pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

(I know that this is not a pu, but it’s a hei cha, darn it, and it should count,too! :D )
I had a lovely 1980s liu bao yesterday. I haven’t put up the tasting note just yet, however, I did want to post to this thread before I forgot. It carried notes of sharp, rich, earth and wet bark that faded into sweet, wet soil, and moss. The aroma and taste of it reminded me so much of childhood and home. I cannot figure out why. I’m fairly certain that my family didn’t keep much liu bao in stock in our pantries… but, still… for some reason I cannot shake the feeling that an aged liu bao might have been the very first tea I ever had. Has anyone else experienced an overwhelming sense of nostalgia when drinking a certain tea?

We just had a Teaplet party with the 2012 Yunnan Sourcing “Impression” sheng. Pretty nice for a cake that costs that little. Tasty and happy qi. Nice.

Today Lamu and I drank some 2014 Spring Kunlu Shan Da Shu / Big Tree Sheng Puerh we brought back as maocha. It’s like a green tea creamsicle! So rich, smooth, and creamy.

2005 S. Mengku Daxueshan from White2Tea. Unremarkable, honestly. Good sweetness but doesn’t really stand out in my opinion.

I love the smell of cheap sheng in the morning??? Don’t mind me, I never have sheng first thing and I just had some 2013 “Ye Sheng Cha” Wild Tree Purple Tea of Dehong, affectionately know to me as Wild Child. There’s a note. I liked it, but I’m not sure I like sheng first thing.

I drank a cute little shou cube that I got from DTH. Not the world’s greatest tea, but it was definitely pleasant. I’m gonna take some to work with me.

Later I am gonna bust out my Whispering Pines 2013 Ontario 1357 Shou Pu-erh. I keep hearing good things about this one!

Having a 2008 Menghai “5 Star Varja”.
Broke this out during our “Fritz” on the site. Still trying to keep up.
Got 10 grams off the cake for the Yixing. Gave a 10 second wash and went with it. Semi-dark brew as I think this is a lighter fermented shou. No off flavor in this as I am finding about 6 years and the shous are coming in like the shengs do. It had a nice raisin and semi-sweet flavor and just the slightest touch of bitter/astringency.
I only did 2 brews with this over 2 days but it has been pretty nice and you get a little earthy and woody on the second day.
Enjoyable on a cool rainy night.

Flavors: Bitter, Raisins, Sweet, Wood

Today, 2002 CNNP Bulangshan Raw from ChaWangShop.

A good Sheng with fair balance between aged and more fruity (perhaps younger)notes. The broth has very apparent raisins and aged wood with some bitterness up front. As it goes down it wears more fruity and floral notes that linger.

This is a nice one, but I find myself not being completely liking it. I can appreciate it though. I had a very similar one from Houde a while ago and prefer it over this one.

Trying the 2011 Menghai Dayi 0532 today, after trying the 2007 version a couple days ago. The 2007 was great, smooth and deep, and quite tasty. The 2011 is not as smooth, with some definite bitterness and a little sourness. But it is pretty good, with some malty and chocolate notes. Is the 2007 version better because of its age, or because of the vintage? Hard to say. Maybe I will try the 2012 in the near future and compare. I’m always curious about how much aging of a shu makes it better!

Always rather curious to learn more about a region, I got to wanting to know more about He-kai. Ran across a fairly simple article and thought I’d share the translation. He-kai: A Pu’er from the Bu’lang of the Bu-lang Region. http://universotea.com/content/he-kai-puer-bu-lang-region