SOTD- sheng of the day
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XZH Zhangjiawan '11 brick. Like the golden brick, this is clearly the leavings from better cakes. As such, the body isn't impressive, the taste isn't ordered, and sour besides, and it has more of a bitterness more characteristic of manzhuang teas. Not to mention the impracticality of tiny iron-pressed bricks (two handed ice-pick technique needed). On the other hand, in terms of power in the mouth and throat, qi, length of taste, and potentially really interesting tastes and aftertastes, this blows away any other young Yiwu in its price class (if you buy five). Think of it more like comparing the bootleg of Cream Live in Detroit '67 (XZH) vs the studio pressing of Derek and the Dominos Layla (PuDi).
I really wish this tea would do that crazy strong myrrh taste/aroma again in another session. Only happened that one time!
I really wish this tea would do that crazy strong myrrh taste/aroma again in another session. Only happened that one time!
Wow Xzh must blow the PuDi out of the water.
A single tree spring tea from 2013 Mengsong. Worth every stupidly expensive penny. Very interested to see how this ages
So, I was having a conversation with TwoDog2 about the recent Hobbes post, and about the SongPinHao session at Zhang's. TD2 told me that the best thing about that SongPinHao was that it was very floral like a young tea, but had the depth of an old tea, and was a nonpareil example of good storage. He thought that it had Guafengzhai material in it because GFZ has mountain forest, floral, and jungle element to the tea grown in the area, according to him. I was like, "huh? GFZ isn't that floral." And after that Zhangjiawan, yesterday, I decided to take out 4g out of the Nadacha '11 GFZ xiaobing. Two issues with it, it has a relatively light taste, and there is some real astringency. Otherwise, it displayed the reasons why I like GFZ more than any other Yiwu. It had a very nicely layered taste, with a floral top--a little, not much Yiwu leather in this one, cooked grains, and a kind Menghai mushroom lower register with strong suggestions of fruit, more like the ambiguous syrup fruit that Xikong has. Not much in the way of herb taste that GFZ can have. So basically, you can call it a Youle and Xikong combination. Or Douyizhai/Yakouzhai Xikong combination. The floralness is less defined and Jingmai-like than Xikong, and the deeper Menghai flavors has Yiwu aspects. There is a little sweetness to it, but not as much as Xikong or Mannuo can be. The body and texture can be really good, and late infusions are very nice to drink. Aftertastes are reasonably long. Not many huigans, but some *serious* yuns. It has the strongest qi of any young Yiwu I've had, young being defined as 2008 and younger. The qi isn't too enduring, and doesn't last into the second day of brewing today, though it might have made me more hungry than usual.
This morning, I had the Bamboo wrapped Youle from '06. Virtually no woodiness or much of any other sign of age that I know and love from older Youle. Just straight mellowing. This Youle actually is pretty floral, still. The nastier plantation aspects have died down some, but it's still not a truly pleasant tea to drink, and I think I copped a little qi feel.
In the afternoon, after finishing some late infusions of the GFZ, I tried out that PuDi, given my little comment earlier. I also wanted to think of ManXiu as a proxy for Gaoshanzhai, since that area is noted for some floralness. It pretty much is what it is. The best thing about it is that the taste/aroma is loud, the soup is smooth and there's enough body. There isn't much complexity or dynamicism. This is really more the Steve Miller Band rather than Derek and the Dominoes. Pleasant, but totally just tea. A better stand in for Derek and the Dominos is something like the YiHe ChaZhuang Manzhuan--absolutely nothing wrong with it, and has some pleasant throat feel and other slight urges to be good.
I'm still looking for (more of) the Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies Live at the Fillmore East New Year's Day 1970 sorta tea.
This morning, I had the Bamboo wrapped Youle from '06. Virtually no woodiness or much of any other sign of age that I know and love from older Youle. Just straight mellowing. This Youle actually is pretty floral, still. The nastier plantation aspects have died down some, but it's still not a truly pleasant tea to drink, and I think I copped a little qi feel.
In the afternoon, after finishing some late infusions of the GFZ, I tried out that PuDi, given my little comment earlier. I also wanted to think of ManXiu as a proxy for Gaoshanzhai, since that area is noted for some floralness. It pretty much is what it is. The best thing about it is that the taste/aroma is loud, the soup is smooth and there's enough body. There isn't much complexity or dynamicism. This is really more the Steve Miller Band rather than Derek and the Dominoes. Pleasant, but totally just tea. A better stand in for Derek and the Dominos is something like the YiHe ChaZhuang Manzhuan--absolutely nothing wrong with it, and has some pleasant throat feel and other slight urges to be good.
I'm still looking for (more of) the Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies Live at the Fillmore East New Year's Day 1970 sorta tea.
Had a tea meet at BBB's place yesterday...
First tea was the Tai Lian Youle '04 originally from Hster. It was its usual extra-smoky self, but I learned from BBB sniffing the used chahai that this has some Mengku in it. We talked about how factories will blend in teas from the immediate surrounding area. Youle apparently wasn't that cheap even in '04. After I got home, I remembered that Tai Lian owned a bunch of lincang plantations, and that was where some of the bulk probably came from. I still liked this tea, but we didn't brew it to the point where I really liked it. One of the other drinkers liked the aroma of the wet leaves.
Next was some maocha from Gaoshanzhai BBB picked up from Sanhetang back in late '06. Typical issues with maocha, and not particularly aged tasting. There was some bitterness and astringency. However, there was a loud taste, some activity and length in the mouth, and a lasting aftertaste. I enjoyed this and packed this and a Mahei up for serious home testing later on. Wanna know how much qi this has...
Next was a blind tasting of a 2004 and a 2003 tea. The 2004 tea had some fruitiness and bitterness that translated, and the 2003 had some more complex soil mellowness. Both felt like they were traditionally stored. I liked the 2004 a bit better, but there wasn't a huge difference between the two. The 2004 turned out to be the Changtai Yiwu Zhengpin, blue stamp, while the 2003 is a Xiaguan (and doesn't remotely tastes like the '03 Hongyin replica, for example, and in hindsight, does taste a bit like your classic aged Lincang factory tuo) from Origin Tea. The Changtai, of course, is much more expensive, about twice the Xiaguan. I didn't like it that much more, and in general, if I specifically wanted a mellow and humid tea, I suspect I'd prefer the Xiaguan. Not much of a humid-stored guy, but these are very clean and mostly dried out.
After that, I brought a sample of 1983 Xiaguan shu tuo for export. Has a booming aroma. Doesn't have too much complexity or depth in the taste for me--more or less shu. Does have pretty, smooth, soup, and a very big kick to the head. Got pretty stoned.
Then I had an aged baozhong, I believe was from Will Yardley (might be misheard), and I didn't catch the age or original place. That one as well, doesn't have a strong taste (relative to aged honeybombs of dong dings), but it does have a nice medicinal smell that's in the taste. The qi was also very strong. The texture of the thing soup was really nice and almost stringy in its inclination to high cohesion--like snot or spaghetti sipping. After this tea, I was pretty much just stoned and stopped talking.
The last tea of the day was Sampletea's 1980's Vive Teji Liu Bao Tea. It tasted and behaved like the 1970s aged Liu Bao, but it was somewhat more bitter (all ten grams went in, so strong hand shown). I couldn't really appreciate this tea. By this point I was very tired and stoned.
Also confirmed that the '06 Taichi LBZ are from summer leaves (I might quibble a bit, and say late spring, because summer leaves are *really* boring, and these are more or less more mellow).
First tea was the Tai Lian Youle '04 originally from Hster. It was its usual extra-smoky self, but I learned from BBB sniffing the used chahai that this has some Mengku in it. We talked about how factories will blend in teas from the immediate surrounding area. Youle apparently wasn't that cheap even in '04. After I got home, I remembered that Tai Lian owned a bunch of lincang plantations, and that was where some of the bulk probably came from. I still liked this tea, but we didn't brew it to the point where I really liked it. One of the other drinkers liked the aroma of the wet leaves.
Next was some maocha from Gaoshanzhai BBB picked up from Sanhetang back in late '06. Typical issues with maocha, and not particularly aged tasting. There was some bitterness and astringency. However, there was a loud taste, some activity and length in the mouth, and a lasting aftertaste. I enjoyed this and packed this and a Mahei up for serious home testing later on. Wanna know how much qi this has...
Next was a blind tasting of a 2004 and a 2003 tea. The 2004 tea had some fruitiness and bitterness that translated, and the 2003 had some more complex soil mellowness. Both felt like they were traditionally stored. I liked the 2004 a bit better, but there wasn't a huge difference between the two. The 2004 turned out to be the Changtai Yiwu Zhengpin, blue stamp, while the 2003 is a Xiaguan (and doesn't remotely tastes like the '03 Hongyin replica, for example, and in hindsight, does taste a bit like your classic aged Lincang factory tuo) from Origin Tea. The Changtai, of course, is much more expensive, about twice the Xiaguan. I didn't like it that much more, and in general, if I specifically wanted a mellow and humid tea, I suspect I'd prefer the Xiaguan. Not much of a humid-stored guy, but these are very clean and mostly dried out.
After that, I brought a sample of 1983 Xiaguan shu tuo for export. Has a booming aroma. Doesn't have too much complexity or depth in the taste for me--more or less shu. Does have pretty, smooth, soup, and a very big kick to the head. Got pretty stoned.
Then I had an aged baozhong, I believe was from Will Yardley (might be misheard), and I didn't catch the age or original place. That one as well, doesn't have a strong taste (relative to aged honeybombs of dong dings), but it does have a nice medicinal smell that's in the taste. The qi was also very strong. The texture of the thing soup was really nice and almost stringy in its inclination to high cohesion--like snot or spaghetti sipping. After this tea, I was pretty much just stoned and stopped talking.
The last tea of the day was Sampletea's 1980's Vive Teji Liu Bao Tea. It tasted and behaved like the 1970s aged Liu Bao, but it was somewhat more bitter (all ten grams went in, so strong hand shown). I couldn't really appreciate this tea. By this point I was very tired and stoned.
Also confirmed that the '06 Taichi LBZ are from summer leaves (I might quibble a bit, and say late spring, because summer leaves are *really* boring, and these are more or less more mellow).
I came home with a pair of 2004 Yiwu of not quite known makers. One was said to be good, and the other not as good.
I tried the better one. Soup was pretty dark for 2004, and it does taste relatively humid. Earlier brews had some liveliness, but the middle brews had a nice woody taste, but mostly like if you crossed the JinDayi 101 with a certain kind of aged Mengku, and not like an aged Yiwu. But hey, I've already proven I can't tell from where things come from! So not my expectations. It had some length, a little sweetness, early brews had a bit of qi, and enough body. It's fine for better than casual brewing according to the standards of 2013. It's a little too bitter to be more than decent, though. Needs more years to tone that down.
I tried the better one. Soup was pretty dark for 2004, and it does taste relatively humid. Earlier brews had some liveliness, but the middle brews had a nice woody taste, but mostly like if you crossed the JinDayi 101 with a certain kind of aged Mengku, and not like an aged Yiwu. But hey, I've already proven I can't tell from where things come from! So not my expectations. It had some length, a little sweetness, early brews had a bit of qi, and enough body. It's fine for better than casual brewing according to the standards of 2013. It's a little too bitter to be more than decent, though. Needs more years to tone that down.
Tried the not as good tea. Bitter. Stays that way deep into the session. Old green tea a big part?
Sanhetang '06 Mahei maocha. Very sweet flavored and round, with a sort of Yiwu honey and tropical fruit. Also extremely buttery. At this point, think all of these maochas from '06 has oolong processing of some sort. They also could be described as having slight aged white tea characteristics. Body is good. Aroma is good and lasting. Not much to the texture. Extremely durable, went about 15 brews, most of them with no problems. Obviously a big part of the '06 Yiwu Chahuang blend, from my memories. Also of the Song Charactered Changtai '99. Much better than the '09 Zhensilong Mahei, which was more astringent and in general not so easy to drink. The big problem is that it's so friendly, there's no base. There's almost no Yiwu leather, smoke, and no maturing wood. No real bitterness, and not much in the way of exciting aftertastes. Not as robust as the Gaoshanzhai day before yesterday. A little bit of strong qi bump, early on, but not much overall. Later infusions have some leather base from the tired tea taste and was more balanced.
Drinking this tea made me think that the '07 XZH Yiwu Chawang probably has something from along the border from Laos, because it is a bit smokier than the '06 and a bit spicier. Less Mahei, that's for sure.
Sanhetang '06 Mahei maocha. Very sweet flavored and round, with a sort of Yiwu honey and tropical fruit. Also extremely buttery. At this point, think all of these maochas from '06 has oolong processing of some sort. They also could be described as having slight aged white tea characteristics. Body is good. Aroma is good and lasting. Not much to the texture. Extremely durable, went about 15 brews, most of them with no problems. Obviously a big part of the '06 Yiwu Chahuang blend, from my memories. Also of the Song Charactered Changtai '99. Much better than the '09 Zhensilong Mahei, which was more astringent and in general not so easy to drink. The big problem is that it's so friendly, there's no base. There's almost no Yiwu leather, smoke, and no maturing wood. No real bitterness, and not much in the way of exciting aftertastes. Not as robust as the Gaoshanzhai day before yesterday. A little bit of strong qi bump, early on, but not much overall. Later infusions have some leather base from the tired tea taste and was more balanced.
Drinking this tea made me think that the '07 XZH Yiwu Chawang probably has something from along the border from Laos, because it is a bit smokier than the '06 and a bit spicier. Less Mahei, that's for sure.
I had a disappointing day today:
Su, of a certain Malaysian fame, sent me a pot (which was a pretty duan ni pot about 120ml, with a wide base and a narrow top, friendly to big gushu leaves), and there was some 7542 in it from around the time of the 88 Qing Bing. Not sure if it's *the* 88QB out of Vesper Chan's warehouse or just another 7542 sent direct to Malaysia. It had been dry stored in Malaysia all this time. I count out six grams, and find that I have another five more left, and brewed it in the pot. The big problem: plenty of the early brews were sour, enough that I minded. To make that clear, think of it like a skit where mild mannered Jakub Tomek is lifting a brew to his lips with a small smile of anticipation...sips...the lips purses. He then sets the chawan down, pulls out his very illegal Glock 19, and shoots the pot, Elvis style. The tea water runs off the table, in rivulets between the shards, uncomfortably like blood... Not as sour as Imen's '05 Bada, but really present. Don't know if it's because of dry storage, though, since there was some small streaks of humid storage taste. The other real issue was that there wasn't any real density of taste and body like I'd expect. Not much in the way of aged fruitiness, and not too much sweetness, more of a pure woods and camphor play. Also not much aged tea body, before going well into the session. A bit like Hobbe's description of KC's sample of the 88QB. The qi wasn't very strong in the beginning and let up after a few brews, leaving me not as stoned as I expected. Positive qualities? Early brews have good effects in the throat, and in general, particularly in late brews, the flavor will stay in the mouth pleasantly. Gonna try the rest after some time (maybe it needed acclimation?), and alter the brewing times from 3,5,7,...to 30, 60, etc. It seemed to do better with longer brewing times.
Su did tell me that this was a good illustration of what a no frills 7542 does in aging. This holds true in the second try, comparing this against the 80's dry stored Traditional Characters, '96 Purple Dayi, and particularly the vibrant '98 7542, the 208, and the '01 Simplified (always was mystified with JakubT's take from Sampletea, wondered if he got a bad sample), then I think it could be a good argument that starting from good materials when aging tea is non-negotiable.
I put that aside for brewing the next day, and took out the XZH Gaoshanzhai maocha that impressed me in the meetup. It's more floral, and the floral quality is savory, so the taste is more balanced. It is very cooling in the mouth and throat. A bit into the session, it will return a fairly strong fruit session. Like the rest, fairly oolonged. For all of that, this is a tea that's weaker in quality compared to the Mahei. Less loud taste and aroma, less sweetness, less body, less qi, probably less complexity as well, despite the insipidness. I'm glad to have tried it because now I think I have a basic understanding of how Gaoshanzhai's character differs from other places in Yiwu.
Mahei, I guess, would make a decent oolong, for people who like dancongs.
Su, of a certain Malaysian fame, sent me a pot (which was a pretty duan ni pot about 120ml, with a wide base and a narrow top, friendly to big gushu leaves), and there was some 7542 in it from around the time of the 88 Qing Bing. Not sure if it's *the* 88QB out of Vesper Chan's warehouse or just another 7542 sent direct to Malaysia. It had been dry stored in Malaysia all this time. I count out six grams, and find that I have another five more left, and brewed it in the pot. The big problem: plenty of the early brews were sour, enough that I minded. To make that clear, think of it like a skit where mild mannered Jakub Tomek is lifting a brew to his lips with a small smile of anticipation...sips...the lips purses. He then sets the chawan down, pulls out his very illegal Glock 19, and shoots the pot, Elvis style. The tea water runs off the table, in rivulets between the shards, uncomfortably like blood... Not as sour as Imen's '05 Bada, but really present. Don't know if it's because of dry storage, though, since there was some small streaks of humid storage taste. The other real issue was that there wasn't any real density of taste and body like I'd expect. Not much in the way of aged fruitiness, and not too much sweetness, more of a pure woods and camphor play. Also not much aged tea body, before going well into the session. A bit like Hobbe's description of KC's sample of the 88QB. The qi wasn't very strong in the beginning and let up after a few brews, leaving me not as stoned as I expected. Positive qualities? Early brews have good effects in the throat, and in general, particularly in late brews, the flavor will stay in the mouth pleasantly. Gonna try the rest after some time (maybe it needed acclimation?), and alter the brewing times from 3,5,7,...to 30, 60, etc. It seemed to do better with longer brewing times.
Su did tell me that this was a good illustration of what a no frills 7542 does in aging. This holds true in the second try, comparing this against the 80's dry stored Traditional Characters, '96 Purple Dayi, and particularly the vibrant '98 7542, the 208, and the '01 Simplified (always was mystified with JakubT's take from Sampletea, wondered if he got a bad sample), then I think it could be a good argument that starting from good materials when aging tea is non-negotiable.
I put that aside for brewing the next day, and took out the XZH Gaoshanzhai maocha that impressed me in the meetup. It's more floral, and the floral quality is savory, so the taste is more balanced. It is very cooling in the mouth and throat. A bit into the session, it will return a fairly strong fruit session. Like the rest, fairly oolonged. For all of that, this is a tea that's weaker in quality compared to the Mahei. Less loud taste and aroma, less sweetness, less body, less qi, probably less complexity as well, despite the insipidness. I'm glad to have tried it because now I think I have a basic understanding of how Gaoshanzhai's character differs from other places in Yiwu.
Mahei, I guess, would make a decent oolong, for people who like dancongs.
Had the '06 XZH Youle today. One of its better days. Seems to be acquiring some aged elements, a bit stronger woods, camphor some vanilla in the first sips of some brews. Less spicy, very sweet, and late brews had sweet plum finish, much like YQH '04. Notably active in mouth and throat, and comfortably so. Body isn't awesome, decent texture, slightly sour at times, and a bit of bitterness (using new pot with slower pour than gaiwan, so earlier brews are a bit stronger--like a hint of smoke where I've never tasted it before). Takes a long time to drink each cup due to lengthy aftertaste. Very good qi.
Will drinking Zhi Zheng's '07 Youle to compare.
People are gossiping over in Asia about whether ChenShenghao LBZ has a lot of Pasha...
Will drinking Zhi Zheng's '07 Youle to compare.
People are gossiping over in Asia about whether ChenShenghao LBZ has a lot of Pasha...
The Zhizheng isn't really in the XZH's league. The main thing is that it's really flat and low in mouth energy as well. The XZH can be a bit boring, but this is flatter, which was true of the first session as well, really. There wasn't the age woods this time. Generally, the taste and aroma volume was much lower, and what was there much simpler. No real huigans (despite being more bitter and astringent), no lingering tastes, and only light qi. Late infusions are just long plummy tastes.
Brewed up some crumbs of the '05 Dayi Mengsong Peacock, and that was better, for as long as it lasted. Good texture, lively soup, and good aroma.
the duan ni pot seems to emphasis smoke, so I'm going to try the Tai Lian tomorrow, and see if I get the stronger smoke I got when I brewed this at the tea meet a while ago.
Brewed up some crumbs of the '05 Dayi Mengsong Peacock, and that was better, for as long as it lasted. Good texture, lively soup, and good aroma.
the duan ni pot seems to emphasis smoke, so I'm going to try the Tai Lian tomorrow, and see if I get the stronger smoke I got when I brewed this at the tea meet a while ago.
Tai Lian was not made more smoky, so going back to the water hypothesis. The slow pour did bring out the bitterness earlier. I still love this tea. Not as rich and deep as the '01 7542, and not as pleasantly sweet and floral as the '01 HeShiHua Jingmai, but it's really delicious to me as something I allow myself to have with some frequency. The huigans were very long and very tasty. Cream soda tones in some brews, some nice woods, etc.
Tested out SE Memorial. About what it usually is, and I note that it's not really a very loud tea. I don't expect it to be, but it's a reminder that delicate doesn't necessarily mean weak.
I did the last almost 2g of BBB's better '04 Yiwu, in the gaiwan. I'm more likely to think that this is mostly Yiwu. It's really rather good, louder than the SE Memorial, with some sweetness, wood, and a touch of complexity. It's not awesome, and knowing now that I overbrewed it in the pot last time dented my session, I think it needs gentle handling.
I did the last almost 2g of BBB's better '04 Yiwu, in the gaiwan. I'm more likely to think that this is mostly Yiwu. It's really rather good, louder than the SE Memorial, with some sweetness, wood, and a touch of complexity. It's not awesome, and knowing now that I overbrewed it in the pot last time dented my session, I think it needs gentle handling.
Still working out that pot... '05 MingYuanHao Yieh Sheng. The quietness of the flavor and aroma, lesser body, and relative lack of maturity compared to BBB's unknown '04 Good Yiwu is apparent (and which has made me want very much to know what it is--it's better than the '04 Changtai Yiwu Blue Stamp, at a superficial level as I haven't really worked out that Blue Stamp). The Yieh Sheng does do better in terms of power, durable session, and this one had notable (unusually so) qi that I enjoyed very much.
That was yesterday, today was some Nadacha Bangwei '10. It was a good session, but I was having a bad day and failed to appreciate it. Made me think for awhile how impressively uncharismatic Bangwei is, from flavor to qi. My Sanhetang JingGu generally will lift my mood, for example.
That was yesterday, today was some Nadacha Bangwei '10. It was a good session, but I was having a bad day and failed to appreciate it. Made me think for awhile how impressively uncharismatic Bangwei is, from flavor to qi. My Sanhetang JingGu generally will lift my mood, for example.
Props to Shah for keeping this thread alive. I've been too busy to muse about my daily drinking the last few weeks.
Working my way through all these YS samples - big range of love and hate. Since nothing is labeled it is also nice to analyze without bias. Maybe I am unwittingly hating something famous? Will be fun to find out.
Also drinking a lot of aged Xiaguan lately. about 1/4 of a cake in the last month. Not sure why, I just keep reaching for it to fill the gaps.
Working my way through all these YS samples - big range of love and hate. Since nothing is labeled it is also nice to analyze without bias. Maybe I am unwittingly hating something famous? Will be fun to find out.
Also drinking a lot of aged Xiaguan lately. about 1/4 of a cake in the last month. Not sure why, I just keep reaching for it to fill the gaps.
Shah - out of curiosity, what were you brewing your tea in before the arrival of this pot?
