pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
Having a Mang Fei offering from the TeaUrchin tonight.
I am brewing this up after a couple of days to read it a bit better.
I started anew on this one as it is time for a formal note.
I got 10 grams to start this one out with. I gave a quick rinse and let it sit a while. The wet leaf aroma was wet hay with a sweet note to it.
I did 3 quick steeps to start with. The color is a nice gold hue.
The cup carries the typical Mang Fei bite but it is much subdued from there. The bitter fades quickly in this one. It is brash but not overpowering. The liquor is thick on the palate.
I get the sweetness as described and the Huigan is nice.
This is full thick and bitter early that quickly becomes a sweeter tea with a nice lingering aftertaste . I would cal this the Gentleman’s Mang Fei.
Gong Fu and just under boiling to brew.
Flavors: Sweet, Bitter, Hay, Freshly Cut Grass
I have spent time over the past two days enjoying this tea — 2006 Mengku Mangbo Mountain Raw.
For some time now, I have been a fan of teas from the Mengku area (think Bingdao, DaXueShan, MuShuCha teas). The ShuangJiang Mengku Tea Co. has made a reputation specializing in productions from this area. A few months ago I stumbled upon this gem and I must say that it is a very fine production from S.Mengku’s factory. Beautiful whole leaves from high mountain trees found in a single grove of “ancient tea trees”. Loosely compressed cake with over 8 years maturation in China. Smooth drinking, brass colored tea liquor. Apricot-like nectar with good mouthfeel and an appealing cooling effect. Nice longevity as well – 10 rich steeps. This is a good one!
Morning brew: 2009 Liming Jing Pin Gong Cha Ripe by Chawangshop.
Another solid ripe from Chawangshop, and a bargain at $7 for a 100g cake. They say it is one of the best ripes they’ve ever tried. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is good tea. A little bitterness, some chocolate, and very little fish. Deep and rich, hearty and earthy, a little sweet, not too complex.
Figured I should ask this here instead of making a new topic (lol). So.. when I use my puerh pick tool to break off from a cake, should I gradually shimmy-ing my pick back and fourth until enough individual pieces have loosened? Or should I just be using the pick to dig more into the middle and break/cut off a SINGLE chunk to brew?
Also wondering your guys brewing ratios for water-to-tea. Sometimes I hear 1g per 1oz, other times I’ve heard as much as 7g to 3oz. Is this just drastically different based on each puerh?
For shou I think a chunk is fine. For Sheng I try to work out peices from the cake. The amount you use for tea and water is something I think most are different on. Best case is experiment and adjust for your tastes from there.
The point of using the pick is to try to keep the leaves whole. I generally drive the pick into the side, thin edge of the cake and gently pry or wiggle the pick until it is loosened but I don’t force it. I repeat the process about an inch away from the first hole I made and either do this around the whole cake until I can pry it apart into to disc halves or until I have a naturally releasing piece I can brew if I’m trying to keep the cake intact. That’s how I do it at least.
good news and bad news:
i was able to try some puerh from teavivre but am unable to review…my palate is admittedly undeveloped still to sense the nuances so i will have to drink more (i think this is half good-half bad haha)
i think i like the taste of sheng better but the bitterness!!! shou is more drinkable tho not as tasty. so i guess i will continue to have both! (good news haha)
i got my first ever gaiwan! i chose the thin porcelain one over the thicker cheaper ceramic (i think it is porcelain!) so it’s easier to hold. isn’t it a bit fat tho? https://instagram.com/p/8Vly5IAsi6/?taken-by=yssah29
Not all shengs will be so bitter, for really young fresh ones you can drop steep temps and time to help combat that as well. As they age out the bitterness will fade and the tea will generally become sweeter
When the ttb comes to you, be sure to try some Little Walk and Poundcake. Delicious shengs, both sweet and LW in particular is great if bitter isn’t your thing (it isn’t mine either). Also what Grill said about dropping steep temps and times will help a lot :-)
i tried the shorter steep with lower temp. turned out ok :)
better for handling the gaiwan too = no ouchie
i will be sure to try all of the ttb teas for review! can’t wait…and hoping that a jingmai will find it’s way into the box by the time it reaches me :) gonna hafta lookitup still.
I don’t think anyone has ever tried “all of the TTB teas”. I think there are over 70. I’d second the pound cake and little walk. There’s also a package with your name on it! (mostly cheap stuff that no one was taking from the box, but it will broaden your perspective)
i will strive for that record haha or at least try to keep my sampling to 3g each so i can get most of them. more people can try what’s there too :) box wont stay with me very long tho coz my mom just has to take out and put in tea for me.
sweet. i like broadening my perspective Dr. Jim!
I got one as well I plan on throwing in enough of for everyone to take a piece of that’s really easy to drink
haha, puerhpusher mrmo!
i hope you will be able to get the box from havetea so i can try that puerh, Grill!
Left work early and brought home yesterday’s not-quite-done w2t laochatuo. I am putting it aside for tonight. In lieu of building an ark, I have decided to hunker down, listen to the rain, and Poundcake on. Jury is still out on whether or not I’ll try to do any more work today, or just sit here in a Poundcake-induced fugue.
2006 Menghai Gongting Ripe Puerh Cake by Chawangshop.
This is the best ripe I’ve tried, so far, from Chawangshop. I went for the Power Pu this morning, with about 10g in my little yixing, doing flash steeps. The liquor for the first set of brews was thick and rich, smooth but with some bitterness. Sweet, notes of chocolate. I think their description is spot on. Great semi aged ripe tea for a great price.
Today I served a tea tasting, err Tea Drunk at the Wisconsin Fermentation Festival. About fourteen people attended the Drunk which consisted of 2015 Poundcake, 2005 Naka, 1998 Yiwu and a no-name Taobao shou. Used huge tea pots, none of this tiny cup stuff. These folks paid $25 so I wanted to make sure they stumbled out at least somewhat sated. Sent people with leftover leaves and a Baggie of samples. Even filled up a couple thermoses for the road.
I’m happy with how the 1998 Yiwu is coming along in my storage. Spicy and fruity like mince pie. Glad I chose it for the session since I had to drive my car 25 miles with no brakes. A friend didn’t finish a brake job on my car yesterday. So all in all, lucky I survived to drink another day.
Did people seem generally happy or confused with your event/class/tasting/drunk? I am guessing at a fermentation festival people are relatively open minded. How long has the 98 sat in your storage?
Today I got a package in the mail from Mr Mopar and had to start on something. I drank the Tea Urchin 2009 Guan Zi Zai Bulang and it was really good. There was a slight bitterness to it in the early steeps but not an unpleasant bitterness. There was a fruity sweetness that I totally failed to identify. This was an excellent sheng. From the color of the tea I could tell it was beginning to age but it had not had a chance to develop any unpleasant aged tastes. There was no wet storage taste either. This was just a supremely enjoyable sheng. I may have to buy it if they still have it available when I get around to placing an order from Tea Urchin.
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