2010 Essence of Tea Manmai and Mansai
After reading Hobbes post on Essence of Tea’s 2011 Mannuo, I tweeted @chanteashop that that post made me drool and my wallet cringe. Seeking to fill some holes in my chronological puerh collection, I’m considering a order with Essence of Tea for some of his 2010 and 2011 (pre-order only right now) productions. Accordingly, I pulled out what I had left of EoT’s samples from last year’s TeaChat Young Sheng Puerh OTTI. Today, I did the 2010 Manmai and Mansai side by side, in an effort to re-evaluate and see if either of these teas piqued my interest enough to order either of them. Tomorrow, the Bangwai.
Manmai on the left, Mansai on the right.
I remember feeling that, unsurprisingly, these teas were so young and green at the time, to the point that I likened the Manmai to being grassy in a green tea way. They’re still youthful, green, light and pure. The Manmai, so much so, that it has the flinty, chalky greenness of a tippy gunpowder or young bi lo chun. It’s got a floral, fruity run to it to, but it’s so light. Hobbes refers to this as the signature “grassiness” of Bada material.
My memory of the Mansai was less vivid, but my notes indicate a better texture, while still maintaining lightness. Today, I got a distant ashy, smoke from the steeped leaves, but little in outright flavor, aside from some sun-dried fruit. The texture was alright, but this tea did not capture me today. While I do appreciate the elegant, light, gentle purity of these teas, I guess I’m looking for something else. Something a little more robust, wild, and funky.
Addendum: Oh, my, goodness. These teas make me feel absolutely golden. What a precious, ringing, bright, shiny glow they have. I feel as though my insides are just radiating a beautiful, glowing, golden aura. My mind is pleasantly settled, and a heavy, listless calm is drooping my eyelids.
June 28th, 2011 at 9:07 AM
[...] with my two sets of notes from the 2010 Mansai, this tea has gained some thickness and depth, coming across less [...]