Official Pu of the day

[Zacherywolf7]

I got this Bulang Sampler from TeaUrchin, http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/ ... pring.html. Its really fun, I love Bulang as my taste buds and body preferred to be hit hard (although the Lao Man'E is a little unpleasant, very medicinal).

The Hekai is fantastic. Lots of pandan and general tropical asian herbs. This area is quickly starting to be a favorite. Least bitter of the bunch and maintains its flavor as long as the LBZ. I don't know if that LBZ is real, but its very good material. The teas are pretty integrated as young puerh goes and I would highly recommend them!

It is interesting to taste these villages separately and piece the blends of a lot of Menghai teas together a bit. I might even do some blending with these. Banpen and Xin Ban Zhang are good but these really make a case for tea being blended as they lose my interest quicker than a lot of tea.

For anyone who has had White2Tea's Tuhao as *freak* any guesses as to the predominant villages/regions in there? It tastes alarmingly close to the LBZ in this set, but he says there is none.

[mr mopu]

I got this Bulang Sampler from TeaUrchin, http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/ ... pring.html. Its really fun, I love Bulang as my taste buds and body preferred to be hit hard (although the Lao Man'E is a little unpleasant, very medicinal).

The Hekai is fantastic. Lots of pandan and general tropical asian herbs. This area is quickly starting to be a favorite. Least bitter of the bunch and maintains its flavor as long as the LBZ. I don't know if that LBZ is real, but its very good material. The teas are pretty integrated as young puerh goes and I would highly recommend them!

It is interesting to taste these villages separately and piece the blends of a lot of Menghai teas together a bit. I might even do some blending with these. Banpen and Xin Ban Zhang are good but these really make a case for tea being blended as they lose my interest quicker than a lot of tea.

For anyone who has had White2Tea's Tuhao as *freak* any guesses as to the predominant villages/regions in there? It tastes alarmingly close to the LBZ in this set, but he says there is none.

I am a BuLang fanatic as well.

[Zacherywolf7]

I got this Bulang Sampler from TeaUrchin, http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/ ... pring.html. Its really fun, I love Bulang as my taste buds and body preferred to be hit hard (although the Lao Man'E is a little unpleasant, very medicinal).

The Hekai is fantastic. Lots of pandan and general tropical asian herbs. This area is quickly starting to be a favorite. Least bitter of the bunch and maintains its flavor as long as the LBZ. I don't know if that LBZ is real, but its very good material. The teas are pretty integrated as young puerh goes and I would highly recommend them!

It is interesting to taste these villages separately and piece the blends of a lot of Menghai teas together a bit. I might even do some blending with these. Banpen and Xin Ban Zhang are good but these really make a case for tea being blended as they lose my interest quicker than a lot of tea.

For anyone who has had White2Tea's Tuhao as *freak* any guesses as to the predominant villages/regions in there? It tastes alarmingly close to the LBZ in this set, but he says there is none.

I am a BuLang fanatic as well.

What are some of your favorites?

[Tead Off]

2013 Xigui from Teadezhang. 3 year tasting. The color of the leaves have darkened as well as the liquor. Delicious, full flavor, deep, full of energy.

In the background, I have agarwood chips burning on the charcoal burner that have been soaked with oudh oil. Normally, burning incense usually interferes with my enjoyment of tea, but I find that this combination of the exquisite smell of the agarwood chips combined with the exquisite taste of the Xigui are nothing short of perfect.

When it is hot season in Bangkok, it is good to have these life-enhancing things for comfort & pleasure at home. Cheers!

Aircon really helps!

[mr mopu]

I got this Bulang Sampler from TeaUrchin, http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/ ... pring.html. Its really fun, I love Bulang as my taste buds and body preferred to be hit hard (although the Lao Man'E is a little unpleasant, very medicinal).

The Hekai is fantastic. Lots of pandan and general tropical asian herbs. This area is quickly starting to be a favorite. Least bitter of the bunch and maintains its flavor as long as the LBZ. I don't know if that LBZ is real, but its very good material. The teas are pretty integrated as young puerh goes and I would highly recommend them!

It is interesting to taste these villages separately and piece the blends of a lot of Menghai teas together a bit. I might even do some blending with these. Banpen and Xin Ban Zhang are good but these really make a case for tea being blended as they lose my interest quicker than a lot of tea.

For anyone who has had White2Tea's Tuhao as *freak* any guesses as to the predominant villages/regions in there? It tastes alarmingly close to the LBZ in this set, but he says there is none.

I am a BuLang fanatic as well.

What are some of your favorites?

EoT BulLangs are nice. TeaUrchin's BuLang beauty is a nice one. YS's BuLang Shan Yun from 2009 is nice. W2T has a fine little BuLang mini cake from 2012. There are more but these stand out for me at least.

I have always wondered about the 2010 BuLang that the TeaUrchin carries as well. I may add one in on my next order from them.

[daidokorocha]

No worries, I don't actually buy the cheap stuff I learned years ago.

I did buy a few YS cakes, but they aren't pure puer and weren't expensive by any means. I figured though since everybody always praises YS that I they should decent for casual puer drinking. Luckily, I have never found anything in my puer ever. Probably one day and I am hoping it is nothing too serious!

How did you obtain your Ban Payasi? Any specific company I could go through?

David, it's from chawangshop.com. The owner, Honza, is a member here. He sourced maocha in Laos (Yunnan borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and pressed it in Yunnan. IMO the Ban Payasi is as good as much better (and more expensive) cakes from Yunnan trees.

Which YS cakes did you get?

Thank you, I will look into it. Sounds quite tantalizing.

As for what the cakes from YS, I bought 4 100 gram mini cakes. One was a black tea cake though. Sometimes I like to drink blended puer and they were cheap as a tack on to the other cakes I bought. They came as a set for about $6.80 a piece. So, saying that, I still haven't tasted a straight or probably really quality YS cake yet. I'm thinking about placing another order with them soon though, so, if you have any recommendations for YS cakes. Below is the order I had placed with YS.

2005 * CNNP * 1938 Anniversary Premium Ripe Pu-erh Tea
2005 CNNP 1938 Anniversary Yi Wu Zheng Shan Pu-erh tea
2002 Yong Pin Hao "Red Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh tea from Yi Wu
2008 Menghai "Yang Chun San Yue" Raw Pu-erh tea cake
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Nuo Mi Xiang" Ripe Pu-erh tea and Sticky Rice Herb
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Tian Tang Cao" Ripe Pu-erh tea and Jiaogulan
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Ying Shan Hong" Purple Black Tea and Snow Chrysanthemum (Well, this isn't puer!)
2013 Yunnan Sourcing Ripe Pu-erh and Snow Chrysanthemum tea mini cake
2005 Menghai 7592 501 Ripe Pu-erh Tea cake

[jayinhk]

No worries, I don't actually buy the cheap stuff I learned years ago.

I did buy a few YS cakes, but they aren't pure puer and weren't expensive by any means. I figured though since everybody always praises YS that I they should decent for casual puer drinking. Luckily, I have never found anything in my puer ever. Probably one day and I am hoping it is nothing too serious!

How did you obtain your Ban Payasi? Any specific company I could go through?

David, it's from chawangshop.com. The owner, Honza, is a member here. He sourced maocha in Laos (Yunnan borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and pressed it in Yunnan. IMO the Ban Payasi is as good as much better (and more expensive) cakes from Yunnan trees.

Which YS cakes did you get?

Thank you, I will look into it. Sounds quite tantalizing.

As for what the cakes from YS, I bought 4 100 gram mini cakes. One was a black tea cake though. Sometimes I like to drink blended puer and they were cheap as a tack on to the other cakes I bought. They came as a set for about $6.80 a piece. So, saying that, I still haven't tasted a straight or probably really quality YS cake yet. I'm thinking about placing another order with them soon though, so, if you have any recommendations for YS cakes. Below is the order I had placed with YS.

2005 * CNNP * 1938 Anniversary Premium Ripe Pu-erh Tea
2005 CNNP 1938 Anniversary Yi Wu Zheng Shan Pu-erh tea
2002 Yong Pin Hao "Red Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh tea from Yi Wu
2008 Menghai "Yang Chun San Yue" Raw Pu-erh tea cake
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Nuo Mi Xiang" Ripe Pu-erh tea and Sticky Rice Herb
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Tian Tang Cao" Ripe Pu-erh tea and Jiaogulan
2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Ying Shan Hong" Purple Black Tea and Snow Chrysanthemum (Well, this isn't puer!)
2013 Yunnan Sourcing Ripe Pu-erh and Snow Chrysanthemum tea mini cake
2005 Menghai 7592 501 Ripe Pu-erh Tea cake

I'd seen those blended cakes on YS' site and passed them up since they're not really my thing, but the price you paid is definitely right! I like the Green Miracle and HuiRun shu. I'll let someone else suggest raw cakes as I can't even remember which YS raw cakes I have!

[Zacherywolf7]

I got this Bulang Sampler from TeaUrchin, http://teaurchin.com/shop-for-tea/puer/ ... pring.html. Its really fun, I love Bulang as my taste buds and body preferred to be hit hard (although the Lao Man'E is a little unpleasant, very medicinal).

The Hekai is fantastic. Lots of pandan and general tropical asian herbs. This area is quickly starting to be a favorite. Least bitter of the bunch and maintains its flavor as long as the LBZ. I don't know if that LBZ is real, but its very good material. The teas are pretty integrated as young puerh goes and I would highly recommend them!

It is interesting to taste these villages separately and piece the blends of a lot of Menghai teas together a bit. I might even do some blending with these. Banpen and Xin Ban Zhang are good but these really make a case for tea being blended as they lose my interest quicker than a lot of tea.

For anyone who has had White2Tea's Tuhao as *freak* any guesses as to the predominant villages/regions in there? It tastes alarmingly close to the LBZ in this set, but he says there is none.

I am a BuLang fanatic as well.

What are some of your favorites?

EoT BulLangs are nice. TeaUrchin's BuLang beauty is a nice one. YS's BuLang Shan Yun from 2009 is nice. W2T has a fine little BuLang mini cake from 2012. There are more but these stand out for me at least.

I have always wondered about the 2010 BuLang that the TeaUrchin carries as well. I may add one in on my next order from them.

I have drank the EoT 2012 Bulang and it isnt my favorite although sessions vary. I stopped paying attention to sessions as much lately but when I occasionally do I notice some nice ephemeral qualities. I'm just surprised how bitter it is! That one from W2T is very nice.

[BW85]

I have drank the EoT 2012 Bulang and it isnt my favorite although sessions vary. I stopped paying attention to sessions as much lately but when I occasionally do I notice some nice ephemeral qualities. I'm just surprised how bitter it is!

Yes this tea has a powerful bitterness! It can be managed though. Less leaf than normal works for me. When i can mitigate the bitterness there is a lot going on. Very nice aromatics that linger in the nasal cavity after swallowing. The energy of this tea is also impressive

[daidokorocha]

The hekai certainly sounds interesting, Zachary. Sounds like something I would probably enjoy greatly.

I actually had 4 puer sessions today. I tried all three of the ripe puer blends from Yunnan Sourcing. The reason I like puer blends I suppose is the same reason why I enjoy things like konacha (basically Japanese green fannings). I like to have tea with or right after food a lot and these teas are good to accent food and are certainly bold enough for them. I once tried drinking a cup of shincha over a very spicy meal.

I thought all three of the YS blended puers were quite good. The sticky rice one really did smell and taste like rice. The gynostemma one was very nice and herbaceous while the base was very mellow without any real earthy assertiveness that I imagine will make it a pleasure to drink with food or at night. The third with the snow chrysanthemum might have been my favorite. I lost count of the steeps for this one. This one had more earthiness that was complemented by the earthy floralness with what could be described as a sort of dill quality to it all. Very lovely. I can see this one going into my pot often.

I ended trying the 2005 CNNP 1938 ANNIVERSARY YI WU ZHENG SHAN again. This time I used much more leaf. I really like this tea and it really scratches the itch I have been having over the last year for what I think of when I think puer - at least raw puer. Started out more toward the smoky end of the spectrum again with slight sweetness before I began to brew it more assertively and it took on a much more tangy herb and fruit forward quality. The sourness certainly began to dominate in the middle and the smokiness entirely faded. The fruit came back as the sourness toned down a tad, and toward the end it became really succulent, very juicy. The consistency of the brew, the flavor, the mouthfeel, etc all made me feel like I was drinking very refreshing white fruit juice or biting into a piece of white fruit. Refreshing. Excellent. No bitterness; little astringency. The leaves were a good size except I botched some of them. Fall material. 20+ steeps.

[mr mopu]

I have drank the EoT 2012 Bulang and it isnt my favorite although sessions vary. I stopped paying attention to sessions as much lately but when I occasionally do I notice some nice ephemeral qualities. I'm just surprised how bitter it is!

Yes this tea has a powerful bitterness! It can be managed though. Less leaf than normal works for me. When i can mitigate the bitterness there is a lot going on. Very nice aromatics that linger in the nasal cavity after swallowing. The energy of this tea is also impressive

I agree on the less leaf and very short steepings as the tea has great strength to it.

[debunix]

Enjoying the last of a small sample of the 1993 7842 from EoT: woodsy, mellow, sweet.

[jayinhk]

Drinking some knockoff 2005 7542 I've had aging in HK for four to five years. This tea has changed dramatically in that time. I put a large chunk into a F1 heini pot and I'm brewing it with flash infusions. I haven't brewed pu erh with a stuffed pot like this in quite a while. I'm getting interesting variations between the infusions; the last one was warm black tea with some kind of sweet citrus. Really quite pleasant. The last time I brewed this tea, I used a small amount of leaf and it wasn't bitter at all, but brewed in this manner it can get bitter very easily indeed. I can see this tea going for thirty or more infusions!

[Poseidon]

After a year absence from the board, 2008 Bulang Shan Imperial Grade from Crimson Lotus Tea is what I'm surfing around sipping tonight.

[jayinhk]

2008 Dayi Hong Yun Yuan Cha (shu). This is a 100g minicake made with very good small leaf material. I made the mistake of using a lot more tea than usual; smaller leaves deliver their payload much more quickly, so I'm using flash infusions. The first few infusions upset my tummy because they were so strong. I forgot how quickly this tea brews and used longer infusions than I should have. I should've diluted them down, but the tea tastes so delicious that I didn't want to dilute the flavor.

Flash infusions make for less flavorful tea with this shu. In future I'll grandpa brew small chunks of this stuff so I get a full-flavored brew without too much of a tummy upsetting punch. This is really lovely shu and I should pick up more to age as I think it'lll be amazing with another ten years of HK storage.