February 20, 2010

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.

7 comments:

  1. Unfortunately this particular one is out of stock...if you interested in reasonably priced older sheng I would give Eloi from Sampan an email. He has a an Ebay storefront, but for some reason he pulled off a lot of his older stuff. He still sells stuff, and if you're interested I can forward you his price list.

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  2. I surely would like his price list. Thanks Maitre.

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  4. Hi Bret,

    Glad you enjoyed the tea. It is out of stock... hopefully only temporarily though. I had a rush of buyers for this recently. I hope this will be back in stock in the next couple of weeks.

    best wishes,
    David.

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  5. David, Thanks for taking the time to read. I really enjoyed this tea, a decent, honest cup of tea that inspired me to start shopping for some aged shengs. I,m sure you'll be hearing from me soon.

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  6. Nice to hear that you liked it! I'm also curious on what you think of the Douji tea I sent you - I'm really not sure about whether I should get more of these...

    I just got some samples from James at Awazon - would you like to try some of their sheng?

    I'm drinking a 2002 BaoYan today - its minus 14 celsius in Norway with about 30cm of snow during the night. I'm working at home today...

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  7. Hi Terje, Once again Thanks. I enjoyed the 8582 very much. The Douji "Fragrant Brick" is a tea that I decided buy. Very clean and bright. I, like you, need further sessions with it to decide if it,s something I should stock up on for aging purposes. I,m planning a purchase for Nada of a couple of cakes, when I get some I,ll surely be sending some your way. And of course I'd like to try anything you would care to send. You seem to have very good taste in tea.

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