Official Pu of the day

[grimbasement]

2006 Tibetan Flame

I've had this tea for 9 years now dry stored at 1400 meters relative humidity in my house is 50% but I do bring it up to 80% sometimes in the winter. I have been very pleased with the way this cheap sheng brick has improved. Very pleased indeed,

[Rui]

Back to the Yiwu Snake Blend 2013 Spring raw pu'er to sweeten up my palate ahead of lunch.

[jayinhk]

Drank some 1960s pu erh at Wistaria with ethan and Bok last night. Definitely lots of storage aroma and taste, but it went perhaps a dozen infusions and had good cha qi. Hanging out at Wistaria was far more enjoyable than I ever expected!

[ethan]

+1 to Jay's comments: If in Taipei, Wistaria is an experience for a teachatter to try to do. That pu was still developing nuances when I was too full to drink anymore.
Jay, you really know how to handle pu for multiple infusions.

[thirst]

Wistaria really is a cool place, definitely features a nicer atmosphere than some of those Maokong tea houses.

[Bok]

Wistaria really is a cool place, definitely features a nicer atmosphere than some of those Maokong tea houses.

Yep, Maokong is more for tourists, but the view can be quite spectacular, especially around night time (it is open 24 hours).

Tea is definitely much much better at Wistaria and their pricing is fair.

[jayinhk]

Drinking a loose shu purchased across the street here in HK! Their best loose pu erh. Smooth, mild and no storage aromas! It's been airing out for months.

[jayinhk]

90s CNNP 7581 brick I bought from a tea store in Taipei. Quite a good deal considering the age and taste...very enjoyable. Wish I'd bought a second brick as I love the flavor profile and the storage has definitely removed all wo dui aromas. I liked it so much I bought nine 2005 bricks from TuoChaTea last night. I may just cancel my purchase with them and head over the border to Shenzhen next week as I believe I can get some with more humid storage up there.

[BioHorn]

2012 Autumn Mu Shu Cha Sheng Pu Erh sample

Finally getting around to some old samples!
Cha Qi!
Autumn teas are usually lower on the list. What a pleasant surprise this one was! It began slow and reserved, but amped up to an energetic fury. The years have worn down that purply chewing gum flavor and exposed more depth. Mind you, this tea is about the intensity after drinking it. If you are looking for puerh that gives a good example of Cha Qi, there would be worse places to start. A few brews in and it even brewed up kind of dark. Some super super fat and juicy stems in there!

And the price! Tea tea word is such a strange thing. So much bustling and seeking for the next thing, while maybe it was meekly right under our nose the entire time. As the pumidor is full, am trying to shed off newer sheng purchases. However I will be snagging a couple of these attractively priced cakes! Would be interesting to by both YunnanSourcing China and Yunnan Sourcing USA batches to compare. Anyone know the storage conditions of YS USA puerh?

[PurplePotato]

Yup, I remember my sample of the 2012 autumn mushucha quite fondly. I remember considering purchasing a cake, but never did for some reason. How did the tea treat your stomach? As much as I enjoy YS's house shengs, I find many of them undrinkable in their current state due to stomach issues. Have you tried any of the spring versions of the mushu? The 2011 caused me to do something really stupid

In my rather limited experience, the U.S. site's storage is good. I remember Scott saying something about it being a bit wetter due to PNW humidity. I got one of the 2010 Spring Jie Liang Bulangs from the US site around a year ago, and I quite enjoy it. The strong bitterness and easy drinkablity are a weird combo, and I like it. A storage comparison sounds interesting, but my humble guess is they wouldn't be that different.

It's funny how people will jump after certain cakes due to fame, isn't it? I am of course laughing at myself

Speaking of cha qi, I've been drinking the 2015 teaclub shroom a la w2t today. Yum.

[jschergen]

Anyone know the storage conditions of YS USA puerh?

Up until about a year ago (I think) YS storage was in Portland, more humid than their China/Kunming stored teas. But around then they moved their US base to Bend where it's drier. So depending on when you got the cake and when it reached the US, it may've experienced either or both of those.

[BioHorn]

Anyone know the storage conditions of YS USA puerh?

Up until about a year ago (I think) YS storage was in Portland, more humid than their China/Kunming stored teas. But around then they moved their US base to Bend where it's a drier. So depending on when you got the cake and when it reached the US, it may've experienced either or both of those.

Thank you. I appreciate the information. Maybe being 2012 it had some of the former. Would love to see a video of that move.

Had some White2Tea Last Thoughts. Lovely leaf and processing, but was underwhelmed on the aromatic side. I could be off, as I burnt my mouth eating the day before!

Figuring this is a tea to drink for feeling. The leaf seems a to have had more frying than Scott's (YS) teas.

[jayinhk]

Visited a massive tea market in Shenzhen yesterday. Got there later than I hoped to, but I was like a kid in a candy store when I got there as there was pu erh everywhere! My joy was short lived, however, when I started trying 7581 bricks. I went to five or six different stores, and every single store was selling absolute crap. I've read about fake pu erh from Guangxi and Hunan...well, I got to try it first hand yesterday and it was BAD.

I bought two bricks of CNNP 7581 in Taiwan. The older one is amazing and I'm going back for the rest, first chance I get. It has sweetness, jujube flavor and no unpleasantness whatsoever, even when brewed in the Yixing I use for sheng. The younger one is still quite palatable and should improve with age, and tastes better at home than the sample that was brewed for me in Taipei.

The 7581 in Shenzhen went from surprisingly bitter to burnt rubber...I'm hoping I didn't take years off my life by sampling those teas. I might go back to look at teaware at some point, but wow, that was some horrendously bad tea!

[jayinhk]

The cheaper of the 7581 bricks I bought in Taipei--supposedly pre 2006, but possibly fake. Still tastes good, although some wo dui remains. It should mellow out over a few years of HK home storage and hopefully will taste as good as the other cake at some point!

[jayinhk]

Drinking this cake:

http://www.marshaln.com/2012/11/taobao- ... heshunhao/

in a Rui Kiln travel gaiwan/teapot. The lower profile of the gaiwan and the thicker clay made it seem like a good choice for this tea and it worked a treat--barely any traditional storage aroma or taste at all in the cup. This tea has improved over the last few years and is much more drinkable than it was when I first got it (it tasted too wet).

It's still bitter, but it's smooth and clean tasting, and just beginning to get really interesting. It should be even better in a few years.