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M&K's Big Snow Mountain Pearls Sheng 2013
(Tea Provided for Review)
Origin: Daxueshan National Reserve,
Yongde County, Yunnan, China
Harvest: Mid April 2013
Cultivar: Camellia Sinensis var.
Assamica
I decided to try this first, I am
not normally a fan of puerh pearls, but something about it seemed
interesting when I was initially browsing M&K’s catalogue. M&K
describes this as:
There are two Da Xue Shan
(literally "Big Snow Mountains") in China's Lincang Prefecture, one
in Mengku County and the other in Yongde County. This tea was picked in the
Daxueshan National Reserve at the foothills of the Himalayas, with tea trees
growing at altitudes reaching about 2,750 meters (about 9,000 feet). Unlike
most Chinese tea, which uses the tea variety sinensis,
these Pu-erh pearls were grown with the assamica (large leaf) variety. Tea enthusiasts
will not be disappointed with these pearls, which offer a complex flavor and
flowery aroma with hints of stone fruit, and allow for many resteepings! We
recommend this tea to lovers of raw (sheng) pu-erh as well as green and white
teas.
It’s interesting that M&K recommends this to green tea and white tea
drinkers, after sampling this I am not sure if I agree.
Dry Leaves: My sample included two pearls each about 5.6
grams, so a bit smaller than blooming tea, but larger than pearl or rolled tea.
It does not have much of a scent, but I a suspect that may be because of how
tightly compressed this is.
First Steeping
Temperature: 200oF
Brewing Time: Five Seconds
Aroma: Floral and Grassy
Flavor: Pear, Vegetal and Floral
Tasting Notes: I started off with
three quick rinses with boiling water for five seconds, and till the pearls are
tightly compressed. While the early infusions are nice, if you wanted to skip
ahead to the really amazing infusions you’d probably have to rinse it for a thirty
seconds. It has a rather nice aroma, although it does take quite some time for
it to develop (it was not till the seventh or so infusion that the floral nose
started to become strong enough to be pleasant), while now it is a little on
the weak side.
There is some bitterness, and slight cha qi, both of which would not defer a new to sheng puerh drinker, but
not enough to satisfy someone more experienced with young sheng puerh.
Nevertheless this is a very pleasant and easy to enjoy tea so far, the sweet
pear and floral notes are hard to hate, while the vegetal taste and grassy
aroma may put some off.
Second Steeping
Temperature: 205oF
Brewing Time: Ten Seconds
Aroma: Floral
and Fresh Grass
Flavor: Pear, Nectarine, Vegetal
and Floral
Tasting Notes: The bitterness is
starting to develop and it has some cha qi that will certainly warm you up, but
still a little on the weak side (although I do not think I have ever really
felt cha qi in puerh pearls before, but then again I have not had a lot of
puerh pearls in the past)
Other than that describing the
aroma is what I have the most trouble with. I feel that the floral scent is the
most distinct aroma I can’t exactly describe it, I am sure I have experienced it
before, but I can’t quite describe it; as for the grassy notes as I was
drinking this tea I kept struggling to describe it, while I am confident it is
grassy at times it reminds me of that very fresh grassy scent which can be
found in gyokuros (like in this particular steeping) while in others (like the previous
it reminds me more of dried grass).
Third Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Fifteen Seconds
Aroma: Floral and Grassy
Flavor: Pear, Nectarine and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: It still has those
sweet fruity tastes, perhaps a little stronger than the previous infusion, but
the floral flavor is gone entirely which I am ambivalent about. While I did
enjoy the floral flavor I do like the contrast between the pear/nectarine with the
vegetal notes more without the floral notes, it feels like a much cleaner tea
now. While I do not think the pear or nectarine notes have changed since the
last infusion they feel much crisper now. The bitterness is starting to become stronger,
not enough for me to describe it as kuwei. I don’t know why, but for some
reason this reminds me of menghai sheng.
I enjoyed this sheng. As I mentioned before I don’t drink
a lot of puerh pearls and I am not really one who purchases puerhs with the
intention to age, I am more of a drink it now type of puerh drinker so I do not
feel confident in judging it’s future potential, but it is certainly in a
drinkable state right now. While it lacks the complexity of more expensive
young shengs I feel it is worth checking out if you like young shengs. At the
time of writing this M&K’s Tea Co. sells 50g for $10.49 which feels like a
fair price to me.
Oh hey, I have this in my 'to sample' box...I should try it :P
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. It is a little too dense for someone as impatient as me, but still a lovely tea nonetheless. If i buy it again I might stab it to speed it up.
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