Tao Cha Ju '08 Lao Man'E : My throat was hurting, and I remember this tea leaving a thick coating in the throat, so I brewed some. Good morning, kuwei. Surprised how dark this is for 2008.
SOTD- sheng of the day
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Welcome aboard- I see you're fitting right in.
TwoDog2, hopefully, the typhoon will pull some of that nasty air out.
GN?, I never thought Pinesol was bad, and I would be happy to have Pinesol! This is the fragrance people EAT off of. What do you mean it's not great in liquid form?
Also, how many infusions before the 2006 TeaUrchin Yiwu starts picking up? Got maybe two more sessions, so I want to make the most of them...
Two finishing off shengs of the day...
I've had this 2003 6FTM Youle for awhile, so decided to end the packet with 6 grams. It was a pretty good experience. The early brew had nice texture, and most brews give you at least one or two good sips before the plantation harshness and bitterness kicks in. Decent aroma, got bored before really testing durability. A tiny bit of qi to cut the caffeine.
Then I finished off the XZH '10 Upper Cave Art sample, with 3.6g. It was very good. The leaves were broken so there was bitterness and not too much coherent flavor, but the taste was fuller. The texture was great, like drinking slightly runny honey. A bit of qi. Okay durability, but again, not too much change from cup to cup. Slight, but good aroma.
GN?, I never thought Pinesol was bad, and I would be happy to have Pinesol! This is the fragrance people EAT off of. What do you mean it's not great in liquid form?
Also, how many infusions before the 2006 TeaUrchin Yiwu starts picking up? Got maybe two more sessions, so I want to make the most of them...
Two finishing off shengs of the day...
I've had this 2003 6FTM Youle for awhile, so decided to end the packet with 6 grams. It was a pretty good experience. The early brew had nice texture, and most brews give you at least one or two good sips before the plantation harshness and bitterness kicks in. Decent aroma, got bored before really testing durability. A tiny bit of qi to cut the caffeine.
Then I finished off the XZH '10 Upper Cave Art sample, with 3.6g. It was very good. The leaves were broken so there was bitterness and not too much coherent flavor, but the taste was fuller. The texture was great, like drinking slightly runny honey. A bit of qi. Okay durability, but again, not too much change from cup to cup. Slight, but good aroma.
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SotD: I appear to be drinking 15g of Longfeng "Green". Heaven knows what possessed me to try so much of this tea, which, even at more humane levels of leaf, remains totally destructive. I can safely report, however, that I am awake, and that is worth something. It's a very solid tea, which stands up to my abuse quite easily. Longfeng have made some very decent cakes, and I likes me their pricing.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
and bored
Hobbes: Is it 2009 or 2010? There were both editions, but 2009 was Jingmai and 2010 was Youle. I agree that most of their production was good (from 2009 at least, 2010 was maybe a bit weaker, but very good nevertheless).
What spoils the fun to me is the fact that it is basically all work of Scott of YS, except that Longfeng owner has seized all the credit and fame. In my opinion, in a particularly unpleasant way.
But the teas are good, yes.
Do you have samples of the wedding edition? I might send you samples in the next package if you don't have it... Or whole minicakes if you do like them (I don't).
What spoils the fun to me is the fact that it is basically all work of Scott of YS, except that Longfeng owner has seized all the credit and fame. In my opinion, in a particularly unpleasant way.
But the teas are good, yes.
Do you have samples of the wedding edition? I might send you samples in the next package if you don't have it... Or whole minicakes if you do like them (I don't).
Thanks!
And Shah, the typhoon has managed to carry away the pollution, which will promptly be replaced as soon as it leaves. Luckily the throat is better already.
SOTD: Tao Cha Ju 2011 Yiwu Guyun - I was annoyed I had to leave, even after about 8-10 steeps (i lost track), it was still plowing along. Lots of white sugar and grain, with some floral this and that. I think this tea will age well, it's stronger than most of the Yiwu's I have had from 2011. I probably used around 9g (also didn't keep track) or so in a 120ml gaiwan
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Had a very good session with the '06 SE Memorial, using leaf that's been in the tin pretty long, now. Good aroma, good taste, good thickness, and plenty of honeywater at the end.
Then I decided to break out the '10 fall Xikong. Not one of its better days. Great texture, but the taste and smell are less complex and strong, even if it's still good. Might be a bit more qi. Durability definitely isn't as good as it could be. I think if I were to be choosing between the 2012 Xikong and the Bangwei33, I suspect I'd have to go with the Bangwei33, because better qi, and it's big leaf, where I know with the Xikong, as I was reminded today, the small-leaf puerh taste will simplify. Doesn't mean it can't be good, but it's definitly has the possibility of behaving like many Jingmai as it ages. The Bangwei33 offers a better chance of higher quality at 7-10 years of age.
TwoDog2, there are many different Taochaju Yiwu? Where is it from? That sounds like something from up north and east, like Ding Jia Zhai or Wan Gon Zhai...
way higher dosage than poor lil' me. Whew!
Then I decided to break out the '10 fall Xikong. Not one of its better days. Great texture, but the taste and smell are less complex and strong, even if it's still good. Might be a bit more qi. Durability definitely isn't as good as it could be. I think if I were to be choosing between the 2012 Xikong and the Bangwei33, I suspect I'd have to go with the Bangwei33, because better qi, and it's big leaf, where I know with the Xikong, as I was reminded today, the small-leaf puerh taste will simplify. Doesn't mean it can't be good, but it's definitly has the possibility of behaving like many Jingmai as it ages. The Bangwei33 offers a better chance of higher quality at 7-10 years of age.
TwoDog2, there are many different Taochaju Yiwu? Where is it from? That sounds like something from up north and east, like Ding Jia Zhai or Wan Gon Zhai...
way higher dosage than poor lil' me. Whew!
I have two of his Yiwu cakes, one is from San He She (三合社 the Yi Wu Gu Yun) and the other is pure GFZ. I have a few of the former and only one of the latter. The one I was drinking this morning was the Gu Yun. It is a blend of 3 years, 2009-2011, but pressed in 2011. I think it goes spring, fall, spring - that is: spring 2009, fall 2010, and spring 2011. I can check on that, I am not 100%.
Anyway, that is why the flavor spectrum is a bit all over the place. There are some fun things happening in that cake.
Anyway, that is why the flavor spectrum is a bit all over the place. There are some fun things happening in that cake.
Hola! The Longfeng Green sample that I have is a 2009, which I have down as being Jingmaishan. It certainly tastes like Jingmai. I wasn't aware that there was any connection between Longfeng and Yunnan Sourcing!
The "wedding" edition is the dragon-and-phoenix? I have tried the "Bulangshan dragon", which I thought was clean, fairly decent, and finished well. I thought I'd tried the phoenix, but perhaps not - I don't seem to have notes from it anywhere...
All the best,
Hobbes
Hi Hobbes,
Yes, LF used to buy things from YS and Scott sourced maocha for LF's "own" production...
The 2009 Green was a really great tea. I wanted a tong of that and the purple edition too, but they were sold out. At least, I still have eight cakes of Blue edition - which was not too good when young (Mangfei), but gradually becomes quite nice.
That is interesting with the Bulang dragon. Mine was really awfully smokey, like burning cigarettes. Maybe I got a badly stored/processed piece? I've got to try the second minicake I have.
Yes, LF used to buy things from YS and Scott sourced maocha for LF's "own" production...
The 2009 Green was a really great tea. I wanted a tong of that and the purple edition too, but they were sold out. At least, I still have eight cakes of Blue edition - which was not too good when young (Mangfei), but gradually becomes quite nice.
That is interesting with the Bulang dragon. Mine was really awfully smokey, like burning cigarettes. Maybe I got a badly stored/processed piece? I've got to try the second minicake I have.
SOTD, speaking of YS... YS 2012 Wuliang Shan
This is a nice tea. Mostly small, thin leaves. Lots of astringency on the tongue early in the session, and a nice kuwei that builds up slowly from steep to steep, and peeks about steep 8-9, which is nice. I stopped around 10 steeps, but it could have kept going. Very floral, and the dry tea smelled like apricots. It had enough qi that I was sweating a bit by the end of the session. Good work, Scott - nice price too, for a sizeable 400g cake.
This is a nice tea. Mostly small, thin leaves. Lots of astringency on the tongue early in the session, and a nice kuwei that builds up slowly from steep to steep, and peeks about steep 8-9, which is nice. I stopped around 10 steeps, but it could have kept going. Very floral, and the dry tea smelled like apricots. It had enough qi that I was sweating a bit by the end of the session. Good work, Scott - nice price too, for a sizeable 400g cake.
Today, I retried some of that 2006 Yiwu from TeaUrchin. The airing out helped quite a bit, actually, and I made sure to do a lengthy session to expiration. It's really not a bad tea, in the vein of Sunsing '03 Bada, '04 Changtai Jifengyuan, and other well stored wet cakes. There are plenty of nuances and it's quite durable, and it certainly gave me the munchies. Besides that wet stored cakes aren't my party, so to speak, this is just not made with all that good leaves, not in the sense that it's worth $68 to me. I double checked the other available cakes in this category, and they are much higher than it used to be...the Sunsing Bada is 200 HK dollars more these days, and the late nineties little yellow mark is 76 pounds, so both are over US $100. On the other hand, there are plenty of wetter stored Yiwu on tap from Yunnan Sourcing that can provide a similar experience for cheaper (so I am told). The one older Yiwu I drink is not from this sort of storage. I will say that it would be well worth $45-50 for people who want this kind of tea, but I am glad that I can drink young sheng. I've been eying that new fall Xi Bang Shan that YS just put up. Cheap and probably good for daily (although I'd probably buy the '10 fall Bang Ma before something like this).
The Zhong Cang Wuliang is always a good deal for regular drinking as well!
The Zhong Cang Wuliang is always a good deal for regular drinking as well!
2011 HLH Yiwu Qing Bing -
This is a peculiar tea. It tastes and smells like it has some purple leaf in it. Overall it's okay...didn't expect much given the price.
This is a peculiar tea. It tastes and smells like it has some purple leaf in it. Overall it's okay...didn't expect much given the price.
Retried the Nadacha '12 Bulang. The original comment at 5874 stands unchanged. It was a slight bit more likely to be fruity earlier on. Just not enough strength of taste or body feel to be worth the money. Taste and especially mouthfeel is good. This is a pleasant tea, and likely to age into a pleasant tea, however, its nature would have to change a lot to be anything really superior. It's early, perhaps better stuff will show up in a year or two.
Two pleasant if expensive teas...
1) Best Tea House 2005 High Mountain brick. Somewhat sour, a bit bitter, a bit astringent, especially early on. Has a strong fruity aroma and taste. No qi. Decent thickness. Good throatfeel. Later infusions (reasonably durable) are mild tasting, but pleasantly free of bitterness and astringency, with only occasional sourness. $48/250g is a lot of money for tea like this, but this is a pretty solid tea, much more so than the 2001 Best Tea House brick that they ask $128/250g for. Again, a genuinely decent cakes from before 2004 and costs less than $100 is a cake you should consider seriously, if you're into the broad phenomenon of puerh tea hobbyism. Even something that's dead on top, like '04 Nanjian ZhaiZiPo is much better than many teas from that era. Generally, when people tried to make good tea, it was possible to make good tea, so there is quite a bit of it, which is why there is a collector's focus, sometimes, on pre '04 tea. However, that's because people were actually trying, which is not always the case, and the howlers (and the general lack/refinement of equipment and expertise of the time) do outnumber the good cakes, still.
2) 3.5g of Nadacha Bangwei33. Was not as down as I was when I first tried it, and so the calming was a bit more welcome. Started off fairly tobaccoey, so I kinda started comparing it with the '09 gift set sheng, which is a JingGu. The qi isn't that strong, but it's nice--definitely about the same strength as the '10 Bangwei, but more body feel, and just a nice enveloping feel. The mouthfeel was quite good if thin, and the feeling in the throat was superb--'10 Bangwei really ramped up. The flavors weren't that friendly, but it was reasonably loud, detailed, such that attention was occupied. The aroma really could be a bit better. By and large, I think the gift set Jing Gu and this Bangwei are about the same grade of tea, even if they do somewhat different things. That helps me think about what the cost would have been like in '10, maybe about $60-$90, depending on the impact of the Bangwei name. If I had the money, I would seriously consider buying this tea, when I wouldn't consider any of the other '12 Nadacha I've had to be particularly worth my time. The price point does mean that it competes with lots of other very good young puerh, though.
1) Best Tea House 2005 High Mountain brick. Somewhat sour, a bit bitter, a bit astringent, especially early on. Has a strong fruity aroma and taste. No qi. Decent thickness. Good throatfeel. Later infusions (reasonably durable) are mild tasting, but pleasantly free of bitterness and astringency, with only occasional sourness. $48/250g is a lot of money for tea like this, but this is a pretty solid tea, much more so than the 2001 Best Tea House brick that they ask $128/250g for. Again, a genuinely decent cakes from before 2004 and costs less than $100 is a cake you should consider seriously, if you're into the broad phenomenon of puerh tea hobbyism. Even something that's dead on top, like '04 Nanjian ZhaiZiPo is much better than many teas from that era. Generally, when people tried to make good tea, it was possible to make good tea, so there is quite a bit of it, which is why there is a collector's focus, sometimes, on pre '04 tea. However, that's because people were actually trying, which is not always the case, and the howlers (and the general lack/refinement of equipment and expertise of the time) do outnumber the good cakes, still.
2) 3.5g of Nadacha Bangwei33. Was not as down as I was when I first tried it, and so the calming was a bit more welcome. Started off fairly tobaccoey, so I kinda started comparing it with the '09 gift set sheng, which is a JingGu. The qi isn't that strong, but it's nice--definitely about the same strength as the '10 Bangwei, but more body feel, and just a nice enveloping feel. The mouthfeel was quite good if thin, and the feeling in the throat was superb--'10 Bangwei really ramped up. The flavors weren't that friendly, but it was reasonably loud, detailed, such that attention was occupied. The aroma really could be a bit better. By and large, I think the gift set Jing Gu and this Bangwei are about the same grade of tea, even if they do somewhat different things. That helps me think about what the cost would have been like in '10, maybe about $60-$90, depending on the impact of the Bangwei name. If I had the money, I would seriously consider buying this tea, when I wouldn't consider any of the other '12 Nadacha I've had to be particularly worth my time. The price point does mean that it competes with lots of other very good young puerh, though.
SotD: 2012 Fengqing Sunning "Chunjian" [spring tips] from TeaVivre. I completely loved the 2006 cake; apparently they sold quite a few. This 2012 is more expensive than the 2006, and, while sweet and clean, is a little more normal. Very enjoyable and well-made, but $58 is a bit much for it. I am impressed by Fengqing Sunning as a factory, however.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
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I've had very little Fengqing pu'er, but if I recall correctly, this venerable company used to produce a veritable sea of black tea.
Thanks for the tip.
SOTD: First up was 2006 CGHT Yiwu Chawang. The dry leaf looks fairly dark brown while the soup brews to a slight orange color. The tea is fairly light in taste. It has somewhat of a tannic nature and is slightly drying. The complexity is rather low and there is not much sweetness although there is a decent base layer of bitterness. However it is fairly durable and the qi sneaks up slowly on you. The qi is not overwhelming but seems to persist for awhile. This is a decent tea, but far from standout in any way. Next was a sample of the 2001 Fuk Hoi teacake from Sunsing. This is a tightly compressed tea that looks quite dark but doesn't have any wet storage smells. The tea brews up very dark and to me, it could almost be mistaken for a shu. The taste is smooth but very simple - no complexity at all. There seemed to be some qi but hard to separate the effect from the CGHT. Next was the 2001 Mengku Yellow in Green. While this was the same age as the Fuk Hoi it was a very different tea. While it was also tightly compressed, the soup brewed up a light orange color, not the black of the Fuk Hoi. The taste reminded me a bit of the 2000 Lan Yin Tie Beeng, although I haven't had that cake in awhile now. It was slightly astringent and had a camphor taste. This was clearly a more complex tea and was in drier storage somewhere. (This cake came from Taiwan.)
Yesterday I finally drank my sample of 88 qing bing from EoT. I have to say that I wasn't that impressed. It was a decent enough tea in terms of taste, durability and decent qi but nothing stood out, to me at least, in any way other than price. Maybe I'm a puerh Philistine, in this term of the meaning: one uninformed in a special area of knowledge.
Yesterday I finally drank my sample of 88 qing bing from EoT. I have to say that I wasn't that impressed. It was a decent enough tea in terms of taste, durability and decent qi but nothing stood out, to me at least, in any way other than price. Maybe I'm a puerh Philistine, in this term of the meaning: one uninformed in a special area of knowledge.
