TeaChat

09 Changtai Qian Jia Feng -

Leaves were quite aromatic out of the wrapper. Grainy with a pungent aroma....with slight wood and camphor flavors. Chaqi was on the quiet side. Pretty nice session none the less.

EoT 2010 Mansai Nice Surprise!

I really can't remember when I had it last time and I'm having this today. The progress of this tea gives me a surprise.


Very nice deep amber colour soup and has hint of typical aged taste. It gives a very smooth feel.










Spent leaves also show sign of ageing.

I have this cake since it first came out in 2010. Mr Nada had done a good job on this cake and dare I say the UK seems to be blessed with foul weather for ageing pu. Rain and drizzle, I love it, more please, bring it on!

Too bad, now only sample is available for this cake.

Edit: Later steeps became much bitter and some sourness. I don't know whether this is true or not, I was told pu goes through sour phase when aged.

tony shlongini wrote:'07 Xiauguan Bao Yan (Tibetan Flame) brick
$4.99 per 250g brick, PuerhShop

Astringency - enough to provide backbone, but not excessive
Smoke - none to barely perceptible
Dryness-(mouth) - none
Mouthfeel - medium to heavy
Hui gan - solid
Flavor - simple and solid
Overall value - beyond excellent
Purchase again - absolutley, perfect cellaring material

Simple folks need wine with their meals every bit as much as the high rollers dining at Taillevent, and they are fortunate that there are areas in Italy, Spain, and the Languedoc-Roussillon in France producing a sea of quaffable, inexpensive wine for daily consumption. Similarly, the poor need a cup of tea as much as anyone, and they shouldn't be denied their pleasure for lack of funds. The Xiaguan brick has been around for a long time serving the needs of tea drinkers in remote areas. There's a reason that this is a staple of the poor. It's not bad.

The above post is nearly 5 years old and it inspired me to drink some more of this brick this morning. Can't argue with any of the narration that Tony gives about the poor. Teachat is obviously not about poor tea drinkers for the most part. Here are my notes:

$9.90 from Puerhshop. The price has doubled in 5 years.

Astringency-somewhat. Leaves the mouth a bit dry, not wet or thick.
Smoke-Noticeable. I double rinse and swirl for 30 sec initially.
Dryness-after 5-6 cups, the mouth is dry.
Huigan-slight and undistinguished.
Flavor-my wife stopped after the 2nd cup.
Overall value-to whom? Not to me.
Purchase again?-No
Storage:dry stored with no wetness or strange smells.
Leaf quality: lol, a chopped up mess.

This might be a tea to mix with Shucha.

Tead Off wrote:
Can't argue with any of the narration that Tony gives about the poor.

Pu Erh for the poor: buy cakes new, not a whole thong, but just between one and three cakes (defending on affordability, but go for the highest quality one can afford, not quantity), be patient and age them yourself for ten or more years - and end up with a great supply of awesome Pu Erh.

theredbaron wrote:... and end up with a great supply of awesome Pu Erh.

Yeah, or absolute crap and wasted money... I think that a storage that does not work is more likely to happen than storage that does work, actually.

really? I'm not doing anything fancy, and at worst, I'm getting cakes that haven't changed much except hollow out a bit. Plenty of good changes too.

The real problem in this hobby is that store-worthy puerh has gotten very expensive, even new. Especially new.

Do not try to ever cheap out on tea you intend to store. Bad tea doesn't get good. Good tea is simply great tasting, but very bitter, astringent along with that, and you age to wear away the bitterness and astringency. You also age tea from places with a recognized transformation tendency, like Yiwu.

It's easy to buy more tea than you can ever drink. Buy very high quality tea on a gradual basis, and you'll eventually have more good tea than you can ever drink. Most people buying crap have needed to find that greater fool or people needing daily drinks at some point down the road...

JakubT wrote:

theredbaron wrote:... and end up with a great supply of awesome Pu Erh.

Yeah, or absolute crap and wasted money... I think that a storage that does not work is more likely to happen than storage that does work, actually.

That is why you don't put all eggs in one basket. Get a cake from here, and a cake from there, if you are lucky - both will work. If one doesn't work, chances are that another will. After a while, when you have stored already for a while, and know which teas work for you, get more from areas that you have previous good experiences with.

As to storage that does not work, well - a few parameters are known not to work, such as too arid climate. Enough humidity will work. On the lower end - it will slow down the aging process, on the higher end aging will be quicker but there is a risk of getting moldy teas.

I am somewhat lucky living in a high temperature, high humidity place (yet not too much) which enables accelerated aging processes. But i have also drunk well aged (naturally stored) Pu in Europe. I am dead set against "pumidors", as the risk for destroying teas over time is IMO far too high. I am a proponent of natural storage.

But as Shah has said - it all depends on the base material: Bad tea will not improve with aging, it will just be bad old tea. I have started with a couple of very good teas, and they turned out fabulously over the years (more than ten years storing at home). I have some cheap not so good teas that turned out not so good, so far. I have some other teas i have high hopes for.

I haven't done anything else than putting these cakes on a shelf, away from direct sunlight, with airflow, but not exposed to wind or the fan, and let time do the work. No science involved.

That's the only way to one day have a regular supply of good aged Pu Erh if your pockets have limits. To buy some of the Pu's i am drinking regularly now would cost me a fortune i don't have.
Of course, if you have lots of money to spare, you can go to the Pu Erh centers like HK, KL, etc., and buy 20+ year old teas. But prepared to spend *a lot* for teas worth drinking. But that's not really the issue here - it's about reaching a supply of good aged Pu with limited pockets.

William wrote:

TwoDog2 wrote: Do you have any pics of this?

Another session with some Xiaguan Jin Hua - 2009.

Is it still pretty harsh?

Just had a 1993 Cultural Revolution 300gm tea brick brewed with a sliver of Qinam agarwood (Kyara). Really mind boggling good!

For years, I have been experimenting tea brewing with a dash of other herbs and wood to enhance tea. It is a very advance field and require great understanding in tea and other materials. Qinam agarwood is one of my favourite but at US$500 per gram ( Yes! US$500 per gram ) , I usually use a sliver of it and it push the taste to mind boggling proportion. Other ingredient I use are musk, oman frankincense, raw liquorice, aged mandarin peel, mysore sandalwood etc.

It is a subject of its own, but I like to share by just highlighting this issue for awareness.

theredbaron wrote:

Tead Off wrote:
Can't argue with any of the narration that Tony gives about the poor.

Pu Erh for the poor: buy cakes new, not a whole thong, but just between one and three cakes (defending on affordability, but go for the highest quality one can afford, not quantity), be patient and age them yourself for ten or more years - and end up with a great supply of awesome Pu Erh.

I don't think Tony was talking about people who can afford to buy a bing or develop a collection for aging. He was talking about really poor folk who can barely afford shoes but like the pleasure of drinking tea.

I think your advice is good for many of the teachatters, though. A different economic class if I might say. Agarwood at $500/per gram requires a different economic category that is not your average tea drinker!

TwoDog2 wrote:

William wrote:

TwoDog2 wrote: Do you have any pics of this?

Another session with some Xiaguan Jin Hua - 2009.

Is it still pretty harsh?

That's right. To be able to contain his youth, I found that not to exceed more than 4 grams per 120ml helped much, using 5 or 6 grams became quite difficult to know how to manage the infusions.
Obviously, in my opinion.

Tead Off wrote:

theredbaron wrote:

Tead Off wrote:
I think your advice is good for many of the teachatters, though. A different economic class if I might say. Agarwood at $500/per gram requires a different economic category that is not your average tea drinker!

Can barely afford it so I use it only in rare occassion. I use a sliver in one brewing session only. A gram of it is micro sliced into almost 50 micro sliver pieces. And still this one tiny miny micro sliver elevate the tea to many levels higher..in aroma, taste, texture and mental and spritual enhancement. Quite a unique experience and those who tried it would definately appreciate it.

Teaism wrote:Just had a 1993 Cultural Revolution 300gm tea brick brewed with a sliver of Qinam agarwood (Kyara). Really mind boggling good!

For years, I have been experimenting tea brewing with a dash of other herbs and wood to enhance tea. It is a very advance field and require great understanding in tea and other materials. Qinam agarwood is one of my favourite but at US$500 per gram ( Yes! US$500 per gram ) , I usually use a sliver of it and it push the taste to mind boggling proportion. Other ingredient I use are musk, oman frankincense, raw liquorice, aged mandarin peel, mysore sandalwood etc.

It is a subject of its own, but I like to share by just highlighting this issue for awareness.

I was curious and just looked up Agarwood, and found that the species it comes from , Aquilaria banaensae, is on the IUCN red list of threatened species. And a quick google search doesn't show anyone touting the sustainability of farmed versions. At those prices, buying it is likely to just encourage poaching and speed the extinction of the species.

debunix wrote:

Teaism wrote:Just had a 1993 Cultural Revolution 300gm tea brick brewed with a sliver of Qinam agarwood (Kyara). Really mind boggling good!

For years, I have been experimenting tea brewing with a dash of other herbs and wood to enhance tea. It is a very advance field and require great understanding in tea and other materials. Qinam agarwood is one of my favourite but at US$500 per gram ( Yes! US$500 per gram ) , I usually use a sliver of it and it push the taste to mind boggling proportion. Other ingredient I use are musk, oman frankincense, raw liquorice, aged mandarin peel, mysore sandalwood etc.

It is a subject of its own, but I like to share by just highlighting this issue for awareness.

I was curious and just looked up Agarwood, and found that the species it comes from , Aquilaria banaensae, is on the IUCN red list of threatened species. And a quick google search doesn't show anyone touting the sustainability of farmed versions. At those prices, buying it is likely to just encourage poaching and speed the extinction of the species.

It's already happen.
Cantonese narration, Chinese subtitle clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afd7I6mcHSA

debunix wrote:

Teaism wrote:Just had a 1993 Cultural Revolution 300gm tea brick brewed with a sliver of Qinam agarwood (Kyara). Really mind boggling good!

For years, I have been experimenting tea brewing with a dash of other herbs and wood to enhance tea. It is a very advance field and require great understanding in tea and other materials. Qinam agarwood is one of my favourite but at US$500 per gram ( Yes! US$500 per gram ) , I usually use a sliver of it and it push the taste to mind boggling proportion. Other ingredient I use are musk, oman frankincense, raw liquorice, aged mandarin peel, mysore sandalwood etc.

It is a subject of its own, but I like to share by just highlighting this issue for awareness.

I was curious and just looked up Agarwood, and found that the species it comes from , Aquilaria banaensae, is on the IUCN red list of threatened species. And a quick google search doesn't show anyone touting the sustainability of farmed versions. At those prices, buying it is likely to just encourage poaching and speed the extinction of the species.

A delicate situation. I searched on this a bit two years ago. There are efforts for sustainable production. Of course the best seems to be the oldest, wildest most inaccessable.
http://www.globaltrees.org/agarwood.htm