Official Pu of the day

[Jaymo]

My W2T order came today, so I finally got to try White Whale. I like it a lot. I also got samples of the 90s HK, Little Yellow Mark, and some others. Looking forward to drinking those soon as well!

[Teaism]

Enjoying a Yiwu 2001 now.

I just wrote an article of it in my blog here's:
http://teaism99.com/2014/11/23/superpower/

Cheers!

[bagua7]

Keep enjoying your Yiwu, I know you are very fond of them

Just had this morning brewing session of a "Year of the Green Horse" Mengku Wild Arbor King young sheng. Hmmm, very smooth and full of vitality. Zero harshness. Gee, I love Mengku wild arbor cakes, they are a real treat.

[Teaism]

Enjoying the iconic 2007 LBZ now. Nice and enjoyable tea.

Last week, I brewed this tea for a tea friend in a local Teahouse. The Teahouse boss came to join us and I let her try the tea without mentioning the information about the tea. She said she has a better tea than this 2007LBZ at US$25 per bing.

Hmmm, there are still overlooked iconic tea selling for a song out there.

Cheers!

[bonescwa]

Enjoying the iconic 2007 LBZ now. Nice and enjoyable tea.

She said she has a better tea than this 2007LBZ at US$25 per bing.

Did you try the $25 tea?

[Teaism]

Enjoying the iconic 2007 LBZ now. Nice and enjoyable tea.

She said she has a better tea than this 2007LBZ at US$25 per bing.

Did you try the $25 tea?

I didn't but I think I better pay them a visit again to try it. For all you know, it might be true...a $25 tea is better than a $5k tea.

Cheers!

[shah82]

No, that's an LBZ thing. If you're not expecting the character, it can be pretty easy to think that it's not that good (unless you've got the booming fruit return huigans). Big part of why blind tasting isn't really a good idea.

Also, in any genuine sense, no older LBZ is going to sell for $5k, unless we're talking about early Fujin (00-04) stuff or the '97 cake. That's entirely a bit of bluster. Actual sales of LBZ at high prices are for those teas with a high degree of fame.

That's because anyone with any reasonable budget, would budget for a '97 LanYin, or '96 Purple Dayi (probably not, but...), and if we're talking younger teas, they'd buy plenty of this year's top of the line teas from all areas. $5k is enough to buy a top Yiwu, a top LBZ, a top Lincang, or both Bingdao/Xigui, and then a selection of some other nice stuff, like a little Dahongpao.

And anyone where price is no object, have better tea to buy, of LBZ and other teas. People are certainly willing to pay a lot of money for tea, but there is clearly a hype, either from new and shiny, or constant adulation from reviews online or in magazines, that has to accompany the tea.

Outside of what's being explicitly marketed, tea has little secondary sales value of any note, and much of that liquidity is really in terms or tongs or jians. Tracking prices is worth it in understanding opportunity costs from selecting the tea choices you have in front of you now.

A little EoT Bangwei, thick soup, but thin taste, some nice aftertastes. A little relaxing.

[Teaism]

No, that's an LBZ thing. If you're not expecting the character, it can be pretty easy to think that it's not that good (unless you've got the booming fruit return huigans). Big part of why blind tasting isn't really a good idea.

Also, in any genuine sense, no older LBZ is going to sell for $5k, unless we're talking about early Fujin (00-04) stuff or the '97 cake. That's entirely a bit of bluster. Actual sales of LBZ at high prices are for those teas with a high degree of fame.

That's because anyone with any reasonable budget, would budget for a '97 LanYin, or '96 Purple Dayi (probably not, but...), and if we're talking younger teas, they'd buy plenty of this year's top of the line teas from all areas. $5k is enough to buy a top Yiwu, a top LBZ, a top Lincang, or both Bingdao/Xigui, and then a selection of some other nice stuff, like a little Dahongpao.

And anyone where price is no object, have better tea to buy, of LBZ and other teas. People are certainly willing to pay a lot of money for tea, but there is clearly a hype, either from new and shiny, or constant adulation from reviews online or in magazines, that has to accompany the tea.

Outside of what's being explicitly marketed, tea has little secondary sales value of any note, and much of that liquidity is really in terms or tongs or jians. Tracking prices is worth it in understanding opportunity costs from selecting the tea choices you have in front of you now.
.

+1 Shah, well said. That is the irony of tea, isn't it?

The real enjoyment of tea should not be gauge by the price tag but there are still buyers out there supporting the insane price. Personally I won't pay even for a fraction of the current price. I like this tea and paid what I thought it was worth many years ago. But there are many other great tea out there with good value, hmmm...perhaps like the $25 tea. I must make it a point to check it out.

Have a great tea day!

Cheers!

[j.p.rich]

2013 Gua Feng Zhai from W2T. Mild but at the same time has plenty of substance and solid Qi. It's been a while and was just the exact slap in the face I needed today!

[Zacherywolf7]

2000 Kai Yuan Purple Stamp from Essence of Tea.
Pretty good. Makes since that there are young leaves in the mix basically, but still tasty, thick nice age. On the plus side I don't ever think it'll end.

I got a white 2 tea order in and realized I have a very good amount of shu to get through (about 200 grams), which is nice and a little scary.

[j.p.rich]

2000 Kai Yuan Purple Stamp from Essence of Tea.
Pretty good. Makes since that there are young leaves in the mix basically, but still tasty, thick nice age. On the plus side I don't ever think it'll end.

I got a white 2 tea order in and realized I have a very good amount of shu to get through (about 200 grams), which is nice and a little scary.

The green stamp rocks the house, am curious to see how the purple compares. Sample is on order.

[bagua7]

The real enjoyment of tea should not be gauge by the price tag...

Certainly:

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~ Thich Nat Hahn

[Teaism]

The real enjoyment of tea should not be gauge by the price tag...

Certainly:

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~ Thich Nat Hahn

+1 Well said!

Cheers my friend!

[AdmiralKelvinator]

Today's tea: 2014 yesheng qiaomu (this was the young puer included in this month's W2T teaclub). 9g in a 140ml gaiwan.

I'm drinking young puerh for the second day in a row, which is surprising since after yesterday's session (Tea urchin's 2014 LBZ) I was about ready to swear off of young pu-erh entirely. Not having much experience with either aged or young LBZ I can't comment on its authenticity, but I can say it was quite a "blast to the face" as some people are fond of saying. I found the bitterness very difficult to control and ended up with a sore stomach to boot, so vowed to focus on aged pu-erhs instead from now on.

And yet...today, out of nowhere the taste of that young pu-erh reappeared to me, not a memory of the taste but almost like a flashback of the taste (I wonder if many people here have a similar experience) , and put me suddenly in this very tranquil, meditative state. This feeling then passed after a minute or two, but It was impossible to ignore the fact that yesterday's tea had left an impression on me.

So here I am, back at the table with this qiaomu, resolved to explore young pu a little further. While previously this one tasted rather bitter to me, after yesterday's bulang now it's positively sweet.
[EDIT: On closer inspection the label on this tea actually reads "yefang qiaomu" (野放乔木). "yesheng qiaomu" is I gather just a general descriptor of the tea, ie "Wild Arbor tea", yes?]

[wert]

Sometimes, sheng can be tricky. Too much leaf, too long steep etc etc could be quite bitter and difficult to stomach especially the first few brews.
Use less leaves when trying an unknown for the first time and worked your way upwards. I would also try a particular tea a few times with different parameters.

But sometimes, try as I might, I can't recapture the vibe of a particularly good session. This would leave one disappointed, but don't be discouraged as it is the learning process.