'Oolong Puerh' processing

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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Mar 14th, '13, 00:36
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Tead Off » Mar 14th, '13, 00:36

edkrueger wrote:Ten years, nope. Around 7 yep. I suspect there are a lot of teachatters with flat 7 year old cakes. Do I think they will magically become unflat in three years? Nope.
Yes, but many factors can contribute to a flat cake. Not all of them 'oolong puerh' processed. How many of those 7 year old cakes are single estate, carefully processed teas that had high aroma and green tea taste in the beginning? How were they processed? Stored? All these things matter.

Mar 14th, '13, 11:16
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by edkrueger » Mar 14th, '13, 11:16

Well, almost everything I have has turned out like that and a good many of them were oolong processes. Everything from Yong De and Mengku and Douji have turned out flat and I think these follow the "high aroma and green tea taste" criterion. I also have some "private (vendor) pressings that went like this. Other stuff of my stuff has turned out OK.

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Mar 14th, '13, 11:41
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Tead Off » Mar 14th, '13, 11:41

edkrueger wrote:Well, almost everything I have has turned out like that and a good many of them were oolong processes. Everything from Yong De and Mengku and Douji have turned out flat and I think these follow the "high aroma and green tea taste" criterion. I also have some "private (vendor) pressings that went like this. Other stuff of my stuff has turned out OK.
Sorry to hear this. Is it possible that your storage methods may not be ideal? It might be helpful for you to list the cakes that went flat to see if others have had the very same experience.

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Mar 14th, '13, 12:15
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by HifideliTea » Mar 14th, '13, 12:15

Trying to connect between storage methods and oolong puerh.

Hojo vacuum packs their pu erh's. Maybe it would be an idea to vacuum pack oolong pu erh to retain it's flavours. I do remember that Hojo san once told me his teas have floral and fruity flavours over time (taste of orchids and peaches), but I was too green then to understand what he was talking about.

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Mar 14th, '13, 12:21
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Tead Off » Mar 14th, '13, 12:21

HifideliTea wrote:Trying to connect between storage methods and oolong puerh.

Hojo vacuum packs their pu erh's. Maybe it would be an idea to vacuum pack oolong pu erh to retain it's flavours. I do remember that Hojo san once told me his teas have floral and fruity flavours over time (taste of orchids and peaches), but I was too green then to understand what he was talking about.
After he vacuum packs his cakes, where does he store them? Air conditioned room? No A/C? Temp/humidity? I'm curious. And, how long has he been doing this? Has he been in business for 8 years or more?

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Mar 19th, '13, 05:44
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by David R. » Mar 19th, '13, 05:44

I believe I can answer that, but I guess it would be better in a dedicated storage topic.

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Mar 19th, '13, 06:29
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Tead Off » Mar 19th, '13, 06:29

David R. wrote:I believe I can answer that, but I guess it would be better in a dedicated storage topic.
There is no dedicated topic so let it rip, please!

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Mar 19th, '13, 11:19
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by David R. » Mar 19th, '13, 11:19

Tead Off wrote: After he vacuum packs his cakes, where does he store them? Air conditioned room? No A/C? Temp/humidity? I'm curious. And, how long has he been doing this? Has he been in business for 8 years or more?
His cakes are stored in KL. When I went there last year, it was in a A/C room I think to avoid fluctuations (not 100% sure but almost). Humidity doesn't matter at all as the cakes are protected. He believes that a higher temp leads to better results even with vacuum sealed teas. I happen to have an unopened 2011 Bing Dao cake waiting for me in KL and another one, also unopened, here in my chilly corner of northern France. I guess we'll see in a couple of years how temp plays a role in this.

As for the oldest vacuum sealed puerh he has, I think it might have begun when he pressed his own cakes (in 2010). I didn't know about his business before that, but I don't think that it is 8 years old, most likely 5-6 yo. I guess you can have 2 year old vacuum sealed Mi Di Raw Puerh right now, but don't think that there is anything older than this. I have a Jing Mai sample from his personal collection that may have been kept longer.

You can ask him all these questions, you know he will answer.

edit : still hoping for a dedicated storage topic so that the discussion about "Oolong Puerh processing" can go on. If it happens, please move my post.

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Mar 19th, '13, 23:03
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Tead Off » Mar 19th, '13, 23:03

David R. wrote:
Tead Off wrote: After he vacuum packs his cakes, where does he store them? Air conditioned room? No A/C? Temp/humidity? I'm curious. And, how long has he been doing this? Has he been in business for 8 years or more?
His cakes are stored in KL. When I went there last year, it was in a A/C room I think to avoid fluctuations (not 100% sure but almost). Humidity doesn't matter at all as the cakes are protected. He believes that a higher temp leads to better results even with vacuum sealed teas. I happen to have an unopened 2011 Bing Dao cake waiting for me in KL and another one, also unopened, here in my chilly corner of northern France. I guess we'll see in a couple of years how temp plays a role in this.

As for the oldest vacuum sealed puerh he has, I think it might have begun when he pressed his own cakes (in 2010). I didn't know about his business before that, but I don't think that it is 8 years old, most likely 5-6 yo. I guess you can have 2 year old vacuum sealed Mi Di Raw Puerh right now, but don't think that there is anything older than this. I have a Jing Mai sample from his personal collection that may have been kept longer.

You can ask him all these questions, you know he will answer.

edit : still hoping for a dedicated storage topic so that the discussion about "Oolong Puerh processing" can go on. If it happens, please move my post.
Thanks for the info. I may be in KL next month and will stop by his shop.

Jun 24th, '13, 13:37
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by fdrx » Jun 24th, '13, 13:37


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Jun 29th, '13, 16:26
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Shambles » Jun 29th, '13, 16:26

I'm very new at this, and my tastes aren't anything like fully formed, but I think there is a place for these lighter, greener "oolong puerhs."

I'm taking it as a term for tea that's meant to be consumed sooner rather than later, as opposed to a general pejorative term for nasty, badly-made tea. It's product - something made with an eye on a quick sale, and lacking in depth, but formulated to be easy to drink. I can't justify the price of real vintage teas of the 1980s and beyond, and, living in North America I don't have the capacity to age anything myself with any credibility.

Frankly, it's up to the buyer to do their research and be aware of the tea they are purchasing - and their own tastes. And I happen to prefer vegetal greenness over smokiness.

I do own more complex teas, but right now I'm drinking a puerh that could not be any more oolong if it tried, if I am understanding the term correctly. It's a 2011 Moonlight White (Ba Da Shan Lao Zai Tea Factory, although I've never heard of it previously, so I might be wrong here). Over the ten infusions I've so far enjoyed, it's danced between white tea, oolong, peach, apple and floral tastes. A light tea for a summer's morning, but I've really enjoyed it.

Sure, it's not for everyone, but I like the idea of owning a collection with a variety of tastes - which I can enjoy now, as opposed to when I'm retired (I was told earlier in the week that a semi-vintage I was sampling would be spectacular in 30 years' time, stored here in Vancouver, BC; I'll be 73 then). I intend to drink at least half of the Moonlight White over the summer months, so I'm not overly stressed about aging potential.

I also like more traditional teas - I've taken down notes from the recommendations earlier in this thread - I just think there's room in the market for everything.

Jun 29th, '13, 21:17
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by ChengduCha » Jun 29th, '13, 21:17

I'm very new at this, and my tastes aren't anything like fully formed, but I think there is a place for these lighter, greener "oolong puerhs."
There certainly is, otherwise producers wouldn't make them, however people usually aren't told upfront that they're meant for a quick consumption over 6 months or a year, as they'll quickly turn flat / into an undesireable taste afterwards (seems to be a longer period for others here).
I can't justify the price of real vintage teas of the 1980s and beyond
Oolong like sheng has nothing to do with aged sheng though, which turns into the direction of a very good shu, losing most, if not all of it's previous younger properties (in a good way).

It's mainly a (not necessarily) cheaper alternative to high quality sheng of the floral variety that should be consumed in a short period of time.

Once you have sampled a couple of those you might be able to tell which are oolong like processed and which have the flavor as a natural property.

Sep 9th, '14, 03:13
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Re: 'Oolong Puerh' processing

by Davcha » Sep 9th, '14, 03:13

Look on this, theoretically it could be possible to correct oolongpu with inoculation of bacterrial strains from well procesed and aged pu-erh.
(The second question is, how big is the role of leaf enzymes in pu-erh aging)


http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... ated=false

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