Table of Contents
Summary
- History: Oldest trees around 1000 years old, puer produced since a couple of hundred years; shou since the 70s.
- Production: Plucking, pan frying, sun drying. Ageing as maocha or as stone-pressed shape (bing, brick or mushroom).
- Storing: Ideally 70% air moisture, either keep it sealed in paper bag, or just use plants in the room
- Aging: First five years quite green and bitter, amber notes start to appear around the 8 year mark, after which humus and fish sauce aromas start to appear and subdue bitterness (usually peaks at 20 years).
- Opening a cake: Run knife along it to break it into two half-disks
- Regions: Lincang in the north, Puer in the middle, and XSB in the south, which is divided into two very different styles: XSB, Menghai (West) and XSB, Mengla (East).
- All the teas I tried from Lincang were from Lincang, Mengku. They were slightly bitter, floral, with little depth (w2t). One notable exception is Lincang, Mengku, DXS, which is smokey and meaty.
- Most teas I tried from Puer are from Puer, Lancang, Jingmai, which are easy, slightly fruity leaning into oranges rather than peaches, slight bitterness. One exception is Puer, WLS, which is minty and black, cocoa and leather.
- XSB, Menghai are strong, bitter, energetic teas with strong returning sweetness; most notable is the XSB, Menghai, BLS teas (of which the famously bitter LME is part), and XSB, Menghai, Mengsong
- All of the teas I tried from XSB, Mengla are from Yiwu, which tends to be devoid of bitterness and offer a direct full sweetness.
Pu Er
- 3 main prefectures: Lincang in the north, Puer / Simao inbetween, and Xishuangbanna in the south.
- Lincang, home to Mengku area and Mengku factories. New school hot areas (Bingdao). Two DXS (Mengku and Yongde)
- Puer prefecture has among others Lancang close to XSB (Jingmai, Bangwei) and Jiangcheng (close to Yiwu, often grouped with that); Wu Liangs in the eastern side.
- XSB: Hottest region, so most tea from here is more expensive than the other two. Divided into 3 prefectures: Menghai to the west, Jinghong in the middle, and Mengla to the east (bordering Laos).
- Menghai strongly associated with Menghai / Dayi tea factory, so lots of shou. (1950 Red Mark, 1970 Yellow Mark, 88 Ching Bing famous examples.) Stronger tea. Bulang (south), which is home to Lao Banzhang and Lao Man E. Probably the most strong / bitter / upfront teas from here, which tend to age well.
- Mengla home to 5 of the 6 famous tea mountains (and the 6th is just to it's border in Jinghong). JH itself has nothing to offer but that mountain, so 🤷♂️. Somewhat synonymous with Greater Yiwu, not associated with any factory, boutiquey tea.
Lincang
- Northern-most puer producing region, Bingdao comes from here. Green and bitter.
- I had one a ST: floral, representative of Lincang, not good for aging, Maiglöckchen. I liked this, very drink-y tea (17 VII 18)
Lincang / Mengku: Terroir Set (2016) (w2t)
- 25 III 20: Light, honey-water. Good texture, faint taste. Hay. No grassy bitterness.
- 25 III 20: Nose nice, inconspicuous; faint rocky honey. Cup decent, but very little taste, some faintest ovomaltine
- Western (2 IV 20): Nose more barn-like than Yiwu, and some red berries hidden in the deep middle (or malt). Cup decent, a bit malty, a bit barn like; quite short, maybe a returning sweetness, but no direct sweetness (unlike Yiwu). Malty quality I find peculiar.
- Blind Western (2 IV 20): Some Alpine barn nose, hay, slightly less deep I guess. Cup slender, a little bit of sap sweetness, inconspicuous. Echoes, but without much sweetness. Quite nice, actually, if very basic, more texture than taste. Correctly guessed Mengku for its lack of taste and slender sweetness.
- Western (2 IV 20): Similar nose to Lancang, but a hint more structure and tree rosin, finish more bark-like
- Blind Western (3 IV 20): amber sheng nose, mellow-harzig. Cup quite light, a little bit of wood. Cooked cukes! Correctly guessed Mengku for the bark-like-ness.
- Blind Western (7 IV 20): nose round, spicy and round, quite some soy candle wax and bath salts. Rose garden humus? Cup a little bit woodsy and bitter, but very elegantly so. Idea of peach, juicy finish, blood oranges and dried mint. Could be Simons LME; but no. The mix of fruitiness and wood?
- Western (7 IV 20): Slight, passing shou-ness in the nose, spa oils, waxiness. Cup has a sharp bitterness, passing also, leading into a fruity sweetness, peach nectar, that finishes quite soon.
- Blind Western (8 IV 20): warm, faint plum orchard and Cognac cellar. Cup very pleasant, diluted peach nectar. Amber wood echo, very resonant. It reminds me a lot of a young Cognac Old Fashioned. I'd say w2t's Yiwu. Nope, Lincang.
- Western (8 IV 20): More warmed wood in the nose than Yiwu; indeed, a Cognac-like quality; including the cukes! Now I find the cup rather plain, and very hard to distinguish from Yiwu. It does have a bit of the taste of cooked cucumbers, too; or vegetable stew.
- Western (9 IV 20): Nose Cognac, violets in the back. Cup juicy, some centered woody bitterness (without the berry fruitiness of Menghai). Quite restrained, actually.
- Western (14 IV 20): darker wood nose, amber. Cup in the same vein, darker forestry, slightly resinous in the finish.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): quite light, late summer lake smell. Cup shou-like, orange marmelade, neither bitter nor sweet; linear. Naka; nope, it's w2t Mengku.
- Western (14 IV 20): surprisingly powerful nose for a w2t offering! dark and foresty (with a dead animal thrown in there, too). Cup similar, surprisingly powerful; especially when compared to last month's tasting notes. Slightly sweet with lots of bark.
- Blind Western (15 IV 20): ambery nose, dark honey. Dense, slightly bitter body. Mengku!
Lincang: Pin (2015) (w2t)
- The Pin is a blend of three years of high quality material (2013, 2014, and 2015) with Lincang character.
- 22 III 20: quite straight-forward sheng nose, with some hints of fish sauce. Lacks the camphor I have in the LME. Much more direct warmed earth, a plain sweetness. Vanilla parchment. Medium complexity, especially as it chills. It stays a very nice, warm, mellow, inoffensive tea in subsequent GFC.
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): less paper-like. Boring somewhat.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): tame nose, but dense. Marzipan? Cup nice, singularly sweet and textured finish. It's nice, but not overwhelming. It doesn't have so much depth.
Lincang: Feng Qing (2005) (EoT)
- Western (23 III 21): slightly woody, marginally fuméed, dashi. Cup very light and clear, petrifyied apricots. Chilled quite the same, very clear and bright with a slight smokey edge. Very nice.
- Factory is known for its 滇紅茶, enjoys a high reputation and is close to DXS.
Lincang, Mengku (2007) (ST)
- Drank this in Gong Fu cha at Shui Tang on 17 VII 18, in comparison with a similar tea from freshteastories.
- Menglin describes this as Piemont in autumn
- It's smokey, with heavy roast aromas. In the second and subsequent brews, there's a beautiful aloe wood aroma coming through, after the sixth brew it gives way to the more Lincang character.
- It's not typical for Lincang Pu Ers, which normally tend to be more floral.
Lincang, Mengku, DXS (2018) (ST)
- ML sais: Der Aufguss gleicht einem Ruf, der uns einlädt, tiefer in die Natur einzutauchen, aus unserer künstlichen Komfortzone auszubrechen. Trete eine ungewöhnliche Reise an, wie Theseus, werde eins mit dir selbst!
- Blind Western (8 IV 20): smoky and meaty, like a car mechanic. Liu bao-like. A green bitterness, but it isn't disturbing. It's probably DXS.
Puer
Puer, Lancang, Jingmai
- YT: Jing Mai teas are incredibly unique as a large portion of the tea trees are a unique natural hybrid of Assamica that are referred to as Mixed-Leaf varietal (中小叶种). They are tippy, with smaller and shorter leaf/bud sets than pure assamica. This adds to the sweetness and aroma of the tea immensely.
- ASTA: only a couple of kilometers away from Burma lies beautiful Jingmai Mountain. From the top of its 1600m elevation; Jingmai is primarily populated by the Dai minority group
Puer, Lancang, Jingmai: Terroir Set (2016) (w2t)
- 25 III 20: warmer than Mengku, distinct old cut grass nose. Cup also carries this distinct note. Kuhweide.
- Western (2 IV 20): Similar nose to Mengku, alpine barn. Hay a bit older, a whiff of dry demure. They both taste very similar, also. A decent sweetness, some hay. Less bark-like than Mengku, a little bit more ivy?
- Blind Western (3 IV 20): tamer sheng nose, milky aspects even; perfumed flowers. Cup much lighter, plain barley water. Correctly guessed Lancang for its lack of bitterness and floral aromas.
- Blind Western (7 IV 20): Much softer nose, sheng, but faint, whiff of bulb fennel and ham? Cup even more inconspicuous, onsen water for its slightly sulfuric taste? Guessed correctly for the lack of taste.
- Western (8 IV 20): Very faint nose, almost indifferent. Maybe a hint of hay. Cup is also quite tastless and round, a whiff of hay in the finish.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): nothing nose, very pleasant sweet cup. Tasteless, but round. w2t's Jingmae or Yiwu. I'd say Yiwu for the long finish. Nope, it was Jingmai.
- Western (21 IV 20): (w2t) Nose much dustier than Bangwei, but they share the roasted peach kernels. Similar, at the same time slightly watery, and a bit meatier.
Puer, Lancang, Jingmai (2003) (ST)
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): very mellow, round, old puer nose. Tremendously elegant red wine leather. Cup decent, also somewhat faint. Some well-tanned leather in the back, idea of forest floor. Jingmai 03?
Puer, Lancang, Jingmai: Wilde Menschen (2013) (ST)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): juicy oranges! And sugared saffron? Cup has washing detergent and fizzy orange peel, quite broad and easy drinking, but a bit meh.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): Slight swimming pool. Cup slightly astringent. Really rather plain. Agressively plain.
Puer, Lancang, Bang Wei
- It borders to Mengku, and in style, it's closer to Lincang
Puer, Lancang, Bang Wei (邦崴) (2011) (ST)
- Benannt nach einem Teekönig? ML findet diesen Tee leicht, blumig, wie Barfuss über eine Blumenwiese gehen.
- Blind Western (20 IV 20): wonderful nose, hot roasted peach kernels, barn hay and dandelion stalks. Cup is elegant, but not simple. Structured, somewhat annoyingly so. Concrete finish, bamboo leaves. Would've guessed a Lincang tea for it's slight bitterness and lack of 茶気; quite decent material though.
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): great nose, honey and kernig, very structured. Lipton for grown-ups. Cup decent, more body than taste. Mellow, benevolent. Slightly structured, slightly sweet. Lancang w2t?
- Western (21 IV 20): (Bangwei) Fruity nose, cup not too. Fruity, structured, elegant.
- Western (22 IV 20): (bw) Flower meadow, honey. Cup very dense. Flower stalks.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): such a fruity nose! Then, it pales, becomes uniform. Cup somewhat fruity. I would've said w2t Jingmai, but it's in fact Bangwei.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): Hint of piss. Cup sweet, inconspicuous, elegant. BW. It is a bit of a boring, gentle tea.
Puer, Lancang, Bang Wei (邦崴) (2013) (ST)
- Western (3 VIII 21): nose: full, tropical forest on rock, some pineapple gum sweets. aroma. full body, quite fruity; some green ivy stalk and a decent minerality. as it chills, the elegant green minerality pops up a bit more.nose: full, tropical forest on rock, some pineapple gum sweets. aroma. full body, quite fruity; some green ivy stalk and a decent minerality. as it chills, the elegant green minerality pops up a bit more. Quite nice!
Puer, Lancang, Wuliangshan (無量山)
- mountain range. historically produces green tea, lots of wild varietals.
Puer, Lancang, Wuliangshan (無量山) (2013) (ST)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): pleasant warm nose, very familiar; reminds me of a black tea I've had (WLS?). DXS-style, deep and slightly smokey, but less burnt than DXS. Minty and full black. Cup just the same, awesome!
Puer, Lancang, Wuliang Shan (2010) (ST)
- Western (3 VIII 21): Nose smokey and very pleasant, dark cupboard and dry cacao, red resin. full body, red currant marmelade. as it chills, it really goes near a hong cha, with a resinous, slightly woody echo that reminds you it’s a puer.
Puer, Jiangcheng: Grenztee (1990) (ST)
- Blind Western (20 IV 20): dark and brutal, sanguine and motor oil, poultry? Cup is somewhat dusty, lots of basic wood; dried blueberries. The descriptions don't quite match the Blue Mark, but I have no other tea that old apart from the 03 Jingmai. (Fuck, it's Grenztee…)
- Blind Western (20 IV 20): intense, clay-like and dusty. Cup melancholic, round, faint. Slightly clay-like, again. I'm not terribly fond of it, but it's possibly good quality. Blue Mark?
- Western (21 IV 20): (Grenztee) Smokey, full old puer nose. Samt? Baklava? Full-bodied, vigorous.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): old tea, dusty old barn, deep. Cup supple, round. Grenztee.
Xishuangbanna, Menghai
XSB, Menghai: Terroir Set (2016) (w2t)
- 24 III 20: much more shou-like than Simon's LME; wetter earth, more clay, darker; demure and dark milk chocolate. A bit of a sleepy cup, a bit one dimensional. Cellary, a little bit of creamy texture. In subsequent GFC it was easy drinking, inconspicuous.
- 24 III 20: It's opened since the afternoon, now it has more spice, allspice, and stone. Cup nice, a little bit of demure acidity.
- 25 III 20: Pimento, acidity.
- Blind Western (2 IV 20): Ever so slightly less rocky and spicy, a tad more caseous (Asagio?); warmer, more plum-like. Cup less bitter, more astringent, less sweet, also. More oxidised flavours akin to black tea. Astringency in the cheeks. Correctly guessed Menghai, the stronger taste, blacker and bitterness gave it away.
- Blind Western (2 IV 20): Both have a very pleasant nose, warm and deep. Alpine barn, I think I detect some flowers, too. Astringency in the cup, woody hongcha-like. (Envelope says Yiwu, but it must be a mistake.)
- Blind Western (7 IV 20): smells bitter, dense, camphoric; Chinese herb shop. Wood polish and warmed marble. Cup slender, slightly fruity. Peach meat again, but less bitter; more succulence, but also less texture and density. Could be w2t Yiwu? Nope, so it's the herb shop nose with the slight astringent bitterness.
- Western (7 IV 20): Shou-like, some bitter orange in the nose. Moist barn hay. Cup slightly sweet, but cocoa hong cha astringency and fruit aromatics.
- Western (9 IV 20): Nose faint, hard to distinguish from Simon's LME. A very faint shou-ness, bitter orange peel. Cup plain, mostly the tanninic structure. Some light fruitiness akin to Simon's in the middle, but it's much less brilliant.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): ever so slightly smokey, barn, old wood. Cup pleasant, a metallic sharpness in the middle. Almost sanguine. Then it becomes liu bao-like as it chills. Certainly not DXS, could be w2t's Mengku. Nope, it's menghai 🙄
- Western (9 IV 20): Nose shou, barn. Cup: Juicy (starts easy drinking) then acidic, then tannins of hongcha in the finish on the tongue.
- Blind Western (15 IV 20): dense, a bit rocky. Cup slightly woody. Naka I thought, but nope.
- Blind Western (15 IV 20): faint, woody, Christmas wax. Awesome taste, a bit bitter, a bit amber-sweet fullness. Menghai
XSB, Menghai, BLS
- LBZ around 1600 m elevation, LME around 1200.
- 3000 year old tea cultivation
XSB, Menghai, BLS (2012) (EoT)
- Blend of Manmu village and other village material.
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): older style, amber, but also some car tyre, camphoric but broad. Good bitterness, akin to LME but with a rounder edge. Orange juice oxidate. Tar. Very cool!
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): very pleasant nose, something pleasantly sour / orange-y; charcoal-like. Supremely bitter, long bitter finish and grip. Yes!
XSB, Menghai, BLS, LME: Jubiläumstee (2019) (ST)
- Mix of sweet and bitter varieties.
- Western (13 VI 20): Meaty, bacon; cup aromatic, slightly bitter, caramel. As it chills, it's bitter, but mellow heft becomes apparent.
- Western (23 VI 20): Nose similarly mineralic-rocky, but also a big umami hit. Bacon. Honey comes forth. Cup much less bitter, quite mellow and silky, like licking velvet. Honey vinegar finish?
XSB, Menghai, BLS, LME: Mystery Miniature Cake (?) (ST / Simon)
- Western (23 VI 20): Leaves are mostly intact, quite small. Nose mineralic-rocky, peppery. This lacks the Jubiläumstees bacon; instead, it's more of a swimming pool like minerality. Cup quite bitter, very alife. I still think I get shallots. Clay-like finish. As it chills, a bit of lardo comes forth; lardo and sand; rose flower stalks.
XSB, Menghai, BLS, LME: Gushu Huang Pian (2017) (Simon)
- 20 III 20: very full nose, supple, over ripe plums, forest earth and horse shit; wet tobacco, hot lemons; cup very full, very woody; again, pickled plums, bitter wood. Already some shou wet earth aromatics.
- 21 III 20: slightly fresher this time, more hot lemons in the nose; ever so slightly camphoric, but pleasant. Full body, honeyed, with some bitter structure showing. Lively, pleasant.
- 22 III 20: ever so slightly fish sauce, but behind lots of freshness, warmed oranges, honey and pine; or camphor? Medium thick, quite dense. Candied honey, camphor spice. Lively, but elegant.
- 23 III 20: full nose, forest earth and old wood. Stone ruins in the sun. Cup hint of wood bitterness, pickled plums again. Some dried cherry marmelade?
- 24 III 20 (this day I broke it into two disks): rain forest nose, hints of eucalyptus; earth with some Kieselstein; young beeswax. Cup vibrant, good bitterness, ginger spice; it starts to liven I feel. It got some length, too; a fruity-peachy sweetness!
- Western (7 IV 20): Fantastic nose of honey and peach kernels, roast almonds? Cup energetic, broader bitterness but elegantly wrapped with meaty, darker accents and sage.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): Nose barely discernible, slightly salty noodle broth. Cup surprisingly textured, long astringency and pickled, vinegared quality. Can't make out any specific taste though. Algae finish. I'd say w2t Menghai, possibly LME from Simon. Yep, it was Simon's. Interesting, I had remembered it much more pleasant.
- Western (9 IV 20): Nose extremely faint, the same as w2t's Menghai. Cup similar structure with the broad, astringent, hong cha-like bitterness, but unlike w2t's it has a lightness and bright fruitiness to it. Petrified pineapples, wrapped in the astringency.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): subtle, Turkish delight quite distinct. Cup pulls your cheeks in a tad, again, Turkish delight note. As it chills, more pronounced sourness. BLS? Nope, Simon's LME.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): very full nose, dense honey and seaweed. Cup extremely sticky, cloying density. Round; slight rock-y astingency and bitterness. Menghai-style, I'd say, LME.
XSB, Menghai, BLS, LME (2015) (ST)
- ML writes: Aber der Lao Man E ist nicht so ein Tee, der uns in die Aktion setzt. Vielmehr ist er ein Tee von reifem Mann. Selbstbewusst und ruhig. Ja, er vermittelt gewissen stabilisierenden Effekt. And that there are a bitter and a lovely variant of gushu in LME, and if you blend them, you get something like LBZ. This LME 2015 supposedly is a blend of those two variants.
- Blind Western (6 IV 20): Tremendously bitter cup, bitter melons, fresh Beton. Nose of Colafröschli and rainforest. So bitter it had to be LME, and I remember Simon's LME as a bit more approachable, so I guessed right. The cake had been vacuum sealed for 6 months, so maybe this has something to do with this intense energy. Let's see what it tastes like in a while.
- Blind Western (15 IV 20): Marginally tamer, still a great tea.
- In subsequent GFC it shows more floral notes and substance. Philip Glass 5?
XSB, Menghai, LME (Yu) (2018)
- Niklas' Brown Mystery 3 on 22 VI 21: quite light, cooked cucumbers and roasted almonds. Indeed petrified cucumber in the cup; and some char, too. Slightly fruity, slightly bitter. Quite cloying, stone soup.
XSB, Menghai, LME (2018) (puerh.sk)
- Niklas' Brown Mystery 4 on 22 VI 21: very similar, maybe a dash more piss, in the cup this has lots of errors. It tastes watery and unbalanced.
XSB, Menghai, BLS (2018) (ST)
- Blind Western (8 IV 20): warm, hot cocoa and milk in the back. Cup is full on milk chocolate with some woody cocoa thrown in. Very clear, very intense. Naka? Nope BLS, but it's the first time we're tasting this. Possibly could've guessed smarter, knowing my Naka is much too old to taste like this.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): Distinct nose, not sure if shou or stale Japanese izakaya. Same sort of taste in the mouth. I don't think I had this before, which would leave Naka, but Naka's too old. MED? Nope, BLS18. I thought they tasted quite similar, with their broad bitterness; I was too focused on the chocolate.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): slight astringency, especially as it chills. I had an idea it might be BLS for an idea of fresh milk chocolate in the finish with a µ of astringency, but settled for Mengku (and obs it was BLS).
- Western (14 IV 20): There's an elegance hovering over the generic sheng forestiness. Heumilch-Schokolade. Cup is supremely pleasant, just a tad of astringency to keep it from being boring, elegant broadness and presence. 茶気 like a mountain river, the river bed in the finish with a amber returning sweetness.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): very nice nose, a grand tea. Amber gold shou, but a bit of an old pond, too. Dark old wood. Cup quite bitter, but pleasant; very powerful, Blenheim authority. A centered cedar-note, cooked cukes. Almost no 回甘, but instead a centered, watered sweetness before the cedar. BLS for its grand presence.
XSB, Menghai, BLS, Ban Pen (班盆) (2015) (ST)
- ML: Bürgeleisen bezeichnet! Er bürgelt alle Falten in meinem Gemüt glatt! Man fühlt sich nur gemütlich und glatt.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): nose sweet and simple, candied fruits. Cup full, but tasteless. Slight wooden bitterness. Structured, woody bitterness increases as it chills.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): Ever so slight baked notes in the nose; amongst dried orange peel dust. Cup light, slightly dusty, slightly bitter, but mostly good flow.
XSB, Menghai, CNNP: Little Yellow Mark (2002) (w2t)
- A factory tea. Between 1950-70 (Masterpiece Era) names like yellow mark had meaning, because teas had no other way of being distinguished. Then in the 1970, teas received four digits (7542 etc) until 1990s. That marked the end of state factories, open market. After this, yellow label etc. is just used to impress people or to mislead them. w2t sais it's similar to 7432 recipe.
- 21 III 20: Very old puer smell, tremendously elegant; wet incense, no acidity. Cup medium full body, slight acidity (Backen); very round old temple aroma. However, it subsequent GFC it doesn't seem particularly substantiated.
- Blind Western (20 IV 20): inconspicuous nose, clearly old from the colour, slightly toasted brioche but all very faint. Tastes like wet storage, some metallic acidity, maybe 10-5 years old? A whiff of maritime notes. Yellow Mark? (Because w2t doesn't really resell great tea).
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): between young and old puer, amber rosin nose. Slightly bitter, old leather and wood. Interesting 気, resinous slightly. Bangwei?
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): tea not quite awake, sleepy nose. Pine cones and swimming pool, medium old. Quite alive in the cup, some white wine vinegar. Bangwei for its age and bitterness?
- Western (22 IV 20): (ym) Much darker than Bangwei, this looks like the 10 years it's older. And it smells like it, too. Old wood, as opposed to the flowers of BW. Rosin! Cup same, rosin density.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): older tea nose. Cup wood polish and apple cider vinegar, possibly bad storage. YM.
XSB, Menghai, Ge Lang He, Nannuoshan (南糯山): Shi Tou Zhai (2010) (ST)
- 1400 m elevation, quick 回甘.
- One of the 6 famous tea mountains
- Nan Nuo Shan is particularly known for the weighty mouthfeel and subdued aroma. (link)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): quite old and wild, Speck and lots of camphor, dense moss. Cup a tad watery, good quality material, honeyed, darjeeling-style minerality. Quite structured bitterness.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): interesting nose, apples and sandalwood, not too simple. Some mint-y aspects, too. Very powerful cup, slightly smokey, but its presence! Wow! Tame smoke and asphalt, no, slate! Then a peachy 回甘.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): deeper rain forest nose, but not too specific. Gummibears? Cup a bit artificial tasting, but good echo; a bit chalky.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): slightly smokey sausages. Cup chalky, unfulfilling.
XSB, Menghai, GLH / LBZ, Pa Sha
- 1200-2000 m elevation. Tea cultivation since 1000 years.
XSB, Menghai, Mengsong, Naka (2009) (TU)
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): nice nose, apples; apple pie; very beautiful! It's fruity, peachy, quite nice tannins. Very rounded, very nice. Simon. Nope, this one is actually Naka.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): hint vinegared plums, old forest bark, little astringency. Could be w2t Menghai. Nope, it's Naka.
- Western (14 IV 20): nose is much rounder, tamer than w2t Mengku; even though I don't get again the same beautiful apple pies as last week. It's more like apple-flavoured shisha coal now. Tame and elegant and old, especially. Cup reveals its age, restrained, some vinegared quality that comes from age; elegant woods. It's quite a tame tea, old and quiet; the age reflected in the vinegar wood polish and sanguinity in the cheeks.
- Blind Western (14 IV 20): darker, chocolate-y. Cup slightly metallic, slender. Might very well be Naka. Not such a great tea after all, but elegant slenderness.
XSB, Menghai, Mengsong, Baotang (2012) (ET)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): Spa-like, some manure. Minty / eucalyptus. Cup energetic, a little bit bitter; rocky and youthfully strong. 回甘い!
XSB, Menghai, Xi Ding, Ba Da
- 1580 - 2000 m elevation, discovered in 1962.
Xishuanbanna, Mengla
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu Xiaoshu Mini-Tong (2020) (ST)
- Western (17 VI 22): Not much of a nose, very bright and easy primary aromas of petrified peach, clay rock; chlorophyl bitterness and honeyed licorice. Leaves a nice tingling on the tongue; decent texture, very centered to the front; quite lacking in the back. Quite round and nice, a bit easy and young.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Man Zhuan (蠻磚 / 曼庄) (2014) (ST)
- MZ means buried brick (蠻磚) / central village (曼庄), iron soil; ML sais it's strong and good for young people who need strong ground. (Take care, there is some difference between Man Zhuan and Man Zhuang!)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): medium young nose, intense pineapple gummibear fruitiness and stickiness. Cup alive, lively; fruity warmed peaches, and round sweetness, only a faint asphalt texture as it chills. Could be Banpen, it has ML-ness.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): nose quite plain. Taste similarly plain, liquorice sweetness. Thought it could be BHT; but knowing what it is, the asphalt finish becomes apparent.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): sweeter nose; pineapple candies
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Terroir Set (2016) (w2t)
- 24 III 20: Nose light, flower honey, I'm thinking purple, frail flowers. Violets? Cup nice and round, light milk chocolate, Heumilch, long sweetness.
- Blind Western (2 IV 20): Nose typical young sheng, rocky, a bit of fermented peach skin and banana leaf. As it chills, this rocky forestiness becomes more pronounced. Cup quite bitter, youthful, but also round sweetness (albeit a bit plain). Long lasting minerality, rocky clay in the finish. Pimento? As it chills more, Streichhonig becomes prominent. Youthful, actually not so bitter, with a long honeyed sweetness. Slight hay aroma. Thought it might be Mengku for the lack of floral notes, but it's Yiwu.
- Western (2 IV 20): Nose more barn-like than Yiwu, and some red berries hidden in the deep middle (or malt). Cup decent, a bit malty, a bit barn like; quite short, maybe a returning sweetness, but no direct sweetness (unlike Yiwu). Malty quality I find peculiar.
- Blind Western (7 IV 20): deep, woody, waxy, dry honey; fir honey and fir forest. Dry demure? Cup is almost fruity, but faint. No bitterness, honey and barley water; birch milk? I'd have said Mengka because I remember Yiwu much sweeter, but wrong!
- Western (7 IV 20): Faint shou-ness in nose, but mostly faint dry, green hay. Ocean breeze? In the cup it is very apparent, a pleasant fruitiness and thicker, sweet texture leaning directly into a honeyed, long-lasting finish.
- Blind Western (8 IV 20): extremely inconspicuous, not real taste whatsoever, slender, sweetness; but it's just texture. Lancang Terroir? Wrong!
- Western (8 IV 20): Nose is indeed very faint, round, distant honey and nothing more. Cup similar, but it's joyous. No hint of bitterness, just a pleasant roundness.
- Western (8 IV 20): Very plain nose, a little bit of fresh humus. Cup almost tasteless, a hint of peach zing, but unfolds quite long (30s and counting!)
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): familiar nose, concrete parking lot, rocks. Cup normal, a bit acidity. Menghai? As it chills it loses any hints of bitterness, maybe a faint texture? So Jingmai. Nope, it's Yiwu.
- Blind Western (15 IV 20): very similar to Menghai, faint, woody. Again, very similar, bitter-amber, slightly more woody and metallic vinegar. Naka / Menghai I thought. So it isn't devoid of bitterness, it's a full, slightly vinegared tea.
- Western (21 IV 20): (yiwu) Plain, but full nose. Full, complex. Sweetness bolstered by slight acidic structure. Becomes more apparent as it chills.
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): slightly bitter and paper-like. Slight bitterness and structure. Jingmai?
- Blind Western (21 IV 20): herbacious, camphor, honeyed dried or even pressed flowers. Full body, I think this is the Yiwu fullness.
XSB, Mengla: Mengla Gushu (2009) (ST)
- Blind Western (6 IV 20): very shou-like nose, but somewhat elegant. Lamp oil. Cup somewhat watery, ink, squid ink; bitter orange peel. A bit faint and irrelevant, but it should be quite old, Naka? Nope, it was Mengla 09 from ST. Now that it chills and I know it, I see some milk chocolate in the back. I'm still not impressed.
- Blind Western (9 IV 20): distinct shou, very elegant! Cup decent, a bit watery, a bit salty; so probalby Mengla 09. Got it! Can't say I'm a big fan of this, though.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Spuren der Goldenen Zeit (1960) (ST)
- 29 III 20: Nose a dusty orange., spiced prunes and port wine. A fishy cinnamon. Fantastic nose. Cup extremely silky; candied pineapple.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Yibang: Guoyoulin (2021 Frühling) (ST)
- GYL means state protected forest
- Western (25 X 21): Beautiful nose, a bit rocky, a bit candy; a bit kernels. Warm mountain minerality. Cup quite mineralic, but with long-lasting sweetness. Very quite excellent!
- Blind Western (31 X 21): sheng nose, quite dense grass and rock, a faint diluted cat piss note. Cup pleasantly bitter, very nice concrete structure. Tremendous! I want to pair it with a CdC perfume! On top of the concrete there is some succulence, Sauerampfer vielleicht, a hint of apple flowers, too. Supremely balanced! (And discernable!)
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Yibang: MED (2016) (ST)
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): slightly spicier nose (pimento stew?). Cup very similar to (i), full, tasteless, a bit of a rockier bitterness. As it chills, chalky. Knowing it's from Yiwu, the bitterness fades, just a chalky sweetness.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): sweet, nice deep nose, some milk chocolate. Cup round, pretty devoid of bitterness. Even a hint of acidity, rather. Thought BHT, but it's MED.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Yibang: Mao Er Duo (2018) (ST)
- On YS I find a cake from Mi Bu village, which is in Yibang township. They say that their Mi Bu is quite bitter for an Yiwu tea. Not sure this applies here, but would be interesting to try.
- Small leaves, hence the name (Katzenohr)
- 25 III 20 (steeped possibly more than 5m): nose flat, a bit rocky, a bit alpine; tree bark, vomit. Cup quite thick, actually quite powerful. No astringency, just honey thickness. Pleasantly surprised by this. A bit of reflux taste, a bit minerality, a gentle tingling on the tongue. As it chills ever so slightly, a tremendous sweetness is revealed in the nose. Rocky violet dough! This must be MLs Yibang, it is young and powerful, but also so sweet and substantiated! Wow, it has really a fucking insane presence. Apricots, but I find it doesn't hold out so long in subsequent GFC.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Yibang, Mibu: Mao Er Duo Gushu (2019) (ST)
- Western (19 X 21): rocky Chestnut water, Turkish delight?, slightly leathery! Cup slender and elegant, quite sweet and rocky.
- Blind Western (4 XI 21): sheng dryness in the nose, dashes of sherry and mushroom. Cup very linear, petrified wood, dry, resinous wood. Quite pleasant, but nothing too crazy.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Yibang: Mibu (2020) (Yu)
- Niklas' Golden Mystery 1 on 21 VI 21: Nose full, even fruity, Hagebutten marmelade. Cup thikkk, and pleasant, some cough syrup, some dried pineapple. Long echo, gummi bears? As it chills more wet grass in the nose. Body decent, remains syrupy and somewhat cloying.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Diving Duck (2016) (w2t)
- Yiwu is a county and a city (in Yiwu county). County is home to the six famous tea mountains.
- Teas from Yiwu tend to focus more on hand-craft, rather than Menghai-style factory teas. Overall, their taste is softer with long-lasting sweetness.
- 23 III 20: light, dense nose, petrified honey. Sauerampfer! Roses! In the cup again Sauerampfer, and spontaneously fermented met.
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): nose more bitter, Menghai-style? But also full and fruity. Cup actually very tame, not too structured, round, present. As it chills tanninic-metallic-sour texture shows, with a very long sour aftertaste. Quite interesting, mouthwatering tea.
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): deeper, waxy fragrant woods; but also fresh tar. Distinct sourness in the cup, so it must be the Duck tea. Quite fond of it, actually.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Blue Mark (2000) (GTH)
- 29 III 20: Very dark soup, and it smells very old; cellar. Potatoes. Ham. Cup extremely smooth. Minty hints, a faint minerality, or even salinity? For it's age and lack of complexity, I would've said it's the Blue Mark. Fairly decent though! Also in subsequent GFC I find it very decent, if a bit plain. Possibly a good example of factory tea.
- Western (21 IV 20): (Blue Mark) More silky nose. Tame body, too, silky again. Distinctly dusty taste.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): Quite old, very full, dusty and balsamic. Cup very full, but mellow. Dried grapes. Brown sultanas. Brown sugar. Dried poultry. Dusty taste makes me think of Blue Mark.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Reife Blätter (1960) (ST)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): Very old temple, ancient wood cellar; sigil wax. Cup insanely smooth, with all the qualities of the nose rendered most softly pleasant.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu: Chang Da Hao Ji Pin (2000) (ET)
- CDH is a tea factory in Yiwu (also called Man Luo)
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): old nose, some shou fishiness. Very full-bodied though, so it can't be terribly old. Quite sweet in the nose, too; prunes? Cup is also quite sweet, not as dusty as you'd expect. Demerara sugar, and petrolised prunes. Same as it chills. EoT Yiwu from 00?
- Western on 23 VI 21: Ji Pin means high quality, from the CDH factory, Guangzhou storage. Old forest, quite old, quite nice in the nose. Almost shou like, some leather and fish sauce. Great clarity in the cup, some colophonium, some truffle oil. Nice energy.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Bo He Tang (薄荷塘) (2016) (ST)
- 1800 m elevation, difficult to get to; around 50 trees left
- Blind Western (27 IV 20): Quite similar to (i). Directly sweet, plain; long sweet finish. Sugared almonds?
- Blind Western (28 IV 20): Even Gummibear-ier. Cup nice, a little bit of metallic sourness shining through. Gradlinig, some apricot sweetness.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Tianmen Shan: Jubiläumstee (2019) (ST)
- Western (13 VI 20): Nose the idea of apricot marmelade, rock candy. Cup very subtle, but good structure and some huigan. Actually, I'm not too impressed.
XSB, Mengla, Yiwu, Guoyoulin (2019) (puerh.sk)
- Niklas' Golden Mystery 2 on 21 VI 21: Nose tamer, some cellar and dried rucola. Cup decent, clear, less cloying than 1. Also some fruit drops, and cloying-ness more to the back? As it chills some yellow grass and urine. Body clearer, retains some grassiness and some lime blossom elements (or is it me starting at the bottle?). It falls slightly off towards the back.
Blends / unsorted
Hype (2019)
- Producer doesn't want to tell me where it's from. Website says it has heaps of aged material.
- 4 IX 19: smokey, pines; thick soup, reduced honey
- Western (21 IV 20): (hype) Nose distinctly ham-like, some unlit charcoal. Cup slightly piney and hints of smoke. Some bitter darker greenery. Mossy, especially as it chills.
- Blind Western (22 IV 20): Nose zurückhaltend, somewhat orange-y; and oregano stew. Cup has impressive 気, sharp bitterness, and presence. Very cool tea. Hype?
Blends
- If you're reading this it's too late from white2tea (24 VIII 19): nice, classy, young puer nose. Petrified apricots, cut grass in the sun; hay barn honey. Good aroma, certain vibrancy, honeyed texture; hot rocks. Lasting sweetness. Recommended as a easy peasy, sustained puer. Proprietary white2tea blend.
- 2019 Dangerfield (white2tea sample) (28 VIII 19): quite bitter and woody, but powerful. They say it's a blend to represent the poor man's naka.
- EoT 2021 Club Cake (Honey & Razor) (24 XII 21): A blend from Yiwu, purple variety, with contrasting Lao Man E and Man Xin Long from Bulang. Spring and autumn material. Tinned peaches in the nose, but very light, present, clear. Sandy beach. Fried broccoli. Cup nice tension, some sweetness, some bitter clay structure. Very nice tea, very round.
Unsorted
- 2007 Mengku from freshteastories
- Da Xue Shan from Shui Tang: absolutely adore this, it's a deep roasted, smokey, berry taste, that reminds me of Wu Lian Shan Hong Cha. It's 100 CHF a cake, and I should probably get 2 of this. (17 VII 18)
- Western (7 XI 19): Spring 2019, Yesheng. Smokey, warm nose. Cocoa, warmed wood; kind leather. Cloves? Charcoal. Cup very waxy at first; charcoal density. Even in subsequent brewings it keeps this dense woodyness, woodsy honey.
- Western (9 XI 19): 2018, which is supposed to be different from 2019 because in 2019 there was much less water. Very full nose, smoke is better integrated. Body bitter-woodsy, smokey. I feel this one is slightly less bitter, more rounded.
- Himalaya foots, azalea trees in the forest. Mengku valley, Yongde county, Lincang prefecture. Wild trees in forest, difficult to get to.
- 7542: tried this on 10 XI, one from 80s stored in CH, one from 70s, stored for 10 yrs in Taiwan, then CH. I think it's a Menghai tea. Insane clarity of flavour, old cellar taste obviously and earth, but 'distilled'. Chaqi on tongue, very good presence.
- ST baby tong (Bulangshan Zhangjiasandui Lao Taidi) (26 IX 19) (Western): Very full, deep nose; fruity a bit, but also lots of stone. Quite light, slightly dusty-mineralic in body; dried herbs finish. Lingers very long. Brutally long!
- Yibang 2018 (ST, Western tasting 29 IX 19): dry, stoney, almost a tad dried fish nose. Licorice bitterness, but dried mangos also. Very thick soup, sweetish and behäbig.
Mangzhi (2021 Spring) (ST)
- Western (7 XI 21): leicht speckig, bacon, mineralic; irgendwie auch Wundkruste, körperlich. Cup quite dry, but lots of tannins, lots of tingling, very long presence. As it chills, it does get an oyster leaf note, a certain basic-ness akin to seaweed. Jasmine?
Manzhuan Gushu Guoyoulin (2021 Spring) (ST)
- Western (7 XI 21): ganz leicht rauchig, a bit of demure also. Cup light, cucumber water. As it chills it thickens, decent, long-lingering minerality. Slightly salty.
- Western (4 XI 21): quite faint, a bit of plum cake? Cup also sweet, but a bit more structure, bitterness, woodiness to it. It's marginally more bitter than the Banghwei.
- Western (17 XI 21): EoT club 2008 Bulang, very compressed, pure old trees. Oh, this smells quite shou-like, but also slightly fruity, prunes, kyara, fish sauce. Dark certainly; cup quite round, not too conspicuous, but pleasant and with a long lasting spicy incense presence. Somewhat watery (but maybe my retronasal pathway is just blocked from the cold?)
- Western (17 XI 21): Lao Cha Tou, tea nuggets from shou processing which aren't suitable for pressing. Nose quite intense, Laphroaig iodine, puss and shit. Cup less problematic, quite mellow and round.