301 Tasting Notes
Nice cake made of high quality first flush tea leaves. The cake has a pleasant light and fresh aroma. Clear dark gold liquor. In terms of flavor, there is a lovely forest honey sweetness in the sip without any bitterness or smoke. While very sweet, I did not detect any fruit. Sometimes able to detect the floral of meadow flowers. This is definitely a rather light and gentle cup with a clean and lingering finish and a pleasant aftertaste. Overall a very enjoyable Menghai Dayi product. I went light on the leaf this time but plan to increase the dry leaf by 50% the next time I prepare a cup.
Preparation
What a nice tea surprise! This is White2Tea’s latest value-priced find for everyday enjoyment – definitely a great value given that it is quite nice material with a good amount of age. The expected dark leaves of a fine shou offer an aroma with clean notes (sweet and earthy with a slight hint of mustiness) and produce a dark orangish-brown tea soup which is very clear. No sign of fermentation remains and I detected absolutely no bitterness – a very pleasant sip. Overall impression: bold dark leaves of good size and integrity; thick but smooth body; hints of vanilla; dried fruit flavor (raisins or dates); the feeling in the mouth and throat is decent. I definitely want to have this shou on hand so I am quite sure I’ll purchase more very soon.
Preparation
I have grown quite fond of shengs from Mengku and YongDe. This “DaXueShan” tea does not have too much age on it but 5 years is worth something for decent sheng leaf in terms of development. This is an appealing tea – very smooth; many whole leaves; thick soup; decent body; pleasant sweetness. I should clearly note that there is a bit of lingering bitterness although this is light. In my opinion, overall mouhwatering tea with a pleasant aroma and an enticing kuwei which adds to the complexity. I quite enjoyed this cup and now I’m anxious to see how the profile improves in another 2-3 years.
Preparation
Continuing my tour of European black teas and this morning I chose MF’s French Breakfast. Another tea about which I’ve been quite curious but unfortunately I think I may have over-steeped or over-leafed (3.5 g in 9.5 oz for 3m 45s) and there is a little too much astringency for me detect the richness of flavors described by others. Grateful to have the chance to enjoy this gift sample and I’ll try to improve upon the cup a few days from now.
A very nice Assam! I have been curious about this one for some time and now thanks to a wonderful new Steepster tea friend I was able to taste it for myself. Bold and rich, malty with just enough natural sweetness. A smooth and enjoyable cuppa!
Preparation
Yesterday I received a wonderful box full of high quality European Black teas to enjoy – what a treat! I could not decide where to begin so I randomly picked a bag for my first sample. F&M’s Golden Monkey was the choice and I sipped on it throughout the morning as my Sunday “breakfast” tea. Malted grain sweetness with dark chocolate flavors coming through. A richly bold morning tea. Many thanks to NofarS for sharing this one!
Preparation
Preparation
Yep this is a good one. Asample from Fine Puerh? If so I had the same one. Very nice.
This one is from FinePuer. But I must tell you that I do not know which of their selections I enjoyed more this week – this 2003 Menghai Red Mark or the 2006 CNNP Yiwu Wild Arbor. Both treated me quite well and I hope to drink their YongDe DXS later today or tomorrow.
I agree. I just placed another order with them Friday. Their service is really good. I have the 2006 but I haven’t gotten in it yet. The 2003 was fantastic as you found out also. The 2005 7542 is nice too.
I am am glad to read two positive confirmations on the 2003 as I loved the 2004 sample and just ordered a full piece of the 2003 without realizing that its not exactly the same vintage. the 2006 yiwu wild arbor is 1/2 the price of the red mark… if its similar quality than it sounds like a no-brainier. unfortunately I delete this exact sample from my shopping cart to make room for a 2006 snow mark sample. make sure you order the free sample 97 brick shu its great. Has some fermentation smell but also a wonderful rich vaporous quality very much like a good aged sheng!
I’ve not had the 2004 red mark so I am unable to compare. I can only say that I definitely enjoyed the 2003 and I am happy to have the whole cake in my collection. Personally I do not feel that the yiwu is quite as powerful as the red mark but I tried them both during the same week of tea drining and I still feel that both are good cakes for me to own. Hope you enjoy the red mark!
sipping this lovely tea as I type. just picked up the beeng from the post office this morning. Its much more aged than the 2004 that I sampled a year ago
This sheng is sweet and inviting; a bit darker generally (than other Yiwus I have enjoyed), and with lower-register notes which I quite enjoy. The flavor arrives in waves and layers, bouncing around the mouth. After two quick rinses I quickly detect aromas of plums, hay and vanilla. Liquor is clean with a dark golden color. As I sip the tea, I feel both a calming qi and a bit of energy with each cup. While very smooth, the tea soup offers a strong presence and pleasant sweetness. After enjoying six cups, I am left to ponder the joys of tea – feeling content and wanting to share this experience with others. A nice semi-aged pu-erh with quality and good potential for long-term aging.
Preparation
I’m late to this party, but am sipping this now. Good stuff. Great stuff considering the eye-poppingly low price. Someone should pickup those last two cakes soon..
Agree with your notes. It’s been a while but it reminds me a bit of the 2005 Mengku Daxueshan, with a few more herbal notes.
Clean dry leaves with a woody, sweet nose offering a hint of incense. Golden liquor with good clarity. Vegetal flavor and a touch of mushroom with a touch of sweetness; tiny amount of bitterness in the first two cups. Smooth with definite character in later cups. Ample complexity beginning in the third infusion and lasting through the remaining six resteeps. Good aftertaste in the mouth. Potential to continue improving with age.
Note: good tea but not my favorite Mengku and not even my favorite Arbor King from Mengku.
Preparation
Out of curiosity what are some of your favorite Mengkus?
James – when I made that comment I was thinking of the Mengku Daxueshan and Mu Shu Cha cakes I have liked. Also I actually enjoyed a recent tea session with the 2011 Arbor King more than this particular session. Since this is the award winning formula in the award year, I am thinking that I need to try another session or two with this 2006 Arbor King before I draw any real conclusions. The subjectivity of tea evaluations including my own sessions from time 1 to time 2 is the very reason I stopped assigning numerical ratings to my tea notes. Things change; I change - we all learn as we mature and grow through our tea experiences (particularly puerh). IMHO.
I agree with your philosophy on rating teas and have had similar experiences with dramatically varying sessions. It seems silly to rate teas on a scale very seriously, especially one as granular as 0-100!
Thanks for sharing :). I was mainly curious for my own reference as I have yet to seriously dive into the Northern regions or Mengku. Will keep my eyes out for those teas.
Cheers!
What an enjoyable shou. The dark leaves yield a dark red tea broth with smooth and mellow flavor. Layers of flavors to enjoy and the finish is sweet in the throat. One of the deepest ripe puerhs I have enjoyed. Definitely no fermentation taste left – none of the wo dui flavor common in heavily fermented shou. In addition, I do not detect the typical woody flavors – this one is more like dark cocoa and minimally sweetened biscuits. This is a good one!
