SotD: a random bag of maocha, bought from "Long Jing Teabar" in Lyon. Slightly wok'd, but very tasty.
SOTD- sheng of the day
- Thread starter ouch
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Three shengs of the day...
1) HLH '10 fall yiwu. Decent taste, decent aroma, until the 7th brew or so when it just starts screaming and dying with astringency. Probably not worth having around. Spent leaves look somewhat heavily oxidized.
2) Bingdao '06. A sample from Nada. Tastes familiar...with Bangma in the not so distant past. I am also roughly 60-70% sure that the Tai Lian has Bingdao in it to some proportion, now. A relatively light sensibility. Very complex in sensations and taste, which is a kind of soapy floral dynamic. Not an easy to hug tea, but one that delivers a bit of intellectual stimulation for about 12 brews + a few extra sweetwater. Multiple stages in flavor and sensations in the session. The spent leaves are very large and beautiful, which suggests that if it's from Shuangjiang Mengku, then I'm probably a horse's arse. Of course, I do know of a Guanzizai Bingdao '06, but in any event, it seems pretty high-end.
3) Jingmai '07. It was okay, the early sessions were full, oily, and nutty. Decent power, some huigans. Hollows out at about 7 brews and becomes pretty dependent on huigans and other throat flavors to be interesting. Stopped at 9. I'd say it's like the Douji, if the base leaf in the Douji wasn't over-roasted. I think I like the Bangwai better. I'm not sure how the XZH '09 compares, because they're at least a little alike, and I can't remember my last session with that well enough to compare. The big problem is the age difference and trying to judge how much it matters.
1) HLH '10 fall yiwu. Decent taste, decent aroma, until the 7th brew or so when it just starts screaming and dying with astringency. Probably not worth having around. Spent leaves look somewhat heavily oxidized.
2) Bingdao '06. A sample from Nada. Tastes familiar...with Bangma in the not so distant past. I am also roughly 60-70% sure that the Tai Lian has Bingdao in it to some proportion, now. A relatively light sensibility. Very complex in sensations and taste, which is a kind of soapy floral dynamic. Not an easy to hug tea, but one that delivers a bit of intellectual stimulation for about 12 brews + a few extra sweetwater. Multiple stages in flavor and sensations in the session. The spent leaves are very large and beautiful, which suggests that if it's from Shuangjiang Mengku, then I'm probably a horse's arse. Of course, I do know of a Guanzizai Bingdao '06, but in any event, it seems pretty high-end.
3) Jingmai '07. It was okay, the early sessions were full, oily, and nutty. Decent power, some huigans. Hollows out at about 7 brews and becomes pretty dependent on huigans and other throat flavors to be interesting. Stopped at 9. I'd say it's like the Douji, if the base leaf in the Douji wasn't over-roasted. I think I like the Bangwai better. I'm not sure how the XZH '09 compares, because they're at least a little alike, and I can't remember my last session with that well enough to compare. The big problem is the age difference and trying to judge how much it matters.
08 Menghai 7532 -
A very pleasing session with this tea today....provided by my yixing pot.
A very pleasing session with this tea today....provided by my yixing pot.
2008 Xiaguan XY Yiwu Big Green Tree from Steve. This is pretty good. Soup is starting to redden with a bit of age (or tweaking... you be the judge). Little smoke. Strong ku. Legs.
This goes really well with the new Dave Alvin album called Eleven Eleven.
This goes really well with the new Dave Alvin album called Eleven Eleven.
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Two shengs of the day...
1) LBZ '08 sample from Nada. Tastes like LBZ usually does...very similar to the XZH '05, but thinner soup, and much easier to detect subtle nuances. Qi is much less than it should be. If this is the Chen Shen Hao '08 spring, well, it's just not that much better than Man Nuo or Nada's Bulang and whatnot, given the huge price differential. I'm wondering if the leaves are from overpicked trees, given the low qi. The Gan'en '05 is a far better buy if you want to overpay for LBZ.
2) Nada's Naka. A bit like the YS '10 fall Pasha and Nada's Nannuo '10 in that it's a bit hollow in the middle, and doesn't hang together quite like it should. Much less than the aformentioned tea, but probably the least screaming bargain of Nada's '09s. Anyways, it's very sweet and spicy and savory. Tends to rely on the aftertaste for complexity in overall taste. Very good thickness and texture, and fairly low bitterness to me. This is something I'd be focused on drinking now if I had some, for the most part. Nada has, I think, consistently improved overall in producing tea since '08. All of the '10s are better than the '09 Naka, and the '11s are generally better than the '10s (only the Bulang tastes a bit overcooked, in my one try).
1) LBZ '08 sample from Nada. Tastes like LBZ usually does...very similar to the XZH '05, but thinner soup, and much easier to detect subtle nuances. Qi is much less than it should be. If this is the Chen Shen Hao '08 spring, well, it's just not that much better than Man Nuo or Nada's Bulang and whatnot, given the huge price differential. I'm wondering if the leaves are from overpicked trees, given the low qi. The Gan'en '05 is a far better buy if you want to overpay for LBZ.
2) Nada's Naka. A bit like the YS '10 fall Pasha and Nada's Nannuo '10 in that it's a bit hollow in the middle, and doesn't hang together quite like it should. Much less than the aformentioned tea, but probably the least screaming bargain of Nada's '09s. Anyways, it's very sweet and spicy and savory. Tends to rely on the aftertaste for complexity in overall taste. Very good thickness and texture, and fairly low bitterness to me. This is something I'd be focused on drinking now if I had some, for the most part. Nada has, I think, consistently improved overall in producing tea since '08. All of the '10s are better than the '09 Naka, and the '11s are generally better than the '10s (only the Bulang tastes a bit overcooked, in my one try).
2011 Nannuo from EoT. Brewing in a gaiwan. Not much else to say other than tasty 
!
!Two shengs:
1) 2007 Hekai sample from Nada. Tastes sorta like a degrassified Bada, with a little creaminess. I've wondered just how bulang LBZ is, but it's truly a kind a bulang, insofar as there are differences between Bana teas. It was okay, but not too exciting.
2) Tai Lian again. I love it, you all know why. Mengku-Bulang pole today, so the fruit was out in force, woody florals above and creamy below the cherry.
did some more browsing...found out more info on XZH '07
Huangshanlin is Ai Lao Shan
Yuanshilin is either Bulang or Man Nong Hekai--The XZH website sez Hekai, the unrelated pottery blog sez Bulang. Since I've just had Hekai, which seems pretty mild, I'll put the money on it being a yet another diddled Bulang.
There is a super-duper secret Manzhuan that uses the same wrapper as Dingji, Yuanshilin, Huangshilin...
well, I suppose a bunch of you guys already knew....
1) 2007 Hekai sample from Nada. Tastes sorta like a degrassified Bada, with a little creaminess. I've wondered just how bulang LBZ is, but it's truly a kind a bulang, insofar as there are differences between Bana teas. It was okay, but not too exciting.
2) Tai Lian again. I love it, you all know why. Mengku-Bulang pole today, so the fruit was out in force, woody florals above and creamy below the cherry.
did some more browsing...found out more info on XZH '07
Huangshanlin is Ai Lao Shan
Yuanshilin is either Bulang or Man Nong Hekai--The XZH website sez Hekai, the unrelated pottery blog sez Bulang. Since I've just had Hekai, which seems pretty mild, I'll put the money on it being a yet another diddled Bulang.
There is a super-duper secret Manzhuan that uses the same wrapper as Dingji, Yuanshilin, Huangshilin...
well, I suppose a bunch of you guys already knew....
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One sheng of the day today...
2006 XZH Tai Chi Yang. I had a pretty good day with this one. A good reminder that however sophisticated a great yiwu can be, like the '04 YQH, if I'm ever shuffled off to a deserted island, it will be with a chest full of Bulangs. As usual, it does not taste quite like a LBZ. I'm leaning towards it being made from a distinct grove of trees rather than a blend with other Bulangs. I don't think it's bitter enough for that, and other Bulangs that have as little bitterness as LBZ are almost as exclusive and expensive and always has been, I think. The soup was thick enough and comfortable today at my usual 7g, which was nice. The qi, as usual, is far more comfortable than any other "real" LBZ I've had, with no caffeine edge (and a touch of stomach discomfort). The flavor is roughly about as different from normal LBZ as Nada's Douyizhai Nannuo is from normal Nannuo. Kinda in the same way. Stronger mushroom flavor, more purity, more depth, less of the flashy stuff like the cherries, and the mouth/throatfeel is relatively muted, in the beginning, for an LBZ. Huigans are understated and kind of wierd. And this gives me what I can anticipate from the Nannuo in time, a long session full of stately grace and complexity that easily outdoes just about any other tea I have, except maybe the Dinjin Nuer. Lasted 19 (really kinda gets going at about 10, actually) brews over 5 hours and still could have done more. More things happened than I can easily describe here, but my favorite part was just how ethereal/intense the heavy perfume aspect was in some cups. Some nice woods, but not high fizzy woods you get out of Mengsong, Jingmai, or 6FTM teas. Today was the sort of session that reminded me why I bought two of this tea, and didn't buy the 2005 XZH LBZ (tho' I should have, if only for resale, heh). A far better experience than the '08 LBZ that hits the highlights of LBZ flavor and feel and nothing more...
speaking of good banna tea...
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=66500716 The bada Imen sold a couple of bings of for $170. I like it quite a bit, but it's very sour and acid. Still a very intense Bada flavor.
2006 XZH Tai Chi Yang. I had a pretty good day with this one. A good reminder that however sophisticated a great yiwu can be, like the '04 YQH, if I'm ever shuffled off to a deserted island, it will be with a chest full of Bulangs. As usual, it does not taste quite like a LBZ. I'm leaning towards it being made from a distinct grove of trees rather than a blend with other Bulangs. I don't think it's bitter enough for that, and other Bulangs that have as little bitterness as LBZ are almost as exclusive and expensive and always has been, I think. The soup was thick enough and comfortable today at my usual 7g, which was nice. The qi, as usual, is far more comfortable than any other "real" LBZ I've had, with no caffeine edge (and a touch of stomach discomfort). The flavor is roughly about as different from normal LBZ as Nada's Douyizhai Nannuo is from normal Nannuo. Kinda in the same way. Stronger mushroom flavor, more purity, more depth, less of the flashy stuff like the cherries, and the mouth/throatfeel is relatively muted, in the beginning, for an LBZ. Huigans are understated and kind of wierd. And this gives me what I can anticipate from the Nannuo in time, a long session full of stately grace and complexity that easily outdoes just about any other tea I have, except maybe the Dinjin Nuer. Lasted 19 (really kinda gets going at about 10, actually) brews over 5 hours and still could have done more. More things happened than I can easily describe here, but my favorite part was just how ethereal/intense the heavy perfume aspect was in some cups. Some nice woods, but not high fizzy woods you get out of Mengsong, Jingmai, or 6FTM teas. Today was the sort of session that reminded me why I bought two of this tea, and didn't buy the 2005 XZH LBZ (tho' I should have, if only for resale, heh). A far better experience than the '08 LBZ that hits the highlights of LBZ flavor and feel and nothing more...
speaking of good banna tea...
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=66500716 The bada Imen sold a couple of bings of for $170. I like it quite a bit, but it's very sour and acid. Still a very intense Bada flavor.
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Two shengs of the day...
Most of the rest of Nada's 2008 LBZ sample. Confirmed that the only real thing in its favor is the activity in the mouth and throat. It's much less rich than the 2006 XZH. Much much less qi, for really any BZ, than the XZH. Much less durable~it lasts about 10 before it starts dying, and is mostly dead at 12. A bit of bitter funk at the end, too. Now, had I never had a real lao banzhang before, I'd be pretty impressed with this tea. It's still very very nice to drink, but I'm embittered by how much the Chen Shen LBZ '08 costs, so I'm always over-analyzing the quality of the soup instead of just enjoying it.
Decided to take out Man Nuo for a spin. Frankly, it was *expletive* *expletive* nuns-faint-dead-away *expletive* superb. Brews fifteen and sixteen were like sucking on Werther's Originals. Certainly better than perfunctory LBZ. I *am* wondering though, why this isn't a more famous and popular region to get tea from.
Most of the rest of Nada's 2008 LBZ sample. Confirmed that the only real thing in its favor is the activity in the mouth and throat. It's much less rich than the 2006 XZH. Much much less qi, for really any BZ, than the XZH. Much less durable~it lasts about 10 before it starts dying, and is mostly dead at 12. A bit of bitter funk at the end, too. Now, had I never had a real lao banzhang before, I'd be pretty impressed with this tea. It's still very very nice to drink, but I'm embittered by how much the Chen Shen LBZ '08 costs, so I'm always over-analyzing the quality of the soup instead of just enjoying it.
Decided to take out Man Nuo for a spin. Frankly, it was *expletive* *expletive* nuns-faint-dead-away *expletive* superb. Brews fifteen and sixteen were like sucking on Werther's Originals. Certainly better than perfunctory LBZ. I *am* wondering though, why this isn't a more famous and popular region to get tea from.
It has been a while since I have tried this outstanding Summit Tea Company Purple bud. Purple-bud (紫芽
pu-erh tea is from Wenshan village (文山 in Jinggu (景谷 county in Yunnan province, where the mountain altitude is over 2000 meters. The purple bud tea from the Summit tea company is aging beautifully. It has never had the medicinal-taste characteristics of many of the purple bud tea out there.
Purple-bud pu-erh tea is made from the tender single bud of the wild, purple-bud pu-erh tea trees maocha. This tea is called three-color tea; this means the fresh buds on the tea trees are purple, the dried tea is shiny dark, and the infused tea leaves are green for the first one or two years. The purple-bud Pu Er tea tree is actually a rare tea tree variety in the Yunnan large-leaf tea trees and is famous for its high health benefits, high percentage of anthocyanidins, and amino acids, particularly tea polyphenols.
In the current pu-erh tea market, there are many fake purple-bud pu-erh teas. Many tea merchants use the Zijuan (紫娟 or Zicha (紫茶 purple tea) maocha and market them as pure, purple-bud pu-erh tea to increase their profit margins at the expense of the consumer. The difference between purple-bud, Zijuan and Zicha lies in the shape, fragrance, taste. But the easiest way to tell the difference is by the particular tea leaf shape. Purple-bud tea has no tea hair or tea leaf saw on both sides of the leaf; the Zijuan and Zicha do not share these leaf characteristics.
Cheers,
Steve
www.JAS-eTea.com
pu-erh tea is from Wenshan village (文山 in Jinggu (景谷 county in Yunnan province, where the mountain altitude is over 2000 meters. The purple bud tea from the Summit tea company is aging beautifully. It has never had the medicinal-taste characteristics of many of the purple bud tea out there. Purple-bud pu-erh tea is made from the tender single bud of the wild, purple-bud pu-erh tea trees maocha. This tea is called three-color tea; this means the fresh buds on the tea trees are purple, the dried tea is shiny dark, and the infused tea leaves are green for the first one or two years. The purple-bud Pu Er tea tree is actually a rare tea tree variety in the Yunnan large-leaf tea trees and is famous for its high health benefits, high percentage of anthocyanidins, and amino acids, particularly tea polyphenols.
In the current pu-erh tea market, there are many fake purple-bud pu-erh teas. Many tea merchants use the Zijuan (紫娟
or Zicha (紫茶 purple tea) maocha and market them as pure, purple-bud pu-erh tea to increase their profit margins at the expense of the consumer. The difference between purple-bud, Zijuan and Zicha lies in the shape, fragrance, taste. But the easiest way to tell the difference is by the particular tea leaf shape. Purple-bud tea has no tea hair or tea leaf saw on both sides of the leaf; the Zijuan and Zicha do not share these leaf characteristics.Cheers,
Steve
www.JAS-eTea.com
If the henli chang wasn't so expensive, it would already be in my pantry! I wish I could have gotten that for the price Maitre_tea got it for... Heh, if that Small Yellow Label had real amounts of qi, I would have gotten that one. That fuhai yiwu is actually pretty hot in Taiwan, winning taste tests and all...
One sheng of the day... '07 XZH Huangshanlin. Wasn't very good today. Feels like it's in an awkward stage because it's woodier and more full of tobacco, and they are trying to coexist with the cream and berry aftertaste. The nice citrus highlights aren't there either, but the metal was. Qi was only moderate, but I think that was because I drank this tea very slowly.
One sheng of the day... '07 XZH Huangshanlin. Wasn't very good today. Feels like it's in an awkward stage because it's woodier and more full of tobacco, and they are trying to coexist with the cream and berry aftertaste. The nice citrus highlights aren't there either, but the metal was. Qi was only moderate, but I think that was because I drank this tea very slowly.
Humph - I just got around to buying some Wangongzhai from Yunnan Sourcing, but it's the only cake from 2010 that has sold out! What poor luck.
Recently, I've been drinking samples from Tearoma. I'm perplexed.
1998 CNNP Red Label Tuocha
This is shupu, though the description doesn't say so. A good shupu, but, still, shupu. Sigh.
1999 CNNP Green-Zhongcha 8582
This is bright yellow, smells buttery as if it has come straight from the wok, and is absolutely and entirely not a tea from 1999. It cannot be more than five years of age. What is present is sour and straw-like. Not great.
2001 CNNP Nannuo 8582
This came out slightly darker than the supposed "1999" version! It is straw-like and bitter, but, again, cannot be ten years old. Even I have cakes (stored by myself) that have aged faster than this within five years. If it is ten years old, it is the level of aging that one would expect from a super-tight tuocha stored somewhere dry, like Kunming; however, this is a looser bingcha that the sellers claim was aged in humid Taiwan. Again, baffling.
So, of the three samples I've tried so far from Tearoma, none have been any good, and all have been confusing. The sellers seem pleasant in correspondence, but I have the suspicion that not all is well when it comes to their tea - either by accident or design. Caveat emptor.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Recently, I've been drinking samples from Tearoma. I'm perplexed.
1998 CNNP Red Label Tuocha
This is shupu, though the description doesn't say so. A good shupu, but, still, shupu. Sigh.
1999 CNNP Green-Zhongcha 8582
This is bright yellow, smells buttery as if it has come straight from the wok, and is absolutely and entirely not a tea from 1999. It cannot be more than five years of age. What is present is sour and straw-like. Not great.
2001 CNNP Nannuo 8582
This came out slightly darker than the supposed "1999" version! It is straw-like and bitter, but, again, cannot be ten years old. Even I have cakes (stored by myself) that have aged faster than this within five years. If it is ten years old, it is the level of aging that one would expect from a super-tight tuocha stored somewhere dry, like Kunming; however, this is a looser bingcha that the sellers claim was aged in humid Taiwan. Again, baffling.
So, of the three samples I've tried so far from Tearoma, none have been any good, and all have been confusing. The sellers seem pleasant in correspondence, but I have the suspicion that not all is well when it comes to their tea - either by accident or design. Caveat emptor.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Nnnnghhgnnnh - the 2010 Xikong has sold out, too!
These were the best two cakes of last year - I oughtn't to have dawdled so...
Let's hope my samples last a few more sessions...
These were the best two cakes of last year - I oughtn't to have dawdled so...
Let's hope my samples last a few more sessions...
2007 XZH Spring Din Jin Nu Er. Killing off samples but this one is trying to kill me. I really dislike this tea but Imma keep dranking til it's gone.
The first 7 or so infusions have been super bitter even though I'm doing fast infusions. Also, their is a weird sour chemically flavor to it. There is some sweetness and wood but it took a lot of foul cups to get to them and even then it is not overly complex. Soup is fairly thick and has a nice soft mouthfeel. Those weren't there in my previous sessions (or at least not in my notes).
/me blinks...
Wow, that was totally not what I expected. The sample I had, the issue was that it was problematically hongcha until you wash that stuff out by, like brew 9. Sour, too. It was a little unpleasant. But superbitter? *wood*? My sample was always smooth, and very unbitter. Also not woody. Thanks for telling me...I don't plan on opening my two bings until 2017, cause Lincangs, in my experience, takes forever to age (the XZH '99 Mengsa was still pretty young-tasting)... The DaXueShan maocha is very difficult early on, and it sounds a heckuvalot more like that than the nuercha...'cept that it's rough and not smooth.
My shengs of the day...finished off Nada 2007 Jingmai sample. Relatively thin-tasting, but complex. Thin soup. fragrant. Powerful huigans. However, it collapses after brew 5. I enjoyed it very much while it was alive. It probably costs more than I could ever consider paying for, but I really do love a good jingmai.
Brewed 3.2 grams of Sunsing Mahei '06. Light tasting, pleasant, power in the throat. Lower astringency (I think I've been underbrewing in terms of leaf quantity) with a tiny sour tang to it. There is a pleasant qi. At this level, though, the very best flavors I got from my first attempt never happened, and it faded a bit quicker, too at around 9. It's definitely worth having, but I wouldn't pay the $100+ it cost now.
Wow, that was totally not what I expected. The sample I had, the issue was that it was problematically hongcha until you wash that stuff out by, like brew 9. Sour, too. It was a little unpleasant. But superbitter? *wood*? My sample was always smooth, and very unbitter. Also not woody. Thanks for telling me...I don't plan on opening my two bings until 2017, cause Lincangs, in my experience, takes forever to age (the XZH '99 Mengsa was still pretty young-tasting)... The DaXueShan maocha is very difficult early on, and it sounds a heckuvalot more like that than the nuercha...'cept that it's rough and not smooth.
My shengs of the day...finished off Nada 2007 Jingmai sample. Relatively thin-tasting, but complex. Thin soup. fragrant. Powerful huigans. However, it collapses after brew 5. I enjoyed it very much while it was alive. It probably costs more than I could ever consider paying for, but I really do love a good jingmai.
Brewed 3.2 grams of Sunsing Mahei '06. Light tasting, pleasant, power in the throat. Lower astringency (I think I've been underbrewing in terms of leaf quantity) with a tiny sour tang to it. There is a pleasant qi. At this level, though, the very best flavors I got from my first attempt never happened, and it faded a bit quicker, too at around 9. It's definitely worth having, but I wouldn't pay the $100+ it cost now.
