One of the first YS sheng productions I tried was the 2011 Autumn Mang Fei. It didn’t leave a particularly strong impression, but I was at a very different stage of my tea journey. Today I had the second from the Mang Fei series – 2018 spring vintage. It is a nice tea with a pronounced character, but its profile doesn’t quite appeal to me personally as much as some other YS teas to be honest.
The aroma is an interesting mix of fish, dry earth, bitter melon, Mediterranean shrubs, and clay bricks. I found the taste to be very mineral, more so than any other raw pu’er I can remember. It is quite bitter and astringent with a lot of umami notes. There are flavours of vegetable broth, oregano, okra, cumin, banana skin, and a light honey towards the end of the session. The aftertaste is probably the highlight. It is long and spicy with a strong fructose sweetness and notes of cape gooseberry and curry leaf. The mouthfeel is also fairly interesting in that it is very warming and creamy.
Flavors: Astringent, Berry, Bitter, Clay, Earth, Fishy, Herbs, Mineral, Plants, Spices, Spicy, Sweet, Umami, Vegetable Broth, Vegetables, Wood
Sounds like it may need a little more time to rest…Perhaps those fishy notes will go away, then.
Perhaps, maybe 10 years or so :D
Some young Linceng teas can be disagreeable, but I have a feeling that the Mang Fei profile maybe just isn’t for me.