pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Yesterday I spent time exploring the 2005 TsangLiu sheng from Yang Qing Hao. This is a gushu blend of material from the original six famous mountains (Yiwu, Mangzhi, Yibang, Youle, Manzhuan, Gedeng). With a mix of both autumn and spring leaf, it seems to have a thicker body and heavier brew than many of the YQH productions. Nice complexity during the tea session – I found both tobacco and old book leather (particularly in earlier infusions) as well as herbs, sweetness and fruitness. Active mouthfeel throughout the session. Never turned to bitterness. Very good YQH value found in this tea – premium 6 mountain blend; 10 years of age; great longevity and endurance; 500g cake ($0.39/gram). Dare I say a bargain YQH offering?

2012 Lincang “Gold Ingot” ripe mini tuo. This was one of the most fun sessions I have had with a tea. Was it the best tea I’ve ever had? Probably not. But, man, I just had a great time. I had a full write up but I think it was too long to fit in a review on that tea’s particular page because it was cut off half way through. Oh well.

After concluding that my W2T order needs to air out before I drink more of it, I went and drank some of the puer stuffed mandarin anyway. It was shrinkwrapped so I figured it wouldn’t have such an issue with storage taste, and luckily I ended up being right.

I’m not a huge fan of the shous that I’ve tried. They haven’t been particularly high end, and while I enjoy the earthy taste, it tastes a little simple so most of my puer research has been with sheng. The orange taste that this one gets from its storage method really livened it up in comparison to other ripes. I look forward to drinking it again and may end up buying some more.

Sipping a very smooth and aromatic autumn 2015 Jingmai gushu raw pu’er from Bannacha.

2000 Green Peacock:

I’ve tried this for the third time today and I have about 5g left.
Initially and each time, I was disappointed with this tea as it takes off very slow. The first 3-4 steeps have you wondering how this could’ve ever passed EoT quality control, it’s thin and flat, yet bitterish, leathery and sour – like many of the forgettable low-quality productions from the times of the pu-erh craze (2006-2007). Gradually, however, things gets better and signs of maturity like notes of old books and woody sweetness (no red fruits though) start to come out. Around the eighth steep the flavour profile is fully developed and the tea is round enough to satisfy.

Unfortunately, although it never was really smooth to begin with, later steeps also produce more adstringency and the mouthfeels becomes somewhat gritty. Nevertheless, this one gave me a few decent cups.

To conclude, I think the price of 144USD is too high, considering that 149USD can get you something very “proper” in the matured pu-erh depatrment. Yes, I mean W2T’s HK Style.

Edit: After 10-12 steeps I wouldn’t speak of Qi, but I found its caffeine-level to be just right. I’m alert yet not agitated.

Today I drank the 2008 Yunnan Menghai Dayi Classic by Menghai Tea Factory and Berylleb King Tea. This was a tasty ripe with a moderate amount of fermentation flavor. That flavor was not too unpleasant. It had a nice sweet flavor and little bitterness. I would say there were some notes of chocolate and some fruity taste to it. I am finally back online after my move. It is good to be able to post again.

Today I tried Old Reliable shu from White2Tea, which was very nice, soft, easy-drinking. Then I tried Brown Sugar, and I did not care for it one bit. I am going to try it one more time, on the off chance it just wasn’t a good day or my brewing parameters were off. It’s rare that I flat out dislike a shu, but this one was just not drinkable for me at all today.

Drank Yunnan Aged Qizi from Yezi Tea, is pretty good :)

Earlier I sipped 2006 Jingmai sheng which I reviewed briefly.