2012 Ruiyuan NanNuo Old Arbor

I want to age this tea more, but it seems very promising :)

Super strong but also complex!

My sample arrived two days ago and WOWEE was this some good tea. Out of the 5 sites i ordered from, this is without a doubt my favorite tea, and cheaper than some of the others i bought

I found the tea after reading this review

http://half-dipper.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/2012-ruiyuan-laoshucha.html

He says it better than i can – so read his notes!

Dark leaves in the cake which offer some of the typical peat smell. Many whole leaves combined with bits and pieces of leaves and stems. The clear and bright tea soup is gold with a bit of orange tint and a light floral aroma. The taste is brisk with a little astringency. Astringency then sweetness emerge quickly in the sip – sweet fruity flavor which brings to mind thoughts of stone fruit (peach or plum?). These linger in the mouth and throat but notes of spice are added to give a nice punch to the aftertaste.

Overall this tea is fun to drink and it presents decent body from the first steep onward. Full mouth-feel. Sweet with the flavor of stone fruits and a lingering hint of spice. Palpable astringency with a sweet draw in the mouth. Decent durability – 8 rather interesting steeps with an appealing mix of flavors and sensations.

The gift of a sample from one who knew I had missed out on this one — Thank You!

This was a free sample from Paul at white2tea and I am very grateful that he sent it to me. It has been lurking in the back of the cupboard, awaiting the time when I might be able to take a moment from my schedule to fully appreciate it. This morning is that time.

The dry leaf smells green and slightly composty with a note of warm horse. It promises much at first sniff. Looking at it, I see brown, green and silver leaf. It’s chopped but not excessively so. The cake is loose. That might be a result of taking the sample from the beeng.

When I pour the hot water onto it, the leaf immediately releases a thick floral aroma. It’s not cloying though. The liquor is a thick amber colour. The website describes the tea as ‘burly’. There is certainly nothing wishy washy about it so far. All of the elements of it are strong and bold. The taste is the same. There is strong astringency with sweet, floral and fruity notes, and strong spice in the aftertaste with perhaps a hint of pepper. There’s a lot going on there, and I am not sure that I am the best person to parse the range of flavours. I am aware of the range, but at a loss to differentiate all the elements. Perhaps I should lay that out as a challenge to others. I really like this tea. It has great body and good legs, both in the liquor and in the aftertaste.

7g used

Strong, bitter, green. Flavour is singularly green. Drying, bitter finish. Smoky. Wet leaves are chopped and green.

I have had this tea for some time and have had a chance to spend a lot of time with it. Looking at my email it seems I first tried it on September 29th of 2013 to be exact. Looking at my very first notes on the tea, it appears I was not satisfied in my first session. I was terribly mistaken and must have been half asleep or not used enough leaf because when I tried it again the next week it blew me away. It really stands out in the category of potent, bitter young raw Puerhs made with high quality maocha. The flavor, smells, texture, and body response for the tea really create a personality that I thoughroighly enjoy.
It starts off strong with sweet peach and cotton candy flavors and then fades into an even stronger bitter, burnt coffee flavor that last a long time in the mouth. There is also a delayed bitterness that lasts throughout the second wave of flavor.
The highlights of the tea are the scents that come with the fantastic flavors. Immediately when you wet the laves they smell like candy and fruit that would be almost too sweet. It doesn’t smell like tea. The liquor and scent cup accent all the flavors described above and also radiates a honey/syrup smell when the tea is hot.
I have noticed that after 8 or so months the tea is starting to slowly lose some of the fruity flavors which are being replaced by new cooked peach flavors and drowned out by a growing coffee flavor. Still very similar though. Maybe a 9.3 instead of a 9.5
I highly suggest this tea to anyone that likes their tea very strong and doesn’t mind taking two or three sessions to really pinpoint what you like about it. A little side note: If you enjoy this tea I guarantee you will love Tea Urchin’s teas made with high mountain maocha and Miles’ Birthday Blend.

Bought a cake of this with my recent White2tea order, based primarily on a very positive review from the half dipper. It is strong, indeed. Very astringent. Nice amber color, and very generous leaves – meaning it gives up lots and lots of infusions. It gets beautifully clear in later steeps. To the extent that bitterness transforms with aging, this seems like an excellent candidate for long term storage. And if you are a fan of bitter teas, like Lao Man E, you will probably like this one, selling for $40 currently.

Another sample from Paul at White 2 Tea. Once again, the website says it all: …" this tea is burly. Probably too strong for inexperienced drinkers to drink immediately". This is an excellent Sheng in my opinion, but it is definitely not for beginners. The soup is a beautiful golden color. The taste is very burly and I had to cut back my steeping times or I think the astringency would have been over powering. My White 2 Tea 2007 Taochaju Yiwu and 2011 Taochaoju Yiwu Guyun have great kuwei [pleasant bitterness] with a touch of background astringency. This tea is the opposite, a lot of astringency with a touch of background kuwei. Once again, in my opinion only, this is an excellent Sheng. However, if you don’t like astringency or are new to pu’er tea this tea may not be for you.

The website says this tea is burly, but I would describe it as bitter. Tastes like an infused version of my father’s old work pants. Awful. Thankfully it was only a complimentary sample.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 2:00 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 3:00 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4:00 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 5:00 min.

Fifth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10:00+ min.