Taking the plunge

by **Jagori** » May 2nd, '08, 21:46

Taking the plunge

by Jagori » May 2nd, '08, 21:46

After years of thinking I hated tea, I recently discovered a love for pu-erh. I picked up a bing of the 2003 Keyixing from Puerh Shop, and although I like it, I soon discovered that drinking the same tea every day can get old. So, after some research and armed with enough knowledge to tell shu from sheng and not much more, I decided to jump right in and ordered four more from Puerh Shop:

Clockwise from bottom left: 2007 Menghai Jewel, 2006 King of Pu-Erh, 2003 Songpin Imperial, and 2006 Bajiaoting Imperial (the last one) in another wrapper. I haven't tried any of them yet, but I'll be sure to post my thoughts when I do.

Last edited by Jagori on May 21st, '08, 12:13, edited 1 time in total.

by **jogrebe** » May 2nd, '08, 22:05

by jogrebe » May 2nd, '08, 22:05

Wow I'm actually drinking some of the 2003 Songpin Imperial right now. While its a bit on the pricey side its a fairly good tea that is worth buying at least once in my opinion.

by **Wesli** » May 3rd, '08, 00:24

by Wesli » May 3rd, '08, 00:24

I wasn't too fond of the Songpin. Although, I love the Keyixing.

by **Dizzwave** » May 3rd, '08, 00:26

by Dizzwave » May 3rd, '08, 00:26

Nice -- I just tried the Puerh King today (from the Pride of Menghai sample pack) and it rocked! enjoy..

by **Salsero** » May 3rd, '08, 00:37

by Salsero » May 3rd, '08, 00:37

Thanks for posting. Looking forward to your further thoughts.

by **brandon** » May 3rd, '08, 03:33

by brandon » May 3rd, '08, 03:33

I like the Songpin quite a bit, but I have not yet tried the other samples I have on hand from puerhshop. Bears tells me that the Songpin is the middle of the pack.

by **Jagori** » May 3rd, '08, 04:20

by Jagori » May 3rd, '08, 04:20

I got a sample of the Songpin with the Keyixing, and I liked it quite a bit. I find it needs very short steeps at first, but as long as I'm quick enough on the pour, it's certainly to my tastes.

Tonight's tea was the sample of 2000 HTC shu that my friend bought. I didn't brew it very well: I underestimated how long it needed to steep (compared to the Songpin), so the first few steeps were pleasant but characterless. I started getting it right around the fourth or fifth infusion. By that point, it had good sweetness, and an almost grainy aroma that surprised me - it smelled like cooked buckwheat pasta. I'm expecting next time to be much better, so I'm sure I'll have more to say then.

by **Jagori** » May 4th, '08, 05:36

by Jagori » May 4th, '08, 05:36

[edit]pending revision

Last edited by Jagori on May 11th, '08, 14:19, edited 1 time in total.

by **Salsero** » May 4th, '08, 13:20

by Salsero » May 4th, '08, 13:20

If you haven't already, please copy any comments on the Puerhshop sampler packs over to the appropriate sticky thread or start a new thread for a new sampler pack, eg, Taste of Menghai.

My thought is that these threads could be useful references to help others who are interested in purchasing puerh. Reviews can do this without being long or fancy. Simply saying that you liked or didn't like or wouldn't buy or would consider buying are very helpful to anyone shopping in this otherwise blind alley of puerh. In fact, I suspect the shorter the review, the more value it offers, at least to the beginner.

by **Jagori** » May 5th, '08, 03:13

by Jagori » May 5th, '08, 03:13

Sure, I'll post in those threads when I've got something to say about the teas in those packs. Tonight's tea was the 2007 Menghai Jewel. It's in the Pride of Menghai sample pack, but there isn't a thread for it yet and I didn't order the pack, so I'll just post here.

This tea was light and fresh-tasting, and quite pleasant to drink. Somewhere around the 5th steep, it suddenly got sweet and floral, like I'd added honey and a bit of jasmine. The leaves cashed in shortly after that. A good tea for those times when I want pu-erh, but I'm not in the mood for the more intense ones. I'll probably buy it again when this cake is done, unless I discover a more complex but light pu-erh in the meantime.

by **Puerh Lover** » May 5th, '08, 10:01

by Puerh Lover » May 5th, '08, 10:01

Hi, I am new here...

Jim from puerhshop.com told me that if you like Songpin, which I do, the 2004 Liming
Yue Chen Yue Xiang Pu-erh Tea Cake is much better.

http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_29&products_id=318

I am getting a sample of that soon to try. Any of you tried it? comments?

by **Salsero** » May 5th, '08, 10:45

by Salsero » May 5th, '08, 10:45

Puerh Lover wrote:Hi, I am new here...I am getting a sample of that soon to try. Any of you tried it? comments?

Welcome, it's good to have you here! Sounds like you are not one of those who have joined us in order to get your feet wet: you are soaked in pu already. What's the cake pictured in your avatar? For that matter, I'm sure we would all enjoy learning a little more about your puerh history and interests.

As for the 2004 Liming, you are probably the guinea pig, but we would like to hear about it once you have tried it. As you may have noticed in these posts, while our opinions vary some, there is generally more agreement than disagreement on the relative merits of the samples.

Please don't hesitate to post your thoughts on the Songpin in the "Taste of Mellowness" sticky thread. Also, if you have a chance, stop by the TeaDay thread of the day to share what your drinking.

by **Puerh Lover** » May 5th, '08, 15:20

by Puerh Lover » May 5th, '08, 15:20

Hi, Salero,

Thank you for your reply. I don't usually have much time to post online but will do my best to post some reviews. I cannot say I am a puerh tea connoisseur but I am originally from the orient so tea is in my blood. Actually, not until several years ago did I "take the plunge" and bought a lot of tea and Yixing teapots. (Can you hear my wife grumbling in the background?

) However, I am mostly a ripe (cooked) puerh drinker because I cannot buy with good conscious the astronomically-priced aged green cake so I am always on the search for really good ripe cakes.

By the way, the avatar picture is the famous Menghai Grand Red Label tea cake.

by **hop_goblin** » May 5th, '08, 15:35

by hop_goblin » May 5th, '08, 15:35

Puerh Lover wrote:Hi, I am new here...

Jim from puerhshop.com told me that if you like Songpin, which I do, the 2004 Liming
Yue Chen Yue Xiang Pu-erh Tea Cake is much better.

http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_29&products_id=318

I am getting a sample of that soon to try. Any of you tried it? comments?

Hey man, your avatar looks way too much like mine!! :wink:

by **jogrebe** » May 5th, '08, 16:45

by jogrebe » May 5th, '08, 16:45

Puerh Lover wrote:Hi, Salero,

Thank you for your reply. I don't usually have much time to post online but will do my best to post some reviews. I cannot say I am a puerh tea connoisseur but I am originally from the orient so tea is in my blood. Actually, not until several years ago did I "take the plunge" and bought a lot of tea and Yixing teapots. (Can you hear my wife grumbling in the background? ) However, I am mostly a ripe (cooked) puerh drinker because I cannot buy with good conscious the astronomically-priced aged green cake so I am always on the search for really good ripe cakes.

By the way, the avatar picture is the famous Menghai Grand Red Label tea cake.

Nice to come across another puerh drinker who focuses upon the really good ripe cakes instead of the aged green ones