Official Pu of the day

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


Jul 21st, '16, 22:09
Posts: 529
Joined: Feb 17th, '13, 12:34
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Official Pu of the day

by mr mopu » Jul 21st, '16, 22:09

Frisbeehead wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
I'll remember that, next time I order I'll try the Da Si as well.

What did you pick up from bannacha? I have a friend that ordered from them not too long ago, he's liked everything so far.

Edit: Actually my friend ordered from Bana tea co., not bannacha. I always get confused between the two :P
I will second the Da Si. Beautiful cake.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 02:10
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Official Pu of the day

by kuánglóng » Jul 22nd, '16, 02:10

Frisbeehead wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
What did you pick up from bannacha? I have a friend that ordered from them not too long ago, he's liked everything so far.

Edit: Actually my friend ordered from Bana tea co., not bannacha. I always get confused between the two :P
I tried to order some Da Xue Shan bings but unfortunately William ran out of them and I only got one. I got another Jingmai cake though and a bunch of samples.
I'm somewhat hesitating with ordering larger numbers of his cakes since in some of his descriptions he mentioned stronger shaqing, resulting in greener shengs - not exactly what I'm really after. Some other of his teas have been pushed to the redder side of the spectrum (oolong pu's) - similar story ... oh well. Anyway, since he hasn't mentioned how far exactly he has pushed them I'll take some closer looks at the samples over the weekend and try to figure out if it makes sense to order some more. I certainly don't want to sit on some stale or funky stuff in a couple years and I've got no shortage of nice stuff on my shopping list(s) anyway :lol:
I'll remember that, next time I order I'll try the Da Si as well.
Another YS bing I like quite a bit is the 2013 Ai Lao. Nice daily drinker and at 39$/400g some decent bang for the buck as well but having drunken it side-by-side with the 2014 Qing Mei Shan the latter one has less adstringency, more dynamics and depth and a thicker texture if that's your thing.
Last edited by kuánglóng on Jul 22nd, '16, 02:31, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 02:28
Posts: 495
Joined: Jul 17th, '14, 05:38
Location: UK

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Rui » Jul 22nd, '16, 02:28

kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
The Da Si is also one of my favourites and not many cakes are left in Yunnan Sourcing.

I have been buying from Bannacha for the past couple of years and their ancient trees tea cakes have been very good.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 02:33
Posts: 495
Joined: Jul 17th, '14, 05:38
Location: UK

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Rui » Jul 22nd, '16, 02:33

Today is the turn for me to sip 2004 TAI LIAN "YI WU ZHENG SHAN" from Yunnan Sourcing. Very innofensive sheng with some sweetness and very clear liquor.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 02:54
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Official Pu of the day

by kuánglóng » Jul 22nd, '16, 02:54

Rui wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
The Da Si is also one of my favourites and not many cakes are left in Yunnan Sourcing.

I have been buying from Bannacha for the past couple of years and their ancient trees tea cakes have been very good.
The Da Si really stands out. I'm thinking hard about if I should get another bing as long as there are some left or spend those $140 somewhere else, maybe at bannacha.
BTW, the prices of some teas on my shopping list (lots of stuff on YS and chawang) have considerably risen lately (surprise, surprise). I've really gotta hurry before even more of my €€€ evaporate in crazy mark-ups. Looking forward to a pretty intense sampling weekend.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 06:17
Posts: 495
Joined: Jul 17th, '14, 05:38
Location: UK

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Rui » Jul 22nd, '16, 06:17

kuánglóng wrote:
Rui wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
The Da Si is also one of my favourites and not many cakes are left in Yunnan Sourcing.

I have been buying from Bannacha for the past couple of years and their ancient trees tea cakes have been very good.
The Da Si really stands out. I'm thinking hard about if I should get another bing as long as there are some left or spend those $140 somewhere else, maybe at bannacha.
BTW, the prices of some teas on my shopping list (lots of stuff on YS and chawang) have considerably risen lately (surprise, surprise). I've really gotta hurry before even more of my €€€ evaporate in crazy mark-ups. Looking forward to a pretty intense sampling weekend.
Yep, when I bought my cake it was already $122.

As to Bannacha, one of the great 2016 shengs that came out this year, Jingmai Gulan, is already sold out. I bought a sample to try and a cake for further storage.

As to Chawangshop I have only bought two cakes of last year's HeKai. Excellent tea as well.

User avatar
Jul 22nd, '16, 09:25
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Official Pu of the day

by kuánglóng » Jul 22nd, '16, 09:25

Rui wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Rui wrote:
kuánglóng wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote:
Just ordered a cake of that 2014 qing mei shan along with the 2015 da qing gushu, looking forward to getting them. I've heard good things about both, and they'll be my first Yunnan Sourcing house cakes.
I've got a couple house bings from YS, but the 2014 Qing Mei Shan and especially the 2013 Da Si are my favorites.

Just received a nice parcel from bannacha today; looking forward to another tea st@ned weekend :lol:
The Da Si is also one of my favourites and not many cakes are left in Yunnan Sourcing.

I have been buying from Bannacha for the past couple of years and their ancient trees tea cakes have been very good.
The Da Si really stands out. I'm thinking hard about if I should get another bing as long as there are some left or spend those $140 somewhere else, maybe at bannacha.
BTW, the prices of some teas on my shopping list (lots of stuff on YS and chawang) have considerably risen lately (surprise, surprise). I've really gotta hurry before even more of my €€€ evaporate in crazy mark-ups. Looking forward to a pretty intense sampling weekend.
Yep, when I bought my cake it was already $122.

As to Bannacha, one of the great 2016 shengs that came out this year, Jingmai Gulan, is already sold out. I bought a sample to try and a cake for further storage.
...
That was one of those teas I've mentioned above, Rui; special shaqing like most of the remaining teas on W's site, towards the greener side in this case. I haven't tried the '16 Jingmai Gulan but I'd somehow be afraid that at some point it would take a steep downhill turn. It's not that I don't like my shengs fresh, I really do but I also enjoy sampling them along their transformation into something more deep and mature (not necessarily beyond recognition like most of the traditionally stored stuff I've tried).
Anyway, back to the samples - from what I've tried so far, it seems that William will see some more of my €urons :D

Jul 23rd, '16, 02:39
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 24th, '13, 23:22

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Jiagulanfortwo » Jul 23rd, '16, 02:39

This evening I am drinking a silver tip (2006) from Bana Tea Company. It's quite delicious. The flavors of tangy apricot and peach are prevalent, and it has a hint of smokiness that is intriguing.

The nicest part about this Sheng (raw) Pu is that I can drink it at night and still go to sleep. Sometimes the stimulating factor of these teas can make me :shock:

Jul 23rd, '16, 13:42
Posts: 224
Joined: Dec 22nd, '12, 14:05

Re: Official Pu of the day

by .m. » Jul 23rd, '16, 13:42

1980's loose leaf wet stored sheng from Origin tea. It was very cheap back then, now I wish I had got a big bag of it when I had the chance. What used to taste like a musty mold basement brew, now after a couple of years of airing and a gentle refreshing it really shines. 8)

User avatar
Aug 1st, '16, 22:15
Vendor Member
Posts: 3124
Joined: Aug 28th, '12, 08:12
Location: Hong Kong
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact: jayinhk

Re: Official Pu of the day

by jayinhk » Aug 1st, '16, 22:15

10-15 year old sheng/shu blend, HK traditional storage. Brewed some up so I could take pics for the site, and it tastes very humid now without airing out. My personal stash of this has a year of airing out, and like .m.'s experience with Tony's loose pu, this stuff doesn't taste of storage at all once it gets some time to breathe.

I brewed in porcelain yesterday, but I switched to a 500ml F1 Yixing I use exclusively for shu today. I'm using a lot of leaf, too, so the tea is much more comfortable drinking this way.

You can see the 7542 in the blend in the pics; the lighter brown. The blend is a mix of 7542 and 7572 from different years, with bits of other recipes in the mix too. This is my go to HK loose pu erh and this particular dealer's premium selection. I could drink this stuff every day (as long as it had aired out sufficiently! :) Most HKers are used to and even welcome storage aromas as we associate it with pu erh. Up until I really got into tea (thank you TeaChat), that was simply what pu erh was to me--humid traditional storage shu that hadn't been aired out.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIjL64fgXrR ... y=jayinhkg

User avatar
Aug 8th, '16, 05:42
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Official Pu of the day

by kuánglóng » Aug 8th, '16, 05:42

2005 Yong Pin Hao "Bamboo House".
I've had this tea among others during a session with my buddy two nights ago. Both of us really liked the clear notes of slightly burned vanilla custard and old furniture even though this tea seemed a bit quieter all-around than those we've had before and later on. What surprised me though (as so often) is that 36 hours later the aroma cup I've used for it still distinctively carries the smell of that tea but in this case it's not enough to make me want to buy a whole cake.

Next please ...

User avatar
Aug 14th, '16, 18:54
Posts: 51
Joined: Jan 20th, '08, 16:23

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Dr. Eel » Aug 14th, '16, 18:54

2015 Hai Long Hao (sheng on left) and 2015 Nan Jian (shu on right).
Budget tea Sunday.

Double tea session! First cup for Hai Long Hao: slight spice upfront, mild throughout, ghost of bitterness at back. Warm and comforting. Pleasant tingling on the tongue. First sip for Nan Jian: distinct shu body, earthy, wet mulch and soil. Simple tea, simple flavor. In a strange way, refreshing. Second cup. Hai Long Hao first. Bitterness comes to palate, and is particularly noticeable following shu. Spiciness is still present. Oddly, nourishing. Tingling on tongue presents again. Nan Jian is warm, thick, and simple. Like a good wool sweater on a bitter January morning in the grey city with fog, mist and dew. Third cup. Hai Long Hao: syrup, small bitterness. Little spice. Warm, gentle, comforting. Tongue tingling still present. Nan Jian is comparatively heavy in a brusque, woodsy kind of way. Uncomplicated. Fourth cup. Hai Long Hao is sweeter, thinner. Almost imperceptible spice yet remains. Nan Jian is musty, largely the same as preceding cups. Fifth cup. Hai Long Hao is beginning to resemble 'latter-cup sheng.' Light, thin. Manages to retain some spice, and suggests (suggests!-- does not proclaim) at tongue-roughening bitterness. Sweetness begins to dominate. Nan Jian is unpretentiously robust, still, chugging along easily.

The concept of a sheng-shu side-by-side session was exciting; I must admit, however, that despite the delightful experience (also understand that these are inexpensive teas), the impression of the shu is easily overwhelmed by the complexity of the sheng. Not surprisingly, and to its credit, the shu outlasts the sheng (this I note as I continue to sip, typing). A not uninteresting experience, though an underwhelming one.
Attachments
IMG_0197 copy.jpg
IMG_0197 copy.jpg (79.39 KiB) Viewed 649 times

User avatar
Aug 14th, '16, 19:04
Posts: 5896
Joined: Jan 10th, '10, 16:04
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact: debunix

Re: Official Pu of the day

by debunix » Aug 14th, '16, 19:04

Your report is spot on with my experience. Sometimes I crave all that complexity in sheng, but as often as not, I am not prepared to give full attention to the tea, and steady pleasant shu is just right.

User avatar
Aug 14th, '16, 19:29
Posts: 51
Joined: Jan 20th, '08, 16:23

Re: Official Pu of the day

by Dr. Eel » Aug 14th, '16, 19:29

debunix wrote:Your report is spot on with my experience. Sometimes I crave all that complexity in sheng, but as often as not, I am not prepared to give full attention to the tea, and steady pleasant shu is just right.
Unashamedly I admit: steady, pleasant black tea blends (cue Twinings, Yorkshire, Barry's...) or single-origins (there is a place for you, darjeeling!) have succeeded many a more formal session.

User avatar
Aug 15th, '16, 21:00
Posts: 291
Joined: Feb 9th, '16, 21:23
Location: California

Re: Official Pu of the day

by stevorama » Aug 15th, '16, 21:00

2013 Denong Wild Shou. Reminds me very much of a 10 year old sheng pu erh, which I find intriguing. I thought I was given the wrong tea at first. It's a quality tea, but I think I'd prefer a...10 year old sheng pu erh!

+ Post Reply