Can you drink 2008 Sheng

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


User avatar
Nov 21st, '08, 16:38
Posts: 118
Joined: May 6th, '08, 23:24
Location: NYC, NY

Can you drink 2008 Sheng

by Jeremy » Nov 21st, '08, 16:38

So I recently got like 10 samples of all 2008 cakes from YS. I like all of the teas, but some of them are soooo harsh. What are you supposed to do , just keep them in a drawer for 3 years. How do you know which ones will age well by tasting them now.

Are there any new sheng (uncooked) that are actually drinkable now? Like for insyamce I have a dayi 2007 bamboo brick from puerhshop which is actually ok to drink. Im surprised one year could mellow it out so much.

J

User avatar
Nov 21st, '08, 16:42
Posts: 505
Joined: Jun 1st, '08, 11:57
Location: The Golden Horseshoe

by heavydoom » Nov 21st, '08, 16:42

yes, i can but i would wait a bit, like 2 months, before i drink it. just to air the cake out a bit. i prefer young pu. it's got the kick.

User avatar
Nov 21st, '08, 17:07
Posts: 1633
Joined: Feb 15th, '08, 10:15
Location: Pennsylvania
Been thanked: 1 time

by shogun89 » Nov 21st, '08, 17:07

The Menghai 2008 8582 is one of my favorite shengs, strong but no bitterness, a wonderful tea. Also any 2008 mengku's should treat you well as they usually have a high concentration of buds giving a rounded smooth flavor.

User avatar
Nov 21st, '08, 22:04
Posts: 118
Joined: May 6th, '08, 23:24
Location: NYC, NY

by Jeremy » Nov 21st, '08, 22:04

heavydoom wrote:yes, i can but i would wait a bit, like 2 months, before i drink it. just to air the cake out a bit. i prefer young pu. it's got the kick.
I also enjoy the kick! Do you think a month or 2 will alleviate the nastiness?

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 01:07
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Been thanked: 1 time

by Salsero » Nov 22nd, '08, 01:07

Jeremy wrote: I also enjoy the kick! Do you think a month or 2 will alleviate the nastiness?
A year or two ... or three ... will help more.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 01:11
Posts: 1885
Joined: Mar 22nd, '08, 22:26
Location: Yixing

by chrl42 » Nov 22nd, '08, 01:11

It depends,

Factory-produced Tai Di Cha would soften itself after a decade or so,

But I find loosely-compressed Gu Shu Cha after 5 yrs drinkable.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 06:25
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 31st, '08, 21:46
Contact: thanks

by thanks » Nov 22nd, '08, 06:25

I personally can't do it. My teas in storage are there for the long haul. Maybe sample them every 3-5 years to see how they're holding up. For daily drinking I turn to shu and oolongs. If you were going to drink young, then the best time would be 3/5 years old. The tea still has complexities and strength of youth, but it's mellowed out slightly and just starting to kick off the long aging process. I say 3 or 5 instead of 3 - 5 because almost all four year old sheng I've tried has been awkward tasting, and weird. It seems harder to judge a four year old tea than any other. Of course this is probably all in my head, because it relies on so many different variables such as storage conditions, leaf quality, processing methods, etc. etc.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 08:13
Posts: 505
Joined: Jun 1st, '08, 11:57
Location: The Golden Horseshoe

by heavydoom » Nov 22nd, '08, 08:13

you are talking about a 2008 cake, a cake that is a bit too young but in general i like drinking pu from 2007 or 2006 already. that whole mouthfeel is what i dig, you dig?

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 08:17
Posts: 86
Joined: Nov 12th, '08, 08:04
Location: North Carolina

by CDS » Nov 22nd, '08, 08:17

I just purchased a '08 Mengku "Lao Ban Zhang" cake and have to say it was very tasty right now. In fact, It may not make if very long in storage.
I also have a few XZH samples that though, not '08, they were new arrivals when I ordered them, and found some of them to be very drinkable at time of purchase.
Sometimes my stomach does not agree with new Sheng, but that was not the case for the above mentioned. Especially the Mengku.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 08:25
Posts: 505
Joined: Jun 1st, '08, 11:57
Location: The Golden Horseshoe

by heavydoom » Nov 22nd, '08, 08:25

CDS wrote:I just purchased a '08 Mengku "Lao Ban Zhang" cake and have to say it was very tasty right now. In fact, It may not make if very long in storage.
I also have a few XZH samples that though, not '08, they were new arrivals when I ordered them, and found some of them to be very drinkable at time of purchase.
Sometimes my stomach does not agree with new Sheng, but that was not the case for the above mentioned. Especially the Mengku.

lbz from yunnan sourcing is one of my fave green pu. the 2005 and 2006 cakes are in storage and being nurtured with loving care. i too had that 2007 mini brick and it was gone before i knew it. great tea. a lot of skeptics out there. good for us.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 08:41
Posts: 727
Joined: Dec 22nd, '07, 21:02
Location: the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy

by Sydney » Nov 22nd, '08, 08:41

The few that I've tried that are just that young have tended to have more bite and less yummy goodness than I like. A few years can make such a difference.

Nov 22nd, '08, 10:49
Posts: 57
Joined: May 17th, '08, 16:53
Location: Wrexham, UK

by drumhum » Nov 22nd, '08, 10:49

A big thing about "this year" puerh is thats its cheap! This means I don't feel bad about wasting the tea through experimenting.

I've learned not to dismiss my pu as bad tasting before I've had a really good play with it. Obviously, if you are hunting for a particular taste then you have to find the right tea, but if you have some offensive bitter stuff flowing from your teapot, then I suggest you try brewing it differently. Its too easy to think you are somehow "disrespecting the leaf" if you move away from the gong fu style for eg But its only tea!

Try doubling the amount of tea you have in your pot and do super speedy, flash brews for eg. Or go the other way: I have found just two or three teaspoons of broken super-fresh puerh in a big "english" teapot can bring a totally different drink - one that is perfectly enjoyable, when before, through the gong fu method, it was just too much. I might brew for ten minutes or more this way.

I had some impossible Tibetan brick once. I transformed to loveliness when I added milk! (but then, this is probably more in line with the way most tibetans drink it).

I believe strong flavours are needed for tea to age well. In a few years, "harsh" will hopefully transform into "a little bit of bite". Never throw tea away - better to put it at the back of some cupboard and forget about it: you might have a real treasure when you stumble across it by accident in years to come. I have often been surprised how quickly tea can change in time. 6 months can make a real difference to a "this year" puerh.

I'm still very much a beginner at this myself so please don't take my advice as gospel - its just my current thinking in my puerh discoveries.


:)

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 10:55
Posts: 727
Joined: Dec 22nd, '07, 21:02
Location: the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy

by Sydney » Nov 22nd, '08, 10:55

drumhum wrote:A big thing about "this year" puerh is thats its cheap!
That's actually something I've considered. Buy some up, try a bit, and toss the rest aside for a while. It's far from the same as a dedicated puerh aging process, but mostly harmless.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 11:23
Posts: 688
Joined: Jul 7th, '08, 19:06
Location: ostensible universe

by puerhking » Nov 22nd, '08, 11:23

You might try brewing some up a little weaker than usual and see if there are some good flavors in there. Ultimately you are just going to have to use your judgment and take a risk. You might lean toward the cheaper ones and see how good that judgement is. Also let us know what ones you are concerned about and see if others have tried them.

User avatar
Nov 22nd, '08, 11:39
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Been thanked: 1 time

by Salsero » Nov 22nd, '08, 11:39

Salsero wrote:
Jeremy wrote: I also enjoy the kick! Do you think a month or 2 will alleviate the nastiness?
A year or two ... or three ... will help more.
While a few cakes are too astringent for me to drink young, in general I really like young, even 2008 puerh. Sometimes I worry that I am aging tea into something that I will like less than young sheng!

Of course, there are still quite a few that are just too "nasty" in one way or another to drink now and those could be the ones that will age best.

+ Post Reply