Norbu Tea

Today opened one of my last packets of this tea, and brewed up a bit gongfu style.

The leaves open up to nearly fill the gaiwan, after starting out as a sparse little layer on the bottom of the cup. The expected sweet and floral start is incredibly intense. Somewhere about 6 or 8 infusions in there are a 2 or 3 in a row that are very spicy, then that fades away again, and it’s back to sweet and floral until the kettle is empty of hot water. Wow.

Can’t wait to try the fall version, but I am trying to be disciplined and finish the spring first. Yet, if I do that, how will I ever compare them properly?

An amazing, rich, sweet, floral oolong tea. I have steeped this one about 12 times, when using a small amount of the tightly rolled leaves to cover the bottom of a yixing pot or gaiwan, which unfurl gradually to nearly fill the pot by the end of the session.

Infusions from 30 seconds to 3 minutes by that 10th or 12th.

Probably my favorite tea since I first tried it. It stays sweet and rich longer than the lovely AliShan oolongs also carried by norbu. After trying both of these teas, I immediately bought many more little pouches of it, and squirreled them away for holiday gifts. Now that I’m running out of what I reserved for me, I’m hoarding it a bit. It’s that good.

I’m having another fantastic session with this tea today, part II of one that began yesterday. It started a touch bitter, as usual, but I kept the first 6 or 8 infusions to pour-in/pour-out flash infusions, and the bitterness was kept to a touch. And the reward for sticking with it is infusions that keep going and going and going and going—sweet water, yes, but Lao Ban Zhang-flavored sweet water, and it is delicious. I’ve been doing a little trick—pouring a tiny bit of cold water in each infusion as soon as I pour it out of the pot—so no waiting for it to cool, which can itself let a bit of unpleasant flavor develop. Happy camper, here! Another one of those couldn’t-be-better sessions with the cheapo little yixing, and Michael Coffee’s wonderful little shino cup, so perfectly sized for the small infusions. Mmmm.

I owe this tea a lot, because I was afraid of it when I first read about it—“bitter” in the description put me off. But I tried it as part of a tasting, and figured out how to bring out the qualities I love, and ordered some, and got bolder in choosing sheng puerhs. My only problem with this tea? I’ve got a finite quantity—I only ordere 50 grams, what was I thinking?! so I only drink it occasionally. Sigh.

Another day when I needed a tea lift, and this LBZ reliably provides it. It’s sweet, herbaceous, and has a wonderfully long aftertaste. Mmmmm. As long as I keep the infusions very short—and this little yixing pot doesn’t pour that quickly, so immediate pouring of flash infusions basically means I’m doing 10 second infusions—it’s marvelous stuff.

Compared this to two other loose puerh Mao Cha from Norbu today.

2010 Shi Tou Xin Zhai Mao Cha, Nan Nuo Shan, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
2009 Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan*
2009 Wulian Shan Mao Cha from Dali Prefecture, Yunnan

I have been enjoying the Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha for several months, so with my last order from Norbu, I tried a couple other Mao Cha, to see how they compared. This was my first brewing of other two young shengs. As expected, these are all wonderful teas, with more capacity for infusions than I have space in my bladder, even with the very small gaiwans, so sometime after 10 or 12 infusions, I stopped drinking the full infusions, and did a series of longer steeps, discarding the liquor, and then did a final infusion, which I estimate to be about the 20th for each, so I could finish the tasting, get the photos of the spent leaves, and go to bed!

Overall? I love all of these. The Shi Tou Xin Zhai is the most approachable in the early infusion, and is one I’ll take to work to share in some one on one meetings with other tea lovers—it’s less likely to bite back if I get a bit distracted. But at the however-many-it-finally was infusion, when all were pretty dilute and mostly had just a gentle sweetness left, I found a little more depth or complexity in the LBZ in than the other two. So….if you’re anxious about bitter, start with the Shi Tou. If you’re already a connoisseur of young sheng, and want the maximum complexity, go for the LBZ. And if you’re undecided, get the Wulian, or better yet, enjoy all of them.

*Actually, turns out the LBZ is sold out. Greg tells me that the Lao Ban Pen Mao Cha on the site is very close, and maybe better. I have a hard time believing anything could be better, but as good, maybe….

2009 Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan

Dry Leaves: long dark twists of intact leaves with some stems, scents of mushrooms, soy sauce, darker than the Shi Tou Xin Jai
Liquor, 1st infusion: light tan liquor, sweet and vegetal
Liquor, 2nd infusion: spicy, sweet, with that smooth earthy depths, and hint of bitterness
Someplace about the 8th or 9th infusion: sweet, earthy, lovely as usual, but the astringency of the aftertaste is definitely present and noticeably more than the Shi Tou or the Wulian
Liquor, many?-th infusion: sweet, dilute, earthy
Wet Leaves: olive green leaves of uniform color, sweet, spicy, asparagus scents

http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/ShengMaoChaTasting7.31.10.html

Drinking it again after a break, and loving it again so much. I was reading a typically excellent article by Harold McGee in the NYT (link http://tinyurl.com/24rs3zw) in which he discusses the power of dilution to enhance flavor. I think this may be a tea where that really holds true. Many many very short steeps bring out a sweetness and richness of flavor in this tea without the bitterness that can overwhelm with shorter steeps. Works for me!

An amazing tea. After a couple of fairly long rinses, 2 × 20 seconds, 1 gram of tea per oz of water yields a series of amazing sweet wonderful infusions—5 to 10 seconds apiece, too short to be captured by the steepster graphics. . Herbaceous and vegetal flavors, little that is earthy or smoky like older or compressed puerhs. A remarkable tea.

The Leaf: The dry tea, beautiful curls of tiny tips, has a surprisingly fresh aroma. After enjoying 3 good steeps, a close look at the wet leaves revealed that a bud, or a bud and one small leaf, were picked to make the tea.

The Liquor: Round, malty flavor enlivened by subtle notes of black pepper. Smooth, full body with nuances of baked yams and damp wood. Clean finish with a delicate dryness. I added soy milk to the latter half of one cup, with a squirt of agave, and the tea flavor came through nicely, bringing it’s stimulating, spicy element along.

TTB strikes again!

This smells like heaven and tastes twice as good. I’d almost be tempted to chew the tea leaves, if I didn’t know that I could resteep them at least a few more times and have more of this lovely, lovely tea.

The smell is intoxicatingly ethereal. It’s a bit vegetal and floral, as everyone has said…but what they haven’t noted is that it smells like a lush night-blooming garden in the heat of deepest summer. It’s not cloying, but it does surround you and infiltrate every sense. It may even permeate your skin, I’m not sure. Since I’ve been sniffing at it ever since I opened the bag, I’m hardly an objective judge! ;)

The taste is light, full, and tantalizing. It’s a bit like you’re drinking summer.

Norbu is apparently having a sale right now on this tea, too. End of Vintage sale, 25% off any quantity. Oh holy monkey, do I need some. .

Oolong! It’s been a couple of days since I’ve enjoyed Oolong – I’m overdue!

So to make up for it, I chose one of my favorites. This Oolong is amazing. Buttery, rich, floral. Almost jasmine-esque but not quite… maybe like a cross between jasmine and orchid, and maybe even honeysuckle. So… amazing.

And… already gone. I need to steep again!

YUM! Oolong!

The flavor of this Oolong is intense. Floral, buttery, divine! There are only a few tastes that can elevate me to this sense of divine feeling – a superb Oolong such as this, a vanilla bean chocolate truffle from Moonstruck, or a perfect carrot. :)

Smooth, rich, beautiful. I love this tea.

This pale yellow tea belies its simple color by packing a good deal of complexity and flavor range into my cup. It does not have some of the overwhelming vegetal taste of the greens (which I do like—-I’ve discovered that I like hot buttered “spinach” in my cup.

This tea is more delicate yet quite fulfilling. The “vegetal” elements have been reigned into a decorous garden taste. The tea is naturally sweet on its own and has got a lot of “buttah” as well—not cardiac strength butter, but a delicate amount.

The tea conjures up a sort of pure elegance and understated glamour. I don’t see how anyone could dislike this. I also am rethinking my earlier and stupid aversion to white teas as being tasteless and packing no punch. That prejudice was ingrained, no doubt, by somebody’s elderly tea-bag once upon a time. This tea makes me want to try more silver needle types and start paying attention to white teas in general.

This is actually the Ali Shan Spring 09, but, since there wasn’t an entry for the Spring offering, and Norbu no longer has the Spring available, I decided to just use the fall.

Delicious. In my opinion, Norbu offers the best Ali Shan. And I love drinking it out of my new Yixing mug. It makes Ali Shan even more special by distinguishing it with it’s own mug.

The flavor is only slightly nutty, pleasantly floral, buttery, rich, absolutely SUPERB!

Time for my daily Oolong! I enjoyed this so much yesterday that I decided to have more today… this is absolute Oolong Excellence! Perfect!

Oolong time!

This is absolutely my favorite Oolong. So good! Sublime!

The aroma is arresting – floral notes with the slightest vegetative tone. The flavor is buttery, rich, smooth – a delightful, satiny, thick mouthfeel. Just… YUM!

I wrote a review for this tea back in September for the Tea Review Blog:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=6489

Many more infusions to follow!

Now that I’ve exhausted the yellow buds, I am moving on to the last (sob) of my Bai Yun Oolong from Norbu.

It is truly sublime – as always! I love it!

What a great TEA day it has been!

Multiple infusions of the Bai Yun to follow!

My Oolong fix for today.

I love the color of this tea – Golden! I wrote a review about this tea for the Tea Review Blog that can be read here:

http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=10332

This tea reminds me so much of a Fancy Formosa Oolong (Oriental Beauty), from it’s appearance, to the color and scent of the liquor and even the flavor is quite reminiscent of an Oriental Beauty.

I am continually in awe of Norbu’s teas – always of such excellent quality and exceptional taste. This cup is another perfect example of this. Multiple infusions to follow!

A big thank you goes to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this sample. Sorry, I’m just now getting around to tasting it.

This is a very intriguing oolong. The liquor is a very light yellow and has a sweet, vegetal smell. The flavor is initially vegetal, then very floral…mostly of orchids. Nice! On an odd note, I swear I’m tasting a light cabbage flavor…and not in an awful way. I like cabbage. The aftertaste is sweet and lingering. Not too shabby overall. I am, however, encountering that familiar musty smell and taste that I tend to do with rolled teas of any sort. This is the main downer for me.
All in all, this tea is quite pleasant…but I think I prefer darker, less green tasting oolongs. This was really nice to sample!

Trying a sampler of this oolong tea. The dry leaf has a floral aroma that carries on into the steeped brew. It’s not a strong aroma but more subtle but noticeable. The flavor is floral and sweet with some hints of fruitiness. It’s a light brew almost like a green tea. The second steep was just as good with no noticeable weakening. The leaves had not even completed their un-furling of their crinkled blobs after the first cup. I enjoyed this one.

The leaves are a dark green. The smell while infusing is a hard veggie scent. The leaves are taking a while to unwind. The liquid is typical oolong looking-type and the smell is that of slightly roasted veggies! The taste is a little nutty but pretty soothing. It’s interesting and fairly smooth!

Another refreshing and delightful blend from Norbu! This is like Spring in a cup! It has an ever-so-slight floral and earthy scent. It’s greenish-yellow in color and the taste is thirst quenching and sweet. At first sip it almost tasted like ‘toast’ but then morphed into a sweet and buttery delight!

I’m all out of this now…actually, I think I am out of all my Norbu stuff…double boo hiss…I will miss…

Backlogging from yesterday. Totally forgot to log…busy day!

Only 1 more helping left tho…sigh…

I love me some Ali Shan

Norbu sure does know how to do an Ali Shan, let me tell you! Brace yourselves…

I like this Ali Shan better than Adagio’s!

:)

You can’t get any more pure of a coloring than this! Oh-so-slight yellowish clear liquid.

A Slight floral/sweet grass scent interrupted by a lovely sweetness both in scent and taste! It’s so refreshing I would do backflips if I could!

Awesome!