2009 Nadachayuan "Bulang"

Fans of classic British drum'n'bass will be familiar with the collected works of one Richard D. James, a.k.a. the Aphex Twin, and with his magnum opus "Come to Daddy" in particular.

While drinking the Nada Chayuan "Bulang" this morning, its character reminded of the following scene from that seminal classic, which comes from the second movement of the piece ("Demon screaming at old lady"):

Remind yourself of this cinematographic classic by clicking on the above image

I think it's fair to say that this tea wakes you up.

The chunky, coarse wrapper (shown above) reads "Bulangshan". Opening the wrapper, and you are greeted by pungent, spicy, apocalyptic aroma.

Amusingly, the entire cake flexes very easily, as if it has no backbone. It flexes as much as +- 20 degrees from its plane, and feels soft.

The leaves are lovely things: big, soft, and hairy. There are quite a few tips in the cake, and the maocha is homogenous throughout, rather than being padded on its outer faces.

The aroma cup holds grapelike, candy scents that lull me into a false sense of security. The pyrotechnics begin in the pinmingbei [tasting cup], where the touch of the soup on lips and tongue causes fizzing and energy.

Most obvious of all its characteristics to me is its chunky grain-like body, which almost tastes like fresh, clean hops as would be used to make a good ale. It is so very clean, and entirely absent of any roughness in the mouth or throat, which is remarkable. Nada wrote that the maocha was pure old tree, and it's easy to imagine, given the purity of its soup.

I took ten infusions at the tea-table, this being a slow Saturday, and am now on infusion 17 in my office. The tea shows no sign of giving up, and continues to be sweet, clean, grain-like, and massively potent.

"The taste is deep and mellow, I'm glad we bought it. The bitterness is not like normal bitterness." So sayeth Lei, referring to the bitterness that piles into the throat, but which feels entirely positive.

I recommend trying a sample of this tea, in order to, at least, get an idea about actual Bulang flavour. It is unusual to be able to buy an actual laoshu [old tree] cake with any certainty, but for the £24 asking price - very nice.

---

Addendum: I'm currently on the 32nd infusion, and they're taking about 15 mins per infusion at the moment. It is sweet, smooth, and still very flavoursome. It is genuinely remarkable how much content this tea has after so many infusions. I haven't come across many teas with such longevity. The lack of roughness allows plenty of leaf to be used.

---

Addendum
May, 2011

Strong, sweet, and smooth.  Its kuwei remains, and perhaps its body has darkened and quietened a little.  This cake appears to be doing well.

---

Addendum
April, 2016

At the request of a few teachums, I found this cake.  I drank this cake.  I was hurt by this cake.  Then, on returning to this page, I put two and two together - I had failed to realise that the 2009 Nadacha Bulang is indeed that cake with the "Come to Daddy" video.  I should have guessed.

Honestly, this cake is powerful.  It is really rather powerful.  Being full of bravado and optimism, I plucked off a goodly amount of leaves from the bing - I drink a lot of leaves in one sitting.  However, within one infusion (actually, within the first cup of the first infusion), this tea had humbled me.  It knocked me down in one punch.  A single, one-inch punch.

I'm on the ropes, nursing my jaw, a bleary mixture of confusion and surprise in my eyes.  What happened here?  Was it the proverbial truck that just hit me?

I immediately removed > 50% of the leaves from the pot, hitched up my petticoats, cried into my handbag, reapplied my makeup and then rebrewed.  The result, while strong, was at least consumable.

Five years have aged this cake.  It is softer at the edges; it is mellowed in its pu'ercha way; it has the curious mixture of raw power and woody age that seems to come from aging cakes in a cool-yet-very-humid climate (such as my home).

Were I to write that "drinking this tea is like drinking battery acid", most readers might be tempted to conclude that I do not like it.  The truth is the opposite: battery acid is something for which I seek.  I mean good, real battery acid - not the harsh, brazen acidity of nasty processing or agrochemicals.  This Bulang cake is like... Luca Brasi, from the Godfather.  And he emphatically does not sleep with the fishes.