Puerh Junky Visits: Fujin Green

Puerh Junky Visits: Fujin Green is an update post regarding the ’09 offering from Fujin.  Puerh Junky has issued at least two missives about both this production in particular and the factory in general.   It’s hard to not roll one’s eyes when it comes to the expense of some of these boutique offerings, but so it is.  At the height of summer and humidity-plus storage, the thought occurred “why not dust off the ole PJRS for a serious evaluation.”

Fujin Green prompted a bit of thinking about the seasonality involved with natural storage.  Performance ebbs and flows in accordance with the seasons.  Right now, FG is at its best.  The aura surrounding Fujin factory becomes somewhat understandable upon opening the wrapper: strong waft of fruity and floral notes fill the nostrils.  The Henan storage gives the impression that the production is still young, five-years old at the most.  This youthfulness is evident throughout and there is a particular green note that is, putting it diplomatically, highly unusual in puerhs and certainly puerhs processed through traditional methods.  Fujin productions are processed by Xinghai factory so there’s little cause for suspicion about shiesty processing.

Infusion #1

At this age and given the general conditions, puerhs should have a bit of ferment to them.  This is not the case with the Fujin Green, also highly anomalous.  It fair to guess that it will go through such a stage but is still off by a year or two.  At its current stage in Aug ’22, it is the closest expression to a two-year-old puerh in the collection. . . ostensibly.  One of the features possibly distinguishing it from a young production, however, is that it drinks all the way through.  In other words, it never reaches a raw stage where it bottoms out indicating that it needs more curing time.  This happened in previous sessions.

Brewing

I decided on using 6.5g in my 150ml workhorse zisha pot.  The pot pours quickly and doesn’t clog easily.  Older and more tightly compressed cakes may take as much as eight grams, but that’s rare.  The usual amount is 7g for this pot, but judging from the smell, 7g seemed excessive.  I don’t like overleafing because it smashes the notes.  In retrospect, even 6.5g may have been too much.  Fujin Green overall pushes to the very edge of being too much.  Stunt drinkers, of which there seems no short supply, will definitely delight in drinking this.  I administered no rinse and flash infused each round.

Rating

After three rounds the total was as follows:

• Aroma          13
• Clarity          11
• Sweetness   15
• Viscosity      13
• Astringency  14
• Huigan         15
• Qi                 15

Reflections on Fujin Green

Fujin Green is intense.  It lives up to the reputation of the factory.  Each infusion differs a mite.  The character is certifiably Bulang/Banzhang, with an unapologetic bitterness.  The first infusion releases a high floral aroma, which could be easily associated with Jingmai material.  The taste in the the first infusion begins with citrus at the front of the tongue, then proceeds to vanilla mid tongue before finishing with vetiver.  For those unfamiliar with vetiver, it is a dark resinous essential oil with strong baby powder notes.

Infusion #2

The second infusion is much more intense and complex with prevailing notes of grapefruit seed and vanilla.  The liquor coats the mouth leaving the huigan of citrus, then vanilla, and finally that eau de Lick-a-Stix taste.  Pronounced piercing perfume (not vetiver but much higher) and vegetal green notes make their presence known, both quite hideous by the Puerh Junky’s reckoning.  The citrus fruit sourness and a balanced sweetness, offset those figurative flaws.

Second infusion was totally murky.  Both the first and third infusions were crystal clear. By the second infusion the ferocity of the qi became an issue.  The first pot went strait to the head but the second stirred raucously in the chest.

The citrus vibe continues into the third infusion, with the dreaded dry-sheet note making its presence known in the huigan.  Throughout each session the vaunted houyun resounds.  In other words, it’s throaty.  By this round, I was ready to tap out.  The qi has a character not altogether dissimilar from the BZ Peacock, despite being in totally different classes, FG being Floral Class and BZP being Tobacco Class.

Infusion #3

I also had suspicions about FG being a gut buster, which proved to be true.  I served up infusions 4-6 to a visitor who, drenched in sweat from the power, complained of this, stating that such was her experience with tea most of the time.  It was the first among our many sessions.  Gut-busting adds to the stunt-tea appeal. <<ahem>>

Conclusions

Fujin Green is an intense raw puerh most appropriate for the stunt tea drinker seeking young expression in a puerh well over 10 years old.  The huigan and qi are exceptional, and the sweetness is perfectly balanced in the context of the overall treasure itself.  It’s an outstanding production that lives up to the reputation that the factory projects.

96/105 A