EOT 2011 Cakes

[nickE]

Looking forward to the shu!

Trying this right now. Gave a full 2 rinses and the first steep was still a bit off. I'm later in the session now, though, and boy is it tasty! I'll be picking some of this up.

[Drax]

So did anybody try the Guafengzhai? I carefully pried off ~2g to try in my 40mL pot.

I thought it had a very different flavor profile than the rest of the offerings... much heavier on the grass and straw qualities, or so it seemed.

[debunix]

I'm still waiting for my order. I didn't have it sent EMS and don't have a tracking number, which may have been a mistake.....

[debunix]

They're here!



After an epic journey, my 2011 cakes arrived, and even with all that experience in cargo holds surrounded by who knows what, the cakes smelled great upon arrival.

Can hardly decide which to sample first....Nannuo or Guafengzhai?

[debunix]

So did anybody try the Guafengzhai?

Can't compare it to the others, because I only have a Nannuo besides this, and I started with this one. I remembered the question above, and, the cake just had a more powerful smell than the Nannuo.

Beautiful cake, photos later, now I just want to drink the tea!

1.6 grams in 50mL tiny porcelain gaiwan (lots of broken bits because I was prying a bit off of one side and it got a little messy)
Water 205 degrees
Petr Novak Shino teacup

Flash rinse--did not save--and only noticed later that a bit of water was left, like a grandpa-style 'root', that got incorporated into the first infusion, which is….strong. Campfire smoky gym socks strong. Still only a hint of bitter, but very powerful stuff.

2nd infusion, 10 seconds then poured, still very strong smoky umami stuff, but the sweet is able to show up at the front of each sip, and the aftertaste is spicy and herbaceous and bitter and still smoky.

3rd infusion, poured in, replaced kettle on stand, and poured out, less than 10 seconds: still very powerful stuff. I am so appreciating this lovely little gaiwan right now, the fit and the pour and the function for these fast infusions are just excellent. The tea is still transporting me back to childhood campfires, with a bit of sweet here and there.

4th infusion, same pour in/kettle/pour out, between 5 and 7 seconds, can't be doing much more than rinsing what is already sweating out on the surface of the leaves, and still it has a powerful kick. A little more sweet apparent, though.

Side note: simply because I was in the mood for it, I started my day with some Tie Guan Yin, couldn't exhaust those leaves with the time available before leaving for work, and am working on some more infusions after the leaves were stored int he fridge for the day, drinking one infusion of this to a couple of the puerh. It's astonishing how clean and refined the flavor is in contrast to this rambunctious smoky pu!

5th infusion, still crazy-smokey-rambunctious, ham and campfire and sweet and bit of bitter herbs. 6th is settling in a bit, but I can see that it's going to take a lot of infusions and a kettle full of water at 40mL per infusion to tame these leaves. 7th similar, the smoky veil is showing a little more of what is behind it, but still, powerful smoke.

If overwhelming, outrageous flavor now is a good predictor of aging well, this should be fabulous. But the kettle is empty and I do have to get some sleep eventually, so I'm setting the leaves aside for more tomorrow.

[the_skua]

Had the Mansai today (and yesterday). I was very impressed. Seemed thicker, richer, and more complex than the 2010 Mansai. Blog post.


2011 Essence of Tea Mansai - Steeped Leaves by the_skua, on Flickr

[apache]

First time sampling the 2011 Bulang at the office. I used 3g of leaves in 100ml gaiwan and brew it very light and gentle. I'm a bit apprehensive to use more leaves, given how 'dangerous' this stuff is. I bet Hobbes must have used well over 10g of leaves and brewed it well over 10mins as he's the one who likes his tea aggressive and strong. Luckily, he's still alive despite he was overdosed himself with this. (I think someone some time ago said in this forum: the side effect of having too much young sheng is death! )

Anyhow, it was very tasty, meaty and rich, well satisfying. I didn't notice much huigan in the first few brews until after 4th or 5th, and this could due to huigan was masked by the bitterness in the first few brews. It lasted the whole day while I'm at work. The tea has a long finish lingering taste. In some way, I don't know how to describe it or pointing my finger, it has some taste profile reminded me of 2010 Douji Youle. However, the EoT Bulang is more complex than the Douji Youle.

[debunix]

So did anybody try the Guafengzhai?

.....

1.6 grams in 50mL tiny porcelain gaiwan (lots of broken bits because I was prying a bit off of one side and it got a little messy)

...I'm setting the leaves aside for more tomorrow.

Took this tea out of the fridge again after 2 days (previously up to 8 infusions): starting the first few infusions with a meal of cheese and crackers, and like any good puerh, the tea cuts the richness well. And the strong cheese also helps mellow the smokiness of the tea.

By the 16th infusion, the tea is tasting more strongly of herbs and sweet anise, with the umami nearly gone.

The 25th infusion is still strong and deliciously herbaceous, astringent but not truly bitter. Very pleasant stuff.

Up to 30, and brewing by my thirst--some flash infusions, basically sweet water, to wet the palate, then a few more substantial, slower, showing persistent flavor beyond simple sweet water, amazing stamina this stuff has. Saying uncle at 32 infusions, that's enough for now.

I am very encouraged to think of what this tea will be after it has settled a bit and the wildly smoky start has softened.

[apache]

I'm sampling the Mansai. It's the only 2011 teas still have cakes availble on EoT site now. Fairly bitter (in a good way), nice texture, good huigan and intereting tasting profile. I will sample it again in a year time to see how it changes.

[Drax]

I am very encouraged to think of what this tea will be after it has settled a bit and the wildly smoky start has softened.

I looked back at my notes and remarked on a similar smokiness -- almost hickory. Though I didn't remark much on it in later infusions. I enjoyed it, and it will definitely be interesting to see how this one changes.

[Drax]

I'm sampling the Mansai. It's the only 2011 teas still have cakes availble on EoT site now. Fairly bitter (in a good way), nice texture, good huigan and intereting tasting profile. I will sample it again in a year time to see how it changes.

Wow, I hadn't noticed that all the other ones were sold out! I guess it's sort of misleading when there's still samples in stock w/o delving into each page.

Huh, amazing that the 2011s have sold out when there are still 2010s available... I'm not sure I would have said that they were THAT much better. I guess I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison to be sure.

[apache]

I'm sampling the Mansai. It's the only 2011 teas still have cakes availble on EoT site now. Fairly bitter (in a good way), nice texture, good huigan and intereting tasting profile. I will sample it again in a year time to see how it changes.

Wow, I hadn't noticed that all the other ones were sold out! I guess it's sort of misleading when there's still samples in stock w/o delving into each page.

Huh, amazing that the 2011s have sold out when there are still 2010s available... I'm not sure I would have said that they were THAT much better. I guess I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison to be sure.

If you look closer, you would see only the Mansai and Bulang been offered in both 2010 & 2011. Bulang: it is a league of its own, Guafengzhai: such a small production, it disappeared in a blink of the eyes. Mannuo: this year dark horse. Nannuo and Mansai, the last two cakes standing, now it's only Mansai left.

Well, let see what happen when the shu cake come out ...

[debunix]

Trying the shu sample today

2.2 grams in small porcelain gaiwan. Flash rinse.

Infusions 205 degrees, about 50 mL apiece.

First flash infusion: very little flavor, need to be bolder.
20" 2nd infusion: more interesting, woodsy, still very mild
several minute 3rd infusion (meant to make it long, but lost track of time): stronger, woodsy, some bitter edge with herbaceous flavors, but really not much else--I know this is not really a proper test of the tea, but it's not making me want to drink more.
10" 4th infusion (after long delay, suspected it might be stronger): mild, woodsy, hint of sweetness, starting to be more interesting now
20" 5th infusion: a bit bland again

About a dozen infusions in, and still hard to find a sweet spot. Have gone from 20" to 2-3 minutes. There in nothing that is unpleasant about this tea, but it's just not showing anything extra-appealing like my favorite shus--no unusual sweetness, or plumminess, or warm caramel notes. The strength of the woody/herbaceous flavors does hint at more interesting flavor development with time, but it's not inspiring me right now.

[Drax]

Trying the shu sample today

Hrm, I've only done one tasting so far with this shu, about a month ago, but your comments here made me look back at my notes.

I was surprised at what I read, mostly in the infusions and the times:

Rinse (30s), 1st (15s), 2nd (30s), 3rd (60s), 4th (120s), 5th (4m).

This time sequence quickly got very long, which is a little unusual; and now I remember pushing hard on this one, even though I still noted it was "light" by the 4th infusion.

So, I know there was just a recent discussion on preferences of strong/weak and how that leads to more/less infusions, but next time, consider trying it with longer infusion times... it might help a little?

[debunix]

I was all over the map on infusion times, going back and forth between seconds and minutes.

It does feel like there is a lot of flavor locked up in this one, and I was just not getting it out. Next time I'll try some different teaware. Do you think there would be any advantage in storing it in something more open/porous for a while?