As you all can I see, I’m chugging right along through this samples. Perhaps it is a brisk pace for some. It does give you a view into what my average tea drinking day looks like though. I get to work from home, which allows me to average around two sessions a day. Anyhow, let’s get to our teas
J
This is bigger leaf, with dark color. It feels a bit dry but it is not of course. It has a humid note and a whiff of cigarette smoke which is a bit off-putting. The rinse awakes some more storage notes and is a clear copper orange. There is some mushroom and old book notes in the cup. There are some sugars along with the cup notes in the leaf itself.
1st, 15 seconds.
J is for Jentle. There is warming stickiness in the throat and lots of rock sugar. With a bit of woodiness, it is a nice first steep. This is yiwu.
2nd, 15s.
Much of the same, just some of these flavors are intensifying. The huigan is very long. The mouthfeel is stick. The warmth in the throat is akin to perhaps icy hot, so that means there is a menthol element there.
3rd, 20s
Same story. There is old book woodiness, “tea” and sweetness. It is the mouth feel that evolves and keeps things interesting. Sticky and creamy, with some astrigency but mostly a peppermint hotness in the throat. IT keeps you engaged, and is still gentle. I enjoy this.
4th, 30s
There’s not much else I can elaborate on. I don’t see this tea changing its character as the steeps going on. It’s going to remain the same until it bottoms out. It was here I asked what tea it was, still thoroughly convinced I was drinking an older Yiwu. Of course, I was wrong. This was a 2004 Changtai Yesheng from Jin Zhu Shan. The only thing I could find was it’s simao, no idea on its proximity other than that. If its simao, then it reminds me of jiangcheng, which is another fancy word for yiwu in simao.
I
The dry leaf smells really good, and the rinse would indicate that this may be another mid aged tea.
1st, 15s
This immediately feels like bulang in mouthfeel and flavor. Creamy tobacco, bitterness, a touch of smoke and dark sugars.
2nd, 15s
Broth is a bit darker now. There are more tannins, and the bitterness/astringency is increasing as well. I think there is too much leaf so I’m switching vessels.
3rd, 15s
The larger vessel helps. t. It has a good body, but the astringency is a bit rough yet. It’s very fragrant. This has the stuff in it to age well.
4, 25s
The bitterness has really picked up now. It is all that is present in this steep until it lets up and gives way to welcome huigan. The astringency is getting rougher. This tea needs time but I still like it.
5, 35s
Bitterness has settled and we are back to what the previous steeps were like. Astringency is rough but this is good stuff. I guessed that this was a bulang from dayi, around 2015 and thought it could be a XG if it were one of their single origin pressings. Low and behold, it was a XG single origin pressing from 2018 - what has been affectionately abbreviated FTDY. Material from several banzhang area villages. So I wasn’t terribly far off this time around.
Last but not last, E
Another iron cake. There is no discernable aroma on the dry leaf, but it is dark. The wet leaf has the usual suspect dark notes. Mopar seems to prefer punchier teas, that’s for certain. He wants a kick in the teeth he says. That’s held true in this sampler so far.
1st, 10s
The broth is deep orange and is a bit murky. Probably a sign that I need shorter steeps and or a larger vessel. The wet leaf doesn’t have a lot of aroma still, and the flavors seem a bit muted. The broth is very viscous already though. This tea isn’t awake yet, which makes sense given how it’s pressed.
2nd, 10s
The broth is a deep copper now. Toasty, leather, peppery, newspaper, creamy, with a thick and lubricating mouthfeel. There’s a lot going on. There is a bit of smokiness but it is not overwhelming. The tannins here are evident but not drying or harsh.
3rd, 15s
I get the impression of sitting near an autumn campfire. There are damp fallen leaves on the ground, and wood smoke in the cool crisp air. Like sitting close to the fire, this tea is warming. The warmth is in the throat and belly. The creamy, viscous mouthfeel is inviting. This tea is well aged.
4th, 20s
A nice and strong huigan is building now. The petrichor/campfire notes still exist but are beginning to tamp down. There is a bit of bitterness and astrigency and bitterness as well.
As I pressed on with this tea, three things were evident. It had legs, the autumn campfire vibes would remain and so would the huigan. I stopped counting steeps eventually but I’m sure I got at least 10. I guessed this was a XG pressing, and said it was 2008 or older. I should’ve known it was older than that giving how tightly it was pressed and the color of the broth though. Other than that, I didn’t have any idea. This ended up being a 1998 Kunming (cnnp) iron cake.
So, I don’t know what I’m doing. But, I’m having quite a bit of fun doing it.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you at the table next time.
PBR
Sample E sounds absolutely delicious