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Wymm Tea's Mangnuo Tengtiao Cane Sheng and Wangshuji Shou First grade
(Tea Provided for Review)
I
have a bit of bad news, my computer crashed and I lost a lot of photos that
despite my best effort I could not recover. Even though my photography skills
are lacking I don’t feel comfortable publishing blog posts without proof that I
actually drank the teas. I did manage to recover a couple pictures so I decided
to publish my thoughts on Wymm Tea’s Mangnuo Tengtiao Cane Sheng and Menghai
Wangshuji First Grade Shou in one post, which is kind of a shame since these
are the better of the four Wymm Tea samples I have although I did enjoy the
Bazi Laohuangpian and the other grade of Wangshuji Shou I tried before.
Origin:
Menku, Shuangjiang County, Yunnan
Harvest:
Spring 2014
Wymm
Tea describes this as:
This is WYMM’s signature tea. It is a
sheng pu-erh that brews bright golden with a rich and sweet flavour, and with
the aroma of fresh-cut grass in the morning. For the initial 6 steeps, there is
a pronounce bitter taste that lingers in back of the tongue with hints of
astringency, which are slowly replaced with a bold honey aftertaste. The liquor
is heady because of the ultra concentrated nutrients in this tea. Each serving
of this tea can be steeped up to 20 times.
This single state tea is sold nowhere
else; grown only in the ancient tea gardens around town of Mengku, located in
Shuangjiang county of Yunnan province in China, these 200 to 300 year-old trees
have distinct branch shape differentiating them from the rest of the tea trees
in China. The name Tengtiao "Cane Tea" was coined by Zhan Yingpei, an
acclaimed scholar specializing in Yunnan tea culture. The name implies that the
shape of branches of this type of tea trees is similar to cane. These trees are
shaped using a special technique that trims off all the excessive sub-branches
and bigger leaves, leaving only two fresh tea buds per branch. Over many
centuries of painstaking care by the local tribes, the branches have grown long
and slender, similar to the shape of cane, hence the name. The technique for
growing, trimming and picking the tea, concentrates all the tea nutrients
within the two tea buds in every branch, creating fragrance unseen in most
pu-erh. Local tribes only pick one tea bud from each branch at a time, leaving
the other one to grow for next round’s harvest. The production of this tea is
very low as a result of special trimming and picking methods – many more trees
are needed to collect the same amount of buds. However the harvested tea buds
are very neat and delicate, without any tough stalk or old leaves. Each of the
sun-dried tea buds are covered with very dense fine hair that shimmers under
the sun. The final product – Qizibing Cha is presentable and highly sought
after for collection
It
is interesting that the Wymm Tea’s signature tea is a single state tea, I
wonder if it is from a single farmer or a single township regardless. I do not
believe I have ever encountered a puerh with tea leaves like these, I do hope
Wymm Tea sources more teas from the same area as they did this one.
Dry Leaves: My sample is a
mix of chunks and broken up strands, I have a feeling this is from a tightly
compressed cake because of the chunks and tea dust. Although there is some
strands that look like loose leaf whoever prepared this sample is obviously
more efficient with a pick or knife then I am.
Temperature:
Boiling
Brewing
Time: Five Seconds (+ Five Seconds for each subsequent steeping)
Aroma:
Sweet Peas and Orange Blossom
Flavor:
Floral, Peppery, Fruity, Cucumber and Sweet Grass
Tasting
Notes: This is a rather sweet tea, it reminds me more of a green tea or a
floral oolong early on, perhaps because it takes quite some time for this to
develop any bitterness and it lacks astringency although later on it becomes
more sheng-like. Early on it is a little on the weak side, for me around the
eight infusion it started to become noticeably stronger, the early infusions
are not undrinkable, but they are very subtle.
This
is not a particularly complex tea, it does not change much as you drink, but it
is rather refreshing. This feels like the perfect sheng for someone who is new
to puerh, I am not sure it is interesting enough if you are looking for pleasant
bitterness or do not regularly drink young shengs. Definitely a sheng to drink
now, while it seems to have some potential to be aged I can’t imagine not using
the entirety of a cake as fast as possible. In my opinion this sheng does well
with longer steeping times then I did and is definitely worth checking out if
you like young shengs, at the time of writing this Wymm Tea is selling a
fifteen gram sample for $10.80 CAD.
Origin:
Menghai County
Harvest:
2008
Wymm
tea describes this as:
This shou pu-erh brews with a smooth and sweet flavor and
long-lasting jasmine rice aroma. Tender and fine buds from high mountains
in Menghai County,
located in west ofXishuangbanna
Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, are picked to make the tea in 2008. Pu-erh
tea has the potential to ferment over time, and this tea has been
post-fermented for 6 years since its production. Post-fermentation gives the
tea vibrant flavours and richer aroma as well as deep wine colour.
Note: First grade contains the
smallest leaves while seventh grade contains the largest leaves. There is
marginal difference in the taste; first grade has a slightly stronger and
woodier flavour, while the seventh grade has a milder and sweeter flavour.
The third and fifth grades fall in between of the first and seventh grade.
Brewing
Time: Five Seconds (+ Five Seconds for each subsequent steeping)
Aroma:
Mineral, Tobacco and Musty
Flavor:
Earthy, Mushroom, Cocoa, Peppery and Wet Wood
Tasting
Notes: I tried the Seventh Grade version of this before and I prefer this over
that one even though this lacks much of the sweetness of the Seventh Grade
version. This one does not have that slight fishy aroma, but it does have a
kind of musty smell something like an empty basement, not unpleasant, but not
something I generally look for in teas. This is definitely more complex than
the seventh grade. It has a stronger Cha Qi then the seventh grade, but it is
still on the weak to moderate side.
I
enjoyed this more than the Seventh Grade I had before. At the time of writing
this Wymm Tea is selling a fifteen gram sample for $9.00 CAD and is worth
checking out if you like shous that are not on the sweeter side.
The
Mengnuo Tengtiao Cane Sheng is definitely my favorite of all of Wymm Teas I’ve
had so far, I see why it is their signature tea. If I had to pick one of the four
samples to buy again it would definitely be the Mengnu no questions asked
probably because I love young floral Shengs.
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