James and Denny’s review was what spurred this whole search for Bulang mission back into motion. Really, it was Denny’s reaction (this is really what sells teas) which suggested to me that this was a rather strong one with a bit of smoke.…
Dry leaves smell of mainly smoke but some plum fruits and
wood odours as well.
First infusion has a subtle smokey, woody, plummy taste in a
watery base. There is some coolness with
a nice long sweet plum aftertaste. The
mouthfeeling is soft and slightly tingling.
This first infusion is surprisingly sweet and fruity tasting with no
bitter.
The second starts with a mild coco sweet fruity faint
bitterness which expands in the mouth.
The nice coolness pushes a very sweet plum and creamy sweet long
aftertaste. There is a faint lingering plumb mixed with ghostly smoke. The mind feels very calm but the heart begins
to pound. The mouthfeeling has a thicker
fullness to it. Roasted nut nuance can
be tasted in there as well. This is a
really nice Bulang.
The third infusion has a smokey sweet fruity slight bitter
start. These tastes are pretty vibrant
and alive and kind of converge into the slight bitter note. Then comes a nice
long cool pungent with a sweet plum returning sweetness with a creamy sweet
underbelly. The mouthfeeling is full, a thick
chalky coating. The smoke more comes out
in the end in the aftertaste. The throat
has a mild deeper opening feeling.
The fourth infusion has a smokier onset with a balance of
plum sweetness and slight bitter. The
smoke recedes then a cool menthol like smoke slides into it and out comes a
sweet plumb, woody, and slightly creamy sweet taste. The mouthfeel is really
thick and chalky and full. The throat opens mildly but deeply. The Qi is peaceful but strong and makes the
chest beat in a nice but obvious rhythm.
A warm surge of energy engulfs me.
The fifth infusion has a nice woody, slight muted smoky and
plum onset the bitterness is mild. The
tastes are mainly over a creamy sweet base- the cool pungency accentuates the
creamy sweetness. The mouthfeel
continues to be very full chalky thickness which starts to reach down into the
throat now. The aftertaste is long and
sweet with faint smoky nuance. The Qi is
very focusing, almost peaceful but very powerful, warming the body and flushing
the face mildly. The heart is mildly and
rhythmically stimulated and the overall effect is beautiful.
The sixth infusion starts with a creamy plum sweetness with
faint smoke and faint bitterness underneath.
The mouthcoating is thick and the taste is sweet and creamy with a
lingering coolness and long creamy sweetness.
This is yummy puerh. The Qi is
focusing now and keeps the heart on beat.
A nice focused energy.
The seventh infusion starts with a sweet wood, sweet creamy
and smokey balance, there is a faint bitterness that linger, a cool menthol
comes in and leaves a long creamy sweet aftertaste. The mouthcoat is full and chalky and a faint
touch gripping. Nice Qi.
The eighth infusion is a full creamy sweet profile much like
the last. There is a touch of smoke and
woody along with sweet creamy almost plum.
There is some cooling then a long creamy sweetness and slight coco
nuance with faint smoke.
9th is more coco creamy sweetness with just a
faint touch of smoke to add a bit of interesting to it. The infusions are becoming sweeter coco as we
go here with the bitter dropped off. A
nice cooling with coco finish.
10th infusion is much more of the same. The smoke is still faint but compounds as you
drink infusions closer together and recede with a bit of space between
infusions. This is standard stuff with
the smoke. Nice relaxing Qi sensation.
The 11th is the same a bit more wood, a touch of
astringency, slightly more bitter and smoke.
Coolness in throat with a sweet coco, and now a woodier finish. Nice peaceful warming Qi.
The 12th is really nice a sweet bread like coco
taste through and through. Nice coolness then finishes sweet creamy and long.
Faint, very faint smoke.
The 13th is a bit more woody, astringent, bitter
but mainly just sweet. The taste of most
Bulang is rarely complex this late in the game- neither is this one but I
usually just push through. Nice relaxing
feeling now.
The 14th is a touch fruity and watery sweet. The mouthfeeling is lessening here as is the
bitter. What’s left is a very sweet easy
drinking thing.
The 15th is more woody and astringent but still
quite sweet coco and some faint creamy sweetness.
This is an excellent classic tasting Bulang! The drier Malaysian storage is right on. I just can’t imagine a better storage on this
Bulang. It’s humid enough to tame its smoke
and bitter but yet dry enough to highlight the sweetness that this Bulang has a
lot of. This has it all… but it also
isn’t cheap at $225.00 for 357g cake or $0.63/g…. Darn…. I actually have no clue about how to apprise something
like this. A classic Bulang with a
modern price…. I think it’s at least fair for something of this caliber for
something that is likely the gold standard for at least judging Nan Qiao
factory if not mid 2000s factory Bulang.
Although I wouldn’t say that this is a deal at this price it does have
many positives such as its perfect and ideal storage and true classic feeling. It wouldn’t surprise me if a cake like this
doubles in price in the next few years due to this really authentic Bulang
essence that this cake presents. I feel
like a very classic tasting factory Bulang like this will become a bit famous
years down the road. I like.
To compare to the 2004 Nan Qiao Bulang King. Pictured Left
is the 2005 and right the 2004 and in the middle this 2005 Long Yuan Hao Bulang. The 2004
Bulang king is much more of an herbaceous type of Bulang and doesn’t exhibit
the classic Bulang taste profile as much, at least not yet in its aging. The 2005 Long Yuan is nicely Kunming dry stored and is much more fruity and sweet and is more obviously plantation material compared to the others but it has the right storage for what it has but really a different Bulang. The
2004 Nan Qiao has much more intense bitterness as well as much more intense Qi than the
2005 Nan Qiao. Overall the 2004 is in many ways
more powerful than this 2005 which surprised me (I wonder what Denny's reaction to the 2004 would be). The 2004’s weakness is that it lacks a more
substantial creamy sweetness or that much sweetness at all. However, the 2004 is more unique and complex in its tastes. From what I’ve read, it also seems like a
more typical, but perhaps best example of, house Bulang that Nan Qiao tends to
produce (which seems to be more herby and medicinal with less sweetness). This is all I can gather from what I read not
personal experience. The storage on the
2004 also tells some of the story- it’s really pretty dry stored for Bulang. However, a more floral sweet type of Bulang
would probably be better suited for this type of drier storage such as the 2005 Long Yuan Hao which really benefited from its Kunming storage.
I picked up a handful of cakes of this 2005 Nan Qiao Double L:ion Bulang which is close to
prefect classic Bulang for me, its weakest point is actually that it could be a
touch more powerful…. Can’t have it all…
Rating 8.6
Peace
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