2005 Nanqiao Double Lions

// Published November 11, 2021 by mgualt

5.2g/85ml Hongni/Toronto filtered tap

It won’t be much of a surprise to most of my readers that this tea is among my top choices for aging: the power, strength of sweetness in the finish, and aroma are all pointing towards a very good future. As a robust blend in the “factory” style, I am also flagging this tea as a particularly good candidate for hotbox storage at 32C.

  1. Smoky, but not a food smoke or active incense smoke… more of a distant firewood smoke. Sweet. Frisson begins. Juicy, intense plummy acidity.
  2. Crazy strong huigan, lingering sweetness in the finish. Oily warm taste. Rich and moreish.
  3. Very long juicy sweet aftertaste. Digestion aid!
  4. Tannins are thick, mega frisson in legs. Circulation to extremities.
  5. I have to brew this slowly, with a few minutes between steeps. Very strong.
  6. Concentrated, super plummy
  7. Smoky but not burned. more like smoked fish but without the fish.
  8. Incense resin, perfumed tibetan incense—unburned

Among my top favourites for post-2004 sheng. In comparison to 502 or even 501 7542, I would rate this as clearly better. A great example of a robust sheng, filled with flavour and energy, and well stored in Malaysia on the drier side. Comparable Dayi would be outrageously expensive — maybe something like 2003 purple dayi although that has a more subtle style.

Comments

  1. Mattcha
    November 12, 2021 @ 7:53 pm

    Meow!

    Reply
    • mgualt
      November 12, 2021 @ 8:08 pm

      very appropriate comment!

      Reply
  2. teamaster
    November 21, 2021 @ 6:25 pm

    I like the tea too. But I see conflict of interest when the reviewer is associated with the seller (teaswelike.com). It’s more credible if you at least give a negative review on one of their products. No?

    Reply
    • mgualt
      November 21, 2021 @ 7:00 pm

      Have you paid me to write unbiased reviews? If you disagree with something I said about the tea, feel free to voice your opinion. I voted in favour of all the teas that are currently on sale at TWL and gave them all slightly different ratings — the ones I voted against haven’t made it to the site. So you’ll forgive me if I decline your request to write a “negative review” of one of the teas. I don’t care if you buy the tea or not, or if you read this blog or not. The tea speaks for itself.

      Reply
  3. Ted Meredith
    December 20, 2021 @ 3:52 pm

    I like the tea a great deal and I have purchased multiple cakes. To me the unburned incense character seems very strong to the point that I am wondering if it had been with incense during storage?

    Reply
    • mgualt
      December 20, 2021 @ 4:54 pm

      No, it is not from storage. The same plant substances which play a role in agarwood / camphor / benzoin resin aromas can occur in puerh tea. You’ll find with high quality material and good processing that puerh tea can express a lot of different resinous aromas and tastes. The double lion also has a bit of smokiness from processing, and this attenuates over time, but adds to the incense like profile. The problem with using “incense” as a tasting note is that most people have only experienced terrible artificially perfumed incense sticks — here I’m talking about plain woody incense, which is totally different. the other thing to be aware of is that the heat of Malaysian storage also tends to produce more of an incense profile, and this is not due to storing with or near incense. Another example – the rustic zhongcha 2006 – this is a smoky and highly resinous tea with a lot more aging left to do — and none of its flavour or aroma is storage based, it’s just the tea.

      Reply
  4. Dominic
    June 12, 2024 @ 7:37 pm

    Hey Marco !

    Wondering how this has developed into 2024? Has the aging progressed much or is it pretty similar to this 21 tasting…

    Reply
    • mgualt
      August 13, 2024 @ 10:46 am

      I’ll review it again soon! Among my top favourites, I drink it often.

      Reply

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