294 Tasting Notes
The dry leaves are beautiful and look very fresh. I never measure anything. A bit in my palm. This looks like enough. Into the basket. I do not time either. If it smells nice and the liquor is appealing it’s done. This is an interesting brew. Very smooth. An interesting earthy aroma and flavor. It’s a nice opener today. I did brew it longer than usual. A nice buzz too. It makes the body and mind feel very nice….
Day 2. I had to cold brew this. After 24 hours or so the liquor is green instead of yesterdays yellow. The taste is sublime. The aroma is heavenly. It’s right up there with Verdants Handpicked.
These experiences you get the the cold brew definitely arouse my curiosity. What exactly is your methodology, Charles? > How much water? > How much leaf? > How much time?
I’m assuming from your descriptions that you use a glass canning jar. Sealed, loose lid? I’d like to try it at least once, even though winter is coming…
I use a Mason Jar. Approximately 1 teaspoon. 24 hours or so. I truly feel this is foolproof. A lazy way to make tea? Yes. I am enjoying it? Absolutely. PS sealed lid. Shaken occaisionally
What size mason jar? They come in many sizes.
It has a 20fl on the side. I would say 2.5 cups.
My point is, there is no guessing for water temps. It extracts the purest of flavors. I would not do this with a black or darker oolong.
So just drop a teaspoon into 20 fluid ounces of room temperature or cold water and refrigerate right?
I use tap water. I let the faucet run so you are not getting stale water. I know I should spring water. Sometimes I do. Also distilled.
After watching a Wuyi documentary last night I had to try this free sample from Upton. Scottish botantist Robert Fortune stole or acquired tea seeds and plants for India from China. Darjeeling was the first plantings. The dry leaf smelled of pepper. The brew was decent. Subtle Muscatel. I am sure this is not a top flight Darjeeling. I am enjoying it but it’s not one of those teas where I go immediately to the website to order.
I can’t seem to get into Darjeelings for some reason…
You will see in the one video where I got my desire to try it….
yes I think that was #3, pretty interesting piece of tea history there.
I’ve had other second flush that I like much more than the first. Bummer that this isn’t one of them.
I want to try all of the higher rated teas and especially the teas my fellow steepsterites who rave about. I am brewing this basket style with a teaspoon of leaf. I have followed the instructions from Asha. 212 for 1 minute. It is very good. For my taste I should let it go longer. I am steeping the 2nd longer than the recommended 45 seconds. This cup has opened up more. The flavor and aroma are what I expected from this tea. It is sweet. Floral. Very light even though I may have used more than a teaspoon of leaf. The infused leaf has almost filled the basket. The 3rd steep has opened up a wee bit. I feel I cannot rate it as of now. This tea requires more experimenting. The ultimate test to me is to cold brew it. Don’t laugh nor cringe. Nothing, in my humble opinion, extracts the true essence of Greens and Oolongs. I must note that this brew has lasted at least 8 western style basket brewings and has shown no sign of stopping….
I am getting cocoa and maybe buckwheat honey. It is warm and toasty. I am getting the warm glow inside. An interesting selection from Verdant. I steeped this for 5 minutes with boiling water because I read it is very forgiving. The Immediate aroma from the second steep was tobacco. I can see multiple steepings are in the mix. I am getting a copper-mineral taste with the 2nd. Sensations in the mouth similar to the Big Red Robe.
Preparation
I had to try this Shu first. I may be at a loss for words but I know I’m going to ramble. The dry leaf to my German Shepard nose had little or no scent. My spider sense told me to rinse it and I am glad I did. The rinse was a dark, murky brew with sediment. The first brew was rich and complex. Not too earthy. Smooth. A few sips and I feel an incredible tea high creeping up. I am tasting the ancient library. It is by far the best Pu-ehr I have had. Perhaps the best tea period. A great tea on this dreary autumn day. As I look out my window to my backyard I see statues of The Virgin Mother, Her Son Jesus, and Buddha { A gravestone for my beloved Akita }. The leaves and Long Needle Pine cover the cold ground as they do every year. This tea is for today. It make you stop and look at the chrysanthemums and truly enjoy life. I am having a heightened awareness to my surroundings. A squirrel was burying something under the Monkey Puzzle Tree with such care. I thought of where this tea came from. The Good Earth. The people who nurtured it. Where was I ? Did I mention the second steeping ? I used less water in the Yixing. It was darker. A burnt orange brown. Flavor, you can only imagine. When I was making the third pot I noticed the leaves looked like they had 30 steepings left. Although I do not drink wine, I can only guess it’s like opening a bottle of vintage Chateau Margaux. My third steeping I used more water with a longer steeping time. A wonderful infusion. Lighter. It looks like I may not leave the house for a while. As I am drinking this I’m listening to Tom Waits " Last Leaf On The Tree". This tea has provided me with a beautiful experiance. At one point I was getting chills. A energy I have never had before. At another point I felt like crying because the tea was so great. I will cry if I cannot get more….
It’s Heaven and Earth.
So you’ve found this… What great fortune for you, Charles. It is indeed the height and the depth of what tea can be. I myself do not have a single word to add, but here is a little something from Han Shan via Gary Snyder:
On top of Cold Mountain the lone round moon
Lights the whole clear cloudless sky.
Honor this priceless natural treasure
Concealed in five shadows, sunk deep in the flesh.
Geoffrey, it’s that good….
I just got that Tom Waits album yesterday and haven’t gotten to that track yet.
I’m supposed to be saving money to cover landscaping costs and holiday traveling but you guys are making me want to buy lots of tea.
Is this the oldest vintage you’ve had?
I will have to try this on my next Verdant order.
@Jim, yes this is the oldest vintage. And I too am buying a ton of tea. And loving it all. I bought the 1998 after the first steep. @Amy, I think I would recommend it….
I’ve purchased this one twice: http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/fiche/?id=Pu+Er+1996+Chung+Cha and that’s the oldest one I’ve had at home to steep correctly, but I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit more: http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/fiche/?id=Pu+Er+2002+Naka+%28Lahu%29 really unique and fascinating flavors.
I had a 1978 in a restaurant, but it was wasted because nothing that gave me to make it was remotely correct and it just tasted like nothing.
Thank you Jim. I bookmarked the page. Now for further adventures….
@ Jim, both teas that you suggested were sold out. I must admit they have some very interesting selections….
Sorry, those weren’t intended as recommendations, just discussion of old vintages.
Would you recommend buying from them?
The vendor is fantastic, yes.
thanks
Definitely a deep psychoactive experience with this one. Something in the vaporous quality of it. Its like a fossil fuel with deep condensed energy
I love this tea. I was lucky to purchase some while it was still available, & it is the best Shu I’ve ever had, an amazing experience, definitely reserved for days when I have nowhere to go & nothing to do but relax & enjoy being present.
Terri I bought a whole tin of it and then some….
I would have bought a tin if they’d had any left, but the tins were gone, so I bought the last of what they had :)
This is my best experience thus far also. I fear that I’m on the edge of becoming Gollum with his “Precious”. No other tea has been as curiously mystical.
Good to see you here Bonnie! :)
Funny you should mention Gollum, LOL, because I’ve been re-reading the Hobbit (again) & just read that chapter a few nights ago!
This is definitely the best Shu I’ve ever had, oops, I already said that, but it bears repeating!
Maybe the best Shu. Sheng are a whole other world….
Yes they are!
I brewed this basket style. When I lifted the lid after a minute the aroma was very nice. I should of stopped the steeping there. It was light and complex as it was described. My friend from Anhui had a pound sent over that I miss. This was good. It was a sample from Upton that I will not be buying….
I am brewing Ala Jim Marks Style. It’s already a winner. Generous leaf in the Yixing and steeped for what seems like an eternity. The brewed has warmed me in the way that the Verdant Big Red Robe had only more so. I feel warm and glowing. The taste I am getting is truly unique. I cannot place a certain flavor profile other than wood. I should be more poetic and say, cedar forests. I thank Jim for his advice. I too like to taste the tea. To feel the tea. I am feeling this one! I am now entering the Pu-ehr Path. And I like what I see….
This one is wild….
The ritual has changed the rules are broken and I am loving it….
Now learn Qi Gong and drink your pu-erh just before attempting to enter the Grand Heavenly Circle ;-)
By the way, is this the one minute eternity or the genuinely exceptionally long steep?
I just brewed up the Yiwu this morning in my yixing pot devoted to sheng pu’er. I was wondering to myself why the Yiwu has received less attention than the Artisan Revival. I am glad that the Yiwu can be a trusty guide down the path of pu’er. It is an inexhaustible path, winding in all directions, and full of wonder.
For the first time this morning I notcied that warming effect. I usually think of this as a very cooling tea, with cedar notes and a cooling aftertaste and feeling. This morning, I felt the warmth in my chest. Very interesting. Perhaps the tea is growing.
By the way, perhaps you or Jim Marks can illuminate me in the trademark style of brewing. I love hearing new ways to brew the tea!
Best Wishes,
David
I’ll leave it to Charles to re-articulate which of my heresies he has embarked upon ;-)
I tend to associate pu-erh with a vigorous activation of the chi energy and a cleansing of the organs — a very warming event — but then I mostly drink shu rather than sheng pu-erh and perhaps there is a bit of a yin/yang thing going on where sheng tends to be more cooling. I know there are some Qi Gong movements, such as Wag the Tail & Raise the Head from the Eight Brocades, that actually cool the chest rather than warm.
My sample of Shu is coming Jim. Another path….
@ David, I will brew the Artisan again and I’m sure it will be totally different….
@Jim, genuine exceptional long steep.
Ah yes. @David ~ he means a 15-30 minute steep. I used to do this with large tea pots when I worked in a corporate office, make a huge batch of highly concentrated ph-erh and then add hot water to each cup as the day went to avoid having to get up and make tea every 20 minutes throughout the day.
Practical, but also produced a very unique, intense cup.
@Jim – I will have to try that! Luckily I work in an office that has an electric water heater but I feel like I am making tea constantly!
I would recommend doing this with a tea that is good enough to drink but not so fine that it will be in any sense wasted, as this is kind of the sledge hammer approach to steeping.
I used to get the “Celestial Tribute” pu-erh from Upton Teas which was, for many years, my “good enough” pu-erh of choice.
I like steeping that way, too, especially for green teas. They’re done when they smell delicious!
I had this one this morning too. My last order from Asha came yesterday evening, and I’m happy to have these buds again. Got 10 really great infusions from about one tablespoon, and I’m buzzing like a busy bee. Delicious stuff!