Donkey Xikong

Today, a collection of samples generally provided by Scott of Yunnan Sourcing from the Xikong region, between Yibangshan and Manzhuanshan in Mengla county of Xishuangbanna.  This is the "sweet, fruity, and easy-going" end of the region, as my tastebuds usually have it.

The cake from Jiabu is a new venture for Scott, as far as I know; certainly, this is the first that has been explicitly attributed to the region.  As buyers become more interested in the many peaks and regions around Yibangshan, perhaps this increased geographical resolution is natural.

The little leaves have a pleasantly buttery scent - but the wenxiangbei [aroma cup] is interesting, in that it has an invisible scent.  It is not absent - there is something definitely present in the aroma cup - it is merely that it does not register with my (usually not entirely insensitive) nose.  At long last, the scent collapses into the regular dark-sugars of an orthodox lengxiang [cool-scent].

This introverted "invisibility" continues in the mouth: it is a "sensations" tea, rather than a "flavour" tea, with the a soothing, rich sweetness being about all that I can detect.  The base is heavy and gradual, and it unfolds well in the throat.  Later infusions see a slow development into a "cough sweet" variety of dark sweetness.  It is not floral, sweet, or in any way "feminine" - and this femininity is something that I typically attribute to teas from this general region.  It is heavy and lingering in the mouth and throat.

It's very real base suggests good things, although something of a sour edge creeps into the fourth infusion that prevents me from getting extraordinarily excited.  It is an education - entirely different to the cakes from its neighbouring Xikong...

---

The 2011 Xikong from Scott was an autumn cake, but it completely rocked my tiny world.  Many of us prayed aloud for a spring-time version!  The pu'ercha pantheon must have heard our supplications, for a spring-time version is available in Scott's 2012 range...

Xikong is small-leaf, and this particular cake sells for $86/250g xiaobing, making it quite expensive (per kilogram).  I am fascinated to see how this one turned out, given my enormous love of the autumn cake from 2011.

Scott writes that the maocha comes from trees that are several centuries old.  The condition of the leaves, pictured above and below, is good, recalling their xiaoye [little-leaf] variety.

The wenxiangbei [aroma cup] is stacked full of the buttery tones that I associate with new teas, and with Scott's teas in particular.  The soup is yellow, and the first infusions turn out to be a fine mixture of strength, sweetness, and fruitiness - something that teas from the Yibangshan / Manzhuanshan region seem to share.

Initial notes of smokiness, which usually dissipate with age, are gone by the second infusion.  The body is formed around a core of kuwei [good bitterness] with a grainy sweetness present, which it shares in common with the 2011 autumnal version.

The flavour of some sort of roasting was suggested in the first infusion, and this persists in later infusions - I wonder if this has been imparted by the artificial-drying stage that some of these cakes undergo.  It comes and goes - present in one mouthful, absent in the next, even within the same cup.

Its strength is good, but it is a citric strength without a broad base, in contrast to the autumnal friendliness of the 2011.  My journal has "it is too similar to much less expensive teas to be worth $86/250g", and I would stand by that, on retasting.  It is good, but not that good.  This might be one of those few instances in which I seem to prefer the autumnal version.  I wonder if you agree.