pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
This is one worth writing about….White 2 Tea’s 1998 Aged Yiwu Sheng
As many others would state, I am fond of Yiwu teas since they tend to be flavorful, mellow and smooth. This 1998 is the oldest Yiwu leaf I’ve had. Just as expected it is mellow and smooth with a prominent brown sugar sweetness and a silk-like body is found in the sip. Nice aftertaste which lingers and the tea left me quite relaxed after the session. Great longevity yielding many, many flavorful resteeps – I steeped the same leaves eight times and I’m still doing 5 second infusions. Overall sweet, dense, and pleasant. The quality of these aged Yiwu leaves is something to admire – this is one amazing tea!
Sil – this was a sample. It would definitely blow the tea budget for quite awhile but I guess the question is probably about quality and distinctiveness vs. price. Is this one tea equal in quantity to (7) $50 Dayi with just a few years of age on them? No. However, I can tell you quite honestly that it is definitely much more memorable. IMHO this one is closer to the highly regarded Yiwu teas from the past many of us have heard about and you can’t find leaf like this anymore. The longevity is also much greater than any tea I’ve had – 8 rounds and I never went longer than 5 seconds. I’ll certainly continue tomorrow and the next day.
amazing! glad to hear it :) I just always want to get cakes…always worried i’ll fall in love with it and not be able to get it lol
DigniTea I tried to find this on their website and am having a hard time trying to decided which one it is. Would you please post a link to it on their site. Thank you. :))
Dexter – sorry, looks like he might have sold out. There were 3 left when I ordered and a note that said “Backorders allowed” but maybe he sold the last ones and found he could not purchase anymore. If he finds more, I know he’ll add it back. I just sent him a note asking about it.
Thanks for your help!!! I’m doing research for an order and this sounded like one I would like. If you do hear back that they are/will be available would really appreciate a little nudge. Steepster people are the best!!!
dex – if you think you might place an order with white 2 white, let me know..it’s on my list of need to later.
Sil – I’m looking at placing an order of some samples. I don’t know anything about high end pu’erh so am doing some research first. Will let you know, if you want in on it.
I am looking to replace this tea with a more affordable tea from 2003 made with Yibang material. It is not as smooth, but has more structure. Still working out the details on this tea, not 100% yet.
Today I am sampling 2013 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Mang Fei Raw Pu-erh tea cake from a local tea friend who ordered from YS and got this as a free sample but does not enjoy raw pu. Syrupy thick liquor, nice bold flavor which is not too sweet or too bitter but has plenty of flavor. Floral overtones round it out. Lingering taste on my tongue and real nice Monday morning boosting cha qi!
Nama Unfermented autumn 2013 Harvest – Really nice sheng. It has some good punch to it and the dry, sweet astringency, lingers inside the mouth. Taste like a cross of a Bada & Yiwu mountains. Very very pleasant.
Drank the 1999 Tai Eng “Koko Tea” tonight. Bought a sample of this expensive puerh with my last order from Yunnan Sourcing. It was a disappointment with a lot of fermentation flavor. I would have thought a 1999 tea would have aged to the point of no fermentation flavor but this one had a lot. Glad I only bought a sample as it costs $120 a bing.
Hey hey!
MIsty Peak Teas has a new Autumn harvest out. Just picked last week and is up for sale already on the website :) Raw Puer
use the discount code: ilovepuer for all us in this discussion :) FREE 30 Gram loose leaf Puer of our 2014 Autumn Raw Puer as well when purchase of bing.
You know, I was actually wondering when the Autumn harvest from this year was coming out. I gladly ordered one.
I’ve been drinking 2008 “Often”, from White2Tea december box. I’m still drinking it, but this will probably be the last cup. Flavorwise, I don’t really have much to say, but I have a good vibe going, it seems to have helped my migraine, & I’m headed off to the bubble bath.
I got one of these with my Black Friday order and I haven’t broken into it yet – might need to soon. I need the good vibe thing and I’m not quite up for Naka right now as I have things to do.
Good morning! I wanted to post here and let you all know that everything in our store is on sale. It’s all 10% off for just today only. Enjoy!
– http://crimsonlotustea.com/blogs/news/16241265-last-chance-for-christmas-sale-10-off-everything
Spending the afternoon with White 2 Tea’s 2005 Naka sheng.
Naka is in the Mengsong tea growing region and generally I enjoy Mengsong teas and their elegant character. Early brews are a bit light in taste with a slight hint of smoke but these characteristics change in later cups. There is a light underlying bitterness in the early sips. Even with the first cups, there is a very pleasant aftertaste which continues throughout the tea session. The activity in the mouth is persistent and good. In later cups I discover a low, dark sweetness which is rather enjoyable. The qi is strong and obvious with this one. Lovely tea that works hard to put the mind at rest – in fact, silencing the mind allowing you to feel the peace of the moment. The price is high but the quality matches the price.
I LOVE this description. I haven’t reviewed a lot of teas lately (I’ll probably flood my profile with backlogs I have yet to put up), but I agree with you in this one. I never got tea-drunk from it, it just seemed to sooth me into relaxing/not caring about anything, but the moment. It was a good sensation and a good change from more ‘aggressive’ Cha Qi.
‘dark sweetness’ I use this a lot, but some people don’t understand what I mean by it. To me it usually means ‘richer’ notes, like a dark brown caramel, dried dark fruits (dates, raisins, etc), maple and sweet notes that carry obvious bitter/tart characters like chocolate and molasses(burnt sugar too). Is that what you meant by ‘dark sweetness’?
Yes that is what I was thinking about this sweetness – not candy and cake sweet – but a more natural sweet that works well with what becomes a very subtle bitter in he tea.
Ha! Cool, I loved this about this cake. I have to admit that my latest sample of it had the smoke you described, but the previous piece was a lot more mellow, I think it only lasted the first steep at most.
If you have it, compare it to the Fuyuanchang Yibang. Personally, I preferred Naka’s overall experience while drinking it, but loved the Yibang’s complexity and overall taste.
I’ve been enjoying & am still enjoying Jalam’s November offering, Manmai Fermented Puerh. I love being part of the Jalam tea club, & this offering is wonderful.
Fengqing Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea 2013 by Teavivre
Got this a free sample for review. It’s a rich, creamy shou. Earthy and a little chocolaty too. It starts off light and sweet and the more you brew it the richer it gets. I only did 4 infusions but it has a lot of life left in it that I’m using to raise the pot. Definitely a candidate for purchase. :)
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