pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

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Mini Beeng Cha and Dalai Lama Pu-erh:
Just wanted to share something with all of you…

I was skeptical that this little cake (of lower quality than the larger Yunnan cakes) would really excite me, but I was wrong. Strong aromas or leather and potting soil jump out of the reddish deep brown liquor. Incredible full mouth-feel and smooth finish. Notes of leather, soil and musty peat surround subtle flavors of white smoke, ash and ground coffee. Really a pleasant surprise, and at a very reasonable price from one of my favorite tea shops. The shop also had mushroom shaped pu-erh cakes, which were referred to as “Dalai Lama” Pu-erh. I plan to go back and purchase one, they were not in the budget at $68 a pop yesterday.

Just wanted to share my experience and see if anyone had any info on these mushroom shaped cakes. Hope everyone is having a lovely day :)

Here are photos of the “Dalai Lama” Pu Erh:

http://slickpic.us/557126NL4D

tperez said

Welcome!

Picture doesn’t seem to be working

It sounds like a Xiaguan Tibetan Flame mushroom tuo like this
http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=64_67&products_id=966

They’re Xiaguan factory products originally made for export to Tibet (I guess that’s why the call it “Dalai Lama”)

I haven’t had one, but quality is supposed to be decent but not stellar. Depending on the age that could be a good deal or a bad one

It could be from a different producer, but I think Xiguan factory makes most of the mushroom tuos

Yang-chu said

I think there are many companies that make the mushroom tuo. I tried one a while back from a company called Xiang Long or Auspicious Dragon. Very good for the taste profile described above.

Thanks for the info… I updated the photo link if you want to see it :)

http://slickpic.us/557126NL4D

Yang-chu said

Nice.

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TwoDog2 said

Been awhile since I had me some stable internet, but here are some pics of where I have been traveling recently in Lincang:

http://imgur.com/a/NhK13#0

And a pic of what my tasting table has been looking like day in and day out. (I gave up on “trying to sleep”)

http://instagram.com/p/tKxP8_uvao/

Plenty of excellent tea the last few days! Lots of autumn sheng. Still trying to find a true love though.

Let us know when you do! :)

Yang-chu said

nice.

apt said

dude…. i just ordered from you. you’re so greedy, don’t you have enough of my money? just think of my poor wallet.

Uniquity said

That tasting table photo is majestic!

mrmopar said

I see a lot of tea being tasted. Hopes for some stuff you like. Cause if you like it I probably will too.

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DigniTea said

Today I had a very nice session with the 2007 Menghai Dayi Yun Xiang Ripe. This is a Dayi factory cake with fairly tight compression. Warm and rich aroma from the dry leaves which is strongly earthy yet also a bit sweet. Leaves used to make the cake seem to be of a high grade. Ruby red tea soup with an aromatic and pleasant scent. First sips are quite mellow with a full and woodsy taste. Later infusions yield a gentle creamy and bittersweet flavor. Nice sweet finish in the aftertaste. No fermentation smell or taste left in this one. A lovely Menghai Dayi shou worth owning.

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apt said

2005 S. Mengku Daxueshan… I like it a lot, floral, honey, sweet, nice profile. I don’t know if I want a cake of it though, I would totally get a cake for $50 but not sure about $70.

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mrmopar said

Having a 2014 Kunlu Shan ‘Huang Pian’ from Crimson Lotus Tea.
Bringing this one out myself as the “Chairman” is occupied elsewhere tonight. I looked over these little leaves and thought “Why would someone toss these?”. I know tea lea is sorted to look “pretty” and “Fit for the Emperor” but as to why to not include these would be beyond me.
Tea leaves are tea leaves and I will drink most of these with anticipation to see how they brew. Huang Pian, sounds a bit different but I think these leaves will prove they are worth their mettle. I “officially” tried this a while back and as Steepster was down I decided to do this again. Today is the again.
I shook out 8 grams of this to start. Wow that looks like more than 8 but the scale doesn’t lie. Nice long wiry leaves for sure. I put them in the pot and gave a quick rinse and then a sniff to inhale the aroma. Fresh peas in butter with a little sharp spice in there. I let these sit about 10 minutes to open up in the pot.
Very quick steep on this one. Results nice yellow cloudy little brew. Don’t let that fool you. Very vibrant and mouthful feeling brew. Some bitter and astringent notes up front that seem to mellow nicely at the end of the sip. A nice floral sharpness to this. It is an almost “thick” tea you could cut with a knife. I guess if processors toss out this type of tea and I am still around to drink it I will keep some of this on hand. Years ago I would never touch sheng but as I continue to grow and the buttery , vegetal touches on this one make it nice. The thickness on this is really nice. Yum and yum.
I would say to Gong Fu this but as I used a teapot I will gong fu this with the remainder in a Gaiwan at a later time.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Peas, Spices, Vegetal

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I’m back from vacation! I found a place to buy a couple of teas in Vegas. My husband and I stopped at http://artisanalfoods.com/ and my husband picked out a couple of spices we can’t get at home and I got a little 100g 2010 Menghai shu brick (my first shu cake!!!) and a 20g package of Phoenix Dan Chun yellow tea which I am excited about. It was hella expensive for the yellow but sounds delicious. I think they source their teas from Silk Road but I couldn’t find either one on Silk Road’s website. Anyway, I’m drinkin the shu now and it is really good!

Is there anywhere I can look it up by the serial number on the box to find out exactly what shu this is? Thanks guys!

Tealizzy said

Nice! That looks like a neat shop! I was in Arizona this week, but couldn’t really find anything close by…not that I need more tea! I’m waiting on my first package from the Jalam Teas subscription anyway!

It was a really cool little store. We would have bought more stuff if we had room in our luggage/access to refrigeration for the trip home!

boychik said

Thank you boychik!!!!!!

boychik said

You are welcome. Careful with the fingers;)

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I’m drinking 2007 Imperial Palace Ripe, from Tribute Tea.
This is reminding me of an earthy ovaltine on the 3rd steep! Peat, milk, light chocolate. An aromatic wood, maybe cedar, joins the ensemble after a few steeps, gradually building, with a lingering sensation in the front sinuses, & a building third eye energy. My mouth & throat are all a tingle, with a vics vaporub camphor/eucalyptus sensation too, spreading into my chest as well.
It’s a very potent 5th, 6th, & 7th chakra opening mind blower.
And now I think I’ll go play my Harp for awhile.

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Rich select said

Today I am trying the 2008 Menghai 5 Stars Vajra (Dragon Teahouse), courtesy of an unnamed benefactor. It is a yummy Dayi tea. Very much like bitter chocolate. I like it a lot. I only have a sample and it does not look like it is for sale anymore. Too bad, it is a very nice tea, and a bit different from the typical Menghai shu.

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Good-morning and thank you to the maker of this wonderful thread/topic.
Gonna catch up from the beginning.

First I am having some witches broom sheng puerh 2009
Used 8.5 grams for my 4 ounce gaiwian.
Rinsed the leaves initially and got them tenderish then did a 10 second steeping that I discarded.
Let my first actual cup steep 8 seconds.

Very fresh tasting; sweet, hay, grass, & almost vegetal (different from a green vegetal taste note).
No astringent properties or bitterness noticed.
Lots of chaqi even from the first steeping.

boychik said

This sheng sounds very interesting. I should put it on my wish list. Love the pic of it on Instagram ;)

I’ve got a little bit of this that Sil sent me awhile back. I need to get around to sampling it!

AllanK said

What company is this from? I drank one from the Pleasures of Tea, can’t remember the year off hand.

Teasource & I was mistaken it is from 2007

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DigniTea said

Trying to add a few Nannuo Mountain teas to my puerh collection and today I am drinking the 2005 Nannuo Shan 7549 sheng from Cha Wang. Sun-dried and fairly potent yet easy to drink (there is an appealing bitterness). It provides a surprising spectrum of tastes – aged-worn leather, forest wood and tobacco but there is also a bit of fruity sweetness (maybe plum) present. Nice huigan which builds throughout the session leaving an aftertaste which offered a pleasant cooling effect. A good moderately aged tea at the very fair price of $29 for the 357g cake. Shout out to James at TeaDB for making me aware of this one!

jschergen said

Glad you liked it. That’s one of the better value teas from the Nannuo month. I liked it, especially for the humble price and nearly decade worth of age.

It’s also now $38 and I still haven’t picked a cake up yet!

DigniTea said

:-( Puerh price increases…..glad I picked up my cake in August.
Still worth it at $38 IMHO.

jschergen said

I agree. I think that price it is less of a remarkable deal but still a good purchase.

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