Haven’t done this for a while
This came through the mail from a friend. It’s still on sale, apparently, but quite a bit higher than I remember it used to cost.
The cake got a little beat up on the way here in the mail — some parts of the cake was pulverized.
The tea…. is a fairly standard one. There’s quite literally nothing too remarkable about it, but nothing bad about it either. It’s one of those reliable, clean tasting cakes. It did go for quite a while and hasn’t weakened too much after many infusions.
There was an initial floral note early on — in the first few cups it was quite obvious. I think I would’ve liked to see a little more punch to the tea, but it was relatively speaking a little subdued. Then again, nothing’s wrong with that.
Obviously I haven’t done this for a while.
Now I suppose this, too, will go into the “wait” pile and see what happens to it five, ten, or twenty years from now. Maybe leaving it out in the crazy thunderstorm outside will help speed up the aging.
3 responses so far ↓
Anonymous // July 21, 2008 at 12:38 pm |
I have some of these.
This cake is odd for me. I bought a tong+ after Bears3 raved about it on his trip to China.
When I got it, I didn’t like it. I’ve tried it several times since then and sometimes it was bad, sometimes it was ok, and twice it was really good. I’m not sure what to make of this cake, my technique, or my mood on a given day, but I’m still not sure what I think of this cake. Not sure if the leaves are inconsistent, or I am.
I’d be interested to see what you think on subsequent brewings.
But it also makes me wonder how we judge a cake over time.
We get these taster cakes, and try them, and assume that everything is always the same, even though our teaware, water, mood/tastes, parts of the cake, and memories are probably not the same over the years.
I’m really starting to question my peceptions.
djn7304 // July 26, 2008 at 1:23 pm |
In The Art of Tea issue #4, the tasting panel reviews several 2001 sheng1 生 bing3 餅. One of the reviewers discusses how cakes tend to age inconsistently. That is, they go through periods of tasting bad or good depending on the particular chemical reactions taking place at the time. Obviously this makes determining the aging potential of a particular cake extremely difficult. This has led him (and I’m beginning to feel this way myself) that the best way to judge a tea in not on individual characteristics, but on how those characteristics combine in a harmonious way. The best cake is often the most well-rounded.
In fact, I just finished an 80’s 7542 Menghai sample from Hou De, and while the aroma and flavor were noticeably subdued, the yin qi was fast and full. It definitely wasn’t the most exciting tea I’ve ever had, but the overall experience was fully satisfying and enjoyable.
5+ Year Old “Menghai County†Raw Pu’erh [July 2015 Tea Drinking Report] | TeaDB // August 1, 2015 at 3:01 am |
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