Saturday, February 29, 2020

2000 Hai Lang Hao Bulang “Mushroom Tuo”: Nice Aged Kunming Dry


Kunming dry stored for whole life- check.

Super crazy tight compression- check.

BuLang Bulang-E-ness- check.

While this one checks a lot of boxes for me.  The description on Yunnan Sourcing’s site says that good ol’ Hai Lang picked this up in Menghai in 2000.  It currently goes for $102.00 for 250gmushroom or $0.41/g a price determined by Hai Lang Hao and passed on to us by Yunnan Sourcing.  Yunnan Sourcing has many options for Bulang puerh.  This one seemed to be the most interesting to me so I picked up a sample…

Dry leaves smell of classic smokey barely sweet fruit odour.

First has a nice mellow very faint smoke with mainly sweet tasting thin layer of dried pear, and a base of wood.  The mouthfeel is slightly sticky and sandy with the sensation more on the tongue than in the throat.

The second has a nice sweet approach with a very faint mild woody smokiness left. The taste is mainly this monotone sweetness that is almost a woody, grassy, and non-distinct almost not-really there dried pear taste.  There is faint smoke on the breath.

The third gains a bit of strength as a slight bitterness where a sweet grassy woodiness comes out.  The sweet fruitiness is overtaken by bitter and woody grass here.  There is a nice powdery dry storage nuance in here now.  There is a deep underlying menthol that start to generate over a flat sandy stimulating tongue feeling and less active throat.  A very faint candy breath can be found.

The fourth develops a rich nutty sweet onset that is mainly sweet but in a nutty and rich woody type of way.  There is a deep underlying pungency which pushes an almost cherry like sweetness out in the breath.  The mouthfeel is this almost sandy full tongue sensation that is not overpowering but still significant.  The aftertaste turns into a longer running sweetness.  The smokiness is pretty much non-existent now.

The fifth has a thick mushroom almost pecan onset with grassy woodiness underneath.  The overall taste is sweet but it’s hard to describe it almost like a dried/ dehydrated pear sweetness that melds with the mushroom, nutty, woody and grassiness.  There is a slight richness to the taste.  The mild building pungency is apparent in the aftertaste that pushes out a mild candy sweetness.  The smokiness is pretty mild and more in the aftertaste.

The sixth infusion has a mild bitterness with woody and mushroom and it turns into a nice sweetness.  The sweetness is almost a nutty rich sweetness like how a nut butter is sweet.  The mouthfeeling is full and kind of a dry tight mild coating especially on the tongue.  The throat is more opening at the top and mid level.  There is an extension of the sweetness in the aftertaste as a powdery almost cherry like and very faint candy lingering on the breath.  The overall taste is rich, warming, clean, woody and mushroom almost but not really dried pear.  The Qi is mildly relaxing.

The seventh infusion has a woody rich menthol onset with a strong nuttiness in there as well.  There is barely any bitterness here more of a grassy woody menthol type with a strong clear almost plum richer sweetness. There is some candy on the breath and a good powdery-ness in there as well. 

The eighth infusion has a very woody lumber rich taste to it.  There is a honey almost smoked maple syrup edge to it.  The mouthfeel is slightly sandy and dry on the tongue but feels somewhat full. There isn’t really a bitterness now its more of a drier, sharper finish.  This infusion has a nice mild powdery cherry nuance. The Qi is a moderate harmonious Qi not a typical strong Bulang Qi sensation. 

The ninth has a sandalwood taste with mushroom and sweetness to it.  The sweetness is hard to describe it taste so blended into the profile it feels like sweet wood.  The mouthfeel is slippery and thicker.  The menthol incense wood nuance is nice and echoes deep into the throat.  Dry menthol wood and mild sweetness.

The tenth has a sweet dense dry woody presentation.  The taste is almost a syrupy maple syrup taste intertwined with wood tastes.  The mouthfeel is a powdery, dry, sandiness on the tongue.  The Qi is super mild but really harmonious it is a touch alerting and a touch relaxing.  The tea feels really nice in the body, gentle but I can feel something relax my face.  It has a cozy aged warmth to it.  Smoke is gone now.  The fruity aftertaste is long on the breath.  There is nice cherry powdery fruity tastes here.

The 11th infusion has woody sweetness, at times it almost seems like dry pear there is this low reaching pungency to the taste which pushes out a faint sweetness on the breath.  Overall this puerh feels somewhat dense, full and complete but harmonious in the body and mind. 

The 12th infusion has a strong woody with faint smokey nuance.  The taste is full and tastes of woody notes and chestnuts.  The Qi makes me feel good.  Relaxed and content. 

The 13th infusion has a pine wood taste to it with a pungent sweetness that emerges in the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is really stable throughout all the infusions it remains full and a sticky powdery sandy on the tongue.

The 14th has a fruity mainly woody mushroom onset.  Still full mouthfeeling with a low rising pungency and a bit of sweetness under wood mushroom to finish.  There is a flat woodiness throughout now. 

The 15th infusion has a pine woody sweetness the taste is really dense and feels full on the mouthcoating.  This is a nice harmonious jincha.  The low lying pungency is nice and pushes some sweetness out of the woodiness.  There is a nice peachy sweetness pushed out somehow.

I put this one into overnight steeping as I run out of time in my day…

This one tastes like a bit of a sweeter, lighter Bulang with a mild suggestion of a more bitter and sweet with distant smokey classic Bulang nuance.  This is partly because the bitterness and smoke have aged out a bit and the dry storage and compression is favorable for the sweetness.  This Bulang has a really mellow Qi sensation even for a two decade aged Bulang.  The Qi is not typical of my experience of Bulang.  Either way it works nicely..  for a nice easy drinking dry aged puerh.

In some ways this mushroom reminds me of a bit of the Bada puerh producing region with a mild sweet profile and nice mellow Qi.  I don’t know that I’ve ever tried an aged Bulang that tasted this mild and smooth.  There is something satisfying about this.  On the plus side the dry storage tastes of candy and sweet flavours are nice to behold in something like this due to its nice dry storage.  The storage of this mushroom is ideal Kunming dry storage.  Nicely tight compressed.  I think the storage and compression work well for a lighter and sweeter Bulang like this.  I think this is fair price for what you get considering this is 20 years aged nicely dry Kunming stored puerh.  For me it’s an easy drinker Bulang- just not exactly what I’m looking for.  Anyone interested in clean dry storage on a truly aged Bulang with a smooth mild presentation should give it a try.

Peace

11 comments:

  1. Wouldn't we go DAYI for Bulang?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,

      Tried the Bulang Peacocks when they were fresh off the presses back in the day but unfortunately can’t remember too much about them beyond their wrapper.

      Nowadays the price makes them prohibitive for drinker Bulang.

      Anyone out there have any Dayi suggestions??

      Peace

      Delete
  2. https://kingteamall.com/products/2008-dayi-chun-zao-early-spring-cake-357g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea?_pos=4&_sid=f416a1184&_ss=r

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,

      Have tried a lot of those 2008s already and I can tell you that they are a bit overpriced on that site... but the price of Dayi is always going up ...
      I suppose they are selling for future prices?

      What can you tell me about that Chun Zao?

      Thank you for your suggestion.

      Peace

      Delete
  3. Its nice tea, mellow and fruity / woody. Its been produced since 2005.
    Re prices: I think KTM's prices are in line with the Chinese market. As for this cake, its 12 year old cleanly (dry) stored premium tea, the price is ok & it is 500g. Perhaps the 2010?

    Search for Bulang there, many options.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,

      Thanks for the info.

      There is more info about this one here:

      https://kingteamall.com/products/2010-dayi-yin-kong-que-silver-peacock-cake-357g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea-1

      Sounds like sweet Bulang similar to this Hai Lang in some ways.

      Peace

      Delete
  4. I'm just drinking 2006 De He Xing cake, which is made of Bulang material. Malaysian stored with still little bit of bitterness, very balanced and complex taste, traditional processing with hint of smokiness. Very nice harmonious Qi. Taste reminds me traditional Dayi/Zhongcha Bulang cakes from late 90's, but with much more friendlier price tag.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. massilia,

      Thanks for the thoughts on that one- I appreciate that! I had my eye on this popular De He Xing for a while at Adventureineverycup. It was quite popular and recently sold out before I could cake sample it.

      http://teapotnews.blogspot.com/2017/08/2006-de-he-xin-raw-pu-erh.html?m=1

      another Bulang that was quite popular and now sold out was the 2000 CNNP Bulang at Yunnan Sourcing. Didn’t get to trying that one either.

      https://steepster.com/teas/cnnp-yunnan-sourcing/71617-2000-cnnp-zhang-xiang-bu-lang-aged-raw.amp

      Hey look, Scott just dropped a 2006 Kunming stored Linming Bulang ...

      Lots of options...

      Peace

      Delete
  5. There is a huge amount of Liming just hit the market.
    Whats it all about?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,

      It’s because Linming is a traditional style plantation puerh factory. Traditionally these were ordered directly from the factory by warehouses/wholesalers in Kunming, Hongkong, Guangzhou, Malaysia, then put to market only after they are considered sufficiently aged typically 10-16 years ish. If the aging was favourable to the tea or local tastes they can be quite enjoyable drinker puerh. Fresh these puerh are quite unpalatable although almost no one out there has likely sampled any as they go straight to the wearhousers.

      The release also has to do with market forces as well. Many wholesalers must think it’s a good time to get their investment in these back. Makes sense because solid super cheap drinkers are harder to come by these days.

      I guess a lot of these Linming are aged and ready to drink!

      I have a sample from Scott I should give it a try and post some more thoughts on Linming...

      Peace

      Delete
    2. Anonymous,

      Also Western puerh vendors might be over representing how much Liming is being released because of favourable reviews of Liming by Cwyn and Wilson:

      https://deathbytea.blogspot.com/2017/08/2007-liming-golden-peacock-qi-zi.html?m=1

      http://teapotnews.blogspot.com/2017/11/2007-liming-ba-jiao-ting-raw-pu-erh.html?m=1

      Peace

      Delete