2001 Chung-Hwa Yi Wu "Jin Yeh Hao"

The spring is finally here! The weather is of typical April, in the morning rain falls like during monsoon and after lunch it’s sunny and warm out there. Two weeks ago with Xi Zhi Hao minibeengs shipment from HouDe I also received a sample of 2001 Chung-Hwa Yi Wu "Jin Yeh Hao". Today is the right time to try it.



The tea is from Yi Wu area, it’s said to be counterpart of 2001 MengHai "Old Tree Tribute Cake - Jin Yeh Hao" using the same mao cha. Guang wrote, that one half of the mao cha was pressed by Menghai, the rest by Meng La Tea Factory. My speculation is, that it’s for the high royalty fees Menghai asks. Similar thing (probably) happened with 2003 Menghai BuLang beeng, check the whole story here.

The tea smells slightly aged with a touch of wet storage in the aroma of dry leaves. The sample I got shows nice leaf structure and stone-molded compactness.

The liquor is clear and turns orange. Smell of the tea reminded me for old books, but the smell merrily turned into incense-like smell – exotic woods and aromatic spices.
The taste followed the smell, sweet, slightly aged with a touch of acidity. After the fifth-sixth infusion the spicy, woody character of liquor gradually turned into sweet, plain fruity taste. This may be grim to those who are used to strong, harsh pu-erhs, but I like it for calm late night tea sessions. Especially when I want to sleep that night.



This tea reminded me of 2004 Yan Ching Hao Yi Wu Cha Wang in means of taste and smell. This is what I believe is the typical Yi Wu mountain taste. The beeng is sold out for long time, but I believe I would buy one or two, if they are available.

In next few days I will try to compare this tea to 2000 Yi Wu Zheng Shan sold by Scott – you will see why.