2006 Bingdao Peacock – Essence of Tea
Price: £0.60 ($0.89) / g
£180 ($267.06) / 400g cake
Note: I got a 16g sample of this with my order.
Summary: Grainy, vibrant orange fruit flavour with a medium, well integrated smoke. It fills the mouth with its immediate expanding thickness. Let down by being astringent from the start and overwhelmingly bitter and harsh after only a few brews. It’s like a xiaguan tuo has been made thicker – a xiaguan tuo on steroids…
83/100
Dry: Dark brown, some silver leaves. Bumpy piece. Faint concentrated herbal – different to smoky cheese. Med compression. Smells mildly fresh.
https://www.instagram.com/p/pMiY1IDuWN-6vUi02JvDKrLTAqjOF6gJtX80
Wet: Med smoke, mellow concentrated herbal, some peach.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_pmQaNIDmTx-8kAw8-Z5FNVwJr9oICZjOnH940
Rinse: Light/med orange/golden.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_pNMmeoDvr7QA90IYA9BPGcTbUbrNaNY-rRnI0
10s – Med orange (not golden) The first sip reminds me of a Xiaguan tuo: grainy fruit with a lot of smoke behind it. Interesting. This is tasty, but then I am a fan of Xiaguan tuos. Bitterness is kept at a reasonable volume. i.e. not too high. Fruit is vibrant and obvious. It has a freshness to it. There is a slight astringency to this, so I’m guessing the material is not the best.
15s – Med orange (not golden) Fruit and smoke are well integrated. The flavour is grainy, bitter fruit riding with smoke in a simple, friendly, stimulating way. Liquor has some thickness to it. It leaves the mouth slightly dry and smoky.
20s – Heavy bitterness and too astringent. However, I like it as I like the bitter fruit in a Xiaguan tuo.
5s – Med orange. Bitterness goes under the tongue and rings. Smoke has partially cleared. There is an orange fruit note in here, which presents itself in a vibrant and juicy manner. Shame it carries heavy bitterness. Mouth is very dry.
10s – Light/med orange. Watery, bitter and some base sheng.
25s – Med orange. Lots of bitterness and astringency. The orange fruit note it still there.
Flavors: Grain, Orange
