2010 Xing Hai Raw Beeng Cha

Customer Reviews

Elements Review by Matt

Rating

Smells like rolling tobacco and tastes like earth and smoke. I love this tea. (Posted on 4/5/12)

Om nom nom! May I have some more please? Review by Roderick

Rating

I got this tea a few days ago. The first thing I did was stick my nose right into it and the smell knocked my socks off; it was a gorgeous stableyard smell comprising warm, sweet comforting hay and mellow horse manure smells. The aroma was just perfect and had me so excited that I wanted to dive straight into it then and there. Yes, ok, I’m weird. The horsey smell reminds me of good times and is one I love, and that is what this reminded me of. So, excited as I was, I still took time to carve up part of the beeng and store it for a few days so that it could sort itself out. When I picked it apart, I found that the leaves came away fairly easily and were quite large, despite my hamfistedness. They ranged from dark chocolatey brown to a very pale beige colour, giving the whole beeng a most pleasing visual aesthetic.

I have a cold at the moment so I needed some comfort today. Time to try my new tea. Unfortunately, the state of my nose will probably have affected how I view this tea, and you will need to allow for this in reading the following. I sat down with my trusty 140ml gaiwan, a cup and measured out 4g of tea. The website suggests 3-4g in a small teapot, brewed at 95 degrees for 20 seconds. I did as suggested to get a feel for the tea. The liquor was yellow with a hint of green to it on the first infusion. It became darker with the third and fourth infusions and then became a little paler from infusions eight onwards. I kept the brewing time to 20 seconds for the first half dozen brews and then increased it to 30 seconds for the next few, and so on, increasing it a little every so often.

The brew was sweet with every infusion, ending with a note of astringency and a bittersweet aftertaste. It exuded an aroma of flower meadows in every cup and has turned out to be a fantastic comfort brew. This is one of the few teas where the tasting notes have largely conformed to my own experience of the tea. I shall certainly buy more of this with a view to aging some and drinking the rest. At the current price for it, how can I afford not to? It is firmly on my list of favourite teas now and I am looking forward to experiencing it with all my faculties intact. (Posted on 1/28/12)

taste of the campfire Review by harry

Rating

This tea has got to be my all time favorite, cheap enough for everyday use, and tasty enough for special occasions with friends or by yourself. The simple taste reminds me of the days by the campfire, woody and smoky, similar to that of lapsang souchong. It has amazing staying power, it can be brewed around 20 times when brewing gong-fu style and as infusions progress, the taste becomes slightly sweeter and lighter.
The cake is easy to break up especially with a pu-erh knife like the one's on Jas-etea, the leaves stay whole and the spent leaves are reasonably whole around 3-6cm, there are a few twigs but this cannot escaped.
The colour is quite light for pu-erh tea, summer cornfields with a beautiful hue of amber gold. It has quite a good aroma, again a smell of a beech wood campfire (this can be enhanced with a aroma cup, these can be bought on shanshuiteas.com)

It seasons a yixing teapot beautifully, especially one like the wa dang teapot.

I recommend this tea due to its underated price and beautiful taste. (Posted on 12/26/11)

Surprisingly refreshing Review by Alex

Rating

I would like to recommend this puerh to anyone considering trying this type of tea for the first time. The price can allow new users to experience the wonders of puerh without breaking the bank. For those, like myself, who have sampled a range of puerh, this is perfect as my 'everyday young puerh'.

The aromas consist of a subtle tobacco scent - coupled with a pleasent fruitiness

I'm now on my 6th infusion - I've found the sweetness of this tea has developed well. (Posted on 5/12/11)