7542 2016 vs 7542 2009

[apache]

The 7542 2016 was from a shop in Hong Kong and the 2009 was stored at home for at least eight years. Here some pics.

[apache]

Pic of leaves

The 2016 is very sharp and bitter at the moment, the 2009 is half decent.
6 Mil. dollar question, could you age puerh outside tropical or sub-tropical regions?
I say no more and let you be the judge.

[mr mopu]

Pic of leaves

f4.jpg


The 2016 is very sharp and bitter at the moment, the 2009 is half decent.
6 Mil. dollar question, could you age puerh outside tropical or sub-tropical regions?
I say no more and let you be the judge.

I think you can. There may not be as distinct a difference from a tropical storage but I think it can happen for us. Albeit on a slower pace. You and Hobbes have better humidity in you climate vs mine. I have to improvise to get it up a bit.

[apache]

I think you can. There may not be as distinct a difference from a tropical storage but I think it can happen for us. Albeit on a slower pace. You and Hobbes have better humidity in you climate vs mine. I have to improvise to get it up a bit.

Some more details:
The leaves from the 2016 are the loose bits and pieces inside the wrapper whereas the 2009 leaves are from the tightly compacted cake centre. I think this shows that 9 years in the UK made more progress in ageing than 2 years in HK.

Interestingly, there were nuances of differences in the colours of the soups in all subsequence brews. And the differences in tastes were very obvious in the first few brews.

Dare I say it implies the rate of ageing puerh tea in the UK is no slower than 4 times of that in HK. Let being optimistic, say 3 times slower and let say after 12 years of dry storage in HK most sheng puerh teas are just about becoming drinkable. Well, the majority of my collections are around 2010, this implies most of my collections are good to drink around 2046, however, I don't know whether I'm still around in 2046!

Enough of theory and at this very moment I'm enjoying drinking brews from a 2011 cake. And global warming might help as well!

[avmr1506]

Would breaking up the cake and storing in a jar help age it quicker though? Or does that ruin the natural and even process of aging? I am currently awaiting a sample of a 2005 7542 that has been stored in Yunnan. I look forward to comparing it to your tasting notes.

[mr mopu]

I think you can. There may not be as distinct a difference from a tropical storage but I think it can happen for us. Albeit on a slower pace. You and Hobbes have better humidity in you climate vs mine. I have to improvise to get it up a bit.

Some more details:
The leaves from the 2016 are the loose bits and pieces inside the wrapper whereas the 2009 leaves are from the tightly compacted cake centre. I think this shows that 9 years in the UK made more progress in ageing than 2 years in HK.

Interestingly, there were nuances of differences in the colours of the soups in all subsequence brews. And the differences in tastes were very obvious in the first few brews.

Dare I say it implies the rate of ageing puerh tea in the UK is no slower than 4 times of that in HK. Let being optimistic, say 3 times slower and let say after 12 years of dry storage in HK most sheng puerh teas are just about becoming drinkable. Well, the majority of my collections are around 2010, this implies most of my collections are good to drink around 2046, however, I don't know whether I'm still around in 2046!

Enough of theory and at this very moment I'm enjoying drinking brews from a 2011 cake. And global warming might help as well!

You could be right my friend on all points. Now if you need a hookup on a good Silver Dayi from 2007...... well....

Always have a way to get a cheater envelope to the UK if you ever want to try anything I have on hand here.

[apache]

Would breaking up the cake and storing in a jar help age it quicker though? Or does that ruin the natural and even process of aging? I am currently awaiting a sample of a 2005 7542 that has been stored in Yunnan. I look forward to comparing it to your tasting notes.

If you break it up, that would be a bit like ageing 'maocha' or loose tea. Yes, that would age faster but the result would be different from ageing the whole cake.

With that 2009 7542, it was such a long time ago I tasted it when it was new in 2009. But I don't remember it tasted that harsh like the 2016 7542. But around that time a lot of puerh factories changed their process and made a lot drinkable now young cakes with some crippled ageing potential. I don't know whether Menghai Tea Factory now decided to swing the pendulum back to a more traditional process. Young cakes with plantation material are normally taste very harsh. Some years ago I took a friend to a tea shop in HK and tasted a 3 or 4 years old 7542. When we left the shop, my friend told me he could never able to accept that kind of bitterness! I should have bought that cake because I could see the potential in it.

Interestingly now that 2009 7542 (901 batch) is a much sought after tea in the last year. Whether it is really worth the present market price is debatable.

[avmr1506]

Would breaking up the cake and storing in a jar help age it quicker though? Or does that ruin the natural and even process of aging? I am currently awaiting a sample of a 2005 7542 that has been stored in Yunnan. I look forward to comparing it to your tasting notes.

If you break it up, that would be a bit like ageing 'maocha' or loose tea. Yes, that would age faster but the result would be different from ageing the whole cake.

With that 2009 7542, it was such a long time ago I tasted it when it was new in 2009. But I don't remember it tasted that harsh like the 2016 7542. But around that time a lot of puerh factories changed their process and made a lot drinkable now young cakes with some crippled ageing potential. I don't know whether Menghai Tea Factory now decided to swing the pendulum back to a more traditional process. Young cakes with plantation material are normally taste very harsh. Some years ago I took a friend to a tea shop in HK and tasted a 3 or 4 years old 7542. When we left the shop, my friend told me he could never able to accept that kind of bitterness! I should have bought that cake because I could see the potential in it.

Interestingly now that 2009 7542 (901 batch) is a much sought after tea in the last year. Whether it is really worth the present market price is debatable.

That makes sense. It would be a curious experiment to see how a full cake broken up of the same tea tastes each year vs one that has remained intact. I amy have to find some of this 2016 7542 and explore this potential, for has you mentioned when the potential is there it can be a worthwhile invest in the future.

[apache]

You could be right my friend on all points. Now if you need a hookup on a good Silver Dayi from 2007...... well....

Always have a way to get a cheater envelope to the UK if you ever want to try anything I have on hand here.

Thanks for the offer, but I just got my sister interested in pu, she might send me lots of cakes to tried. After a long hiatus, if I got time I might post some taste notes here.

[mr mopu]

You could be right my friend on all points. Now if you need a hookup on a good Silver Dayi from 2007...... well....

Always have a way to get a cheater envelope to the UK if you ever want to try anything I have on hand here.

Thanks for the offer, but I just got my sister interested in pu, she might send me lots of cakes to tried. After a long hiatus, if I got time I might post some taste notes here.

Lucky rascal. If she oversends and you wish to sell.....well you know.....