SOTD- sheng of the day

2000 simao Gu Pu er Qi Zi Bing Cha. I like this tea. It classic old school pu. It has enough depth and strength to be something nice in once it matures in 5-10 years. But it it lacks bells and whistles.

08 mr feng pure zen xt. seems a little dull today.I am not sure if it is the weather or else. the best parts of this tea are still there in the aftertaste and mouthfeel but the flavor is more muted than usual.

Fall '10 YS Xikong. Has an issue with hongcha pu behaviors, and am not sure whether it's not just the aging of small-leaf puerh. Not too much complexity or depth in top taste, and the session wasn't that dynamic. This was still a pretty awesome tea, though. It pretty much starts with the aroma--very much like a Jingmai in that cloth floral dry lavender aspect. The aroma isn't explosive, and it's actually rather quiet right after the pour. Wait a thirty seconds and you can really pick up on some complexities. Very durable aroma. The top taste might not be complex, but it's a pleasant sugarcane-fruitish taste--not too much basic sheng flavor. The aroma in the mouth, the effect in the throat, and the various yuns and huigans were excellently floral. Smooth soup, but relatively thin. Also bitter. The qi was rather good. Once all the hongcha aspects got washed out, I got a few brews with a more complex taste and depth, and this tea lasted about 20 brews, and could go on a bit more, actually. Didn't really get the syrup flavors, this time, though. This is proving to be a rather erratic brewer, some of my sessions were pretty different from others, but this is the second straight with little complexity on top.

Broadly, I would not be able to tell the difference between this and a good Jingmai--*very* similar behavior.

Nadacha Mannuo. With the exception of it's tendency to have water taste (maybe worsening), quite excellent. The body is improved, and the texture is very sticky and coating. There is almost no bitterness, and I really should think of trying for an overdose, GN? style. Plenty of huigans and yuns. Same flavor transitions as banzhang. Same wind-water cooling as banzhang. Lots of that warm feeling going down the esophagus and warming the belly. Same tendency to be sweet in later brews as banzhang. Good, strong, qi, like banzhang. That lovely peach/loquat taste, however, wasn't really present, only sticking around in the throat on occasion. The aroma was okay. Nothing aged or real mellowing other than perhaps fading flavors and lost bitterness. Later brews had something interesting in a resinous way, though. Spent time after sipping just staring at the wind through the trees in the yard, instead of reading. The book wasn't good. The tea was.

'07 XZH 7542. Having had the Jin Dayi and the Longyin a few months ago makes it clear how I was to appreciate this tea. Even so, today's session was a lot more solid and coherent than this tea usually is. A nice tasting smoky yang taste, quite loud, energetic and filling of the mouth. Good conversion to sweet flavors in the aftertaste. Excellent huigans, yun, and qi. Similar lack of dynamicism as the Jin Dayi or Longyin, notable lack of the kind of thickness that the Jin Dayi has, while it's much smoother than the Longyin. Very bitter, if properly so, and that bitterness lasts deeper into the session than the flavor really does. This particular cheap XZH, I've always been happy to have, in comparison to the 8582 and LongFeng, but it outdid itself today.

I think tea like this, Jin Dayi, Longyin, the 2003 HK Henry Conscientous Prescription, the 208, they all have a certain similarity to each other, in comparison to the '93, '98, '01 7542 I've had before. Absolutely no straw taste, for example--mostly a kind of smoked wood taste or some cousin of it, with a late sweetness that's characteristic and not plummy.

'07 fall XZH JingGu Nuercha. More or less behaves like a Bingdao. Early brews had an outstanding and durable floral aroma that complex and hard to identify, more sweet and fleshy, but not quite flowers, you know? Body was good early, thins to adequate--good texture, though. Taste was of sweet flavors dominated by brown sugar flavors of various types, from a little sugarcane to overroasted toffee. Strong bitterness. Some huigans. Good qi. A little less sweet than it usually is. Long session.

'11 Nadacha Douyizhai. Hasn't changed that much, flavor-wise, and that disappointed me somewhat. I'm not really fond of Hekai. While the last brew had some floral/conifer qualities, this brew did not, and I longed for it. Anyways, otherwise, it was fine, not too much qi, relatively strong and mouthfilling flavor for something that's not ultrapremium, much like Bangwei33. Lost some body, and body/texture is now inferior to Mannuo. Only a couple of huigans, but there were lots of yuns and lingering aftertastes. Relatively sweet, and this was sweeter than the last Mannuo brew. Very durable and smooth. Aroma was okay. I'm still kind of shaking my head at the thought that this was more expensive than the Mannuo. The Manmai might actually be aging into a better tea than this (and inevitably, I'll check again sometimes), it certainly has better qi, for example. That Mannuo, though, essentially has all of the reasons why one would love LBZ. Maybe not to the max or nothing, but a poor man's LBZ is something very worth having and I have to restrain myself from wanting to drink that tea.

'09 YS Gu Shu Lan Xiang 200g cake. Simply not aging well, and probably never had good prospects. Not bad tasting, but not truly interesting. Good body, as usual, and some yuns. Not too much aroma, and the taste is somewhat weak with occasional interesting notes. Had this tea three years, and tasted it when it was a little over a year old. Should be doing something. No qi, either. Given all the delicious alternatives I could have had at the time, these two 200g Bulang cakes were a major bust of forty or so bucks. The '08 v93 shu today was a better experience in terms of strength, complexity, thickness, and sweetness, and while this shu has definitely been improving over the years in my care, it's still a shu that should easily be beat by a decent sheng.

Unlabeled Bangwei (guess 2006?) cake - a little bit wet, or something strange developing on the backend of the steeps. Generally thick and pleasant.

'09 XZH Jingmai. Really good experience. Great aroma that is complex, durable, and dynamic as it cools. Has cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves along with the various floral and floral-fruitish elements. The taste was very complex too, with only something of a filbert's skin for traditional Jingmai nuttiness. Very good energy, really good throatfeel, plenty of huigans and yuns. The body was good, and the texture was a lovely oiliness. After about nine brews, it collapses into a very nice Menghai sweet flavors, with some sensate sweetness and fruitish finishes. The qi, of course, was strong and relaxing. Only a little bitterness for a few brews starting around 5th or so, and some citric character in the early brews count as flaws. So far in my 29 months of keeping this tea, it seems to be aging quite well--body and texture has improved a great deal, losing the original astringency. Much of the original fruity flavors have diminished, but flavor overall doesn't seem to have faded any, and there isn't any danger of flatness. The aroma has actually improved. There aren't many teas in this world that can beat a good Jingmai.

Two excellent older shengs of the day.

'02 Tai Lian, pretty much as it always is, a bit more citric and astringent than usual.

'01 Dayi 7542 Simplified. The actual flavor got out of its own way and was relatively nice. Low or no sourness, less straw, less edgy tobacco, more camphorey woods. The taste and aroma are really strong relative to other puerh from around that time. Aroma actually does some booming, like it was a good oolong or Assam. Both are complex. It is obvious that this particular brew has a good quantity of banzhang in it. Early brews are very sharply bitter, strong current of banzhang honey, the stone fruitiness (bing cherries) that grows to dominate the late brews, the massive qi that doesn't die down as you get deep into the session, the big huigans, and that characteristic astringency at the top of the throat which dissolves into throat feel. You know, the stuff peep pay Banzhang the big bucks for. The body was decent with a good oiliness, does thin while keeping the oiliness. The oiliness keeps the flavor (and salivation) going >30m. Hopefully this session was because of aging and not just a better than usual piece dropped into the gaiwan.

1996 dry storred 7542. Slight camphor taste initial followed by a distinct 7542 plum flavor with a slight peppery finish. The body is a little thin but the complexity of the flavor more than makes up for it. The energy is nice giving me a balloon head feeling. I wish I had bought some of this when I had the chance. I didn't remember anything special from my first couple tastings so I wrote it off.

brewed the 7542 a second day yesterday...good.

Today, I did a 1g microbrew of the '02 Nannuo White Tips. It was okay...It eventually developed a nice anise and menghai taste with a little conifer. There was no bitterness or astringency. Aroma wasn't impressive, the taste wasn't high in volume. Too little tea to really feel qi, tho' earlier session shows a decent amount. This doesn't really taste aged. This did do good work on cooling. This is pleasant, but not the sort of tea you pay big money for. The Tai Lian is easily the superior tea, for example. At this point, I realize that no matter that the XZH Nannuo '06 maocha was somewhat oolonged and flaky, it still has delivered, and by far, the best Nannuo tea sessions I've ever had. While I haven't had many, it doesn't seem like I will ever drink many, if any, Nannuos in this class. It's not namby pamby. Think top Nannuo gushu is basically BanPo Laozhai area, and that's it. Much like Youle only having YaNuo.

I also had the '05 Manzhuang sample again, 4g...My feelings about it hasn't changed. Good body/texture, good wine aftertaste, but basic flavor and aroma is not prominent, calming, or complex. No qi. '05 MingYuanHao Yiehsheng is the better tea, in comparison.

2003 Xiaguan baoyan jincha. I had a pretty good session with it. A little of that old tea qi for something as young as this is, in the beginning of the session. A couple of lightly sour brews, and a persistent problem with drying astringency were the only clouds in what was a very comfortable and sweet session.

2007 Dayi Secret Fragrance. Still too green to really drink. There are a couple of nice moments, but it's just not an especially premium tea, and certainly not better than 2nd SE Memorial or Taipei Commemorative, or any other reasonably nice cake. No way it should be $150. Thinking about it, people on Taobao are trying to sell that 2006 5 cake Dayi set for $1k+ over there. Houde's selling it for $400. Is that a natural arbitrage opportunity? Or is it waaaaay over the tippy top of finding the next rich and stupid sucker to unload that silly set?

Very strange experience today. I can't remember the name of this cake, but i think it is the 2005 S.Mengku DXS, I broke off a 30g chunk to take with me to an office. I had easily 8 or more sessions with this tea before and took notes at least once. It was not very memorable the first times I had it - ok, but nothing too interesting. The only reason I broke off this piece was because i was in a hurry and it was the first thing that caught my eye.

I am on the second session of the chunk, and it is completely different from what I remember. The fragrances are more pronounced and the tea has more structure than I remember. It is thicker with body and more complex. I thought the first session might have been my mood or a fluke, but this second session was fun too.

I am not sure whether I just hit a better part of the cake? Or maybe the cake underwent a change in the last 1/2 year? Whatever the reason, it is so enjoyable to pick up a cake I had nearly given up on and find that it offers new enjoyment.

'12 Chalaoguai Manzhuang. Same as the first time. This is good, non-mindblowing tea that offers respectable value for the money. I had a pleasant time. A bit of astringency is an issue, but the quality of late brews were rather good.

Teas of recent times...

'10 Nadacha Bangwei. Fairly floral with grains, nuts, and honey base. More like an exotic Mengku. Relatively pure essence and low in dynamicism. Qi is more subtle, and the session is as well, has the same kind of downer vibe as the Bangwei33. The texture is improved.

'10 Nadacha Manmai. This tea has gotten fairly bitter in my last two tries. Body is good, flavor has gotten simpler, and beginning to sleep a bit.

'11 Nadacha Bulang. More complex than the last time I tried the '10 version. Qi is about the same as the '12, maybe a bit less. Bitterness has gotten a bit aspirin-like. Not really hugely impressive right now.

The Tea Spot Bolder Breakfast blend of puerh, mallow flowers, and some hongcha. Mallow flowers make this very sour at first, not very bothersome to me, almost tart. Has really good body, and a strong almost fruity puerh nature, with plenty of chocolate flavoring everywhere, which I didn't mind. Brewed this gongfu.

'12 Yihe Nannuo. Not a loud taste volume, and not exceptional in any other way, and lacking qi. However, the taste was pretty good, decent body, okay smells, durable tea. Nothing fancy, just good.

Worst tea of 2013 award goes to: 2013 "Bingdao*" (*Terrible perfume soaked Bingdao fake).
First rinse; unnaturally strong fruity floral fragrance.
Steep one; still overwhelmingly fragrant, wondering if this is some new plant from a different planet.
Steep two: Death. No fragrance, pure astringency and harshness.
Steep three: Like steep two, only inexplicably worse.
Steep four: Gave up, never happened

Taochaju daxueshan '07. Good session. This tea doesn't have the greatest of taste, being mainly tobacco, vegetal qualities, and a touch of florals/malt. Some kind of fruit threatens to show its face at times. Okay aroma. It has decent body, texture. It has qi, the stuff that automatically makes it better than normal tea, but only a small-moderate amount. It has some nice cooling and some quality feel in the throat along with a few decent huigans. Lightly sour in the way wild tea can be, and there is some tartness in a few cups. Little bitterness or astringency(beyond crisp finish). Becomes sweet in later sessions. Not the greatest of tea, in comparison to something like BTH Chen Xiang Mannose, but is definitely one worth paying reasonable money for simultaneously casual and dedicated tea session.

I got to wondering after the session how close where this tea (and the BTH Chen Xiang) came from is to Bingdao. It doesn't really quite have the feel of Yongde tea, so I'm wondering if it's like Xibanshan or something.