pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

2011 Yunnan Sourcing “Feng Yun” Raw Pu-erh Tea cake from a Tea Friend :)

Starting a little bitter and faint smoke, opening up to a smoother cooling tea.

2003 xinghai wild elephant valley shou.

I started drinking this because, with this cold nothing tastes good and I’d rather drink something I am not too keen on (ripe puerh).

And I’m enjoying it a lot more! Not sure why, maybe the soft strength of this one is cutting through better, or im getting better, but I can definitely taste it & its going down well.

Still not so keen on the chocolatey notes that come from shou – are there any others that dont have that earthy chocolate thickness and are more, i dont know, fruity & vibrant?

Or is that just how it is with ripe? I dont ever seem to get the same stonefruit thing that raw puerh gives me

I think I am finally getting round to enjoying ripe – I think what might be it for me is that today, its all ive been drinking, I dont think I could have my usual fruity/floral/sweet teas after this session and enjoy them as much – i’m really not a chocolate & fruit person, they clash in my mouth oddly.

But, when its on its own I dont seem to get that clash I would usually have by having my previous teas aftertase and instead appreciate just the shou flavour. nice. Really enjoyed that. Made me feel nice and mellow too.

currently drinking CL’s 2003 changtai memorial humid, which i just wrote a much needed review for. feelin qi drunk

11 San He Zhai-
This keeps getting better every time I drink it, which unfortunately is a lot. I’m officially now more than halfway through the beeng and it just tastes like tangy leather and wood. Soooo good.

Today I drank a ripe brick that was quite good, from the EBay seller ok78ok. The 2009 High Mountain Puerh Jishunhao Have Surplus in Auspicious Old Tree Tea. That long name is what the seller calls it. I can’t be certain it was old tree but it was a good solid performner and a reasonable price, $67 for 1 kg brick. There was a moderate amount of fermentation taste but that taste was not that unpleasant. It was sweet with little bitterness. There were some notes of chocolate in there and it did develop a fruity taste in later steeps. Not quite up to something like Whispering Pines Huron Gold Needle but close. It was very good.

Drank a third tea today, Verdant Teas tea they claimed was from 1800 year old trees. This tea was among the best young sheng I have ever drank. It makes me wonder why they felt the need to lie about it. I would probably buy this if it was still in stock, even knowing they were lying about the age. It was sweet with little bitterness. It was sweet with notes of apricots and stonefruits. It was really good. Again, this is so good I wonder why they felt the need to lie about it.

Today I tried a 2005 Bo Wen “Yue Chen Yue Xiang” Menghai Shou from YS.

It was a little bitter and a little sweet, with a fermentation taste but not so strong I didnt like it. It wasnt as good to me as the 2003 xinghai I had yesterday.

flakey review I know but my tastebuds are still in recovery.

XiZiHao (XZH) is generally regarded as a high quality “boutique” puer brand. I set out to taste their 2013 “Que Zhen” and “Xuan Xi”(Double Happiness) shengs from HouDe in order to make a purchase decision. Nicely compressed whole leaves. Appealing aroma coming from the dry material. Clear and bright golden yellow tea soup. Sweet and fruity top notes with a darker base. Good longevity – no signs of weakness after ten brews. This is a tasty quality tea which provides a pleasant experience. Worthy of a purchase but I opted to add the Double Happiness to my collection instead of this Que Zhen.

Last night I had a sample of the 2000 CNNP “Zhang Xiang Bu Lang” Aged Raw from Yunnan Sourcing, a nice sheng that has passed through middle-aged and is headed for it’s golden years. Camphor, medicinal, old books, leather, light citrus and spice, and a wonderful calming energy.

Tonight I reached for my bing of 2006 Imperial Tribute Ripen, a shou I have a long-running love/meh relationship with. It’s not bad, but it’s nowhere near as good as some of my favorites. Time to sip this one down while the cooler weather persists.