Thoughts from a new Hong Kong bo lei drinker

[jayinhk]

Had Zhengyan TLH from Jkteashop. Much better this time. I think the tea needed to breathe. Still not excellent, but acceptable and some interesting sweetness.

[Tead Off]

Had Zhengyan TLH from Jkteashop. Much better this time. I think the tea needed to breathe. Still not excellent, but acceptable and some interesting sweetness.

You need to keep this in a caddy for at least 6 mos. to 1 year. Too young, but has potential. This is often a problem buying the current years' Yancha. Most teas need to rest unless you like very green tasting, thin teas. Shincha is a good example of how even green teas get better with some time. Most Sencha is richer than Shincha. Darjeelings also need to sit. They get better after nap.

[jayinhk]

It's 2014 stuff.

[Tead Off]

It's 2014 stuff.

I know. I also have a caddy full of it. In the few months since I bought it, it's already opened more noticeably, but it still needs more time. I usually try to buy Yancha that is 2 years old, at least. Of course, there are exceptions, but almost invariably, they get better with some rest and age.

[jayinhk]

That is true, but I only have samples, and have no reason to pay their prices for tea that isn't ready to drink. I'm surrounded by great tea sources!

[Tead Off]

That is true, but I only have samples, and have no reason to pay their prices for tea that isn't ready to drink. I'm surrounded by great tea sources!

But, buying tea that is not ready to drink (by many puerh drinkers), happens to be part of the tea drinker's tactic. Knowing what teas will be better over time is a step in the right direction, but it requires patience and discernment. HK is full of sources. Buying both for now and the future can be a wise choice. Just ask all those who bought tongs of young tea that developed into something good over the years. If you drink it all now, you never get to know what people are talking about when it comes to aging and resting tea.

[jayinhk]

While you make some very valid points, I get excellent Wuyi for less in HK and my next tea adventure will be the sprawling Shenzhen tea market, just a short hop from HK!

[Rui]

What tea are you sipping today Jay?

I have gone back to TGY from Teavivre after having a great session of Teavivre's 2015 Huang Shan Mao Feng earlier on. I need to finish this TGY before the new year's harvest comes around.

[jayinhk]

Today, two kinds of Japanese green tea teabags and excellent Okinawan jasmine tea with dinner.

[jayinhk]

Reanimating this thread since I am back on the bo lei. I have several older bricks on their way from TuoChaTea.com and I bought some newer Dayi shu directly from the Hong Kong distributor at shop.wingngaitea.com .

[jayinhk]

Got my Tuochatea.com order already--they upgraded my shipping to EMS at no charge. I bought a really bad fake 7581 last night and now I'm skeptical about everything being fake. I guess I'm not doing too bad. I've only bought two fake cakes so far, and one is good. The one from last night is drinkable, but tastes too wet and might be non-Yunnan tea. I may just toss it if it doesn't improve over time.

I also have a fairly large (for me) Dayi/Zhongcha order coming in from an approved vendor on TMall. No more pu erh after this for a while--I have enough ripe and raw for years!

[Rui]

No more pu erh after this for a while--I have enough ripe and raw for years!

Hhmmm sometimes in the past I have been quoted to say eactly that ... On the other hand I have two raw pu'er cakes on the way from King Tea in Aliexpress.

Thanks Jay for restarting to post on this thread. I was missing it.

[jayinhk]

It's good to be back, although I'm drinking green tea today (Taiwanese and Vietnamese). Also drinking the GOOD 7581 from Taipei, that has been going for two days. I was feeling a little low because of the stupid bad bo lei purchase, but the green tea perked me right up!

Which cakes did you get? My Taobao order is as follows:

2014 Zhongcha 7581 x 3
2015 Zhongcha V93 x 10 (two bags)
2011 Menghai 7542 x 3
2013 Menghai 7562 x 3

As for the bad brick, I am considering breaking it up and letting it air. The storage aroma isn't too bad, but it's not the sweet/fruity 7581 I thought it might be from the wrapper. At least it was cheap tuition!

[Rui]

Slightly more moderate than you. Just these two cakes:

2006 TAE DaYi 7542 357g Pu'er Raw lot 610
2010 TAE Dayi 357g MengHai's Star Pu'er Ripe

But my fingers have been itchy for more since I saw what King Tea has for (re)sale.

[jayinhk]

I bought quite a bit since I was in a shu frenzy and I'm holding this tea for aging...also prices were very low on TMall. Here's hoping SF Express lets it through the border as they have returned tea in the past. The seller says they have no problems sending tea to HK, but we'll see. I spoke to SF Express yesterday and they said up to 2 KG per box was fine--my order is quite a bit more than 2 KG, so let's see what happens! Either way, it was shipped without me paying for shipping, so if it is returned to the seller I can get a refund.

EDIT: Checked on my Tuochatea.com teas and they smell almost like fresh tea. They don't call it Kunming cryostasis for anything! Checked on my 2012 Dayi Spring cake too. The smoke has dissipated, but it doesn't smell like it would be pleasant drinking just yet. Maybe in six years!

Tuochatea's CNNP 7581 smells like my good Taiwanese cake, but fishier. I think it might be where I want it to be...in ten years or so. I'm going to stick to buying HK/Guangdong ready-to-drink bo lei from now on and leave the rest to do its thing.