That must be the McTea outfit in the shopping malls I have been hearing about.
From some of the absolute dreck on their web page I doubt they can find their own butts with a five cell flashlight.
Re: Teavana Puerh
They're also recommending a 2-3 minute steep time. Yikes.hop_goblin wrote:Hey guys, check out Teavana's storage recommendations!
http://www.teavana.com/What-s-New/New-I ... a-Cake.axd
I also enjoy the directions to break off a piece 1 inch in diameter...
Jan 22nd, '09, 22:35
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
1998 Lincang "CNNP Green Wrapper"
1998 Lincang "CNNP Green Wrapper"
This is my first full review. I post this mostly to see what other people have experienced with this sheng, because I was surprised. I got a sample of this through Netsurfr, who got it from YSLLC (250g brick for $32.00 before shipping).
Scott notes that the tea uses a CNNP wrapper, but it's probably not a CNNP production. He guesses it's from the Lincang area, perhaps Mengku.
I brewed ~7g in a yixing pot that holds ~140mL (~5 oz) of water (all right after boiling). That's a little bit more than I would normally do, but I wanted to go a little heavy on my first run of this tea.
The dry leaves had a nice dark color and a very light odor. They were packed pretty solid, and it took more than a medium effort to break off a smaller piece.
I rinsed the leaves for 20s and then let them rest for 180s. I then had 10 infusions at 20, 20, 30, 30, 30, 50, 60, 60, 120, 180 seconds.
The aroma of the first infusion was exactly what I've come to expect from sheng. The color was a strong yellow with just a twinge of orange. The taste was what I would describe as a rounder raw sheng -- not overpowering, but that definite sheng taste.
The astringency kicked up around infusions 3-5 and then backed off. By the 6th infusion, the taste had mellowed -- it was still there, just not as much 'bite' as the first series. Infusions 7 to 10 were a nice tapering off of the flavor. The color drifted back toward a more solid yellow during this series.
The wet leaves showed what look like cut leaves. They were mostly a typical tea-green, but there was some browning of the leaves, maybe 20%. The leaves had a good odor during the infusions. I do recall them having a small bit of smokiness early on, but I never really tasted this in the tea itself.
So... I had to admit, this was not what I was expecting out of a 10 year old sheng. In fact, during my first infusion (and I noted this in the TeaDay thread), it reminded me an awful lot of the 2007 Xiaguan Tibetan Flame Brick, which is quite young in comparison (of course, I should re-try ths Xiaguan to be sure). This is the oldest sheng I've tried at this point, and I guess I was rather disappointed to discover that it wasn't really showing me anything I hadn't already tasted before. And now it's making me wonder what exactly I'm expecting out of an aged sheng.
Maybe it wasn't stored in the best way to help it age. And I'm sure some will say that 10 years isn't really that old. But again, if I can get a similar taste from a 1 year old brick at 1/8th the cost as a 10 year old brick... ahhh... huh.
I would most certainly welcome thoughts... thanks for reading
This is my first full review. I post this mostly to see what other people have experienced with this sheng, because I was surprised. I got a sample of this through Netsurfr, who got it from YSLLC (250g brick for $32.00 before shipping).
Scott notes that the tea uses a CNNP wrapper, but it's probably not a CNNP production. He guesses it's from the Lincang area, perhaps Mengku.
I brewed ~7g in a yixing pot that holds ~140mL (~5 oz) of water (all right after boiling). That's a little bit more than I would normally do, but I wanted to go a little heavy on my first run of this tea.
The dry leaves had a nice dark color and a very light odor. They were packed pretty solid, and it took more than a medium effort to break off a smaller piece.
I rinsed the leaves for 20s and then let them rest for 180s. I then had 10 infusions at 20, 20, 30, 30, 30, 50, 60, 60, 120, 180 seconds.
The aroma of the first infusion was exactly what I've come to expect from sheng. The color was a strong yellow with just a twinge of orange. The taste was what I would describe as a rounder raw sheng -- not overpowering, but that definite sheng taste.
The astringency kicked up around infusions 3-5 and then backed off. By the 6th infusion, the taste had mellowed -- it was still there, just not as much 'bite' as the first series. Infusions 7 to 10 were a nice tapering off of the flavor. The color drifted back toward a more solid yellow during this series.
The wet leaves showed what look like cut leaves. They were mostly a typical tea-green, but there was some browning of the leaves, maybe 20%. The leaves had a good odor during the infusions. I do recall them having a small bit of smokiness early on, but I never really tasted this in the tea itself.
So... I had to admit, this was not what I was expecting out of a 10 year old sheng. In fact, during my first infusion (and I noted this in the TeaDay thread), it reminded me an awful lot of the 2007 Xiaguan Tibetan Flame Brick, which is quite young in comparison (of course, I should re-try ths Xiaguan to be sure). This is the oldest sheng I've tried at this point, and I guess I was rather disappointed to discover that it wasn't really showing me anything I hadn't already tasted before. And now it's making me wonder what exactly I'm expecting out of an aged sheng.
Maybe it wasn't stored in the best way to help it age. And I'm sure some will say that 10 years isn't really that old. But again, if I can get a similar taste from a 1 year old brick at 1/8th the cost as a 10 year old brick... ahhh... huh.
I would most certainly welcome thoughts... thanks for reading
Jan 23rd, '09, 22:24
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Have you liked the teapot? Scott seems to be offering them again, and I'm wondering if I might order one. I like the color and simple shape of the pot.PolyhymnianMuse wrote:I just ordered this tonight, my first order from Scott. I'll let you all know what I think as I find my way through it once it gets here.
$36.00 - Multi-Color Duan Ni "Wan Hu" Yixing Clay Teapot * 130ml
$5.50 - 2008 Mengku * Bing Dao Spring Cake * Premium Pu-erh 50g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Queen of Yi Wu" Premium Raw Pu-erh tea 25g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Deep Mountain, Old Tree" Raw Pu-erh * 25g
$3.50 - 2008 Hai Lang Hao "Star of Bu Lang" Raw tea cake * 25g
$3.00 - 2007 Mengku * Mu Ye Chun * 001 * Raw Tea Cake * 25g
Mar 10th, '09, 10:48
Posts: 1936
Joined: May 22nd, '06, 11:28
Location: Trapped inside a bamboo tong!
Contact:
hop_goblin
I actually own both MengKu and the Guoyan Queen of Yiwu. I have only tried the Queen and the Mu YeChun. Both were decent.Ritva wrote:Have you liked the teapot? Scott seems to be offering them again, and I'm wondering if I might order one. I like the color and simple shape of the pot.PolyhymnianMuse wrote:I just ordered this tonight, my first order from Scott. I'll let you all know what I think as I find my way through it once it gets here.
$36.00 - Multi-Color Duan Ni "Wan Hu" Yixing Clay Teapot * 130ml
$5.50 - 2008 Mengku * Bing Dao Spring Cake * Premium Pu-erh 50g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Queen of Yi Wu" Premium Raw Pu-erh tea 25g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Deep Mountain, Old Tree" Raw Pu-erh * 25g
$3.50 - 2008 Hai Lang Hao "Star of Bu Lang" Raw tea cake * 25g
$3.00 - 2007 Mengku * Mu Ye Chun * 001 * Raw Tea Cake * 25g
Don't always believe what you think!
http://www.ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com
http://englishtea.us/
http://www.ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com
http://englishtea.us/
Mar 15th, '09, 02:16
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Well, 10 months later, I have gone back to taste the 2008 Xiaguan "Golden 8100", and I find it very enjoyable this time. I used a bit more leaf (6 gr in 100 ml gaiwan) and the flavor is still quite light, but there is some character in the lightness and a good feel in the mouth that led me through 12 infusions, every one of which I found quite enjoyable despite the lack of strong leather, tobacco, or horse sweat tastes that I typically crave.
Apr 10th, '09, 01:55
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
I'm enjoying the 2008 Xiaguan FT "Happy Tuo" 100 gram quite a bit at this very moment. Tastes like a horse barn in all the best senses. I have one but will probably be ordering 3 or 4 more via email.
The pot is great! I love the size and the color is deff just as nice as the pictures show. Mine has developed a nice patina. I brew all my younger sheng in it and it brews great tea.Ritva wrote:Have you liked the teapot? Scott seems to be offering them again, and I'm wondering if I might order one. I like the color and simple shape of the pot.PolyhymnianMuse wrote:I just ordered this tonight, my first order from Scott. I'll let you all know what I think as I find my way through it once it gets here.
$36.00 - Multi-Color Duan Ni "Wan Hu" Yixing Clay Teapot * 130ml
$5.50 - 2008 Mengku * Bing Dao Spring Cake * Premium Pu-erh 50g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Queen of Yi Wu" Premium Raw Pu-erh tea 25g
$3.00 - 2008 Guoyan "Deep Mountain, Old Tree" Raw Pu-erh * 25g
$3.50 - 2008 Hai Lang Hao "Star of Bu Lang" Raw tea cake * 25g
$3.00 - 2007 Mengku * Mu Ye Chun * 001 * Raw Tea Cake * 25g