I think this is the most easily accessible of our 2010 puerh productions this year. The flavour is fresh and pure, composed of 100% old tree leaves from trees averaging around 400 years old growing around Manmai village in the Bada region of Xishuangbanna. The processing was excellent, with each stage done entirely by hand. The rolling was tight, which compromises the visual appearance of the leaves in the pressed cake, but produces much more endurance throughout the infusions.
The flavour is fresh and pure, with a nice bitterness (ku wei) leading to a long lasting sweet aftertaste in the mouth. An excellent introduction for newcomers to old tree puerh or a high quality cake for the seasoned collector.
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Manmai 2010 Review by Sebastien
This is a good, well balanced and fresh-tasting puerh. It is greener than wooded and delivers a pleasant finish. This tea has a real bitterness which contributes to the strength and the length of the aftertaste, but that is not too intrusive. If brewing durations are too long, bitterness increases constrast, but also creates an imbalance : the liquor loses its freshness and simplicity.
This is not a transcendent tea, I did not find anything special but it would be dishonest to say that he is not drunk with pleasure. Highlights of this tea for me: turn green / fresh / plant, its relative power, its simplicity.
Weakness: It is no surprise, a little disappointing next to the other EOT 2010 cakes. (Posted on 26/11/2011) -
A tea with a lot of power Review by David B
When I brew this tea near the 1g of tea to 1oz of water ratio, I get a powerful cup of sheng with a nice level of bitterness with a lingering flavor (almost akin to an oolong floral/fruitiness) that leaves sweetness and coolness on the lips; my mouth quickly goes abuzz, The tea has a strong draw to it as well that gives it a lip-smacking quality. A very interesting tea, and I am intrigued to see how it changes with age! (Posted on 16/11/2011)
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2010 EoT Manmai Review by CM
I found this tea to be quite mild in flavour: fresh and grassy, with a little mouthwatering astringency at the end. Brewed fairly strong, the first couple of infusions produced some interesting musky scents in the teapot lid. Later infusions were more floral, slightly rough on the tongue, and left a faint scent of honey in the empty cup. (Posted on 21/09/2011)
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Drink it now Review by DBJ
This tea is very light with a healthy kuwei, although it has seemed to bulk up a little bit in the first year and a half of its life. The taste of this tea has that grassy delicious flavor that I have come to associate with Bada (possibly incorrectly). This is the 2010 EoT tea that I find myself reaching for most when I want a young sheng. It is very easy to drink (maybe too easy for some ), and has a very clean energetic cha qi. I fear I need to order another cake or to if I want to see this tea through to old age. (Posted on 16/09/2011)
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A good clean sheng Review by RC
I completely agree with the product description - this is a good, light sheng. It is the first of the EoT puerhs that I tried, sometime back.
Be careful with your brewing though. When I first started brewing young sheng I was using times that were too long and hence too bitter. I would recommend that you start with somewhere between 3 and 8 seconds (depending on your personal preference and tolerance for bitterness). I usually start by rinsing the tea for 20 seconds and letting the tea sit for a minute or two, sometimes longer. I then start with a first infusion time of about 8 seconds (some people go even shorter). I usually use a slightly shorter second infusion time, around 5 seconds. I then usually try a few more steepings of 5 - 10 seconds before gradually increasing it to 20 or 30 seconds and then perhaps even longer. Each tea is somewhat different though.
Like more or all of the other EoT young sheng, this tea is very "clean" in taste and slightly floral. I see no need to let it age!
(Posted on 12/09/2011)