pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Drinking a sample of Ming Qian Chun Jian sheng from David Lee Hoffman. This tea has aged remarkably since 2008! I will definitely be ordering a few of these bings!

Had a 2007 Menghai 7452 shou. Been drinking lots of sheng lately time for a shou. First infusion very light and mellow no flavor really stood out. Second steep noticeably darker brew. Got semi sweet chocolate and vanilla. I think this is a lighter fermented shou as the flavor is much milder than a comparable 7572 or 7752. Very nice easy to drink.

Today’s sheng pu-erh is the classic Xiaguan Jia Ji (green box) tuocha from 2012 in this case. I tend to like Xiaguan’s teas, they seem to resonate with me. In any case my note on this one says: “Quite a nice young sheng pu-erh it has a pleasant alfalfa like green taste with a hint of depth and a touch of astringency and a hint of orchid and melon smell/taste on the finish. Very pleasant to my taste for a young sheng. I look forward to watching its development.” I rated it at 85 pts with some upward room as it ages. It is fairly inexpensive and available here: http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/product.php?id_product=293.

Hey all,

I am returning from Xishuangbanna and just finished our harvest last week; this year’s production is absolutely extraordinary.

Autumn chi, spring aroma, all in the hand-crafted organic and artisan tea.

One family. One farm. One Tea.

I am happy to send out free samples if anyone can cover shipping. $3 each sample, enough for 3-5 pots :)

Sheng day! 2011 Yunnan Sourcing “Autumn Gua Feng Zhai” Raw Pu-erh of Yi Wu. 7.3 grams of robust leaved tea in a 185 ml yixing teapot for 30 seconds yields a strongly flavored but balanced tea with what my wife calls spicy flavors (which she enjoyed). Flavors are very long lasting and perhaps a bit intense at the moment for me but I think this is a good one to hold onto for mid term aging. Quite finely balanced between earth and grassy elements with citrus in the background, and a hint of orchid. Strong and enjoyable to me. More info on the US site here: http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/product.php?id_product=194

Currently woking on a 1998 Cnnp 7542 that is really fantastic. I had this one last night and I have carried it into today. This tea has a nice hit of camphor and I believe it has been dry stored. It is not as dark as a “traditional” or a “wet” stored sheng. It actually brews a semi-dark golden color. It coats the tongue with a slight pine and sweet note. You can feel this one after you drink it warming the core of your body. A very nice one to have to drink after a long work day . I am very thankful to the one who sent this as it is an exceptional tea to have.

Enjoying a cup of 2009 Wild Wuliang Sheng. This is a very fine tea that exhibits notes of honey.

This morning is a 2003 Chang Bao Jing Mao sheng. This tea brews a dark amber soup with floral notes with an aged kick to it.. a very sweet tea. The body is not very impressive as I find it rather light. It does, however, leave a nice aftertaste in the mouth. Overall, good tea.

In light of Canada’s hockey victory, I’ve decided to treat myself to a steeping of this wonderful 1980s Menghai Yiwu Spring Buds 7532. This is another special tea that excites the soul. The wet leaves release a sweet wood-like character and a soup, that is remarkably clean, that brings cherry wood to mind. On the palate, this tea has a pure, sweet woody note with a thick body to it. This tea is also pretty dynamic as there seems to be a peak of sweetness near the end of its profile. Clean, sweet, dynamic with a pleasant hui lian. Very good tea in my books.

Had a 2012 Yunnan Sourcing “XIN BAN ZHANG”. This is a nice loose compressed cake that broke apart easily. It has a slight mineral taste with a touch of bitterness on the tongue. It has a very thick mouthfeel to it that is followed by tongue tingling after drinking it. I have done 9 infusions so far and it is carrying on well. A pretty nice young sheng with a nice floral aroma.