What Pu'er Are You Drinking

Puerh and other heicha
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mrmopu
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Fri May 10, 2019 6:16 am

@oolong fan, I saw the three you were talking about. I just looked at the first one the other day. I saw the others at the bottom.
gatmcm
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Fri May 10, 2019 6:18 am

oolongfan wrote:
Thu May 09, 2019 9:39 pm

@gatmcm - Thanks for sharing your impressions on the 2006 T8653 cake -sounds right up my alley. Does this cake reflect what I have heard as a slightly 'newer' style Xiaguan? I have not had any newer Xiaguan..so can't confirm..but what I am asking is this cake similar to the previous years T8653? One more question, where did you get your 2006 T8653 from?
Im not sure about new style vs old, as far as I am aware 2006 happens to be the cutoff point pricewise, 2005 xg seems to be significantly more expensive than 06.
I got mine from ktm as well.
It has the aged out smoke taste I associate with xiaguan but I leave comparing different vintages to more knowledgeable folks, cheers.
Chris
Posts: 59
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Sat May 11, 2019 8:40 pm

Gambled on a bing of the 2003 CNNP (logo) Mengsong from YS. It literally *just* arrived from China but I had a rough day so decided to try it despite probable jet lag.

I’m two infusions in using a zhuni (...) pot from Chawangshop and actually this tea seems pretty great. Not the most complex, but it’s fruity, sweet, deep (others might call this woody or mushroomy?) and still has that astringent backbone to it. The body could stand to be a bit thicker, maybe. I’m pretty happy with it for the price, and presumably it’ll get better after letting it aclimate to its new home a little longer.

I tried the 2011 Dayi Gold for the first time earlier this week, too. I liked it more than I expected—felt like a lot of energy (though I’d eaten very little that day). Can’t see spending the money for anything more than a sample, but would be nice to find something similar at a lower price point.
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Balthazar
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Sun May 12, 2019 4:01 am

oolongfan wrote:
Thu May 09, 2019 9:39 pm
I don't remember there being any info on which pressing the cakes were at King Tea Mall.

I think it was an order placed by a Japanese outfit with CNNP..which CNNP turned over to Xiaguan to makes...then the order was cancelled and another buyer took it...I may have the detals wrong.

There is a listing at King Tea Mall which allows to choose from three cakes, with different wrappes...but again I don't remmber if there were any details about pressing info. Maybe there is and I am too new to pu'erh to 'see' it :)
There are three "batches" of the Iron version of 2005 8653 available at KTM, with a price difference of $20 between 1st and 3rd batch. I believe there are differences other than the wrappers (probably different pressings?), which account for the price differences, but I don't know the details. The FT-version of 8653 seems to be a bit pricier than normal version each year, as the material used for FT-productions is supposedly slightly better. Don't know if that's really the case, but a lot of knowledgeable people seem to think so and I guess it can't all be placebo...

Chris wrote:
Sat May 11, 2019 8:40 pm
I tried the 2011 Dayi Gold for the first time earlier this week, too. I liked it more than I expected—felt like a lot of energy (though I’d eaten very little that day). Can’t see spending the money for anything more than a sample, but would be nice to find something similar at a lower price point.
I like it a lot too, enough that I bought a cake in 2013 after I had tried a sample. The cake was the first fake I ever bought, so for that reason alone the 2011 Jin Dayi holds a special place in my heart :)

The 2003 Mengsong sounds great, by the way.
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Rickpatbrown
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Sun May 12, 2019 5:12 pm

2007 Menghai 7562 ripe brick. Solid brew with a nice herbal/spice finish in the last few steeps.

One of my favorite things is taking the lid off of big glass jars that I store my puerh in. The scent is amazing.
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oolongfan
Posts: 156
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:40 am
Location: Indiana, USA

Sun May 12, 2019 8:31 pm

@gatmcm - Thanks for sharing your impressions of the 2006 as well as the source. I noticed the price difference between the 2006 and 2005 too...quite a difference.

@Balthazar - Thanks for clarifying the details in regards the three batches of the iron version of 2005 8653. I am not knowledgable enough to understand the differences among the cakes aside from the wrappers. Thanks for the info about the FT version too....it would be interesting to compare the FT version with the regular one.

@mrmopu - Glad you located the cakes which I was trying to describe (in rather poor fashion). I am still to new to pu'erh to catch the nuances or unsaid in the descriptions...thngs probably obvious to more experienced drinkers.
John_B
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Fri May 17, 2019 4:02 am

I'm mostly drinking pu'er these days but I mostly just tell the blog about it. Since I am bored at work and writing here and there I'll mention what I've been into.

I bought a few lower-end random gamble versions on a trip to Shenzhen around a month ago. Nothing too interesting came out of that, and I've only reviewed two of four versions. I just retried both in the last two days, which helps move me past a first impression, and I think one has more potential than the other, but at a guess both will be better in a year, just maybe not ideal for really long term aging.

I bought a strange version that's really bud-heavy but tasted a lot like mushrooms too, and brick that is really earthy (think dirt), marketed as old but it may well have been rapid aged. A tea like that I bought from Chinatown here in the last year, in Bangkok, seems to be improving a lot from airing out so maybe it's early to call how that will go.

An order from Yunnan Sourcing was interesting, including their 2018 Impression, and a 2017 "He Bian Zhai" (also somewhat in-house themed) version that seemed well received by others, and a 2007 CNNP 8891 (ok, different, pretty earthy). For value I think all of those were nice; for match to preference not so bad.

I've been trying teas on a slightly higher level in the form of King Tea Mall samples, most recently Laos and Ban Pen sheng versions, which were nice. Those are further towards the $.30-.40 / gram range, not expensive teas as some people's preference and budget go, but I seem to have less to work with.

Next I'll review a nice Vietnamese loose sheng I've been drinking (and like), but haven't got to writing about, and there are more around the house from another order from Chawang shop. I came into some limited funds my wife didn't see a credit card paper trail for but I won't keep piling up teas after that, at least not right away.
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Victoria
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Tue May 21, 2019 12:24 am

John_B wrote:
Fri May 17, 2019 4:02 am
..... I came into some limited funds my wife didn't see a credit card paper trail for but I won't keep piling up teas after that, at least not right away.
That is hilarious @John_B, really classic.
I’m kind of surprised you are buying pu’erh from online vendors, since you travel a lot and are so close to Yunnan, well at least relative to where I am in California. I guess I imagine you just walking around the way Akira Hojo does sourcing pu’erh in Yunnan :) .

Yesterday a few LA Tea Society members shared some sheng, in between various oolong;
2000 Blue Mark Replica, Global Tea Hut
2005 Taiwan master Shi Kun Mu Menghai, Menghai Purple Bud
&
2003 Serious Formula, Teas We Like

Global Tea Hut’s 2000 Blue Mark Replica really stood out. Wow, a very clean and crisp Taiwan stored sheng, with lots of energetic rich complex notes of spice and fruit. Members got a little Qi high on this one, and again later with ‘03 TWL Serious Formula. Some members commented that I am a little Cha Qi dense, that I need to be knocked over to feel it. I think this is probably the case, although I do remember getting Qi high from Origin’s 1995 Mengku Da Ye Sheng, and a 1998 Menghai Tea Factory “Red Mark Red Ribbon” sheng. Anyway, both Blue Mark and Serious Formula are excellent. Serious Formula, in my limited experience, exhibits characteristics of a ‘classic sheng’ with woody musky sweet aromatic notes and some smoke. It is also clean, but not in the same crisp clear way the Blue Mark replica exhibits.
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Rickpatbrown
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Sat May 25, 2019 5:24 pm

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Yunnan Sourcing Aged sheng tasting. I received some samples this week. Working through Scott's inventory is quite an undertaking. I'm realizing the importance of direct comparisons, though. Makes it much easier to identify different character.

2003 CNNP Yi Wu Zheng Shan
2003 Yi Wu high mountain wild arbor
2002 Jian Cheng ye sheng gu cha

These are all very nice teas. Both the 2003 CNNP Yi Wu teas have more body and aftertaste. I really am enjoying the high mountain wild arbor tea. It is heavy on the smoky tobacco front. The other two are lighter and fruitier. All are quite smooth.

I'm not going to be able to sleep for a week after this!
Rui
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:44 am
Location: Luebeck - Germany

Tue May 28, 2019 3:15 am

2016 Yunnan Sourcing Mang Zhi ancient arbor raw pu'er.
Rui
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:44 am
Location: Luebeck - Germany

Wed May 29, 2019 2:07 am

2014 Hai Lang Hao Zhu Jiu 2 raw pu'er from Yunnan Sourcing.
dloo99
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Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 10:43 am

Wed May 29, 2019 10:56 am

2005 Xiaguan Jia Ji tuo... stored in Chongqing (of all places). Not bad... definitely a good wake up call.
oolongfan
Posts: 156
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:40 am
Location: Indiana, USA

Wed May 29, 2019 8:11 pm

@Rui - I would love to hear more about the 1985 Nan Nuo shan sheng from La Maison des Trois Thés in Paris. :)

I have been spoiled lately - drinking lovely 1980s CNNP Yellow Mark sheng from Norbu. It is hands down one of the best aged sheng that I have had. Beautiful forest floor, peat, damp autum leaves, caramel, brown sugar, a baba rhum note like note. Beautiful storage. This teas has inspired me to try more well aged sheng.
oolongfan
Posts: 156
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Location: Indiana, USA

Wed May 29, 2019 8:14 pm

@dloo99 - Where did you get the 2005 Xiaguan Jia Ji tuo? I don't think that I have had any pu erh stored in Chongqing before.
oolongfan
Posts: 156
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Location: Indiana, USA

Wed May 29, 2019 8:48 pm

@Shine Magical - Thanks for sharing your experiences with EOT's 2018 Spring "Piercing the Illusion" and the 2018 Spring Gedeng Guoyoulin. I was thinking of getting samples of both...so will keep your comments in mind, especially in regard to the 2018 Spring Gedeng Guoyoulin.

Have you tried the 2018 EoT Autumn Guafengzhai? I got samples of the Spring version and loved it.
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