A representative Man Zhuan style tea, with prominent forest honey fragrance and the deeper/darker taste profile that we seek in teas from this mountain.
We are happy to be able to share this selection from Man Lin, a tea garden which has not been promoted as widely as its neighbors Walong or Peach Village. Despite (or maybe due to) that, ecological conditions here have been kept in excellent shape, with lovely old arbor gushu trees growing interspersed with medium and big trees. The gardens have not been overpicked.
Given the super low yields in early April this year, farmer Zhang only managed to produce a tiny amount of gushu maocha for us. Processed beautifully as always by himself and his wife personally, in their copper woks.
TASTING NOTES
Very interesting tea that yields varied sessions and is quite sensitive to brewing technique. First brews are thick with wildhoney sweetness surrounding a core of damp mossy wood. Mid-session, even as the tea appears to fade, patience and a slightly firmer hand will coax out new dimensions of yellow stonefruit sugars and deep forest character reminiscent of lichen, rocky streams and forest floor. The tea soup is smooth, rich with pectin.
TERROIR
Man Lin village sits in Man Zhuan (one of the 6 famous tea mountains), but is far less well-known than its famous neighbors like Wa Long and Peach Village. Bordering on Yibang, this area has a mix of medium and small leaf varietals growing together; small amounts of "cat-ear" style small-leaf tea is also sometimes picked here.
