Bi Yun Hao (BYH) 2006 Manzhuan

Brandon Kendall

12 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

Bi Yun Hao (BYH) 2006 Manzhuan

Context:

Sample Mountain again,

Article coming soon

Been really enjoying Bi Yun Hao (BYH), assuming this one will be up there too.

Parameters:

Grams: ~5g
Vessel: 2000-2010's Modern Shantou Pigeon Spout Pot, 120ml
Water: Tea Curious Original Recipe

Visuals:

Sorry, no pics for this one. Just google a BYH cake, it's pretty.

*Nice honey color for a nice honeyed taste as well - Bi Yun Hao (BYH) 2006 Manzhuan*

Dry Heat:

There's like a deep, rich honey in there that's not a clover. I asked Rachel what it smelled like cause I found it deep and unique for a sweetness and she said it smelled "a bit like figs and maybe one of the tobaccos you've had me smell".

That's totally spot on...like a VaPer (Virginia-Perique blend) - figgy + tobacco + honey.

Wet Heat:

Yeah...maybe some figgy, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye flake in that with a touch of that black cavendish aroma. Maybe the Twist flake actually...the fig is more than the cav.

Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake pipe tobacco - figgy, VaPer, Virgina-Perique — *Doesn't that just LOOK like it smells so good it makes you want to pick another expensive hobby?*

For anyone that doesn't understand that, just hone in on fig. Add a complement of a lighter, hay forward, sweet tobacco. Finish with a deeper honey than your standard, add a smidge of age to it. You're about there.

Steeps:

Ooh, that's quite nice for a watery first steep. You know, in China, sometimes they pitch the rinse and the first steep cause it's just...meh. This is boring all things considered, it's a first steep, but that's a really nice taste. Sweet. Honey and hay.

I'm just gonna level with you: this is an uneventful tea that is one dimensional and doesn't change over the course of the session.

That said: It is incredibly smooth,
(most basic tasting note term for every hobby on earth I know...)
very straightforward and approachable, soft, rounded, good body, pleasant mouth coating, etc.

This is a super friendly tea; it is not a particularly engaging tea. However...

Qi:

Yes...there is I think some flow of qi moving from my chest down through my arms and into my finger tips. Drinking this puts me in a little bit more of a ready state to practice some forward pushing kung fu techniques than maybe I would be before hand.

I am by no means a qi expert and welcome fact checks on this, but I'm learning and starting to become both more in tune and more metabolically healed and sensitized to things again.

As I distinguish qi from body feelings now and prior believe I felt none of either / was not sensitive to them - there is faint qi but no noticeable body sensations for me.