Which shu ages well

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


May 30th, '13, 18:43
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Which shu ages well

by Deragoth » May 30th, '13, 18:43

As title says, What kind of shu will age well?
Should i look for meaty and powerful teas, or should i consider something like EoT Goshu shu, that is more subtle but with good thick leaves?

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May 30th, '13, 19:30
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Joined: May 9th, '09, 15:59

Re: Which shu ages well

by shah82 » May 30th, '13, 19:30

Generally, you're looking for lighter fermented tea. Heavier fermented tea needs substantial storage in humid conditions to do much more than lose wodui.

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May 30th, '13, 21:11
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Re: Which shu ages well

by lordsbm » May 30th, '13, 21:11

Deragoth wrote:As title says, What kind of shu will age well?
Should i look for meaty and powerful teas, or should i consider something like EoT Goshu shu, that is more subtle but with good thick leaves?

HF Friends
It really depends on what you are after.

Here's a reference based on my own tasting, which storage has no issues.
Most with big thick leafs use mostly made with huangpian, likely you'll end up with jujube flavor.
Those with lots of gold tips, likely you'll end up with nuo or toast or grain flavor.
Those with lesser or no gold tips, likely you'll end up with more earthly or woody or herbal flavor.

Some feel lightly fermentation is key, but there are those who believe other wise. What I say is taste it, make sure you like it.

There are people out that who believes shu should have dui wei (storage smell) and that's the taste of pu erh shu. So naturally they'll look for heavy fermented ones.

There are people who just can't stand dui wei, so lightly fermented ones is what they look out for.

Then fermentation skills and material used also important factors. There are many tuition shu in the market. Most have lovely brew colors but taste horrible or flat. This is due to the material used. Or those that taste nice but real dark cloudy colors, good chance there's lack in fermentation skills.

Traditionally shu is made to be drinkable, but most keep it for 3 years to reduce the dui wei. So I believe is when tasting, if you can ignore the dui wei and concentrate on the other flavors, there's a good chance finding something that's worth aging.

Of cos it's not something all agree on, but there's no official fix standard. Just take what you read as reference :lol:

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May 31st, '13, 00:53
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Re: Which shu ages well

by Teaism » May 31st, '13, 00:53

The early days shu in the late 70s, 80s and 90s are lighter in fermentation. The new shu tend to be over compressed and over fermented.

Generally shu don't age well and there is tendency for it to turn sour after 15 years.But it all depend on the tea quality and the storage condition.

I seldom drink shu but have some good ones (lighter fermentation with better grade leaves) from the 90s to serve guest who prefer the shu.

But what we read and what we can get from the market is totally different cup of tea, so take all information as a reference.

Just to share a trick about brewing shu....throw in a few leaves of sheng when you brew the shu and the unwanted shu smell will go away. Works most of the time.

Cheers!

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