90's Blue Dingxing "Yiwu"

Bug bites and all, I think the wrapper is what lured me most to this tea, very old fashioned looking. I wish I knew what is says. Like most everyone else, I had first seen this cake at Essence Of Tea  and had since read both Hobbes and MarshalN's review of it. EOT has several teas that I am interested in but could never muster up the gumption to pay EOT prices, (nothing personal EOT) Thankfully there are a few of these cakes showing up here and there,  Puerh Shop has a few interesting cakes in the "Aged Tea" section and offered at a price that is more in line with my budget.

The date of manufacture seems to vary depending on your source of information. Puerh Shop claims it to be from the 90"s. Others claim it to be from 2001. I don't think it matters all that much. What matters is the content. So, lets dig in and see what we have here.

 

The wrapper has turned yellow with age and dotted with oil spots, that's a good sign.

 

What a chubby cake! I don't know why but it always pleases me to unwrap a new cake and find a nice, thick, chunky, slab of tea. Ummm......yeah I do, because it usually means that the cake has been stoned pressed and consequently will be easier to break apart without breaking the leaves.

Thick and chunky leaves with a generous portion of twigs, I love rustic teas. There is the faintest of woodsy aromas wafting from the cake as well as the smell of wet storage. But as the wet storage smell is not all that strong I,m not too alarmed, I,ll give it a couple of good rinses and see whats left of it.

Whats in the cup is a pretty tasty tea. Woodsy and earthy with just a trace of astringency and some vegetal flavors from it's youth are still in the tea. Plenty of sweetness in both the soup and the aroma. Here and there I detect florals and sometimes spice. But the predominant thing is wood and earth. The wet storage aspects fade fairly quickly as I hoped they would. By the third to fourth infusion the tea has really opened up and it's origins become evident. I bet this tea was kinda fruity when freshly processed, I can barely taste something that reminds me of pears.

This is a decent tea (in my opinion) I can see how it could benefit from further storage but I,m liking it now. A hearty tea with a robust and sweet aftertaste. Very durable, I,m up to ten infusions and it's still going strong but just starting to wane. Brews up a nicely orange"d heading towards amber cup with good clarity. At Puerh Shops prices this is a decent tea. If I were to have bought this from EOT at his prices, I would have been kinda disappointed.

As you can see the tea is comprised of lots of chopped leaf, some rather large whole leaves, and plenty of twigs. Some burnished red and brown, and some still clinging to the greenness of youth. Not bad really, not bad at all. I couldn't see myself stockpiling this tea, but a couple of cakes for future consumption sounds like a good idea.

90's CNNP 7542

 It's one of those days that I don't know what I want to drink. Growing bored with all of my go-to teas Ive been drinking lately, so I resorted to my box of tea samples and tid-bits for inspiration. And bless my cotton socks I might have found something here. I don't know where I got this from or how long Ive had it. Ive always liked Menghai's 7542  but Ive never had the old school, CNNP version of it before. So this is the proper, back in the day (before Dayi) version of 7542. Although I have to keep in mind the 7542's price point, which tells a lot. I figure that if a cake sells for $17.00 or so, what could the ratio of high grade mao cha to plantation grown filler be? After having travelled through all the middle men before it got to me and that's the price I paid, then these cakes must be cheap as dirt to produce.

But then again, even though this is pre-Dayi, it's still cheap tea and maybe I shouldn't have high hopes for this tea seeing that it's been in the sample box for God knows how long. Also it's a fairly small chunk of tea, it's not going to be representative of the same tea stored as a whole cake in a proper storage environment.

There is indeed a noticeable difference in the teas composition. Modern day 7542 is made from a much more consistent leaf size. This tea also has some twigs ranging in size from insignificant to full blown sticks, that's something I haven't seen in a Dayi 7542. This tea consists of various leaf sizes and it's much easier to see the blend itself. Some of the leaves are kinda thin and paper like, while others are quite thick and chunky. The dry leaf has only the slightest of wet storage odors remaining.

Seven grams of leaf go into the yixing, two good rinses (trying to diminish any traces of wet storage) and lets see what we have here. The characteristics that Ive come to expect from the 7542 recipe is definitely in the cup. Woodsy and leathery with barely noticeable traces of smoke. Almost no bitterness to be found and just enough sweetness to provide contrast to the wood and leather.

This tea was initially wet stored, and probably quite heavily, but it's been dry for so long that it brews up a pretty light and clear amber color. This is pretty much a straight forward, basic sheng with not much in the way of complexity. What Folgers is to coffee is what this tea is to raw puerh. Nothing wrong with it but nothing to write home about either. This teas less than ideal storage hasn't "ruined" the tea, but even if it were to go into a moderately humid environment for revivifying I,m not sure it's salvageable. It's lost too much at this point.

Drinking these kinds of teas provide some insight into how important storage environments are to puerh. I,m kinda leery of buying "aged sheng" from online vendors for this exact reason. Just because it's from a reputable maker and it's a popular tea doesn't mean anything really. Whats been done to it over the years plays such a big role in the teas outcome. This tea is probably still available online somewhere out there, but I wouldn't want it if they were giving it away. Just doesn't cut the mustard in my book.

I wonder..........is it possible that you can learn what good tea should taste like...... by drinking bad tea? I think what you learn is the tell tale signs of improper or negligent storage conditions. The year the tea was made doesn't matter, the name brand or maker doesn't matter, nor it's blend or mountain of origin. These three issues can give you an indication of what to expect or what the teas potential might be. But there is only one way to tell for sure........Drink It!

2009 Yunnan Sourcing Ban Zhang - Revisited

Jeez! Has it been a year since these teas were all the talk? Ummm.......just about! After having a hearty breakfast this morning I was contemplating what tea to wash it all down with and decided to dig into this one, Ban Zhang "Chun Qing" which translates as "Precious Feeling" or something equally silly. I remember loving this tea upon the very first sip, rich beany flavors and aromas sit side by side with nutty notes. Now that the teas had a year to settle in and find it's groove let's see what we have here. This Ban Zhang is one in a series of cakes released by Scott last year. There are also cakes from Yiwu, Bulang, You Le and a Wu Liang mountains in the 2009 line up.

The cakes surface leaf is definitely a shade darker than it was last September. The smell is just a tad woodsier than it once was. The compression has relaxed just a wee bit and it's very easy to separate into a nice pile of unbroken leaf. Keeping the leaves whole makes all the difference in the world, it allows for proper extraction without unnecessary bitterness. Which, speaking of bitterness, I remember when this tea was initially reviewed most people thought this tea lacking in bitterness. Considering that this is a Ban Zhang tea and one of Ban Zhangs traits is that infamous bitterness, a lot of people were left scratching their heads wondering where it was. Well, it's there now. Not obnoxious by any means but there is no denying it now.

 The first Yixing I ever bought. I think Ive had it for about ten years or so. Ten years of sheng poured over the pot has given the pot a beautiful glow. Single hole spout that pours in a good, solid stream with no drips.

If I were one of those people that names their tea pots I,d name this one Tug Boat. There is something about the pots shape that reminds me of those chubby little boats, small but what a brute. A couple of weeks ago I had added this pot to my garage sale, what was I thinking? I love this little pot, it can brew a pot of sheng like no other I own. It takes years of training to get a pot to sit up straight and behave properly. Nope.......it's not for sale.

 The teas color has changed as well. Still clear as a bell with a touch of amber starting to show. Just a little more viscosity than when these cakes were straight from the press. I think Austin TX (where I live) has a perfect environment for aging sheng. Average humidity level inside the house is around 55 % with the air conditioner running. The teas flavor has deepened, woodsy and faint tobacco flavors. Long beans and nuts are still there in spades. Very slightly sweet that becomes more dominant in later infusions. Solid but tolerable bitterness. Just a much more solid tea than it was a year ago. But...having said that, I don't see this tea as having the required traits necessary to age well. Now, I could be wrong, it's happened before and I guess theoretically it could happen again. I see this sheng as dropping out for about twenty years or so and then maybe emerging as something tasty. I havn't the time for all that, I,m gonna enjoy it now. Ive come to the conclusion that nothing washes down a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade like young sheng. Aged sheng doesn't do it, youngish, slightly bitter, slightly sweet sheng washes it down the gullet and caps off the meal to perfection. Now it's time to pay the piper and go clean up the mess I made in the kitchen.

Unknown Soldiers

Ive never had an unknown soldier that so intrigued me before. This tea was a gift from Petr Novak. If I remember correctly he had got this from a friend who had this tea specially made for his tea shop. What is really interesting about this tea is that it's the richest, most buttery sheng Ive ever had before. Tastes kinda like a very fruity (pears) and rich.Yiwu tea? It's very nice. Now, what is making me suspicious of this "sheng" is that there is not a trace of bitterness, not much in the way of aftertaste. There is a slight astringency in the aftertaste though. In both the flavor and the aroma there is a delicate woodsy aspect, the faintest hint of leather. Mostly, it's butter and fruit. Is this actually a puerh? I haven't the faintest idea. Whatever it is it's very enjoyable, and if it were possible, I'd buy some. The dry leaf is a little flat and thin, when infused the leaf is rather limp. I'd like to know what it could be. Petr, Thank you very much for this tea, it is delicious.

Note: Well, I found out what this tea is. It's a 2009 Ai Lao Shan Sheng and the maocha was gathered from trees that ranged between 100-140 years old. It really is the most buttery and syrup like sheng Ive ever had. Thanks Petr! The Shiboridashi & Cup Set in this post has become my favorite. I decided to keep this one for myself. It's particularly well suited to brewing Puerh or Roasted Oolongs because it's very thick and sturdy. It holds heat very well.

1985 Menghai 8582

This is very exciting, Tim from "The Mandarins Tea" blog has opened an online tea shop of his own. Now, I knew as soon as I became aware of the tea shop that "The Mandarin's Tea Room" teas were going to be special. Superb tea's and tea wares offered up with such class and style. Here I will quote from the card attached to the packaging, " From fresh, seasonal varietals to sophisticated vintages of the past; we offer only the finest, handcrafted rarities that exemplify traditional tea cultivation and production" A chance for all of us to taste for ourselves what teas used to taste like before modern farming and processing became the standard. The packaging was well thought out, attached to each package is a removable strip that allows you to re-close the package between use, only a real tea head would think of such things. In addition, each package comes with a classy little card that states the contents and also gives recommended brewing parameters. I would recommend following Tim's suggestions, this tea brewed to perfection by doing so.

First of all I should start by saying that 1985 was the year that Menghai first introduced the 8582 recipe. The 8582 is made from larger, coarser leaves than any of the other numbered cakes that Menghai produces. Just look at the depth of color in the cup. In trying to describe this teas flavors and aromas I,m not sure where to start. It's so complex that it leaves me almost incapable of finding words to convey the tastes and sensations that this tea possesses. All the flavors you would expect are there, and in abundance. Woodsy, is an understatement. It's extremely woodsy but somehow it's not over the top or too much. Old and faded leathery scents and flavors. The slightest traces of camphor that have, over the years, transformed into a touch of mintiness. Such a gentle sweetness helps to mingle all the other flavors together. Tingly sensations on the lips and front of the mouth are found in the first several infusions, yet it is as smooth as silk.  But there is much more in the cup than these inadequate words can describe.

The above pic is taken on the first infusion, which following Tim's recommendations was ten seconds. Normally, for most puerh's, my first infusion time is around twenty seconds. You can tell by the teas color that it doesn't require normal infusion times. This tea is uber-durable, I stopped counting at around the fifteenth infusion, took a break of a few hours and came back to it, and there was plenty more to be had. The flavors already mentioned are a constant with this tea but with further infusions it's the underlying flavors that will surprise you. Sometimes I taste something slightly herbal in the cup and sometimes there is something that's a tad floral, not really a floral that is fresh but something more like a memory of something floral, think of your Grandmother and that's the kind of floral that I,m getting here. Sometimes there is something that's kinda bitter and citrus like in it's flavor. This tea is very satisfying, full rounded flavors that are buttery and rich. I actually feel like Ive had enough by the time Ive exhausted the leaf.

The picture (of the brewed tea) at the top of this post is on the tenth infusion, a testament to this tea's stamina. My kettle ran out of hot water long before this tea was done, that was a first for me, Ive never had a tea this durable before. I love the color of the dry leaf, it looks like a rusty, old antique. The dry leaf is thick and chunky and smells like old, dried out timber with a touch of old, dried out leather. Also a trace of something light and delicate is buried deep under the wood and leather, what that smell is I can't really say. It's familiar, but I can't put a name to it.

Amazing stuff! The Mandarins Tea Room is going to do very well. Expensive? Yes! The Mandarins Tea Room doesn't offer this tea as a whole cake, only loose leaves. Even if it were offered by the cake I,m not sure.....well, actually, positive, I could ever bring myself to spend that much money on a single cake, basically a dollar a gram. But the price of a small qty. doesn't hurt so bad. I always have in the back of my mind that I can just buy my own young cakes and forget about them for forever and they will turn out more or less the same as these cakes. But every once in a while I let a bit of reality slip in and have to admit that they will not age into something as sublime as this tea. But who knows.....they might turn out to be something equally good, just different. Maybe an aged teas flavor has as much to do with it's storage as the maocha it's made from.
Thanks Tim! Though this was my first time ordering I,m sure there will be many, many more orders in my future.

2009 Douji Red Dadou

The Douji brand of teas have been getting plenty of positive reviews lately, and as usual, I,m lagging a little behind everybody else when it comes to checking them out. It seems that the majority of people think of the Douji brand as being a step up in quality from Menghai brand. I hope that they are. It would be nice if there were a brand that fits neatly in between the Menghai teas and the boutique teas. Although some of the Douji cakes are a little pricey they haven't quite reached the price range of say a Hai Lang Hao, yet anyways. Well, I am about to find out just where the Douji's rank when it comes to my tastes in tea. The Red Dadou is made from a blend of Menghai and Lincang area tea's. (Not to be confused with the Menghai brand) The Red Dadou is Douji's highest grade of the recipe (blended) cakes.

Not even having opened the cake the first thing I notice is the higher quality paper wrapper, just a little touch of class. Also the wrapping of the cake itself is evidence that they have their own way of doing things.To me it's obvious that Douji wants to visually set itself apart from Menghai and Xiaguan. Look at the back of the cakes wrapper, very neatly folded pleats with a re-attachable sticker that clearly states what it is. In such contrast to Menghai's wadded up wrappers with the anti-fake label that turns out to be not so anti-fake after all.

Now, on to the tea. The cakes surface is very attractive. Whole, healthy looking leaf that has a splattering of silvery buds. This cake smells very fresh and green. The wood and tobacco smells are there but much more in the background when compared to a Menghai tea. Doesn't really have anything unique in it's aroma, nothing I haven't seen before but what I can say is that it's very balanced. Judging by the smell alone I,m not sure I could guess in what direction this teas flavor is going to lean.

The cakes compression is perfection. Tight enough that it has a solid and hefty feel to it yet loose enough that prying into the cake is effortless. The maocha is very easy to separate into a nice pile of unbroken leaves. Not the dried up, chopped mulch that you get with a Menghai tea. But I do realize that those chopped leaves is how they achieve consistency from one cake to the next. With cakes made from whole leaves there is variation from one cake to the next. Even from one side of the cake to the other you can find differences in the teas flavors.

The tea brews up a crystal clear yellow soup. The aroma from the sharing pot is leathery and woodsy with the tobacco in the background, but that could all change with further infusions. Sometimes these flavors and aromas shift roles throughout the session. Very slightly sweet with plenty of bitterness. It's not a heavy dull bitterness we have here but something very light and clean but there is plenty of it. The teas body is just a little on the thin side but maybe I need to bump up the quantity of leaf used. After further contemplation, I think I do need to use more leaf. I normally use 10 gms of leaf for the yixing I,m using today but next time I,ll increase it to 12 gms and see how it turns out. There are some of the beany flavors that I like, but not in sufficient quantity. To be honest I,m not really enjoying this teas flavors that much. Not that it's bad or anything it's just kinda flat and thin. Maybe it needs a couple years of age on it before it starts to put on a little weight. After all, Menghai's teas are made from maocha that already has a few years of age on it when it's being pressed. If the Douji's are being pressed from the current years harvest then that would explain the lack of character.

So, all in all, I,m impressed by the presentation and the quality of the leaf. The compression is perfect and it's durability is good. I,m just not exactly bowled over by the teas flavor. But I,m not dismissing it yet. I,ll have another go at it with more leaf and see if I don't like it any better. All the indicators are there for a tea that's going to age well. We will see! And by the way, I didn't get a picture of the spent leaf but it was rather nice, a very healthy shade of green with no oxidation to the leaf. This is a debatable issue in that the oxidised leaf may or may not (depending on what you choose to believe) age well. I have no way of knowing if this is correct or not but for those of you who believe that it affects the teas age ability you will be pleased to hear that the tea has not been "wulong,d"

Note: just as I suspected, gotta use extra leaf in order to bring the best out of this tea. The teas richness is much more noticeable and those sweet and beany flavors are more assertive. However, I do think that this tea needs some storage time to fill out a little as it,s still a tad thin. One aspect of this tea that I had not noticed before was a delicate floral, perfume like aroma in the cup. It's a very nice tea and I have high expectations for it in the coming years. I really hope that Douji doesn't turn out to be one of those "here today, gone tomorrow" company's.

2005 Chang Tai "Menghai Qiao"

Now this is a tea I could drink regularly and never tire of. A nice healthy 400 gm. cake of some gorgeous Jingmai maocha. The cakes compression is fairly loose and so provides easy access, no chipping away at it or any of the usual methods just pinch how much you want from it and start gently prying and the leaves willingly oblige. Big chunky leaves with some rather large twigs thrown into the mix, I think I,m seeing a pattern here in that I like my teas twiggy and rustic. The aroma wafting from the cake is mouthwatering. Very rich with tons of complexity. The slightest trace of smokiness still remains but that's something Ive learned to enjoy as long as it's minimal.

The teas flavors are comprised of a little bit of everything. Boatloads of full, rich flavors to be had and they are not in the least bit shy. There are rich leather and tobacco aromas and flavors as well as those beany, yam like flavors. Also just a tad of spice in both the aroma and the cup. Thick and gloopy with plenty of sweetness. The teas bitterness and astringency in the correct proportions. At five years of age this tea is very nice to drink now and there is plenty of everything required for it to continue to age very well. I,m starting to become a really big fan of Chang Tai teas, Ive yet to have a bad or boring one. He definately has his own style of flavor profiles.

Brews up a nice fairly clear cup with an orange, brown color. Durability is good enough, nothing special. This Menghai Qiao's flavors don't wash out early in the session, the tea stays rich and full a little longer than many other teas. This is a tea that I need to have more of, one cake is not enough. The only negative thing I have to say about this tea is concerning the wrapper. It's very thin paper that tears very easily and starts falling apart after a couple of times of unwrapping and rewrapping the cake. But that's not what I,m paying for is it?

Note: for anyone interested in purchasing Chang Tai teas please be sure to read the comments section of this post. Steve at jas-etea is taking orders.

2005 Chang Tai - Gold Bamboo Mountain

Gold Bamboo Mountain, sounds delicious doesn't it? A Chang Tai offering made from "wild grown arbor material" from the Qiunjia Zhai area, where ever that is, Yiwu? I don't know really, guess I could check into it. Ive been experimenting lately buying several Chang Tai teas. The reviews for Chang Tai's cakes are pretty much all over the place, people seem to either really like these cakes a lot or are indifferent to them. So far I'm liking them quite a bit. This Gold Bamboo Mountain cake is a good example of a cake made by people that cared about quality of product. Judging by the cakes ease of disassemble I'm assuming they were stone pressed. Very large and beautiful leaf with some rather large, healthy twigs and branches thrown in for good measure, artisanally rustic. The tea smells very fresh for being five years of age. The teas aroma kinda reminds me of the Wu Liang area teas, very fresh, green and kinda herbal.

The teas flavors are very enjoyable, the vegetal aspects are still there despite the five years of age this tea has. Slightly sweet with bitterness being nothing more than an afterthought. It's not smokey or tobaccoish, nor is it floral or fruity. Just delightfully vegetal, herbal and refreshingly clean. For a tea with such light flavors whats unusual about it is that it has a fairly heavy body, slightly syrupy. Brews up a cup with superb clarity, it just sparkles in the glass sharing pot. Durability is average, nothing really noteworthy there. A really enjoyable tea that Ive no intentions of buying more of. We have all had our share of those haven't we? For me this tea makes for a good afternoon session but not something that's going to get you out the door in the morning. The teas quality is reflected in it's price, $45.00 per cake. But I don't see it as having the potential to age very well. It's never going to change into one of those robust and stout teas that I love so much.

2001 Ming Yuan Hao - Yiwu Zheng Shan

 All kinds of new stuff has found it's way to my doorstep over the past few weeks, puerhs, greens, oolongs and even a few new pieces of tea ware. But this tea I bought from The Steeping Room, a local tea shop. Without a doubt they had acquired this from Hou De's as they are the only source for this tea that I'm aware of anyways. I had been wanting to add some sheng with a little age to my collection. But not being a big lover of wet storage that presents me with a problem because the vast majority of aged teas out there have been stored in very humid environments. I don't mind a trace of that musty wet storage flavor but to me less is better. This tea was a god send as far as I'm concerned. From what I remember of Guangs description it was stored in Taiwan for about three years but it's been at Hou De's ever since. I don't think Guang likes wet storage any more than I do.

This tea is the bee's knee's as far as I'm concerned. The flavors are intense. Woodsy with a bit of camphor, something similar to an anise like spice. I also noticed a touch of mintiness in the aroma as well as the aftertaste which lends a interesting counterpart to the teas woody notes. Without a doubt this tea will continue to age very well. It's still young enough that it has some astringency in the cup as well as a good bit of bitterness but a couple more years of storage should knock those aspects back a notch or two. Brews up clean and clear as a bell with a deep amber color. Exceptional durability. The pic of the brewed tea is a little on the light side (7th infusion) but still going strong. Compression is moderate, it's leaf is easily wrangled from the cake without breaking.

 

I bought a couple of these cakes but may decide to add even more to my cabinet. I love it! Such intensity yet still approachable. A far better value than many of the Menghai cakes out there with the same amount of age on them, much more complexity in the cup. You gotta give Guang credit, he knows how to pick em. An excellent value!

1996 Menghai 8582

This tea session was brought to you by "Terje" proud sponsor of the Tea Goober blog. Once again, Thanks!

This is the first aged 8582 that Ive had. I always wondered what they would grow up to be. Acquired from Nada (I think) this is a pretty tasty treat. I was at first worried with five grams of tea to work with but I realized with this tea five grams is plenty. Just a trace of wet storage in the first few infusions but residing behind the wet storage flavor is a very autumnal and woodsy, crisp and clean cup of tea. Brews up a beautiful amber cup with superb clarity. Slightly sweet yet still a tad of bitterness in the cup. The bitterness sits very firmly in the hollow of the cheeks. Weird? Yes, but that's where it likes to hang out. This tea doesn't have a lot of complexity but it's simply good. Very rich and satisfying. Incredibly durable, eight infusions and it's just beginning to fade.

That does it! Ive got to invest in some aged sheng. I always buy in sample size quantity but that has got to stop. Terje's got some great teas and I am grateful for his generosity.

2009 Guan Zi Zai "Zao Chun Yiwu Shan"

The stage has been set for a much needed day of tea and solitude. Yet another cold and rainy day, will these clouds ever part and let some happiness in? Radio's set to my "go-to" station, National Public Radio (NPR) Radioheads O.K. Computer is in heavy rotation today and it's fine by me, suits the day. As they contributed greatly to today's tea session (Rain, Radiohead, Terje) I owe all three a big thank you.

Guan Zi Zai in my humble opinion produces teas that fit into my "good value" category, never seeming to muster anything truly superb but always enjoyable. This cake weighs in at a hefty 400 gm's and made from 100% spring harvested tea. Available from Yunnan Sourcing.

The dry leaf doesn't have much to offer in the way of aroma, but that could be because it's been sitting on my desk for so long. The leaf is of the chunky and thick type, browns and greens are the colors to be found with a few sticks thrown into the mix as a reminder that it's a handmade tea.

Those tea producers know what appeals to us, they've got us pegged, in our (the consumers) mind the more rustic and artisanal they can make the tea appear to be, the more we are attracted to it. Take wrapper art for example. There are quite a few producers that have started using wrappers that have nothing but plain white paper with Chinese characters on them for tea and the producers info. Aesthetically I find them appealing. Do we really need pictures of elephants or big screaming logo's splattered on the wrapper? As if we need a day-glo reminder of what it is we are drinking.

Just as I reckoned, Guan Zi Zai's teas sit squarely in the "drink now" category. This tea is one that's fresh, delicate and light. The aroma has a good dose of Oolong like vegetal and floral aromas. Very lightly sweet and a very light body to match. Usually these kinds of teas can be a little acidic, but that's not the case with this one. Nothing complex going on here, nor is there much to say about it. Not that there is any fault to be found in this tea, it's what I though it would be, a nice, enjoyable, moderately priced sheng. But lacking enough content to provide much to blather on about. This tea really does smack of Oolong in both the aroma and flavors, thins out pretty quickly. Brilliant? No, and it ain't never going to be. But it's a pretty good "drink now" tea.

Ah! The sun just broke through and the birds are tweeting. And almost simultaneously the radio switches gears and the Beach Boys are "Getting Around" See Ya!

2008 Menghai - "Peacock Of Nannou"

The Peacock of Nannou is the only other of the Peacock series of teas that I purchased besides the Menghai and while it definitely plays second fiddle to the Peacock of Menghai it's just the same a nice, enjoyable tea. I really had no clue as to what a Nannou tea should taste like, maybe I still don't, I don't know. Is the Peacock of Nannou a good example of what a classic Nannou tea should taste, smell or look like? Evidently Menghai feels that it is so who am I to argue? I,m sure there is a whole world of cakes out there that a lot of people would consider a much better representation of a classic Nannou flavor profile and maybe someday I,ll discover them for myself but until then Ive got this tea, and I like it.

All of the Peacock cakes weigh in at a hefty 400 gm,s. And at the price point they are selling at they are a good value. But another thing that I have to take into consideration is that the compression is pretty tight, almost Xiaguan tight. Consequently when breaking into something this heavily compressed there is a lot of waste material. Little tiny fragments of leaf that in my book is un-brewable. Even when exercising a lot of care I wind up with maybe 15-20% of the cake going into the garbage, and that waste costs just as much as the rest of the cake. So taking the "waste factor" into consideration they are still a good value.But the idea of paying money for tea and taking any amount of it and throwing it away makes me cringe. But I do realize that expecting them to be user friendly at this age is kinda putting the cart before the horse. With continued aging in a moderately humid environment they will become a little more relaxed and hopefully easier to deal with.

Now, lets get to the tea. The cake itself is made up of pretty nice looking leaf. The aroma is rich, intense and pungent. Sweet and meadowy, floral, with a background of leathery scents. Nine gms. of leaf go into the yixing, a couple of rinses and lets see what we have here. Well, same descriptive words as I used in describing the teas aroma applies to it's flavor as well. Nice viscous body, just sweet enough to marry with the other flavors but isn't bullying the other flavors out of the way either. Slightly dry and tart mouth feel. When compared to the Peacock of Menghai the Nannou seems a little cleaner and maybe a tad brighter in it,s flavors. Very delicate smell of perfume like floral's wafting from the cup. Tis nice!

The tea brews up a clean and clear yellow soup with just a trace of orange in it. Nice and slightly sticky, I love sticky teas. Durability is alright, somewhere around the 7th pot or so it really thins out. But we know the deal here, all the brewing variables plays a big part in how a tea progresses through the session. While I found the Peacock of Menghai to be a very tong worthy tea, the Peacock of Nannou? A tong? No, it's nice enough to justify buying a couple of cakes for the cabinet and see how they progress with time but falls just a little short of falling into the category of tong worthy.

So back to the waste factor, for the Peacock of Menghai I,m willing to overlook the waste, the Menghai is exceptionally tasty in my book. From what Ive read it seems to be that there are a whole lot of people out there that are really liking the Menghai cakes, and Ive happily fallen in line with the rest of em.

Note: additional sessions with this Nannou tea Ive realized that it's sweetness noticeably fades after the first few infusions leaving behind a very dry mouth feel. I find my jaws clenching after the fourth infusion. Very,very dry.

2008 Menghai - Peacock of Menghai

I think it was meant to be, the "Peacock of Menghai" was destined for the jar with the peacock glaze. I don't really enjoy the process of breaking into and prying chunks of tea from a cake. When I do have to deal with it I usually dismember a good portion of it so I don't have to deal with it again anytime soon. Hence the use of jars.

Now for the tea, I know that a lot of you are already familiar with Menghai's Peacock series of cakes, but they are new to me. Available in the boxed set of five cakes with five different mountains being represented, Mengsong, Menghai, Nannou, Bulang and Bada. Or they are also available individually. Out of the three cakes that Ive had (Mengsong, Menghai and Nannou) the Peacock of Menghai is the real standout. I might not have ever tried these tea's were it not for Terje, one of my fellow online tea cronies. Some few weeks ago Terje had sent me some tea samples and that's when I first tasted these tea's. Thanks again Terje.

The Peacock of Menghai is a great tea sold at an affordable price. A little under $20.00 for a 400 gm. beeng. This tea is the bee's knee's in the eye's of many people, clearly the standout cake in the series. I bought one each of the Menghai and the Nannou, in the process of procurement of a tong of the Menghai. Steve over at jas-etea has several tongs on the way. My impression of the Mengsong cake was that it's a good tea but a little too familiar, to me it's very reminiscent of the 7542 cakes. I suspect that one of the base tea's in the 7542 recipe is Mengsong.

Opening the cakes paper wrapper unleashes the most mouthwatering smell of pungently, rich sheng. It's got a little of everything going on here, leathery, beany, a tad fruity, meadows and floral. The cake's made from a mix of multi colored leaf, greens, browns, reds and white buds. The compression is pretty tight, almost Xiaguan tight, but I,m not intimidated in the least, it's really not that bad but it takes a little effort.

The tea brews up clean and clear and the flavors reflect the tea's aroma's pretty well. The tea's body may be just a little on the light side but not too much. The flavors are very full and well rounded though. This tea is very close to my idea of perfection. I love this stuff regardless of it's price. Bitterness could be an issue if you don't stay on top of your timing. The durability is good but nothing special.

Another example of Menghai's mastery of puerh. This tea could run circles around a lot of the elite, boutique tea's out there. Who needs handmade, stone pressed tea's when you've got these cakes? Menghai has only offered the entire peacock series once or twice before so these tea's are not available all the time. But there seems to be plenty of them on the market presently, just about all the usual online vendors have them in stock. Ive made plenty of room in my tea cabinet for a little nest egg of the Peacock of Menghai cakes. Hopefully I,ll still have some ten years from now and I,m hedging my bets that they will be superb. I,ll let you know.

Thanks Terje

After a long weeks work and feeling like Ive just about had enough of it all I came home to a most welcome surprise in the mail today, a package from Terje (an online tea chum from Norway) which contains an assortment of sheng samples. That was very nice suprise. I can just relax and enjoy some new teas and stop fantasising about the best way to kill my co-workers. Of course I allowed myself to try the most alluring of the bunch, a 1999 Menghai Dayi Yiwu Shan.

 Absolutely superb! Thank you Terje. I demand to know where you got this from. Opening the little baggy emitted a wonderful aroma, I knew this was going to be good as soon as I smelled it, a rich and heavy depth but at the same time some delicate aromas were also there. The tea brews a very clean and clear orange color. The aroma is decadent, woodsy, yet clean. Very floral for a tea with 11 years age on it. The sweetness and bitterness are very well balanced. I almost want to say there are some fruity flavors in the aftertaste. This tea is a true delight and a much needed session (after the cluster fuck that I,ll refer to as "today") Just look at that cup of goodness. There is so much in the cup that's enjoyable now it would be quite a challenge for me to have a cake of this and allow it to continue aging. Nah, I couldn't do it, wouldn't last a year unscathed around here. This tea fades out with grace, I love teas that do that. Doesn't just turn into sweet grain water, the flavors remain intact but slowly and gradually turn down the volume. So, Terje. Where did you get this? And how much did it set you back?

Note: As it turns out Terje received this tea as a gift from a friend who purchased it in Hong Kong. In other words, tis none to be had. Boo Hoo!

Puerh Video Sheds New Light On The Topic Of "Wulong,d" Maocha (maybe)

http://v.cctv.com/html/documentary/2008/08/documentary_300_20080831_2.shtml

I found this video and thought it was interesting. Covers most of the history of Puerh as well as some of it,s production. You may have seen this before but I had not. One of the things I found interesting was that at one time evidently it was common practice to pre-ferment the maocha. Yep, you heard correctly, the tea was not ready for consumption until after the leaf had been pre-fermented. So, if this is correct then all the hub bub about pre-fermentation and how the tea may not age properly is a bunch of hooey. This video is about thirty minutes long but it,s somewhere around the seventeen minute mark that this issue is addressed. Those red tinged leaves have never worried me too much, although their are exceptions I usually prefer the taste of the red tinged teas to the pure green. A little rounder, fuller and the astringency seems to be toned down a bit. But I am perfectly aware that this video is not going to change the minds of people who have already made up their mind that this practice is either an accident or the result of producers wanting to make a drink now tea. Let me know what you think. What this tells me is that, take all the "online personalities" opinions and perspective with a grain of salt. The people making these teas have been doing so for a whole lot longer than all us twenty something white boys have been drinking it. Having cakes stacked to the rafters doesnt make you an expert, nor does having a popular blog. But, whatever!

2008 Menghai "Da Jing Dian"

I blindly bought a couple of these cakes, having read nothing but positive things about them I felt it would be a fairly safe gamble. "Da Jing Dian" a.k.a. "Big Classic" made from grade three leaves, semi aged, sun dried maocha. I don't usually dabble in the Menghai special production cakes preferring to stick with the tried and true numbers (7542-7532) which are my favorites. The Da Jing Dian is a commemorative cake celebrating the "Dayi" brand as being recognised for some kinda national heritage award. They seem to like coming up with special occasion recipes.
Not any different from Xiaguan really, variations on a theme but Menghai has a much bigger repertoire to choose from. Maybe more creative with base ingredients they seem to come up with subtle yet distinct variations.

The dry leaf is rather pretty, green transitioning into brown. Plenty of whitish tea buds blended into the mix. The aroma wafting from the cake is enticing, judging from the smell alone I can tell there is much to be had here. A lot of depth with an underlying fruit like sweetness and woodsy aroma. The slightest touch of smokiness still remains. The cakes compression is the slightest bit tighter than the numbered cakes but still easy enough to deal with. This tea doesn't dawdle, it gets going pretty quickly. The first infusions flavor sits firmly in the woodsy and mushroomy genre, the flavor spreads and penetrates quickly. A good balance of sweet and bitter astringency. Nice full mouth feel yet the teas flavor also has a "brightness" about it, a crisp cleanliness that serves as the perfect counterpart to the sweetness and the full body. This is an interesting tea experience in that the lower palate is saturated with sweet and woodsy, a smidgen of fruit flavors yet the upper palate experiences the nutty, bright and clean, touch of floral flavors. The aftertaste is robust, thick and long lasting. Not much in the way of transitioning flavors with this tea it pretty much opens up and stays the same through out the session. It doesn't drop out on you but fades gradually and gracefully, I admire that in a tea. Honestly, you just cannot beat Menghai for quality and value. A high quality, well made product for not a lot of money. $15.50 per cake.

The teas color doesn't really show up well in the cup but in the sharing pot you can see it,s true color. A deep golden yellow. Brews up clear as a bell. Durability is very good, I think about 6-7 infusions before it starts to wane into sweet, grainy blandness. I know most people keep the pot going till the teas flavors are completely gone, I,m not one of those people. Once the teas flavors are exhausted and the body has gone I call it a day. A good tea, glad I grabbed a couple of these but two is enough. I,m sticking to my guns in that the 7542 is where it,s at with the Menghai teas. It,s got everything I love in a tea.

I haven't been very creative with my picture taking lately, no glamour shots, no back lighting, just tea. Maybe I,ll get back into taking glamour shots again but in a way it,s an unnecessary affectation. Beautiful as it is, that's not my reality. My tea table is the patio table in the back yard, that's where I usually enjoy my tea, watching the dogs play and the birds chirping and the squirrels teasing the dogs with their taunting (you cant catch me) game. This may sound strange but all the ruckus and shenanigans distract me while I,m drinking tea, being distracted helps me enjoy and evaluate a tea by "not thinking" about it. Just "experiencing" it. Sometimes it,s the furthest thing from my mind, and that,s when it,s sublime. Does that make sense?

note: Having had a few sessions with the Da Jing Dian I may have to eat my words and get a couple more of these cakes for storage.

2009 Guan Zi Zai "Ban Zhang" Wild Arbor

A big "Thanks" goes to Maitre for providing me with this sample. My curiosity was sparked when I saw this cake posted on Yunnan Sourcing,s site. Given my newly acquired obsession with Ban Zhang teas I was tempted to buy some but wanted to hold off on ordering to see if anyone else had tried this one yet. At $43.20 for a 500 gm. cake it,s a good value if the tea is decent. The wrapper is real perty as you can see. And if the wrappers pretty the tea must be good, right? Nope! not always. Sometimes them perty wrappers are the teas strongest selling point, there to draw you in. With this tea the wrapper is fitting, no deception going on here.

Not the crystal clear yellow soup we would hope for. Claity is good but the teas been "wulong'd" Theres something about the teas aroma that reminds me of Xiaguan,s teas. Maybe it,s just the smokiness of it. It looks more like a manufactured tea than handmade. Compression is medium tight. It appears to be made from less than first grade leaf. A hodge podge blend of small, medium and large leaf thats been bruised, tattered and torn with a few sticks thrown into the mix.

Dark shades of green with a few brown and red leaves to be found. The teas aroma has a lot of depth, woodsy, that much loved beany smell is there along with the slightest wisp of smokiness and a faint hint of a perfume like aroma. The flavor is fairly intense right off the bat. All the expected flavors, woodsy, beany, a little yam, tobacco and leather. A decent amount of bitterness as well as sweetness. The bitterness could get out of control without careful brewing parameters. The teas body is just a tad light, but it,s o.k. The teas richness fades a little sooner than what I would like leaving behind a wash of generic washed out sheng flavors. Grain, bitter and astringent.

All in all, not bad. It,s a good quality, well made tea. For me, I would rather spend a little extra and buy Yunnan Sourcing,s Lao Ban Zhang "Chun Qing" The flavors of the Chun Qing are more balanced and it has tons of depth and richness that continues to show up well into the 6th to 8th infusion. Thanks again for all the samples Maitre. Ive got yours on the way, you should get it soon.