There Must Be a Bada Way 2023
There Must Be a Bada Way 2023 finds the Puerh Junky in unusually high spirits, as Los Angeles has been sunny and blue. Soft trade winds blow in from the Pacific and the stash is blossoming. It’s been a long cold spell and most of the Collection decided to hibernate through it.
One orphan that took advantage of the cold was the ’08 Orange Mark by Everlasting TF, based in Shenzhen. They do an oft-mentioned production offered through an English-language vendor based in HK. The storage so overwhelmed me, I thought to try one of Everlasting’s under their own label from a vendor I’d already gotten some very solid Xinghai ripes. In Feb 23 the production was very, very humid but the taste was not rotten or green. After three months it was spectacular: sweet and camphory with the storage not being flawlessly executed.
The ’05 Bulang Wild Big Tree seems virtually impervious to huge changes. Another treasure with marvelous storage to go along with a smoky-mouthwash-y taste and nose. This Fuhai production could possibly be crowned champion of Gloom ’23.
So much for the past when the present is much Bada? Well, not so much, only two cakes left forever. A different hydration scheme has been affect, which itself is affected by the weather. The change is toward more hydration of the Zhongcha box. It’s hard to say but the ’04 Orange Mark was much more aromatic and expressive of the “Circus Peanut” orange that had drawn me.
Today was Bada Peacock‘s turn. I ended up a 12.5g chunk from the center of the cake which couldn’t be broken or needled any smaller without risking personal injury. I threw it in my largest gaiwan, maybe 175ml. The first infusion was about five minutes and the second about three 15m later. A seriously compressed cake. These first two had a muffled quality. It’s stored in plastic. By the third another 15m I could work it open into three slightly separated parts.
Of course, these specs are based purely upon density. It would be insane to brew 12 plus grams under normal circumstances and brewing it for so long would require a great deal of diluting to salvage. Not opening virtually guarantees that the full character will not come through. At the same time, crumbling chunks apart goes overboard, especially with tuo which are meant to diffuse more slowly.
The full character comes through with the Bada. The nose on the is vanilla and brown sugar and the texture velvet smooth with a layer of subtle yet extremely complex broth that coats the mouth in light-brown sugar and a subtle accent of wintergreen.
Earlier in the year Bada Peacock certainly didn’t have the dynamism it has now. Now it’s the best it’s ever been. There’s a puzzling metallic note that has never left but now it’s only in the huigan and several minutes later, but it lingers, making you think of what you just drank, adjusting your tongue in your mouth and detecting afternotes on the exhale. The qi was noticeable in the first two infusions. Stopped after 3 rounds in order to share, but the thought did cross my mind to tap out.
