2022 Xiaguan “Te Ji” Raw Tuo
Another new tea from Xiaguan Tea Factory but this time we’re doing a Raw Puerh. This 2022 production is Xiaguan’s “Te Ji’ grade Puerh which is a superior grade, second only to their Gold Ribbon which I may blog about later. These little 100g tuo are very inexpensive and prove that good tea doesn’t have to be pricey.
The tuo is very thankfully medium compressed and didn’t take a lot of force to break it unlike other tuo I’ve have in the past. This is actually one of the reasons that I tend to avoid tuo Puerh all together, as they are already awkward to break, and being tightly pressed makes it worse, but not in this case.
The dry leave has an obvious vegetal note backed by a light smokiness and a clear upfront aroma of fennel seeds. The smell almost reminded me of seasoned bbq vegetables. Very umami. However it did also has a sweeter finish that was almost juicy if that makes any sense. The smokiness is prominent at first on the wet leaf, but fades as the leaves cool. It has a slightly sweet acidic smell like cherry tomatoes, and a fruity juiciness of stone fruit, mainly apricot. To finish it has light grassy and woody notes.
The tea is very robust without being overpowering. An lubricating, oily mouthfeel but very smooth and clean. Umami flavor with tastes of fennel, steamed veggies and a touch of smokiness, quite similar to the scent of the dry leaf. The next few infusions were similar but became more juicy wit a cheek puckering feel, with the fennel and smoke fading more with each run until it became a balanced, mouthwatering soup.
These tuo come with a very small price for the flavor and experience they carry with them. These for me are right up there with the 2017 Menghai V93′s, meaning a full bag is needed for long term storage.
