2003 ChenYuan Hao Manzhuan: Fruit Bomb!

This 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan came from my order of Chen Yuan Hao Quarter cakes at Teas We Like which goes for $155.00 for 90g or $1.72/g.  Teas We Like sold the full cake for a few years on their site before offering the Quarter cake option…

Dry leaves smell of a creamy woody odour that is maybe a bit sweet but piercing.

First infusion was left to cool and gives off a pungent vegetal creamy sweetness that is over an oily broth.  There is a long pungent coolness throughout.  It appears in the aftertaste as a very sweet layered creamy fruity taste appears.  This first infusion has lots of flavor and minutes later a creamy pungent fruity taste is left in the mouth.  There is a reassuring calmness to the first infusion.

The second infusion has a brassy vegetal almost but not really bitterness upfront that has a juicy fruity underlying sweetness to it which quickly follows.  Lots of layers of tastes and a nice complex aftertaste of juicy fruity layers breads, vegetal tastes, almost bitters, creamy sweentesses.  There is an overall layered sweetness that is nicely pushes out with an open throat feeling and a pungent coolness lingering in there with a slightly chalky slight oily mouthfeeling.  Nice calm and reassuring mind. 

Third infusion has a creamy flat vegetal not really bitterness then dives into a creamy fruity layered sweetness.  The mouthfeeling is a bit tight under a softer chalky and slightly oily texture.  There is some nice pungent coolness throughtout and an aftertaste of creamy tastes with fruity layers.   The taste is really nice.  There is an open throat feeling and some saliva producing there as well.  Nice calming mind.  Although single origin, it seems to complex and with such nice breadth would likely be produced from blending many sources in Manzhuan area.  So nice.

The fourth infusion has an oily thick fruity layering in a watery vegetal sort of taste.  The layers of oily fruit are reminiscent of Tuiti-fruity tastes.  Nice open throat feeling with a faint lingering pungent now.  Nice super relaxing vibe with a few face tingles.  Less complex this infusion.

The fifth infusion has a pungent cooling vegetal vibrant almost bitter onset with fruity sweet tastes pushed out of here.  The mouthfeel is a bit tight with an oily texture on top.  Nice faint cooling produces some creamy and bread sweetness but mostly a tuiti fruity tastes.  Even minutes later.  The fruity sweet taste is substantial.

The sixth infusion is left to cool and gives off a watery vegetal woody initial taste with lesser creamy sweet notes.  There is a fainter profile now with a watery woody and fruity notes with some cooling.  The texture of the liquor is much less oily now with more of a tight tongue feeling.  Nice calm feeling Qi with some mild face tingling.

The 7^th is also left to cool and gives off a woody vegetal bland initial taste with an underlying bitterness now.  There is faint under taste that comes out in the aftertaste such as wood, vegetal leaves, bland paper, fruit.  Nice mind calming.  Cooling breath and some sweetness appear minutes later.

8^th ooops left the hot water on the leaves for a good minute…  has a strong woody tongue gripping and puckering feel with some initial sweetness with a bread woody mid-profile and woody sour cherry pop that quickly comes and goes in the puckering mouthfeeling.  Stronger mind melting power- stronger than just relaxed now.  Face tingling and almost a sleepiness to the Qi here.

9^th 20 second steep… and left to cool… has a woody fruity taste with a bitter vegetal woody body there is some faint cooling then brief creamy sweetness.  Nice chalky mouthfeeling and a lingering creamy sweetness in the slightly tjight puckering underbelly.  Spacy and sleepy Qi now.

10^th has a nice fruity chalky woody vegetal bitterness to it.  There is still some sweetness but not as strong and a strong sleepy and spacy Qi. 

11^th is a 30 second infusion has a bit of fruity woody vegetal bitterness.

I push it hard into mug infusions now with lots of available complex depth available to explore with soapy floral tastes, woody bitters, darker woods, deeper fruity notes and sweet tastes, bland woody vegetal tastes.  Nice deep profile in this Manzhuan.

A few days later I push it with another long mug steeping…

It pushes out lots of clear candy sweetness with a long tropical candy fruity taste.  There is not really any bitterness or astringency or that much woody taste but the sweet candy taste is strong and long and satisfying.  It has that Rockets Candy like sweetness.  Yummy. The taste lingers with thick saliva gobs forming in the mouth and deep throat… this is by far the best example of ManZhuan I have tried…

Very sweet, very nice clear Manzhuan profile.  The layered sweet fruity tastes in the first handful of infusions are amazing and leave me wondering if a bunch of Manzhuan areas have been blended in here because it’s deep in its sweet fruitiness like the Tuiti-fruity flavor.  Open throat with oily texture that drops off after the first handful of infusions which is typical of my experience with Manzhuan.  Qi is at first relaxing then descends into a stronger sleepy and spacy feeling.  It really slowed me down today!  Very tasty.

Peace