TeaChat

thanks wrote:Wait, why do the spent leaves look like that??

I'm trying to understand your question. I think may be it wasn't a proper gaiwan, the leaves don't have much room to expand. Hope that answer your question.

In addition to the unopened shape of many leaves, they look awfully dark in color like a shu might look. Of course, that could be a photographic issue rather than a tea issue, but if they are actually that dark it may indicate something about the processing.

I really enjoyed the review, by the way, especially the photos. Thank you!

Salsero wrote:In addition to the unopened shape of many leaves, they look awfully dark in color like a shu might look. Of course, that could be a photographic issue rather than a tea issue, but if they are actually that dark it may indicate something about the processing.

I really enjoyed the review, by the way, especially the photos. Thank you!

Thanks for reading my review. Now I understand the question about the spent leaves. Yes, this could well be a photographic issue, I think next time I would put the leaves in a bowl of water and take picture under sun light.

I should have been more specific, but yes I was only referring to the color of spent leaves. Was there a bit of red throughout the spent leaves?

thanks wrote:I should have been more specific, but yes I was only referring to the color of spent leaves. Was there a bit of red throughout the spent leaves?

Here is a "better" picture (now I know how to do it properly). I would say nothing unusual.

apache wrote: Here is a "better" picture (now I know how to do it properly). I would say nothing unusual.

Wow, not just better but spectacular! I see only a little red oxidation marks on these leaves.

Looks good. thanks for the review!

I have question, is red oxidation good or bad for sheng Pu-erh??

As I understand it, red marks indicate oxidation as a result of bruising the leaf, similar to what is done to produce oolong or black tea. Too much can push the tea toward being more like a black tea, cover up deficiencies in the leaf, improve its young drinkability (at least for the uninitiated) and reduce its potential to age well. The liquor of tea that has been pushed in this direction will tend to be more orange and less yellow. I don't know if the producer does this on purpose or by accident.

It's a matter of degree, however, rather than a cut and dried distinction. Most sheng has a little red. The liquor and leaves of your Menghai YiWu ZhengShan look fine to me. That is exactly all I know and it may not be 100% accurate.

Salsero wrote:As I understand it, red marks indicate oxidation as a result of bruising the leaf, similar to what is done to produce oolong or black tea. Too much can push the tea toward being more like a black tea, cover up deficiencies in the leaf, improve its young drinkability (at least for the uninitiated) and reduce its potential to age well. The liquor of tea that has been pushed in this direction will tend to be more orange and less yellow. I don't know if the producer does this on purpose or by accident.

It's a matter of degree, however, rather than a cut and dried distinction. Most sheng has a little red. The liquor and leaves of your Menghai YiWu ZhengShan look fine to me. That is exactly all I know and it may not be 100% accurate.

Mahalo Salsero....That's good enough for me

I didn't dig through the leaves of "Master Wang's" 2006 raw sheng for red, but it tasted much more of Hong Cha than Hei Cha. It could be an intentional move by his greatness, as he is the inventor of several styles of puerh.

This redness being different from the rusty redness/darkness that develops from many years of aging (and looks more chocolatey brown once brewed). Uh, or so I gather...

The redness being a function of chlorophyll breakdown (from mechanical leaf damage oxidation during rolling??), similar to deciduous tree color change in autumn as sap is withdrawn and leaves harden off from moisture loss.

Some people like to accuse some pu'er vendors of "doctoring" the tea by intentionally oxidizing it to make it more drinkable now. So you'd get some sweetness and oolong-like flavors, and a darker color tea broth.

In some cases, the oxidation is unintentional - traditional style processing or rougher handling, or badly done kill-green.

Either way, I think many people consider it a flaw for a newly made sheng pu'er to show a whole lot of oxidation. I don't know enough to have a personal opinion about it.

A very short review
My first Xiaguan: 2008 Xiaguan XY "8853" Recipe Raw Pu-erh
Drink this today at work: 7g of leaves, 170ml Yixing Zini.
After 2nd infusion, the tea open up. It was smashing!
Very different style from Menghai Tea Factory Dayi.
I cannot get enough of this stuff and now I know why T S is that keen on Xiaguan.