2018 Puerist Wa Long GuoYouLin: Ethereal… yet strong!

Alright this is the one that started it all… I have had my eyes on this one for a while and after a recommendation here I blind caked a few…

This 2018 Puerist Wa Long GuoYouLin goes for $178.00 for200g cake or $0.89/g which is a bit more expensive than the 2020 Tea Encounter WaLong GuoYouLin which really got the conversation going on this one.  I do like the Tea Encounter Wa Long and, in a general sense most Wa Long I have tried so how could this one be any different…

Dry leaves smell of a deep woody, slightly spicy sweetness.

First infusion has a smooth long candy taste from start to finish.  There is a long deep soft pungent coolness.  Overall a very pure candy like start.  With a bit of a juicy and viscus body.  There is a fruity taste in the mouth minutes later that emerges with an icing sugar sweetness.  This breath taste lasts minutes later.

The second infusion has a medicinal woody onset that is almost licorice it pushes a sweetness into the mouth and deeper into the throat of a candy like taste.  The mouthfeeling is full stickiness going on with a deep pungent throat feeling and long candy breath.  The Qi is really nice in the mind making it feel really still and contemplative.  It makes my thoughts run clear on a particularly crazy day at work. 

The third infusion has a big candy onset with a long finish.  There is some mild pungency in there, deep throat opening over a soft sticky full mouthfeeling.  There are some juicy fruity notes that appear in the aftertaste alongside candy.  There is a long sweet onset and finish with a nice alternating fruitier returning sweetness and almost woody base.  This is very nice stereotypical Yiwu GouYouLin that is pure long candy.  Qi has a calming and focusing with an open chest feeling.

The fourth infusion has a honey layered, fruity, and candy like triple sweet presentation.  There is a low pungency but basically just long layered sweetness that extends on the breath.  There is a tinny nudge of sour and wood kind of foresty taste underneath and a full feeling sticky sand mouthfeeling that stimulates the throat.  The Qi is really easy on the body and makes the chest feel softly opening.  The mouthfeel is really full and engaging and pushes the long sweet layered taste really far throughtout the taste profile and on the breath.  This Wa Long tastes much more like a Man Zhuan Gushu much sweeter and more elegant than my experience with Wa Long thus far and closer to my experience with some other Man Zhuan Gushu.  It would top what I’ve tired from Man Zhuan in the past.

The fifth infusion has a quick moving woody medicinal almost licorice onset with layers of honey, icing sugar and generic fruitiness.  There is a woody forest base and long sweet taste over a stimulating throatfeeling and full mouthcoating.  The long candy extends into the breath.  The Qi is focusing the mind and calming it making it still.  It kind of trances me out like in a meditation.

The sixth infusion is long candy like tastes with a bit of light honey as well.  Long sweet tastes with some woody notes. 

The seventh is again long unimpeded candy finishes which is long in the mouth and breath.  The mouthfeeling is a sticky almost tightness that stimulates the deep throat.  The effect is that saliva pools in the throat.  There is a slight mouth puckering feeling and minutes long candy and icing sugar taste.  It has a deep relaxing effect on the mind and body.

The eighth infusion has a bit of a bitterness and coco developing which pushes out fruity tastes.  The mouthfeel is slightly tight sticky and stimulates the throat and candy and coco breath finish is in the works here.  It’s long and sweet and almost woody.  Minutes later a honey taste fills the mouth penetrating the saliva.

The ninth infusion has a honey like onset taste with mild coco bitter and almost fruit developing. There is a long mild coco that doesn’t out due the candy, honey, but kind of mingles with the woody tastes of this puerh.  The profile feels more Wa Long now in the mid-profile with a bit of mild bitter coco in there.  Qi is nicely focusing.

The 10^th infusion has a woody bitter coco onset with some honey and fruit underneath.  The sweet taste is less than the bitter coco woody forest taste.  The mouthfeeling has changed to a chalky slight tight feeling.  The pungent coolness is also stronger here.

The 11^th infusion has a sunny bitter coco onset with nice smooth pungent coolness with hints of honey and fruit.  The candy finish is much less but still quite long.  The mouthfeeling is a stimulating but light tight chalky.  The aftertaste is developing a coco almost floral edge.  There is lots of depth and complexity here in the mid-session.

Things get terribly busy and I left to leave the tea table and step back in tomorrow…

The next day I do anther steeping and the overnight leaves give off a very fruity taste of grape with faint underlying coco.

I throw the rest into a mug and grandpa steep it for a while…

It gives off an oily vegetal icing sugar sweetness with moderate bitterness but less coco taste and a foresty pungent bitter sweetness.  The throat feeling is deep where a deep pungency lies but there is an overarching icing surgar very sweetness.  There is still a lot of stamina and depth left in these leaves that were mugged at the 13^th steeping.

Overall, this is a really nice GuoyouLin for Wa Long.  I think it is priced really nice for what you get.  It changes quite a bit through the session which keeps you engaged.  It starts off as a very typical very high quality Yiwu type of GuoYouLin- very long candy sweetness uninterrupted in its long elegance with a slightly mood altering very calming and still feeling Qi.  I initially thought this was going to be one of those really typical expensive tasting pure long sweet elegant GuoYouLins.  Then it starts to slowly transform into a deeper and bitterer taste profile without fulling losing its long sweet elegance.  It gradually reveals its power while remaining very relaxing and calm.  Overall, this has a distinct Man Zhuan taste and feel and is a type of puerh I have very little of.  The price is quite good being that it kind of preforms a lot like a more expensive Yiwu GouYouLin initially then starts to reveal its power later.  In this way I think it might be nice to age as oppose to some other more one dementional GuoYouLin.  I still have not tapped into what this puerh does in the late sessions.

Vs 2020 Tea Encounter WaLong GuoYouLin.  The Tea Encounter has a more hazey feeling and downer Qi sensation.  It also has more stability over the infusions as well as more up front cherry sweet and bitterness.  In some ways it is stronger than the 2018 Puerist and more obviously WaLong.  The Puerist has much more elegance and evolves nicely throughout the session.  It also has more going on with the mouth and throat feeling is sweeter Man Zhuan through and through.

Peace

2020 Tea Encounter Wa Long Guoyoulin: A Smoother Wa Long

One of my favorite offerings at Tea Encounter is the 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long which I have a few cakes of.  Last year Tiago offered a 2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long as a follow up to the popular 2015 and this year we have this 2020 Tea Encounter Wa Long Guoyoulin which goes for $161.63 for 250g or $0.65/g.  Thanks to Tiago I received a sample for review that I will share with you in this post…

The dry leaves smell of strong deep rich vibrant cherry and fruits with lingering candy sweetness.

The first infusion has a sweet creamy onset that stretches into a woody creamy sweetness.  The cream has a bit of soapy metallic taste to it.  The mouhfeeling is moderately thick even on the first infusion.  There is a faint suggestion of fruit on the breath over a woody, creamy, mildly bitter taste.

The second infusion has a flat creamy onset that evolves into a woody base.  There are some soapy and metallic tastes underneath.  The mouthfeel is moderately thick and has a powdery texture to it.  There is a mild bitter, milk sweet finish with a breath taste of faint berries.  The throat sensation is faint with a subtle coolness to the throat.  The Qi is starting to relax my mind and has a mild dizzy effect.

The third infusion has a mild bitter milky onset with a wood base taste supporting a flat milk and metallic type finish.  There is a soapy almost restrained floral returning sweetness.  A faint throat sensation skirts a cooling throat and leaves a mild bitter, soapy milk, with faint breath suggestions of berries.  The mouthfeeling is a powdery and slightly tight sensation with a very faint throat simulation.  The Qi continues to sedate and strongly relax.  There is a suppressed faint candy breath even 10 minutes later.

The fourth infusion has a fruity cherry mild bitter onset with a creamy fruity returning sweetness.  There is mild wood underneath.  The fruity finish is dispersed over a powdery tongue coating and has a mild bitter and almost soapy floral nuance with a faint candy breath minutes later.  The Qi is a hazy feeling Qi.

The fifth has a quick juicy fruity burst followed by a flat moderate bitter taste.  There is a fruity cherry taste over a powdery and slight puckering tongue over faint wood base.  Faint throat feeling.  The aftertaste is a creamy fruity berry and metallic taste.  Qi pushes me into a sweat with stronger hazy feeling in the head.

The sixth infusion has a fruity and pill like flat mild bitterness.  There is a dry woody mid profile then returning bitterness with berry/cherry tartness and subtle soapy metallic taste.  The mouthfeel is powdery and throat feel is faint.  The Qi is a relaxing hazy feeling.

The seventh infusion has a flat bitter and cherry onset over a powdery mouthfeeling.  Some dry woody shows up in the mid-profile along with cherry sweetness.  There is a mild faint cooling in the throat which pushes out a cherry and almost milky bitter sweet soapy returning sweetness and aftertaste.  The cherry taste dominates with a mild pill like bitterness.  There is a candy breath taste minutes later.  The throatfeeling feels absent but the mild coolness seems to get down there and hold some candy like sweetness minutes later.

The eighth infusion has a fruity cherry onset with less bitterness here.  There is a creamy tart cherry returning sweetness with dry wood taste underneath.  Minutes later there is a cream sweet candy breath which seems to be getting stronger and more obvious with each infusion.  The mothfeelng is powdery and throat faint but cool.  The Qi is a moderate hazy feeling.  This puerh hasn’t much bodyfeeling to it.

The ninth infusion starts sweet creamy and fruity cherry.  There is a smooth sweet feel to the last two infusions.  The mild woody mid-profile gives way to a returning creamy sweetness with cherry nuance.  The bitterness is very faint and these infusions have a sweetness throughout now.  The mouthfeel is becoming more sticky/powdery now.  The Qi is a moderate haze.

The tenth infusion has a sweet creamy cherry onset with mild flat bitter that turns to wood.  The returning sweetness has a cherry, creamy expanding sweetness in the aftertaste.  The throat starts to open more and there is a coolness residing in there with creamy sweetness and subtle faint candy breath.  The aftertaste is decently long and nicely transforms.  Deeply relaxing.

The 11^th infusion has a subtle fruity and creamy onset sweetness with dry wood underneath.  There is a deep faint cooling in the throat and a candy like long breath finish.  The taste is simple, smooth, with a powdery mouthfeeling and with a long candy finish.  Qi is nicely relaxing at this point.

The 12^th infusion has a mild sweet slight fruity sweetness followed by a very mild flat bitterness.  The sweetness returns after a mild cooling pungency.  The mouthfeeling is chalky.

The 13^th infusion has a bitter and mild sweet creamy fruit start.  The bitterness is stronger here and intermingles with the cool pungent and there is a bitter, slight creamy sweet and subtle candy finish.  The tastes, mouthfeeling, and qi are consistent and steady throughout the session which makes for a bit of a less engaging session.

14^th has a more bitter and bland woody onset with much less sweetness now.  A creamy sweetness returns more in the aftertaste.  Candy taste on edges can’t really push through.  The Qi is making me feel a bit dopey. 

In the 15^th I put to a longer 20sec infusion it pushes out juicy flat mild bitter fruity sweetness with fainter cool throat on a thinning powdery mouthfeeling.  The Qi is making me sleepy and although I think it could be steeped out for a while like this, I need an afternoon push…

I put the rest in a mug and long steep it out and it pushes out substantial bitterness, lesser cherry creamy sweet tart and very subtle candy.

Overall, this 2020 Tea Encounter Wa Long GuoYouLin is very stable throughout the session.  The first half of the session has the bitterness as a key flavor component along with a more cherry sometimes tart cherry fruitiness.  In the second half of the session there is more of a creamy onset sweetness and less bitter.  There is candy breath taste throughout the mid session which is nice.  The mouth and throat feel have unshakeable steadfastness and remain moderate-low chalky in the mouth and deep but not very stimulating in the throat where a faint coolness always seems to navigate.   The Qi is moderate-low and has a hazy feeling in the head at first then in mid-session becomes more relaxing and sedating and in the end of the session I am left feeling sleepy.  Of note is how despite its youth and bitterness it feels very comfortable in the body even as I leafed it quite heavily.  The bitterness here that is common with Wa Long area puerh should give it a leg up with aging.  At $0.65/g it makes more accessible Guoyoulin to those who don’t want to break the bank.

Vs 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long vs 2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long.  I compared these two Zheng Si Long Wa Long also available at Tea Encounter here.  This 2020 Guoyoulin is a very different Wa Long compared two these.  The 2020 Tea Encounter Wa Long Guoyoulin is much more smooth and lacks any astringency or stronger bitterness which the 2019 Zheng Si Long has and the 2015 Zheng Si long likely had in its younth. The 2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long is not really ready to drink as a result.  This 2020 Guoyoulin is not astringent and not harsh on the body so it is a Wa Long that could be consumed fresh.  Overall it has a smoother vibe from its taste, to its odour, to its mouthfeeling, throatfeeling, and Qi than the Zheng Si Long productions while still maintaining its Wa Long character.  I think a more interesting comparison might be to some of the Yunnan Sourcing Brand Wa Long Gushu that Scott has sourced over the years that I still have not tried.

Peace

2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long vs 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long

The 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long ($161.63 for 400g cake or$0.40/g) is one of my favorite of the Zheng Si Long I’ve sampled over the last year or so.  I was excited to try the 2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long complimentary sample (the 400g cake goes for $129.30or $0.32/g).

Dry leaves are a deep dark foresty rubbery deep forest like underlying sweetness.

First infusion has a woody watery onset with underlying icing sugar sweetness. The mouthfeel has a tight mild astringency to it.  The throat almost seems open for things to come.  There are faint ghostly lingering fruits and florals in the far distance.

The second has a creamy sweet woody onset.  The creamy sweetness has a milky richness to it and turns into a stone like sweetness.  A fruity taste expands in the mouth in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is silky and has a faint astringency to it.  The throat has a nice opening where creamy and fruity tastes feel like ghosts in the throat.  The aroma coming from the throat is nice floral, creamy sweet and almost but not quite fruit.

The third infusion has a woody tart that traverses quickly to sweetness that is a bit plum fruity, almost sour, and a bit creamy.  The sweetness pops in the mouth nicely then the aftertaste expands into a floral sweetness.  The mouthfeel is faintly astringent and almost velvety.  The throat opens to a mid-depth.  The Qi starts to feel relaxing in the head.

The fourth infusion starts off sour and slight bitter creamy fruity taste like a plum that is not ripe enough to eat.  There are mild layered woods underneath and a floral quality as well. There are lots of different taste dimensions in here.  The mouthfeel is velvety and almost astringent and the throat feel opens to a nice mid-level from the faint astringency.  There is a mild lingering cotton candy taste minutes later on the breath.

The fifth starts with an increasing tart and bitter nuance.  The mouthfeel is mainly tart, puckering astringency.  It pushes out floral and creamy sweetness and in the aftertaste a faint cotton candy taste.  The astringency pushes the flavours deep into the throat.  I would say floral wildflower and almost honey distinctly lingers there.

The sixth has a plum and green apple fruit onset that is somewhat bitter sour and bitter.  The fruit tastes kind of expand into sour notes.  The qi is somewhat relaxing with a heavy head feeling.

The seventh is a bitter, astringent moderately fruity green apple and plum taste under the stronger tastes.  A strong floral sensibility expands in the aftertaste.  The tastes are interesting and nuanced but cloaked in bitter astringency.  The long sweet floral expansive aftertaste is enjoyable.  Back to back infusions cause the mouthfeel to become pucker.

The eighth infusion starts with a sweet splash with bitter and sour underneath.  There is a sweet creaminess which expands into a floral nuance.  The taste is full and nuanced in the mouth.  The Qi is stuffy in the head, mildly warming, and mildly relaxing.

The ninth infusion starts with an astringent pucker- you have to really space out the infusions to mitigate this, but let’s be honest, a tea like this is for aging.  The sweet almost tropical fruity onset and creamy sweet finish is made complex by a deep floral layering and deeper throat feeling.

The tenth infusion starts creamy sweet tropical splash of quick flavor before astringency and bitter overtake.  The foresty, floral taste layered with creamy and almost candy sweetness juxtaposed with bitter astringency gives this puerh lots of taste depth.  The mouth is very puckered up but not at all throat choking.  The head starts to feel spacy and floating.

The eleventh is a mellow tasting almost sweet fruit but more floral with bitter and astringency underneath. The mouthfeel is a flat tartness.  The sweet floral taste is most obvious here.

The 12^th starts woody, astringent, and bitter with a faint butter floral underneath.  The floral almost creamy sweetness shares space with a dry astringent wood.  The Qi is mellow and a bit warming.

The 13^th has a fruity sweet starfruit onset with a sour and moderate bitter finish.  The taste has very little floral here and is mainly a flat fruit sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is slightly slippery.

The 14^th becomes a bit more woody fruit moderate sourness and bitterness and a subtle candy nuance in the aftertaste.  There is a sour fruity sweet note on the tongue and in the throat the floral taste is less now.  Qi is a moderate/mild heavy headed feeling and relaxing thing. 

The 15^th has a chalky almost creamy mild fruit taste with sour and bitter tastes much less now. The mouthfeeling is slippery.  The 16^th is a bit more bitter and sour but there is mainly just this mild fruity sour taste with a mouthfeel that is becoming increasingly sandy.

I decide to put this one into a long overnight infusion next to the 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long that I conveniently drank the day before…

A bitter very floral taste is left in the broth the next day.  There is an underlying melon fruit sweetness to it.

Left are the 2015 wet leaves and right are the 2019 wet leaves.

This is quite a distant comparison because the 2015 Wa Long underwent 4 years of dry Xishuangbanna storage.  So really it’s at a different stage of aging compared to the ultra young, pressed just a few months ago, 2019.  Also, it should be noted, that I quite like the 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long and purchased 3 cakes last year.  It was the intense Qi sensation (the warmth, the alertness, and the chest sensation and Heart racing) that made this one a worthwhile purchase for me.  This 2019 Zheng Si Long Wa Long has a more heady type of Qi, relaxing, more moderate-mild, and no stronger body sensation.

The interesting thing about this young 2019 Wa Long is the astringent bitterness and reasonably layered complexity of taste and deeper throat sensation (although this sensation isn’t consistent throughout the infusions).  I image the 2015 Wa Long also had this type of astringent bitterness and stronger throat sensation when it was this young but it has aged out at bit into something quite nice.  This is likely the reason that it didn’t sell out early- when it was young, it was probably a bit unpalatable, like this one.  The 2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long is basically for aging into something enjoyable, much like the 2015. 

Peace

2015 Zheng Si Long Wa Long & Productive Qi

When you say “Wa Long” my mind thinks immediately of intensely sweet Yiwu material with basically no bitterness and miles of deliciousness…. Mmmmmm… I wonder if this Wa Long can satisfy my presumption about this growing area?  This Wa Long goes for $156.24 for 400g cake or $0.39/g.

The dry leaves smell of creamy intensely sweet woody Yiwu-ness.  The odour has a fruity cherry character to it as well as a candy like sweet smell…

First delivers an intensely creamy icing sugary sweet fluffy cotton candy intense sweet deliciousness.  There is a long cool faint menthol that hangs out mildly in the background as not to disturb the intensity of the sweetness.  This is intensely and beautifully sweet stuff.

The second infusion at least half of the sweetness has vaporized in its volatility but still there is enough of that to go around.  The very distant wood note, like a rainforest, lingers throughout.  The mouthfeel is light and stimulates the edges of the tongue, it has a tingling feeling to it not at all vacuous.

The third develops some dragon fruit and pear taste as a layer to its intense sweetness.  Very Faint woodiness is almost overlooked completely over draping, very distinct Yiwu sweetness. The Qi is big in the head very weighty and muddling, happy and energizing.  In the body it can be felt in the heart.

The fourth infusion has a fruitier than sweet onset- pear, plum, distant tropical.  There is a slight almost sour/bitter wood taste underneath.  The mouthfeel is thin but slight sticky on the tongue.  It’s more on the tongue than the throat.  The aftertaste is a continuation of sweet fruits.

The fifth almost has a pungent menthol initial taste which swells in the mouth and tongue.  There is a subtle woody, rainforest taste throughout.  It has a sweet bready yeasty finish indicating a few years of more humid storage.

The sixth infusion has a woody, plum, and slightly sour taste to it.  The tongue develops a chalky bitterness to it, which is mild.  The aftertaste is bready, fruity, woody and has a yam note in there as well.  Nice mild menthol finish, more fruitiness trails off.

The seventh has a woody plum and tropical edge taste presenting initially.  The intensity of the first few infusions can’t be found any more but a faint trace in the aftertaste.  What remains are classic Yiwu woody, plumb, foresty tastes.  Slight bitter and sour but very faint.  A sweet bread finish in the mouth.

The eighth has more of a malty woody plumy fruitiness.  The tastes of this tea have some depth to them in the stimulating but mild tongue coating.  The throat only opens mildly to welcome these flavours in.  The Qi is heady, alerting, cloudy.  In the body it races the heart slightly and you can still feel it in the stomach.  It makes for a very productive day…. This is that Qi that makes you want to get stuff done.  It gives you a sort of clarity and focus but also a nice surge of energy especially mental energy.

Ninth is nicely woody, plumb, almost soapy sweetness with a ghostly edge of that intense sweetness almost gone now as it lingers with fruits in the aftertaste.

Tenth has a nice deep mellow fruity woody Yiwu thing going on.  The fruit flavor is complex enough in the mouth.  Slight menthol lingers.  A good Yiwu profile, yummy!

Eleventh and twelfth is steeped with a good 15 seconds longer than flash and much more tropical fruits are pushed out the wood is mellow in the background now. Tropical fruity with a menthol background.

13th & 14th are pushed longer and a woody dryness with fruity edges so very Yiwu.

This tea has such a wonderfully productive Qi to it.  Its effects leaves the mind in a profoundly focused state.  I imagine I could have done a few more steeps out of this one easy but instead I was way way too busy getting stuff done!

Peace