What Pu'er Are You Drinking
2016 Chawangpu Nannuo Shan Gushu
I remember sampling a bit when it first came in to see where to store it.
I pulled 10 grams out to brew with. Cake is looser now that it has had time to settle a bit. I tossed the leaf in a warmed brewer and it gave an almost sweet alfalfa note. I rinsed it and got brewing.
First infusion quick steep, comes across sweet and aromatic. Light on the palate as it is still opening up. Let it sit about 30 minutes after this.
Second infusion, a bit more punch to it . Some astringency, maybe a hint of tart and metallic. Let it cool slightly and the sweetness comes back. An almost mint note to it.
Third infusion, still quick steeps. A little more bite/bitter in there. Sweetness still on the last note on the tongue. Gets thicker and has the lingering in the throat a bit. Seems to be good material. Not sure about pricing since it has climbed since I purchased it.
I remember sampling a bit when it first came in to see where to store it.
I pulled 10 grams out to brew with. Cake is looser now that it has had time to settle a bit. I tossed the leaf in a warmed brewer and it gave an almost sweet alfalfa note. I rinsed it and got brewing.
First infusion quick steep, comes across sweet and aromatic. Light on the palate as it is still opening up. Let it sit about 30 minutes after this.
Second infusion, a bit more punch to it . Some astringency, maybe a hint of tart and metallic. Let it cool slightly and the sweetness comes back. An almost mint note to it.
Third infusion, still quick steeps. A little more bite/bitter in there. Sweetness still on the last note on the tongue. Gets thicker and has the lingering in the throat a bit. Seems to be good material. Not sure about pricing since it has climbed since I purchased it.
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Did Bitterleaf Teas go by a different name in the past? The style of wrapper looks familiar, but not the name of the store.
As far as I know they’ve always been Bitterleaf Teas. Been buying from them for almost three years now.entropyembrace wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:18 amDid Bitterleaf Teas go by a different name in the past? The style of wrapper looks familiar, but not the name of the store.
Seconded. That is the only label I have seen them under. They do use their own wrappers to rewrap cakes though. Jonah has a good palate and finds some good older stuff.entropyembrace wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:18 amDid Bitterleaf Teas go by a different name in the past? The style of wrapper looks familiar, but not the name of the store.
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- Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:47 am
It was Tea Urchin that I was thinking of with colourful characters painted on the wrappers of most of their cakes. I couldn't remember the name earlier, now that I search for them I see it's definitely a different store.CWarren wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:27 amAs far as I know they’ve always been Bitterleaf Teas. Been buying from them for almost three years now.entropyembrace wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:18 amDid Bitterleaf Teas go by a different name in the past? The style of wrapper looks familiar, but not the name of the store.
Essence Of Tea Jingdong. Heady stuff quite different. Bitter and then sweet.
I posted this on steepster, but I want to post it here too since the user base doesn't overlap much:
I’ve been testing shous with a newly bought (modern) zini pot, comparing it to my current (modern) aged duan ni pot that I’ve had devoted to shou for half a year. Here’s my analysis:
The zini is good for the 1990 CNNP “73 Brick” because that tea normally has a very muted flavor and it accentuated the body so it was more jelly like. It tasted really good, so I got excited about the zini! WIth a duan ni for this tea, the mouth energy of the tea is accentuated to a higher degree than in the zini, but no jelly like body so overall for this tea there’s a net negative for using the duan ni.
But with more testing, I found that the zini accentuates some of the less desirable flavors in the other shous I have that have a stronger flavor, while still having a thicker body: 2011 Menghai Dayi “100 year” tribute & 2001 Hong Kong Traditional Storage CNNP 7572. As a result, I prefer using the duan ni for these teas. The duan ni takes away some body but also takes away some funk that I think these shous will still retain even if they are aired out for a long time. I’ve already personally aired them out for 6 months. And because the duan ni takes away some of that funk some of the more subtle flavors of these teas are able to become more present now that they aren’t masked by funk.
Overall, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if its worthwhile devoting the zini to shou as well, since most shous will have some type of storage or fermentation scent. However, I’m still a shou newbie and I think this exercise will be great to repeat in 1 year once the teas have aired out even more.
I’ve been testing shous with a newly bought (modern) zini pot, comparing it to my current (modern) aged duan ni pot that I’ve had devoted to shou for half a year. Here’s my analysis:
The zini is good for the 1990 CNNP “73 Brick” because that tea normally has a very muted flavor and it accentuated the body so it was more jelly like. It tasted really good, so I got excited about the zini! WIth a duan ni for this tea, the mouth energy of the tea is accentuated to a higher degree than in the zini, but no jelly like body so overall for this tea there’s a net negative for using the duan ni.
But with more testing, I found that the zini accentuates some of the less desirable flavors in the other shous I have that have a stronger flavor, while still having a thicker body: 2011 Menghai Dayi “100 year” tribute & 2001 Hong Kong Traditional Storage CNNP 7572. As a result, I prefer using the duan ni for these teas. The duan ni takes away some body but also takes away some funk that I think these shous will still retain even if they are aired out for a long time. I’ve already personally aired them out for 6 months. And because the duan ni takes away some of that funk some of the more subtle flavors of these teas are able to become more present now that they aren’t masked by funk.
Overall, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if its worthwhile devoting the zini to shou as well, since most shous will have some type of storage or fermentation scent. However, I’m still a shou newbie and I think this exercise will be great to repeat in 1 year once the teas have aired out even more.
I think I might know where you got the 7572Shine Magical wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:35 pmI posted this on steepster, but I want to post it here too since the user base doesn't overlap much:
I’ve been testing shous with a newly bought (modern) zini pot, comparing it to my current (modern) aged duan ni pot that I’ve had devoted to shou for half a year. Here’s my analysis:
The zini is good for the 1990 CNNP “73 Brick” because that tea normally has a very muted flavor and it accentuated the body so it was more jelly like. It tasted really good, so I got excited about the zini! WIth a duan ni for this tea, the mouth energy of the tea is accentuated to a higher degree than in the zini, but no jelly like body so overall for this tea there’s a net negative for using the duan ni.
But with more testing, I found that the zini accentuates some of the less desirable flavors in the other shous I have that have a stronger flavor, while still having a thicker body: 2011 Menghai Dayi “100 year” tribute & 2001 Hong Kong Traditional Storage CNNP 7572. As a result, I prefer using the duan ni for these teas. The duan ni takes away some body but also takes away some funk that I think these shous will still retain even if they are aired out for a long time. I’ve already personally aired them out for 6 months. And because the duan ni takes away some of that funk some of the more subtle flavors of these teas are able to become more present now that they aren’t masked by funk.
Overall, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if its worthwhile devoting the zini to shou as well, since most shous will have some type of storage or fermentation scent. However, I’m still a shou newbie and I think this exercise will be great to repeat in 1 year once the teas have aired out even more.
As for the modern zini, it might be better for black teas or young sheng, or perhaps oolongs. How big is the pot? Alternatively you could just use it for sweet-tasting shu and leave the funkier stuff for duanni. Zini can be both flavor enhancing and muting, depending on thickness and firing. 'Modern' zini can be nothing at all like older zini and is often not Yixing clay at all. That kind of zini definitely does not mute, but some of the older stuff isn't all that muting either. I have one particular pot that is amazing with dank storage teas and it is irreplaceable!
2009 Yiwu from White2Tea. Seems like a decent "more than just a daily drinker" type of sheng, along with their 2005 Gaoshan Qingbing.