OTTI Round #5 Pu-OTTI, Young Raw Pu-erh
Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by puerhking » Sep 13th, '10, 20:27
OTTI has arrived!
EoT Manmai - 4.7g 75ml water in a gaiwan. Brews up very light in color. Brewed leaves smell like a freshly mown field. Flavor is very subdued and evanescent...yet possesses decent chaqi. Notes of hay, bean and light mushroom find their way through. Overall I think this would yield a better cup with a bit more leaf. It reminds me somewhat of the 2010 Shi Kun Mu Pin Jian. I have just enough to try the remaining sample in a yixing which I think will provide some improvement.
EoT Manmai - 4.7g 75ml water in a gaiwan. Brews up very light in color. Brewed leaves smell like a freshly mown field. Flavor is very subdued and evanescent...yet possesses decent chaqi. Notes of hay, bean and light mushroom find their way through. Overall I think this would yield a better cup with a bit more leaf. It reminds me somewhat of the 2010 Shi Kun Mu Pin Jian. I have just enough to try the remaining sample in a yixing which I think will provide some improvement.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Mr. Usaji » Sep 13th, '10, 20:32
How does everyone know what camphor tastes like? Apparently it comes from tree sap and turpentine, and it's used in some cough syrup, but all those have totally different smells.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by teaskeptic » Sep 13th, '10, 20:35
Mr. Usaji wrote:How does everyone know what camphor tastes like? Apparently it comes from tree sap and turpentine, and it's used in some cough syrup, but all those have totally different smells.
It smells like Vicks VapoRub.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Chip » Sep 13th, '10, 21:49
... and other topical applications.
The Manmai is quite different tonight. Started out very subtle with the first steep. 2nd was beginning to show some earthy mushroom character that came forward in the 3rd steep. Also noticing a woodiness, vetiver? Maybe sandalwood? Really not sure, not at all familiar with this aroma/taste. A little bitter is coming forward as well.
Really different!
Now giving the leaves a break ...
The Manmai is quite different tonight. Started out very subtle with the first steep. 2nd was beginning to show some earthy mushroom character that came forward in the 3rd steep. Also noticing a woodiness, vetiver? Maybe sandalwood? Really not sure, not at all familiar with this aroma/taste. A little bitter is coming forward as well.
Really different!
Now giving the leaves a break ...
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by entropyembrace » Sep 13th, '10, 22:19
I´ve been trying the EOT Mansai today...I´m on the 3rd infusion now.
I´m brewing more or less western style...half the sample in a 350ml glass pot with boiling water (raging torrent) I don´t have the teaware to brew gongfu style.
1st infusion very light...smokey and sweet.
2nd infusion darker and thicker balance of bitter and sweet with some woody flavours
3rd infusion dark and fairly thick sweet and woody with a touch of smoke
4th infusion is like the 3rd
and that will be it for this tasting...I dont like rebrewing teas that have been sitting overnight.
I´m brewing more or less western style...half the sample in a 350ml glass pot with boiling water (raging torrent) I don´t have the teaware to brew gongfu style.
1st infusion very light...smokey and sweet.
2nd infusion darker and thicker balance of bitter and sweet with some woody flavours
3rd infusion dark and fairly thick sweet and woody with a touch of smoke
4th infusion is like the 3rd
and that will be it for this tasting...I dont like rebrewing teas that have been sitting overnight.
Last edited by entropyembrace on Sep 14th, '10, 13:05, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Chip » Sep 13th, '10, 23:27
Ohhh, and thanks again for the commentary/reviews.
A few steeps further with the Manmai tonight, some more approachable bitterness ... despite the bitterness, this is pretty mellow. I would suggest upping the leaf to water ratio.
A few steeps further with the Manmai tonight, some more approachable bitterness ... despite the bitterness, this is pretty mellow. I would suggest upping the leaf to water ratio.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by the_skua » Sep 14th, '10, 09:27
Finally managed to get started on this set of teas - kicked it off with the EoT Bangwai, one of my first harvest-year pu'ers.
Incredibly fresh bright fruity aromas leap off the leaves. They smell just like every in-season fresh fruit skin all at once…grapes, apples, pears, peaches, cherries. All wrapped up in that delightful woodsy and mossy musk. The leaves are large and tightly folded into both broad and twisted shapes. They all have a nice even green-brown sheen with a many edges of white fur.
This tea starts off with a fairly thin, relatively bland and textureless soup, despite the leaves appearing to go through agony early and quickly. The third and fourth steeps really start to pop with fresh apricot flesh, aspen boughs, and pleasant balancing bitterness. While the product description at Essence of Tea include “goopy” as a property, I find the texture never gets there – maybe I did not use enough leaf to elicit that character.
Evident that this is a “green” tea, it is also the youngest pu’er I have tried. It doesn’t have that raw, fresh gum-numbing youthfulness that others have, but instead, it reveals its roots as a green tea, feeling more like fresh bi lo chun than musky, wild, funky pu’er. Such youth might allow me to more readily detect the near-Jingmai essence from this tea, as I think that particular terroir has a fresh, juicy lychee or apricot sensation to it.
The most enjoyable sensation this tea provides is after it has been swallowed. Big cooling mintiness rises and a long lingering herbal licorice flavor spreads across the palate.
Not unexpected for a tea lacking the wisdom of a much older one and having opened its bright green leaves so early, it empties itself by steep seven or eight and collapses into dry minerals and bark. That being said, such vibrant, high-quality leaves will likely prove to be quite outstanding in many years time.
Full blog post and images at tea.theskua.com
Incredibly fresh bright fruity aromas leap off the leaves. They smell just like every in-season fresh fruit skin all at once…grapes, apples, pears, peaches, cherries. All wrapped up in that delightful woodsy and mossy musk. The leaves are large and tightly folded into both broad and twisted shapes. They all have a nice even green-brown sheen with a many edges of white fur.
This tea starts off with a fairly thin, relatively bland and textureless soup, despite the leaves appearing to go through agony early and quickly. The third and fourth steeps really start to pop with fresh apricot flesh, aspen boughs, and pleasant balancing bitterness. While the product description at Essence of Tea include “goopy” as a property, I find the texture never gets there – maybe I did not use enough leaf to elicit that character.
Evident that this is a “green” tea, it is also the youngest pu’er I have tried. It doesn’t have that raw, fresh gum-numbing youthfulness that others have, but instead, it reveals its roots as a green tea, feeling more like fresh bi lo chun than musky, wild, funky pu’er. Such youth might allow me to more readily detect the near-Jingmai essence from this tea, as I think that particular terroir has a fresh, juicy lychee or apricot sensation to it.
The most enjoyable sensation this tea provides is after it has been swallowed. Big cooling mintiness rises and a long lingering herbal licorice flavor spreads across the palate.
Not unexpected for a tea lacking the wisdom of a much older one and having opened its bright green leaves so early, it empties itself by steep seven or eight and collapses into dry minerals and bark. That being said, such vibrant, high-quality leaves will likely prove to be quite outstanding in many years time.
Full blog post and images at tea.theskua.com
Last edited by the_skua on Sep 14th, '10, 10:47, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Proinsias » Sep 14th, '10, 09:39
the_skua wrote:The most enjoyable sensation this tea provides is after it has been swallowed.
+1
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Proinsias » Sep 14th, '10, 10:00
Mansai to kick off the tea day today. The last of Nada's samples.
Only a few infusions in but again the full sample in my little dragon egg pot.
This seems spot on so far. This is more like what I'm used to with young sheng. The bangwai seemed very much concertrated in the aftertaste/feel and the manmai more flavour heavy. This seems like a nice, clean balance of the two.
More later....
Only a few infusions in but again the full sample in my little dragon egg pot.
teaskeptic wrote:Mansai
Just had my first 6 infusions of EoT's Mansai and I like it. This is more of a traditional young sheng than the Manmai was, in my opinion. Nicely balanced, clean and layered.
This seems spot on so far. This is more like what I'm used to with young sheng. The bangwai seemed very much concertrated in the aftertaste/feel and the manmai more flavour heavy. This seems like a nice, clean balance of the two.
More later....
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by Seeker » Sep 15th, '10, 00:49
This a shot of the 2005 Nannuo Mt leaf quality taken after five infusions.
Fisheye, 1s, 5s, 20s, rest, 20s, 1m.
Added leaves to a well warmed gaiwan, closed lid, and shook the tea, then went in for some pre-infused leaf aromas. Veerrrry interesting - some smoke, dried fruit, some hints of sweet wood, and a slight suggestion of berry. Woh. These are subtle, mind you, but there.
First three infusions were of course smoky (btw- I'm really puzzled as to why some of you aren't getting or perhaps are just not mentioning the dominant smokiness/burnt woodiness in all these), but also had soft hints of apricot, dried fruit, sweet wood (sandalwood, nag champa incense), and on one pass, almond. Again, a reminder that I find these aromas on the subtle end of the spectrum, but clearly present; the most dominant and initial aroma for me is consistently a smoky/campfire/burnt-wood aroma. 2nd infusion produced some tingly tongue - not to be confused with camphor for me. I detected no camphor aromas or flavors.
Dry cup aromas yielded a sweet perfuminess that evolved into rounder sweet wood aromas.
On palate, this tea is very soft, and for me does not yield the same experience as aromas do unless I get too far into my imagination.
I ended up sipping this tea with some red dandelion greens braised with bacon fat then served with a drizzle of evoo and topped with fresh chopped crispy bacon, and it was a nice pairing.
Cheers.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by TwoPynts » Sep 15th, '10, 10:00
Seeker wrote:...I ended up sipping this tea with some red dandelion greens braised with bacon fat then served with a drizzle of evoo and topped with fresh chopped crispy bacon, and it was a nice pairing...
Um, it is only past breakfast here, but now you've got me wanting to have lunch!
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EoT 2010 Bangwai Village
by TwoPynts » Sep 15th, '10, 12:26
EoT 2010 Bangwai Village
Dry leaves had very little scent. Warmed, they were sooty.
In the first infusion there was light ashy taste and hints of green banana. It catches in the back of the throat but I can feel it mineralize and tingle on my tongue minutes after I've swallowed.
The second infusion is still strong with campfire taste and minerals. I don't detect anything but dry, woody flavors. It makes me burp as well.
3rd - still smokey but a slight floral scent lurks behind it. I'm not finding much in the way of other flavors but it has a pleasant mouth feel. Slight cooling sensation this time.
4th - scent reminds me of a high mountain pine forest in winter. Smokey flavor more subdued but not much else going on.
5th - let this one seep a bit longer and while no other flavors are coming forward, it is woody and bitter. I think it is done.
Early broths were a light yellow and it got a bit darker, more gold at the end. Wasn't thick and gloopy like EoT described but it certainly has an aftertaste. I did not find it to be an overly pleasant sheng, but it did give me a good, calm chaqi alertness. I suspect that for me, this pu is still too young to drink, unlike the Mansai that I found to be very approachable.
Dry leaves had very little scent. Warmed, they were sooty.
In the first infusion there was light ashy taste and hints of green banana. It catches in the back of the throat but I can feel it mineralize and tingle on my tongue minutes after I've swallowed.
The second infusion is still strong with campfire taste and minerals. I don't detect anything but dry, woody flavors. It makes me burp as well.
3rd - still smokey but a slight floral scent lurks behind it. I'm not finding much in the way of other flavors but it has a pleasant mouth feel. Slight cooling sensation this time.
4th - scent reminds me of a high mountain pine forest in winter. Smokey flavor more subdued but not much else going on.
5th - let this one seep a bit longer and while no other flavors are coming forward, it is woody and bitter. I think it is done.
Early broths were a light yellow and it got a bit darker, more gold at the end. Wasn't thick and gloopy like EoT described but it certainly has an aftertaste. I did not find it to be an overly pleasant sheng, but it did give me a good, calm chaqi alertness. I suspect that for me, this pu is still too young to drink, unlike the Mansai that I found to be very approachable.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by entropyembrace » Sep 15th, '10, 13:42
Trying the Nannuo today...1st infusion I didn´t notice much the flavours or aroma honestly. Not feeling well today...it lifted my mood a bit, took away the chills and some of my allergy/cold yuckiness anyway. 
Maybe I will get more out of it later today.
sometimes how tea makes me feel is more important than how it tastes.
Maybe I will get more out of it later today.
sometimes how tea makes me feel is more important than how it tastes.
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Re: NEW!!! OTTI Round #5 Young Raw Pu-erh
by puerhking » Sep 15th, '10, 19:40
EoT Mansai 4.7g 75ml water in gaiwan. Leaves smell of wild greens and mushroom. Mushroom dominates the palette also along with some sweetness and vegetal flavors, including eucalyptus. A more substantial flavor profile than the Manmai. Not super complex, but a nice clean puerh that I like quite a bit.
After about 8 brews this continues to improve. It is a lovely puerh with some really nice chaqi.
After about 8 brews this continues to improve. It is a lovely puerh with some really nice chaqi.
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2010 EoT Manmai
by TwoPynts » Sep 17th, '10, 17:04
2010 EoT Manmai
Dry leaves smell of chocolate and licorice.
After rinse I get sunflower seed scent and a bit of fish.
1st infusion - light straw colored broth smells of leather. Taste makes me think of green oolong and rain covered twigs. Nice brightness along sides of tongue and a peppery aftertaste. As it cool some squash-like flavor creeps in. Very little smoke.
2nd - scent of baking bread, broth slightly darker. We leaves are looking greener. A bit more astringency in a pleasing way.
3rd - darker still w/ a slight minty whiff. Astringency still there, reminiscent of a black tea. A little catching at the back of the throat and some sweetness is appearing. And lingering. The flavors are very subtle but I would swear that there was a bit of bubble gum in the aftertaste.
4th - lemon meringue in the aroma? Still can't pick out specific flavors that lurk behind the woodiness and astringency. I find that the longer I keep the tea in my mouth, the more pronounced the sweet aftertaste, especially along the sides of my tongue. This is fun, but I'm getting full, hah!
5th - slightly more roasty taste creeping in. Good mouthfeel and sweetness still. Chaqi doesn't hit you over the head, but I'm feeling really good right now.
6th - running out of steam I think. Not much left. Spent leaves appear to be of decent quality. Good session.
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Of the the EoT offerings, I'd be hard press to choose between this and the Mansai. The Manmai is more subtle, yet there is still a lot going on, and it has that sweet aftertaste I'm learning to love.
Dry leaves smell of chocolate and licorice.
After rinse I get sunflower seed scent and a bit of fish.
1st infusion - light straw colored broth smells of leather. Taste makes me think of green oolong and rain covered twigs. Nice brightness along sides of tongue and a peppery aftertaste. As it cool some squash-like flavor creeps in. Very little smoke.
2nd - scent of baking bread, broth slightly darker. We leaves are looking greener. A bit more astringency in a pleasing way.
3rd - darker still w/ a slight minty whiff. Astringency still there, reminiscent of a black tea. A little catching at the back of the throat and some sweetness is appearing. And lingering. The flavors are very subtle but I would swear that there was a bit of bubble gum in the aftertaste.
4th - lemon meringue in the aroma? Still can't pick out specific flavors that lurk behind the woodiness and astringency. I find that the longer I keep the tea in my mouth, the more pronounced the sweet aftertaste, especially along the sides of my tongue. This is fun, but I'm getting full, hah!
5th - slightly more roasty taste creeping in. Good mouthfeel and sweetness still. Chaqi doesn't hit you over the head, but I'm feeling really good right now.
6th - running out of steam I think. Not much left. Spent leaves appear to be of decent quality. Good session.
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Of the the EoT offerings, I'd be hard press to choose between this and the Mansai. The Manmai is more subtle, yet there is still a lot going on, and it has that sweet aftertaste I'm learning to love.
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