Butterfly from 1996

1996 Xia Guan Butterfly Spring Tou Sheng is packed in lovely paper, the name and the year of origin are promising...

 Before we will take a look inside, let's read vendor's words about it:

"This tea was made in 1996 for Taiwan market. According to the supplier, leaf maretial of this tea was from 300 years old arbor tea three. Although this connot be physically proved, it is very likely to be true, as indicated by the leaf quality. The tea has been in purely dry storage over the past 15 year and demonstrates features of high quality dry-aged sheng. The flavor is significantly different from that of shengs aged in humid storage. Current price of this tea is based on supplying cost. The price is subject adjustment in the future based on rarity" 

More you can find here, on Gingo's blog

On pictures bellow you can see naked leaves.

 As usually, it is not easy to take pictures of leaves. Especially if those pictures should be reflective of  real color of aging. I did my best, so maybe you can see the mixture of dark green, brown and hairy, grey leaves- all unified by passed years. Maybe, you can also see light. white dots (like small flowers) I consider the white flowers as those here to be crystallized essential oils.

 Pressing is, compare to other Xia Tou I have, lighter. It is still Xia Guan toucha and inside you will find more compressed, not-easy-to-separate, leaves. But taking leaves from side, I did not even have to use my puehr needle and I got leaves like that...

Smell of dry leaves is gentle, just light wood and ripe fruits. These are stronger on wet leaves. First infusion (ten second) already gives dark orange tea. As you can see on picture bellow, color is (as always) very relative...

First infusion is in both cup and faircup. Fair cup is just deeper.

Second infusion...

In first infusion I can find mixture of light pine nuts, oranges and some flowers. From second brew, the Xia Guan origin is already unconcealed. There is smoke, resin, orange-peel- all mellowed thanks to  sixteen years of aging.

 Focusing on taste and mouth feel during the fourth infusion I found spicy, hot, almost pepper like, effect on my lips and tongue. It was in contrast to cooling menthol-camhor sensation in my throat. I know that this is probably not attractive for everybody. It is like Islay Whisky- peat, iodine, pepper... Why should one drink something like this? Yet, there are many Islay fans as there are many fans of traditional Xia Guan products. And I do understand them...

Another opportunity to test another stove...

I have this tea at home for more then year now and I am still happy that I decided to buy it then. I can imagine that many of you would find it to be "too dry stored". I like it as representative example of good, half-aged, dry stored tea. And it is still for rather reasonable price. When I have purchased it, it was for less then 100usd/250g toucha. Now it is 135usd, which is not cheap tea. When we talk about 16years old, rarity Xia Guan, then it is, al least, reasonable. Especially when one can go for sample first...

Why are you smilling? Is it the tea inside you or sun up in the sky? 

After my tea session I have felt calm and happy. I am not sure if it was tea itself, or also power of the fresh morning with birds flying around. Maybe all was just right.










Thank you for reading!

Comparing two CNNP Shu from 2002

I find a comparing teas as good opportunity to learn. Few tea samples putted in to the line always strain my senses. I use to have troubles to assort my observations. Sometime when I received pile of samples I got lost - drinking them thru several days or even weeks brought to me many great and inspiring tea sessions but also some confusion. My gustative memory is not so perfect and it is not easy to compare tea in my cup with another which was there few days ago. So I have decided to create few, more or less the same, testing sets. I know about standard competition sets, of course. But for my nature, testing with those set was always somehow cold or too laboratory to me. So I have made an attempt to create an alternative.

Sets I have made are quite small...

Shibo can hold about 70-80ml of water...

 Created from technical porcelain and glazed just by Czech feldspar, those small shiboridashes and cups reflect fragrances in the way which makes me happy. Brews are softer then from most of hard, white porcelain competition sets I have tried. I have taken them out of the kiln in "tea arrival days". In days when couple of boxes with many teas in them have arrived to our doors. Great combination - I have used those testing sets many times since that !

Two teas, which have urged to be prepared next to each other, were from Gingo of Life in Teacup. Both are from 2002, both produced by CNNP. The 7581 brick is like old familiar friend to me. Like someone who I like and enjoy to be with. In the sample pouch was hidden its brother, piece of The Golden Brick. So let's put them next to each other...

Big difference between those brothers you can already find when looking on dry leaves. The French Export 7581 brick is made of bigger, thicker leaves and stems make it look wild or disheveled. The Golden Brick Shu fulfils its name - small leaves are nice looking and streaked by golden leaves.

The Golden Brick                                                             The 7581 French Export Brick                                                                                                                                  

The difference between leaves is even clearer on pictures of wet leaves. Dark, almost black 7581 compare to brown gold Golden Brick. Smelling to those wet leaves, I have found the basic personalities which went thru the tasting like a fiber. Lighter, fruity and flowery Golden Brick in one shiboridashi and more dry, woody - nutty, like green almonds fragrances of 7581 in the second one.

After first quick infusion...

The Golden Brick                                                             The 7581 French Export Brick     

After fifth infusion....

The Golden Brick                                                             The 7581 French Export Brick       

                                                                                                                                If this comparing should be a competition or race, then during first two infusions The Golden Brick was the leader. But as I said before, I knew what is inside of 7581! Leaves of The Golden Brick show its beauty - brews have full body and strong fragrances. My mind was still looking for names of flowers to link those fragrances with. Chrysanthemums? Honey orchids ? Very tasty, that is for sure.

As you can see here, colors of those teas in cups are very similar to each other. But not smells, tastes or mouthfeels...

 Cup with 7581 started to captivate more attention in second infusion. In third and later brews it become strong but smooth potion. Dry, woody mouth feel with green almonds tastes and long after taste. Hints of resin and forest flowers. On other hand The Golden Brick started to loose its power. Maybe it is just judgment originated from my personal love for character of 7581 brick. I can also imagine that there is a million tea lovers who will always pick The very nice Golden Brick. And I enjoyed it too. But my heart belongs to Shu from 2002 produced under CNNP and labeled as 7581 French Export.


Thank you for reading!



As addition I have released here one more (imperfect) picture of my new testing sets. Here with this year's shengs which I enjoyed yesterday, together with my friend. Tea and water, charcoal and teapot, cups and friendship...