2005 Dayi 7542 batch 501 storage comparison

// Published November 3, 2016 by mgualt

Nov 2, 2016

Having recently acquired some 2005 7542 batch 501, I wanted to compare with a sample I got from Toby’s box 002. These are apparently the same sub-batch of the 501, but with different storage. Both sources describe it as dry storage, one source is Guangzhou and the other is Taiwan, although I don’t have confirmation that the tea has been stored in these locations since 2005.

A: Sample from Toby

Spicy, minty aroma on dry leaf, fruity sweet aroma with smoke on wet leaf. Absolutely no storage aroma mildewy. Very tight chunk, I had to pry this apart with the pick after the wash.

The wash is clean, oily strength effect begins to penetrate. Quite light (Before forcing apart the chunk).

Liquor is bright cloudy orange, some camphor and faint basement on the wet leaf, not a hint of wet-storage. Wonderful sweet fruity high notes on aroma and flavour in the first steeps. Strong oily coating, penetrating aroma in the back of the throat. Long aftertastes.  Some smoke appears in the mid-steep, some youth, astringency building on cheeks, and a long sweet salivating aftertaste.  A great deal of oily-gasoline strength, whisky, wood oils, alcohol-style burn on mouth.

Body effect is limited to some mild heat.

B: Samples from recently acquired cake

Basement, wood-oil and gas spiciness on the dry leaf. On the damp leaf I can detect a wetter storage, and this translates into a very mild storage taste which grows slightly over the course of 9 steeps. The wash is thick, oily strength, fruitiness, and immediately causes facial tingling. High thickness continues in the early steeps, sweet aftertastes. Body effect begins in the second steep with energy rising up, continuing as the tea shows some astringency and sweet aftertastes.  I feel very uplifted, with vibrations around the head, ears, and upper back.  Mouth and throat are well-coated, and by the fourth steep I am feeling quite high uplifting energy, with cooling rising to the head.

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Both teas peter out at about the 9-10 steep range, and both have a great deal of punchy oily strength on the liquor, with bold sweet and salivating aftertastes. The main difference seems to be that B has slightly wetter storage than A, accounting perhaps for A’s stronger aromas, greater astringency, and slight smokiness (all positive attributes in this case).  What was unexpected (and I have confirmed this over 2 sessions with each tea) is that B has significantly better body effect.

 

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