What Pu'er Are You Drinking

Puerh and other heicha
.m.
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Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:24 am

yinyautong wrote:
Fri Dec 10, 2021 10:27 pm
There is an idiom in Hong Kong "the earlier you bought a thing, the earlier you could enjoy it; the later you bought a thing, the few more hundred you are gonna to pay for it" (早買早享受,遲買貴幾舊), and the idiom has come true now.
Sad truth. Had I invested in puerh 10 years ago... i'd be sitting on a few tongs of mediocre teas and lamenting the missed opportunities. :lol:

I've been alternating between big and small pot brewing lately. 2006 XZH Banpo Laozhai in the small pot - nothing super fancy but a very solid tea that keeps me completely satisfied - I should grab more of it if the right opportunity arises. In the big pot: yesterdays leaves of the same tea - often the long steeping of leaves that were slowly giving up their flavor makes for the best brew - it shows the true quality of the tea.
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yinyautong
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Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:53 pm

.m. wrote:
Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:24 am
I've been alternating between big and small pot brewing lately. 2006 XZH Banpo Laozhai in the small pot - nothing super fancy but a very solid tea that keeps me completely satisfied - I should grab more of it if the right opportunity arises. In the big pot: yesterdays leaves of the same tea - often the long steeping of leaves that were slowly giving up their flavor makes for the best brew - it shows the true quality of the tea.
That’s interesting. So did you use the same proportion of tea leave and water?
.m.
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Sun Dec 12, 2021 9:26 am

yinyautong wrote:
Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:53 pm
.m. wrote:
Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:24 am
I've been alternating between big and small pot brewing lately. 2006 XZH Banpo Laozhai in the small pot - nothing super fancy but a very solid tea that keeps me completely satisfied - I should grab more of it if the right opportunity arises. In the big pot: yesterdays leaves of the same tea - often the long steeping of leaves that were slowly giving up their flavor makes for the best brew - it shows the true quality of the tea.
That’s interesting. So did you use the same proportion of tea leave and water?
It depends, if it is just used leaves from a small pot then it is the same amount in a bigger pot, but sometimes i add a bit of fresh leaves, or combine used leaves from several sessions, so often even the bigger pot ends up completely filled by leaves.
But the point is always the same, bigger pots conserve heat much better, so i can do long steepings, 1hr or more, and get plenty more out of the leaves. Some people boil tea, but i haven't liked that too much.
I find that a good quality puerh tends to have a certain sweetness that becomes apparent after the dominant taste subsides, and the really good ones tend to produce a strong throat feeling which is more intense with the long steeping.
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yinyautong
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Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:02 am

I normally brew tea like a ritual and only use my Gaiwan or rather small Yixing teapots. Yours is really good point and I definitely will try.
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yinyautong
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Wed Dec 15, 2021 7:22 pm

Today I unwrapped a tea cake, a 2012 Gu Su Raw Cake which was from Mengku Snow Mountain. I have to admitted that sometimes when I watched YouTubers describing their tea products and I wondered how could they tasted so much with the tea that I don't. But this cake proved that I was wrong, this cake was so fantastic that just matched some descriptions that I watched from those YouTubers. Yeah, it tasted good.

For more, please visit my tea blog https://yinyautong.wordpress.com/2021/1 ... 功勐庫大雪山古茶樹/
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yinyautong
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Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:19 pm

2010 Chen Sheng Hao Lao Ban Zhang - 200g Cake

It is the second time to drink this tea. The first one was a sample given by the vendor. Lao Ban Zhang, known as the king of tea, is famous for its tea "Qi" and long lasting aftertaste. I only have a few cakes of Lao Ban Zhang tea cakes as I consider that they are overprice. It costs 20 times more than the Mengku cake in my last post which I appreciated very much.

However, LBZ really get its own style. I felt a strong tea "Qi" after the 4 infusion, it was like I suddenly felt warm in my body. This tea is rich in flavour. And the aftertaste is super long which made my throat very comfortable. The tea was still very tasty in the 14th infusion.
https://yinyautong.wordpress.com
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Andrew S
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Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:04 pm

1990s Menghai green label from Varat Phong on a hot and somewhat humid day.

A very persistent aftertaste that stays with you long after you've swallowed the tea, and a nice relaxing feeling with a lingering 'headbuzz'.

I'd call this a good example of traditional storage; not too wet, nor too young or dry; mature and smooth, but still retaining a pleasant distant memory of the young raw tea that it once was.

Andrew
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Andrew S
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Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:09 pm

@yinyautong (and anyone else): something I've been wondering about is whether there is much of a market in Hong Kong or other places for modern puer (post-1990s) that has gone through traditional storage (a bit of wet storage, and then more naturally-humid storage), or whether modern puer is mostly stored in fairly dry conditions these days.

Sometimes it seems like puer from the 1990s will be the last of its kind, but perhaps I just can't see the local demand for traditional storage of new puer.

Andrew
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yinyautong
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Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:47 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:09 pm
yinyautong (and anyone else): something I've been wondering about is whether there is much of a market in Hong Kong or other places for modern puer (post-1990s) that has gone through traditional storage (a bit of wet storage, and then more naturally-humid storage), or whether modern puer is mostly stored in fairly dry conditions these days.

Sometimes it seems like puer from the 1990s will be the last of its kind, but perhaps I just can't see the local demand for traditional storage of new puer.

Andrew
Hi Andrew, I always want to try the tea before 2000. I envy you with the 1990s Menghai Green Label, which looks great ! I just started drinking tea a few years ago so the tea before 2000 are so expensive for me.

Frankly, I'm just a beginner in Pu Erh tea world so my answer may not be accurate. As far as I know, the "Dry Storage" is relatively a new concept and not a norm in Hong Kong before 2000 (I don't know the exact time). Before 2000, Pu Erh tea was much much cheaper than its value today. Most of the vendor would not spear many years to store their Pu Erh in dry place to age their Pu Erh tea as it was not cost effective. At that time, "wet storage" was seen as a technique to tame the new Pu Erh. According to a Hong Kong vendor who started selling Pu Erh tea in 1960s explained in their YouTube channel, basically no one would buy their Pu Erh tea if their tea cakes did not go through the "Technique" as the new raw tea cake were deemed to be dry, bitter and irritating in their first few years by their customers. That's why most vendors and Chinese restaurant (茶樓) in Hong Kong at that time would use their "technique" to accelerate the ageing process.

In addition, Hong Kong, where the land has always been precious, the storage environment of Pu erh has changed from above ground to underground, where the costs were lower but the environment were more humid. Also, the climate in Hong Kong is already humid and rainy enough. The unique climate and the storage environment make Pu'er tea mainly stored in a "wet" environment, and "wet storage" might come from this.

However, the trend has changed after 2000, I guess it might due to the very successful vendor who found the "dry stored 88 Qingbing" in Yunnan which had been dry stored for a long time. And later the 88 Qungbin were delivered and sold in early 2000s. Since then, people started to realise that dry stored Pu Erh with ages would simply more delicious. And dry stored Pu Erh has become the mainstream.

I may be wrong, someone please correct me if I gave a not accurate answer. Thank you . :)
DailyTX
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Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:26 pm

yinyautong wrote:
Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:47 pm
Andrew S wrote:
Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:09 pm
yinyautong (and anyone else): something I've been wondering about is whether there is much of a market in Hong Kong or other places for modern puer (post-1990s) that has gone through traditional storage (a bit of wet storage, and then more naturally-humid storage), or whether modern puer is mostly stored in fairly dry conditions these days.

Sometimes it seems like puer from the 1990s will be the last of its kind, but perhaps I just can't see the local demand for traditional storage of new puer.

Andrew
Hi Andrew, I always want to try the tea before 2000. I envy you with the 1990s Menghai Green Label, which looks great ! I just started drinking tea a few years ago so the tea before 2000 are so expensive for me.

Frankly, I'm just a beginner in Pu Erh tea world so my answer may not be accurate. As far as I know, the "Dry Storage" is relatively a new concept and not a norm in Hong Kong before 2000 (I don't know the exact time). Before 2000, Pu Erh tea was much much cheaper than its value today. Most of the vendor would not spear many years to store their Pu Erh in dry place to age their Pu Erh tea as it was not cost effective. At that time, "wet storage" was seen as a technique to tame the new Pu Erh. According to a Hong Kong vendor who started selling Pu Erh tea in 1960s explained in their YouTube channel, basically no one would buy their Pu Erh tea if their tea cakes did not go through the "Technique" as the new raw tea cake were deemed to be dry, bitter and irritating in their first few years by their customers. That's why most vendors and Chinese restaurant (茶樓) in Hong Kong at that time would use their "technique" to accelerate the ageing process.

In addition, Hong Kong, where the land has always been precious, the storage environment of Pu erh has changed from above ground to underground, where the costs were lower but the environment were more humid. Also, the climate in Hong Kong is already humid and rainy enough. The unique climate and the storage environment make Pu'er tea mainly stored in a "wet" environment, and "wet storage" might come from this.

However, the trend has changed after 2000, I guess it might due to the very successful vendor who found the "dry stored 88 Qingbing" in Yunnan which had been dry stored for a long time. And later the 88 Qungbin were delivered and sold in early 2000s. Since then, people started to realise that dry stored Pu Erh with ages would simply more delicious. And dry stored Pu Erh has become the mainstream.

I may be wrong, someone please correct me if I gave a not accurate answer. Thank you . :)
I am not an expert either. @yinyautong you summed up pretty well. The Youtube channel you were referencing, was the channel hosted by the owner of Lau Yu Fat Tea shop?
Maybe a puerh merchant can chime in. I believe there's a difference between puerh stored in HK vs. GuangZhou area. GuangZhou storage is considered on the drier side despite of two locations are about 2 hours apart.
Noonie
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Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:56 pm

I’m having a late 90’s Sho, a tea I’ve had many times before, but this time it’s 8pm and I’m seeing if it will impact my sleep. Hopefully not!
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yinyautong
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Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:26 pm

DailyTX wrote:
Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:26 pm
yinyautong wrote:
Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:47 pm
Andrew S wrote:
Fri Dec 17, 2021 8:09 pm
The Youtube channel you were referencing, was the channel hosted by the owner of Lau Yu Fat Tea shop?
Yes, I remember that one or two podcasts of him are about Pu Erh storage in Hong Kong.
Chadrinkincat
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Sun Dec 19, 2021 3:58 pm

I’m enjoying another session with the 2004 XG FT 8653 3+1 from The Jade Leaf. This has become a favorite of mine for daily drinking which is why this cake is almost gone. My ROC zini pot really brings out the pine resin notes.

I think this batch is worth serious consideration If someone is in the market for a tong of reasonably priced XG. I rank it higher than the 05-06 iron + non-iron versions.
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yinyautong
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Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:15 pm

Chadrinkincat wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 3:58 pm
I’m enjoying another session with the 2004 XG FT 8653 3+1 from The Jade Leaf. This has become a favorite of mine for daily drinking which is why this cake is almost gone. My ROC zini pot really brings out the pine resin notes.

I think this batch is worth serious consideration If someone is in the market for a tong of reasonably priced XG. I rank it higher than the 05-06 iron + non-iron versions.
Wow, l love them too! I’m very lucky that I still have 8 cakes of them. 😆
Chadrinkincat
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Mon Dec 20, 2021 12:13 pm

yinyautong wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:15 pm
Chadrinkincat wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 3:58 pm
I’m enjoying another session with the 2004 XG FT 8653 3+1 from The Jade Leaf. This has become a favorite of mine for daily drinking which is why this cake is almost gone. My ROC zini pot really brings out the pine resin notes.

I think this batch is worth serious consideration If someone is in the market for a tong of reasonably priced XG. I rank it higher than the 05-06 iron + non-iron versions.
Wow, l love them too! I’m very lucky that I still have 8 cakes of them. 😆

I find these FT productions to be a bit more enjoyable than regular versions which I also throughly enjoy. Smoother and more resinous.
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