SOTD- sheng of the day

[shah8]

2002 Nannuo White Tips: Second try with this tea. More of the expected Nannuo florals. Lighter qi, I think. In general, there's some kind of light improper astringency, either oolongification or dry storage. Overall, it was a pleasant session, but I definitely did wish for less bitterness and more roundness for something that's from 2002.

2001 Zhongcha Red Mark from Norbutea. Like the other tea from Norbu, awful. It does have a very shallow good taste, but there is some really improper funk underneath that makes me feel like I'm eating sushi that might be a bit too old. Threw that out after three brews. Norbutea got absolutely robbed by whoever it was in Anning, China.

 

[GN?]

03 Dayi Nannuo. To bad this tea is so expensive for what it is . As I kind of like it until I look at the price tag.nannuo leather very present if you push it , but then becomes a touch astringent. Very nice after effects though.

Geraldo has set up a little tea shop @ farwenwapuer.wordpress.com he has a bunch of other interesting things up I picked up samples of the 00 menghai wild tree red ribbon/00 7542 and 88 7542 . The 88 looks like its not sold out yet. At around a dollar a gram it's worth checking out.

 

[shah8]

ZhiZheng 2011 HongYue (which is Youle): Has the same issue as the puerhshop 2010 Yibang, and it comes from a similar plastic bag, so perhaps I did that Yibang wrong, reputationally, since storage issues could be at fault here. In any event the flavor that gets past that obnoxious taste and smell is okay. The body is only a bit more than just enough. Has a decent flavor and there is a little bit of interesting flourishes in the mouth. The best thing about it was the qi, while not strong, was a tad more than mild. It's about the same quality as the 2010 Bulang I've had from ZhiZheng, but I couldn't tell whether if this was over-fermented-hongcha like that Bulang. The leaves do not look fermented. I don't think this is tea that would get anyone any more excited than the EoT 2010 and 2011 offerings that had qi.

 

[TwoDog2]

2006 Bulang - Easy going, afternoon pick me up. Not a lot of fireworks, but a friendly wood base and on the right path for aging

 

[shah8]

Just got the package in today, well earlier than expected...

I was expecting something like the 2007 XZH Dinjin Nu'er. That turned out to be somewhat correct...

Soooo, from the top; This tea has a decent aroma that's sorta like Jingmai in the sense that there are dry florals. Goes towards a general potpourri sensibility. The tea has an excellent body, almost oily texture, sort of like the 2005 Taihe maocha I've had before. There is some particulate feel to it as well, adding to the mouthfeel. The taste...well, definitely not very typical, mostly like sautéed onions with a minimum of oil/butter, until caramelization. It's not unpleasant, and I like it, unlike the Mangjing from Bannacha, but I did giggle a bit on it's slight similarity to durian flavors. The taste is extremely flat, with very little liveliness. There is some complexity of taste, but nothing remarkable. One could see how hongchafication here is pointless to be upset about, and why many producers would do it for wild type leaves. There is no huigan, but there is a delayed return flavor, like what I experienced with the dinjin nu'er. Some cooling in the mouth and top of the throat. Maybe one feel down the throat. The taste coats the mouth and stays in there for at least an hour and probably more, very tenacious. Durable tea, but has very little dynamic change between cups. It does start giving a sweet sensation at about the ten brew mark. The qi is a little unusual feeling, but moderate to strong in effect. Very body feel, concentrated on the head, and doesn't really make you feel stoned or super-relaxed. More alerting. Gave me the munchies, too.

Would I buy this tea? It would be at the end of a long list of tea. I certainly like the idea of having it, but I already have a tea like this, and I have other priorities than unusual teas for curveballs. Strongly recommend that one samples this tea before buying--very distinct taste and qi. Also should say that teas like these are supposed to eventually get sweeter and more honey-like, but on the other hand, I wonder about whether the general community's lessons about Dehong wild tea generally applies here, and this tea might be a risk for fading in taste and qi. So not much certainty as far as buyworthy other than the curio aspect. Can't tell you whether if it's a bargain or not either, since teas like this can go for both $300 and $30, and I have no idea what separates the high end from the low end of this sort of tea (or whether even if this is like that all tips fad, and other fads that are about Chinese people trying to drink money--such that teas like this are a bad idea in general).

 

[grasshopper]

[/QUOTE]Geraldo has set up a little tea shop @ farwenwapuer.blogspot.com he has a bunch of other interesting things up I picked up samples of the 00 menghai wild tree red ribbon/00 7542 and 88 7542 . The 88 looks like its not sold out yet. At around a dollar a gram it's worth checking out.[/QUOTE]

That's wordpress, NOT blogspot.

 

[shah8]

Fair to announce that I have a prejudice against aged maocha pressed into cakes, and I think this cake does reinforce my prejudice against aged maocha and aged maocha pressed into cakes.

When writing this review, my comparisons are towards other camphor cakes, in particular, the 2007 Sanhetang 7542 and the 1995 CNNP 7542. Another comparison was with the TeaUrchin 2006 Yiwu, because it was also pressed maocha.

When I started drinking this tea, I was rather disappointed because it was relatively flat, with mostly that dollop of sweet mushrooms that seems to be present in most camphor cakes. Not much happening other than a big body. The texture throughout the session wasn't really present, and this tea tends to leave a dry, gummy finish in my mouth. Nothing offensive, otherwise, but nothing all that affirmatively good. Then the tea opens up, once past a couple of brews, and camphor taste (and some nice cooling from such camphor) starts being more involved, at least the nice highpitched taste. There were some moves to have some depth and complexity in the cup, and there was a couple of very nice fruit returns. No real huigans, no qi. Aroma is alright earlier on, but fades pretty quick as the session goes on. The durability doesn't seem to be that great, in the sense that the dry finish stops me from wanting to drink more after about ten brews. This might be the lowest priced new offering, but it really shows it. The tea I had before, the Wild Wuliang Puerh, is a better value, even though it costs almost twice as much and it's wierd. If I were to buy some (and I would not be interested, frankly), I would mostly be thinking about storing it here in Atlanta, because our weather definitely seem to smack astringency good, fairly quickly. This is a much better tea (potential considered) than the 1995 CNNP 7542, because it has some complexity and a very limited fruitiness, and it has a better camphor taste and cooling and better body. The XZH 7542 is better than this tea because it has qi, great aroma, and a nice wood taste as well as camphor, mushrooms. Thinner than the QiShengGu, and not inclined to be fruity. This and the 2006 Yiwu both essentially share the same flaws, but are not similar to each other otherwise. As that tea improved as the sample awakened in my possession, I expect this tea to get at least a little better with later brews.

 

[shah8]

Same issues with pressed aged maocha.

When writing this review, I thought of the Chen's Thousand Year from 2007, Taochaju DXS 2007, XZH JingGu Nu'er 2007, and Finepuer DXS 2009.

The aroma was consistently very weak, and the taste has lost some detail in a way that I expect. The durability was very poor, as it only lasted about 7-8 material brews. I did, however, enjoy this tea very much while it was good. This tea had great and positive qi. Not super-strong, but empathetically there, and it gives comfort and a little happy-happy. The taste lingers in the mouth after the sip, and there are huigans. The body and texture are reasonably good--not outstanding, but enough. I disagree with Nada's portrayal that this tea is less aged than the QiShengGu 2007. This tea has definite dark flavors of tea sliding well past youth and reasonably representative of its age. It's definitely less round than the QiShengGu, and the QiShengGu's smoke transformed into camphor at a pretty young age, so I can see some of why Nada might think that's more aged. However, the basic flavor, I do not think is particularly aged. This tea also had some of the sensate sweetness that some Mengku and JingGu teas have, with age. This tea had pretty strong qi compared to everything except the XZH JingGu Nu'er (that tea also has some similar darkening taste, sweetness, such as to invite comparison). The Thousand Year is more complex in taste, although much of it does die at about the same time, that tea does have a second gear of shallow flavors to keep interest up. The Taochaju DXS is a little more vegetal, with less fruit nuances, and younger tasting. It has somewhat weaker qi compared to the EoT offering, but much better aroma and durability. The Finepuerh DXS is interesting for the qi, which is about as strong, good durability, but the taste isn't as compelling.

Is this a good value for the money today? I'm inclined to say yes, especially as a drink now sort of puerh. So far the Wild Wuliang Puerh is still the best value, though, on the basis of good aroma and great body/texture. I enjoyed this tea very much, though. Assuming no backlog of other teas to get, I would buy one. I wouldn't buy one if I had to choose between something like four Denong Nannuo bricks from Bana Tea Company (assuming I get a better sample to be sure it's as good as I think it is) and this, because I think that may well age quite nicely. Aging considerations forgotten, it would be tough to pick. I really liked the qi.

 

[GN?]

Sheng of Yesterday 2010 Menghai Dai Bing Dao . This is good stuff. I feel as though I may have finally tried a legit Bing dao. Cooling aftertaste kicks in around infusion three. Whether or not this is a legit Bing Dao or not it is a legit high quality gushu. Given todays prices for stuff like this it is probably not overpriced, but my prioriteas lie with aged tea. Though if this was a hundred bucks cheaper I would grab one in a second .

Sotd:2012 Shen gu you LAN from Legends of Puer. This cake is from Dong Ban Shan. I can pick out the Dong Ban Shan terroir. But this cake has a fair amount of plantation In it. This is supposedly Legends best cake. I can see that as the " Bing Dao" and "D X S" where both even worse. To me it seems that there is a house flavor of pesticide and fertilizer running though the Legends line.

 

[shah8]

My preconceptions were based on my experience with Hai Lang Hao 2008 Ban'E and Taochaju 2008 Lao Man'E. As the tea session went on, I compared what was going on to Sanhetang 2005 and 2006 Lao Banzhang.

This tea starts off relatively quiet and normal for a wettish Bulang of its years. The aroma was okay, but it's relatively light to moderate and not that interesting. It had a good body and texture right from the start, and it stays that way through the session. It's also a somewhat immature tea's astringency, and there is a little bit of Lao Man'E bitterness (that doesn't grip) there, especially in the early brews. Aside from a bit of early stuff, this tea is relatively poor when it comes to activity in the throat, either in terms of huigan or feel there. The qi starts off mild. This tea is relatively dynamic in the session, very much in the fashion of the XZH LBZs. A relatively tight flavor that isn't too strong (not quite so loosey goosey and friendly flavored like the Taochaju from 2008), and it has hints of this flavor and hints of that flavor and doesn't really let you drink a specific quality. The qi also is sneaky like the the XZH, and starts off mild, and continues to build, the buzz doesn't go away right away when you stop drinking either. Calming, depressing style of qi, not as severe as Bangwei can get. The tea also has long lasting tastes in the mouth (well more than 30min) and has okay activity such as cooling in the back of the mouth and top of the throat. The latter part of the session becomes (sensate) sweeter, if not as sweet as tea from the best places. Durability was excellent, as I drank at least 12 brews, and the flavor had relatively little drop-off.

I would buy this tea with some enthusiasm, and would strongly consider a tong. It's priced very nicely for tea of this quality. While understood that the HLH Ban'E is cheaper at $100 at Yunnan Sourcing, and that tea has some fairly serious aftertastes in 2010, I never liked that tea much, and when I think of how it probably has aged since then, I suspect I would not be totally happy with it. This has qi, and that HLH don't, so moot point. I also want to point out that ~$150/357 is the going price for serious tea that is brand new, so one is obviously getting a discount on the aging here (this tea does need more for first stage drinkability). I also think that this is a better overall tea than some aged bulangs like the CGHT Banzhang Chawang--much less power in the taste and aroma, but far better durability and sophistication. I also strongly prefer this tea to the 2012 Essence of Tea Bulang as well--while this is just the first time I've tried this tea, I really feel that this is better than $3 more than that tea. So...let's not say Nada mispriced anything, and say Nada has priced this 2008 tea to sell. I will definitely pay attention to other reviews for this tea, and my future tries with the rest of the sample.

 

[shah8]

I compared it to the 2011 EoT Guafengzhai and the 2010 Fall Yunnan Sourcing Xikong. 2011 XZH Zhangjiazhai

The aroma is rather soft, but it rewards patient sniffing with lots of ephemeral notes. The body is mostly just above average, but the texture is kind of syrupy. There is a slight oolongification catch in the swallow deeper in the session more or less like EoT 2010 Manmai. The flavor pretty much does taste like what GFZ should taste like. Your classic Mansa edge, but with a heavier bottom of almost fruit, and early cups have a delightful finish that's reminiscent of the tang from drinking pressed sugarcane. The YS '10 Xikong can really be rather similar to both EoT GFZ when it has that syrup bottom, just has a more yibang/jingmai floral top.

One of the things I'm beginning to consider in telling a good pedestrian tea from more premium offerings is whether it has a "bulky" taste. This tea is much more like the XZH '11 Zhangjiazhai than it is like the Teauchin Yishanmo. It's a lot less "rich" in a certain quality than the Yishanmo, which has a kind of dense grain taste filling everything out. The same is true for Jingmai, I am suspecting. The better the Jingmai, the more defined the nut quality and the less "rich" with molasses filling out that nuttiness. A premium Jingmai will give hazelnut skins or something like that. A good Jingmai will have a positive, but generic nut quality that's very present.

The qi is moderate, and not heavy like the 2011 EoT GFZ, while later cups has qi, it doesn't build like that 2008 Bulang. There aren't many huigans, and limited activity in the throat. Good activity on top of the throat. The durability is not as good as the 2011 EoT offering.

I would say that it's worth the money, but I'm not enthusiastic. It's worth the money because it's a more or less legit, according to my knowledge base, GFZ. It's not a *great* GFZ, but good GFZ is very highly restricted to people with connections today. Good enough is better than none at all. I also had thoughts of "well, if I'm going to pay multiple hundreds of dollars for one tea cake, why wouldn't I go ahead and pay $300-$500 for one of Tony Chen's?"


Ranking EoT new offerings of younger stuff in terms of value (on first tasting), best first:

2008 Bulang
2009 Wild Wuliang Puerh (if you're brave)
2013 Guafengzhai
2006 Da Xue Shan
2013 Wuliang Hongcha
2007 QiShengGu

 

[shah8]

I also tried the pesticide laden Zhenyuan County tea.

It really was pesticide laden, enough in the sense that I think someone messed up, and the guy tried to cheat Nada for a batch with low value. For me, the issue is, beyond any numbing of tongue-tip, a kind of itchiness there. It also affected the back soft palate where it meets the nose. Try it once, but seriously wash that sucker after you get the pesticide feel with your first try.

The tea is pretty good. Tastes like Wuliang tea. I did consider Osanzhai, but not really quite floral enough. Early, pesticide laden brews had a really nice flavor transition to fruit along the length of the taste. It goes down the throat. Has qi. Excitement is over pretty quickly though, and it behaves much like YS Yangta '11 in lots of softly vegetal sensate sweet brews in later sessions. I wouldn't pay very much of a non-pesticide version of this, perhaps $50-$75, but it's much better than the YS Wuliang.

 

[StillShaving]

Not that I doubt you, but can you taste the pesticide directly, or it is a more an indirect thing where it effects the taste of the tea in an unnatural way. I suppose the pesticides are all on the outside of the leaves, so it can be rinsed off, but the whole idea is concerning.

In a similar vein I heard news story about how Chinese farmers in some areas had to hand pollinate fruit trees due to over use of pesticides. One example here.

 

[shah8]

I can't taste the pesticide directly, no. It's an unpleasant feeling. This one just has a lot more than other nice teas we get here in the West.

I was out running today, see lots of beautiful flowers, but stunningly few pollinators out there. Fruit trees in the yard set fruit, but it's pretty sparse out there.

 

[TwoDog2]

Not that I doubt you, but can you taste the pesticide directly, or it is a more an indirect thing where it effects the taste of the tea in an unnatural way. I suppose the pesticides are all on the outside of the leaves, so it can be rinsed off, but the whole idea is concerning.

In my experience, it is always an issue a feeling. Numbing of the tongue or back of the throat. Unpleasant chemical feel.

 

[StillShaving]

Thanks for the tips @shah8 and @TwoDog2. It is something I will try to pay more attention to. To be extra sensitive to how the first steeping goes. If there was ever a good reason to rinse one's tea this has to has to be it.

 

[shah8]

It is normally just not that severe. Otherwise, people really wouldn't be able to drink the wash. I certainly couldn't. Moreover, plenty of boutique teas give great feel and comfort even when they are very much non-organic in terms of pesticides and fertilizer. When you get the problems resulting from pesticides and fertilization, that's a problem generally due to some sort of mishandling. Otherwise, it's part and parcel of all the other things you pollute your body with, knowingly and unknowingly.

Had the 2012 Bulang that was supposed to be clean. I think the easiest way to tell that it's clean is to understand the energy present in the mouth as not being numbing, particularly to your tastebuds. So when you get that peppery feel, it should be like the ozone after a lightning strike and still register as sensation. For instance, I can always feel the sweetness of the bulang on the tip of my tongue. This isn't usually a big problem because all the pesticide usually does is add a bit of energy (at least when we're talking about "good" tea here in the West.

This is a pretty good tea. It might be the same as the Bulang sold as the 2012 at Essence of Tea. I'm not sure of that because the thickness isn't there, but that could be because of aging and everything. It's pleasant and offers some complexity. Has Man'E type bitterness that isn't much of a problem or lingers. Durable. Caffeinated. If there's qi, it's pretty light on top of the eye-opening. Aroma is decent. Not too crazy about it, mostly because I'm very, very tired of young tea now, and if I'm going to drink such things, it had better be very good. Or when I haven't drunk so much young tea for so many days. The Zhenyuan tea yesterday, though, that was a pretty good green tea, especially minus the problem.

 

[GN?]

Lately I have been able to pick out the presence chemicals in in my tea much more easily. It has actually ruined a couple of teas for me that I used to enjoy.

2000 menghai Big green tree red/yellow ribbon. This is a tea is quietly amazing. I am not blown away by any single part of this tea. BThat could be the result of using a little less leaf than normal to make the 20 gram sample fit three sessions. But the tea is solid on almost every level. It has complex ever evolving flavor and mouthfeel that coats your mouth like raw milk before giving away to a very light astringency. The flavor is hard to nail down but it has a woody /sweet mint flavor. I don't think I could get tired of drinking this.

 

[shah8]

Yesterday, I had the 2011 XZH brick, thinking about comparing it to the GFZ I just had. Early infusions had the ricey grain taste element, much like TeaUrchin Yishanmo, but it fades pretty quickly into a more pure tea. Doesn't have the elaborate aroma of the GFZ, less body, still okay texture. The bottom is pretty Mansa in more of a fruity taste rather than sugarcane or syrup. This tea does do better in terms of a more consistent feel down the throat and very light huigans, and it's more durable than the 2013 GFZ. The qi is light to moderate and positive feeling. Good tea. I think there might have been pesticides, but it was very light. It's definitely hard to tell when it's an active tea.

Today I had the 2003 Shuangjiang Mengku from Best Tea House, starting on a comparison of aged Lincangs. I overdosed by about one gram. This made for a slight bit of qi where there hadn't been any before. It also made a slight fruit edge, similar to the cherry I've tasted in the 2001 YYX shicang, more evident. The taste is the broad aged Mengku darkness of bark and chicory like spices, but much less spicy in that chai way than the YYX, which I think is a result of light warehousing. The downsides were increased bitterness of the proper, but unproductive, kind. There was also a consistent drying finish that was problematic in its excess. The body was improved, however, from thin to acceptable. The session, overall, was about the same as what came before, differences already noted. The mustard taste also was less than earlier sessions. This SM blend clearly uses a formula similar to the 2001 YYX. Durability was only okay, it lasted mostly due to a kind of aromatic quality after the seventh or so brew.

 

[shah8]

Tai Lian afternoon session today, before tomorrow's retry of YYX. This tea has weaker taste and aroma than the 2003 this morning. In every other respect, it blows the morning tea away. Friendlier flavors (it was unusually fruity, if a little flat and stale from being crumbs at the bottom of the tin too long), stronger qi, dynamic session in terms of flavor and aroma, very nice feeling in the throat and a couple of good huigans, some chillmax, body was thicker/softer, the finish was crisp that evaporate into flavor and aroma in the mouth over time, leaves a slick feel there afterwards, and this lovely sensate sweetness at the tip of the tongue and at the top of the throat in the latter part of the session. It was a better session than what was a very good session with the XZH yiwu brick yesterday.

I think I felt a bit of pesticide in the first brew. It's very hard to tell with highly active teas. So far, the soft palate could be the most reliable detector. While I didn't have any trouble today, I still felt an aggressive response in the tummy.