Back to an interesting range of sheng pu'er from Chawang Shop, just a few more to go before reviewing that wave of tea purchases more or less wraps up.
It was interesting seeing how an informal tea community, of sorts, explored these same exact Chawang shop versions a couple of years ago (since they're from 2016), communicated in the form of Steepster reviews. I mentioned that in the Bada version review, how it was unique to compare it to trying the tea two years later, but the input there about this version seemed a bit more limited.
Luckily the aging process seems relatively moderate, compared to how fast teas transition here in Bangkok, where it's hot and humid, so that these seem on the younger side versus what I've kept here. That's good in this case, because it gives me a chance to experience them before all of the younger-range character wears off.
I've also mentioned a series of "Late Steeps" blog posts that experiment on aging conditions, and tentatively conclude that hotter storage isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Conclude" is too strong; the author experiments with split conditions experiments, and describes results, without necessarily extrapolating that to conclusions beyond what is experienced in the test case.
This isn't a comparison review, although I will try a 2016 Tea Mania Lucky Bee version at the same time, to compare aging transition differences. That tea I first tried a year ago. It won't help with working backwards to what this Mengsong version was like a year ago, or prior, but beyond serving as a baseline for comparison I can check out how it has changed here in that year. The comparison idea occurred to me when I was retrying the Lucky Bee version along with breakfast, so I stopped a few infusions in and will go onto trying this Chawang Shop tea, now later in the morning. It's as well to not include a round-by-round comparison anyway; the volume of what I've been writing adds up.
This intro has been a bit all over the map; sorry about that. I'll add the Chawang Shop vendor description while I'm at it and get on with the review:
This tea come from Mengsong mountain, wild arbor tea garden. Trees are 80-120 years old, growing wild in forest.¨ We visited this garden in Januar 2015 and very like the place. We bought first harvest which was just lest than 30kg.
Hand processing in every step and sun-dried, traditional stone pressed in December 2016.
Typical Mengsong taste, aromatic tea soup, sweet, full and strong, bittersweet long aftertaste. Compare with 2015 Mengsong we sold out, this tea is stable for more infusions.
Manufacturer : Cha Wang Shop
Production date: Late March 2016
Review
The taste of even a fast rinse of the leaves was very nice; it was hard to stick with convention and toss it after trying it. Given that I've used a fast infusion for the first round it will probably only show it's character more in the second.
As with the Bada version an impression that the quality of the tea is on the high side hits you before you really piece together what that's based on. It's the balance, the overall feel, sweetness, clean and complex flavors, and that distinctive main flavor range. It's mostly floral, hinting a bit towards a light dried fruit range, like dried pear, or not completely off the range of apricot. It's just delicious; this wouldn't require any exposure curve for anyone to appreciate. Bitterness is quite moderate at this point, but then it is a really light infusion at the outset, brewed fast to show the transition better. Even for being on the lighter side, and not really fully saturating the leaves yet, there's a creamy fullness to the feel, which I wouldn't describe as a structure, but definitely an aspect that adds depth.
For once I've backed off the "packed gaiwan" level of proportion (or the dry tea amount that would end up there a few infusions in); it seemed best to moderate that in this case, maybe even a little disrespectful to this tea. I think that does produce relatively positive results, using a high proportion and quite short infusion times, but easing up just a little lets you moderate outcome better. It probably just comes down to preference, and I surely will try it the other way before too long.
Bitterness joins in on the next round, and more feel structure, but the overall balance and character is still great. The pronounced floral range, with a hint of dried fruit, that covers a good bit of range itself, is joined by a touch of spice-like range. It defies description, somewhere in between cinnamon, tree bark (a dark version of peeled or thin bark), and exotic spices, probably better isolated by someone familiar with a much larger set of spices than I am. I let this infuse for around 15 seconds, an unnaturally long time for me given my normal proportion range, but it's about where it should be for infusion strength for using less. Lighter would still work but that would trade off some degree of experiencing the feel. There's lots more I could say about how feel or mineral range is developing but probably as well to hold off a round to get to that.
Bitterness ramps up further in the next round; this tea must have started out with a good bit of that aspect range, three years ago. It's still quite approachable and well-integrated now, still part of a profile that leads to an impression the tea is of relatively high quality. The floral range still stands out, but the bitterness masks the fruit range, which is probably only present in the form of giving the experience depth now. Feel is soft and rich but still structured; an interesting character.
The bitterness aspect stands out as the main difference between this and the Bada version, it seems to me. It's not of the type or level of younger factory sheng, teas that really need another decade of transition to be approachable at all, or how it would've been in Xiaguan versions I've been trying, but it's clearly the main thing you experience in this round. In ten more years this may well make for a much more intense, layered, complex experience than the Bada for including that range, but as it is now--in this round--someone would've needed to develop a liking for that as a main aspect to appreciate it more.
It does trail over into a pleasant sweetness after drinking it, with an interesting and complex feel and aftertaste after swallowing. There's no reason why that couldn't be seen as the main part of the tea experience, given that it's not going anywhere soon, so in a temporal sense it accounts for a much higher proportion of what is experienced. Some of the bitterness echoes with the sweetness, along with the feel, and after-impression of the mineral range. This is all going to be a contrast to the experience of that Yiwu version, especially since spending a year here in Bangkok probably altered it as much as at least two in Kunming, and probably in a slightly different way, not just an amount. I'll try this one more time and then fill in how a round of the Yiwu compares, which I've already tried for about 5 infusions worth earlier, so it's in the middle part of its brewing cycle.
Brewed a little faster the balance works better per my preference (7-8 seconds, versus 12-13). The flavor range re-emerges as more complex related to bitterness falling back in proportion, and the over-all intensity is still more than sufficient. It's definitely a multi-layered experience; the flavor is complex and interesting, feel is developed and full, aftertaste is pronounced and extended. As tends to happen in better versions level of sweetness lends it a nice balance, and mineral range fills in flavor complexity. It's a matter of how the bitterness is perceived, related to how positive the experience is, but even someone who sees that particular aspect balance as tipped further in intensity than they prefer might appreciate and enjoy the rest. I would expect that two years ago "balanced" isn't how I would've interpreted this as it was then, but then my preferences and range of what I appreciate in sheng has changed a lot in that time, not just this tea due to aging.
It's strange experiencing the Yiwu in the middle of this round; it's so different. It's a good further along in an infusion cycle, maybe three rounds ahead, but that's probably a minor part of the differences. An unusual warm, rich aspect stands out in it, beyond the typical floral tone, sweetness, and varying mineral range that's in most sheng. It's hard to place. It doesn't seem to be within the normal scopes of varying wood tones or warm mineral, and not quite a spice-related aspect either. It could be a complex experience that comes across as just one thing that has a foot in all of those ranges instead. It's interesting how it seems to be moving away from the sweet, bright floral tone I remember it as having, and how the bitterness that was present (in a different form than in this Mensong version) is also transitioning, leaving it kind of in the middle now, between where it's coming from and where it's going.
It's pleasant, and intensity is nice, but the character is outside the range of what I tend to typically experience. It might go through an odd version of picking up depth and muting a bit from here on out, for a number of years, re-emerging from that transition in a different form. It's definitely worth experiencing now but it may be a lot better in 7 or 8 years.
The mineral tone changed in the Mengsong version on the next roung; that increased in depth. The one aspect towards spice increased and changed in form; it won't help in pinning that down if it changes every round, but it does make for an interesting experience. One part is like aromatic cedar, a familiar range, and one part isn't familiar at all, more towards an unconventional spice. I was just discussing with someone in a Facebook thread how training in a lot of exotic spices and Asian oriented flavor aspects (floral range, vegetables, fruits, and so on) wouldn't necessarily add depth to the experience of tasting tea, but in this case it might add to my ability to describe this one better. It's not far off the parts of clove complexity, just not the spicier range of that experience, more the aromatic, sweet, broad range that's not as sharp and intense. Maybe a fresh version of clove is more similar to this than the dried versions I only ever experience.
I'll have to do another round and let this experience go for now; I'm tapping out for tea exposure. There surely is a late-rounds transition story to be told about this Mengsong but I'm fine with describing the first half.
The Yiwu (which I'm trying again) is very interesting for character; the flavors and feel cover a lot of scope too. There's a slight refined edge that Mensong possesses that's only present in moderation in the Yiwu version but it's also clearly quite pleasant tea. That unique flavor complexity and in-the-middle character range is interesting. Swapping out the brightness and freshness was a trade-off but there is also plenty to appreciate at this stage, with the character implying to me it still has good long term potential (although that's just a guess, based on limited experience; time will tell how it changes further).
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Yiwu left; darker leaves and liquid |
The Mengsong version is very pleasant for expressing as much complexity, in a different form, and sophisticated character, spanning a good bit of range. It's much stronger in presence as an aftertaste, with a richer and thicker feel. Bitterness has backed off so that it's no longer a challenge to appreciating the rest, and what is present transitions to a powerful aftertaste experience. Some of the positive character that I couldn't describe in the Bada version also applies to this, a general richness and overall balance, a refined character. I can't guess what mix of inputs is contributing to that, if it's mostly related to a growing location character (per narrow region or related to a polyculture or natural growth environment), or tied more to processing, but it surely must relate to a combination.
That Yiwu version did seem like spending time here threw off comparing similarly age-transitioned tea versions, that it was probably a little further along, even for being made at the same time. Given how different starting points would muddle interpretation I really didn't try to sort all that out here in description.
I'll probably try all these teas (this and the Bada from Chawang Shop, and this Tea Mania Yiwu) a couple more times over the next months to get a better feel for them, then let them sit, to see what they transition to later. I can see why it's somewhat unconventional to drink three year old sheng versions, why these probably didn't gain as much through changes yet as youthful character and intensity dropped out. I bought a 2019 Mengsong maocha version with this set; it will be interesting coming back to getting a feel for a newer-character range through that, even though establishing narrow regional character type doesn't work well over just a few examples.
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Kalani and a friend at her "reception year" graduation |
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