Revisit: 2006 Nan Qiao “Bulang Beauty”

I wanted to sample this one immediately after the 2006 Zi XiHao “Yin Cake” (aka “Black Label”) ( pictured right in the below wet leaves) because they are of the same year and kind of similar storage but also to try to detect some Banzhang blended material which this one is thought to possibly have.  Initially I claimed to have not detected any Banzhang in the blind sampling (link).  When I look back on myblind sampling of this one I think I really nailed it.  I think Marco would have had a chuckle as I questioned why on earth I couldn’t come up with the right Menghai Factory (Dayi) recipe when it was in fact a different yet very similar Menghai puerh factory! Hahahah…

The factory tight compression of dry leaves smell of smoky and fruity sweet odours.  Menghai factory type odours.  I leaf it much much lighter than my initial assessment which was way too strong and even harsh.  I use about ½ the leaf I usually use because this factory puerh is terribly powerful!  Most definitely the raw power could suggest Banzhang. First group of infusions give off a light fruity-honey woody taste with faint edges of smoky bbq in the distance with a watery almost drying mouthfeeling.  Fairly strong factory style Qi up front.  The mid-session develops some florals and fruity sweetness with honey- it’s really a typical classic factory character.  Dry-tightish stronger stimulating thin full coat mouthfeeling and slight tight throatfeeling.  Faint floralish candy lingers in the throat.  

I mug steep out the leaves and can feel a distinct alertness and chest pounding Qi especially in these longer infusions.  There is a small bit of smoke but mainly this woody not-that-sweet kind of bitter taste.  I still can’t really sense the banzhang material although it is known that Nan Qiao owns some land in Ban Zhang so blending some in is not out of the question.  Overall, this is not overly exciting puerh but enjoyable for what it is.  Personally I’d rather drink Dayi or the other Nanqiao Bulang offerings at Teas We Like.

Peace

Marco’s Blind Tasting “Epsilon” (NanQiao "Bulang Beauty")

Ok…. I was waiting for it… the blind Menghai Tea Factory sample…

Dry decently factory looking compressed leaves smell of a very sweet honey fruity nectar odour.

First infusion tastes of a woody almost grain sweetness with a pungent everygreen menthol finish.  There is almost a metallic taste to it.  The mouthfeeling is full and cottony in the mouth.

The second infusion has a woody grain onset with a soft coming and going of sweet candy.  There is a fairly strong deep pungent and an overall resin wood like taste to it.  The mouthfeeling is strong and pulling and thick.  There is deep almost bitter coffee and taffee taste to it kind of smokey incense faintly on the back end of this puerh.  This puerh tastes like Menghai factory to me.  The leaves are quite tippy and small.  The Qi has a slow alerting building within it.

The third infusion has an incense caramel onset with a strong sour as well as a woody resin taste to it.  It has a bit of a sour edge to it.  It finishes with a deep pungent camphor woody and incense taste to it.  The mouthfeel is stronger and gripping.  Strong Menghai Factory taste and feel to this puerh, its dry stored and likely around 8 years old.  Building alerting energy.  I break into a terrible allergic reaction of sneezing and itching with this puerh that I have only gotten a handful of times from certain puerh (see here, here,here)… For the sake of the review I take some herbal allergy pills and trudge on… but I really love the very nice Dayi profile here…  I really over leafed this powerful factory feeling puerh…

The fourth infusion has a strong syrupy sweet smoky sour fruitiness to it.  Thick fruity resin woody taste is upfront with a long camphor finish.  I really like the comforting and familiar taste of Menghai Factory although I am down on myself that I just can’t rattle off the production like I used to be able to do. 

The fifth infusion has a thick smoky syrupy fruitiness to it, slightly sour, with a long camphor finish.  The taste and feel is unmistakenly Menghai Factory and really satisfies me with a nice alerting factory Qi sensation.  This is an above average Dayi production very nice.

The sixth infusion has a strong syrupy malty fruitiness over a smoky woody nuance with a long camphor aftertaste.  The Qi is warming and alerting and makes me sweat.  This is classic strong Menghai factory that is on the edge of being ready to consume as it still has an underlying bitterness and sourness to it.  It has a really condensed taste to it but still hasn’t developed any plum taste to it.  I think I have a bit too many leaves in my pot but I trudge on…

The seventh infusion has a strong syrupy malty fruitiness over a smoky woody nuance with a long camphor aftertaste in the mouth.  This puerh is very stable across the infusions.  Warming alerting Qi.  Stonger full cotton mouthfeeling.  Making me itch a bit.

The eighth infusion has a smoother fruitier vibe to it with some of the brute strength finally lifting a bit.  Fruity, woody, cooing throatfeeling, camphor finish some creamy sweetness developing.  Good full cottony thicker mouthfeeling.  This is a good concentrated Dayi production.

The ninth infusion has a smoky fruity onset with a more smoky woody finish in the mouth.  There is more of a gripping mouthfeeling and throatfeeling with less menthol cooling in the throat.  Nice alerting energy.

The tenth infusion has a malty almost caramel fruity sweetness with pronounced smoke.  There is less camphor coolness in the throat and aftertaste now and more dry wood taste.  This puerh is beating a bit on the guts which is an indicator that it’s still too young to drink to enjoy but you can see the potential in the production as being a better one from the post 2006 era.

The 11^th has a fruity thick syrupy sweetness there are fruity tastes lingering in the aftertaste along with woody taste.

The 12^th has a fruity thick syrupy sweet punch with lingering fruitiness and longer creamy sweet fruity aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is sticky and chalky.  The aftertaste is sweet and creamy and satisfying.

The 13^th has a fruity full creamy chalky sweetness with some wood underlying.  There is a chalky mouthfeeling and not that much cooling in the throat or stimulation of the throat.

The 14^th has a woodier smokier and less fruity or chalky sweetness to it.  It’s a bit bitterer too.  Still some strength in the leaf with some alerting Qi.  More of a tight sandy mouthfeeling.

I put this in a mug and grandpa steep it out.

Overall, this is a really condensed, full feeling Menghai Factory production that is still on the edge of being drinkable semiaged.   Not used to drinking Dayi at this point of aging because it’s pretty hard on the system still.  This one is a pretty nice Dayi production overall.

Guess: A dry stored 8ish year old Menghai Factory aka Dayi production.  If it isn’t Dayi then something very much of this style.  Leaves look bigger than 7542 and not really as factory as I thought.  Maybe 8582?

Answer: NanQiao "Bulang Beauty"

Peace

2005 Nan Qiao Double Lion Bulang: Classic Bulang

James and Denny’s review was what spurred this whole search for Bulang mission back into motion.  Really, it was Denny’s reaction (this is really what sells teas) which suggested to me that this was a rather strong one with a bit of smoke.…

Dry leaves smell of mainly smoke but some plum fruits and wood odours as well.

First infusion has a subtle smokey, woody, plummy taste in a watery base.  There is some coolness with a nice long sweet plum aftertaste.  The mouthfeeling is soft and slightly tingling.  This first infusion is surprisingly sweet and fruity tasting with no bitter.

The second starts with a mild coco sweet fruity faint bitterness which expands in the mouth.  The nice coolness pushes a very sweet plum and creamy sweet long aftertaste. There is a faint lingering plumb mixed with ghostly smoke.  The mind feels very calm but the heart begins to pound.  The mouthfeeling has a thicker fullness to it.  Roasted nut nuance can be tasted in there as well.  This is a really nice Bulang.

The third infusion has a smokey sweet fruity slight bitter start.  These tastes are pretty vibrant and alive and kind of converge into the slight bitter note. Then comes a nice long cool pungent with a sweet plum returning sweetness with a creamy sweet underbelly.  The mouthfeeling is full, a thick chalky coating.  The smoke more comes out in the end in the aftertaste.  The throat has a mild deeper opening feeling.

The fourth infusion has a smokier onset with a balance of plum sweetness and slight bitter.  The smoke recedes then a cool menthol like smoke slides into it and out comes a sweet plumb, woody, and slightly creamy sweet taste. The mouthfeel is really thick and chalky and full. The throat opens mildly but deeply.  The Qi is peaceful but strong and makes the chest beat in a nice but obvious rhythm.  A warm surge of energy engulfs me.

The fifth infusion has a nice woody, slight muted smoky and plum onset the bitterness is mild.  The tastes are mainly over a creamy sweet base- the cool pungency accentuates the creamy sweetness.   The mouthfeel continues to be very full chalky thickness which starts to reach down into the throat now.  The aftertaste is long and sweet with faint smoky nuance.  The Qi is very focusing, almost peaceful but very powerful, warming the body and flushing the face mildly.  The heart is mildly and rhythmically stimulated and the overall effect is beautiful.

The sixth infusion starts with a creamy plum sweetness with faint smoke and faint bitterness underneath.  The mouthcoating is thick and the taste is sweet and creamy with a lingering coolness and long creamy sweetness.  This is yummy puerh.  The Qi is focusing now and keeps the heart on beat.  A nice focused energy.

The seventh infusion starts with a sweet wood, sweet creamy and smokey balance, there is a faint bitterness that linger, a cool menthol comes in and leaves a long creamy sweet aftertaste.  The mouthcoat is full and chalky and a faint touch gripping.  Nice Qi.

The eighth infusion is a full creamy sweet profile much like the last.  There is a touch of smoke and woody along with sweet creamy almost plum.  There is some cooling then a long creamy sweetness and slight coco nuance with faint smoke.

9^th is more coco creamy sweetness with just a faint touch of smoke to add a bit of interesting to it.  The infusions are becoming sweeter coco as we go here with the bitter dropped off.  A nice cooling with coco finish.

10^th infusion is much more of the same.  The smoke is still faint but compounds as you drink infusions closer together and recede with a bit of space between infusions.  This is standard stuff with the smoke.  Nice relaxing Qi sensation.

The 11^th is the same a bit more wood, a touch of astringency, slightly more bitter and smoke.  Coolness in throat with a sweet coco, and now a woodier finish.  Nice peaceful warming Qi.

The 12^th is really nice a sweet bread like coco taste through and through. Nice coolness then finishes sweet creamy and long. Faint, very faint smoke.

The 13^th is a bit more woody, astringent, bitter but mainly just sweet.  The taste of most Bulang is rarely complex this late in the game- neither is this one but I usually just push through.  Nice relaxing feeling now.

The 14^th is a touch fruity and watery sweet.  The mouthfeeling is lessening here as is the bitter.  What’s left is a very sweet easy drinking thing.

The 15^th is more woody and astringent but still quite sweet coco and some faint creamy sweetness.

This is an excellent classic tasting Bulang!  The drier Malaysian storage is right on.  I just can’t imagine a better storage on this Bulang.  It’s humid enough to tame its smoke and bitter but yet dry enough to highlight the sweetness that this Bulang has a lot of.  This has it all… but it also isn’t cheap at $225.00 for 357g cake or $0.63/g…. Darn…. I actually have no clue about how to apprise something like this.  A classic Bulang with a modern price…. I think it’s at least fair for something of this caliber for something that is likely the gold standard for at least judging Nan Qiao factory if not mid 2000s factory Bulang.  Although I wouldn’t say that this is a deal at this price it does have many positives such as its perfect and ideal storage and true classic feeling.  It wouldn’t surprise me if a cake like this doubles in price in the next few years due to this really authentic Bulang essence that this cake presents.  I feel like a very classic tasting factory Bulang like this will become a bit famous years down the road.  I like.

To compare to the 2004 Nan Qiao Bulang King. Pictured Left is the 2005 and right the 2004 and in the middle this 2005 Long Yuan Hao Bulang.  The 2004 Bulang king is much more of an herbaceous type of Bulang and doesn’t exhibit the classic Bulang taste profile as much, at least not yet in its aging. The 2005 Long Yuan is nicely Kunming dry stored and is much more fruity and sweet and is more obviously plantation material compared to the others but it has the right storage for what it has but really a different Bulang.  The 2004 Nan Qiao has much more intense bitterness as well as much more intense Qi than the 2005 Nan Qiao.  Overall the 2004 is in many ways more powerful than this 2005 which surprised me (I wonder what Denny's reaction to the 2004 would be).  The 2004’s weakness is that it lacks a more substantial creamy sweetness or that much sweetness at all.  However, the 2004 is more unique and complex in its tastes.  From what I’ve read, it also seems like a more typical, but perhaps best example of, house Bulang that Nan Qiao tends to produce (which seems to be more herby and medicinal with less sweetness).  This is all I can gather from what I read not personal experience.  The storage on the 2004 also tells some of the story- it’s really pretty dry stored for Bulang.  However, a more floral sweet type of Bulang would probably be better suited for this type of drier storage such as the 2005 Long Yuan Hao which really benefited from its Kunming storage.

I picked up a handful of cakes of this 2005 Nan Qiao Double L:ion Bulang which is close to prefect classic Bulang for me, its weakest point is actually that it could be a touch more powerful…. Can’t have it all…

Rating 8.6

Peace

2004 Nan Qiao Bulang King: Strong Qi!

This ($110.00 for 357g cake or $0.31/g) is a drier Taiwanese stored Bulang option sourced by Teas We Like from Nan Qiao’s inaugural year.  Nan Qiao factory is most famous for its Bulang and is also famous for using lots of cleaner and organic certified material.  If you look around, a lot of vendors actually carry puerh from Nan Qiao Factory.  This should be some of the top of the brand, literally the King (Chawang) of Bulang…

The very tight machine pressed dry leaves smell of a very peat mossy type of smell with a very faint incense almost smokiness.

First infusion is a slightly fishy seaweed and incense with a peat fresh wood-chips-like taste.  The taste is kind of unique and finishes with a faint pungent and sour wood finish.  The mouthfeel is tight and the throat feel hasn’t really been activated yet- just mild sensations in the top throat.  There is not really much bitter here surprisingly no smoke.  The first infusion tells me that this was really nicely processed for a Bulang.  I like the tight compression on this one too.

The second infusion has a richer incense almost bitter coco suggestion with a slight pondy fishy nuance in the back ground.  There is a distinct salty taste to this puerh throughout.  There is a very faint pungency on the breath then suppressed coco tastes in the aftertaste along with wood chips and faint pond/ marshland.  A subtle bread-like sweetness is hard to grasp at here.  The Qi starts to build in the mind and I can feel the warmth of this puerh start to generate internally.  This will be strong…

The third infusion starts with a woody incense taste with the fishy pond nuance becoming less here.  There is a long salty base taste then a sour wood taste.  There is a soft pungency that pushes wood chips, faint coco, almost a hard to grasp milky coco taste, wood chips, and incense.  There is a lingering bread like sweetness like raison bread. There is a kind of soft flat bitterness that kind of comes much later after swallowing.  The mouthfeel is nicely full and tight, the throat has a upper-mid level opening.  Saliva is kind of trapped at the top of the throat extending these unusual tastes for quite some time.  The Qi is pretty strong here and makes the head and body wobble and heat is generated at the core.  I can feel my chest start to pound loudly.

The fourth infusion has a bitter incense woody onset the pond/ marshland is almost gone and the initial taste is mild bitter wood chips, incense and coco bitterness.  The full tight mouthfeel tugs at the throat and fills the mouth.  The Qi is very very strong and I am flushed in the face, I feel almost dizzy, like I could faint if I exert myself.  The heart pounds.  This is very strong Qi.  The aftertaste has a bread like sweetness to it that emerges under the bitter.  This infusion is still quite salty underneath.

The fifth infusion starts with incense, slight pond, wood chips, and moderate bitter.  It turns slightly sour and salty then a faint but building pungent coolness.  The aftertaste is bitterer than the initial taste and there is a mix of pond, wood, incense, faint coco and bread sweetness.  There is a lingering metallic taste in the aftertaste as well.  The Qi is big, staggeringly large in the mind.

The sixth infusion starts with a strong bitter taste with wood and coco and incense.  The pondy fishiness is gone.  The aftertaste come after an undulating coolness hits and expands.  The result is long bread and coco bitter sweetnesses.  This infusion hits the spot.  Big Qi along with bitterness slows me down considerably and I consider removing leaf from the pot…

The seventh infusion… Ok I didn’t remove leaf (I will not admit defeat quite yet) just took a 40 min rest… the first has an almost raison and faint coco onset that is balanced bitter and sweet.  The taste is a flat coco with incense, saltiness, woodiness much more background.  The taste here is nice with a lingering coolness and incense and bread sweet type of finish.  The mouth feeling is now chalkier.  The aftertaste is also mineral here.

The eighth infusion starts a nice smooth almost milky sweet onset with bitter less here and incense in there too.  This infusion has a classic Bulang onset.  It stretches into a mineral milky flat bitter.  A pungent coolness then sweet bread. Not much coco here and much less bitterness.  The bitterness is receding.  The Qi races the chest, pounds it hard.  This one really tastes like classic Bulang.

The ninth has a slight creamy milky flat sweet and subtle pond/ marshland.  There are faint suggestions of coco and a nice long creamy sweetness.  The coolness is less and pushes a stronger sweetness out of the flat milk tastes.  There is a faint bit of mineral and even less saltiness now.  Overall this infusion is milky sweet with touches of mild bitter and coco.  The mouthfeeling becomes more chalky and full.  The throat feel is not too deep with this one but it mainly gets stimulated with the intense bitter early in the session.

The tenth is milky sweet initially with a mild woody flat bitter and a mineral taste as well as incense coming out mid profile.  The mouthfeel is a sticky chalky now and bitter-sweet coco comes after a mild coolness.  The qi is still in the chest- like a good Bulang should.  It has less intensity and almost a relaxing effect now.

The 11^th is bitter-sweetness, milky, almost incense and herbaceous tastes.  There is some sour and even some mineral later into the session.  The aftertaste is becoming less.  Still some woods and incense and milk sweetness.  This infusion was more herb tasting.

The 12^th onset is more herbaceous onset with incense and flat milk sweetness.  There is a lessening bitterness as well as full mouthfeeling.  Qi is less and extends into a relaxed feeling with some chest heart palpitations.

The 13^th is an herbaceous incense woodyiness initially with more a faint coco and milk finish.  The profile has leveled out here and it’s pretty easy straight forward drinking.

The 14^th is much more of the same herbaceous, incense, this more has a bit more milky coco swetnesss, faint cooling, woody, pretty tasty stuff with a relaxing feeling now.  These infusions get less bitter as they go, less complex, less sweet.  But still delicious with more of a relaxing Qi after all that stimulation.

I throw in the towel early with this one and put it into overnight steepings which seem to pull out a pretty bitter herby soup.

Overall a nice Bulang.  To me a classic Bulang should have a full bitter peak early in the session with a nice coco taste and milky/creamy sweet balance, there should be earth shattering Qi that must make the heart race, the mouthfeel should be full and stimulating, and there should be some faint smoke in there to indicate the more rudimentary production.  Then after the first handful of steeps the bitter should give way to milky flat sweetness and woodiness.  These are the qualities I look for in a quality classic Bulang.  This 2004 Nan Qiao Chawang Bulang mainly has the earth shattering Qi … but man is it every satisfyingly strong and clear!

This 2004 Nan Qiao Bulang starts a bit unique with some interesting pond tastes that I don’t usually see in Bulang.  I don’t think this is storage taste although that flavor usually indicates off storage- I think it is a part of the profile and where this tea is in the aging.  Plus there is no smoke.  These are not necessarily bad things, they are just things… unique and complex things actually.

This Bulang has a very intense Qi which to me is everything in a Bulang.  It does this part very very well. Its bitterness is strong and creamy/milky sweetness is low-moderate.  It is a very nicely processed, very clean drier Taiwanese storage, with a pure clean feeling in the body.  There is actually a lot of interesting notes in this Bulang which give it a different type of herby, pondy, mineral, and medicial wood-like complexity.  They are just not notes I really like nor are they notes that I am looking for in a Bulang.

I don’t think I will be purchasing another but it is nice to have a good example of a dry stored herbaceous, woody, medicinal Bulang.  From what I have read, most Nan Qiao seem to be low on the sweetness and high on the herbal, woody, medicinal tastes.  I think the price is about right for something like this.  The interesting thing about this Bulang is that it is so powerful and clean and kind of unusual that I caught myself going back for a few more sessions over the last few weeks when I was looking for a power boost and/or for some unusual puerh tastes.

Rating 6.8.

Marco’s (Late Steeps) Tasting Notes

Peace