Star of the Week: 2014 He Kai Dragon Pearl
The 2014 He Kai Dragon Pearl is in full effect and wins this week’s “Star of the Week” award. Some dragon pearls are packed notoriously tightly; the unfurling takes so much time that the tea diffuses unevenly. This often makes for a weaker potion, lending to an impression that the leaves are weaker than they actually are. This not the case with this He Kai。
I infused it during the “rinse and wake” for maybe a minute and a half. The aroma popped and the liquor was promising. By the first infusion the pearl was possibly 1/3 opened. I gave it 30 well-timed seconds. Yum. Thick, sweet, no bitterness, deep. Excellent quality. The huigan is of green melon, a juicy yet firm honeydew. There are just whispers of veggies that you catch perhaps a minute or two after its been drunk.
The second and third infusions were 10 and five seconds respectively, as the pearl was loose enough for me to open fully with a fiddle or two with the fingers. Maybe I’d use one of my tools if I were working from an yixing pot, as opposed to a gaiwan. I do question whether I’m violating some rules of etiquette by using my hands but heck, I’ve already drunk the rinse, so there’s no going back now anyway.
After about 40min of this, I was full. This is a very satisfying raw puerh. Its sweetness and thickness is immediately gratifying. It possesses minimal bitterness and astringency. It is in the same class of fruitiness and sweetness of the Zhong Cha Fu and Bulang Shengtai, but the leaves are vastly more perfect. The cost of dragon pearls is relatively high. Each pearl is hand rolled after leaves have been carefully selected for this purpose. This not only adds to the aesthetic experience but also demonstrates the measure of artisanal craft that goes into making such an ephemeral pleasure. Given their rare quality, very small quantities of dragon pearls are produced yearly and they tend to sell out quickly because they are the only way that most normal Chinese could possibly afford such a lofty product. Such is the case for this production.
The Puerh Junky has a few on hand if this is an experience you feel you need to avail yourself of. This small maker has taken care to date stamp their product on the wrapper, which possesses dandy dragon seal design in which the characters He Kai are also stamped.
