A new local tea friend passed on a sample of what seemed like quite promising aged sheng not long ago, a 2003 Nan Nuo sheng pu'er, that had been stored in Penang, Malaysia. It was really good. This isn't about that tea background or that friend, just about the experience.
It's local shop in-house product from that storage area, where he bought it, at Ten Yee tea, this place.
Review:
Infusion # 1: it's good, I guess. This round is subtle, even after a rinse, and I get the impression that it might stay subtle, regardless of how much it's pushed. Then that can still be fine, if the character present is positive, and if the depth added by extra feel and aftertaste add more impression of intensity and complexity. I think a broad range of high quality aged sheng, that many people really prefer, is all something I've not learned to appreciate.
I was just drinking an 8 year old Yiwu recently that highlighted how that goes. It wasn't in an optimum place, for not being absolutely and fully transitioned, but it was pretty far along, for having spent almost all that time here in Bangkok. Tones present were warm; it had lost all the youthful character, as far as you could tell. I think deeper tone aspect intensity will still increase, but it also might fade some more, not leaving much experience range to appreciate, some residual sense of depth and feel.
As flavors go this is clean, and warm in range (of course). Flavors are subtle enough that it's hard for me to break it down; it could be interpreted as mineral, leather, tobacco, spice, lots of different things. All that is positive; it lacks the woody character many lower quality sheng evolves towards. I'll try a next round brewed a little stronger.
#2: it doesn't need to be quite this strong; it's nice that it could ramp up intensity and overshoot an optimum so quickly. Tones are much warmer. It includes a little geosmin, towards a dirt scent. It's clean in effect, so not the murky, earthy peat range shou often expresses, something else altogether. Storage inputs don't seem to contribute mustiness to it, or any off flavors, although those heavy tones must relate to fermentation transition and therefore indirectly to storage.
Mineral range is pronounced. Other earthy range is harder to place, more like the odd scent of driftwood. Even that mineral includes some novel range; people bring up petrichor, the scent after it rains, and one part might correspond to that. It seems like spice range might evolve further, as if that's there, but not easy to single out at this stage.
#3: better with infusion strength dialed into my preference better. It's clearly good, I'm just not as clear on how well it matches my preference. I suspect that for people accustomed to appreciating better aged sheng that would come more naturally. Then it sounds like I might be implying that there is some objectively positive range everyone should learn to appreciate, and then agree on as positive. I don't see subjective preference that way, although that is the most common take on that theme in more experienced tea circles. You are supposed to like what others like, and all join together in appreciating high quality, and objectively positive tea aspects. Maybe I'm just behind the curve.
That heaviness from wet storage is easier to detect now, the familiar basement scent range. It wouldn't require the most humid range of storage to draw that out, but it would be heavier in wetter stored teas, and slightly different. It's so moderate here this doesn't taste like Malaysian stored tea. Maybe most of what I've tried of them--not many examples--weren't stored under ideal conditions.
The set of warm tones is interesting, how many interpretations might fit for that. It could be read as geosmin (dirt, sort of), warm mineral, including petrichor, leather, driftwood or aged wood, or within spice range, especially incense spice (the set I don't remember to distinguish between; frankincense, myhrr, sandalwood, and so on). Some would say this tastes like camphor. People seem to tend to attribute anything remotely like that to that description or to avoid using it, and for as distinctive and strong as actual camphor tends to be I don't make a connection so often. I would guess that this probably tastes a lot like one thing I'm not familiar with, probably within the aromatic incense spice range.
#4: it's a little cleaner, maybe from evolving through earlier rounds, losing slight rough edges, or else maybe just from brewing intensity variation. I'd expect that it is transitioning. This is probably a good place to take a round off descriptions and cover where it shifts to next round.
Related to this being too subtle that concern largely dropped out, but of course it's not in the intensity and complexity range of factory teas, aged to any extent under any conditions. It's not far off, and preference would determine if this level is better, as good, or not as favorable. Again I get this impression many would see this general character as somewhat optimum, maybe even objectively and in general, not just in relation to their own preference.
#5: it's not ideal for a tasting write-up that this is going to go through subtle shifts in flavors I'm not familiar with. The range is pleasant. In order to place how much or how little I like it I keep considering how often I would want to drink this, or teas quite similar to it. Not too often, even completely setting aside any issues related to cost or access. I like younger sheng experience more, and to me there is something catchy about an aged version that retains more intensity and complexity, that doesn't just present a decent balance of an integrated and similar flavor range, that leans toward the subtle side. This isn't an example of a tea that completely faded; that's something else. But it does express a narrow range of positive flavor, and that's it.
It's nice doing a single version tasting, not struggling to make it to these rounds for ingesting too much tea. It still gets old writing notes and spending the time focusing.
#6: it improves, a little, a first change in a couple of rounds. Aromatic spice range is different and more pronounced. Feel gains a bit of sappiness, a little more complexity, and aftertaste extends just a little, where before it had been limited. I suppose with a limited range of positive transition, or just any variation, that judgment from the last round would shift a little, and it would seem more pleasant and interesting. It seemed like minor shift in infusion strength and some transition on the tea's side caused that.
#7: intensity might be fading a little; it's probably time to extend infusion time slightly. The same catchy main flavor aspect from last round stands out.
#8: Complexity and intensity is good, and flavor range is positive. This probably does continuously taste more and more like camphor. I get the sense that many others would really love and value this tea and tea experience. It's ok for me, pleasant and novel, nice for the quality level and style being quite favorable. If I was drinking better aged sheng more frequently maybe I would like it even more, related to being dialed in to appreciate the range more.
#9: I lost track of timing messing around online and brewed this for at least a minute; of course it's a lot stronger. The effect is still pleasant that way. A camphor aspect had already been stronger, and it stands out all the more brewed at a higher intensity. The rest dials up too, warmer mineral tone, mild and clean geosmin input, spice range, and what could be interpreted as aromatic wood. It's nice.
Conclusion:
If anything it was as positive or more so for a few more longer late rounds; it was nice the way it finished so strong, in a couple of senses. This started a little slow but turned out to be one of the higher quality sheng versions I've ever tried, never mind just recently.
It made me think through my preferences a bit, about what range I might explore if my tea budget was more open, and if I would acclimate to preference to teas like this. Maybe. As things stand it was a pleasant and novel experience.
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