2007 CNNP Peacock: Can’t Beat This Unique $40.00 Cake!

Stephane of Teamasters has kindly been sending me samples once every few years since he opened his webstore way back then.  Before the webstore he was one of the first English/ French tea bloggers and he’s still going strong- Thanks Stephane.  I thought I would include this “pre-COVID 19” note he sent with the samples.  It’s interesting how even a note this simple is so obviously before the virus really swept the world.  Nowadays even the simplest communications will look and feel much different than this innocent letter.  I got lots of emails from people thanking me about the recommendation of the classic Meaghai, more aged, and dirt tasting 2003 Zhongcha that Stephane used to sell for $60.00.  Its one of the puerh I have drank the most of in the past 3 years.  I think Stephane was most excited about what I thought about his new budget puerh find, this 2007 CNNP Peacock which he sells for $40.00 for a full 357g cake (or $0.11/g)…

Dry leaves both exceed expectations of look and smell.  They smell rich and velvet with a very creamy sweet aroma.  There is a suggestion of hay and wood and chocolate but mainly woody sweetness.  The leaves smell of moderate humid storage.

First infusion has a nice creamy woody and very nutty camphor wood taste.  There is a bitter suggestion and a soapy taste.  The camphor aftertaste combines with subtle bitter in a full and rich feeling and mouthcoating.

The second infusion start off like sweet peanuts, a nutty sweetness with a creamy sweet and rich taste presentation that turns into a camphor taste and a sweet thrills gum kind of soapiness.  There is a pretty distinct nutty flavor as well as a touch licorice.  This blend seems to have a fair amount of Lincang material in it I would guess.  The mouthfeeling is full and slippery feeling.  The throat has an upper opening feeling where camphor lingers.  The feeling of this puerh is more aged than its 2007 pedigree suggests due to its moderately humid likely Taiwanese storage.

The third infusion starts with a sunny orangey woody tangy resin wood like sweetness very similar to the 2003 Hong Kong Henry 7542 Consciousness Prescription in taste here.  Then comes a very peanut nutty sweetness.  Then a creamy woody tangy finish.  The sweet taste is like Mandarin oranges.  There is a subtle soapy sweet Thrills gum like retuning sweetness.  Overall the taste is very rich and robust tasting with clear flavours.  The Qi of this tea is a touch warming and mild- a comforting tea on this rainy spring day.

The fourth infusion has a more basic woody onset with orange peel nuances coming later.  There is less nutty sweetness here but a low camphor taste that comes out.  There is a floral woody finish almost soapy perfume aftertaste that is quite enjoyable.

The fifth has a resin woody taste with a creamy citrus peel nuance.  The taste is less rich and full now but the camphor still comes in low and pushes out perfume soap and essential oil of citrus finish on breath.  This puerh is now less slippery and full in the mouth but is still a slippery mouthfeeling.  A smooth taste overall.

The 6^th has a woody soapy resin perfume with less thickness in the mouth and less cooling camphor now.  The perfume taste suggests that it should be semi-aged but the smooth soothing base taste feels like it’s closer to early 2000s aged.  The feel in the body is also very mellow and aged feeling.

7^th has a watery woody almost pond and fallen leaf but more rich watery aged taste.  There is a resin taste to it, and nice smooth flavor with a citrus peel taste and slight camphor going towards coco in the aftertaste with perfume nuances.  Smooth taste and feel and qi.

8^th has a 30 second steeping and it pulls out a thicker creamier and a slight nutty taste there is a bit of sour zest and woodiness.  The perfume and citrus peel tastes which make this puerh so interesting are very faint now.

I push this into a very long mug steeping and mainly dirt and woody tastes remain.

Overall, this is a really interesting, a bit unique, and pretty enjoyable semi-aged sheng.  The big downfall is the stamina which is maybe a bit less than even the most factory puerh but the first few infusions are interestingly delicious.  This puerh is interesting to be because of its super fragrant distinct strong perfume, Thrills Gum-like aftertaste which is something you would expect in a semiaged puerh or something even younger than its 2007 pedigree suggest.  However, this fragrant essential oil like aftertaste is juxtaposed with a deep aged taste and smooth feeling that you would get from something more aged due to its moderately humid Taiwanese storage.  There are some larger leaf in the plantation blend which seem to add to the depth of this puerh.  I would guess this is a blend of Northern puerh- Lincang and Simao.  The orange peel/ citrus taste with a strong woody resin initially reminds me a lot of 2003 Hong Kong Henry 7542 “ConscientiousPrescription”.  Although this 2007 CNNP Peacock is not as strong, deep, or as oily.  I’m not sure I have ever had that distinct resin with orange taste before the 2003.

Anyways, this cake is quite interesting for a $40.00 sheng 357g cake.  Its uniqueness reminds me of another CNNP production of the same year which also has an interesting profile- this 8891 Red Label.  Haven’t tried that one but it’s been popular as a unique drinker puerh and used to sell for closer to the Peacock’s pricing before it doubled.  I enjoyed it a lot and I think you will too.  Cheers to Stephane of Teamasters for sourcing this affordable one for us!

Peace