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SOTD- sheng of the day

I'm just finishing off some 2006 Douji "Qiaomu", then I'm heading onto your bamboo-wrapped Youle! Thanks again :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 

ouch

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Liu'an and liubao make me produce zombie noises. UnnNNnNNnnng. Never has so much been written by so many about so little.

If you really love shupu then this might be fun. The quality can be more horrific than shupu if you're unlucky (imagine that).

I would stick to samples of these post-fermented basket teas, unless you really, really know what you're getting yourself into! :chinese:


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

P.s. Is the Xiaguan FT mushroom the one that comes in the cubic box? If so, it's good!

A sane man might consider that ample warning, but zombies.....

Just call me a glutton for punishment.

(The Xiaguan FT is the 250g mushroom in the cubic box.)
 

ouch

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An example of the potential pitfalls of pu'er shopping:

Today-
'07 Mengyang Guoyan classic 88
preparation- doens't seem to matter.
This one is a dud with a capital D. It just has nothing to offer.
 
2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone Pressed Yi Wu.

After exchanging e-mails with Hobbes about whether to get this tea, I realized I had a cake (duh!) so decided to brew some up.

I'm using my strainer and a smallish Denby mug (sorry for you purists out there).

I'm using my standard 1/5 to 1/4 volume of the cup of leaves, which seems to work and is as accurate as I can be bothered.

Since I'm at home, I can get the temperature of the water just right and I'm on my 4th infusion (5, 10,15, 20) and will go to 30 for the 5th. The tea brews up a nice copper-tinged yellow liquor and there are some pleasant fruity notes (I get apple/pear notes) and a nice sweetness on the nose. However, these do not seem to translate as much to the flavour, which is nice, clean sheng that is lightly sweet with some very faint fruit notes. The brew is a touch on the astringent side and I found that the tea is quite senstive to brew times.

All in all, this is a pleasant tea - its a step up from average, but not stellar. Its worth the $20 I paid for the cake, but I won't rush out to buy another.

I really like the light compression - it makes taking the cake apart quite easy and many of the leaves are intact (despite the fact that I only pry off what I need and my rather inept abilities at bing reduction). The leaves are nice and health looking - bright green with nice central veins and are about 3 inches long by 1/2 an inch wide, not including the stems.

My cake has very little broken leaves and to my inexperienced eye, nose and palate, the processing seems to have been well done.
 
An example of the potential pitfalls of pu'er shopping:

Today-
'07 Mengyang Guoyan classic 88
preparation- doens't seem to matter.
This one is a dud with a capital D. It just has nothing to offer.

A huge dud! I didn't like this either. :)


2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone Pressed Yi Wu.

After exchanging e-mails with Hobbes about whether to get this tea, I realized I had a cake (duh!) so decided to brew some up.

I'm using my strainer and a smallish Denby mug (sorry for you purists out there).

All in all, this is a pleasant tea - its a step up from average, but not stellar. Its worth the $20 I paid for the cake, but I won't rush out to buy another.

I really like the light compression - it makes taking the cake apart quite easy and many of the leaves are intact (despite the fact that I only pry off what I need and my rather inept abilities at bing reduction). The leaves are nice and health looking - bright green with nice central veins and are about 3 inches long by 1/2 an inch wide, not including the stems.

My cake has very little broken leaves and to my inexperienced eye, nose and palate, the processing seems to have been well done.

Hear hear! I like Scott's prices. It's from 2002 and it's about $20, so you pretty much know what you're getting - most other vendors would be charging $60+ for anything this "old"! For $20, it's fine. I think I decided not to bother buying one, as space is running out. :chinese:

The loose compression is so pleasant, I totally agree. Love it.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 
Yes please.

If you point your browser at Hou De, you will see there are many samples available. For the most part you can't go wrong. Here are some of my favorites:

2001 Mengku YYX Thin papered
. Ranks as one of the single greatest beverages I have had the pleasure of drinking. Obscenely complex, and goes on for dozens of infusions. Simply awesome, but unfortunately cakes are impossible to get.

If you want a really interesting comparison, there is the thick papered version of this tea also available as a sample. This is the identical tea, but stored under different (wetter) conditions. This one is not for the faint of heart. It is much earthier and chewier than the dry-stored version. It is a good tea, but doesn't compare with the thin-papered.

2003 "HK Henry" Menghai 7542. Tastes like dry, mulled apple cider. Acidic and fascinating

2003 Yi Chang Hao
. Very fascinating tea. Reminds me of coca cola syrup without the sugar.

2006 YiWu Ye Cha
. This one is very fruity, almost berry-like.

Of course all the Xi Zi Hao offerings are interesting as well, but I find them quite variable.

Hope this helps.
 
Hmm, I didn't get much from the Hong Kong Henry but have heard glowing tales from others... I'll give it another sitting!

The thin-papered YYX is really nice. I tried getting some from Taobao, the Chinese eBay, but the payment methods were arcane. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 
Arg. I was doing so well not buying more tea. You guys are a bunch of enablers. Recent purchases:

From YSLLC a couple of weeks ago:
2005 Green City Peak (cake)
2008 Purple brick of Dehong (brick)
2008 Menghai Peacock of Mengsong (cake)
2002 CNNP Bing Dao of Mengku (sample)
2007 Mengku Mu Ye Chun 001 (sample)
2008 Mengku Bing Dao Spring Cake (sample)
2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone-Pressed Yi Wu Mountain (sample)
2007 Guoyan Phoenix of Yi Wu (sample)

But the sickness gets worse. After all, this stuff takes weeks to arrive from China. What to do? Order some stuff more locally while I wait:

2006 Changtai 339 Pu-erh Tea Cake
2008 Bulang Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick
2008 Douji Dadou Pu-erh Tea Brick
Xiaguan FT Tibetan Flame Mushroom Tuocha
2003 CNNP Grand Yellow Label Pu-erh Tea Cake Sample

And of course it is not like I already need a new home to house all my existing stock. Crazy. I swear there is crack in this stuff
 

ouch

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2006 Changtai 339 Pu-erh Tea Cake
2008 Bulang Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick
2008 Douji Dadou Pu-erh Tea Brick
Xiaguan FT Tibetan Flame Mushroom Tuocha
2003 CNNP Grand Yellow Label Pu-erh Tea Cake Sample

What did a wise man once say about mediocre minds? :001_rolle
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=65868&postcount=2
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=37481&postcount=5
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=21465&postcount=11

I had my finger on the button for the Buland arbor brick from Yiwu Zhengshan, but my bs meter told me it was one of Jim's bottom shelf offeriings- hope I'm wrong. I did get the FT mushroom- just as cheap as from YS. The Douji mini brick looks cool, and I knew you were eventually going to grab a cake of the Changtai 339. That overwhelming smokiness and punch in the face flavor profile was compelling. :lol:
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Just a quick plug for Jim at Puerh Shop. Now although receiving a prime product may be trickier than at other shops, I can't fault his service. He ships my package before he receives my payment, and that alone makes me a repeat customer.
 
Just a quick plug for Jim at Puerh Shop. Now although receiving a prime product may be trickier than at other shops, I can't fault his service. He ships my package before he receives my payment, and that alone makes me a repeat customer.

Indeed. My order was placed at 2:39 today, and I got a notice it was shipped at 3:17. :w00t:
 
2005 Green City Peak (cake)
2008 Purple brick of Dehong (brick)
2008 Menghai Peacock of Mengsong (cake)
2007 Mengku Mu Ye Chun 001 (sample)
2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone-Pressed Yi Wu Mountain (sample)

All of the above I have found to be in the range decent (2005 Yongpinhao) to excellent (2008 Peacock of Mengsong), so I suspect you'll be happy! I remember my taste differs from yours on some teas, so do please let us know what you make of this new batch!

But the sickness gets worse. After all, this stuff takes weeks to arrive from China. What to do? Order some stuff more locally while I wait:

2006 Changtai 339 Pu-erh Tea Cake
2008 Bulang Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick
2008 Douji Dadou Pu-erh Tea Brick
Xiaguan FT Tibetan Flame Mushroom Tuocha
2003 CNNP Grand Yellow Label Pu-erh Tea Cake Sample

And of course it is not like I already need a new home to house all my existing stock. Crazy. I swear there is crack in this stuff

As a wise man once penned, "Get down with the sickness." I plan to drink the Douji Dadou brick in a few hours, by sheer chance. It is so small a brick that it's real comedy. :chinese:

I had my finger on the button for the Buland arbor brick from Yiwu Zhengshan, but my bs meter told me it was one of Jim's bottom shelf offeriings- hope I'm wrong. I did get the FT mushroom- just as cheap as from YS. The Douji mini brick looks cool, and I knew you were eventually going to grab a cake of the Changtai 339. That overwhelming smokiness and punch in the face flavor profile was compelling. :lol:

Excited to read that the Bulang brick was from Yiwuzhengshan (makers of the "Douji" brand, of course), I read the description over at Puerh Shop that confirms it. This could be a decent tea - given that it's only $12, though, I keep my expectations low.

The Changtai 339 is one I've not even heard of - time to try some!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 

ouch

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I plan to drink the Douji Dadou brick in a few hours, by sheer chance. It is so small a brick that it's real comedy. :chinese:

Jim at PS refers to it as the Hobbes single serving size. :001_rolle

Not to be outdone, I plan to brew a 250g tuo of Xiaguan FT with a single drop of boiling water.

Excited to read that the Bulang brick was from Yiwuzhengshan (makers of the "Douji" brand, of course), I read the description over at Puerh Shop that confirms it. This could be a decent tea - given that it's only $12, though, I keep my expectations low.

I really wanted to give this a go, but the price made me leery. Scott volunteered to take one for the team, so if he gives it the thumbs up, I can always grab one.

The Changtai 339 is one I've not even heard of - time to try some!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

That's the only tea I ever brewed that made my wife threaten me. She thinks that any smoky tea from China is dried with the exhaust fumes of trucks. It tasted like bacon to me.
 
Jim at PS refers to it as the Hobbes single serving size.

It does look rather like a little block of tobacco - maybe you could try chewing it? :)

I really wanted to give this a go, but the price made me leery. Scott volunteered to take one for the team, so if he gives it the thumbs up, I can always grab one.

Scotto - over to you!

I'm keen not to fill up my shelves with cheap, average tea. The rate at which it grows is quite terrifying. Extrapolate over the next decade, and I'll need to move my tea out into the garage... :chinese:

That's the only tea I ever brewed that made my wife threaten me. She thinks that any smoky tea from China is dried with the exhaust fumes of trucks. It tasted like bacon to me.

Hmm - sounds like a dodgy shupu!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 
No shengpu today - just a solid 14-year-old shupu from my wife's hometown. Simple, but chunky. Celebrating a successful job interview. :001_smile


Toodlepip,

Hobbes
 
I am revisiting my 2006 Old Tree Banzhang sampler from Puerhshop.

This time I am using 5g leaves, 2 cups and a pour-through strainer instead of the teaball. I am using the carafe on my coffee pot warmer to heat the water, with nearly-boiling water from microwave for the 1st infusion.

I looked over the leaves from the previous tasting and noticed that they are chopped, roughly 1cm pieces.

This cake sample is very tightly pressed and instead of spending a lot of time trying to flake it apart, I just poured water over it. 1st infusion almost 20s waiting for the cake to separate (didn't happen), which I went ahead and drank. Very smoky.

Being at work, I am not really timing these and the steeps are really longer that they should be. After the second infusion I notice that this piece of cake is chopped smaller that the first. This time there are a large number of tea-bag sized pieces and a lot of dust got throught the strainer on the third and fourth, with a lot of astringency starting to come in. Still smoky in the start, with a finish that reminds my untrained tongue of English Breakfast. I am not getting any of the foresty flavor I got from the tea-ball.

This is the smokiest and most astringent of the 4 samples I have. I wonder if it would be worth getting one to put away for a while?
 

ouch

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This is the smokiest and most astringent of the 4 samples I have. I wonder if it would be worth getting one to put away for a while?

You may want to try a few more first. I'm still in the "I have to buy everything" phase, but I realise that it's all about finding things you really enjoy.
 
2001 Yiwu Zhengshan Old Tree Pu-erh Tea Cake (CNNP made?)
120mL gaiwan, 8g of leaf, ~10 second infusions

The taste? Like an old man with a cane walking up stairs in front of you - tired and annoying. I wonder what this tasted like back in 2001, because there is not much left. I needed to use 2X the amount of leaf and much longer infusion times to coax anything at all out of this. Some woodiness, anise, a bit sweet, but lackluster. Certainly not worth the $37 or so puerhshop is asking.
 
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