2008 Hailanghao "Jingmai"

Pumidors are for girls. Real men use rickety wooden shelves.

Amusingly enough, the rickety shelves tipped forward the other day sending a bunch of Dayi cakes hurtling to their doom. I call it the "China Post simulator".

The Hailanghao Jingmai brick is the little green-inked chap to the left of centre, above.

Sultry. Brooding. Pouting. This brick promises happiness. I'm slightly disconcerted by the $10 price tag (Yunnan Sourcing), which is often indicative that one shouldn't expect too much. As the old saying goes, paying lots is not a guarantee of quality, but you can be sure that if you're paying little, you're getting lower quality. (This is not an invitation to charge $40 for all of your teas!)

This little 250g brick comes from a total of 900kg - fans of higher mathematics will astutely note that this means just 3600 bricks were made. It is one of 2.5 productions from Hailanghao in 2008 (including the Bulang Zhi Xing / Star of Bulang collaborative effort). Yunnan geographers will know that Jingmai is way out there in the Mekong (Lancang) county area, itself within the Simao region.

Following the vendor's product description, I say that this was a Hailanghao production, but that's not strictly true. The wrapper makes no mention of Hailanghao. More accurately, for those pedants out there like me, it's a Mingxiangyayuan production (the small private company that makes the Hailanghao brand).

The actual name of this brick is "Jingmai Chunyun", meaning "Jingmai Spring-Charm" (yun as in yunxiang). It's a lovely name, and a pity that it wasn't translated by the vendor.

Even more lovely, the wrapper says "Menghai xian [Menghai county] Yezhuang [a village's name] shaungli [double-beauty] zhi chachang [tea factory product]". It's lovely that a little village is credited on the wrapper - Yezhuang means "leaf village". It's humble and unassuming.

(Lei also liked the use of the word "chang", meaning humble "factory", rather than the more modern, and vulgar, hyperbolic affected names, such as "corporation" or "company". It's just a small village, and its name is befittingly humble. In a China where almost every tiny company is named in a grand, overweening fashion, some discretion and humility are rare and to be appreciated.)

I would, given its humble roots, really love to love this tea. However, the quality is a bit low, and it's rather hard to be too affectionate.

It has a savoury opening, with a heavy, candy lengxiang [cooling scent], and has a corresponding savoury flavour - reminding me of sweet potatoes. It seems the term de jour for Jingmai is "nutty", and I suspect that refers to this savoury character typical of the region.

It's quite thin, underpowered, and really needs pushing hard. I will be satisfied with a single brick, and seem to enjoy the wrapper and the tea's "feeling" more than the actual quality of the leaf itself.