Song Yi Tea blind sheng tasting (old plant source Mannuo)

 

I'm trying the second tea version sent for review by a Taiwan based vendor I reviewed versions from awhile back.  At least initially this is a blind tasting format; the label is Chinese, and I didn't look it up prior to tasting.  I just assumed it was rolled oolong at first, since they sell both sheng pu'er and that, but it was clear enough even before opening it that it wasn't that, from the feel.  It's really nice smelling sheng.

I'll fill in what it is in the conclusion section at the end in a final version of write-up, but it turned out it was a 2020 Mannuo Ancient Tree sheng pu'er (with their main website here).  The post title theme works either way, as a direct review of that or tied to the form in which I tried it, or failing to choose, and listing both.

Review:

First infusion:  very pleasant, sweet and creamy.  It's fruitier than sheng typically is, reminding me of a Nannuo that was a favorite in the past, or maybe even the somewhat matching character of several LBZ versions.  This is too light yet to really get a read on where bitterness level and type will settle, but surely it's moderate. Feel is a bit soft too, not necessarily thin but lacking a typical structure.  Some of that is probably related to a processing style input, but I won't go into guessing about that part.  This has that white grape / pear flavor aspect range I really liked in that one Nannuo (the first tea I bought from Moychay, a random pick that worked out well).

Second infusion:  a pleasant bitterness picks up in this, moderate in intensity but positive in form.  It tastes a bit like biting a tree bud, kind of "towards aspirin" as all bitterness is, but in a pleasant form within the broader range.  Sweetness stands out more, still in that fruit range, and the creaminess.  Sheng usually isn't this creamy; that part is hard to place.  It pulls that taste, which is moving more into a light orange citrus, towards creamsicle.  Creamsicle with a bit of complementary bitterness is interesting.  

Along with flavor extending a bit into cream the feel is like that, full and round, not missing structure typically present in sheng but swapping out a good bit of that for a very different fullness.  That Moychay Nannuo was like this related to flavor, a bit, and it was a low-bitterness and approachable feel tea, but it didn't have this creaminess, and didn't shift into citrus range like this.  Next round it should be more where it's going to be across a longer cycle, maybe just a bit more novel.

That bitterness is present in a stronger form in the aftertaste, or at least a higher proportion in relation to the rest.  That's pleasant.

Third infusion:    intensity is good; this is really hitting, even for being brewed relatively quickly.  Now bitterness does match the sweetness and creaminess, with complexity ratcheted up.  Right after you swallow the tea you get a rush of the experience strengthening, then the rest lingers.  A bit of stronger light mineral fills in; that's part of this becoming more complex and intense.  Feel is a bit more structured, but not astringent or challenging.  This really does seem like quite pleasant tea.  

I'm curious about what it is, and how old it is.  It could be a very young tea that just happens to be on the soft side, but it would make perfect sense for this to have had a couple of years to round off rough edges to get to this character.  The brightness and apparent freshness marks it as not really transitioned much by age at all.  If this was stored very dry this could be 3 or 4 years old but if it had spent time in Taiwan in more humid environment I wouldn't expect it to be more than 2 years old, and it could be quite young, just a soft tea to begin with.

Fourth infusion:  the real story of this tea is how appealing that set of aspects is, and I can't really do justice to that subjective experience.  It's just good.  It's so good that considerations about how it might improve with aging kind of drop out; it doesn't need to improve, and I'd need to be holding a lot of this tea to want to see the results of that experiment, versus just drinking through it.  "Creamy" may not be as clear as it could be; this coats the inside of your mouth.  It's a cool feel sensation, along with that pleasant and novel flavor range, well-matching bitterness level, and positive form of aftertaste.  

If this tea cost a good bit that would be justified, regardless of its origin story.  It's a more positive tea than I tend to usually drink.  I've reviewed an LBZ version not long ago (or "presented as such," for the skeptics, who probably shouldn't be reading this blog anyway); it would be interesting to compare the two.

Fifth infusion:  the flavor is so complex that it's hard to do better with a description.  It's on the fruity side, but that complex range of flavor could be interpreted differently, and it's my impression that it covers a set.  The list hasn't changed:  creaminess (both feel and taste), citrus (between light orange and lemon, maybe tangerine), mineral (just a bit warmer now), other fruit (kind of subdued and in the background), floral undertone (really as floral as fruity now, but in a form that comes across as vague for covering some range).  Then there's sweetness and bitterness, with both relatively intense while you drink the tea but hitting like a wave as aftertaste when you first swallow it.  

I'll skip further rounds; I have a couple of things to do.  I will look up what this is and write some thoughts on that.  Related to trying those later infusions it stayed positive but dropped off, not extending into as long a sequence of similar range character rounds as many sheng tend to.  I didn't see that as a sign of moderate tea quality, more a function of how "approachable sheng" tends to work out.  It wouldn't be unusual for people to frame that more negatively, looking for structure in their sheng, and a different kind of intensity.

Conclusions:

I looked up what it is

2020 Spring Ancient Tree Raw Pu'er sheng Puerh Loose Tea 150g (950 baht; about $30)

Name: 2020 Mannuo Gushu Sheng Puerh

Year: 2020 Spring First Harvest

Country of Origin: Yunnan Province, China

Altitude: 1300m above sea level

Flavor: Sweet Flowery Scent, strong aftertaste

That age makes sense; it was just a soft tea to begin with, with quite moderate but notable bitterness, and mild astringency.  The brightness and freshness definitely matched it being young.  The "ancient tree" part we can almost set aside, but to some extent older plants and more natural growth teas can seem to relate to moderate astringency and novel flavor range (respectively).  Gushu often can be subtle in flavor intensity with a strong mineral base flavor, but then more wild growth versions would shift that to be softer with more focus on fruit or strong floral flavor.  But it's best to take the mapping of marketing description and hearsay character per input with a grain of salt and just go by what the tea expresses.  It's definitely not a personal strength of mine to map out a large matrix of origin locations and input conditions to experienced aspects, which is why I keep the guesses a bit vague in more blind tastings.

I've tried tea from that origin before but not enough to establish any baseline.  I think I might've reviewed a pressed version from them (yep, a 2018 version, a pressed cake, the more conventional form).

Again value stands out for this tea, as much as the character.  This is selling for $60 per standard cake, more or less, 20 cents a gram (not far off what the other one was).  This is much better tea than some prior $80-90 versions I've tried from Yunnan Sourcing and Farmerleaf, although there is some adjustment to be made in that "better" evaluation related to it being based on preference, and me liking fruity and approachable sheng.  That said, this tea is a steal.  

The general character reminds me of a "wild tea" version I tried selling for well over 50 cents a gram not so long ago, which may or may not have been a good price for that; it can be hard to tell when versions aren't mainstream, types that don't turn up often (as far as I know).  That was this Moychay Yongde "wild" sheng version related to sweetness, interesting flavor, moderate bitterness, great intensity, and softer feel structure.  Then again if I tried them side by side maybe I would think my memory of that character similarity was off in some way.

One might naturally wonder if there isn't a character limitation at play that I've referenced a few times but not completely spelled out, related to the "oolong pu'er" theme, and this being so approachable at this young age.  Related to letting this sit for 15 years and appreciating it then, probably.  This will warm in tone and drop out some freshness over the next two years, but there's no astringency to soften and transition to something else.  I don't think it would be more positive after that two years, and would probably decline in appeal after that.  It's really good now though.  

To some this bitterness could be disappointingly limited, and the creaminess could be a flaw, a gap in expressing more feel-structure instead.  This is a sheng an oolong drinker would love, and for some that would be a huge turn-off.  I couldn't relate to seeing this character as a gap, the set of aspects I've expressed, but subjective preference is like that; we work with the perspective that we have.

Post-script

I've stated clearly that I really like this tea, and that it seems like a great value to me, with one more aspect of my own experience highlighting that.  I bought some for my niece as a wedding gift before this post was finally finished.  I might get around to buying more for myself too.

I didn't criticize the "ancient /  old plant source" part here.  Was it that?  I don't know.  I think I can accurately spot some typical patterns related to older plant source sheng, tied to a certain feel range, and strong underlying mineral content, and this doesn't match of that.  The "wild" plant type theme might match up better, and those two ranges can overlap.  

I asked the business owner, or business-front staff, (Sonya?; I'm bad with names), why this tea is as good as it is, which couples with the question of why it sells for what it does.  I probably sound really skeptical of any kind of input in this post write-up, since I must have said "take that with a grain of salt" a few times, so it's odd that I even ask, but there had to be a novel story there.  She said that having a close contact in Yunnan was a factor in buying pretty good tea.  

As I understand it the rate isn't necessarily the thing; it's being able to find pretty good tea versus pretty mediocre material, lower elevation plantation grown leaves. Both of those tie to local market rate expectations, perhaps not as differentiated by quality level as a factor as one might imagine, although that part is way outside the range of my personal experience.  Old plant source tea not being from plants that are that old might factor in too.  But for as wishy-washy as I am about stating clear opinions I'm pretty sure this is good tea.  Good in relation to my preferences, definitely, but I think the other kind of good too.

the kids; been awhile since I've shown pictures of them

Kalani is doing an over-dramatic pose phase

a house for a kitten we may adopt

it has a door and windows, and a decoration theme

there is even a bed, and artwork on the walls

Comparing 2018 Pasha and Mannuo gushu sheng

Tea Mania Pasha left, Song Yi Mannuo right (in all photos)

I'm a little behind on getting to samples, and am only now returning to a second sheng version sent by Song Yi Tea (with contacts for them here and here), selling tea relatively directly sourced out of Taiwan.  Except for this, said to be relatively directly sourced in Yunnan, then sold from Taiwan, but the point is the same.  There is more of their story in this post.  The first Bulang sheng version wasn't bad, even better for seeming a good value, priced very fairly for how pleasant it was.

The other tea is a Pasha version from Tea Mania, a really consistent, also relatively direct-source theme seller.  It's hard to identify exactly what those sourcing stories mean, or be clear on how old "gushu" plants might really be, but I tend to not make too much of the stories anyway, letting the teas speak for themselves.

Per a standard approach I'll try these with no input then paste vendor descriptions back here prior to posting.

The Song Yi Tea version, 2018 Mannuo gushu sheng pu'er:


Name: Mannuo Gushu Sheng Puerh
Year: 2018 Spring First Harvest
Country of Origin: Yunnan Province, China
Altitude: 1300m above sea level
Flavor: Sweet Flowery Scent, strong aftertaste 

The tea leaves come from Gushu which are hundreds years old trees at Mannuo Mountains, the north part of Menghai.  Most of them grow on the slopes, reach up to 2 or 3 meters high and more than 10 cm stem diameter. There are very few other trees in the garden. 

Dry tea leaves are tight and dark. The infusion is light gold, clear and shiny, wild flowers aroma. The most loved aspect of this tea is its aftertaste, which has a special mellow flavor in the throat when drinking.  The sweet dimension is gradually becoming stronger.


Normally I would've edited that but this "gushu" claim relates to considering context.  This is selling for a bit over $60 for a 357 gram cake (2183 baht as I see the listing), which for some would relate to a warning flag, since gushu tends to cost a good bit more.  Location factors into pricing too, local demand.  Although one would be wary of accepting "special case" explanations alternative sourcing variations could come up; vendors buying teas relatively directly could by-pass some cost and adjust mark-up differently.


Onto Tea Mania's Pasha sheng pu'er description, a 250 gram 2018 gushu cake:


For this bingcha tea leaves of up to 300 year old tea trees (Gushu) were used by the Pasha Shan and processed into a bingcha. The typical Pasha aroma is accompanied by the depth and clarity of Gushu tea leaves and a touch of camphor. This tea is particularly suitable for aging by storage. A tea that gets better with the years.

Harvest Date:  Fall 2018 


Camphor is one of those descriptions that tends to be used in different ways, as hui gan is, or to a lesser extent probably as any aspect descriptions are.  I don't want to go too far with tangents but let's check what that even is:

Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) is a terpene (organic compound) that’s commonly used in creams, ointments, and lotions. Camphor oil is the oil extracted from the wood of camphor trees and processed by steam distillation. It can be used topically to relieve pain, irritation, and itching. Camphor is also used to relieve chest congestion and inflammatory conditions.

As far as actually ingesting it goes they also say this:

Camphor should never be ingested internally as this can cause serious side effects and even death. Signs of camphor toxicity appear within 5 to 90 minutes of ingestion. Symptoms include burning of the mouth and throat, nausea, and vomiting.


Ok then; pass on brewing that as a tisane.  Back to the description, this being a fall (autumn) harvest tea stands out.  That makes the moderate pricing seem more realistic, with a convention about what that means for expected character a bit less clear to me.  Those can be less intense, but there must be more for uniform generalities I could pass on.

This cake is selling for $60 for a 250 gram version, so a bit more, but not much at all as typical gushu pricing goes (which again varies a lot by individual region, and other factors).  That's 24 cents a gram, versus 18 cents / gram for the other, for people who are more familiar with that form.

Moving on, let's check out those locations:

this map (from here) doesn't list Mannuo, with Pasha lower center left

that's it at the top, cited in a TeaDB summary as being from here

I'm not going to mention location-typical character; I'm not up to that even related to origins I'm much more familiar with.

Review:

Tea Mania left; you can almost feel that texture from how they look

Tea Mania 2018 (fall) Pasha gushu sheng pu'er:  it's nice; definitely a bit intense.  Bitterness stands out but it's moderate enough that it works.  There's a distinctive flavor, or rather a set, with one part towards a spice range.  Sweetness might well extend to fruit, a bit like citrus, maybe (grapefruit or dried grapefruit peel, a little towards dried orange or orange peel, because not really sour, just the rest).  The intensity comes across as strong flavor and pronounced aftertaste now, with feel full enough but likely to ramp up more in the second infusion, even brewed fast.

I'm still missing describing that spice flavor, a little like a very faint version of anise.  Maybe there's a variation that's not as overpowering and sweet as the most common star anise?  This doesn't include that distinctive non-sugar sweetness that seems connected with that flavor.

My sense of taste seems ok but my brain feels a little fuzzy; one part of doing this review is going to be tricky.  We took the kids out to ice skate yesterday, and got back home late, so I'm feeling that, being busy for too long yesterday.  Fighting Bangkok traffic is not a relaxing experience and I went through a few hours of that yesterday.  I'm fine though; I'll probably just pick up slightly less, and not be as sharp with making aspect connections as I could be.

on a break to scrape together a snowball; you can imagine how that ended

2018 spring Mannuo gushu sheng pu'er:  This is interesting for bearing some relation to the other version but being completely different.  Bitterness is more moderate, but both are in a decent middle range.  Both have a spice or earthy aspect that stands out that's novel, giving the teas an unusual profile, with plenty of other flavor complexity, along with overall intensity of flavor and feel.  Aftertaste seems a little more moderate in this version; it really lingered in the other.  But then the first infusion is a little early for calling that.

The main flavor in this is interesting.  It seems to include root spice, and maybe a taste similar to a dried Chinese date (jujube).  There's just a touch of earthiness in a less distinct range beyond that, which could come across as light roast coffee.  Both are similar in general character then, for striking somewhat similar balances, but different in taste, feel, and aftertaste.  This also seems like good tea but the aftertaste being thinner isn't positive as markers go.

Second infusion:

checking out a relatively light infusion; intensity still works

Pasha:  brewing these relatively fast should work well; the balance should be good (for around 5 seconds, maybe 7 to 8 instead).  Sweetness and bitterness are fine; that balance works.  This isn't above average for level of bitterness, and the feel works, not rough or dry in any way.  Not necessarily thick, oily, or smooth either, but the range is fine.  Feel includes a hint of dryness, but not much, not so much that it's easy to describe further.  Related to flavor again a nice mix of spice tone and mild supporting fruitiness seems to work well.  It's a little unconventional, but in a good way.  A touch of wood fills in the rest, nothing pronounced enough to easily describe as one certain kind, picking up intensity while the citrus (or other fruit) seems to moderate.

I often wonder about that theme of a set of flavors, or one in particular, or other character being considered to be a distinctive, typical narrow-location related flavor.  Later, after trying a few more "Pasha" sheng I'd be able to guess about that.


Mannuo:  the coffee related range dropped back but a distinctive mix (narrow range) of other flavor ramped up.  Dried Chinese date still works as a description, but range added to that.  This also has a hint of dryness, but in a different form.  Aftertaste did ramp up; these are closer now related to that.  Again the balance is fine (moderate in bitterness, intense in flavor, full enough in feel), with flavors that seem a bit new to me standing out.  These aren't floral-intensive; I guess I mean that.  It's possible I'm missing that as a supporting aspect for one or both but it definitely doesn't stand out.

Third infusion:

Pasha:  Somehow this is much catchier this round; it all really fell together.  It's not as if the feel or flavors were rough or a little off but sweetness, smoothness, and clean effect really picked up.  That mix of spice and mild fruit tone works, with spice changing form just a little.  Fruit really is non-distinct in this; citrus kind of works, but it's not like how that comes across in a Darjeeling or Oriental Beauty (more oxidized oolong).  Spice seems more like root spice now, the mildness, "roundness," and catchy range.  I suppose it's not far off an aromatic bark incense spice too, just a little smoother, less sharp and distinct.


Mannuo:  if anything this drifted to earthiness picking up a little, kind of the opposite direction.  Spice with fruit is strong in this version too, just a different version of both.  This is more typical of a bark spice, just not cinnamon, and instead of mild citrus that dried Chinese date.  It doesn't seem to include mild coffee still but a heavier, towards-earth flavor is present. 

Intensity is good in both of these; balance, feel, and aftertaste are all fine.  I can't conclude that they're gushu but they're both pretty good tea.  Both seem more interesting and positive for flavors and other range balancing and being pleasant, and distinctive, than for markers typically tied back to gushu / old plant source causation (extended aftertaste, pronounced underlying mineral, general intensity).

Fourth infusion:

This might be a short review given a pressing time-frame; the usual.  Coming back later to try a couple of extra rounds only ever goes so well and the notes are never as detailed, if I even make any.

Pasha:  maybe slightly catchier yet; that mix of spice and fruit complement really works.  This is nice and clean, well balanced, with good sweetness and very moderate bitterness.  I suppose it's conceivable that this could be a fall harvest version, it just seems a little intense for it to be that [turns out that it was; but really what do I know about any generalities or causes, though].  Bitterness is moderate; that might tie to that.  The warmth of the flavors is novel for a tea so young.


Mannuo:  that spice and trace of earthiness seems a little back towards a mild coffee range again; probably small variation in infusion intensity would shift that.  It's still clean though, and well balanced, definitely complex.  Spice and fruit also come across, as in the other version, just a different range of both.  A touch of green wood seems to join all that; it's definitely complex, slightly less subtle than the other, which I wouldn't describe as subtle at all.  Tasting both again a trace of green wood seems to support both.

nice looking leaves (Tea Mania left, Song Yi right)

Conclusions:

I tried these for a few more rounds later (many, really) but didn't make notes, so I'll limit adding more about that, beyond saying they were very pleasant.  It seemed the Pasha might be a little thicker in feel, which I'd mentioned, which may have carried over more into later rounds than it stood out earlier.  It's not as if the Mannuo was thin, but there's a thick, viscous feel that can be really catchy in sheng versions, and it's cool when that stands out in later rounds too.

I have no opinion on these really being gushu or not.  I'm more familiar with Peter Pocajt's accounts of sourcing teas, so I'd trust those more, but hearing more of stories doesn't make them true (and the opposite).  Both represent very good value for teas this good selling for what they do.  Given the pricing you'd expect less complex, balanced character instead, or maybe even notable flaws.

The difference in one being a Spring tea and the other Fall didn't stand out, but then it would fold together with source location as a difference and other causes, including the gushu source theme.  They ended up being more similar than I would have expected, just expressing different flavor profiles.  But then those even overlapped, with some difference in feel and aftertaste, as described. 

I'm tempted to guess about aging potential but it also seems as well to skip that part.  People able to make more informed guesses about that would be more informative.  I tend to split teas into rough groupings related to what needs more aging to be drinkable (the opposite of these), with a subset of what has been aging but isn't there yet, and then those younger versions that may not have reached their potential for being able to mellow and develop a little over a shorter term.  Both these teas are drinking very well now, and I'd expect them to be just as good but slightly different in a year or two, then to fade into middle-age after that, with no clear expectation of how they'd come out the other side when fully aged.  There; I did guess.

Tea Mania I expect better-than-you-would-expect teas from, but it was nice to experience that from this other source too.  Beyond being quite pleasant to experience there's no way these teas should be this good at those prices.