2005 Changtai Yichanghao Jing Pin

Changtai is a brand with which I have only little experience. I was pleased to see their tea in the Chinese teashop so that we could become acquainted. Since I like Yiwu so much, why not to start with a tea from there?


Dry leaves smell nutty, with element of ripe fruit and camphor.

The wet leaves smell very good, mostly Yiwu/Yibang (dark fruit, honey, nuts), but with an interesting camphor/minty part (sort of Bingdao thing).


The liquor smells faintly sweet. That is not too surprising, I do not know many highly aromatic Yiwu teas.

In mouth, this tea clearly is from around Yiwu. Actually, if I was to guess the area, I'd say it is Yibang. Contrary to most Yiwu, it is not that fruity, it is more nutty, with honey and some sweet wood in background. The aftertaste faithfully holds to the main taste and progresses well.


In the second brew, there is some nice Yiwuish overripe fruit, the camphor is more pronounced than in the first brew. The aftertaste is less fruity, nutty The overall feeling is very smooth and pleasant. At this stage, I feel that if the tea stays this good, it will be a very nice session.


A surprise though - the tea gets even better! The taste is pleasantly nontrivial, having many well cooperating components. It gradually becomes more and more like honey with nuts (the style is similar to the 2004 Shi Kun Mu Yibang - not really as good, but still very nice).

The activity in mouth is very nice and enjoyable in this tea.


I can not complain about this tea. It is full, rich and makes one feel good. The price of $46 is, in my opinion, a rather good one. Not a steal, but not too much either (given the western supply). Since thechineseshop wisely offers to sell 50g, this tea is quite easily accessible too.