Favorite Nannou cake and why?

[TIM]

so what are those spider web like thing?

-darwin

Could be a number of things: Perhaps its water damage, if there is loose spot or discoloration. Or bad storage, overly wet for a prolong period and way too dry storage afterward to fix the problem. Is there anything moving in it?

[odarwin]

there isn't anything moving in it... but i have rubbed the tuo and wrapper clean already... placed them back in the small green boxes that they came in and tucked it in storage. i haven't tried them yet but will do so over the weekend.

if overly wet storage happened and was placed under overly dry storage to try to fix the problem afterward, how would this affect the tea?

-darwin

[TIM]

...if overly wet storage happened and was placed under overly dry storage to try to fix the problem afterward, how would this affect the tea? -darwin

It will taste flat, lifeless and uninspiring.... like stale herbs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/talovich/3 ... 393019043/

An old tasting notes for my favorite nannuo:
http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... owder.html

[odarwin]

hi tim, thanks for all your links, they were really informative!

its nice to know most of the aged ripe ive gotten has those desirable traits as was showed in the links you gave me...

as for the mystery "spider web" like thing in my raw 99 xg tuo's i might not be able to really tell unless there is a picture out there i can identify with... and only one thing for me to be certain of... to taste the tea

-darwin

[Salsero]

I am trying my sample of Jim's fall 2008 Nannuo American Hao 802 again tonight after another round last night with Nada's 2009 Nannuo Qiaomu and am finding that Tim's concept of "Granny Face Powder" is really giving me a much better understanding and appreciation of these teas. That aroma was more apparent in the Nada spring cake than in the Puerhshop fall cake, but both have it.

Also, thanks to Shogun89 for suggesting a bit more leaf and a more aggressive brewing hand for the Puerhshop cake.

I'm really thinking about ordering a whole cake of the Puerhshop production now ... available in both 200 gr and 400 gr sizes!

[shogun89]

I have the 400g. It really is a nice tea for the price, and its a really nice looking cake in person.

[TIM]

Nada 2008 "Cha Chan Yi Wei" Nannuo was a pleasant surprise! I forgot he did sent me a healthy sample last year.... Very nice nannuo tea, but can't find the "Granny Face Powder" which Sal 'd mentioned. Instead, I found Dried Peonies

Here is my tasting note:
FACTORY : Nada
MOUNTAIN : Nannuo
VARIETAL : Wild Large Leaf Amber
GRADE : 4-6th
SHAPE : Cake / Bing
BING LABEL : Red Stamp
INNER LABEL : Red Stamp
TEA PROCESS : Raw
STORAGE : Dry
VINTAGE : 2008
LEAF COLOR : Oily Hay green
DRY AROMA : Floral / Mushroom
TEA SHAPE : Medium & Long Wiry
STEEP COLOR : Light Pale Golden
TEA BASE : Greenish Wet Strew
WET AROMA : Wild Mushroom / Dried Peony
TEA YIN : Bright Smooth long Yin
STEEP TASTE : Dried flower / Camphor / Mushroom
STEEP TEXTURE : Coating, Gentle Smooth and deep
THROATINESS : Chest Deep / Clear / Great Sweet Spot
QUENCHLESS : Moisturizing and Salvating from both side of the mouth
CHA CHI : Calming and Gentle

[Salsero]

I mentioned granny face powder re the 2009 cake, not the 2008 cake, so there is still a chance I was right! But I'm not so sure I could tell the difference between granny face powder and peonies anyway!

[TIM]

I mentioned granny face powder re the 2009 cake, not the 2008 cake, so there is still a chance I was right! But I'm not so sure I could tell the difference between granny face powder and peonies anyway!

Found this in the storage this evening.... a forgotten Nannuo I had from 05. The open-air aging has 'Fever-up' this 600g melon.

[Salsero]

Yikes, I'd be afraid to be in the same room with that monster tuo ... I think it's alive!

[shogun89]

Forgetting puerh, cant wait till I have enough that I will actually forget about something.

[Salsero]

Nada 2008 "Cha Chan Yi Wei" Nannuo was a pleasant surprise! I forgot he did sent me a healthy sample last year.... Very nice nannuo tea, but can't find the "Granny Face Powder" which Sal 'd mentioned. Instead, I found Dried Peonies

I'm running a day behind you in my drinking, but I got to my sample from last year. So that's peonies! Nice tea ... wish I had bought a bing at $17 for the brief time that it was available. Last year it just seemed underpowered to me; this year either it's matured or I have!

[Salsero]

Finally got around today to tasting two blind Nannuo samples kindly sent to me by Tim. I shared the experience with by tea buddies who constitute the core of the Gainesville T’Buzz™.

Bill had a very strong impression from his childhood of the aroma of Granny Face Powder which he remembers as a flour-like Coty powder that could fill a room it was so light. For a while he thought he detected some of that aroma, but it was only one of so many fleeting smells and tastes that we were pretty bowled over by the tea and after losing track of the number of infusions (all quite short) we were too tea drunk to continue.

Both these samples were among the finest tea we have had, very tempting to call them just the best ever. We used aroma cups and found ourselves sniffing away forever as the aromas morphed from eucalyptus and other pungent aromatics to flowers of all kinds to the cedar smell of a cigar box to roast beef to things we just couldn't put a name to.

I was not expecting such aromatic complexity from such young puerh. And the complexity I found was nothing like the darker, more earthy tastes that I associate with aged puerh. These were tastes of still quite young tea. I can only imagine would it will become over the years!

The two samples had enough in common that they helped me get a grasp of what Nannuo means but they were also clearly different, #1 being a lighter leaf and infusion and #2 having a bit heavier shaqing with slightly darker aromas and more assertive body.

Thanks, Tim, for these enormously complex and subtle samples. It certainly was the highlight of our week in Gainesville!

[chicagopotter]

I am trying my sample of Jim's fall 2008 Nannuo American Hao 802 again tonight after another round last night with Nada's 2009 Nannuo Qiaomu and am finding that Tim's concept of "Granny Face Powder" is really giving me a much better understanding and appreciation of these teas. That aroma was more apparent in the Nada spring cake than in the Puerhshop fall cake, but both have it.

Also, thanks to Shogun89 for suggesting a bit more leaf and a more aggressive brewing hand for the Puerhshop cake.

I'm really thinking about ordering a whole cake of the Puerhshop production now ... available in both 200 gr and 400 gr sizes!

Sal -- What are your amended brewing parameters for the 2008 American Hao?

[Salsero]

Sal -- What are your amended brewing parameters for the 2008 American Hao?

7.00g in 100 ml gaiwan, brief rinse, 20 s, 25 s, 30 s, 25 s, 15 s, 15 s, 15 s, 15 s, 20 s, 25 s, 30 s, 35 s
It started getting very rough after about 3 infusions, but cutting way back on the brew time cured the problem nicely. It probably would have kept brewing longer, but I got bored.

I did finally order a small cake of it, by the way. I also ordered samples of all 4 of the 2009 American Hao series since they have been getting such good reviews at Badger and Bear and from Hobbes.