What a beauty!
What Pu'er Are You Drinking
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TabulaRasa
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2022 4:35 pm
- Location: EU
Drinking some FT 8653 3+1 today. this feels like strong tea. very weird unusual flavor though. will have more sessions to see what this is about!
03 Changtai Qianjiafeng "Jinzhushan". Parameters are around 15 grams / 300 ml water. As a tea with some years of agressive HK storage early on, I find it plays really nice brewed in a larger vessel at a bit lower tea/water ratio than I'd usually use. After 6-7 steeps, I'll dump the leaves into a large zini mug and continue the session grandpa style there after dinner. Works like a charm, especially for teas with large, intact leaves.
More of the same.mbanu wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 9:58 amToday is a cooked brick from the Hung Chong Tai Tea Company of Hong Kong (鴻昌泰茶莊) by way of Tak Shing Hong in Los Angeles. Dry stored (no traditional storage flavor), but a very loose brick -- easily came apart in my hands with no need for a knife or pick. Sweet cherry type shou, nice with dimsum. Maybe worth picking up if you need something else from Tak Shing Hong. The packaging looks a lot like a Macau Hualian brick, although I don't know if it's just a coincidence.I think that Hung Chong Tai pulled these bricks from a larger 4-brick package, as the individual wrapper doesn't have a shengchan or QS code on it, just their own sticker.
I bought a biscuit-barrel full of almond cakes from Choi Heong Yuen which seem to be some form of almond hardtack, so I thought a pu'er dip might soften them up a bit. 
I'm about a quarter way through the brick -- it's really a very agreeable tea. It stores easily, breaks apart obligingly, and while it doesn't hide that it is a fermented tea, it is not very funky. I think this might be a good tea to send to someone who has had loose shou pu'er at a cafe and enjoyed it but is uneasy about compressed teas and wary about "traditional storage". (Bricks seem like a very convenient shape for mailing.)
@mbanu did you break yours up? I had just been shaving bits off at a time, and while initially I had liked the brick more than the cake I got, now I've flipped on it. Unfortunately that particular cake seems sold out though. I get the feeling the brick is not homogenous since the first few times I tried it I was using mostly just outer leaves, it was stemmy but good, and the further I get in to the brick the more crumbly huang pian than intact leaves I see and it hasn't been nearly as good. Maybe I just had a couple unlucky sessions though and I need to break it all up.
I didn't break up the whole brick at once, instead I broke up a tin's worth for use and left the rest with the brick.wave_code wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:04 ammbanu did you break yours up? I had just been shaving bits off at a time, and while initially I had liked the brick more than the cake I got, now I've flipped on it. Unfortunately that particular cake seems sold out though. I get the feeling the brick is not homogenous since the first few times I tried it I was using mostly just outer leaves, it was stemmy but good, and the further I get in to the brick the more crumbly huang pian than intact leaves I see and it hasn't been nearly as good. Maybe I just had a couple unlucky sessions though and I need to break it all up.
I haven't been brewing gongfu, just leaving the leaves in the pot. I'll need to give it another go to see if it is starting to do anything unusual -- I would say the flip-side of it being agreeable is that it's a little forgettable too.
Camphor sheng from LP. Has camphor in spades. Been a long time since I had one this upfront with it. Think Tiger Balm all day long.
Xiaguan 2004 "Song He” iron cake (TW storage)
Sweet with a faint plum note, slight smoke. Good viscosity . Has a slight dryness in the later steeps, but this does not remain in the throat (unlike the sweetness). Very nice.
Sweet with a faint plum note, slight smoke. Good viscosity . Has a slight dryness in the later steeps, but this does not remain in the throat (unlike the sweetness). Very nice.
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is the name which holds this experimental batch from Yiwu. The concept is that when leaves are withered , they are resting on much thicker layer than usual ( I don't know exact details ) and that causes partial fermentation.
As you probably suspect already , it should imitate the aged tea rather than generate some notes of Chinese traditional medicine ( as it was aimed on , apparently ) , which I hardly can taste in it as it's fully covered by smoke like some XG tea or any other cheap LC production.
Although I'm not familiar with this tea but I can say by taste it is some small tree or bush for which I wouldn't pay even half price for what is offered.
I can share some free samples between community ( with some order , so at least packing work is paid somehow ) for educational purposes, but not selling this tea. ( I suppose tea lover's ethical reasons
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Some young sheng from essence of tea:
2021 ancient wild kunlu
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/pu ... -puerh-tea
Vendor
2021 ancient wild kunlu
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/pu ... -puerh-tea
Vendor
Interestingly no bitterness at all. Even with long 10 min + infusion. Astringency, there is some in a delayed way. Flavor and body are quite light. Aftertaste/aroma is long and powerful.The flavour is fresh, with medium thickness and nice aroma. There is a bitterness that is characteristic of this type of wild tea that emerges in later steeps, though this year seems to be more controllable than when we pressed it before. There is a strong, relaxing energy to the tea - one of the main reasons many people seek out this type of tea.
Unexpected highly successful blend:
Was going for a regular session of Temania's 2017 Autumn Bee sheng which usually should be around 20gr leaf with a 1gr/10ml water ratio ( using ceramic teaware from Lins Ceramics ) ... however there was only 13gr left and wasn't in the mood to grab another one from the larger section of my storage as it's relatively messy ( would need to remove quite a few cakes just to grab another Autumn bee ) .
And then looked at the open door... and there they were sitting at the front edge piled one ove another: 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua . Their shape placed 'em there so it was "fate" in a way ... if you believe on such things.
Teamania's 2017 Autumn bee is pretty decent although it lacks huigan & after 3 years on my storage has evolved into a more "aggressive" or strong taste which i don't mind... but certainly not the same as the first time i had it ( one review here for reference , another review on steepster even though the pricing mention is a little bit confusing... although i think i remember NannuoShan and other German stores used to re-sell Teamania's puer teas with a 100% or higher markup ) .
Bought 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua from Chawang and it was the usual cheap yet decent tea with a humble ( chopped leaves ) & strong profile that usually scare plenty people away ( one negative review here , JohnB's review with a more positive POV , and then Jay from TealifeHK take on steepster ) .
In the end used the aforementioned 13gr of Teamania's 2017 Autumn bee ( including some broken leaves ) along 7gr of 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua for my session just to see how it'd turn out and these two somehow manage to support each other on the areas they usually lack ... at the cost of some initial strong punch to your palate... however body became thicker, flavors much more complex, together lasted longer than they'd do on their own and... there's a twist:
This happened at the beginning of this week ( last monday, april 25 ), had this tea at the usual early evening hour... and my mind's doors remained fully open with lights on for the next 32 hours with no issues ( no increased heart rate, nothing unusual ) and certainly made sleeping an impossible task, even though can't even complain for the gift of some delicious strong huigan remained the whole time, something that - then again - not one of them on their own have, yet combined... two humble teas exceeded their league .
Noted down this one just in case, looking forward to another session with this blend... first thing in the morning this time.
Was going for a regular session of Temania's 2017 Autumn Bee sheng which usually should be around 20gr leaf with a 1gr/10ml water ratio ( using ceramic teaware from Lins Ceramics ) ... however there was only 13gr left and wasn't in the mood to grab another one from the larger section of my storage as it's relatively messy ( would need to remove quite a few cakes just to grab another Autumn bee ) .
And then looked at the open door... and there they were sitting at the front edge piled one ove another: 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua . Their shape placed 'em there so it was "fate" in a way ... if you believe on such things.
Teamania's 2017 Autumn bee is pretty decent although it lacks huigan & after 3 years on my storage has evolved into a more "aggressive" or strong taste which i don't mind... but certainly not the same as the first time i had it ( one review here for reference , another review on steepster even though the pricing mention is a little bit confusing... although i think i remember NannuoShan and other German stores used to re-sell Teamania's puer teas with a 100% or higher markup ) .
Bought 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua from Chawang and it was the usual cheap yet decent tea with a humble ( chopped leaves ) & strong profile that usually scare plenty people away ( one negative review here , JohnB's review with a more positive POV , and then Jay from TealifeHK take on steepster ) .
In the end used the aforementioned 13gr of Teamania's 2017 Autumn bee ( including some broken leaves ) along 7gr of 2006 Kokang Myanmar Mei Hua for my session just to see how it'd turn out and these two somehow manage to support each other on the areas they usually lack ... at the cost of some initial strong punch to your palate... however body became thicker, flavors much more complex, together lasted longer than they'd do on their own and... there's a twist:
This happened at the beginning of this week ( last monday, april 25 ), had this tea at the usual early evening hour... and my mind's doors remained fully open with lights on for the next 32 hours with no issues ( no increased heart rate, nothing unusual ) and certainly made sleeping an impossible task, even though can't even complain for the gift of some delicious strong huigan remained the whole time, something that - then again - not one of them on their own have, yet combined... two humble teas exceeded their league .
Noted down this one just in case, looking forward to another session with this blend... first thing in the morning this time.
Indeed. Early morning... on a weekend just in case
. Managed to make the most of that extra time ( work, reading, training, take care of some other things... ) back then, not so confident it'll be the case next time.Some sheng on my storage are going now through those early transitional stages ... and i myself am learning a few lessons thanks to it. And what am i even talking about ? , right now i have in mind the 2019 Laos gushu cake from Tea-Encounter.
Not fascinated by young sheng but had to have a couple sessions with it just for reference while still under 18 months old, see how it evolves later. It was that kind of fresh & slightly wild kind with plenty menthol/eucaliptus that remained there for quite a few hours
Had another session with that one around... february i think... and already turned into something completely different, suprisingly dark for its age and even more important: strong yet not the "honest" straightforward kind but one to hit you earlier only to disappear, hide... and build momentum for a later tsunami.
None of those eucaliptus/menthol notes remained, however the huigan was strong & long lasting... only issue was the theine, felt like it kept coming & coming & coming . Went almost three whole days sleepless because of it... will be particularly careful next time i revisit this one.
Thai "shengs" from Pu-erh.sk are also quite particular, made me remember TeaEncounter's Laos gushu in a way because of its "wild" nature although in a different way ( made me remember those trips around forest from my childhood, mostly that particular scent from untouched areas with no humans living nearby... one i haven't smell again for the last two decades ) . Bought two cakes of the "infamous" Mind Switch cake ( second version, pressed harder compared to the earlier one ) and based on previous experiences with those Thai shengs this will be "mornings only" as i'm anticipating similar reactions... so i'll even use half my regular leaf ratio ( 18-20gr ) when i dare to taste it.