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SOTD- sheng of the day

2005 Yongpinhao "Yiwu". Jiangchen tea, as one might guess. Doesn't really taste good, but has strong mouth aroma, and some cooling in the back of the mouth. Could only be interested in seven brews before ending the session. A little bit like how Tai Lian is, but no where near as nice.

A package came in the mail, and one item was a gifted caked of '08 8582. With thanks, I break up most of it to put in my yixing mug, and take a bit more to try for a second session of tea. Not too too different in taste from the XZH '07 8582, but narrower, a bit quieter, and with a bit more complexity. Retains the unpleasant green edge that I got from a sample in 2010. Soup seems thicker than it was four years ago. Needs more years, and maybe more moisture than I have to work with in Atlanta before it's any sort of truly nice. However, I plan to drink this up rather quickly so I don't prey on my better teas. For casual drinking, Xiaguan are ready to drink quicker, but then, Xiaguan processes their teas more.
 
2004 Taihe from Wisteria. Came in two hard chunks, leaves look more fragmented than the '05 maocha, with little scent to them. The early brews are pretty camphor cake style, much like the 2007 EoT QiShengGu, except much less plummy and much better. There is some tartness to the early brews as well. I'm inclined to think that this is not a Yiwu, and it has little in kind to the 2003 Zipin, other than the slightly sour start. In general, it's a more smoky-camphor version of the 2005 maocha version. It has a bit more of a aroma, obviously, and the early infusion had an extra wood and soil note. I think it has aged more in the cake form. There is a bit of energy in the beginning that levels off. There is a good, body centered qi in the front half of the session, and a stronger heady qi in the back half. The back half also featured a mouth aroma much like the '05 Yongpinhao, but much nicer, like the Tai Lian, but more...focused, and pure. Having the mouth fragrant like that is always very nice, and now I'm wondering if it's a property of certain aged northern tea around JingGu and Mengku. Not too much in the way of huigan, mostly just a bit of throatfeel and of soup going down. Did catch a nice yun or two with a distinct rhyme that lasted. The best thing about this tea, like the '05 Taihe maocha, is the superb oiliness of the soup texture. Not quite the running honey of some Mengku teas that just feels heavy...This feels like sipping and swishing in the mouth olive oil. That oiliness also tends to coat the mouth with flavor as well. The top flavor is relatively boring, as expected, but it has its character, and it's not obnoxious or anything, like the 02 Yiwu Old Tree from Best Tea House. The tea will last forever, pretty much, with late brews being mostly about oiliness and delicate mouth aromas. I wouldn't say this is $600 good on a personal scale, but there isn't any question that this comes from extremely expensive trees today. I'd guess that it's a fair price for it, though, but a tea more for a sophisticated audience, since it doesn't have a strong hook in terms of flavor or aroma.
 
2002 Youle tuo, originally from Wisteria, and not listed. Pretty easy to see why. It's like the 2006 Youle tuo that I've since drunk up, only with more years and more humidity. Not very good leaves. Thin soup, thin taste, early brews are unpleasantly bitter, and what there is of nice flavors, like a certain spicyness or vanilla milkshake, are faint in later brews. The 2003 6FTM Youle I've sampled from Biohorn is better.
 
2001 Dayi Yiwu sample from Apache, long neglected in a pile of other sample bags.

Very nice session. Reddish soup, sweet fragrances similar to bourbon and oak barrels. Slightly spicy, warm and sweet. Some remaining humid flavors in the earlier cups. Enjoyable
 
Ooooh, always have wanted to try that, among the diminishing number of teas I feel like I need to try! Bourbon and oak is a new one on me for aged Yiwus...well, the bourbon part.

Today, I started off with the 2003 Qingteng, and the leaves were very pretty with lots of darkened gloss and coppery tips! Early brews had a strong citrus accent in the aroma, and in the taste (not at the same time, though). The taste was relatively weak. There was some energy, and a consistent ku. Some mild huigans. The soup is reasonably thick, but not very thick. Has abit of astringency, but also some pretty lasting aftertastes in the mouth. A little bit of qi shows up in the head, here and there. The flavor mostly stays the same throughout, changing from a bit of citrus, a bit of heated clay, a bit of allspice, a bit of high pitched wood... I found it an enjoyable tea, but not particularly outstanding. Other reviews of this tea like those of TwoDog2 or JakubT are reasonably accurate. The Nannuo, is, at the end of the day, a more sound tea. One has to wait a longer time for astringency to wear down and a bit more chaos in the taste to develop from the fermenting. It is interesting to me that the Nannuo doesn't seem to have been kept as moist as the 2002 Youle Tuo or the '03 Zi Pin Tuo. I came back to this tea later for the back end, and the flavor got *much* more solid, and with thicker soup. In between I had gotten to thinking about how the only thing that matters is the original quality of the leaves and the processing. Age doesn't do anything but make it easier to drink (until we get to that magical 25-30yo tea range, and I seriously fail to see the attraction to the idea of dark tastes brought about from fermentation. That Youle is plenty dark, and it's not really all that pleasant, and this Qingteng just seemed to me like an older version of the LiuXiang from CreamofBanna. The back end disabused me of that notion, as it proves the Qingteng is more durable, or maybe it needs a serious rest after a couple of brews to truly start the session.

In between, because I was pretty down, I decided to splurge and bring out the big guns, 4g of the XZH Fall '07 Puzhen. Two things wrong with this tea. It's relatively thin. The ku has a slight citric green quality, like that taste that annoys me with the Dayi 8582 or EoT Feng's 2010, etc. Otherwise, it was pretty glorious. In a handwavey way, it's pretty close to the Taihe, and a bit more distant from the MengDai Bingdao. And it does very poorly compared to them for thickness of soup. However, in most every other way, the Puzhen slams everything else. It has a better top taste than either of those teas. It has way more huigans and yuns, and stronger at that. There was quite a bit of mouth aromas like the Taihe and Tai Lian. The qi seems to have improved from what it was like when I first got it in 2010, and is quite strong, and nicely tactile--not moving though. The aroma is less solid than either of its rivals and more ethereal. As such, the glass pitcher I usually use to enjoy the aroma with didn't work well, but a wide rim cup that I was drinking out of worked better, revealing a very nice Jingmai-ish aroma (without the cloth florals). This tea also manages some real depth of taste, with layers, and the session as a whole was quite dynamic. This is among the first tea cakes I've bought, and I quite foolishly never bought another cake, and I profoundly regret that. I brewed about 13-14 cups today, and will do more tomorrow.
 
Finished brewing puzhen, about five more brews until it was thick water, definitely an under 20 brews tea, and always had been. However, those five brews were like a pretty awesome white tea. Delicate taste and aroma, no bitterness, nice texture, lots of qi, and an awesome floral vanilla finish.

I finished off the last few tenths of grams of the Qingteng by blending with An Xiang shu. For some reason, this was blander than the original shu, which, of course, was always a relatively delicate tasting shu. Did some interesting things, but not a great experience.
 
Bourbon is actually a poor descriptor by me, as it could mean many things, but bourbon is generally a sort of spicy sweetness and character from the oak, like vanilla, brown sugar, nuts, caramel.

2005 Yiwu Zhengshan Red square. Gentle enough to carry an afternoon with grace. To complain a bit, it could be sweeter.
 
4g XZH Huangshanlin '07. Again, very thin soup for a premium tea, and thinner than Puzhen. Also somewhat tart at times, and bitter at others, the tartness goes away, and the bitterness resolves to other flavors.

Very good tea, a little less good than Puzhen, and seems to be aging. Best feature is the mouth aroma, which starts intensely, almost like a huigan before the huigan once it hits the tongue. The huigan is also very nice, and as good as LBZ's best, but the return flavor is not very fruity. The aroma is light, but consistently present. Has distinct basil, animalistic (say leathery furry), and cinnamon elements. The taste is relatively dynamic from brew to brew, and is generally at least decent, and towards the end, has brown sugar-grains taste, and near the end, is very nicely sensate sweet. The session lasted about 20 brews in all. Qi is much less over the top soporific on the head, and seems to be a bit softer and more body focused this time around. Less than the last session with Puzhen, which is usually weaker in qi.
 
Yesterday, some 8582, later brews were rather decent.

Today, I did an evaluatory brew of '06 XZH brick, 4g. Thinner soup, doesn't have a deep or broad flavor register, and never really did, consistently has a sharp ku. Does do a good job with complexity in taste, while the aroma wasn't solid and you had to hunt a bit for it, it had complexity and dynamicism as well. There is little astringency left. Starts off from the very beginning with sensate sweetness, and the tea has some similarities to how the '03 Bulang Jingpin is like, now. Huigans and other aftertastes were strong and had a bit of flavor to them. Qi was around moderate and is all old tea leaves style body qi, this qi was of very high quality, and on the back end of the session, I played Andrew Hill's Black Fire album to go with the good feeling of the qi. Subterfuge was a quite nice song indeed for the mood. It's decisively inferior to the Puzhen and Huangshanlin, and I entertained some notion that the Tai Lian is better, on account of stronger aroma and flavor, but the sheer durability of the tea was a force to be reckoned with. I pretty easily brewed this tea past 20, and it was around 30 before I finally stopped, and I could have gone further.
 
finished off sample of 2008 Wisteria Lan Yin. It was decent enough, but in recent context, utterly overshadowed. Basically a dark-tasting tea that's roughly the caliber of good Dayi, and less good than the first session I had with this specific sample, and more like my original encounter.

Linda Louie has a couple of new cakes in. One of them is a 2007 Kunlushan that weighs in a $750/500g cake. There were also price rises on presumably the more popular teas, like the Yuanyexiang, which is now $390.

The following discusses the original tea brands involved in the puerh trade, like Songpinhao etc, etc...

http://translate.google.com/transla...1&u=http://teabbs.zjol.com.cn/forum-17-1.html

http://translate.google.com/transla...1&u=http://teabbs.zjol.com.cn/forum-17-1.html

http://translate.google.com/transla...1&u=http://teabbs.zjol.com.cn/forum-17-1.html
 
Mostly finished off Teaurchin Xikong sample. Broad taste, well balanced taste and aroma. Ok thickness, and a persistent if light aftertaste, but not much qi if any. More durable session this time. Quite bitter for a premium tea. Very likeable overall, but not that premium.

Finished off the last chunk of Taipei jincha that was in the tin today. Top taste isn't quite great, slight sour heaviness, but is nicely layered with coffee tones underneath, has just enough thickness. Good aroma, really good aftertastes, good quality mild-moderate qi. I enjoyed this tea more than I did the Xikong yesterday.
 
Finished off XZH '06 Gaoshanzhai maocha. Very pretty leaves, fresh and finished. Starts out tart for the first few brews, but otherwise it's a relatively perfume-y gentle Yiwu. Has a broad taste, a bit loud. The taste dies down and becomes flatter and unlively after the tartness stops happening. Still generally good, but I'm drinking fast instead of slowly savoring. Has a few huigans early on, but most aftertastes are of the mouthcoat type, but not especially astringent soup, which is moderately thick. The aroma is generally good, but there isn't really much in the way of qi. Late infusions has an aromatic wood and plum taste. This is pretty good, but it's not as good as the '06 or '07 XZH Yiwu Chawang blends, nor the '05 YQH. I was thinking while drinking that I'd prefer the '07 Jinggu stuff.
 
'09 XZH Jingmai, while work is done replacing the furnace above my room. Definitely top 5 of any puerh I've tried in aroma terms. Doesn't rise high and isn't quite that dense, but extremely complex, interesting, with pleasant notes. Soup is slightly thick, juicy, and sticky. Taste is floral wood, nuts/molasses, menghai sheng. It's a bit more narrow than yesterday's tea, probably on account of lobular leaf. Strong aromatic qualities in mouth, a sharp bitterness with a bit of tartness hiding within it, and a huigan that returns flavor. Feels good in the mouth and throat. Not durable as a complex tea, lasts about eight infusions, but it does last somewhat longer as a more flat tea with a little mouth aroma going on. Moderate to strong qi. The beginning of the session consistently pulled my attention away from reading Judt's Postwar. Jingmai, when you get a good one, is to be respected. I'd say this XZH is better than the TeaUrchin LBZ, depending on what you needed out of the tea.
 
Turned attention to 4g of TU LBZ. It wasn't very good. The nice complexity of top flavor wasn't there, and there was nothing in the way of aftertastes. Thickness of soup wasn't as before. The qi was mild to moderate, and does last after the last sip, so I'd say it's of some quality. Late infusion were pleasantly honey-like. The differences make me concerned (as much as I could be as a nonviable shopper) that the tea is blended, and I didn't get enough actual LBZ when I only used 4g.
 
A 4g session of Mengdai Bingdao Yihao. Less of that cold metal floral of teas like the 2003 SM. Has a broad sweet flavor. There's aroma, but it doesn't rise high and is indistinct. The soup is thick, but not particularly textured. There is plenty of qi. This is fine tea, but it doesn't have the sort of aftertaste or mouth aroma or detailed taste etc, to make you slow down in drinking the tea. I suppose I like it more than I do the TU LBZ, but there are a number of friendly near-cloying teas out there, starting with Mahei. Which would have stronger aftertastes and be more of a dramatic change as it matures in storage.
 
A sample of Best Tea House Aged Dry/Wet Blend. Found it after I had totally forgotten about it for a couple of years, I think. This is pretty much all wet, I think, as all the leaves are frosted upon breaking up the larger bits. When I brewed it, however, the aroma and taste had very little distinct warehousing or humid elements, so this was very dried out. The aroma is pretty good, not quite dense, but it lifts above the cup and is easy to smell; this smell is pleasantly of wood and soil. The taste isn't very deep, as the plainly very humid storage took a lot out of the tea, but it does have a similarly pleasant taste. The soup isn't very thick, but it's quite textured, somewhere between soy sauce and cooking oil. There is no bitterness, but it does have a kind of mouth aroma-huigan finish that one can savor. The qi is quite effective. I had gotten into an argument before breakfast and was in a bad mood, and upset that the mood might ruin my tea, but the tea helped fix my bad mood. Quite centering and stabilizing. There is a reason why we should strive to drink old tea, and maybe keep tea for that 25 year length it takes to be like this. Compared to the early '90s 7542 I've had recently, that tea was more obnoxiously sour in the early round, but it had a better flavor and a better finish. The soup was much thicker and juicier, and the qi was stronger and more active in the body. The color of the soup of both are a treat, about as good as the Sanhetang Xishangjiaxi shu, with dark reds and only a little brown. Golden rim. The pot went into the fridge for drinking on another day. Was pretty durable, and I think I can get another ten rounds from it at least. Hmph, recalling my experience with aged maocha...even with how much storage this got, it's still a lot better than any aged maocha I've had.
 
Almost finished with the EoT 2008 Bulang. The taste is a little narrow, which makes me think it might just be well cared for plantation. Aroma is humid, suggesting wet leaves, wood, mushrooms. Reflected in the taste. Soup had decent thickness. I really liked the job this tea did in aftertastes. Some mouth aroma, some huigans, some finishes. Not as good top taste as TU LBZ, of course, and I think this tea wouldn't quite compare well with a comparably browned-by-humidity An Xiang, I still firmly think of this as a good tea that is worth having. I'd have to inch the Wild Wuliang '09 a bit above this, though.
 
A very nice breakfast with a good Ceylon.
Dries

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Yesterday and today, I was doing a review and comparison of EoT Mannuo and Nannuo

Mannuo advantages:

Strong, relatively complex aroma. Good texture that's slightly sticky and juicy. Very durable tea. Delivers aftertastes, and late in the sessions, some very nice ones. Stronger qi.

Mannuo disadvantages:

The taste is thinner, and it has lost its fruitiness that was so appealing when fresh. The taste also had a strong sheng umami note that unbalances the profile, like a bulge.

Nannuo advantages:

The early part of the session was really quite nice. The Nannuo characteristics showed up stronger than the Hekai today, resulting in a very nicely balanced taste, with an aromatic top, good Menghai base with depth and layering, and finish/aftertaste. The aroma isn't as complex as Mannuo, but it's reasonably strong and rising. There is some qi and some soup thickness. Both teas had good cooling but Nannuo isn't quite as good.

Nannuo disadvantages:

The quality top taste only lasts for about five to six brews before flattening out into a more generic, if pleasant tea. Aftertaste isn't as good as Mannuo. Long brews late in the session reveals some slight green characteristics.

This was a lot more equal than I thought it would be, but I think Mannuo still wins.
 
SOTD 96 old tree tea cake from Sunsing and 09 Wuliang wild tree from EOT. Both of these teas make me think of summer. The old tree makes me think of walking down train tracks on a hot summer day. The The Wuliang has a nice fruity concord grape taste but also some underlying bbq elements. I cant wait for winter to end.


99 Fu Hai Green Star is onsale at Essence of Tea for almost the same price it was originally on sale for. Pretty much a steal.
 
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