Puerh Rating: Grenouille
The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’06 Grenouille 100g tuo. This Kunming dry-stored raw production came on the radar during an Wuliang Mt. phase of collecting. The Puerh Junky’s tendencies are now more toward productions amidst preferred factories. According to Baidu, the Chinese wiki, the Hai Xin Tang factory has been in the game since ’93. They seem to excel both at raw and ripe productions but their variety is extremely limited to one or two productions of each.
After three rounds the total was as follows:
- Aroma 11
- Clarity 7
- Sweetness 14
- Viscosity 9
- Astringency 12
- Huigan 11
- Qi 13
Reflections
Infusion 3
Most of the time, PJRS sessions are conducted with gaiwan. Not here. This tuo is quite simply the most undervalued item in the collection. Strong vanilla. No petrol, no flowers. Brown sugar, light honey, stones, light smoke.
The sweetness of the Grenouille puerh tuo is near off the chain. Everything in the composition of this production is in the medium range. The qi expression is near immediate, stirring, expansive. Sometimes the thought when facing a tuo is to brace oneself from a cacophony of brash machismo, but such is not the case here. Generally any score above 8 on astringency is decent, and 12 qualifies as fantastic.
The picture tells you this is an ugly tea. Some people don’t care about that. I can say that if lack of clarity is an indication of completeness, which it isn’t, then this puerh tuo takes the prize. The next day it was even murkier but every bit as complete.
Conclusions
Even though the Grenouille hails from the same region of Tulin and Xiaguan, the processing methods and raw material seems to vary in terms of general quality. Hai Xin Tan is a much smaller outfit with far fewer productions and seemingly remarkable quality. In terms of depth, character, and richness, it is closest to the Peacock, LM from the same year. Puerh Rating: Longevity & Wealth
77/105, B
