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Sirentian drank Big Snow Mountain of Mengku Black Tea by Yunnan Sourcing

261 tasting notes

I have the 2022 Spring harvest of this from Yunnan Sourcing.

Dry leaf smells incredibly sweet, and tangy, like red stone fruit––i’m getting really strong dried apricots and ripe plums
When warmed, scent did not grow stronger the way most leaves do when warmed, but I did get a hint of tobacco smoke this time.

1st infusion (90˚C, 0:20)
- Wet leaf smoky note has been toned down, now smells and tastes like fragrant woodsmoke instead of tobacco.
- Liquor has some woody astringency and tiny bit of maltiness that reminds me of Taiwanese #18, I think that’s the Assamica quality of the Yunnan leaves coming through––but not as malty or chocolatey as #18, more just woody and citrusy. Still, this will be a great replacement for my Namsang Assam breakfast tea after I finish the last 10-20g remaining. The aftertaste on this tea was quite basic/vulgar, made me lower its rating a bit.
Rating: 81

2nd infusion (91˚C, 0:30)
- I noticed the leaves are really whole and large – not a single leaf fragment escapes into the cup from my gaiwan.
- Liquor is more delicious, flavourful now, getting a strong note of lemons now in the aroma and general citrus like Meyer lemon in the flavour.
Rating: 83

3rd infusion (92˚C, 0:50)
- Still flavourful, but marked astringency now. Great for pairing with food
Rating: 79

Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Citrus, Lemon, Malt, Plum, Smoke, Sweet, Tobacco, Wood

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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