338 Tasting Notes
trying old teas and deciding if I should just chuck them out or not -
this is bland, a bit like the difference between instant and decent fresh ground coffee. Taste like shou but with no oomph
Try boiling it?
perhaps…? I have the kettle by my bed and just gongfu in comfort watching movies. If I had to get up to the kitchen to boil it I dont think I would like it still – maybe thats the thing with lao cha tou? I thought you can gongfu this stuff ok, even though they are hard – I only have a little anyway, not really my bag i dont think
Lao Cha need really long steeps. Starting at 20 seconds or so. They are very compacted and need time to open up.
or i double the dosage. if you normally use 6g use 12G instead. works every time
i was doing long steeps because i know they are hard buggers to crack. Just leaving them in there and it still wasnt working right. I used a small amount, maybe it was that (i thought they might open up a lot)
I brew 10 to 12 grams on Lao Cha most of the time.
I have almost given up on Cha Tou tea. I had a wonderful one for the first go…The 2009 Yunnan Sourcing Cha Tou Sheng Yun ripe brick. The nuggets opened up nicely and tasted so thick and sweet. I bought the 2011 brick as well as the 6 years aged loose Pearl La Cha Tou. Neither one give me much. I brew hot and long steeps. Still lack luster thin liquor. I still do not think I know a way to get those nuggets to open up except for a hammer.
Lacklustre thin liquor – thats a perfect way to describe what im feeling… I will try once more with a tonne of the buggers and see if that helps
You know those little mini cakes you get in the cloth bag? I bought some a couple of years ago when starting out my puerh journey. I thought I would try one
Well at least the few bland steeps I got before throwing it away made me appreciate how nice shou can be when you have good friends to help recommend it to you
p.s. – are any of the colours good? I think I had a green one :P
flavours: water
I’ve heard a lot of bad things from ordering pu-erh or any other type of tea from Ebay. Teas have a tendency to be from “look-a-like” companies, old, or tasteless.
Yep. I just thought I would re-visit them. Nowhere near the flavour, any depth or complexity, viscosity, aroma, or anything at all characterful like the teas drank around here.
These are part of the reason I thought I didnt like shou. They even just broke apart first rinse. bland blech
Oh, berryleb and streetshop88 AllanK seems to have quite good luck buying from. I’m waiting on a Dayi song of chi tse cake to arrive after numerous recommendations from him. Cheap too.
I also got a 2006 xiaguan 8673 which isnt too bad considering how cheap it was
You should try puerhshop.com, too (AllanK reviewed a few of their teas). I’m liking what I have thus far!
Puerhshop.com is pretty inexpensive, too.
This is a nice aged fruity sheng, has decent flavour in all the right places, and mellowed out some of the not-so-nice places.
it has a nice flavour, nothing too strong, its easy drinking, but not bland. The aged taste has not overtaken the fruit, just added some complexity and depth to the brew, no off or too sharp flavours, it can take a good strong steep and still be very enjoyable. It is mellow in some places, and has a fruit preserve taste. Interesting terre de ciel say ‘fruits in alcohol’ I think thats where I get it, preserved fruits with jam & also caramel.
Ive just oversteeped it and the sourness is there but its a nice sour – great if you like a nice tangy mouth and fruity huigan to your sheng (i do). Not too astringent or drying which is nice. It did slightly delve into a ‘varnished branches’ taste (no other way for me to describe it) but nothing too major.
I liked whatever was done with this one when aged. its not too thick, or too creamy, or too… (I see a theme here) anything really but has flavour and a nice one.
Thanks again Rui for the swap!
Flavors: Alcohol, Apricot, Caramel, Fruity, Jam, Wood
At least I think this one is a YS tea – its sold out anyway.
Which is a shame because I want more of it.
Its so nice, wonderfully complex, and such a perfect balance between old woods and young leaves, something I liken to decent oolongs.
There is a nice tingling to my tongue, but it isnt bitter. There is some fruit in there, but also a very milky body and even some peppery spice. I’ve had purple leaf before that I just though didnt work, but it does here. The aroma of the leaves is gorgeous, deep boiled fruit instead of bright apricot. Its more old and wise tasting, my brain just thinks forests and buddhist temples and mist and nature. lovely
Ive just drank a load of steeps back to back because I am enjoying it so much. It gets a little twang when pushed, but nothing like the repave I drank last night, for instance.
There are some notes I have no idea what they are due to the complexity, but the way these coat the mouth is really something, and they are good notes, whatever they are.
Thanks Rui for being able to try this tea!
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Forest Floor, Fruity, Milk, Pepper
You are most welcome. It was indeed bought from YS and so far I still have not found another purple pu’er tea similar to it. It is so drinkable that often I do like you did steep after steep until it no longer tastes like anything.
Dang, now I need to sample this one. Have you tried the 2013 YS Yesheng Wuliang? It’s not like the Dehong purple raws—much more fruity and others have noted it reminded them of a nice Taiwan oolong which makes me wonder if these two share similar characteristics.
I will second the Wu Liang Ye Sheng from 2013. Not bitter at all.
its fruit is very different from the usual apricot, does something different I really like. Alas, sold out!
No-Named sample of Li Shan/Pear Mountain Oolong today in a baggy from LP in an LPT order.
Everything about this tea is lovely. its like perfect fruity floral water with just a hint of butter.. notes of super fresh green apples or pears or peaches, along with floral in the aroma, and the taste is of lovely fresh green tea leaf, sweet and with no bitterness.
second cup and its leaf and butter in the nose, its really the kind of tea I could swim in and drink gallons of all day long.
If you’re reading this I would be interested to know where it came from
The Tea Karma God paying you back for your kindness!
finishing the last of the Oz I had of this as a sample.
The main thing about this is that about this age of sheng always seems to me like the young leaf has been varnished. I can never get away from that, I dont know why. And this one is a perfect example of a well varnished raw.
Apricots and leather and wood that have all been varnished. Yup. a bit of tobacco is stuck in my mouth too.
A good varnish though, I can taste the original leaf underneath, it hasnt lost the shengy flavour and has a sharp (but rounded) twang, that cuts through & leaves a residue of thick bitterness on my tongue, like the practice swords samurai use in the kurosawa films I have been watching recently.it is up-front and solid, sour fruity and defo one for people who can take a bit oomph in the taste of their sheng. Not too woody like some aged can taste where thats all you get, piles of sticks and leaves where fruit once was, instead falls into the fruity-sour-bold category.
Not sweet, tangy twangy varnished sheng that is beginning to round itself out a bit.
- thinking about it, stained might be a better description rather than varnished, idk. :D
Flavors: Apricot, Fruity, Leather, Pleasantly Sour, Sour, Stonefruits, Tobacco, Wood
Got sent a rather generous sample of this from Tea Urchin, and have been really enjoying drinking it over the last few days.
For some reason my taste radar has gone out the window, i’m tired fighting off an infection..
Anyway this is a lovely sheng. It was recommended to brew for a bit longer, and im glad I read that, so I have been adding seconds on to my steep times and it is really nice. It has an almost cherry/berry-like taste to it (not super-sweet but its there), along with the sheng-leaf green, and a nice aged taste. I am finding I really like 5-10 years aged sheng, and this one I can definitely taste the aging, it adds a nice deeper edge to the steeps. (always seems to make my brain think that the sheng has been varnished)
I have been pushing this one and a really nice slightly camphor sour is coming out – but not too sour. Pleasant all round really.
I havent got as much cream as I would have hoped for, the description says creamy – it has a nice body but isnt crazy thick & leans towards the camphor side of things. There is some in there though, but more hidden than I thought it would be.
You cant buy this anymore, but you can get the younger 2012 one. If I wanted something young but with a slightly sour deeper aged taste, I would reach for this – I have enjoyed drinking it, and am considering a cake of the 2012 – the balance of the flavours is nice to me.
Flavors: Apricot, Berry, Camphor, Cherry, Cream, Pleasantly Sour
I’ll wait to see what you think of the 2012! I’ve been wanting to try a Sheng pu-erh and if this is good enough, I might go for it.
considering it means ‘putting it in a wishlist’ as im skint :D
If you’ve never tried sheng, ask in the ‘puerh of the day’ thread for some (probably better than mine) suggestions. The white2tea basics https://www.white2tea.com/tea-shop/basics-puer-tea-sample-set/ has free shipping for $39.99 and four different cakes from the same village to experience how the flavour can change of the same leaf
I guess I’ll have to give this a try when I get paid again! Thank you for the suggestion. :)
this one is defo worth a try – it has the sour notes and slightly aged taste of a nice sheng without either of them being too much. and nice that you can slightly oversteep it without it being too bitter
