Veteran readers will be long-accustomed to my endless paeans to the 1998 Menghai "Peacock". It is my north, my south, my east, my west, my working week, and my Sunday best. I've chased it across the globe, occasionally settling for its sisters, but always longing for more of it.
Damp wood. Smooth, damp wood. Brewed into a delightful beverage.
Damp wood. Smooth, damp wood. Brewed into a delightful beverage.
You can imagine, then, the immensity of my jubilation on receiving the following envelope from AL.
This, a wet-stored version of my beloved 1998 Peacock - all praise to thee, AL! Let all the mountains and oceans proclaim thy awesomeneity.
The leaves are turning rusted orange, and "golden flowers" are growing on them. (Enlarge the above photograph by clicking on it, and examine them for yourself.) CB has had these identified by microscope (!) and confirmed that they are crystalline, and not mutant killer spores from Dimension X. This comforts me.
Unusually, this tea has very little aroma. The infusions are a classic ruby-red (pictured above) - doesn't that look the very definition of gorgeousness? It is a sultry, pouting classic.
Sadly, the character in the mouth is exhausted, tired, and worn thin. The flavour is super-saturated with shicang (which is pleasant), yet remarkably particulate and granular. Gone is the dazzling damp wood of my old friend. "Hmm, there's not much in it!" says my dear wife, and I cannot disagree.
Even so, copious uberthanks to AL for his kindness. A remarkable comparison!
(Further notes have been added to the mighty 2001 Menghai "Yiwu Zhengshan".)
Are we seeing evidence that wet storage may reduce the attractiveness of your fav tea, the apple of your eye? I suppose no one knows under what conditions this tea aged.
ReplyDeleteDear Salsero,
ReplyDeleteIn this case, it's just run out of steam, it seems. Maybe it was stored in a force-10 gale for several years? :)
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
P.s. On a related note, last night I had an amusing dream that AL had started a tea-shop. I need to stop reading about tea before bed...
Good news, Hobbes - HouDe has the 1998 Menghai Peacock Tuo in his stock.
ReplyDeleteTomas
Dear Tomas,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the notice! I didn't see that at Houde.
The price there is $44, which would make it $165 for a 375g bing. Though the tea is appealing to me, it is still a cheap-quality tuocha. The tea just simply is not that good, and I couldn't recommend it at such a price.
As we are undoubtedly tired of hearing, everyone's price vs. quality assessment is different - but what we can do is compare it to its price elsewhere. In this case, $44 is way over the market price for this little tuocha.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Dear Hobbes,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, this tea is way too overpriced, there are better bargains out there. But still, someone today purchased three of the four tuos :-)
Tomas
Good for Houde... :)
ReplyDelete