pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Huge session today. Recovering from a cold and trying to get second/third/fourth opinions of many of the teas I’m uncertain about for November’s tea of the month. Eekh!

2003 Big Zhong Tuo (Tea Classico)
2000 Fuyuanchang (Origin Tea, not W2T)
1997 Tongqing Hao Chi Cheng (Tea Classico)
1997 CNNP Red Mark (Chawangshop)

All good teas. The standout being the 2000 Fuyuanchang. Good, beautiful, long leaf base material. Despite being traditionally stored, a really clean taste that is soothing on the throat and very pleasing. Can seemingly brew forever. Leaves me wishing I’d picked up a full cake before Origin shutdown shop. Will finish this session tomorrow.

Even though they’re all quite drinkable and good, I’ve had to adjust my opinions of the other teas after calibrating the FYC.

I enjoyed some 2006 Fall Lao Ban Zhang Raw, thanks to a wonderful Steepsterite yesterday and I’m STILL thinking about it. Now I want a cake. Sigh.

For the past two days, I’ve been enjoying Essence of Tea’s QiShengGu Raw. Pressed in 2012, the mix of large and (mostly) small leaves is 2007 maocha from 400-500 year old trees. There are light scents of leather and smoke coming from the dry leaf. This is a soft and gentle tea, not at all aggressive. Very friendly and pleasing to the taste buds. It started sweet with a mineral (almost metallic) impression, too, but the tea’s fruity sweetness easily dominates the taste. There is also a light hint of smoke with a little something else as well – citrus I think. Pleasant mouthfeel and an equally appealing aftertaste – neither lasts very long. This is not a “powerhouse” tea but it did provide a clear and refreshing feeling as I drank the cups. At the end of the session, I was both relaxed and invigorated. Fairly priced ($72/400g cake) for this 2007 material.

I know this isn’t specifically a puerh tasting statement, however it is about a puerh publication that I can’t seem to find at a decent price – “First Step to Chinese Puerh Tea Hardcover” – 2006 by Chan Kam Pong

Does anyone know where to find this book and what are you thoughts of the information that it contains (if you have read through it)?

Temple stairs 2014 mini tuo

rinse, rinse, pause, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 6m

1st steeping (in and out, ~5s): Chocolaty goodness. All of my ripe puerhs seem to be tasting like this now. lol. I think this one tasted closer to milk chocolate than dark chocolate though.

2nd steeping [3/4] (10s): This one was kind of weak because I had let the water cool down by accident. My bad. Surprisingly the color was still really dark though!

3rd steeping [3/4] (20s): Temperature back up, the flavor is more like the 1st steeping again, mmmm, just not quite as chocolaty, more plain puerh flavor.

4th steeping [3/4] (30s): Chocolate gone, just simple sweetness.

5th steeping (6m): So I’m basically done at this point, just wanted to see what a long steep would taste like. Answer: EXACTLY like steep #4

All in all, a pretty good mini tou. I liked it :)

Brewed up the 2005 Gaoshan Qingbing from W2T.

Pleasant, semi-aged daily drinker. Warm wood and stone fruits, with some basic huigan. Nothing complicated. I can understand TwoDog’s comparison with Yiwu.

I should also note that I am impatiently brewing this within a few hours of arrival. I normally try to give it a few days to settle especially from international travel, but was curious :).

I’m having the Wihte2 1998 White Tuo now. Very compressed. Has a nice clean garden-dirt taste (in the good way) and is very sweet and smooth. Nice gentle qi. Enjoyable and affordable.

Now on to the 2006 Little Gold Melon shu from White2Tea. It is a serviceable little shu, a bit of camphor, a bit of earth, no leather to speak of. Slight qi – little bit of relaxation. I think this would be a good starter shu. I prefer the White Tuo taste-wise.

I’m starting in on the Steepster sampler that Tea Urchin sent me – 7 samples in all. The first I’m trying is the 2006 Shun Shi Yiwu (sheng) pu-erh. It is labelled 2006 Yiwu spring at the website (http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/raw-puer/2006/shu-shi-yiwu-2006-s.html). Apparently it was stored as maocha for 5 years before being pressed into a cake. It is a complex tea with a lot going on in its taste. I get smoke, hints of alfalfa, a citric note, and then a slight bitterness just before the astringent finish. There is also a touch of sweetness. It has both a strong salivary effect with a strong drying astringent effect. Quite an interesting cup of tea. I’m only on the second pour, so I can’t report yet on its longevity, but I will continue with it for the next day. I’m enjoying its complex effects.

2009 Ole Tea Nuggets, Yapu Brand, 250g. Purchased in China. About 8g in thermos of about 18 oz. Let steep 6 or so min. Very dark and rich. Toasted marshmallow taste. Consumed about 5 oz and added more water. Very dark it was. I know the cha tou haven’t gotten rave reviews. This is one of my favs. PM me up if you wanna trade.