2 first cakes from ys

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


User avatar
Jul 13th, '17, 16:39
Posts: 80
Joined: Mar 13th, '17, 16:17
Location: Wisconsin

2 first cakes from ys

by dizzo » Jul 13th, '17, 16:39

Hey folks.
I just started with the pu. Been a dedicated oolong'er for a while. I think I kept away from it because the few times id tried it, I was brewing it poorly and it tasted awful. I recently came into a good amount of samples and refined my brewing method. Now I can start to enjoy the stuff. I already purchase alot of tea from Taiwan sourcing, YS has a great rep, and I hear they have great pu.
Id like to buy 1 shu and 1 sheng. I cant really tell you what I like, because I dont know.
Any suggestions?

User avatar
Jul 13th, '17, 20:12
Posts: 86
Joined: Feb 28th, '16, 10:46

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by CheekyChipmunk » Jul 13th, '17, 20:12

Welcome to the dark side mwuhahaha :twisted:

On a more serious note, as a pu drinker most of my tea I get from YS. Not only is Scott's curation top notch, but his own productions are some of the best pu's ive tried. However, in order to recommend something, you need to clarify a few things. Like:

- Are you purchasing to drink them now or store?

- What is your budget?

- What about pu has you getting into it more? Lasting power? Tempered bitterness? Complex aged flavours? Sweetness of yiwu pu?

Best,

CC

User avatar
Jul 13th, '17, 21:14
Posts: 80
Joined: Mar 13th, '17, 16:17
Location: Wisconsin

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by dizzo » Jul 13th, '17, 21:14

So far, I have enjoyed the earthiness. I don't have a lot of experience though. I haven't tried a lot. Now that I've learned how to brew so it doesn't taste like swamp water, I'd like to explore:)
I do plan on drinking what I buy. If it's is suggested that 3 or 4 cakes is a better way to understand, I can swing it.
I can be persuaded to spend what I need to if it's worth it ;)

Jul 13th, '17, 21:55
Posts: 529
Joined: Feb 17th, '13, 12:34
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by mr mopu » Jul 13th, '17, 21:55

Budget would give you a start. There are lots of ways to go. Most vendors sell samples on most of their line. Scott can lean you towards a few things or check some reviews out on this and other sites. As Cheeky said welcome to the rabbit hole. It only gets deeper the more you drink.

User avatar
Jul 14th, '17, 01:38
Posts: 320
Joined: Jul 10th, '15, 23:36
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by Frisbeehead » Jul 14th, '17, 01:38

Agree with what the others have said. Try sending Scott an email, he's really good at replying and will probably give you some recommendations.

I can recommend, however, for a solid semi-aged sheng, try the 2002 Ancient Spirit.

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/200 ... h-tea-cake

It's not crazy expensive, but not super cheap either. It's from Yiwu, and has the taste characteristics of other Yiwu teas - generally a bit sweeter than other shengs, camphor aroma, and very smooth. It's one of the first cakes I got from YS, and I'm really happy I got it. I would even consider getting another one in the future to put away for further aging.

I would also recommend trying some of YS' own cakes, particularly their shengs. Browse around this site for info about different ones, do a search for Yunnan Sourcing in this sub forum and see what people have to say about their cakes. Go on their site and look at the YS pressings from the past few years. I have bought two YS cakes so far: 2015 "Da Qing Gu Shu" sheng and 2014 "Qing Mei Shan" old arbor sheng. I'd like to buy more cakes in the future to set aside for aging in my pumidor, but I also consider myself still quite a beginner, so haven't had the chance/funds to buy a lot of cakes yet (my pumidor has around 7-8 cakes so far).

I envision a very long future of collecting puerh cakes, drinking tons of puerh, and learning more and more about puerh with each passing day. 8)

User avatar
Jul 14th, '17, 03:21
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by kuánglóng » Jul 14th, '17, 03:21

Couldn't agree more on the 'dark side' :lol: and getting samples first, maybe a cake or two if they don't break the bank; there are some standards that you'll run into sooner or later anyway, like e.g. Dayi recipes.
Anyway ... Pu Erh lives, it ages, has its own moods, bad days and doesn't like traveling long distances ... once you get it from another corner of the planet allow it to acclimatize and rest for a couple days or weeks, it'll pay off. BTW, don't forget to throw in a Pu knife, might come in handy here or there.

Jul 14th, '17, 03:43
Posts: 1
Joined: Mar 12th, '17, 09:59

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by flimflap » Jul 14th, '17, 03:43

I'm more of a Shu drinker and can whole heartily recommend the
"2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Green Miracle" Wild Arbor Ripe Pu-erh tea". I serve it to people who never tasted pu-er and all of them liked it (so far) ;).

User avatar
Jul 14th, '17, 06:34
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by kuánglóng » Jul 14th, '17, 06:34

flimflap wrote: I'm more of a Shu drinker and can whole heartily recommend the
"2015 Yunnan Sourcing "Green Miracle" Wild Arbor Ripe Pu-erh tea". I serve it to people who never tasted pu-er and all of them liked it (so far) ;).
Seconded. I bought 10 of those cakes and they're a favorite with my guests. Goes nice with some cheeses etc... as well.

User avatar
Jul 14th, '17, 07:29
Posts: 86
Joined: Feb 28th, '16, 10:46

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by CheekyChipmunk » Jul 14th, '17, 07:29

Hi again,

All of the advice you are getting here from fellow pu-fiends is very sound. I have a cake of green miracle that i am letting sit for now, but I have only heard good things about it. As for raw, I would (as others have suggested) get a bunch of samples so that you get to try a whole spectrum of teas. I'll suggest a couple of my own personal favs but I'd recommend for you since you like the earthy taste, not to get too many that are less than 5 years old, as you'll probably find them bitter and have more of the petroleum notes that young pu tends to have. With that in mind:

2009 Hai Lang Hao "Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 1486205702
In my opinion this is a great value tea that is a great gateway into raw pu. It has age and earthiness like you are after, and one of the most pleasant, sweet hui-gans that i have come across.

2011 Nan Jian Certified Organic Mushroom Tuo Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... pu-erh-tea
The bang-for-buck on this one really is hard to beat. It has already aged beyond its years and aside from the earthy, complex flavour, it has a lot of lasting power and an invigorating chi. Word of warning though, it is super compressed and breaking of large chunks is rather difficult, which makes the risk of having small material and thus bitter brews higher than most. Still worth it!

2007 Yi Shan Purple Bud Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake of Jinggu https://yunnansourcing.com/products/200 ... 5841774406
Another great value tea, this one is even further down the rabbit hole than your average raw. It is a 'purple' tea, which gives it yet another dimension of flavour which I actually enjoy. It has earthiness in spades, as well as a well balanced bitterness. The chi on this one is something else, could definitely get you tea-drunk with a long enough session.

I have quite a few YS productions which I am slowly trying. The one that I would definitely recommend is unfortunately sold out so I'll leave recommendations of that label to those who are more experienced. I will say that I am yet to have a disappointing tea either with a YS label or that has been ordered from the site. Pretty hard to go wrong really!

Cheers,

CC

P.S. A pure pick is a must and I'd say probably a bamboo tray as well to make the whole process of breaking up cakes more straightforward.This is less of an issue if you start out with samples however.

Jul 14th, '17, 23:38
Posts: 529
Joined: Feb 17th, '13, 12:34
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by mr mopu » Jul 14th, '17, 23:38

CheekyChipmunk wrote: Hi again,

All of the advice you are getting here from fellow pu-fiends is very sound. I have a cake of green miracle that i am letting sit for now, but I have only heard good things about it. As for raw, I would (as others have suggested) get a bunch of samples so that you get to try a whole spectrum of teas. I'll suggest a couple of my own personal favs but I'd recommend for you since you like the earthy taste, not to get too many that are less than 5 years old, as you'll probably find them bitter and have more of the petroleum notes that young pu tends to have. With that in mind:

2009 Hai Lang Hao "Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 1486205702
In my opinion this is a great value tea that is a great gateway into raw pu. It has age and earthiness like you are after, and one of the most pleasant, sweet hui-gans that i have come across.

2011 Nan Jian Certified Organic Mushroom Tuo Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... pu-erh-tea
The bang-for-buck on this one really is hard to beat. It has already aged beyond its years and aside from the earthy, complex flavour, it has a lot of lasting power and an invigorating chi. Word of warning though, it is super compressed and breaking of large chunks is rather difficult, which makes the risk of having small material and thus bitter brews higher than most. Still worth it!

2007 Yi Shan Purple Bud Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake of Jinggu https://yunnansourcing.com/products/200 ... 5841774406
Another great value tea, this one is even further down the rabbit hole than your average raw. It is a 'purple' tea, which gives it yet another dimension of flavour which I actually enjoy. It has earthiness in spades, as well as a well balanced bitterness. The chi on this one is something else, could definitely get you tea-drunk with a long enough session.

I have quite a few YS productions which I am slowly trying. The one that I would definitely recommend is unfortunately sold out so I'll leave recommendations of that label to those who are more experienced. I will say that I am yet to have a disappointing tea either with a YS label or that has been ordered from the site. Pretty hard to go wrong really!

Cheers,

CC

P.S. A pure pick is a must and I'd say probably a bamboo tray as well to make the whole process of breaking up cakes more straightforward.This is less of an issue if you start out with samples however.
Here is a greatly under appreciated cake they have. You have to store it a bit to wake it up but a fantastic cake for the price.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 0936870470

The Qing Mei Shans are good as well.

User avatar
Jul 15th, '17, 04:01
Posts: 86
Joined: Feb 28th, '16, 10:46

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by CheekyChipmunk » Jul 15th, '17, 04:01

mr mopu wrote:
CheekyChipmunk wrote: Hi again,

All of the advice you are getting here from fellow pu-fiends is very sound. I have a cake of green miracle that i am letting sit for now, but I have only heard good things about it. As for raw, I would (as others have suggested) get a bunch of samples so that you get to try a whole spectrum of teas. I'll suggest a couple of my own personal favs but I'd recommend for you since you like the earthy taste, not to get too many that are less than 5 years old, as you'll probably find them bitter and have more of the petroleum notes that young pu tends to have. With that in mind:

2009 Hai Lang Hao "Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 1486205702
In my opinion this is a great value tea that is a great gateway into raw pu. It has age and earthiness like you are after, and one of the most pleasant, sweet hui-gans that i have come across.

2011 Nan Jian Certified Organic Mushroom Tuo Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... pu-erh-tea
The bang-for-buck on this one really is hard to beat. It has already aged beyond its years and aside from the earthy, complex flavour, it has a lot of lasting power and an invigorating chi. Word of warning though, it is super compressed and breaking of large chunks is rather difficult, which makes the risk of having small material and thus bitter brews higher than most. Still worth it!

2007 Yi Shan Purple Bud Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake of Jinggu https://yunnansourcing.com/products/200 ... 5841774406
Another great value tea, this one is even further down the rabbit hole than your average raw. It is a 'purple' tea, which gives it yet another dimension of flavour which I actually enjoy. It has earthiness in spades, as well as a well balanced bitterness. The chi on this one is something else, could definitely get you tea-drunk with a long enough session.

I have quite a few YS productions which I am slowly trying. The one that I would definitely recommend is unfortunately sold out so I'll leave recommendations of that label to those who are more experienced. I will say that I am yet to have a disappointing tea either with a YS label or that has been ordered from the site. Pretty hard to go wrong really!

Cheers,

CC

P.S. A pure pick is a must and I'd say probably a bamboo tray as well to make the whole process of breaking up cakes more straightforward.This is less of an issue if you start out with samples however.
Here is a greatly under appreciated cake they have. You have to store it a bit to wake it up but a fantastic cake for the price.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 0936870470

The Qing Mei Shans are good as well.
Haha that is one of the many cakes in my collection that I haven't got around to trying yet :wink:

User avatar
Jul 15th, '17, 04:32
Posts: 541
Joined: Aug 19th, '15, 07:03
Location: on the road
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by kuánglóng » Jul 15th, '17, 04:32

CheekyChipmunk wrote:
mr mopu wrote: The Qing Mei Shans are good as well.
Haha that is one of the many cakes in my collection that I haven't got around to trying yet :wink:
I only have the 2014 and the 2016. The 2014 starts out really nice, fresh and juicy, like some fruity dew but drops pretty quickly whereas the 2016 packs more punch and fruitiness overall and doesn't lose it too fast. Oh well ...

Another one of Scott's $40 cakes I really like is the 2016 Autumn Bang Dong - surprising power, aromas (terrific leng xiang), flavors and durability. I have a soft spot for that area and this tea gives most Mengku ShuangJiang spring productions a serious run for the money IMO.

Jul 15th, '17, 08:12
Posts: 529
Joined: Feb 17th, '13, 12:34
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by mr mopu » Jul 15th, '17, 08:12

CheekyChipmunk wrote:
mr mopu wrote:
CheekyChipmunk wrote: Hi again,

All of the advice you are getting here from fellow pu-fiends is very sound. I have a cake of green miracle that i am letting sit for now, but I have only heard good things about it. As for raw, I would (as others have suggested) get a bunch of samples so that you get to try a whole spectrum of teas. I'll suggest a couple of my own personal favs but I'd recommend for you since you like the earthy taste, not to get too many that are less than 5 years old, as you'll probably find them bitter and have more of the petroleum notes that young pu tends to have. With that in mind:

2009 Hai Lang Hao "Yi Wu Zheng Shan" Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 1486205702
In my opinion this is a great value tea that is a great gateway into raw pu. It has age and earthiness like you are after, and one of the most pleasant, sweet hui-gans that i have come across.

2011 Nan Jian Certified Organic Mushroom Tuo Raw Pu-erh Tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... pu-erh-tea
The bang-for-buck on this one really is hard to beat. It has already aged beyond its years and aside from the earthy, complex flavour, it has a lot of lasting power and an invigorating chi. Word of warning though, it is super compressed and breaking of large chunks is rather difficult, which makes the risk of having small material and thus bitter brews higher than most. Still worth it!

2007 Yi Shan Purple Bud Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake of Jinggu https://yunnansourcing.com/products/200 ... 5841774406
Another great value tea, this one is even further down the rabbit hole than your average raw. It is a 'purple' tea, which gives it yet another dimension of flavour which I actually enjoy. It has earthiness in spades, as well as a well balanced bitterness. The chi on this one is something else, could definitely get you tea-drunk with a long enough session.

I have quite a few YS productions which I am slowly trying. The one that I would definitely recommend is unfortunately sold out so I'll leave recommendations of that label to those who are more experienced. I will say that I am yet to have a disappointing tea either with a YS label or that has been ordered from the site. Pretty hard to go wrong really!

Cheers,

CC

P.S. A pure pick is a must and I'd say probably a bamboo tray as well to make the whole process of breaking up cakes more straightforward.This is less of an issue if you start out with samples however.
Here is a greatly under appreciated cake they have. You have to store it a bit to wake it up but a fantastic cake for the price.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... 0936870470

The Qing Mei Shans are good as well.
Haha that is one of the many cakes in my collection that I haven't got around to trying yet :wink:
That thing is a sleeper. It tastes like a much older tea. You should try it and let me know what you think.

User avatar
Jul 17th, '17, 14:13
Posts: 80
Joined: Mar 13th, '17, 16:17
Location: Wisconsin

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by dizzo » Jul 17th, '17, 14:13

Thanks folks.
I couldnt decide on 2 cakes...so I bought a sample of every cake suggested here.

User avatar
Jul 17th, '17, 16:47
Posts: 1144
Joined: Jul 10th, '13, 01:38
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Japan.

Re: 2 first cakes from ys

by William » Jul 17th, '17, 16:47

dizzo wrote: Thanks folks.
I couldnt decide on 2 cakes...so I bought a sample of every cake suggested here.
Smart move! 8)

+ Post Reply