/ck/ - Food & Cooking

had some 2005 Mengban, Shuangxiong Tea Factory brick today
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/984860088/2005-mengban-shuangxiong-tea-factory
here are my tasting notes:

Appearance: dry and wet leaves are a dark brown color indicative of their age, liquor is a dark red, decent quality leaves, probably mostly mid to small grade, a few small stems but not an excessive amount, rather tightly pressed, leaves are a bit broken in the cup but i think its mostly because they got broken prying them off the cake and not because they were particularly broken or chopped to begin with.

Taste: quite sour, green plums, perhaps a bit of sour berries, some smoky and savory notes, BBQ, old leather, maybe a hint of some florals from an old bouquet, no signs of wet storage, moderate bitterness, quite astringent and puckery, reasonably stimulating, good longevity.

Conclusion: its a nice tea but not quite the tea i was looking for when i ordered it. it is still a pretty intense tea despite its age and storage. i was kind hoping for something that had mellowed out a bit more for when i want an easy drink. the smoky and sour elements remind me a bit of fu zhuan though this tea is more astringent than any fu zuan i have tried. the level of sourness and astringency is kind of unique i don't think any of my other teas match it in those regards. its not a half bad brick if you like something with a bit of a rougher, rustic character to it.