.
Aroma – Superb! Strong and Heavy.
Flavor – Fresh, Sweet and Rich Texture
Soup – Soft, Smooth and Thick

My review:

The is my first review of five samples provided by China Cha Dao. Ok, I am going to do my typical American thing while brewing, but I will compromise on the steeping times. I am using a healthy spoonful of leaf in my French Press and a 12oz mug. The dry cake smells slightly grassy. Did a 10 second rinse with boiling water. The wiry looking dry leaf immediately started coming to life. Let it rest a moment then did my first 30s steep with boiling water. The steeped leaf varies from brown to bright green. The smell of the leaf is rich and earthy. The brew itself doesn’t have a detectable scent. The cup is a light amber color. The sip is thick almost syrupy. There is a heavy earthiness that rises quickly and just as quickly passes. I detect no grassiness and no bitterness in the first cup. I have a cheap cooked version (by another seller) of this tea that I have to mask its’ overwhelming flavor with chocolate mint. This is slightly pungent but I did not feel the need to mask or add anything to this tea. I had to try to push this tea and find out how far it would go. I list the rest of my steeps below.

2nd steep. 30s, boiling water. Now I detect the aroma of spinach in the leaf. The brown is gone – all green now. There is a slight film on top the cup. The flavor is more even, pronounced, and complex. Still very smooth with a heavy dose of earthiness. No grass. No bitterness.

3rd steep. 35s, boiling water. Leaf more vegative smelling. Brew gets a little darker each time but still amber. Best cup yet, but I really can’t explain how it is different from the last except to say it is smoother and fuller. Interesting. Oh, and the caffeine is beginning to make me a bit jittery.

4th steep. 40s, boiling water. I noticed the third steep left some grit on the sides of the press. Next time I do a rinse I need to remember to stir the leaf a bit before pouring it off. This cup is close in taste to the third cup. I am digging this. I just realized it has lost the pungent earthiness of the first couple cups and replaced it with mellow. This is probably what I was noticing in the third cup.

5th steep. 40s, boiling water. Think I need to bump up the steeping time. This is light like the first cup. Still a ton of flavor. Back to earthy but not pungent. Or it could just be the smoked pork I had for lunch cleansed the palette of the salsa taste from last night. Man my wife got it oniony – but sure was good.

6th steep. 50s, boiling water. Never have got a hint of bitterness and nothing that I would consider grassy. Increasing the time helped. The clarity in the press is still very good. I only used about 2g of tea, I am on my 6th cup and this stuff shows no signs of giving up. In fact I think this is the earthiest cup yet and this is a good earthy, not fish tanky. I am impressed. This is probably the last steep of the day. Tomorrow I will start again where I left off. I have to know how far this tea will go.

Day 2. 7th steep. 1m, boiling water. Last night I drained all the liquid that I could, spread the leaf out on the bottom of the press, and covered. I worried how it would survive the night without me. After steeping, the leaf still looks good and smells like veggies. The liquor is clear amber. Waiting for the water to cool is killing me. I need my fix. Please, no interventions. I like the monkey on my back. First sip, aaaahhhh, sweet release. Just as I left you, my precious. Actually, it’s a touch weak. I’ll have to up the steep time! I also notice it still feels syrupy.

8th steep. 2m, boiling water. Remember I am using a 12 oz mug. If I were using a 6oz cup this would be the 13th steep. Increased steep time helped. This is similar to yesterday’s last steep but mellower. Just figured out what that syrupiness reminds me of – ever bought potato chips prepared with fat free Olean? Yeah, its that sticky feeling on your lips.

9th steep. 4m, boiling water. Ok its getting weak again, so I should stop while I am still enjoying it. Almost tempted to go the 10th steep just to get to 120 oz out of 2g of tea leaf. More tea and less steeps might have given a more intense experience but I am really pleased with the results as I have done it.

10th and final steep. 7m, boiling water. Queue fireworks and thunderous applause. I’m stopping, I’m stopping. I have 8g of this left and 4 others to try. Pretty sure a brick of this stuff would last me a lifetime. I am impressed. The last cup still had a lot of good flavor in it but I’m quitting. I’m quitting. O sweet leaf, I miss thee already. Oddly, before steeping I noticed the leaf is back to brown and it has taken on the most unusual flowery scent. Good ending.