2019 was a very dry year. As a result it was fairly common for tea that year to be a little more intense than previous years. Areas like Hua Zhu Liang Zi, Nan Nuo Shan, Man Xi Liang and some areas of Yiwu that have good natural water resources - natural springs, etc. seemed to fair better than others. After some years of storage many of these teas have done their magic, turning into well balanced teas.

The tea is, of course, similar in style to the other Ban Po teas. Initial aromas range from fruity-honey - something reminded me of the fragrance of stewed apple with cloves in it - to more resinous woody aromas with a hint of petrichor. The tea has a bullish ru kou which by now has been tempered somewhat, so it has a smoothness that the young tea did not. It has an obvious ku-se (bitterness-astringency) that lingers before giving way to sweeter elements. The tang gan is quite smooth, and mellows a little after the first few steeps. The tea has decent sheng jin and hui gan. The hou du is good and the tea has some nice hou yun with some leathery retro-olfactory notes and that same kind of light cooling sensation that the other older Ban Po teas have. The tea has now developed a little 'chen wei'.

Generally the tea is bullish, fulsome but balanced. For those that enjoy the intensity, it can be brewed with quite a heavy hand - a kind of espresso type experience - but where the tea none-the-less maintains its structure and balance.

Tasting Date: 2026/8/10

Unless stated otherwise, all my Puer teas are hand picked, fired and rolled, or occasionally machine rolled. They are sun dried. Cakes are stone pressed.

Please be aware that because raw Puer tea is a 'post-fermented' tea it is in a process of continual change: as it ages, but also from season to season and even day to day, so the description here is a snapshot of the tea's quality and character, which should not differ significantly, but which none-the-less can change.