What Pu'er Are You Drinking

Frisbeehead · Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:14 pm

2007 Yang Qing Hao Lingya in my chipped F2 zini shuiping

This session is turning out much better than my last. That's not to say my last session was bad, as I don't think I've had a bad session with this tea. However for some reason, whether it's because of my body chemistry right now, or because I've been keeping the temperature higher than usual in my pumidor (up to 75-79 F from 69-72 F originally), or because of my brewing parameters/technique, but the taste right now is definitely superior to my last session.

Succetus · Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:02 am

This year's Old reliable shu by W2T. Grandpa style, with some added dried orange rinds (inspired by tea stuffed mandarins).

Every now and then I get the opportunity to buy some homegrown oranges, supposedly pesticide free. I decided to cut some rinds into thin stripes, dry and then steep them with shu puer. The result is interesting - the orange adds some sour notes and fresh, oily aroma, yet somehow take away from the thick mouthfeel and overpower tea's inherent sweetness. I should probably use a bit less rinds next time.

Chadrinkincat · Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:44 pm

Dec 2005 XG green box. I remember trying one of these a number of years ago and thought it was pretty nasty stuff. Than again it was under 5yr old and totally dry stored in US. Not a very good combo. This one on the other hand was GD stored. Has a nice menthal/herbal profile but It's a pretty weak tea. Also this was listed as a sept production but clearly isnt. Not sure if that would've made much of a difference though. Maybe it'll improve in a month or so seeing as it just arrived.

heichaholiday · Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:22 pm

I was inspired by the videos from Yunnan Sourcing so yesterday I drank Man Tang Hong Number 2 for the first time and today I'm revisiting the Man Tang Hong Gong Ting. I bought the 2011 sampler with both a few months ago so they've had plenty of time to rest. The dry leaf of this one smells like dark chocolate and both it and the tea soup are more pungent than Number 2. That said, the Gong Ting is actually rounder tasting and sweeter with a sharp cinnamon taste that quickly fades to more of a feel that goes well with the general thickness of this tea. This tea is definitely smoother than Number 2 with a plummy tartness that emerges in the aftertaste that really rounds out this tea. This tea also leaves a sugar sweetness on my lips like the 2013 Golden Needle White Lotus but this actually has character to it. Number 2 really is a drier tea with more spice flavor and less sweetness. Both definitely share a lot of character and are really tasty teas. I'd probably drink the Man Tang Hong Gong Ting more often though.

Rui · Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:34 am

Today my colleagues and I are sipping White2Tea's 2017 Bellwether sheng. A smooth and aromatic young pu'er tea to cool me off in this horribly warm office.

CWarren · Wed Dec 13, 2017 10:11 pm

2014 Huang Pian “MEGA Brick” Shou Puerh Tea from Crimson Lotus Tea. Heavy soup in terms of density and mouthfeel, rich notes of premium coffee and earth. Some nice huigan in later steeps. Very relaxing session.

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Rui · Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:09 am

Another very young tea for today. 2017 Manichee from White2Tea which is also mild Yiwu like tasting with a decent sheng aroma.

Coconut · Thu Dec 14, 2017 10:20 am

I had Tea Urchin's 2013 Peacock blend. It was pretty mellow and had a nice body. Some notes of dried fruits. It was very enjoyable

Thu Dec 14, 2017 11:35 am

CWarren wrote: ↑
Wed Dec 13, 2017 10:11 pm
2014 Huang Pian “MEGA Brick” Shou Puerh Tea from Crimson Lotus Tea. Heavy soup in terms of density and mouthfeel, rich notes of premium coffee and earth. Some nice huigan in later steeps. Very relaxing session.

I need to commend you for your choice of images in this tryptic, really strong series, that speaks to your coffee earthy rich dense mouthfeel. Super.

gatmcm · Thu Dec 14, 2017 11:41 am

Having a session of the 2006 tian jian wild sheng from adventure in every cup, it has a mentholy freshness I've found before in wild sheng, the main flavour is overipe fruit, maybe plum.

Sadly the storage wore out a bit since I first bought it, it used to taste a bit wetter and it suited it well, now it feels a bit thinner.

It is one of two teas I bought in that order, the other being the 2006 De he xing, contrary to my first impression the latter seems to be the better tea, after being about 1/3 in both and figuring out brewing the De he xing has a stronger, albeit more bitter, aftertaste and it seems to linger longer, it is also thicker.

d.manuk · Thu Dec 14, 2017 3:38 pm

Ugh, I'm drinking "Black Gold" from Crimson Lotus. This is my 3rd tasting and I'm still very disappointed.
I don't think it's good... unpleasantly bitter and the ripening wasn't done in a way that's to my liking. The overarching flavor is... peppercorn?
I regret buying 2 whole cakes of it.

I've had a lot better shous. I seem to frequently have bad experiences when trying to support smaller tea businesses.

CWarren · Thu Dec 14, 2017 4:51 pm

Victoria wrote: ↑
Thu Dec 14, 2017 11:35 am
I need to commend you for your choice of images in this tryptic, really strong series, that speaks to your coffee earthy rich dense mouthfeel. Super.

Thank you Victoria.

CWarren · Thu Dec 14, 2017 4:59 pm

Shine Magical wrote: ↑
Thu Dec 14, 2017 3:38 pm
Ugh, I'm drinking "Black Gold" from Crimson Lotus. This is my 3rd tasting and I'm still very disappointed.
I don't think it's good... unpleasantly bitter and the ripening wasn't done in a way that's to my liking. The overarching flavor is... peppercorn?
I regret buying 2 whole cakes of it.

I've had a lot better shous. I seem to frequently have bad experiences when trying to support smaller tea businesses.

I actually enjoyed this one a lot. I pushed it hard and it took it. A shame it wasn’t to your liking. On a side note I actually enjoyed Storm Breaker from them more than I did Black Gold and the Nannuo mini shrooms they released this year probably my favorite offering from them this year in the shou department.

CWarren · Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:02 pm

2015 Huron Te Ji from Whispering Pines. Thick and creamy malt infused mushroom broth. No mistaking the Menghai material with this one and heavy fermentation notes as well. 13g in my 100ml gaiwan was just right as any more chunk added and I’d have had shou pudding, (which isn’t a bad thing in my book). This may not be the best shou for folks starting out as it can be pretty in your face.

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heichaholiday · Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:16 pm

Just tried the sample of Crimson Rooster that came in yesterday from Yunnan Sourcing. I'm going to give it a few weeks before doing anything like a proper review but I couldn't resist tasting it. The dry leaf smells sweet but I didn't sniff it long enough to pick up much else. This definitely was piled recently as fiber is some funk in earlier steepings that reminds me of hotdogs. That sounds really bad but it was more of a curiosity than actually unpleasant as it didn't really detract from all the good stuff going on. There was some pretty defined dark chocolate going on and eventually spice and dried fruit started to emerge. I forgot to make note of the mouthfeel but I think it was thick? It at least had that spice feel to it. I may end up preferring this to Rooster King but I think this is definitely more approachable than the 2017 Hui Run as this has some funk but is still sweet and without any bitterness. I think Rooster King was sweeter with a maple flavor to it but I'd need to taste it again side by side.

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