2017 Dayi Xuanyuan Hao Raw Puerh Cake

This product ships directly from the teashop Taishunhe in Taiwan.

Multidimensional Analysis of the Sensory Experience

Dry Tea Appearance: The tea is sprinkled with silver hao (fine hairs/buds); the tea strips are fat, sturdy, dark, and moist, with an oily luster faintly appearing on the cake surface. The tightness follows the characteristics of "Masterpiece" grade teas (Hao Ji Cha), being slightly loose on the periphery and firm in the inner core.

Liquor Color and Aroma:

• Initial Steeps (1-3): The liquor color is a bright, translucent golden yellow. The cold cup hangs with a floral honey sweet fragrance, accompanied by a shanye qingqi (mountain wild clean energy).
• Middle Steeps (4-8): The liquor turns orange-yellow. The unique kudi (bitter base/foundation) of Bulang Mountain erupts, instantly transforming into a rock sugar sweetness. The houyun (throat rhyme/aftertaste) is deep.
• Ending Steeps (After 8): Honey sweetness dominates. The tail water is continuous and sweet like sugarcane juice, with a lasting lianggan (cooling sensation) in the throat.

Mouthfeel and Body Sensation (Tigan):

• Flavor Structure: Bitterness and sweetness are intertwined like a blazing flame (the bitterness is assertive, the sweetness is fervent). The fullness is high, and shengjin (producing saliva/fluids) on the surface of the tongue is like a gushing spring.
• Texture Performance: The mouthfeel of the liquor is soft yet resilient and powerful. It leaves a silky smoothness like cosmetic powder when passing through the throat. The chaqi (tea energy/vitality) pierces directly through to the dantian (lower abdomen/core).
• Aftertaste Characteristics: The houyun (throat rhyme) is like the low humming of wind through pine trees; the mouth still feels moist and sweet even after 30 minutes.

Comprehensive Tea Review:

1. This is a typical Bulang Big Tree tea style. After 7-8 years of aging, it has transformed to produce a unique aroma that some experts call lanxiang (orchid fragrance), which is especially common in high-end Bulang blends of a certain age.
2. The front end is intense and full, with a strong huigan (returning sweetness) and a solid liquor quality with obvious impact. The middle section transitions naturally to honey sweetness, and the tea power is long-lasting. Although it gradually lightens in the later stages, the pectin and honey-sweet sensations remain prominent with good endurance, reflecting the foundation of using first-spring big tree material.

Conclusion:

The "Xuanyuan Hao" is like a double-edged sword; its extreme craftsmanship achieves the pinnacle of Puerh aesthetics, yet the involvement of capital has also led to a distortion of its value. It is undeniable that it has become a key to decoding the rise and fall of contemporary Puerh: in a flashy market, this tea product, which carries a totem of civilization, will eventually either return to the act of drinking or remain drowned in waves of speculation. Only time will tell...

~Taishunhe

Chinese Characters:

1701大益軒轅號