2010 Douji Yu Dou -
Very tasty blend and consistent....can't go wrong with this one.
Very tasty blend and consistent....can't go wrong with this one.
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SOTD- sheng of the day
- Thread starter ouch
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Did the MYH, first crumbs from the refilled yixing cup...Not as good as before. The leaves on the top of the bings are definitely among the best. Was still reasonably nice.
3.5g/75ml Puersom '11 LBZ. Strong leathersmoke fragrance, sort of like how XZH Pasha could be. Moderate thickness and gets thicker as it goes on. Decent qi, does a bit of yun. The flavors are mostly smokey generic Menghai with LBZ hints and flair. Lasts way longer than anyone could drink, at least in one day. Priced well beyond sanity. I could get two bings of some presumably really really good 2011 XZH (like more Daxueshan, please) straight from Taipei for one bing of this LBZ from Seoul. I don't think this is an inspiring example of an LBZ and would rather drink young Nadacha bil--er--Bulang. Might get better with age, but probably never going to be very loud.
In order to flesh out my thoughts, I then did 3.5g/75ml CGHT Ban'E. Thinner in texture, weaker in fragrance, weaker in qi, flavor has less depth, lighter. Louder taste, emphathetic LBZ transitions of sensation, great huigans, and lingering flavors. The LBZ tuckers out by brew 7 at the latest, and the flavor is a bit sour when the session begins, so. The Man'E does taste nice, but by itself, it's not big enough to fill the hole left by the absent LBZ, and it's much more monotonic in flavor.
3.5g/75ml Puersom '11 LBZ. Strong leathersmoke fragrance, sort of like how XZH Pasha could be. Moderate thickness and gets thicker as it goes on. Decent qi, does a bit of yun. The flavors are mostly smokey generic Menghai with LBZ hints and flair. Lasts way longer than anyone could drink, at least in one day. Priced well beyond sanity. I could get two bings of some presumably really really good 2011 XZH (like more Daxueshan, please) straight from Taipei for one bing of this LBZ from Seoul. I don't think this is an inspiring example of an LBZ and would rather drink young Nadacha bil--er--Bulang. Might get better with age, but probably never going to be very loud.
In order to flesh out my thoughts, I then did 3.5g/75ml CGHT Ban'E. Thinner in texture, weaker in fragrance, weaker in qi, flavor has less depth, lighter. Louder taste, emphathetic LBZ transitions of sensation, great huigans, and lingering flavors. The LBZ tuckers out by brew 7 at the latest, and the flavor is a bit sour when the session begins, so. The Man'E does taste nice, but by itself, it's not big enough to fill the hole left by the absent LBZ, and it's much more monotonic in flavor.
Nadacha Mansai '10 today. Absolutely lovely, and durable to boot. Was on best behavior. I enjoyed it more than the LBZ, honestly...
I think this should be reinforced...
Nobody should be paying $310 for anything like the Puersom LBZ. It does have its good points like strong aroma, thickness, and extreme durability, but it plays within a very tight menghai area gameplan, kinda like the way Nadacha Douyizhai does. What's forgivable in the Douyizhai, I have trouble doing so for this LBZ. LBZ, as Michael Fung of BTH Vancouver sez, is all about the cha-cha in the mouth. If there is no/little flash and sizzle of transforming flavors all over the mouth (like what the CGHT Ban'E does for 5 brews or so), it's entirely missing the point. I think that part of this is definitely about the youth of this yearling, and that feature will grow some. However, it's growing from far less of a base of excitement than I'd like, given that the flavors are quieter than the Mansai. $150 is grumble worthy (like $75 for the Douyizhai), but okay. $310 is just well beyond highway robbery. It's more expensive than any of this year's XZH, for example. For LBZ that's a very long ways from the best of its kind.
I think this should be reinforced...
Nobody should be paying $310 for anything like the Puersom LBZ. It does have its good points like strong aroma, thickness, and extreme durability, but it plays within a very tight menghai area gameplan, kinda like the way Nadacha Douyizhai does. What's forgivable in the Douyizhai, I have trouble doing so for this LBZ. LBZ, as Michael Fung of BTH Vancouver sez, is all about the cha-cha in the mouth. If there is no/little flash and sizzle of transforming flavors all over the mouth (like what the CGHT Ban'E does for 5 brews or so), it's entirely missing the point. I think that part of this is definitely about the youth of this yearling, and that feature will grow some. However, it's growing from far less of a base of excitement than I'd like, given that the flavors are quieter than the Mansai. $150 is grumble worthy (like $75 for the Douyizhai), but okay. $310 is just well beyond highway robbery. It's more expensive than any of this year's XZH, for example. For LBZ that's a very long ways from the best of its kind.
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Some 2002 CNNP given to me a few years back.
Believe it or not, it wasn't ghastly.
Believe it or not, it wasn't ghastly.
Three teas of the day...
Tried some bamboo wrapped YouLe. It was thick, it tasted decent, but it was plantation to the nth degree, of the sort that gets people to stick 'em into caves or just forgo all of that for some well behaved shu.
XZH '10 Lao Wu Shan. half gaiwan style. Very nice and delicately floral on top of a gentle Wuliang base. Buy worthy for drinking and for curiousity's sake, but my guess as to age-worthy is that it's unlikely to be impressive. Generally not compelling.
After some ranting and raving about LBZ via email, I dug out the '06 XZH Yang for thoughtful comparisons, yet again, and conserving through use of loose fragments in half gaiwan. Aroma is weaker, but sweeter, candy, floral, complex and more appealing than the Puersom. Much less thick. Much less dense in taste, with fewer low notes. Durability was much less this time around, at about 12-13 brews--probably because of so much broken leaf. Excellent qi, though balanced between what the XZH Youle offers in terms of body feel and what the Nadacha Mannuo/XZH DaXueShan does on the head. Flavors shimmer in the mouth very nicely-- much, much more complex than the Puersom, and more complex than any other LBZ I've had. The flavor isn't as bold, and doesn't transition as much in taste as more standard LBZ does, or what the CGHT Ban'E does. It does do all those things to a nice extent for more brews, including going down the throat and doing that moving cool (wind water effect). I enjoyed it very much, tho' I really shouldn't find it so easy to nibble that cake so often. Am now very curious to taste some ChenShenghao LBZ.
Tried some bamboo wrapped YouLe. It was thick, it tasted decent, but it was plantation to the nth degree, of the sort that gets people to stick 'em into caves or just forgo all of that for some well behaved shu.
XZH '10 Lao Wu Shan. half gaiwan style. Very nice and delicately floral on top of a gentle Wuliang base. Buy worthy for drinking and for curiousity's sake, but my guess as to age-worthy is that it's unlikely to be impressive. Generally not compelling.
After some ranting and raving about LBZ via email, I dug out the '06 XZH Yang for thoughtful comparisons, yet again, and conserving through use of loose fragments in half gaiwan. Aroma is weaker, but sweeter, candy, floral, complex and more appealing than the Puersom. Much less thick. Much less dense in taste, with fewer low notes. Durability was much less this time around, at about 12-13 brews--probably because of so much broken leaf. Excellent qi, though balanced between what the XZH Youle offers in terms of body feel and what the Nadacha Mannuo/XZH DaXueShan does on the head. Flavors shimmer in the mouth very nicely-- much, much more complex than the Puersom, and more complex than any other LBZ I've had. The flavor isn't as bold, and doesn't transition as much in taste as more standard LBZ does, or what the CGHT Ban'E does. It does do all those things to a nice extent for more brews, including going down the throat and doing that moving cool (wind water effect). I enjoyed it very much, tho' I really shouldn't find it so easy to nibble that cake so often. Am now very curious to taste some ChenShenghao LBZ.
Had a decent to good session with '10 Nadacha Mansai.
Seems like a working and easily navigable XZH storefront is up...
http://www.sanhetang.com.tw/
Seems like a working and easily navigable XZH storefront is up...
http://www.sanhetang.com.tw/
SOTD: XZH 2010 ManNing GuCha - from a taste, mouthfeel, etc. perspective this tea didn't really do much for me. I found it rather boring and lacking in the areas just mentioned. However I got quite the unusual qi/feeling from it - almost like an out of body feel, or behind a veil of sorts - very weird. I don't know if this was due to being too hungry while drinking the tea (although it was not on an empty stomach) or what. Anyway, rather unusual feeling. I have been marginally increasing the amount of leaf I have been using in order to get the feel of the qi. I'm about 160 lbs and today I used about 6 gms of leaf in a 120 ml gaiwan. I used slightly longer infusion times today and drank the tea in about 2 or 2.5 hours. For many teas I barely notice any qi. I can feel it most often with a green tea or yancha. I think I drink the yancha in a much more concentrated form and therefore drink it faster than I do puerh. That leaves me with a strong caffeine punch usually.
Oh, and this seems rather overpriced....
Oh, and this seems rather overpriced....
a session with a densely compacted chunk of taipei commemorative...About what you'd expect...
3.5g in a half gaiwan attempt with the '09 YS Ding Jia Zhai. About what my first experience was. It's mostly decent plantation with a cut of the good stuff. Early brews smell nicely of caramel on the pour, and has floral elements in the cup. Smooth enough, but the flavor has very little depth and does not linger on the palate and does not penetrate the back of the mouth or throat. Later brews, after the 7th, the plantation cuts out and the better stuff keeps going. This is reasonably pleasant tea, but I'd rather have '07 CGHT Guafengzhai, and hope my sample was trashy, or if not, just ditch any bad session with prejudice.
I wish Houde had gotten somedat Pasha '11. If that was anything like the '09s, it would be totally worth getting, and only slight overspending at $9x. I also want a pony and free health care. I also think I've poked around enough to know that, as overly expensive as they are, Bana Tea is selling the Best Tea House productions at a decent price. I think with the condition of the economy, and the lack of any further price increases over the Christmas break (unlike what went on last winter), prices should be stable this year, with the good stuff slowly being sold, while not as good stuff stagnate.
3.5g in a half gaiwan attempt with the '09 YS Ding Jia Zhai. About what my first experience was. It's mostly decent plantation with a cut of the good stuff. Early brews smell nicely of caramel on the pour, and has floral elements in the cup. Smooth enough, but the flavor has very little depth and does not linger on the palate and does not penetrate the back of the mouth or throat. Later brews, after the 7th, the plantation cuts out and the better stuff keeps going. This is reasonably pleasant tea, but I'd rather have '07 CGHT Guafengzhai, and hope my sample was trashy, or if not, just ditch any bad session with prejudice.
I wish Houde had gotten somedat Pasha '11. If that was anything like the '09s, it would be totally worth getting, and only slight overspending at $9x. I also want a pony and free health care. I also think I've poked around enough to know that, as overly expensive as they are, Bana Tea is selling the Best Tea House productions at a decent price. I think with the condition of the economy, and the lack of any further price increases over the Christmas break (unlike what went on last winter), prices should be stable this year, with the good stuff slowly being sold, while not as good stuff stagnate.
'10 YS Yongxueshan. I took care to get just leaves instead of dust. It was merely okay--the tea is darkening up some in flavor since last year. It didn't feel all that potent either, does have a nice fruity finish on occasion.
Of course, when I'm disappointed, I can't help but bring out the good stuff...
'09 XZH gift set sheng. Might be from xiao jing gu, but there wasn't that much jing gu taste--very Bingdao-like. Strong tobacco-grass-floral aroma in the first five or so brews. Thinner soup. Getting slightly darker in flavor as well, with more nuts and chicory notes. Lighter (and a bit less dense) taste than Nada's Bingdao, but more complex with a wide band of flavors. The session was reasonably dynamic, and there was anticipation of what new things to taste. Very durable, and I overbrewed on the tenth round and got a fairly sour, if gentle, soup. The sourness only persisted one more brew. Occasionally there is a dry feeling in the mouth and throat, but does not persist through consecutive brews... I enjoyed this very much.
Of course, when I'm disappointed, I can't help but bring out the good stuff...
'09 XZH gift set sheng. Might be from xiao jing gu, but there wasn't that much jing gu taste--very Bingdao-like. Strong tobacco-grass-floral aroma in the first five or so brews. Thinner soup. Getting slightly darker in flavor as well, with more nuts and chicory notes. Lighter (and a bit less dense) taste than Nada's Bingdao, but more complex with a wide band of flavors. The session was reasonably dynamic, and there was anticipation of what new things to taste. Very durable, and I overbrewed on the tenth round and got a fairly sour, if gentle, soup. The sourness only persisted one more brew. Occasionally there is a dry feeling in the mouth and throat, but does not persist through consecutive brews... I enjoyed this very much.
'11 Puersom Hekai. Finishing the sample. While it's nice, durable, and all, this doesn't really capture much of my interest. Definitely would prefer the Nadacha Douyizhai. These Hekai teas are just a tad heavy and solid for me, especially as young sheng. If I could come back to it when it's 7 years old and much more floral over the top, I will like this much more.
edit to add, the Chinese Tea Shop has a bunch of new older sheng and shu that I don't think I've seen before...Some here might be interested...
edit to add, the Chinese Tea Shop has a bunch of new older sheng and shu that I don't think I've seen before...Some here might be interested...
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Nadacha Bangwai. Did 7.8g this time, with many fragment. Was very strong, abrasive, and plantation like. Caffeine interrupted my nice qi, and it felt like I swallowed a pineapple, the throatfeel was so strong. Never stopped being rough, but it got very sweet and tasty somewhere past 10 brews or so.
I've been enjoying some of the 2011 YS autumnal cakes (from Yiwu) over the week-end. The most accomplished (in my opinion) seems to be the Xikong; the most overrated seems to be the Gaoshanzhai; the least entertaining seems to be the Yibang. Lots of fun to be had.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
09 Changtai Qian Jian Feng -
The aroma of this tea is returning. My experiment with putting wet store pu in this one has completely dissipated. Some faint grain notes and mushroom are there, but camphor is the predominating flavor overall. Pretty tasty.
The aroma of this tea is returning. My experiment with putting wet store pu in this one has completely dissipated. Some faint grain notes and mushroom are there, but camphor is the predominating flavor overall. Pretty tasty.
'11 YS Jing Gu Yangta. Obviously something wrong with the processing, and it's a bit inappropriately green-tea like. Also, it's too low a grade of Jing Gu for me--Jing Gu is not an area where it's cheap to meet my needs, like Bulang. This was still sorta pleasant after the green edge dies.
'10 XZH ManNing. 3.5g in half gaiwan. Blows the earlier Jing Gu away, and it's at least twice as good. Rich, fruity, complex. Just, no/little qi. Costs way too much money for no qi. I will make the suggestion that it's easy to flavor-clip this tea by overbrewing and not get a bitter hint. I was extremely conservative this time around, and got a very good session flavor and aroma wise. Judging from the Sanhetang site, Houde might have this tea wrong, since the wrapper and info on the website sez that it's a classic Manzhuang, rather than Manlin specifically. The Manzhuang and the Osan are the same price on the Sanhetang website as well. So I'm pretty confused.
'10 XZH ManNing. 3.5g in half gaiwan. Blows the earlier Jing Gu away, and it's at least twice as good. Rich, fruity, complex. Just, no/little qi. Costs way too much money for no qi. I will make the suggestion that it's easy to flavor-clip this tea by overbrewing and not get a bitter hint. I was extremely conservative this time around, and got a very good session flavor and aroma wise. Judging from the Sanhetang site, Houde might have this tea wrong, since the wrapper and info on the website sez that it's a classic Manzhuang, rather than Manlin specifically. The Manzhuang and the Osan are the same price on the Sanhetang website as well. So I'm pretty confused.
2005 Douji spring red label definitly the beast session that i've had with this tea so far first infusion was dominated by a huge honey flavor which by the second infusion had moved on to a nice herbal taste. around the third or fourth infusion a nice cooling mouthfeel started to pop up to reassuring me that this is (at least partially) old tree. Yesterday I was lucky enough to try a 90s traditional stored 7592 (sheng). This was a really interesting tea very very smooth with nice frosty huigan which seemed out of place with the initial taste. almost tasted shu-iey but had enough bite in the aftertaste to let you know what it was. I need more good quality shicang pu.
06 Yi Pin Xiang Nannuo meets Bulang
Shows a bit of storage for its age but very mellow overall. Some wood and camphor...not stellar, but enjoyable none the less.
Shows a bit of storage for its age but very mellow overall. Some wood and camphor...not stellar, but enjoyable none the less.
