392 Tasting Notes
Strappy. I like this for a fun little punch in the jaw, and I bet it’s gonna age like a banger. I’d consider buying more if I needed tea. But I do not.
I do not.
Flavors: Smoke, Sweet, Tobacco
Smoked… meat? Nope, actually, that was full on hot dog in the first rinse. Good lard!
Six to eight steeps in, the hot dog settled down and this started feeling like an average-to-mediocre smoked lapsang. I like lapsang, I just… meh. Kinda bitey, kinda jangly.
This must be the same or a very similar white tea used for Charring Cross; to me, it reads like a black. Medium bodied, but snappy with smoke depth. I bet this would pair perfectly with a decadent chocolatey-something.
Flavors: Campfire, Malt, Meat, Smoke, Tannin, Tobacco
Heavy charcoal. A tease of dark chocolate that up and scurries away on the swallow. Malt, some tannins, very little sweetness; perhaps the most tobacco-heavy white I’ve ever tasted. I’d like to think this will mellow and sweeten and coalesce with age, but I’m not confident enough in my fortune-telling to roll the dice on it myself.
Medium-sized, dark brown leaves really poofed and filled my 100ml gaiwan. Liquor deepened to a medium brown. I’m a sucker for charcoal, so I enjoyed this well enough, despite it being rather brash and maybe too straightforward.
Flavors: Charcoal, Dark Chocolate, Malt, Tannin, Tobacco
Preparation
This Nannuo is all the good things sheng can do. It’s not flashy, I wouldn’t say, but it’s delicious and solid and it makes me feel nice. A little smoke without being smoky; a little tobacco without being tobaccoey; some fruit without being fruity. Some sour, some flowers, some subtle cooling around my molars. Like a well-balanced bowl of noodles.
Longevity is so-so, as it starts petering out around 10 steeps.
This is certainly a region I expect to interact with more; reminiscent of nearby Bulang, unsurprisingly, a mountain range I’m quite fond of.
Suddenly I remember my Google mapping project, which I abruptly abandoned as life started unraveling, lol. I’ll get back to it when the dust clears; for now, I’ll just go tick Nannuo off as a good ’un.
Flavors: Flowers, Menthol, Pleasantly Sour, Smoke, Tobacco, Tropical Fruit
Preparation
Drank this yesterday after coming home from a tea tattoo(!!!)… I thought for a long time I was going to ink California sagebrush, and then a couple months ago I suddenly realized why I hadn’t quite settled into pulling the trigger. Because it was supposed to be tea. Duh.
Leaves and liquor smell of a Three Musketeers bar: sweet milk (not dark) chocolate and marshmallowy nougat. Wowza.
I admittedly came to this tea looking for deep cocoa and malt notes layered with vanilla, and that’s just not quite what this little one is. I initially brewed western with a resteep, then went directly for a heavy-handed gong fu session, thinking maybe I underleafed my western brew. But no — the base is just fairly light. There was also a persistent acidic/sour note that I had a hard time reconciling with the rest of the profile..
I am finding that very rich blacks work nicely in my morning routine, but this isn’t quite that… and that’s okay. It was more balanced with food; a garlicky Impossible burger broke up my session, and the steep following that was more rounded, with the sour note tempered. Might try this iced, too.
Flavors: Marshmallow, Milk Chocolate, Sour, Vanilla
I planted a California sagebrush in the front yard, right into some really shitty soil the city put in place after digging deep for sewer main replacement. The plant had a few years’ brush with death but has come back with delicate vigor this year. It thrives! And now I shall smile and think of you when I run my hand along the fluffy and fragrant new fronds forking from that wooden stem. A tattoo will make you think — My, what tea has brought to our lives!
Gaw, I bet that has been thrilling to watch it finally latch on and come to life. I love those plants so much — what a treat to have put one in your own yard. <3
I have a rosemary in the front yard that I had to plant right over an old root — it teetered for a year before it decided to stay with us. Watching it turn the corner… yesssssss.
The younger of a couple Nannuo samples, as I try to get a feel for the region. The compression here is pretty tight, and it took a few steeps to open up. Once it did, I got the distinct feeling I had overleafed; I willy-nilly let an 8g chunk ride in a pot I normally brew with 6g. Not particularly sweet or fruity or floral; bitterness is very present but not unpleasant. Thick soup, robust and mouth coating with gentle huigan and just a touch of cooling on the return (no camphor flavors noted, however). I don’t feel I’m a very good judge of qi today.
A solid Sheng-with-a-capital-S profile that just kept steeping — I lost count. Not particularly striking in any one aspect, but a lovely session and a tea I’d happily drink again.
Flavors: Bitter, Juicy, Menthol, Smooth, Thick, Tobacco
One thing that really changed my puerh sessions was the recommendation from mrmopar to do a rinse and then leave the tea alone for ten minutes or so, letting it really absorb any remaining water and steam while it rests. Then really enjoy smelling under the lid and in the pot and let the leaves kind of tell you what they want and need. If it is super sharp, there might be too much leaf or they might need really short steeps at first. (Not saying the way you made your tea was wrong, far from it. Just sharing wisdom from a puerh aficionado!)
I am loving your tea journey. You are already surpassing my pu knowledge as you get to know the characteristics of each region. I have not put in that effort, but rather just taken such teas as come my way! You inspire me to do better with the tea mountains and regions!
Thank you for the mopar wisdom! I have taken to a rinse and then a very long sit, but I like the added “conversation” with the leaves not only via water and taste but also via steam and smell.
I have amassed too too too many samples in my curious perusing and learning and rabbit-holing. Thats okay… tuition tea, as they say. They will keep me busy once I move to the mountain!