Ron,
Are you a botanist?
I certainly appreciate your research and sharing it with us. My take (esp since I have already drunk the kool aid) is that it probably is not harmful or at least not too harmful since it sounds like a lot of Chinese pu drinkers have probably drunk a cake or two of the stuff. I think I will keep my sample around, and maybe even have some again someday -- though I must say, I don't feel too rushed!
BTW, if you ever think about going into forensic medicine, you can put this one on your resume!
Apr 22nd, '08, 11:22
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Hey Ron, hang in there! Sheng gets way better, trust me!Ron Gilmour wrote:I've now tried three of the "Year of Green" teas.
Menghai Feet of Crab... was my very first sheng....
2004 CNNP Old Tree Green.... is definitely my favorite so far.
And thanks for the interesting info on the Feet of Crab.. I haven't tried it yet, and might just wait until the jury comes back on it.
-Dave
Trioxin is alone in the dead center of Illinois.Salsero wrote:augie wrote:Mmm, augie, you are in Indianapolis, Puershop is in Indianapolis, Mary is near Indianapolis, Chip is not too far away, nor is Yeah_Tea/Andy, Trioxin is in Indiana ... mmm. The world is starting to sound a little smaller than I thought.Wesli wrote: I just started a new job on their side of town.
Hi y'all. I signed up for a teachat account just to review this. I was planning on just trying the tea and reading the reviews, but I tried the 2007 Menghai Feet of Crab and 2004 CNNP Old Green Tree samples over the weekend. *wooooo*
I have never had tea that bracing/harsh before. I've tried oolong and green and black and white teas and even one cooked pu erh, but never raw pu erh. I've loved (nearly) everything.
I used a 140 mL yixing pot. My digital scale broke, so I eyeballed the amount of tea (when wet and expanded, the leaves filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot). I don't have my notes right next to me, but I got 9 infusions out of the Feet of Crab and 6 out of the Old Green Tree (I could have gotten more, but I couldn't handle it anymore). For the most part I kept infusions quick, something like 20s, 30s, 20s, 5s, 5s, 15s, 30s, 1.05, 1.30 (that's nearly exactly what I did for the Feet of Crab. I started off with shorter ones for the Old Green Tree).
I'm probably going to be terrible about explaining what this was like, but oh boy. Bitter, astringent, maybe acidic? Very very sharp. Prickled and puckered my mouth and made my whole upper body flush all the way down to my fingers. I have to say the Feet of Crab at least had something to the tea when I forced myself to taste it. Last two infusions were almost enjoyable. The Old Green Tea was much thinner. I do have to say, I at least didn't taste any fishiness. Then again, it was hard for me to taste much.
I'm scared to try the rest of my samples. Did I do something wrong?
ETA: I forgot, the Feet of Crab had a very strong aftertaste and throatiness (I hope that's the right word, thick feeling at the back of my throat) that stuck around for a long while. Old Green Tea had a much lighter aftertaste and I don't remember much, if any, throatiness.
I have never had tea that bracing/harsh before. I've tried oolong and green and black and white teas and even one cooked pu erh, but never raw pu erh. I've loved (nearly) everything.
I used a 140 mL yixing pot. My digital scale broke, so I eyeballed the amount of tea (when wet and expanded, the leaves filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot). I don't have my notes right next to me, but I got 9 infusions out of the Feet of Crab and 6 out of the Old Green Tree (I could have gotten more, but I couldn't handle it anymore). For the most part I kept infusions quick, something like 20s, 30s, 20s, 5s, 5s, 15s, 30s, 1.05, 1.30 (that's nearly exactly what I did for the Feet of Crab. I started off with shorter ones for the Old Green Tree).
I'm probably going to be terrible about explaining what this was like, but oh boy. Bitter, astringent, maybe acidic? Very very sharp. Prickled and puckered my mouth and made my whole upper body flush all the way down to my fingers. I have to say the Feet of Crab at least had something to the tea when I forced myself to taste it. Last two infusions were almost enjoyable. The Old Green Tea was much thinner. I do have to say, I at least didn't taste any fishiness. Then again, it was hard for me to taste much.
I'm scared to try the rest of my samples. Did I do something wrong?
ETA: I forgot, the Feet of Crab had a very strong aftertaste and throatiness (I hope that's the right word, thick feeling at the back of my throat) that stuck around for a long while. Old Green Tea had a much lighter aftertaste and I don't remember much, if any, throatiness.
Apr 22nd, '08, 16:51
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Apr 22nd, '08, 17:13
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Well, this is a very nice and appreciated description of your experience. Sorry it was so bad! It sounds to me like the tea is too strong. Probably a little too much leaf and too long brew times. When I give brew times I include the time it takes to pour the water in and pour the tea out. For the first couple infusions this often means "as fast as possible."emmy wrote: Did I do something wrong?
If you are ever brave enough to try sheng again, you might try a gaiwan which allows you to do 5 to 10 sec steeps. It may be that some of the more expensive sample sets will agree with you more, and it may also be that you don't like sheng puerh! Remember that the Leg of Crab is a very unusual tea. I am trying the CNNP Old Tree tonight to see what's up there. The "Taste of Green" sampler seems so far to be disproving my notion that cheap sheng is as good as more costy.
I would be happy to mail you some samples of higher quality stuff, if you PM me, as I think would others here. Please keep us apprised of any future efforts. Thanks so much for sharing this.
I'll definitely try it again. I had planned on trying the tea in my gaiwan to see if it made any difference in taste when I first got the samples. I think it might be doubly important to get the shorter steeps. And yeah, the times I gave in my earlier post didn't include pour time. I think I'll go home and time how long it takes to empty my teapot to get an idea of how much that might have been effecting the experience.Salsero wrote: If you are ever brave enough to try sheng again, you might try a gaiwan which allows you to do 5 to 10 sec steeps.
Tea madness!
Hey Emmy, I'm glad to see you here.
Young sheng can get bitter in any more than a flash. This is why for young sheng, I rinse with boiling water once twice (short infusions that don't get drunk), then proceed with flash infusions (water in, tea out. bam.). I don't get to having steep times until at least the third steep, which is usually around 5 seconds. This kind of brewing has been working for me.
I'm just starting to get over my cold (I hope). Soon I shall plunge into the grab-bag.
Young sheng can get bitter in any more than a flash. This is why for young sheng, I rinse with boiling water once twice (short infusions that don't get drunk), then proceed with flash infusions (water in, tea out. bam.). I don't get to having steep times until at least the third steep, which is usually around 5 seconds. This kind of brewing has been working for me.
I'm just starting to get over my cold (I hope). Soon I shall plunge into the grab-bag.
Apr 22nd, '08, 23:04
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Dizzwave wrote:Sheng gets way better, trust me
Ya, like after 30 years.....
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Hi Wesli,Wesli wrote:Hey Emmy, I'm glad to see you here.
Young sheng can get bitter in any more than a flash. This is why for young sheng, I rinse with boiling water once twice (short infusions that don't get drunk), then proceed with flash infusions (water in, tea out. bam.). I don't get to having steep times until at least the third steep, which is usually around 5 seconds. This kind of brewing has been working for me.
I'm just starting to get over my cold (I hope). Soon I shall plunge into the grab-bag.
Thank you. It probably would have been a good idea to poke around before going for the samples like that. Then I might have read how y'all handle young sheng before I drank that many cups. I'm going to give myself a day or two to recuperate (Thank God for some yummy Tie Guan Yin) before I try again.
I ended up timing the pour time for the little cheap yixing pot I was using and adding 15s onto the amount of time I let the leaves sit explains how bitter and sharp the tea was. At least I know better now.
Apr 22nd, '08, 23:54
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tenuki
No, you are perfectly normal. Nobody in their right mind drinks young raw puerh except for tea industry professionals trying to guess which of them will be good in 20-30 years.emmy wrote:I have never had tea that bracing/harsh before. I'm scared to try the rest of my samples. Did I do something wrong?
Of course, there are a lot of crazy people in the world. 
Last edited by tenuki on Apr 23rd, '08, 04:36, edited 1 time in total.
Apr 23rd, '08, 00:35
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2004 CNNP Old Tree Green Pu-erh
After the controversy engendered by this tea, I had to give it a whirl tonight.
It struck me as an unusual 4-yr-old sheng, reminded me of the stuff you feed horses: is that timothy? and a little fermented at that. After Emmy's bad experience, I kept the brew times short: 15 s, 15 s, 20 s, 45 s, 60 s. 5 gr of leaf in a 120 ml pot, about 60% full when spent.
The tea seemed always to be borderline rough in the mouth (not really astringent or bitter, just rough). I never saw the lovely dark color pictured in the vendor's site. I've seen aged puerh that color, maybe even aged only 4 years, but not this one. It was pretty much blushing yellow all the way. Also, that flavor profile did not develop much: at its best, sweet and smokey almost apricot, at its worst, silage. The flavor never seemed strong to me at any point.
I did enjoy the experience and I will drink the rest of the sample someday; it seems like something to make (weak) by the pot and serve with a meal, but it does not rank high in my estimation as a stand alone drink. The more I think of it, this could be very nice with a Chinese meal.
I am really surprised at the variety of tastes and experiences we are having in Year of Green. I have tasted 50 to 60 sheng puerhs in the last year and a half and do not remember this big a range of difference among all those as what I am finding in Year of Green. I suppose I never strayed this far out of a certain quality level. I am finding this very enlightening.
** My rating "I didn't care for it."
*** Ron's (interpreted) rating
** Dizzwave's rating
** silverneedles' rating
Reprise: Well I kept brewing 2, 3, 5 and 8 minutes and found a different tea, a sort of light bai hao oolong like, with wonderful oiliness on the lips. This really does seem like something to brew few leaves, large pot, with delicious spicy Chinese food. Don't know what parameters I would use. I've heard of restaurant meals accompanied by puerh, but since I always drink pu by itself, it seemed like a strange idea to me. But this one could be great that way. Mmm, the leaves, BTW, are nice big green pieces. I may have to change my rating! It may qualify higher as a special purpose tea rather than as what I usually think of as pu.
It struck me as an unusual 4-yr-old sheng, reminded me of the stuff you feed horses: is that timothy? and a little fermented at that. After Emmy's bad experience, I kept the brew times short: 15 s, 15 s, 20 s, 45 s, 60 s. 5 gr of leaf in a 120 ml pot, about 60% full when spent.
The tea seemed always to be borderline rough in the mouth (not really astringent or bitter, just rough). I never saw the lovely dark color pictured in the vendor's site. I've seen aged puerh that color, maybe even aged only 4 years, but not this one. It was pretty much blushing yellow all the way. Also, that flavor profile did not develop much: at its best, sweet and smokey almost apricot, at its worst, silage. The flavor never seemed strong to me at any point.
I did enjoy the experience and I will drink the rest of the sample someday; it seems like something to make (weak) by the pot and serve with a meal, but it does not rank high in my estimation as a stand alone drink. The more I think of it, this could be very nice with a Chinese meal.
I am really surprised at the variety of tastes and experiences we are having in Year of Green. I have tasted 50 to 60 sheng puerhs in the last year and a half and do not remember this big a range of difference among all those as what I am finding in Year of Green. I suppose I never strayed this far out of a certain quality level. I am finding this very enlightening.
** My rating "I didn't care for it."
*** Ron's (interpreted) rating
** Dizzwave's rating
** silverneedles' rating
Reprise: Well I kept brewing 2, 3, 5 and 8 minutes and found a different tea, a sort of light bai hao oolong like, with wonderful oiliness on the lips. This really does seem like something to brew few leaves, large pot, with delicious spicy Chinese food. Don't know what parameters I would use. I've heard of restaurant meals accompanied by puerh, but since I always drink pu by itself, it seemed like a strange idea to me. But this one could be great that way. Mmm, the leaves, BTW, are nice big green pieces. I may have to change my rating! It may qualify higher as a special purpose tea rather than as what I usually think of as pu.
Last edited by Salsero on May 3rd, '08, 10:51, edited 3 times in total.
No wonder the doctor makes me take all these pills. I love 'em young.tenuki wrote:
No, you are perfectly normal. Nobody in their right mind drinks young shen except for tea industry professionals trying to guess which of them will be good in 20-30 years.