Both of these have long
intact-appearing leaves
and a fair bit of stem. The leaves
smell sweet and earthy, a stronger mushroom odor to the Lao Ban Pen
than the
2007 Yong De.
I
put 2 grams of each into my tiniest gaiwans,
with 1.5 ounces near boiling water. After a flash
rinse, both smell even stronger and more delicious.
First infusion, 205°F/96°C, 10":
YD--sweet anise
LBP--smoky, earthy, sweet
Second infusion, 205°F/96°C, 15":
YD--sweet anise, woody/earthy starting up
LBP--sweet and earthy, woody, bit of anise and smokiness lighter already
Third
infusion, 205°F/96°C, 20":
YD--sweet anise, woody/earthy
LBP--sweet and earthy, woody, bit of anise, smokiness almost gone
Fourth
infusion, 205°F/96°C, 20":
YD--sweet anise, woody/earthy, still the anise is very strong, bit of bitter aftertaste
LBP--earthy, sweet, smoky
Fifth
infusion, 205°F/96°C, 35":
YD--sweet anise, earthy has retreated now, bitter/sweet aftertaste
LBP--sweet and earthy, bit of herbaceous flavor
Sixth
infusion, 205°F/96°C, 60" (stopped to take a picture of
the
leaves):
YD--sweet anise and earthy, rich and strong
LBP--sweet and earthy, deep, warm, rich
Seventh infusion, 205°F/96°C, 1': both
a
little dilute, should have let
them go longer, more sweet water with hints of anise (YD) or earthy
(LBP)
Eighth infusion, 205°F/96°C, 3': oh,
this
is much better, my anise and
earthy flavors are back. Still
delicious, yum. Young sheng stars.
Losing count--10? 11?
still
wonderful, both of them. Troubling
fact: I want to shoot the spent
leaves, lay them out to show the size and pluck, but they're just not
quitting,
now 15, 16 infusions in. It will
be a long night.
1.5 liter later (the kettle was filled
completely when I started), they're not as rich, but still, a little
better
than just sweet water.
Wet leaves are are mix of light brown and
green, but the LBP is more uniformly light green, and the leaves are a
bit
smaller than the YD.