Description
Due to our limited quantity, please only 1 whole cake per customer.
A “gift” cake that Chang Tai Tea Factory produced in 2004 to prepare for the upgrading to Chang Tai Tea Manufacturing Group in 2005. The whole cake is very representative of the characters that Chang Tai has held fast to very well: (1) blending that is based on mao cha of semi-wild (old plantations) big-tree leaves, (2) sun-dried, (3) stone-molding, (4) reasonable price. When I first tried this 2004 cake in 2006, the maturity in its taste/aroma impressed me a lot.
Old Hou De Tasting note in 2006:
Robust woody fragrance prevails abundantly in the dry cake and the first few liquors. Some smokiness can be detected in the first few brews but subdues quickly. Then, the woody tone gradually yields to more floral quality. The liquor is light brown with a tint of orange-red in it, with very good clarity. The taste has Chang Tai’s trademark sweet aftertaste. The sign of aging starts to show promisingly: light fruity acidity, some degree of roundness in the taste, and little veggie feeling. Though the overall taste is still having too much tingling and intensity, I am pleased to see a clear aging potential. In 5 years, it shall reach a better balance and delivers a more complex aroma/taste/layer.
You can find the pictures of this cake we took in 2006. It’s very interesting to compare the pictures of the liquor we took in 2006 vs. we took in 2020. It shows a remarkable transformation of the color of the liquor – and you can correlate that to its overall aging.
Even after almost 15 years of meditation in Houston storage, I am surprised to find this is still a tea full of strong characters: viscous, still slight smokiness, sweet fruit on the attack and full-bodied, bitterness, and decent amount of tannins still. Quite viscous (I know I said it already). I would not say it has reached a good balance, as you will find it surprisingly dynamic. Flavors and aftertaste are both long and lingering, with great durability as this tea seems to have a lot to give. Exciting aging potential.
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