ZSL? Another cryptic name and there are already so many in the puerh space.
It stands for Zheng Si Long, which is the brand that Mr. Zheng owns.
When I first read about this name on a puerh website, I though I must be dreaming!
Beforehand, this name was only known to me by reading Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic.
I can’t recommend this book enough, if you want to dive deeper in the culture of puerh drinking and many
other facts around it. Maybe one day I will write an own post on that book, which it totally deserves.
Reading this book, Mr. Zheng was introduced as a tea master and became a legend to me.
And it turned out that he was contacted by a small tea shop, that specializes on - well puerh, duh!
So let’s see what ZSL products have to offer.
This is about a 2018 sheng from Xishuangbanna region. More particular from Mang Zhi mountain. This is one of the six famous tea mountains in Xishuangbanna.
It starts off quite mildly, with only some grassy flavours.
Later on fruity notes and a pleasant bitterness join in.
The steepings are pretty consistent and don’t loose strength quickly. Although there is not much variance in additional sensations to the ones arising from the first few steepings already.
In later stages some touch of honey manifests and the fruitiness intensifies.
This is a great beginner beginner tea!
To be quite honest, I had some higher hopes for this tea, due to the great Mr. Zheng. On the other hand it is still rather on the low-budget side.
As a daily drink, it is a good one, but it is not the best.
Rating
3/5
Tasting Diagram
Statistics & Reference
- Brewing time: From a few seconds to one minute for the last steepings
- Purchased for 2.3 £
- Vendor & Link https://tea-encounter.com/product/zsl-2018-mang-zhi/