2005 ChangTai "Chen Hong Chang - Yi Wu - Ji Pin" (Yiwu - Premium) Cake 400g Puerh Raw Tea Sheng Cha

This was my first Sheng cake. As such, my review reflects my subjective enjoyment rather than an objective standard for comparison purposes.

An outstanding purchase that has become a daily necessity. Pleasantly sweet apricot top note that tends towards sourness of just-ripe plums. Mellow body underneath reminiscent of vanilla and cream. Noticeable calming effects. Zero bitterness or astringency, but easily brews too strong in first infusions. I prefer steeping 10 seconds or less in first few infusions. Very minor smokiness/ scratchiness at the back of the throat even after rinsing. Lasts around 15 infusions at my desired strength, but the flavour does last a bit beyond that if a weak cup doesn't bother you. This tea is also very versatile. I will frequently brew it grandpa style while on the go at work. It makes for a stronger, mellower brew with plenty of cha qi when brewed this way.

This has easily replaced my favourite oolongs as my new favourite tea. Of course I have no baseline to compare this across other cakes, but I imagine that it is a good value for the price.

I added a cake of this tea to my order simply because it was so inexpensive. At this price I really wasn’t expecting much, but I was shocked to discover how good this tea is. Very clean storage, thick and smooth mouth feel, lots of Yiwu sweetness (especially in later infusions), good stamina, and even some pleasant calming Qi. I tried to find flaws with this tea over the course of 7-8 sessions, and aside from the center of the cake having more broken leaf than the outside, I really couldn’t find any faults. It’s not a life changing tea, but it’s so good good for the price that I ordered a whole tong. I’ll be happy to drink and share this tea with others for the next 20 years or more.

Good tea with solid storage at an excellent price.

I bought a cake of this blindly and also got samples of two other Changtai productions, the 2005 Jinggu and the 2006 Banzhang. While I'm generally a bit disappointed with the quality of these Changtai teas, for which I had high hopes, luckily this is the best one. It's decent, it has the classic Yiwu character, and it's showing some good age. It also has acceptable stamina considerating its obvious young plantation origin. The later steeps are in fact the best, being sweeter and rounder than the initial ones.

I think the main difference between Changtai and the usual big factories like Dayi is that Changtai doesn't chop up the leaves beyond recognition, instead opting for an aesthetic characteristic of many smaller, higher quality productions: intact leaves, loose compression, good quality wrappers etc. The actual quality of the material, however, is more or less similar, although this is probably one of the more reasonable ones.

very nice chicken soup and burnt wood flavor.
Incredible salvation, good feel
strong infusions 10+ steepings