Two weeks ago, I received a massive box full of samples from Teamania for me to try. The box included Japanese green tea, some aged white tea and puerh tea. I wanted to try one of the puerh teas so the 2018 Pasha gushu was in my pot today.
2018 Pasha Gushu
The 2018 Pasha gushu is made with material from tea trees that are up to 300 years old and the leaves were picked in autumn. The trees are located on Pasha mountain and tea master Panda selected the leaves for this tea cake. I didn’t know much about this individual, but they work with him a lot and most of their puerh teas are from him. If you want to know more about tea master Panda, there is an interview with him available on Teamania’s blog.
Don’t know where to buy tea online? I made a list of over 300 online tea shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here
They wanted to create a tea with good Cha Qi, similar to Lao Ban Zhang. Lao Ban Zhang tea is really expensive so they wanted to create a similar tea at a much cheaper price. Pasha is relatively close to Lao Ban Zhang and there should be some similarities between these two regions.
Tea Tasting
- 6g for a LQER Wuhuini teapot
- Water 99°-90°
The leaves of this 2018 Pasha gushu are fairly uniform. It’s mostly olive tints with some beige buds. Something sweet is coming through when smelling the leaves. Smelling the leaves feels like summer.
Infusion 1 (15 sec): the liquor has a light beige colour and it looks thick already. It feels subtle, but this is meant in a good way. It’s a really gentle tea that lets you slowly discover what it has to offer. It’s delicate with a fruity undertone. The aftertaste is more intense than the actual infusion and lasts long.
Infusion 2 (20 sec): Wow! This is really delicious. It feels pure and bright. It starts out with hints of peaches and slowly becomes sweeter towards the finish. There is a bit of a bite as well, but it’s just right. Nothing is too intense as it feels well-balanced.
Infusion 3 (25 sec): again, it feels clean and pure. It’s weird but drinking this tea reminds me of drinking champagne. It’s sweet with a light and slightly sour twist. Difficult to pin down the exact flavours, but it’s a really enjoyable tea nevertheless. The aftertaste lingers for a while.
Infusion 4 (30 sec): the colour is not changing much. It really feels like drinking champagne. There is some fruit, but it’s dominated by a pleasant sourness. ‘Sour’ is not really the right term, but it just tastes good.
Infusion 5 (40 sec): it feels the flavours are fading a bit. However, the aftertaste is still as intense as before. A tiny bit of fruit is still going on as well.
Infusion 6 (50 sec): the colour is lighter now. It feels similar to the previous infusion but the sourness has changed into citrus fruits; more like lemons. Drinking this infusion reminds me of eating lemon meringue pie.
Infusion 7 (long): this was a long infusion and it’s still really good. There is nothing sharp or too fresh going on. Feels good and tastes delicious.
Conclusion
The session started out subtle, but I could already feel the 2018 Pasha Gushu was delicate and pure. Once I tasted the tea, it was as if I was drinking champagne! It had something sweet and fruity, but there was also something that countered this so it didn’t become too sweet or too fruity. It was nicely balanced with a long-lasting aftertaste.
You can buy the 2018 Pasha Gushu over here.
I
