2004 CNNP Red Mark: Rustic Sweat Heat Mesquite

 

This 2004 CNNP Red Label is a part of the Colours of Malaysia Quarter Cake Set from TeasWeLike.  I sampled the 2005 CNNP Blue Mark yesterday and it was a pretty satisfying easy to drink puerh and very different from this…


Dry leaves smell of dry woody almost roasted aroma.

Wet leaves have a sweet mesquite smoky odour.

First infusion has a Smokey woody incense- pretty strong smoke with a light plum sweetness to counterbalance the smoke.  Overall moistening mouthfeel with fine sand silt.

Second has a sweet mouthwatering plum taste with mesquite BBQ smoky background.  Smoke but not charred.  Warming Qi makes me sweat.  Mouthwatering with warm chest feeling some head beats but lots of heat making me sweat it out!  Armpits face and chest strong heat.

3rd is a balance of mesquite BBQ smoke and plum sweetness with the smoke starting to take over the sweet now.  Lubricating mouthfeel with fine silty sandy feeling.  Warming strong sweats.  

4th is left to cool and has a sweet plum onset with a strong smoke background.  Strong warming qi especially targets the face and chest.  You will sweat.  Smooth silty fine sandy mouthfeeling.

5th is left to cool and has a plum sweet onset that is quickly overtaken by smoke.  Warming break into a sweat Qi with some energetic feeling.  Mouthfeel is getting more sandy in the mouth.  This is classic rustic puerh stuff.

6th cooled is a smooth plum with mouthwatering sweet taste and feel with some fine grain sand.  Warming qi nature with nice uplifting feeling.  

7th was put into an overnight thermos steeping.  It comes out very sweet viscus creamy plum almost candy which fills the mouth with the thick viscus mouthwatering mouthfeeling.  The smoke is gone and there is a subtle background incense now at the end of the long sweet thick taste.  The sweet taste in this overnight thermos reminds me of a candy apple very delicious here.

Overall, this is a nice example of a smoky but very sweet rustic puerh.  The session progresses with smoke dominating the first few steeps then the sweetness builds up as the session goes on before completely overtaking the smoky rustic taste leaving us with a sweet end to the session with longing for childhood candy apples.  Most old school rustic puerh end to Smokey or not enough sweet to counterbalance puerh with the smoke wining at the end of the session.  This one sweet wins!  It should also be noted the powerful hot warming Qi that really makes you sweat!

Vs2006 Rustic Zhongcha from TeasWeLike- (wet leaves bottom) I sampled this one the next day as it is somewhat similar both are Rustic blends both Zhongcha generic brand both dry Mayalsian stored.  The rustic Zhongcha seems drier stored (Malaysian dry storage vs Malaysian dry Natural storage) with the leaves lighter and dry leaves smell more cherry sweet.  The liquid is much lighter as well.  There is more of a delicate higher quality to the material of the Rustic Zhongcha with more separate taste.  The Rustic Zhongcha has a more pronounced coolness camphor with more seporate sweet cherry plum taste.  The mouthfeel has a mild astringent gripping whereas the Red Label has more silty fullness.  The Rustic is more complex overall but has much more delicate flavours.  Where as the Red Label has much stronger and forward tastes, dense, rich tastes, more cohesive tastes and mainly stronger tastes.  The sweetness of the Red Mark is so strong and overtakes the smoke at the end of the session whereas the Rustic Zhongcha shows its complex dry storage at the end!  The strong warming Qi of the red Label is notable and stronger than the Rustic whereas the Rustic has more complex subtle Qi comparatively.  They are quite different afterall Rustic with better quality materials and dry storage subtly and Red label with more dense strong power…. But mainly sweetness!

Peace