I just came off a pretty impressive sampling of the 2016 Zheng Si Long Man Lin and wanted to sample the 2016 Zheng Si Long Manzhuan($150.85 for 400g cake or $0.38/g) close together for comparison. They are of the same producer, same year, same price and
same general region. They were also both
complimentary samples that came with my recent orders (here and here).
The dry leaves smell of a deep pungent sweet rainforest
smell. The sweetness lingers and the
pungent forest odour is penetrating.
First infusion has deep rainforest notes and fruity sweet
notes right off the start. There is a
base of rainforest wood. A very faint
pungent then a bread like almost coconut type of sweetness. The breath carries a sweet cherry note as
well as a coconut note into the distance.
The first infusion is very smooth and soft . The mouthfeeling is sticky on the tongue and
lips.
The second infusion has a sweet rainforesty and very pastry
and sweet bread taste to it. There is a
very mild pungent that comes and goes quickly to reveal long bread tastes and
nuances of coconut and even cherry. This
is a very sweet tasting sheng right off the bat. It has an almost cloying sweetness. The Qi is mild and airy in the mind and body.
The third infusion starts with a very sweet bread/ pastry and
rainforest taste. The sweetness in here
is very high cake pastry type of sweetness.
There is a quick and mild pungency then long almost bready and cherry
fruity taste. This tastes almost like
icing sugar. The liquor is lubricating
in the mouth with only a faint astringency or bitterness the sweet taste has
the full run of the taste profile here.
I can feel it pooling in the stomach with a mild youthful puerh energy. There is a stickiness to the mouth and throat
feel. The throatfeeling is more mid and
airy feeling. The energy is felt in the
stomach and makes the mind feel light.
The fourth starts with a rainforest and very sweet bready
taste. Then a very mild pungency then
bready, cake, and coconut and cheryy finish.
Icing surgar permeates the profile.
The astringency is mild but building and I can feel it in my stomach, a natural
young puerh feeling, but not too comfortable this morning.
The fifth infusion has a rainforesty, almost floral, but
very bread- or cake- like sweet taste to it.
There is a fruity peach taste in there as the astringency is more
apparent. Overall the astringency is
mild but seems to be pushing out more fruity tastes initially and throughtout
the profile. The aftertaste is long
sweet bread, almost cherry plum, coconut.
The astringency beats at my empty stomach pretty good.
The sixth infusion starts more astringent with less bready pastry
sweetness and more astringency and peachy fruity taste. The mouthfeel is developing a slightly
puckering edges to it. It is pushing out
a more dry wood taste across the profile.
It also seems to extend the aftertaste into a long very sweet cake and
coconut cherry fruit.
The seventh infusion is smooth rainforest, a touch
astringent cakey and bready more smoothed out here. There is less intense peach sweetness and
astringency. More of a silky smooth mouthfeeling.
The eighth infusion starts of slightly astringent peachy,
with a bready sweet undertone, the pungency seems to be gone but there still
lingers a long sweet bread aftertaste. The
mouthfeel is more silky now. The Qi of this puerh is a mild airy relaxing
sensation.
The ninth infusion starts watery, slight viscus peach with a
mild rainforest taste in background. The
peach taste is throughout now. The
mouthfeel and throatfeeling continue in this silky direction. You can feel the youthful kick and
astringency in the guts for sure.
The tenth infusion is a smooth, almost woody, peachy taste
throughout that glides over the tongue in a mild astringency. The Qi in the mind is mild.
The eleventh infusion is silky a touch astringent peachy
before a very mild cools peeks and pushes a bready and peachy sweetness along. This puerh has pretty simple tastes but lots
of sweetness in there.
The twelfth is silky, slightly woody, slight fruity
sweetness but not too much. The
thirteenth infusion is a bit more fruity and astringent with a more astringent
mouthfeel. These small leaves lose its
stamina quickly and turn into a mild woody, peachy with just a touch of sweetness. There is a slight touch of tannic roughness
in the throat.
I call this one early and put it into an overnight infusion.
Overall, this tea has some really intense pastry, bread-like
sweetness in the first handful of infusions with a nice rainforesty base. To me this is some of that classic Manzhuan
taste. The tastes in this puerh are not
overly complex with only a handful of nuances playing out and there is space
between the flavours. The Qi is
unassuming and the mouth and throatfeeling are mild. This puerh also lacks substantial
stamina. The lack of bitterness and slow
to build astringency create open space for the intense sweetness to dwell
undisturbed. This has to be one of the
sweetest tasting sheng puerh I’ve tried in a while. Those who like it very sweet are going to
enjoy this. It’s a good example of that
pastry or cake tasting sweet cloying character of the Manzhuan region.
For me I find the 2016 Man Lin way more interesting than
this 2016 Manzhuan- the stamina is better, its less harsh and the Qi sensation
is interesting, and it has a nice build throughout the session.
But for those who like it short and (pastry) sweet, this Manzhuan is
for you…
Peace
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