2016 EOT Huangshan and Manlin
I have stored the 2016 Essence of Tea Puerh club teas in 32C mylar storage for the past 7 years, and they have certainly evolved… Several of the teas, like the two Tianba Tuochas, the “Secret Forest” nonstandard varietal maocha, and the nonstandard varietal “Wuliang Wild”, have deteriorated, mostly just oxidised and are not aging well (more on these later), but I wanted to try two of the decent (actual puerh) teas included in the Essence of Tea Puerh set today.
On the left is the 2016 Huangshanshu “Single Tree” which I enjoyed quite a lot when fresh; the dry leaf now has a rich sweet aroma similar to fresh tobacco. The tea has medium thickness, and is quite round and mild. There is a pungent sweet aroma after swallowing, and a green wet leaf smell. Some bitterness comes out in the mid steeps, as well as some yeasty fermentation aromas. The tea is oily and has quite a bit of astringency, and doesn’t last very long. It’s believable as a single origin northern tea with good material.
The 2016 Manlin is one that improved dramatically. Sweet dried fruits on the wet leaf, gentle, medium-high thickness. Savoury profile, full round mouthfeel. Lots of fruit and sweetness comes out in mid steeps. Rich, interesting tannins. Thickness builds, lots of honey. Long lasting. No green smell on wet leaf. I’m very happy with the way this is turning out, I remember disliking it when new, it was quite rough and I don’t recall having good sessions with it. The Manlin is decent material and seems to be processed correctly. Huangshan 6.0, Manlin 7.2