SOTD- sheng of the day

**shah8** · 12-19-2011, 08:47 PM

2005 Menghai Mengsong Peacock. Unpromising debris chunk starts out like paint-stripper, eases up after 4 brews, and turns into quite good tea, which stays complex, interesting enough to the 13th or so brews, right before it keels over at 15.

**shah8** · 12-20-2011, 09:47 PM

'97/'98 Hualien brick. Much better than my first try at it. While still dry, it doesn't taste like under-ripe Bulang anymore. I'm also not unpleasantly caffeinated this time, either. Lots of sweetness, and some actual sweet sensation. Consistent camphor feeling and taste along with rubber and other old sheng tastes. Trying an overnight brew.

**GN?** · 12-21-2011, 06:40 AM

SOTD 98 8582 HK classic vanilla cocoa butter aroma. I really enjoy this tea when it is properly stored I tried a dry stored (cryostasis) version of the same year 8582 from houde a about a week ago and it is hard to believe that this is the same tea from the same year. That tea may have some nice things going for it but not the same. The 8582 may not be as powerful or nuanced as 7542, 32 and other menghai recipe's, but It has this distinct flavor and aroma that I love. But I Have three different dry stored 8582's from the mid 90's that this taste is no where to be found in it. My question is will it ever develope or does its dryer storage mean mean that it will mature along completely different lines and have a new flavor taste, mouthfeel ,aroma, or will it never really mellow out like a tea that has seen a warehouse in HK or taiwan? I love this tea

**P_K** · 12-21-2011, 12:55 PM

2011 YS Wuliang -

Starts out grassy and like a mown field...yes this one too. In fact all three that I have tried start that way....wonder if it has to do with the same person doing the shaqing? (If they did of course).
Then flavors of tropical fruits dominate until say the sixth or seventh brew. Then a nice balance of fruit and vegetal flavors emerge. I think I'm around the 15th brew. Holding up nicely. Enjoyable session.

**arghblech** · 12-21-2011, 02:30 PM

2003 CNNP Yiwu High Mountain Wild Arbor which is almost certainly none of these things. Boring but not wretched.

**arghblech** · 12-22-2011, 10:33 AM

2008 Xiaguan FT Nan Zhao Yu - THIS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DELICIOUS. I've hit a rough patch and am starting to answer to "Death of Sheng". I can't seem to brew sheng worth a crap lately. I forget the steeps or wander off and come back to room temp tea.

**Doc4** · 12-22-2011, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by arghblech

2008 Xiaguan FT Nan Zhao Yu - THIS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DELICIOUS. I've hit a rough patch and am starting to answer to "Death of Sheng". I can't seem to brew sheng worth a crap lately. I forget the steeps or wander off and come back to room temp tea.

Your thinly-veiled attempts to replace your custom title will ... ultimately ... fail.

**P_K** · 12-22-2011, 01:08 PM

2009 Menghai 7542 - Okay session...nothing special.

2007 Mengyang Guoyan Yiwu Zheng Shan- pretty good in a yixing...lots of mushroom and a little grain.

**shah8** · 12-22-2011, 10:25 PM

'08 Treasures of Five Mountains. Excellent, the huigans are soft and gentle, which is why I didn't notice them before...The qi is still kinda low, and all of the positive qualities noted before happened again. Lasted a long time. I will probably never get any, but I encourage those of you who don't have a big stash of quality tea to get some before it's a hassle or costs even more...

**shah8** · 12-23-2011, 04:56 PM

Another good session:

I am still somewhat suspicious of the vegetal taste in the '11 YS Wuliang, and it's light in qi, but otherwise, an excellent single estate sheng. Does everything else a sheng is supposed to do.

**GN?** · 12-24-2011, 08:33 AM

Last nite I had a nice evening sesion of 70's loose leaf da ye. Excellent as always great mellowing cha qi.
Today 06 xzh LBZ yan. mushroomy goodness with some aromas of dark fruits. It has an efervescente feeling that tingles on the roof of your mouth. very nice

**shah8** · 12-24-2011, 04:46 PM

Treated myself to mannuo. Only flaw is that it's kinda watery. Not much of one, and it was very much a treat.

Edited to add:

Royal Puer has a superpremium line-up of Yiwu teas these days. Anyone feel like burning cash?

**shah8** · 12-25-2011, 09:31 PM

'09 XZH Da Xue Shan for Christmas. Was excellent. Extremely thick and silky. Lengthy taste and lingering aftertastes. Has almost no bottom register of wood/earth/etc, other than a thin bit of bitter oak. Qi was of the narcotic sort even heavier than Man Nuo, with some body feel as well. I do not think I can prefer anything but top-shelf LBZ to this. Even if Nadacha GFZ has plenty of lower notes and is more well rounded, it's gonna get beat down *hard* when mouthfeel, loud, tangy tastes of tangerines, honey, peaches, citrus blossoms, cinnamon, caramel, and camphor is taken into consideration. Energy, sweetness and qi is only a little inferior, though, so perhaps when it grows up, it'd be as good or better than this DXS, but I wouldn't count on it...I was getting pretty big hits of qi past round 20. Those leaves are very thick and leathery, but smaller in size than the '07 maocha (the soup is also much less dry and rough than the '07 maocha as well). Little sign of aging past no more pink coloration in the early soups--reddish orange now. Not a strong aroma, but still complex and interesting.

Tea sessions like today, which is of that psychic "Top Ten" kind of feel (made me forget I had a toothache for a short stretch) is part of why I think XZH is great value for the money. Does make me feel even more disappointed with the 2010 offerings @ HouDe. I like them alot, but there is just no comparison to the '09 Pasha, let alone this or the Jingmai, and they cost more than what I paid for them last year...

**shah8** · 12-26-2011, 10:14 PM

'11 Puersom Hekai. Found some compressed leaves, so it's not maocha and is from a bing. After (good) dancong pu yesterday, and Man Nuo the day before, this is plain Jane tea. The qi was notably less today than in my first try. The flavors were all around good, and more subtle flavors peeked out later in the session, past about 8 rounds. Brewed longer than I could drink. There was a twig left over from DXS I had yesterday, no leaf or anything, and I added it for the last couple of brews, and wouldn't you know? Added a touch of fruity pizzaz. Just not a little oomph in that XZH. Definitely slightly expensive for what it is, though.

**GN?** · 12-27-2011, 09:52 AM

2011 YS wuliang. This tea is interesting. I enjoy the weight of this tea very heavy flavors and thick soup. While not something I would enjoy drinking everyday I am thinking of stocking up on a couple cakes. I don't have enough young tea of this type in my collection

80's Bamboo wrapped toucha from EOT I was originally under the opinion that this was a Xiaguan production. But now It as labeled as "Produced by Yunnan Sheng Cha Ye Fen Gong Si" of Which I am unfamiliar with. I believe it is the same toucha labeled as xiaguan from Houde both cakes had the same wrapper and if I remember correctly Houde's cake also has a similar compession mark on the tuocha as the EOT example. Either way an deceent aged sheng that I do not feel like I need a special occasion to drink.

I also tried the YS 2011 autumn Gao Shan zi. I am still undecided on this cake. It has some things going for it. But I will have to brew it again before
I make up my mind. this tea has some nice high notes but not sure if it has enough base for me to want a whole cake.

**P_K** · 12-27-2011, 11:15 AM

2011 YS Yiwu Purple leaf -

Lots of stems and large leaves. Hard to describe the flavor. Something that slightly resembles dancong and puerh combined, yet it doesn't taste like either. Having said that...I find it quite tasty.

**shah8** · 12-27-2011, 08:47 PM

'10 Puersom Hekai. Also weaker in taste and qi than the first time I tried it. Very durable, with no citric bitterness this time around. Hekai is simply something you have to be in the mood for. If Youle can be boring, Hekai can be even more boring. All there is is a solid good taste and some nuances.

1.9g/150ml 5min 30min so forth, '95/'96 Shuangjiang Mengku Qiaomu with the lipstick red wrapper. I liked this very much. Sour went away quickly and a kind a rubber accented chenxiang came to the fore, along with sweetness. Is very durable as well. Lotsa good qi, mouth energy, mouth feel, and changing flavors in the mouth.

Nada as of the last check, has sold out of '10 Bangwei and Mansai bings.

**shah8** · 12-28-2011, 03:19 PM

'07 Dayi Subtle/Covert/Secret Fragrance. About as good as it gets within the constraints of plantation tea. Would not be surprised if some of it is arbor. Lots of fragrant woods in, and melon/caramel down the throat in the early rounds--not all that dissimilar to the 7542-208 I had a few days ago, except much less tar.

I think this is an interesting article...
http://translate.google.com/translat...26prmd%3Dimvns

**shah8** · 12-29-2011, 09:13 PM

Nadacha Bangwai. Pretty good, bigger boom as far as throatfeel goes, more sweet flavors to go with sweet sensations, and a bit extra wood and tobacco.

YS Yongde Big Snow Mountain. Wound up having another mostly dust session. Looks like the bing is mostly a bust. This is really fine particles fit for grocery teabags, not broken leaf mush from the press. Started off tasting a bit like fried chicken, which was oddly precognitive, since my dinner turned out to be fried chicken. Still, didn't start off so well, and I threw it out in favor of...

Ming Yuan Hao Yieh Sheng '05. Needed to break up bing some more to refill my ready serve yixing container. Grabbed a chunk off the top of the remainder of the bing and brewed that. Was very good, and was pretty woody for what it was, too. Plenty of camphor.