2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan - Good Water

Context:

This is the second tasting of this tea for the blog, off the back of this article here:

2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan - Wacky Water

This article was written first, there is a second tasting entry I consider the more “true” entry with corrected water. Moving forward, tasting notes will again be normal. Here is that article: asdf Now, the original entry: Context: I have not posted a tasting since my water went awry recently.

Tea and ClayBrandon Kendall

The context is that article was with corrected water, but a not yet corrected setup, like the kettle:

Water Woes - Update 3; A Corner Turned?

OK! This one is gonna be pretty comprehensive, not massive, about 2,000 words. So, status update: * Been, what; a month and a half? * Bad tea the whole time, just sorta stopped drinking it. * Not just ‘subpar’, but genuinely not good in some cases. * Most recent tasting (03 CYH Manzhuan,

Tea and ClayBrandon Kendall

So, that out of the way, let's taste this tea properly and for real 😄

Parameters:

• ~5g (ever so slightly less than normal, trying out a bit less on avg)
• 1960's 67ml Hongni teapot
• Empirical Water Glacial

Visuals:

Same as before, good quality leaf. Aged coloration.

Dry Heat:

Deep and slightly bready, as before.

Wet Heat:

Sweet, still surprisingly slightly tangy. This definitely goes primarily in the direction of sweet and sour sauce, not fully, but that trajectory.

Steeps:

Yeah this seems to taste better. It is corrected. Better depth, better profile. It feels more proper.

I think I'm misremembering this tea and conflating it with the 07 Yiwu Zhengshan. I associate Manzhuan with a bready character, which I spoke about in the other article, but that just does not seem to be what I or other writers are experiencing with this tea.

This is good though, there is a sweetness to it, there is some tang to it. It's slightly astringent, but not overwhelmingly so.

Good body, that's likely more the water than the tea, but the tea allows and lends body to the water.

Reviewing the other article, there's a lot more flavor forwardness here now, and it is much more in the tangy / sweet & sour realm. It's almost reminiscent of a Fengqing tea I had a while back.

Tuna says this gives him dried fruit, nuts, and astringency. I get that.

Punchline:

It's good, it really is. It's not what I would've expected but it is pleasant and nice. I think if you evaluate it for what it really is and not try to force it into a box it delivers.

Now, is it worth a few hundred? Mmmm...I think for me; maybe yeah. Prices are inflated all over the Pu'er market so...I think it comes to preferences and expectations. I would trade for this, I'd buy some at good prices, I wouldn't pay retail. Just my opinion.

It looks like TWL has it at $650 today. I'm not there at all, not even close.

Retro:

I didn't finish the article in time and got caught on work meetings. An hour or more later, I think we're on steep 14 or more and it's still not bad.

Have you seen my tasting process walkthrough? Check that out here:

How I Evaluate Teas / Tasting Note Breakdown

I think with any serious tea drinker that’s reading tasting notes, they likely fall into one of the following buckets: 1. It’s fun to read what friends think about a tea. 2. It’s a reference point for how others think about evaluating tea. 3. They’re considering acquiring a tea and

Tea and ClayBrandon Kendall

Wanna grab some good water? Here's the page for Empirical Water Glacial:

empirical water glacial v1.5 — Concentrate Set

Inspired by natural mineral water from glaciers, our glacial profile is harmonious and lively, emphasizing clarity and complexity in coffee & tea.

empirical waterEmpirical Water