pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
Today I got two puerhs in. I drank the 2001 CNNP Orange Mark Shu from White2Tea. This was a nice but not spectacular tea. It has no fermentation taste. It had a fair amount of wet storage taste or wet wood. This taste was noticeable for the first four steeps and present for all eight steeps I gave this tea. Overall this was a decent tea. I will store it for six months and try it again. The wet storage taste may yet dissipate.
Having White2Tea’s “Classic Tuo”.
Pulling this out tonight. I just remembered how hard these little tuos are compressed. I unwrapped it and put it in the breaking tray and attacked it with the big needle.
I managed to get 11 grams out, a little more than I usually brew , and got the gaiwan out.
I gave the tea a rinse that actually showed some color to it and went brewing.
I steeped about 5 seconds 3 times and went in a big cup.
The tea brews up with some hints of smoke and some greeness in the aroma. The brew is a nice surprise in the color department. It is a nice amber like a dark style honey. There may be a touch of cloudy in the brew but sometimes the tea has to settle a bit after pressing.
Sips on this give some smoke and some of the tobacco that many young shengs have.
The tea is active and getting to a thick state. It hits mainly the front tip and middle if the tongue. It has a full hit of the bitter that causes a minutes pucker and goes softer and making you salivate a bit.
Over all this is a good example of a well aged middle year sheng. Not being wet as some are with the mustiness but not super sharp like a dry stored product. Looking on the store site and this was stored loose which I am sure has helped it age a bit quicker than teas from this year.
Flavors: Bitter, Green, Smoke, Tobacco
With another year (than when I got it) on it I finally tried often! In my Duanni…
It was surprisingly good. Especially during the later steeps when I paired it with sharp cheddar (I was hungry) which brought out the best in both.
Early steeps the after taste was like I had been hitting the hookah… later steeps are delicious cactus nectar drizzled cowboy.
This isn’t going to inspire LYM level devotion in me… but certainly is an enjoyable drink my wallet isn’t weeping over. It’s like a budget version of the 2001 Bulang Cake Tea Urchin offers. Same aroma family.
Also… I discovered in my late grandpa style steeps of Pin yesterday… it gets suspiciously close to LYM at the end o.O so I might need to stock up…
Started the day by doing a tasting of Terre de Ciel’s HEKAI D’AUTOMNE 2015 which I reviewed.
In the afternoon this was followed by Yunnan Sourcing 2015 Wa Long. Very nice tea but still has a bit of bitterness so it is now back to the humidor.
Today I drank a tea from Streetshop88, the 2003 Aged Yunnan YiWu Golden Buds Puerh Ripe Chinese Tea. This was a tea with a lot of fermentation flavor. So much fermentation taste that I personally doubt it’s age despite the writing of 2003 on the wrapper. It tasted like a 2015 ripe in it’s level of fermentation. This flavor was also unpleasant. It lasted four or five steeps and then the tea began to improve. By steep ten it was quite tasty. There is no point in asking Streetshop88 if this is really 2003 tea because if I am correct they will still say it is from 2003. It even says 2003 on the wrapper. In the end who knows.
2008 Yunnan Sourcing “Wild Tree of Dehong”.
Awesome tea! I love this one, great pick me up. Sweet, mouth buzzing, with little bitterness. For a brick, this tea packs a finer punch than most. The energy comes with a pleasant stomach feeling.
Recommended.
2012 Yunnan Sourcing Xin Banzhang, super bitter initially, starting to smooth out. Very strong qi I feel really focused!
I picked out Yunnan Sourcing’s 2015 “Huang Shan Gu Shu” from a bunch of samples I’ve been meaning to try and I’m so happy with it aaaaaaaaaaaaaa. It’s thick, sweet, and floral, and I’m putting a cake of this on my wish list for some day in the future when the Canadian dollar sucks less.
Having White2Teas ‘Often’. Wanted to compare to the ‘Classic Tuo’.
Got about 11 grams of this out as well. I gave a rinse and let it sit a while before brewing to absorb some of the water.
I did short steeps and compared the color of mine from the website. The one I have brews a bit darker that the picture. This one is softer and a bit silky in the mouth. There is a touch of minty cooling with this one and the sweet that lingers is more pronounced. It gives some hints of a touch of a bitter bite only briefly. The damp aroma led me to believe there was some smoke in it but it doesn’t come across the palate. There is another note I am trying to figure out. Maybe just a hint of wood in there. Solid to have and drink and I am going to be sure and save the wrapper and red ribbon inside.
Flavors: Bitter, Mint, Smoke, Sweet, Wood
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