pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

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DigniTea said

This is my second day with the 2011 Autumn Xi Kong from Yunnan Sourcing (purchased due to an older tasting note found on Hobbes’ blog). I enjoy both Manzhuan and Yi Bang shengs and Xi Kong shares many characteristics with these two. Even though this is from an autumnal harvest, it is powerful and full of character with solid endurance (11 infusions so far). Somewhat surprising to me but I have found a few 2011 autumn shengs from YS that are definitely worth purchasing. Note: as suggested, I did increase my leaf amount by about a third since this is from an autumn harvest.

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Yang-chu said

2006 Wuliang Shou Fu Tea Brick by Haixin Tang— Has that tobaccoey, mediciney Wuliang character, sweet too. Tasty complexity, a heady one to boot. Very serious yun, tinglying in the mouth about 10 min or so. Thick mouth-feel, expands the chest. Very big thumbs up. Haixin is in the same neck of the woods as Tulin. Patient noted, oh I like this one because it doesn’t have any of those floral notes.

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Cwyn said

2007 Yang Pin Hao from Sample Teas, single sample. Tobacco, medicinal, oddly brown and burnt looking. Not terribly bitter. I have a feeling this is going to include a laxative effect. No noticeable caffeine or qi effects. Glad it is only a sample and I have better things to drink. JC has posted an excellent and thorough note on this tea that I cannot improve upon.

JC said

“I have a feeling this is going to include a laxative effect.” lol Puerh can do that sometimes. Sometimes a blessing, sometimes you planned to go out with friends and regret your Puerh session.

And thanks for the compliment on my note. Also, I just had CWS’ 2006 Long yu Brand Bulangshan Jin Cha Raw. I think it is a better version of these notes. The huigan is very pleasant, and it has a strong bitter front that makes me want to experiment with butter tea.

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Rich select said

Drinking a 2012 Long Yuan Hao, Aged Scent, a sample from Dragon Tea House. I think it was Yang-chu who recommended this factory, so I thought I’d give it a try. The tea came in mini squares, which I wasn’t expecting. The tea is very good. Smooth, no bitterness or crumbs in the tea. Some twigs in the mix. It has that perfumy flavor, is that the aged scent? What is aged scent anyway? It is on the light side, even with two squares in the brew (about 9g total). Pretty flavorful throughout the session, even when the tea got light.

Incidentally, on the package, it says ‘no pesticides’ in addition to things like no additives. This seems like a complete fabrication on the part of Dragon Tea House as I’m pretty sure they don’t test the tea. I think they are saying they didn’t add anything to the tea rather than trying to say something about the tea itself. I have mixed feelings about DTH, they mostly have good stuff and a great selection, but they can also be misleading, and I think intentionally so when it suits them.

Rich select said

Maybe I spoke too soon. Puershop says that Longyuan Hao is a certified organic factory. I perhaps am colored by a previous negative experience with them.

Yang-chu said

You know, I went back to the Long Yuan Hao that I got a few weeks back and it has thinned out considerably. It’s still very good but nothing like when I first got it. Very clear and everyone has noted how fruity tasting it is.
Most of the Chinese sellers note that such and such product is made without pesticides. Dunno if this is supposed to speak for the production of the actual stuff in the field, but I suppose so. I don’t believe any of it, btw. That goes for stuff labeled “organic” even here in the States. “Aged Scent”—that Chen Xiang, ya know. The Nannuo brick and the minis seems a little more interesting.

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DigniTea said

1997 CNNP 7581 Recipe Shu Brick from Yunnan Sourcing
The tea highlights the beauty of the leaf in repeated brews with full body and strong fragrances. Bold and flavorful is the best way to describe my overall impression of this tea. Built upon a base of musty wood but there is so much more here. This is a wonderful example of a dry stored shu with nice age on it. Overall you have a sweet woody mouth feel with a mellow, sweet aftertaste that builds over a series of infusions. The flavor profile features notes of wet earth, wood, tobacco, berries, camphor and smoke all working together so very well. This blend is definitely done right and it is a very fine ripe tea.

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Cwyn said

2012 Dong Zhuang Qing Zhuan Hubei green heicha. Very compressed, poor leaf quality, takes forever to get the pressed square to start to open up. Starts to taste a bit floral after a few steeps. Meant to be boiled and then milk/salt added. Mild compared to black tea heicha. Supposedly good for beef eaters’ digestion! I’ll keep at it since it is just opening up still after four steeps but nothing can be done about the bad leaf, so twiggy and just mush for leaf.

Yang-chu said

More than one source swears by the twigs. Have you done any comparative experimenting to determine the truth to this view?

Cwyn said

Twigs need to be boiled for several minutes to extract anything from woody cellulose. If I’m not planning to boil the tea, they have no appreciable flavor. It is just a fact based on cellular structure.

Yang-chu said

As I have understood those speaking of twigs, it has to do with what they do to the aging of the tea, especially the larger grade leaves. Again, dunno.

Cwyn said

Are they people trying to sell tea?

JC said

I want to try making some butter tea, but I don’t have any guidance for the ratios I should use so I haven’t gotten to it yet.

Yang-chu said

Not all, though what is communicated is the same in terms of aging the tea…
  二、为什么需要茶梗?

  由于茶梗影响了茶叶的美观,人们往往忽视了茶梗的优点,对茶梗总是不屑一顾,甚至还认为有茶叶梗或茶叶梗较多的茶叶,就一定是劣质的茶叶。殊不知,茶梗对茶叶制作和泡出的口感品质也有着非常重要的作用。

  1.口感的需要

  明朝屠隆《茶笺》载:“采茶不必太细,细则芽初萌而味欠足;不必太青,青则茶已老而味欠嫩;须谷雨前后,觅成叶带微绿而园且厚老为尚。”成熟之叶尽管有些苦涩成分,但整枝内含成分并不比幼嫩的一芽一二叶低,且根据茶学专家的研究,采摘的嫩茎其中含有大量的氨基酸(主要是茶氨酸)、香气物质、茶多糖,其含量远大于茶叶中的含量。

  茎梗中的维管束是养分和香气的主要输导组织,所含物质大部分是水溶性的,茶叶在加工过程中,香气从梗中随水分蒸发转移到叶中,这些物质转移到叶片后,与叶片的有效物质结合转化形成更高更浓的香味品质。所以,要有适当的茶梗才能制出香高味浓的茶叶,而茶梗的长度则根据茶类品种和花色不同而有所不同。

  氨基酸是一种重要的滋味物质,在茶汤中起着鲜、甜滋味的主体和调合作用,同时对茶叶香气的形成有着重要影响。嫩梗中的氨基酸含量比芽叶多的多,特别是其中的茶氨酸,嫩梗的含量比芽叶高1-3倍(表4)。这主要是由于茶氨酸在根部合成,经木质部输送到地上部分之后,一部分产生谷氨酸参与茶树氮代谢,另一部分在新梢中积累,所以嫩梗中氨基酸(特别是茶氨酸)含量高。

Cwyn said

The only logic in this is the idea that the stems can be evaluated as a clue to old tree versus young tree. The same information can be obtained examining the vein in the leaf, and on stems that contain leaf material. Any herbalist knows twigs and roots need to be boiled to extract any material. But grades of leaf are leaf, not twigs. Twigs in puerh give you an idea of how much sorting went into the processing, and if there are tons of twigs, less sorting went into the production. And more twigs adds up in weight so you are paying for a gram percentage of twigs rather than leaf.

This tea is a minority tea which is cheap and will be boiled by the people drinking it. So the stems don’t matter so much for the end consumer. But this type of tea is inferior, and the twiggy composition is just one of those signs.

Javan said

Cwyn, I appreciate your information about leaf and twigs. Thanks!

Yang-chu said

I’ll admit, I know little about this matter and what with modern measures there’s all the more reason to favour particular perspectives more than others. Here’s the link that provides some interesting charts about the constituents of particular leaf parts. http://www.puercn.com/chayenews/cyzs/72170.html If I’m not mistaken there’s no mention of how they extracted the elements beyond water extraction, i.e, boiling or otherwise.
Curiously, all things being equal, I’d assume that those commenting on that which is imparted by parts of the tea tree would be clear about what is what. The charts seem to support this, though I could be reading it altogether wrong. From just a cursory examination of the text in its original, there seems to be an emphasis on what the “geng” provide in the context of transformation. Have little reason to doubt this logic given the charts, specificity and the lack of commercial interest. Maybe your access to the link can provide additional clarification on the matter of leaf age vis stem and whatever else.

Cwyn said

I’m just going to assume you’ve taken a temporary leave of your senses due to being tea drunk. Otherwise it would seem like you have no experience with herbs, which I find hard to believe. Herbs 101, prepare a simple bark syrup with or without root herbs. http://www.ehow.com/how_5681649_make-cherry-bark-cough-syrup.html

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AllanK said

Spent the afternoon with an excellent ripe tea from Streetshop88, the 2005 yr 357g Yunnan Yiwu Aged Ancient Tree Ripe Puerh. This tea was quite good for the price of less than $30. While it is impossible to tell if it is truly ancient tree, the strength of the tea lends credence to the claim in my opinion. At the very least it was a tea with no fermentation flavor at all. It was slightly bitter in the early infusions and slightly sweet. It developed over ten steeps to a nice sweet ripe puerh. It had none of the unpleasant tastes often associated with older ripe puerh. In particular no taste of wet wood or bamboo. This was excellent tea at a bargain price.

Rich select said

Sounds yummy. Any other recommendations from Streetshop88?

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I’m on my second day of the sample of the 2008 Menghai Dayi “Song of Chi Tse” shou graciously given to me by boychick. I’m glad I let it rest overnight, it became a much happier shupu after a good night’s rest. I rinsed it twice and did three flash brews, and the color and flavor were quite light. This morning and afternoon, it became a much richer color, texture and flavor. Hot summer rain and wet moss notes combined with some nice cocoa and mushrooms. I had to take a break earlier, I was getting a bit too teadrunk on it!

SarsyPie said

Ooooohhh… still one of my all time faves!

MzPriss said

I like that one too!

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Rich select said

Man Tang Hong Te Ji ripe from Yunnan Sourcing today. Very bitter, but still quite tasty and good quality.

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Rich select said

Today I drank 2009 Yong De Da Xue Shan Wild Arbor Raw by finepuer.com
I decided to buy a cake of this based on the positive reviews by DigniTea and TeaDb. I don’t regret it, but some of you might since I got one of the last cakes, Finepuer is now sold out of it. It is a beauty. Nice golden color, very hearty and thick, very little bitterness. I got tea drunk for sure, coming down off that high was a bit of a downer! Very energizing. Floral and sweet, but not overly so. I think this will continue to get better with age, I am glad I have one for the collection.

MzPriss said

I bought one of these too and will likely regret not getting two.

DigniTea said

Because tastes vary so much, I am never certain that others will like a tea as much as I do. This is a special tea and I am delighted to hear that you also enjoy it.

mrmopar said

DigniTea I think your notes reflect the taste of many of us. I always know you find some good ones out there and some that may be overlooked.

Cwyn said

Ditto on what mrmopar said. A lot of us now, a group mind going on. I’m gonna leave my Yongde in the plastic and get/make a shadow box frame for it to hang on the wall. With the big leaf on the front of it, is like art and I don’t want to just stuff it away someplace where I can’t see it.

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