12 February, 2008

2003 Tiandiren Shupu

Always the good evening tea, with its calming sensations and warmth of character, a good shupu is an essential member of our collection. This shupu comes courtesy of GV, who bought it in Hong Kong recently - many thanks!

Tiandiren have selected plenty of spring leaves for this cake, which have a fresh aroma of maltiness about them.

Does the above photo look a touch dark? It seems different on two different monitors!

The aroma from this burgundy-coloured soup is long-enduring, with a pleasant metallic edge that I associate with minerals. Wrap it up in a malty body, and give it a vaguely rice-like finish, and we conclude that Tiandiren can make decent shupu.

It has that rarest of qualities in shupu, a mouth-watering huigan...

In its brightest and crisp presentation, it reminds of the heady heights of the Menghai V93, though without the true complexity. The smooth texture of this tea also appealed to me.

What a pleasant way to fight off a cold February. Thanks again to GV.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want you to know that we are aggregating your blog entries on the Twinings site. You'll notice your site is on the blog roll and your posts can be found on the top tea blogs page. We would appreciate a link to the Twinings Tea blog on your blog roll or links section too. While we may not be posting all the blog entries from your site, we attempt to post all your entries pertaining to tea drinking.

Hobbes said...

Dear Dennis,

I had not come across the Twinings blog before, thank you for the note. I look forward to reading it over the next few weeks.


Thanks again, and toodlepip,

Hobbes

toki said...

Hi Hobbes,
Is that an incense vessel next to the tea cup? If yes, What kind of incense do you prefer? -T

Hobbes said...

Dear Toki,

Good eyes! It is indeed. I like the scent of Mass, my wife likes the scent of Buddhist temples. That says quite a lot about us. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

toki said...

I can imagine the feel of your tea environment based on your choice/s : ) For me aloe wood is my favorite. Cheers - Toki

Hobbes said...

Interesting, the only aloe that gets grown in our house is ground down into skin-cream for my wife. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes