pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Had an unknown year toucha from the na jian tea factory. The appearance of this toucha was dusty and looked like a bit of wet storeage on it. It did not have the bad aroma of wet storage since I have had it in the “pumidor” for a while now. I gave this tea two rinses about an hour apart. The first rinse I just left it in the gaiwan covered after rising. The second rinse was about 10 seconds. First brew again about 10 seconds. Color came out a dark golden and very clear. It had a typical woodsy aroma although very light. The first sips gave an almost nutty sweet taste. It had no astringency and was very smooth on the tongue. It brewed up almost oily being very thick. I only had a chance to have one cup but I will get back to it later. overall 6.5/10

My Puer of the day was Adagio’s Pu-erh Poe.
Far from being my favorite Shu, but acceptable.

My Pu Erh of the day is the Misty Peaks sample they were sending in exchange for postage cost. $11.50 for 30g which was the overseas deal, it arrived this morning. Never before have I seen such reflective Pu Erh leaves, they shimmer and glow as if they are covered with angel dust. :)

I do prefer Sheng over Shu by default but my recent cravings are for any Pu Erh I can get my hands on…which has been quite difficult since I’m house sitting and did not bring any with me.

Impressed with this one so far in terms of flavour and quality but the raw blend did have a lot of long stems. Asked for the full name and more info before I do a proper review.

Today is a 2007 menghai V4. This tea is a raw tea(sheng) with just a touch of oxidation on the outer leaves of the cake. It has a very light floral aroma when I opened the wrapper. I pulled off a chunk, measured 5gams and put in the gaiwan. I gave a 10 second flash rinse. First steep of about 10 seconds. Brew came out a light green, faint aroma and just a light green color. This tea has no vegetal notes that you would find in a younger tea. It is sweet, smooth and very easy to drink for a sheng. This tea left an almost honey taste in the mouth. Fruity almost a green grape taste. A very nice sheng and I will continue the session later today. 8.5/10.

this is my favortie sheng so far: http://www.essenceoftea.co.uk/tea/puerh-tea/aged-puerh/1992-da-ye-loose-leaf-sheng-puerh.html

it has a deep, rich, aged woody/camphor aroma.

I spent most of the afternoon at my desk, putting together folders of Music & Lead sheets, and an email with links to all the youtube videos of the songs, so they’d know what they’re suppose to sound like. These will go to a Bass & Flute player that I’m doing a gig with in August.

The whole time I enjoyed multiple steepings of Fengqing Golden Buds Ripened Pu-erh Cake Tea 2005 by Teavivre.

Just finished sipping on some 2011 Pasha Mountain Sheng from Yunnan Sourcing. Really good! Pretty balanced between fresh and rich flavors.

I have been sipping on 2006 Guo Zhi Yin Pu Shi 063 Tribute from Mandala for about 3 days. It’s lovely with molasses and caramel sweetness with a touch of bitter to balance it out. It’s becoming one of my favorites.

I’ve been sipping a gold foil wrapped shu mini tuo of unknown age/heritage. Nothing special, but a decent end to my day.

My tea today is a subtle 2003 Mang Zhi raw pu-erh provided in the older pu-erh sampler by http://www.zhizhengtea.com/. There is a green olive/herbal note in the aroma, and a subtle brown/earthy tone in the very mellow taste. Quite a nice tea. I’ve enjoyed each of the teas in the sampler from this company.