pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Today I drank a sheng that wasn’t really tea. I drank crassicolumna sheng from Verdant Tea. It is sheng made from a close relative of the tea plant. It is supposed to be caffeine free. I expected something somewhat bitter and unpleasant. That was not at all what it tasted like. It was sweet from the beginning. Not quite exactly sweet like a sheng but close. There was also a mediciney taste for the first few steeps but that was not real strong. This was surprisingly good I have to say. I don’t feel any caffeine effect but I won’t know for sure unless this keeps me up. But as I already have insomnia I would have to try it again before I believed it was the tea keeping me up. This is quite expensive but I think worth a try. I wouldn’t want to buy this in quantity with what they charge for it but it will be a nice addition once a while in the evenings. I also bought the crassicolumna black tea and will try to try that tomorrow.

Today a drank a raw from Yunnan Sourcing. I had bought a sample of this when his 2016 teas were on sale. It was the 2016 Yunnan Sourcing “Nuo Wu Village” Raw Puerh Tea. This was very good tea. It started out with a sweet note. Some bitterness crept in after the leaves opened up. This did not last and the sweetness returned I think even sweeter than before. Not sure if I would use the term apricots on this one but it got as sweet as any raw puerh gets. It was very good overall but I don’t know that it was good enough to justify a cake purchase as around $120.

Today I drank a ripe that tasted great, the 2016 The New Black by Misty Peak Teas. It started out with a moderate amount of fermentation flavor. This flavor was neither fishy or unpleasant. There was a note of bittersweet chocolate in the beginning. The bitterness soon faded and I was left with a nice sweet note. So based upon the tea’s taste I would recommend this tea. However there was another factor. While there is some possibility of a coincidence it is not likely. This tea made me sick with stomach issues. I question the fermentation of this tea. It could be it was improperly fermented and some bad bacteria got in there. Also, I ate nothing else during the time or in fact within about five hours of drinking this tea so there is no other likely culprit. But like I say there is the slight possibility it was a coincidence. Taste wise this was an excellent tea. I will eventually drink it again and see if I get sick again.

Today a drank a fairly nice semi aged ripe, the 2008 Dayi 08 Qing Green Tuocha. This tea had relatively weak notes of leather and tobacco to begin with. These lasted about five steeps. They were replaced by a sweet note, a fruity note, not sure which one. Overall a very good tea obtained from Puerhshop. Only question I have is, is this a fake. There were no security markings under the black light. Now I do not know when Tuochas got these markings so this may mean nothing,

I moved on to a shou from Puerhshop, the 2013 Zenpuer 1306 Menghai Ripe Puerh Tea Brick, 250g. This was a very nice tea for the price. It was think with fermentation flavor for the first five or so steeps. This flavor was sweet, not fishy or unpleasant. This gradually turned into a nice sweet note. There may have been some notes of chocolate in there, but I wasn’t paying close attention. Overall this was an excellent tea considering I think it cost $10.

Having the TeaUrchin’s 2010 Bulang Spring.
I got this out after giving a little time to acclimate to its new home. I got 10 grams off this and it seemed to be loosely compressed and easy to get into. I put this in the gaiwan and rinsed it and allowed it to rest for about 15 minutes.
The wet leaf gave some hints of humid storage but not in an excessive way. I brewed it very quickly as Bu Lang tea is known for strength and bitterness. The brew turned out a nice golden color in the cup.
This is a strong Bu Lang! It seems to be oily and thick in the mouth. There is a pronounced bitter bite in this one. A bit of smoke that disappears very quickly. A hint of the old book and leather as well. I think the bitter and the old ’ horse tack leather’ as my friend KS says come through in this one. This is almost as strong and possessing the bite of a Lao Man E tea. For lovers of strong in your face teas this is one.

Flavors: Bitter, Leather, Smoke, Thick

Finished steeping out that Yiwu I was drinking yesterday afternoon, and then started rummaging around in my work bag to find the scratch awl (thanks @AllanK) to break a hunk off of the Xiaguan cake I brought in today.

I didn’t find the awl, but I did encounter a sample of a different Xiaguan cake, so I’m having that instead. It’s several years newer than what I thought I wanted, but still tolerably smooth.

“?” from White2tea (Odds & Ends Sale)

This tea is almost insultingly good.
Tastes like Orange Lemon Vanilla Creamsicle, along with some dark Puer base? Who wants that?
Soft, silky mouthfeel that fills into the cheeks? Pffft.
Grips the throat? Tingles numbly on the tounge? Giggling teadrunk? Come now.

White2tea ain’t got time for all of that. Move along…

ETA: The tea only gets better as it steeps out, and I’m still tasting the aftertaste. It’s a good thing for my wallet that this tea isn’t available; I’d be willing to pay up.

2007 Lincang Grade 1 Loose Ripe. Cheap priced at $60/kilo – YS.

At times I did get quite a weird fermentation flavour hiding in there, also several other earthy flavours that im trying to pinpoint. Im drinking it but I dont really feel like shou so I think a full review is unfair because im just thinking ‘meh’ quite a lot of the time. Maybe its meh but maybe thats me recently

I actually dont know what I want to drink :cries:

After deliberating for what seemed like an hour trying to work out what to drink as shou & white are really not doing it for me at the moment I found a nameless sheng gift from LP. A really thin ironcake. Dunno what it is but its super sweet & a very easy drinker. i’ll have to ask what it is