pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Today I sampled the 2013 Menghai Dayi “Star of Menghai” Ripe.
I’ve tried a number of these Star of Menghai cakes, and this is one of the better ones. I like it more than the 2010 and 2011 versions, both of which I found underwhelming. This one is a keeper, fairly smooth with a hint of bitterness, deep and rich. This tells me that recipes only can go so far, and that the quality of a tea depends a lot on the vintage, not just the age. And this is cheaper, being young. Maybe the bitterness will fade with age and make this even better. This whole experiment of trying different years of the same recipe leads me to believe there is a risk in buying a well known factory recipe cake before sampling. Grandness on Ali Express has 100 g versions of this cake for around $10 if you want to give it a try, they are a reliable seller.

I need to start finding more time for all of my puerh samples, as I keep collecting them & then not getting around to them. Of course, sometimes I do drink them, but then I don’t write anything about them.

So today I drank YS’ 2013 Yi Shan Lao Shai Gu Shu Raw Puerh of Jinggu. I bought a sample of it because I’ve enjoyed Jinggu Golden Strand Pure Bud Yunnan Black, also from YS. If I’d thought about it in advance, I would have made the Golden Strand my black gongfu tea of the morning, & then followed with this one, just to keep my sessions regional ;).

Anyway, the main features were sourdough bread & later sweet mushroom broth.

While I’m at it, yesterday I had a nice session with 2007 Imperial Palace Ripe, which I got from Tribute Tea. That was yesterday, so I don’t really have much to say about it now, other than it was enjoyable :)

Yesterday I enjoyed thoroughly my first session with White2Tea’s 2014 Manzhuan. Manzhuan + Spring + gushu. What’s not to like? This tea is even better than I expected (since it is a new 2014 tea, I figured I would try it just for fun and then wait a few years to pick the cake). The dry leaf looks very nice; the aroma of the brew is pleasantly fresh and sweet; the liquor is a clear yellow; the flavor of the sip is smooth and sweet with a solid hint of fruit. This tea is lovely and very easy to drink. What a lovely sheng (even though it is rather pricey)!! I rather doubt this particular cake gets much age because I am likely to pull it out frequently to pick off more leaf.

Currently drinking Jalam Teas’ Autumn 21013 Meng Hun Unfermented – very nice young sheng. Great mouth watering qualities, yet a lingering dryness to the tip of the tongue and sides of the front of the mouth. Something about the tangy, mineral taste from this tea that is very captivating and delightful. The leaf quality is exceptional.

Mandala’s Heart of the Old Tree. First time having it. I got tea drunk. Now I really want a tong, but I’d have nowhere to put it. Definitely need to get another cake, though.

Good article on TeaDB about the geography of Pu-erh teas now up at http://teadb.org/mengla-county-yiwu/. I read it whilst sipping a 2003 ManZhuan sheng pu-erh which is quite nice.

2004 Jianshen tuo from white2tea. Trying to steep this out, but two days in and it won’t quit. I’m still short steeping at 20 steeps, but my tea vessel is stuffed really full for the cup I’m using. Strong, bitter when pushed, dusky apricot which mellows to a caramel. This is decent aging material but really green for the age, and dry stored. Got a long ways to go to age. But a great value at $9.80 a tuo.

Happy Sunday morning, everyone! It’s kind of fun to have a lazy Sunday to sip some teas, isn’t it? This morning I tried the 2010 Ye Zhuang Shuang Li “Yu Gong Jin Zhuan” Ripe Pu-erh by Yunnan Sourcing. Got this one on a whim with my latest YS order. It was $10 for a 250g cake so it was low risk. It is a decent cake. I had to push it hard to get it strong enough for my tastes, but that worked. It is a little flat, but not bad, woodsy and slightly earthy, kind of average flavor, fairly smooth and deep, no real fishiness. A fine everyday tea to be sure.

What are y’all drinking this morning?

2010 Langhe Yupin by Tea Urchin. Chocolatey goodness. Excellent cha-qi. It’s like having hot cocoa without the sugar. A most excellent semi-fermented cake.

Having a 2004 Xia Guan “First Grade” tou.
This was singled out by “Chairman Meow” this afternoon. The chairman was showed 2 choices and this was her pick. After making it she made a quick exit from the scene.
Brewed in the Gaiwan.
This was gifted by a tea chum because Xia Guan’s can be somewhat smoky. Well actually not somewhat but in about all cases.
The dry leaf has a little fruit and dried apple to it. I am thinking 10 years old maybe the smoke is gone. It was till I hit it with the rinse, poured it out and opened it up to inhale the aroma and it pops your senses.
Color is an almost bronze but I have 6 year old tea with more color. Probably due to XG’s tight compression. The brew is definitely full on puerh.
Full on woody, smoky, tannic ,citrus and bitter notes. The first 2 cups have been strong and punchy. It gives the slightest hits of sweetness as a quickly fading taste at the end of the swallow. It gives a nice feeling with a warming sensation as you finish.
Not for ones that don’t like smoke but it would be a nice one for those that don’t mind that or the bitterness of it.

Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Smoke, Tannic, Wood