pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
Had an Xiaguan T7663 2012 shou. It is a little thin on the body and weaker than most shou I have tried. I may have under-leafed and will try again before I rate it.
I tend to under-leaf most Xiaguan the first time I try them. I guess is the expectancy of strong flavors and at least to me sometimes fear of insanely bitter tea.
Sometimes I just want a bit of comfort from my tea. Today’s tea delivered just that. A smooth, mellow shou that we have all heard of before, the Mandala Tea Phatty Cake really was delicious, full, rich, and relaxing today for me. I used 6.1 grams in my 185 ml yixing teapot, steeped for 30 seconds, and voila, instant bliss. It really is a nice tea.
Continuing this week’s focus on shengs, I’ve been working on a sample of a 2007 Menghai Chen Yun (The Charm of Age) over the course of four days now. The aroma of both the dry leaf and the brew is at first a bit leather-like. The tea yields a clear golden broth. The sip is quite smooth and richly textured – complex flavors with some aged undertones leaving a pleasant robust mouthfeel. The brew softens with more steeps and sweetens a bit. I am enjoying this one but I must admit that I have quite a bit to learn about the nuances of sheng.
A 1992 Fu Lu Shou Xi – Xiaguan Factory. I always have a hard time describing older Xiaguans. Xiaguan is not my to go region, but I do enjoy revisiting it and trying to see if I can identify new flavors in it. This is a really smooth Xiaguan, I mean compared to most regions it is still somewhat robust but for a Xiaguan is is really smooth, I’ve noticed that the older they are the more they resemble dried Gingseng and Licorice roots in both smell and taste, maybe even some Linden in there.
My ‘to-go’ description is Chinese medicinal herbs scent, but in a pleasant way(I know right? Chinese medicine+pleasant?). The broth is smooth and somewhat savory at first and the aftertaste slowly builds up with complex flavors and some sweetness in the back of the throat that builds up with each cup. Fun experience.
This morning, a single tree tea, a sheng called Du Shu, né 2012, and for now, a shu from the Langhe factory, né 2006, recipe 9959. More than two years now, that I’m drinking pu erh every day. On the road I lost my habit of starting the day with coffee. I also lost a couple of kilos. But, more important, I won a great contentment while choosing, preparing, tasting, drinking these altering post-fermented mysteries.
There are some pictures on: http://www.puerh.fr/en/article/the_best_single_trees_puerh_teas_from_ailao_shan_and_wuliang_shan.htm
I’m having one of my favs today. I haven’t posted it yet. I thought we were only supposed to comment on teas that could be purchased but have come to learn different.
It is a Sticky Rice mini (糯米香沱) from Zhi Peng Tea Company Production from Meng-hai (勐海志鹏茶业出品), 2010.
It’s cooked and delightfully sweet. I decided to be adventurous today and steep for only 15s following the methods of some fellow “Steepstarians,” that is after I spent about 10 min of fairly cold water, i.e., from the tap, to wake, rinse and to loosen it up.
My standard vessel is a 6oz Japanese-style GLAZED tea pot. I like gaiwan for the raw stuff and still can’t figure out how yi-xing are supposed to enhance the flavor of either type. Oh well.
The first infusion was very light, almost the color of a yue guang bai, some cross between silver and gold, pale beauty but not at the expense of taste.
Today a new patient came by, I think she liked tea because she was unusually enthused by a cold cup of the first brew. “What’s in it?” “Oh nothing,” I replied. “It’s sticky rice,” as she batted her eyes at me in disbelief.
Readily, I served up another pot, this time bearing a more familiar pu-er hue and every bit as delish, leaving a tingly sensation in the mouth.
I agree. I also prefer a Gaiwan. Yixings affect the tea due to cross brewing.. Gaiwans are neutral. Roughly how many grams of tea do you use per 100 mL?
There’s a kinda rule where you’re supposed to reserve one yi-xing per tea. I have one reserved for a no-name osmanthus that I purchased when in Guilin. What a great tea it is!
Ye, I’ve been using my yixings for my shengs… not good. I simply use a Gaiwan now. One per tea would work, though. Is it a puerh?
I have one yixing for sheng and one for shu. That is sufficient separation for me. I use a gaiwan for tasting the tea without any other influences. It’s a system that seems to work and I love my little yixing pots. If I had the money I would probably collect them.
No. It’s just something I picked up when touring the caves of Guilin. I didn’t expect it to be anywhere near this tasty. I don’t drink much green in winter even in LA, so it’s been a while since I’ve had any. I did break down and have a few sheng last week, however.
The smell of the osmanthus is too strong to consider EVER using that yi-xing for anything else.
Yes, that is the same system I use. However, I find myself using the Gaiwan more and more often. Yang-Chu, is the Osmanthus a herbal tea?
It’s a flower that’s used to scent green tea (usually) in the same method that’s used to make jasmine tea.
I use a yixing for shu, and I do notice a subtle but noticeable benefit, the yixing sort of rounds out the rough edges so to speak, giving a softer and smoother brew.
I am like Roughage except I have one for the Menghai and the Haiwan factories. I have one I use for sheng and I usually do a “first” tasting with the Gaiwan.
Generally speaking, I don’t find shu pu-ers all that rough, not even close to what I can encounter with sheng, if by rough you’re referring to tannins. hmmm.
Same here, two Yixing for shu and two for sheng. The cross brewing is part of the fun and never dominant, so I don’t mind. I like the idea of having a pot that ‘remembers’ me of all the teas I drank. But to play around and for the new ones, a gaiwan can come in handy.
That’s a good point, Peter. I too like the idea that the pot will remember all the teas I have brewed in it, although I had not really thought of it like that until you wrote it down.
I have to agree with the Gaiwan for all new Puerh(all new tea as well), I usually determine later if I’ll use Yixing pots for that tea depending on the gaiwan ‘test’.
I’ve come across some Shou that has a bitter wood taste and I only use Gaiwan for those, the more mellow/creamy and malty ones earn my pots. I have two Yixing pots for Shengs one for the highly floral, acidic ones and one for the mellower shengs like Jingmai, Lincang, Lancang, etc.
Enjoying a warm cup of 2003 bamboo fragrance (sheng). I normally don’t drink bamboo scented puerhs but I decided to retaste this tea, after about a year. I think I am enjoying it much more than the first time.
I like this one. But I ‘like’ it in a weird way. I usually drink it months apart. I like the taste, but Bamboo fragrance Shengs are harsher than most Sheng even when aged, so I just drink it when I finally feel like its been a while since I tried it.
Is this from the Phoenix collection of David Lee Hoffman? I do enjoy the 2003 Meng Song Dai tribe bamboo pu-erh from YS.
Yup, from the phoenix collection. Is the 2003 Meng Song Dai similar to the bamboo fragrance? I totally agree with you JC in that I like it in a weird way. Perhaps its harsher because the initial maocha is that of lower quality? Doesn’t make much sense to flavour high quality maocha. Makes sense to me anyways.
I wouldn’t say so much quality as much as grade. There are a lot of pieces and some ‘dusting’ as part of it. If you filter the broth well vs unfiltered it makes a world of difference, but yes, not a top quality Maocha for sure, as you mentioned it doesn’t make much sense to use it for flavored.
I want to try the 2003 Meng Song Dai as well. I have another bamboo from Yunnan Sourcing… but that one is HARSH, I appreciate Bamboo but not enough to keep storing it :P
Mandala Wild Monk sheng for me today. I’m obsessed with this stuff and thinking about trying the Mao Cha soon and ordering another cake to hoard.
I drink Master Han’s 2004 looseleaf shu today at dialysis clinic, it is really good to me :)
http://steepster.com/toadman208/posts/220229
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