by tony shlongini » Nov 20th, '08, 09:40
'08 Xiaguan Fei Tai (kosher nostra) Nan Zhao tuo
From what I've read, there have been a lot of upheavals in the world of pu'er over the last few years. I recall when the cigar fad hit around fifteen years ago. Long established factories had to scramble to meet increased demand, occasionally at the expense of their good name, only to be met by an overloaded distribution network catering to a confused public. New brands would crop up almost daily, and sellers soon found themselves stocked to the rafters with junk they couldn't unload when the public jumped to the next fad. Cohibas were faked (still are), empires crumbled, the ubiquitous mall cigar kiosks evaporated, and it was just a mess. When the dust settled, the johhnie-come-latelies were relegated to the dungheap of history, and the classic brands remained.
Pu'er seems to be experiencing similar growing pains in terms of meeting its world market. A lot of folks seem to have jumped on the bandwagon, and you'll hear a lot of discussion regarding "the good old days" or "this factory is a shadow of its former self." I don't know why factories can't produce the best teas ever made these days. The trees are older (which equals better, right?) and the production processes should be better than ever. Then again, I can't explain why we can't build a bridge today when we built them before we had trucks. In any event, there should be a plethora of great teas out there.
Xiaguan seems to have done very well recently. Almost every one I've tried has been good, and everything branded FT has been excellent. The FT Nan Zhou is another lovely tuo, and strikes me as one of their fruitier offerings. It smells of warm toast, and has a lovely, jammy apricot component that is endearing. It's a very good value.