There are several versions of this cake. This is the first one, which received the heaviest pressing. In general, "first pressing" sounds good. However, in this case, it seems that the other pressings were much better. Unfortunate me for having the first one.
First, I am not altogether sure how much "HK storage" the tea received. Because there is only a very faint storage aroma in dry leaves in a preheated teapot and in the aroma of rinsed leaves and in taste, there is basically no storage taste/aroma at all. It's possible that the tea is indeed from HK, but I'd guess at dry/natural storage then. Of course, it's possible that the dense compression had some influence on very low degree of "wetness"...
The rinsed leaves smell ok, reasonably sweet, with that nutty/woody/raisin mix that one sometimes meets in lightly aged Yiwu tea.
Does this look like a 1999 HK "slightly wet" stored tea to you? Does not to me... I have teas from 2007 with a similar color.
Anyway, the taste... it's difficult to write about it, because there is not much. There is some sweet, powdery wood, with hints of raisins and nuts... Very, very mild aged taste. The powderiness of the tea is really strange. Maybe it's that famous Granny face powder? I can imagine having a granny with a face powder of similar aroma as this tea does.
Unimpressive taste can be redeemed, no doubt. But the tea rejects even that. It just feels awfully winded, tired and bored, like a person who just waits for death with resignation.
Sweetness? Sub-par. Thickness? Sub-par. Length of taste? Sub-par. Mouthfeel? Almost none. Qi? Weak and tired. Long-term aftertaste? Maaaybe... In a couple of steepings, it was nice.
This tea really reminded me of Cheng Guang He Tang's 99 Yiwu Dragon and Horse. That one was possibly a touch better though... But it was tired in a similar way, the fact that he sucked a bit less than this 99 Changtai Yichanghao did not save it either.
Bummer, I wanted this tea to be good. Well, next time, maybe. I've heard that the later pressings (also probably from somewhat different material) can be good or even excellent. I'll be looking for them then.
One does have to realize, the sample costs $11.50/10g. Servings of well stored classing '99 vintage teas do run more than that. I bought a dry-stored version of this tea, 10g for $16.50 from Houde. Honestly, that particular tea was reasonably impressive, in terms of body, qi, and good sweet flavors. It wasn't really an exiting tea, but there was more to it than say, the '99 Dadugang. When I first saw the listing--and saw the price of $11.50, which is cheaper than the '03 Dayi Nannuo, I knew this couldn't be very good. It really should be about twice the '03 Jin Dayi to maybe a bit more than that. A believable price would be about $22/10g.
OdpovědětVymazatHave you tried the '07 CGHT Yiwu? Your comment about enjoying the fruitiness of the YS '11 GFZ made me think that you should definitely enjoy that particular tea (a good session of which, I mean). When I had my sample, I only got one good session, but the '06 and '07 CGHT Chawang has strong plummy accents, unlike, say, the XZH '07 Yiwu, which is more along the templewood/chocolate axis, like the Dadugang.
Hi,
Vymazatyeah, I thought it quite cheap too. On one hand, famous teas can be expected to be expensive, on the other hand, the Mengku YYX, which is also quite famous and only two years younger, costs a lot less than a dollar per gram...
No, I haven't had the CGHT. Thanks for the tip, I'll have a look for it. I had only some 2006 fall Yiwu from CGHT, which was quite unimpressive...
Best,
Jakub
Well, I didn't think much of the fall tea either, and I was thinking of that tea. Don't go in with ultra high expectations for the 2007 spring, then.
VymazatI just wonder if it is really a real 1999 tea. Now producer can even sell you any tea any year you want. Just tell them to do so and they can have the warping with the exact marks and so on. They even fermented the leaves a bit to make the tea looks a bit old. and the taste is just as you describe. nothing much. Have you try oversteep for 10 minutes in the first brew and see the color?
OdpovědětVymazatBest,
Than
Hello!
VymazatI wonder the same... but I am inclined to believe it may be really a 99 tea. After all, the CGHT from 99 was also rather similar and suffered from similar problems.
I don't really think the leaves are somehow pre-fermented - certainly not like shu puerh.
No, I did not do an oversteep, but I can do that tomorrow, I'll have a look and post a photo.
Best,
Jakub
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OdpovědětVymazat