pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
Having a 2009 XiaGuan “Grey Crane” in the cup tonight.
Thank you Google for eating my notes and all my open tabs!
I got this one out to review as I have wanted to get into it and a couple of friends were interested also.
I pulled it out to chunk off a bit and was surprised that it broke off easily. Most XiaGuan “Iron Cakes” are tough to get into. It broke off easily and I got I got my measure of pretty easy. I guess the pumidor may be working.
I gave a 10 second rinse and let the leaf sit for about 10 minutes to start brewing. It brews a nice deep golden color. It still has some of the smoke and punch of a somewhat younger tea but a deeper color.
It carries a good bit of bitter but in a nice way for me. Some hints of smoke and astringency but not in an overpowering way. It reminds me somewhat of another cake from about 2007 that I enjoyed.
Will it give you that nice Cha Qui?
A bit but not too strong. Huigan a bit. Nice notes of subdued smoke and camphor a little pucker of citrus in there as well.
Nice and aging well I think.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Smoke
2012 MGH 1211 Bada Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake by puerh shop
A good example of a puerhshop ripe everyday drinker. I find that it has no distinguishing features, but has a fine flavor, a bit acidic, deep and earthy, and a pretty good caffeine kick. A solid performer for the price, though nothing special.
I tried a 1998 Dayi 7542 from Life in Teacup. I’m beginning to wonder whether I dislike aged sheng or if this is just one that I don’t like. It tastes like tobacco and mushroom, no fruit or sweetness. Is this what sheng turns into, or is it just this one? What has been your experience with aged sheng? I love my 2008 8582, but will it turn into something like this in 10 years?
a lot depends on the raw material. I’ve had some that aren’t so old that possess tobacco notes, so I doubt that any tea can turn into what it isn’t already. It’s a good question. In reading an article on puercn.com about the changes in tea, the article writer suggested that all teas aged over 30 yrs end up having the same flavour insofar as not possessing revealing characteristics of that particular grower or mountain. Maybe you age what you have for another 20 yrs and get back to us. ;-)
Decided that today was a good day for whale hunting and I can say that White2tea’s 2002 White Whale is a worthy endeavor. Lots of chatter and buzz about this one lately so there’s not too much to add except that I’m in!! Definitely enjoy this little guy and I am delighted to have several of these bricks sitting in my sheng cabinet! I appreciate and admire Paul’s firm commitment to uncovering fine puerh to offer us at very fair prices – this one is a fine example of that commitment.
2001 Menghai Red Mark Tiepai, a sample I ordered from White2Tea. I find myself reaching for this one at least once a week, got about 1/3 of the bag left now. Got a good balance of traditional wet storage with full flavor of tea too. It won’t bring home any prizes but it is a great daily drinker, which is why I’ve been reaching for it. My back has been bad this week and I can’t kneel down to open my puerh fridge. Therefore the samples sitting in little clay pots are the easiest to get to.
A note of caution, Ebay is being flooded with what I believe a lot of “fake” Menghai products. I have seen about 10 so far this morning so just be careful if you purchase.
I bought on on auction, a 7572 ripe I think. I thought it fake at the time, but I took a chance because I was only bidding $12. If it was fake, they faked the security markings as well. It was decent but to this day I don’t know.
When buying on EBay I go for the sleaziest possible seller. Would ruin the fun otherwise. Show me where I can get a fake cake, I am really weary of all the great tea I’ve been drinking.
Ha! Cwyn To be fair, not all fake or cheap tea is bad, it just means that you are not getting what you paid for. But if you want bad tea I’d recommend going to your nearest Chinatown and pick some teas based on how bad they look. Some might end up being good, but I promise some will deliver the bad and the ugly you crave ;)
I second Berylleb King Tea on Ebay.
Allan sometimes they will “fake” the seals but Dayi is pretty specific in how they wrap the cakes.
Cwyn, I can give you a link to some terrible tea if you want ;P .
mrmopar If that terrible tea is an open offer I’d be down to try it some time! lol. Nothing teaches you of great tea like crappy one.
JC message me with your address. I am sure I can find something around here that could qualify if I haven’t tossed some yet.
I’m curious about something. Do you drink puerh for how it tastes, or for how it makes you feel?
I just wondered because I see so many posts that essentially say, “It tasted like donkey and horse but made me feel great!”
Both. I haven’t found it too hard to find pu’erh that tastes good and makes me feel good. So I don’t see a need to drink yucky pu’erh. :)
I start from taste but return to those that make me feel good. I like my puerh experience to be a full body experience, but will settle for just tasting and smelling good. FWIW horse tastes, smells and makes me feel good. :) The descriptions might be a bit odd, but really it is about the associations rather than the actual taste in the case of many of the more outlandish descriptions. At least it is in my case. I don’t actually go round licking horses that much.
I definitely drink it for the taste. I learned to appreciate all its traits as I progressed that including mouth feel, Huigan, Kuwei and Cha Qi. All those hold the full experience of Puerh and even some non-Puerh teas. Some experiences are very pleasant like a calming and warming Cha Qi… even the ones that make me sweaty and a bit jittery lol.
Boychick “we need to have a talk about your steepster dependency, please have a seat” LOLAs far as taste goes, it is complex and never the same. The next time I drink the same tea, it will be different because it is fermented tea and constantly evolving. Steeps themselves vary within sessions. Harvests vary, productions vary, the brewing vessel changes things up. Puerh can be psychoactive and produce a kind of body high that is beyond caffeine. Cloud wrote about the importance of the entire puerh ritual from smell, to breaking, to checking the leaves, smelling the lid of the gaiwan or pot. He also wrote about sitting back after a few steeps, forget the cake, and enjoy the relaxing amongst friends, talk for a couple hours, go for a walk, then boil up the kettle again and keep going until the leaves steep out. If it is a new sheng, follow with a session of shou to rebalance and warm back up. To me it is like hatha yoga without the suffering.
Both, some more than others, and others more than some.
The taste is as important as well as the effect.
Taste first for me, although I drink pu erh for the feeling. I need both really, but if a tea tastes like crap but provides a great feeling I’d still rather just drink one that tastes great and makes me feel great. If I just want a tasty beverage I might drink one that tastes good but doesn’t provide much feeling.
So today was a great sheng day – Legend Cai Zhe Yunnan Raw 2012 was a winner, especially considering the price. Was it terribly complex? Nope, but I had a nice buzz and for $10 shipped, ya can’t beat it.
It makes up for yesterday when I drank that 2nd mystery tea from Slovakia. Not. Good.
LOL! The Long Feng Wu Liang Xiao 2007 was super bitter! It doesn’t make much sense to me for a 2007 that was aged loose for 5 years and only pressed in 2012 to be that sharp. But what the hell do I know? :)
Having a Menghai “Love of the Dayi” cake tonight.
Reviewing this tonight as the Chairman has a week off. I broke out 10 grams of this to start with. I impressed myself as the first piece weighed in a 10 grams off the bat. My measuring and judgement on weight is getting better.
I gave this a 20 second wash and have let it sit for about 20 minutes to open up a bit.
First steep 10 seconds.
Color almost Lipton like dark.
Aroma, a little left of the fermented type.
Taste, some wood, a little raisin and almost prune or date in there. Nice and warming on a cold rainy night. I have been on a lot of sheng lately and this is a decent change of pace. probably not as deeply fermented as some to allow it to progress, but with the light fermentation it should progress nicely.
Flavors: Dates, Raisins, Wood.
Here’s a mystery sheng that was included in with some other samples, but I don’t know which company and can’t find the tea on search. Thought I’d mention it because it claims to be 1998 vintage and seems to be so since I originally mistook it for shu, though it never brews dark. It’s a brick, 5005 Qiaomu Gucha Zhuan (乔木古茶砖） is the name. Smelled like puffed wheat and blueberries in my lacquer gaiwan. Chaqi is strong, used 195 degree water at about 15 sec. Tastes like cardboard soup with the huigan of blueberry, long lasting. No astringency, thick broth, dark honey coloured. Maybe someone knows something about this mystery brick.
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