Picked from 4-500 year old trees growing near Mannuo village, Mengwang district, Xishuangbanna, this tea has been completely handprocessed.
The flavour is very fresh and exceptionally pure and clean. There is a hint of bitterness (kuwei), which transforms quickly in the mouth to leave a long lasting huigan.
The body of the liquid is medium thick to begin with, growing thicker with the first few infusions. It coats the mouth and throat, stimulating saliva. The qi is strong & invigorating for the body and mind.
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Best yet Review by David
Wow I am blown away by this tea. I am not real big on flavor descriptors. But this tea is a flavor bomb (no it doesn't taste like gun powder). The taste explodes into every corner of your mouth and changes as your tea cools in the cup. I pick up on what shah8 says regarding the LBZ feel to it. It definitely has a bitterness in the front of your mouth that changes instantly to sweetness. I around the fourth infusion the huigan really kicks in. The taste will not leave your mouth making me want to take a good long time to savor the aftertaste between sips. This tea is special. (Posted on 27/09/2011)
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A very good young Review by edp
Usually, I don't drink a lot young pu er teas, buying some to keep them for a very long time.
This year, I didn't buy 2011 EoT teas. But I won the first ManNuo and tried it as soon as possible.
This was a very good surprise. For me, it is difficult to find some interest in a young sheng pu er, but here there were many !
Qi is strong but not much, activation of meridians has a long duration, flavours are complex. The leaves are really beautiful. I kept them two days in a zhong, and they gave me back a very beautiful fruity perfume I didn't had during drinking the tea. The bing itself has a wonderful perfume !
Thanks for this, a very good choice and I'll have a look on 2012 version!
My mark 5/5
(Posted on 12/09/2011) -
Broad, Deep, and Wonderful Review by the_skua
Excerpt from my blog post at: http://tea.theskua.com/?p=622
Generally, I’m not the biggest fan of bud-heavy, super-tippy tea, preferring the complexity, roundedness, and vigor of large-leaf pu’er. The Mannuo is incredibly bud-heavy and I love it. For me, this tea combines the fleeting, ephemeral lightness of say the ’11 Nannuo with the intense, alkaline power of the ’11 Bulang in a harmony that makes it both eminently drinkable and completely intriguing. And unlike my experience with the other ’11 EoTs, the qi on the Mannuo is upfront, quick, and deep in a way that’s pleasing, enveloping and enjoyable.
Following my now-regular two session run, this morning I cranked up the leaf ratio to 7g in 80mL from the 5g I use when I try a new tea. What’s interesting about this is that from a potency perspective, there’s absolutely no reason to use more leaf with this tea. I spent yesterday afternoon in a jittery, over-caffeinated tizzy. Somehow, though, the flavors and textures significantly benefit from the extra leaf, amplifying the intense honey, apricot, and hazlenut flavors and deepening the balance between supple sweetness and gripping back-palate bite. (Posted on 08/09/2011) -
Interesting Review by shah8
The tea combines traits from Mengsong and Jingmai, with some Bada. The high end of the flavor spectrum can be green grassier, like a Bada, or more brown grass/bamboo.
The tea is very strong and filling in terms of flavor in the mouth. Much, much, more so than new Essence of Tea teas last year. While it has the Mengsong tendency to contain water taste, there is a great deal of fruit atop Banna leather and mushroom. While there is subtlety, you don't have to look far for flavor fireworks.
The tea does have excellent aromas, but I always forget to savor it when I start drinking.
The tea is about as sweet as the Essence of Tea Bangwai is right now...it's quite sweet.
The tea is *very* minerally, and some sips have mineral water tastes.
The tea is very active in the mouth and throat. Some Mengsong teas are offered as Lao Banzhang substitutes because of the activity in the mouth, and this Man Nuo does have a touch of Lao Banzhang style freshness and pungency in the mouth.
Good narcotic qi that acts on the head and back.
Moderate propensity to huigan, when it does, it's not short in length, moderately complex.
One notable feature is that some cups have the feature of having a very strong after swallow taste on the front of the tongue. So one sips, swallows, enjoys huigan, quiet, then new taste. Was very cool.
Quality of the bitterness is good, plenty of it, fades in later brews. Tastes pretty good.
This tea can last more than 15 infusions, sometimes a bit rough in the end, sometimes butterscotch candy.
(Posted on 06/09/2011)