Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bai Cha Tang 3rd Generation Iron Cake


Amazing. The first smell of the beeng, and smell from my sniffer cup both heightened my anticipation for the brew to come. I was, genuinely amazed. The taste was, so smooth, rich and dense without astringency or bitterness. The aftertaste was quite happy, penetrating every available surface in my mouth and nose.

The liquor consistently brews up a golden color, which can be obtained at least a dozen times when brewed gong fu stlye.

The leaves appear to be very healthy, larger leaves probably grade 6 to arbor size. The beeng is tightly pressed (iron cake), somewhat like a xiaguan. There is no smoke smell from dry or brewed tea, and no broken leaves (until I hack ruthlessly with a pu-erh pick).

For 400 grams, you'll pay 36.50 USD plus shipping. Honestly, for the quality and integrity, this is worth the money. I can say that given the elements, this is a wise choice for aging, though it may not last that long! My kudos to Mr. Ai at Bai Cha Tang, for putting his passion into his work.

Delicious...!

2 comments:

Bret said...

Is your blog exclusively for Puerh? Im just a part time Pu head. I have a pretty good collection going but I dont drink young Puerh, I think the oldest cakes I have are about ten years old and still improving ( I hope)

Ecclenser said...

I think initially it was going to be. I think I might let it reflect my tea collection, including oolong, green and black teas.

I enjoy young pu-erh, but I also would like to let what I have age a bit. I also am in school, so I don't have dough to spend on old tea.

Thanks for the comment.