Has anybody ever heard of Nancai? Certainly not me. Since my return to puerh there seem to be
about a billion more puerh producing villages in our vocabulary. Whenever I have no clue where an area is
these days I refer to this all important list. However sometimes areas are not even on that
list!
Sometimes vendors either transliterate the Chinese name
slightly different than what might be listed here (I had transliterated a lot
of Korean tea vocab that had never been written in English) or maybe have done
so deliberately so the exact area of the tea cannot be easily located. I wonder if Nancai is the Nasai: 那赛 on the list?
Either way it’s all about the tea anyways eh?
This one sticks out on Essence of Tea 2017 offerings as it
is one of two more affordable options ( the other affordable puerh, WuLiang H Ancient). The Nancai goes for $80.00 for 400g cake ($0.20/g) and the
WuLiang H Ancient for $81.00 for 400g cake ($0.20/g).
Okay lets us meditate with this one for a while…
Dry leaves smell of very intense cherry notes over a deep
pungency.
The first infusion has a surprisingly very creamy initial
taste where it slowly unravels in the mouth from intense buttery/creamy sweetness
and slight wildflower to slight fruit.
The mouthfeel is immediately present and nicely coats the mouth with
soft astringency. There is a slight
cooling aftertaste that has a faint creamy sweet finish of ghostly sugar which
pops and fades quickly.
The second has almost peppermint candy-like nuance with a
sugary sweet finish over clean astringency.
The qi is light in the body and mind.
The third infusion has nuances of a deeper fruity taste with
both deep foresty tastes and slight sweet tastes but neither are strong, nor
are they dominant. The teeth feel
squeaky as the mouthfeeling clings to it too.
The fourth infusion roots nice cherry fruit sweetness and
barely noticeable notes of pine wood in a mildly pungent foresty-deep subtle background
taste. The initial cherry fruit
sweetness has more longevity now and clings a bit better to the aftertaste in
the full and just slightly astringent mouthfeel.
The fifth shows off some buttery notes initially before
softly astringent fruits start to take over.
The sensation and astringency is all in the mouth and less in the
throat. The throat feel is just mildly
stimulated with a soft opening feeling in the mid throat.
The sixth becomes slightly watery and just a touch flat so
more time will be added to the flash infusions.
There are still initial cherry fruit notes but the creamy edges are lost
to an astringent wood note. The qi
sensation slightly dizzys and wobbles in the head nicely.
The seventh infusion has a slight rubbery, gummy fruit taste-
the fruit tastes a tampered by a generic woody taste. The sweetness dances slightly on the breath. The eighth is much the same as this puerh has
seemed to hit the ceiling. In the eighth
a new green grapy, dragon fruity taste emerges.
It is retained in the ninth as well but overall the taste is fleeting.
Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth still have some fruit tastes
that skirt around a full astringency and a slight puckery mouthfeel. Still worth pursuing late steeps for this
tea because the fruit notes, although not complicated, nor strong, nor clear,
are still very much present and enjoyed in the mouthfeeling. This tea will not lay down yet.
Thirteenth and fourteenth infusions the fruit tastes are all
but gone and a licorice and fennel seed taste is left in the mouth. There are barely noticeable edges of fruit in
the throat. The rest is pretty much just
flat puerh taste. The astringency in the
mouth never gets too constricting. The qi
feeling leaves the head shaking gently like a balloon in the wind.
For those who appreciate puerhs with a sticky astringency
and stimulating mouthfeel without being too strong or off putting might
appreciate this particularly clean puerh.
This tea is also very harmonious in the body with less harshness for a
young puerh. If there are those out
there who like a stronger mouthfeel in young puerh without having to pay the
price for it, this one might also interest you.
Overall this has characteristic of that good feeling Essence
of Tea style that is just slightly rough around the edges but very pure, clean
and harmonious. Overall this tea is not
overly complicated but is nice as an affordable entry point to fresh, young
Essence of Tea puerh for 2017. Hats off
to David and Yingxi for offering something more affordable but that still has
the overall feel and quality of Essence of Tea puerh. I think in 2017 that is a lot harder to
accomplish than it ever used to be.
Peace
Arek's (Puerh Blog) Tasting Notes
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