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drank 2019 LaoManE Black Teacake by Liquid Proust Teas
1548 tasting notes

If you’ve ever had a LaoManE sheng pu’er, then you’ll understand the level of aspirin or rubberlike bitterness of this tea. The cake itself has an intoxicating scent but the flavor and any underlying complexity beyond dark and herbaceous tones are masked by the bitterness. I threw a pinch of a very chocolate-forward black (What-Cha’s Huang Jin Gui) in the second steep to try to give the tea more of a dark chocolate vibe. Can’t say it was successful. I have ~100g to play around with and am curious 1) how it does gongfu and 2) how I can amend this tea to make it drinkable western style. Not sure how I feel about it yet.
4 comments
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Leafhopper
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This is discouraging. Maybe it’ll improve with age?

Natethesnake
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I can’t imagine Lao man e being suitable for black, white or much of anything but puerh. Most of the yunnan Assamica I’ve tried processed as black tea, be it Yiwu, Lincang or Bulang has been too monolithic. LME being monolithic as puerh would be really so as black.

derk
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Leafhopper, I think it might be an immutable bitterness. I’ll try to work some magic on it in the coming month and report back if mitigation is possible. It is on mrmopar’s wishlist. If you don’t like it, maybe he’d take it off your hands?

Natethesnake: monolithic is an excellent description! I have both a Bulang and a Mengsong black to compare.

Leafhopper
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I’ll have a session with it in the next few days and will let you know what I think. However, it doesn’t sound promising.

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Leafhopper
Delete

This is discouraging. Maybe it’ll improve with age?

Natethesnake
Delete

I can’t imagine Lao man e being suitable for black, white or much of anything but puerh. Most of the yunnan Assamica I’ve tried processed as black tea, be it Yiwu, Lincang or Bulang has been too monolithic. LME being monolithic as puerh would be really so as black.

derk
Delete

Leafhopper, I think it might be an immutable bitterness. I’ll try to work some magic on it in the coming month and report back if mitigation is possible. It is on mrmopar’s wishlist. If you don’t like it, maybe he’d take it off your hands?

Natethesnake: monolithic is an excellent description! I have both a Bulang and a Mengsong black to compare.

Leafhopper
Delete

I’ll have a session with it in the next few days and will let you know what I think. However, it doesn’t sound promising.

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. And thus I step away.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile. Terpene fiend.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, Nepal and Darjeeling. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possess off flavors/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s pu’er, I likely think it needs more age.

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