pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou
Double tasting night tonight. I have also gotten into the 2007 Menghai “Lily and White Lotus” brick. Very tight compression on this one.Had this one a while. The first time I tried it I was like oh no! I have put this in the pumidor for about 3 months and it has opened up nicely. I think the long ship time may have had something to do with the first tasting. I broke off 12 grams put in the yixing and gave a 10 second “wash”. I then actually forgot and let the leaves sit in the pot overnight. It brews up dark like most shou and has that bit of “musty” aroma to it. this stuff gives an almost touch of a cherry chocolate cordial we probably grew up with and dislike now. Only for a second though. It then turns to a kind of lightly sweetened bittersweet chocolate. It has the usual drying of an older shou also. Not a bad one and not the best but drinkable to a shou pu head like me.
Might try that tea. How many mL to the 12 grams? I usually go around 6-8 grams to 140 mL.
I’ve never stopped by this thread, so I thought I better open with something I love. My own 2013 Guafengzhai – a mix of Chawangshu and Baishahe area teas.
Thick, rich. Bursting with Qi and fragrance. One of my favorite areas.
Having a 2009 Menghai Dayi round cake. A very nice dark warming cup. It has lots of sweet notes as you drink it. A small amount of bittersweet chocolate when it first hits the palate. Of all the shou I have drank this is really close to the subtleties of Mandala’s Phatty cake. And since I mentioned it that is a testament to the quality and attention that Mandala puts into their product. This is a really great tea to have as you wind the day down. Good flavor without being overpowering. Nice light fermented shou.
Having some iced YS 2012 Qiu Yun autumn yiwu, and it’s just sweet sexy heaven, god I love iced sheng puerh, so refreshing and decadent.
How’s the YS 2012 Qiu Yun cake? I placed an order with a couple of those cakes.
really good (and for it’s price bracket downright awesome), and in the few months i’ve had it already developing nicely some dark sweet autumny flavors, I’d love to see what it’ll be like fully mature, but sadly my cake is almost gone already.
Ye, the price is what got me to pick up a few of these cakes. Almost done the cake?! That is why you should always buy atleast two of each cake! haha
I’ll second that one, really good stuff! I’ve been thinking about getting one or two more
http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/product.php?id_product=290
even after the price hike (it was $15) it’s still a steal, IMO it’s yunnan sourcing’s cheapest serious puerh.
For the shou heads: 2000 CNNP Lincang ripe cake from Yunnan Sourcing profiled here http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/product.php?id_product=75. Brews a deep mahogany color (2 infusions after rinse, 30 seconds in yixing teapot, then blended together) and has to my taste a very smoky element which then tends toward the camphor and persimmon flavors talked about on the website. An intriguing tea, not earthy in the way I tend to think of ripe puerh, but almost like a light cross with lapsang souchong. Has anyone else had this tea?
Sounds very intriguing! “Dried persimmons” sounds delightful. I don’t usually get around to the shou, but this one would make it difficult to pass up. Definitely a fan of the smoky puerhs. Thanks Javan for the added description.
Hey Javan,
I actually placed an order which included the 2000 Lincang. Scott recommended it so I gave it a shot. I hope it doesnt have fishy notes! I can’t stand those fishy notes sometimes found in shou. Would you say there are any?
Having a 2011 “Nanou” tribute toucha from the Ziaguan factory. Nice young sheng. Still has some of the astringency but less than other teas this young. My guess is since it is a tribute toucha then gong ting leaves were used to make it. Very good mouth feel, it has a camphor taste that last a while turning to a slightly bitter dryness. Has a salty almost “broth” taste to it with a little citrus in there too. Nice to be as young as it is. Hopefully in the years coming this will continue to evolve. I used 9 grams in the easy gaiwan 5 second steeps after a 10 second wash.
2012 Yunnan Sourcing “Ye Sheng Cha” Wild Tree Purple Tea of Dehong – very brothy and smoky. A very unique purple leaf, has plenty of depth and less tanginess. This is what I’ve been sipping on the past few days, that is until others have been talking about the 2012 YS Qiu Yun Autumn YiWu. I was able to dig it out and sample once again. Very nice and can honestly say it is a good tea, regardless of lower price tag. I completely admit I’m a sucker for yiwu shengs. They are always top of my list. I’m getting a better brew by stretching out the normal 5sec, to a little longer 12sec. Loving this tea! :)
This wonderful (snowy!) morning session will consist of a 2005 Changtai Menghai Qiao sheng. From my understanding, this tea was produced using Jingmai material. A brief 5 second steeping yielded a wonderful dark amber soup. The soup itself has an initial sweetness to it, which then subsides into a subtle earthy/woody note. This is my time breaking into this bing and I am not disappointed! For anyone interested, here is the link http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_94&products_id=884 .
Steeping Parameters :
Zhou Fa Qing Yixing Teapot
8 grams to 150 mL
Water just under boiling
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