A Tea Addict's Journal

Manzhuan maocha

May 3, 2007 · 8 Comments

I decided to make this a series and continue the maocha tasting.  I had the Yiwu yesterday, so today we’re moving north to Manzhuan.

Two shots of dry leaves

They are bigger than the Yiwu leaves yesterday.  The Yiwu looks more delicate.  This looks more robust.

Just brewing for myself today, so I took out the smaller table with the tea setup… unfortunately, the tea tray leaks a little :(.  This is why i should never buy these dirt cheap bamboo trays.  I’ve had two now that leak on arrival.

The tea brewed up a nice liquor… I had some trouble with the colour balance again, and this one is showing up slightly yellower than the real thing.  Another picture has it coming out a little blue.  I can’t quite get it right.

The tea, however… is incredible.  The sensation of having drunk something goes all the way down to the bottom of my throat, into my neck, and at one point during the second up, I felt as if it was hitting my stomach.  The coolness and huigan lingers forever.  The chaqi is obvious.  This is a great tea.

The taste is not quite like a Yiwu, yet there are some vague similarities.  If Yiwu is a honey-like sweetness when young, then this is a more spicy/fruity taste.  I’m not good with aromas, but I think you can tell it’s different.  This tea, though, I feel is better than the Yiwu sample.  There has been talk that Yiwu is simply overharvested, and I won’t be surprised.  Sometimes I wonder if a place like Manzhuan is better because the teas are less in demand.

The tea lasted something like 20 infusions before I gave up on it.  Yes… it could still go on if I wanted it to.  It could’ve lasted 30, I think.  I had enough tea though.

Halfway through a few birds started to sing a chorus.  It was rather nice:

And the obligatory shots of the wet leaves… you can see these are larger than the ones yesterday, yet it’s not devoid of small buds.  I think this is still very much a spring tea.

It was a memorable tea.

Categories: Old Xanga posts · Teas
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8 responses so far ↓

  • kibi_kibi // May 3, 2007 at 12:33 pm | Reply

    Ah, those tea leaves look really beautiful; quite a distinctive shape?

    -vl.

  • MarshalN // May 3, 2007 at 12:51 pm | Reply

    The leaves are a bit rounder than the Yiwu, if you compare the pictures from yesterday’s. Yiwu’s are a bit more tapered…

    The top two are a good example of “one bud two leaves” picking. Very traditional that way…

    I should also have added that the liquor was extremely thick. Thicker than the Yiwu too.

    Which one should I have tomorrow? 🙂

  • Phyllo // May 3, 2007 at 5:58 pm | Reply

    Any idea where to get these teas commercially (maocha or compressed)?  They seem to be rather special.

  • HobbesOxon // May 4, 2007 at 4:47 am | Reply

    Such charming leaves, it’s no wonder this was a fine tea.

    Toodlepip,

    Hobbes

  • MarshalN // May 4, 2007 at 11:36 am | Reply

    I think these maochas are just gifts. These people press cakes, but they don’t press cakes from all these mountains, so much of this was obtained probably in small quantities to impress people.

    Nevertheless.. I’m trying to see if I can procure a few sets whether by hook or by crook.

  • MANDARINstea // May 11, 2007 at 2:23 pm | Reply

    After reading your tasting on this, I jumped right into Tea Gallery and asking for a tasting.
    Did you record of bamboo shoot (dry yellow one you find in J.Ramen?) or bamboo related characters from this sample? Interesting stuff my friend!

  • MarshalN // May 11, 2007 at 11:47 pm | Reply

    Bamboo shoots?

    Hmmm, I don’t remember.

    But I might get to taste it again, and definitelywill look for bamboo then.

  • MANDARINstea // May 12, 2007 at 3:10 pm | Reply

    Let me know!

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