Broom Yiwu

An 06 delight from round 2

It’s high time I gave the masses another review. We still have so many teas to cover from round 2. This was sitting at the top of the tub today and I haven’t had it for a while, so I figured why not.

The 06 broom yiwu is a production from a producer you’ve never heard of and I’ve nicknamed it such because the leaves remind me of a straw broom. Interestingly enough, I posted these first three pictures to my chinese social accounts and it caused quite the stir. “You got ripped off!” “This is a cheap summer tea!” “Producers just put those fancy looking leaves on top of the cake to trick people!” and a fair amount of “You guys don’t know what the hell you’re talking about” and “this is good tea”.

The Broom

So which is it? Maybe they’re both right? I don’t know. What I do know, is that I like this one quite a bit regardless of when it was harvested. If liking large leaf puerh is a sin, then condemn me I guess.

The wet leaves are quite dark, I don’t smell storage. What I do smell are sugars and wood spice? Spicy wood? Perhaps what I’m thinking of is bark. The 1st steep is a lovely, deep and rich color. It’s quite attractive.

Now, from what I remember - this was classified as Guangdong storage. For an 06 - the color is definitely indicative of solid transformation. Thankfully, it doesn’t have the dank Guangdong aroma some of us are familiar with, with heavier storage from that locale. Gentle and subtle through and through on this first steep. It’s almost immediately calming upon first sip. It’s warming. It tastes like thick, sweet water. Salivation and peppermint are already building in the throat.

The 2nd steep color is even more attractive. You know, the fact that no storage is detected in the aroma and taste is telling of how proper this storage is. This was never strong material I don’t think. Storage could very easily overwhelm it. This has not.

The tea is beginning to show its character on steep two. Woody, with root beer spices. The sweet aspect reminds of caramel. Cooling on the exhale. There is not a ton to the dry cup aroma - a light doughy-ness. The huigan is most prominent on breath exhale, - caramel sugars, cooling, perhaps a bit of horchata.

Moving to steep three, Doughy and baking spices upon sip. What I would describe as the classic “tea aftertaste” settles in quickly. I’ve been reminded of a tea and taste while drinking this but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. This steep makes it certain - there is a cherry taste that reminds of love forever paper tong. This tea drinks pretty darn similar to lfpt, it’s just yiwu. That of course means, that this is quite good

Fourth steep. Still gentle through and through. This of course alienates a whole group of drinkers that insist their tea be stout in one way or another. What’s puerh if it isn’t bitter? What’s puerh if it isn’t powerful? What’s puerh if it isn’t big? Well? It’s yiwu. That’s what puerh is that isn’t those things.

This is cozy fall weather tea. It warms the bones of the soul. Calm. It’s a peaceful tea. A trickling stream, not a raging river. The complexities are in the nuances. If you’re a cig smoker or just blasted yourself with a spicy meal then you won’t find them. It requires contemplation. Or, it doesn’t if you don’t desire to look. You just drink and smile. This one makes ya smile.

I quite like it. But then I’m a yiwu fan. This is good yiwu. Perhaps the quintessential yiwu experience. There is nothing off-putting. Nothing that shouldn’t be there. Thick, sweet, slightly woody, some baking spices, cooling. The only surprise is the cherry. But then yibang is supposed to be known for their fruit - so fruit in a yiwu a surprise? Perhaps not.

You can push this tea hard and it will still be nice to you. I don’t think it’s supposed to pushed hard though. I’d think you’d miss the subtleties in this one. Maybe those subtleties would be more noticeable with lighter storage. Regardless, I still think the storage suits this tea. It has treated it well.

So, keep on dranking what you like folks. I happen to like that big leaf yiwu, and I plan to keep on drinking it. Thanks for the visit, and hopefully we’ll see each other sooner than later.

PBR