tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post751774330691065492..comments2024-03-19T08:17:55.123+01:00Comments on T: 2007/8 Blue Mark (Menghai, Wistaria TH) (and piggybacking 2005 Wistaria Jinggu)Jakub Tomekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-18249649311869893852015-10-09T12:45:30.330+02:002015-10-09T12:45:30.330+02:00Tento komentář byl odstraněn administrátorem blogu.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05434696281627376707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-76317608470109901822013-03-16T01:02:14.184+01:002013-03-16T01:02:14.184+01:00I've not had the CGHT '99/'01 stuff. ...I've not had the CGHT '99/'01 stuff. I've had the '03, '06 Fall, '07 Spring.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-87318826656883772852013-03-15T22:31:55.773+01:002013-03-15T22:31:55.773+01:00I see. Interesting thing with the Zipin tuo, I hav...I see. Interesting thing with the Zipin tuo, I haven't realized they made one. With the Jiang Chen, the difference was significant (though not groundbreaking). With the cake version, I was impressed by its heavy qi. Some others felt it this way, some did not. If not, then I can't say the tea would be entirely impressive otherwise. Comparing it to CGHT... Don't know enough of these. However, the 2001 and 1999 from Houde seemed clearly inferior to the Zipin to me. <br /><br />Thanks for the tips on the Jinggus, I'll be looking for them in future.<br />J.<br /><br />Jakub Tomekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-51245123071217839482013-03-15T21:13:00.119+01:002013-03-15T21:13:00.119+01:00I have not been as happy with aged Mengku or Yiban...I have not been as happy with aged Mengku or Yibangs in my experience. With Mengku, JingGu, and their like, dry storage all the way, baby. I certainly will never buy Yibang, or the Yiwu north of Yishanmo with the idea that they will be good agers.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-74484684231214136152013-03-15T21:07:31.961+01:002013-03-15T21:07:31.961+01:00I've actually purchased a 100g tuo version of ...I've actually purchased a 100g tuo version of the Zipin. I drank it up, so I am quite familiar with it, given obvious acknowledgement of the differences in leaf quality between the cake and tuo.<br /><br />I've had plenty of different areas of Yiwu as well. As a group, they don't do much actual sweetness, especially before some age.<br /><br />Houde still has the '07 Kuzhushan. Bannacha had a JingGu that was so approved of, they sold out. You can also get a sample of the Huangshanlin from Jas-eteas.com. Knock yourself out. Not promising instant revelation--I think only the Puzhen was instantly obvious to be great. The rest generally take more sessions to truly grasp the appeal.<br /><br />Never had any for sure Bingdao.<br /><br />If a Banzhang doesn't have strong qi, then it's not really worth having. Banzhang with good taste, complexity, and durability are much more rare than Banzhang with qi. Especially on the durability part. Without the qi or dynamicism in the mouth, you're better off buying Nannuo.<br /><br />I do not really think of the Wistaria Zipin as being much more than something on the level of Nadacha with age to it. They will not beat a CGHT, and head to head, yes, the Sanhetang '06 and '07 yiwu would normally beat it by some margin, and would absolutely crush it on a good day with little question about it.<br /><br />Your opinions are yours and you are welcome to satisfy your needs as you please. In any event, you can't even buy the '07 (spring, someone's still selling the fall GFZ in Taiwan) easily while the shop nominally will sell you the '06 for US$400+. You *can* buy the '06 fall CGHT if you rummage around Taiwan enough.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-63960468047467809642013-03-15T08:44:38.072+01:002013-03-15T08:44:38.072+01:00I don't think that Manzhuan is a good example ...I don't think that Manzhuan is a good example of Yiwu (well, it is not Yiwu...) either. I find the area rather boring. <br /><br />Agreed that with most Yiwus, it's not like honey-sweetened (though general sweetness is often ample), however, there are such Yiwus too. It's a large area with several important sub-clusters.<br /><br />Again - please, tell me of three high-end Jinggus. Kill virtually any Yiwu? Hmm, qi seems an awfully personal thing to me. But if you get a chance to taste, e.g., the Wistaria's Zi Pin, do so.<br /><br />I don't think that Banzhang would have necessarily strong qi... Concerning Bingdao, you had some real Bingdao? Seems awfully expensive to me.<br /><br />I think that very decent Yiwu can cost less than $200 per cake. Are the XZH Jinggus a lot cheaper?<br /><br />According to what I drank, I would not consider Sanhetang Yiwus as a measure. And definitely not a measure of how good Yiwu can be; they can be much better. Then again, I might not had the great XZH Yiwus. However, given my previous experience with XZH, I'll much more readily invest into Wistaria's teas.Jakub Tomekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-4446827599859523062013-03-15T08:38:05.794+01:002013-03-15T08:38:05.794+01:00Some Mengkus age quite well, I guess. The Yuanyexi...Some Mengkus age quite well, I guess. The Yuanyexiang is a very good tea. That 2003 Mengku from YS ages reeasonably too.<br /><br />Yibang - not same as Jingmai. 2002 Yibang from Chawangshop, or 2004 SKM Yibang are not red at all, they age quite normally.Jakub Tomekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-73743130874361018112013-03-15T03:57:21.105+01:002013-03-15T03:57:21.105+01:00As far as storing and aging, my personal state of ...As far as storing and aging, my personal state of knowledge sez that north of Menghai city, the only tea I suspect that will age well within reasonable time periods is proper Daxueshan. Everywhere else, you're just along for the ride until it's old tea.<br /><br />Some things get better--Mengku and JingGu gets sweeter and retains qi. Mengku gets a bit of that aromatic and barky woodiness. Jingmai gets red, preferably with nice longan flavors, but most seem to lose qi. Same with Yibang. Other places, like Bangwei or many areas of Wuliang do not have a good history at all when it comes to aging. Will have to cross my fingers for Nadacha Bangwei '10. So forth and on.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-888427220227868672013-03-15T03:45:15.823+01:002013-03-15T03:45:15.823+01:00Well...
I consider the Lao Wu Shan to have better...Well...<br /><br />I consider the Lao Wu Shan to have better qi than the XZH Manzhuang. I don't really think that tea is a great example of a JingGu, since it has many "wuliang" type features.<br /><br />I have never considered Yiwu to be a particularly sensate-sweet tea. The 2004 YangQingHao is virtually the only Yiwu I have (or quickly thinking, sampled) that is particularly sweet. No Yiwu I've ever had can match a JingGu in sweetness, as a rule--not even some mediocre-bad JingGu. Good Yiwus tend to have sweet flavors, like vanilla or caramel that you'd find in something like the '99 Song Charactered. JingGu typically does not--they tend to age towards dry wood, weedy herbals.<br /><br />Yiwus just aren't sweet like the '03 JingPin Bulang or the '06 banzhangs I have, or Jinggu Nu'ercha '07 or certain Yibangs. You won't think you're drinking something already sweetened with honey with most Yiwu I've tried.<br /><br />As for sheer power in sensations and qi--no, a high end JingGu will kill virtually any Yiwu, full stop. Those guys can deliver huigans and qi pretty close to Banzhang or Bingdao? levels. They cool a lot more, too. <br /><br />A top Yiwu is usually better because they are much more well rounded teas, with depth and character in the taste, enough qi, enough cooling, much less bitterness. Both top Yiwu and top JingGu are really rare in the marketplace, and I see few people selling top JingGu on Taobao (just guessing, since I don't know how good the tea actually is). Most of that stuff will not make it to any market.<br /><br />Most of my experience is with Sanhetang JingGus. Yes, I've had my share of '99-'03 Yiwu. I don't own any cakes because decent Yiwu from that time period is fantastically expensive. Sanhetang JingGu are much more reliable teas than Sanhetang Yiwu, but on a good day the Yiwus are better than all but perhaps the Puzhen, which can be insanely good.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-56656442658004961122013-03-14T23:41:47.072+01:002013-03-14T23:41:47.072+01:00P.S. Concerning the Wistaria/YS Jinggu, it seems t...P.S. Concerning the Wistaria/YS Jinggu, it seems to me that the Wistaria is a higher level tea. It would be more fair to compare the Wistaria Jinggu to YS's Ancient Arbor Yiwu, I guess. I can imagine the Ancient arbor Jinggu aging into a similar thing as the Wistaria one... <br /><br />I guess the closest Jinggu I know is the 2010 XZH Laowushan. However, I do not see how any of these two could become very good via further aging. Still, the future may prove me wrong, I admit.Jakub Tomekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-49774471464689189552013-03-14T23:37:23.020+01:002013-03-14T23:37:23.020+01:00Hello,
compared to the YS Xiaobings... difficult t...Hello,<br />compared to the YS Xiaobings... difficult to say, because of the big age difference. I can't tell where the YS one will shift.<br /><br />Concerning the power in mouth, qi, sweetness and all that, my experience with Jinggu/Yiwu is exactly the opposite of yours. Do you know at least three "well bred" Jinggu teas, preferably somewhat aged? If so, which are they?<br /><br />I do not want to sound overly antagonistic. I'm just wondering where to find that good Jinggu tea. Because I surely know great Yiwu teas, while I do not know any great Jinggu. I wonder - have you had well stored well bred Yiwu from 2000-2003? From what I have read, it seems to me that you drink younger tea in general. Many Yiwu teas, in my opinion, tend to fall aslumber at circa 1-2 years from the pressing and the sleep lasts for 3-5 years, when the tea is relatively boring. But it can get very good later. If you had these sleeping Yiwus, no wonder you do not like them as much.<br />Best,<br />J.Jakub Tomekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12641381393855983478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-787049119265045160.post-12143587858939033412013-03-14T22:13:00.484+01:002013-03-14T22:13:00.484+01:00Okay, about JingGu...
How did Wistaria compare to...Okay, about JingGu...<br /><br />How did Wistaria compare to those YS xiaobings?<br /><br />Next, JingGu vis á vis Yiwu is something like this:<br />JingGu do not usually taste as good as a decent Yiwu. It is usually pretty flat, with all of the complexity being of the baroque sort, with little depth.<br /><br />JingGu of good breeding usually has way more power in the mouth and throat than any Yiwu, and sometimes is a substitution for some in China for LBZ.<br /><br />JingGu of good breeding will also have way more qi than the majority of Mengla teas other than genuine GFZ or Youle of high quality.<br /><br />JingGu in general tends to have more sensate sweetness, particularly tonguetip, and eventually a general sweetness like LBZ/N. Bulangs. Cooling is the same or more than Yiwu. Neither region tend to thicker broth or less thick than the other. Tea by tea thing.<br /><br />So when you evaluate JingGu, it's about whether the basic flavor is good or appealing to you, since it's going to age roughly like Mengku will, with a bit more woodiness/herbalness. You should check whether it has strong qi and good sweetness (with the whole leaves unless you're specifically for Dabaicha).<br /><br />This does seem to be tricky because good JingGu is rare, since plantation Yiwu can be very decent while plantation JingGu can be a pretty inferior product.shah8https://www.blogger.com/profile/04537529816304128000noreply@blogger.com