This "Golden Bamboo Mountain" recipe is one of my favourites, and I have previously written concerning the 2005 version (thanks to Keng), the 2006 version (thanks to Gordon of Dragon Teahouse), and the 2009 version (thanks to Jongky of Red Lantern).
This is the eldest incarnation of this recipe that I have seen, and so I am very thankful to Kenny for the opportunity to try it. He notes that it is dry-stored: the leaves have a distinctly humid aroma to them, and I am reminded of the potency of his native Hong Kong climate.
Large leaves, with plenty of furry tips, fill me with glee. It has a charming aroma of real maturity, and I am delighted to see how this familiar recipe fills out with age. It is clean, with a lovely sweet, cereal aroma, and its "golden bamboo" characteristics have swollen into a fine, woody maturity.
As good on the tongue as always, it brings plenty of water to the mouth thanks to its sharpness - this is a good thing. It isn't a heavy, viscous tea, but then again, it's not an excessively expensive tea, and I think it's great value for its fairly modest price.
It's quite one thing to try an old favourite recipe, and another to get some insight into the aging process acting upon a recipe that has, by and large, remained stable over the years. Even in this elder variety, there are a small proportion of reddened leaves in the blend, added for complexity. Perhaps this will cause it to sacrifice some body when it's fifty years old, but it's not an excessive amount. The result is a very decent recipe for aging, at a fairly healthy price.
Thanks again to Kenny for the sample.
Addendum
April, 2014
Simao diqu is a favourite. Despite years in plastic, this sample still has the gentle scent of humidity - it is the last half of a package kindly provided by Kenny of HK. Malty, sweet, cooling: this is an excellent tea, which leaves the mouth watering. The colour is an orange-red, as would be expected for its age. "Worth drinking slowly, and appreciating fully", my journal has. Thick and malty, it is easy to enjoy.
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