2020 Huazhu Liangzi Mengsong Gushu Sheng Pu'er

2020 Huazhu Liangzi Gushu Sheng Pu'er with mandarin, crab apple jelly, millefiori florals, mineral depth and a silky, syrupy late-session texture.

Tea Profile

Tea Type	Sheng Pu'er (Raw Pu'er 生普洱)
Style	Loose-leaf Sheng / maocha
Origin	Huazhu Liangzi, Mengsong Township, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
Vintage	2020
Harvest	6 April 2020
Material	Yunnan large-leaf Gushu material
Leaf Style	Long, loose maocha with abundant visible trichomes
Brewing Style	Gong Fu or Western

Origin and Character

Huazhu Liangzi lies within Mengsong in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna. This 2020 spring Sheng was harvested on 6 April from Yunnan large-leaf Gushu material and retained as loose maocha rather than compressed into a cake.

The dry leaf is long and visually substantial, with a notable abundance of fine trichomes. Its aroma begins unusually sweet for a Sheng of this age: fruit, honey and florals are joined by pastry, strawberry jam and jam tart. Once wet, the leaf changes direction, bringing shortbread and cake alongside mountain stream, leather, old books, freshly dried linen and camphor.

The liquor develops in clear stages. Early infusions are bright and perfumed, moving through mandarin, tangerine, crêpes Suzette and sherbet boiled sweets before opening into warm meadow air beside a stream, crab apple jelly and mineral notes. A distinctive millefiori flower-water perfume appears through the middle of the session, accompanied by a clean-linen retronasal aroma. From around the seventh infusion, walnut, wet slate and a deeper perfumed quality emerge as the bitterness begins to recede, followed by cooked cream and a green, peppery herbal note reminiscent of rocket.

Texture changes just as noticeably as flavour. The earliest infusions feel almost vaporous, the middle of the session becomes more drying and structured, and the later cups turn increasingly silky. In the final infusions the liquor becomes markedly thicker, sweeter and syrupy, while pronounced hui gan follows the earlier bitterness.

Aroma and Flavour

Aroma	Dry leaf: fruit, honey, florals, pastry, strawberry jam and jam tart. Wet leaf: shortbread, cake, mountain stream, leather, old books, dried linen and camphor.
Liquor	Clear golden-yellow liquor with abundant fine trichomes visible through the session.
Flavour	Mandarin, tangerine and crêpes Suzette develop into sherbet sweets, warm meadow and stream notes, crab apple jelly, minerals and millefiori flower-water perfume. Later infusions bring walnut, wet slate, cooked cream and a rocket-like herbal pepperiness.
Mouthfeel	Vaporous in the opening infusions, increasingly drying through the middle, then silky before becoming thick, sweet and syrupy in the final cups.
Finish	Bitterness resolves into strong returning sweetness and persistent hui gan, with a clean-linen retronasal impression.

✦ The Astraluna Perspective ✦

What impressed me most about this tea was not one particular flavour, but the way its flavour and texture evolved on different timelines. The opening infusions were bright, citrus-led and almost vaporous in texture, with a confectionery sweetness that moved from mandarin and crêpes Suzette into sherbet and crab apple jelly.

Through the middle of the session the tea became more structured. Drying sensation increased, minerals became clearer and the perfume shifted towards millefiori flower water and clean linen. From around the seventh infusion, the bitterness began to relax and the tea moved into walnut, wet slate and deeper perfumed tones.

The later infusions were particularly striking. Rather than simply thinning out, the liquor became silkier and then noticeably thicker, sweeter and almost syrupy, with cooked cream and a green rocket-like pepperiness emerging at the end. The bitterness-to-sweetness transition produced substantial hui gan and gave the session a strong sense of progression rather than simple repetition.

Using 7 g in a 100 ml gaiwan with boiling water, I took this tea through eleven infusions after a rinse, finishing with a five-minute steep. Even then, the leaf appeared capable of another infusion. That endurance, together with the abundant trichomes and the changing texture of the liquor, was one of the most memorable aspects of the session.

Brewing Notes

Method	Leaf	Water	Time
Gong Fu	7 g per 100 ml	100°C	Rinse, then 10 seconds, 12, 15, 20...
Western	3 g per 250 ml	90–95°C	2–3 min

The tested Gong Fu session produced eleven infusions after a rinse, with the final five-minute steep still giving substantial sweetness and texture. The tea appeared capable of continuing further. Shorter early steeps preserve the citrus and confectionery character, while progressively extending the later infusions reveals more mineral, walnut, cream and herbal depth.

Storage

Store in a clean, stable environment away from strong odours, direct light, excess moisture and rapid changes in temperature or humidity. For continued ageing, favour stable conditions rather than artificially high humidity.