2008 Shuangyi "Bulang zhi Xing"

This is the last Hailanghao cake produced before the company went off the rails and started crashing into the fields, in my opinion. The 2009 cakes have entered the price-range of Xizihao, Douji, Chen Guanghetang, etc., but just don't have the quality to back up the prices.

This cake is from 2008, when prices and expectations were lower. I used to enjoy buying Hailanghao cakes for this reason - they weren't going to break the bank, and they were often good fun at the least. So, for me, this joint production between Hailanghao and the Shuangyi Tea Company marks the end of an era.

"Shuangyi" can be seen inside the yin-yang taiji symbol

As the cake above states, the leaves come from 2005, and it was pressed into bing product form in 2008. (It says the teas are from an "ancient mountain" - aren't all mountains fairly old?)

Actually, just looking at the cake, I can't see any mention of the Hailanghao brand or the Mingxiangyayuan tea factory. The product page at Yunnan Sourcing, where I bought this cake for around $24, indicates that it was pressed at the Shuangyi factory.

Howling mad!

It's not like English is an unspoken language in China these days, with every schoolchild over the age of 8 years having to study it. How such neifei as shown above still continue to be printed is mystifying. Sure, not everyone is reading Shakespearean sonnets, but still!

The cake's name is "Bulang zhi xing", literally "Bulang's Star". Perhaps this doesn't come out in the photograph above, but the leaves have a distinct red-brown hue to them, which is indicative of (you guessed it) some sort of interesting pre-shaqing oxidation or longer-than-required shaqing cooking.

The soup is dusky orange-yellow, and it has a normal sugariness about the aroma in the wenxiangbei. No surprises so far.

Heidu has since been banned from the lounge for committing domestic crimes

This is like a slightly more nutty, slightly more sour version of a modern Xiaguan special production. It has the same smokiness about it, it has the same tobacco in the finish, it has the same limited, constrained character as if it's teeth had been filed down, and it has a similarly decent thickness.

Sigh

It's an inexpensive tea. If you're looking for a nutty version of Xiaguan, then this might suit you - but beware its sourness. After six infusions, it collapses into generic sweetness. It's very much an unassuming "daily" tea, and I'm secretly regretting being too hasty in my purchase of this cake.

Live and learn, I suppose!