Official Pu of the day

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


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Aug 30th, '10, 17:31
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Re: Pu of the day

by TwoPynts » Aug 30th, '10, 17:31

apache wrote:I think "Cloud" has two different versions of #2. I heard the other version is more suitable for storage.
Could be. I don't think my sample was the "special" version.

Sep 1st, '10, 11:51
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 1st, '10, 11:51

2008 – Meng Ku High Mountain Raw Pu-erh

Finally decided to open this. My first purchased raw pu.

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I bought this when I first started my venture into pu. Initially I thought I was a raw guy, but in the midst of the venture, I found out that I am a ripe pu guy. Drinking this reminds me why I liked raw at the first place.

Though it is still a young raw, but there is not much of the young solid taste. I have tasted quite a few young raw pu and mostly are strong or has the smoky smell or bitterness or spikiness for me. This on the other hand is very much drinkable and smooth. I enjoyed it. The smell of the pu is good. The after taste is real long lasting (maybe partially because I am brewing it with Shigaraki Kyusu). There is some sweetness in my throat from 2nd infusion onwards.

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5g : 120ml water

Rinsing - 10 seconds

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Picture: 1st infusion - 60 seconds

2nd infusion - 15 seconds
3rd infusion - 30 seconds
4th infusion – 45 seconds

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Picture: 5th infusion – 60 seconds. Taste and colour of the tea didn’t change much from the 1st infusion till the 5th infusion.

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Sep 2nd, '10, 10:43
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 2nd, '10, 10:43

2010 Mi Di Raw Pu-erh

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5g : 120ml water

Rinsing - 10 seconds

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Picture: 1st infusion - 60 seconds - don't like

2nd infusion - 15 seconds - still dont' like
3rd infusion - 45 seconds - gave up

Tasted dry with light bitterness aftertaste. If I recall correctly, it shouldn't be this kind of taste when I bought it. Kind of not my preference. I won't be drinking this anytime soon. Hope aging will make it better.

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Sep 2nd, '10, 11:41
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Re: Pu of the day

by TwoPynts » Sep 2nd, '10, 11:41

auhckw wrote:2010 Mi Di Raw Pu-erh
That's too bad, it's a nice looking cake. I'm betting it will benefit from aging. What kind of water did you use?

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Sep 2nd, '10, 12:57
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Re: Pu of the day

by nickE » Sep 2nd, '10, 12:57

Pu of the day - Nada's 2010 Manmai.

This was really really good today. It might be because it's my first Puerh in like 5 days... :shock: Seriously though, the flavor is delicious, exceptionally clear, potent, but not overpowering. I'm excited to watch this one age.

Sep 2nd, '10, 17:04
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Re: Pu of the day

by shah82 » Sep 2nd, '10, 17:04

Tol' dja!

Had Zhai Zi Po today, easy going session. Tummy is burned out on harsh tea...

Sep 2nd, '10, 19:39
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 2nd, '10, 19:39

TwoPynts wrote:
auhckw wrote:2010 Mi Di Raw Pu-erh
That's too bad, it's a nice looking cake. I'm betting it will benefit from aging. What kind of water did you use?
Only time will tell :)

I'm using diamond filtered water
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*Picture not mine - and i don't live that high up with such a nice view :mrgreen:

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Sep 2nd, '10, 23:23
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Re: Pu of the day

by debunix » Sep 2nd, '10, 23:23

Shi Tou Xin Jai loose mao cha from Norbu tonight. Sweet, mellow, marvelous, making me so excited for the upcoming OTTI #5.

Sep 3rd, '10, 04:21
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 3rd, '10, 04:21

CNNP - Meng Hai Lang He Tea Factory 2000 Raw

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10 years old. Dry storage.

Liquor has become thicker and quite smooth.

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Colour of the tea above is 1st infusion.

Aroma and Taste is quite ok. Still have Pu smell.

A little dry.

A little bitter. Maybe this used to be bitter but bitterness has gone down from the aging. Acceptable bitterness.

Not much aftertaste. The taste only lasted in mouth/tongue but not much in the throat

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Sep 3rd, '10, 11:20
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 3rd, '10, 11:20

2006 Lao Ban Zhang Raw Pu-erh

I was told that this is premium spring grade. Leaves were from 2005 spring. Beeng compressed in 2006.

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Though it has been 4 years, this Pu seems relatively young in terms of taste and colour. Doesn't have smoke smell/taste. No bitter. Most likely dry storage.

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8g : 200ml water

Rinsing - 10 seconds

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1st infusion - 60 seconds
-Taste like normal grade Pu, Nothing great. The taste seems weak. No aftertaste feel yet.

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2nd infusion - 15 seconds
-Taste improved. Can start feeling the aftertaste in the throat.

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3rd infusion - 30 seconds
-The joy starts from here. Aftertaste quite deep in throat. Taste spread throughout the mouth, but also feeling a little dry.

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4th infusion – 45 seconds
-Same feeling as 3rd infusion. Quality didn't drop.

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5th infusion – 60 seconds
-Still feels good, but slight drop in taste. I think it has reached its peak and is heading downward if I were to continue brewing. Stopped here.

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Overall, this is a good premium LBZ. Even after 50 minutes, I can still feel the nice aftertaste in throat/mouth.

Now the question is, does the taste justify the price? Was it really that good for the price it is? I definitely didn't regret buying this, but price vs quality ratio, I think LBZ may be over hyped.

Sep 3rd, '10, 12:04
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Re: Pu of the day

by shah82 » Sep 3rd, '10, 12:04

What brand and what price was this LBZ?

Guoyan '05 fall was something like $50 at YS for the longest time. Those are all gone now. I can't easily tell, but the leaves seem smaller and less premium-looking than the usual superpremium stuff. That isn't to say they're bad...the HLH '06 LBZ looks pretty cut up as well, and it's one of the famouse versions.

As for Banzhang pricing...yeah, it's got its own price/quality ratio. Just buy one nice one and move on.

Sep 3rd, '10, 12:10
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 3rd, '10, 12:10

shah82 wrote:What brand and what price was this LBZ?

Guoyan '05 fall was something like $50 at YS for the longest time. Those are all gone now. I can't easily tell, but the leaves seem smaller and less premium-looking than the usual superpremium stuff. That isn't to say they're bad...the HLH '06 LBZ looks pretty cut up as well, and it's one of the famouse versions.

As for Banzhang pricing...yeah, it's got its own price/quality ratio. Just buy one nice one and move on.
Don't know what brand. Supposed to be from some minority maker. I was told that this is premium. I have not tasted other LBZ before, so I can only set this as my 'premium' standard benchmark for LBZ. This is my first. Will hope to sample some other better/lesser quality LBZ to compare.

Price: 500.00 MYR = 160.746 USD

Sep 3rd, '10, 20:45
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Re: Pu of the day

by auhckw » Sep 3rd, '10, 20:45

Reasons why 'real/premium/unmix' LBZ is expensive (summary info I got):-
-generally considered as the King of raw pu-erh in chinese market due to its unique good quality, strong sweed aftertaste and strong flavor
-high up mountain, small location, limited quantity of tea leaves,
-the village has a history that can be traced back to 1476, and the tea production history also commenced in the same year.
-starting from 2007, 陈升茶厂 factory signed a contract with most of the LBZ villagers to get a certain bulk out of the production. However, there are still some families which did not sign the contracts which they still their own materials
-due to the claimed domination and exclusive sales of 陈升茶厂, nowadays the LBZ tea is sold at very high price.

Sep 3rd, '10, 21:37
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Re: Pu of the day

by shah82 » Sep 3rd, '10, 21:37

the factory name is chensheng, in case anyone was wondering. I think this is a recent development 07, 08 thereabouts.

Sep 3rd, '10, 21:49
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Re: Pu of the day

by shah82 » Sep 3rd, '10, 21:49

All of those reasons are probably not valid.

Lao Banzhang is simply a favorite kind of Bulang puerh, and quite fashionable these days. It's not really better or rarer than any of the other very elite areas, but it *is* probably more accessible to the public. I have the nasty suspicion that really good Yiwu is mostly unavailable, same with Jingmai, Lincang, and certain other famous places, because they've had such a famous name for so long. Lao Banzhang's particular popularity is a very recent thing.

It *is* nice, however, but it's just really expensive. There is also a whole lot of blendings of other Bulang teas into LBZ to make a bigger profit, which is why I got suspicious at the leaves. It could still be real, and your taste remarks make it sound real--mixed LBZ tends to be pretty funky about endurance, as the mixed in outside tea gives up and the LBZ keeps going. Also, most premium LBZ cakes use very pretty leaves in order to convince people that this is top stuff. Pretty leaves aren't a guarantee of quality, though, as ugly teas can taste great and beautiful teas can taste weak. I will certainly say that the one thing Hou De *is* cheap for is Lao Banzhang as they have a number of XZH '06 of superior quality for $145. Not much good to you in Malaysia, but...

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