2009 Menghai V93 Ripe + pu newb

[argus]

I'm a long time tea drinker (black and green) but I'm completely new to the world of pu-erh and the first two teas I tried are:
2009 Menghai V93 ripe
2009 Liming Hong Yun ripe

Menghai V93 was completely fishy from nose to palate, like drinking a muddy pond. Quite gross!

Liming Hong Yun was milder, still fishy but drinkable tho I cannot say I enjoyed it. What it had was a strong chaqi and nice aftertaste.

Not a single trace of the sweetness, forest-ness and similar attributes I read about on the blogs and forums. Maybe they need to be storaged for a while since both teas seems to be packed around November '09

What are your thoughts on those teas? Am I missing something? Will they improve after a few months? How do I know if a tea will improve over time, what characteristic do I look for?

[beecrofter]

Break up the V93 and allow it to stand for a few months and the fishyness will dissipate or leave it whole and ait a couple years. This is a common flavor/problem in young shu (cooked) pu.
You can still find 2006 V 93 for about 20$ /250gm tuo and this has lost the off flavor.

In my cup this morning is a bit of 2004 Nan Jian phoenix shu from a chitsi beeng cha.

[argus]

should I break it up with steam or brute force?

[arghblech]

I wouldn't steam it. Use a pick if you have one handy. I use an icepick or an oyster knife.

[MarshalN]

Pick, use a pick. Stab the tuo from the base all around with the pick, and slightly wiggle it when it's deep inside. That will usually loosen it up sufficiently to break.

[argus]

roger that!

i'll be getting gently medieval on it later today!

[betta]

It might not be relevant to your question, but I would suggest you to start your journey into puerh tea world with raw (sheng) puerh rather than shu (ripe) puerh tea.
It is my own experience and I believe also many others here had found raw puerhs more "acceptable" than shu ones at the beginning of the journey.
However the decision is of course yours

[argus]

arent sheng pu's more astringent and aggressive on the palate than shu? I wanted to avoid the choking throat which i get when i misbrew (is that a word) some light roasted oolongs

i went with shu first since I was also big on coffee and people say its more forgiving when brewing

[Schwitters]

Make sure you're not steeping it too long. More leaves and shorter steeping times can transform the flavor remarkably. I haven't noticed any fishiness in the 2009 V93. I much prefer the 08 and 09 V93s to the 06 and 07. Came to pu-erh too late to try the much hyped 05.

[betta]

arent sheng pu's more astringent and aggressive on the palate than shu? I wanted to avoid the choking throat which i get when i misbrew (is that a word) some light roasted oolongs

i went with shu first since I was also big on coffee and people say its more forgiving when brewing

At the beginning many people can't tolerate the earthy, woody aroma of shu pu and added to those the fermentation smell when it's young. If you find it's enjoyable, then it is your perfect choice.

[chrimbo]

I have a bag of 2009 V93 as well as a 2008 bag of the tuos and the 2008 does smell much better already. With it being such a young shu it will need a bit of time and if you take everyones advice you'll be much happier. As a note though I'd recommend sticking to shu which is at least 3 years old, I've always found Menghai ripe tuo's to be quite drinkable by then.

You should really give a sheng a go though. If your talking about having an easy to brew tea then all you have to do for the first few brews of a cheap menghai or xiaguan is pour in some water, count to ten and and bang it in your cup! What can be easier?

[JAS-eTea Guy]

I will agree with the previous poster who indicated that the 2008 v93 has much less fermentation smell and taste (also referred to as wo dui). On the 2009 vintage front, I have also found that the Menghai Dayi Gong is remarkably good for a 2009 shu. There is very little wo dui taste and smell. I guess it must be a lightly fermented tea to make it so palatable at such a young age.

[Schwitters]

On the 2009 vintage front, I have also found that the Menghai Dayi Gong is remarkably good for a 2009 shu.

I wholeheartedly agree. Just ordered 5 more tuos. Delicious. Also ordered a few more 2008 Menghai "0532" ripe cakes. Even more delicious.

[argus]

i went and tried some sheng pu and i have to admit the advice was correct. i enjoy it more, even the astringency and slight sourness is actually enjoyable for me. i guess i'll drink both in the future

the first sheng pu i tried was a sample i received from Red Lantern Tea ebay shop and it blew me away with its pear aroma and immense sweetness.

[Schwitters]

Realizing that sheng pu is really a completely different experience from the ripe pu-erhs, I decided to get samples of a bunch of them with my last order of cooked pu-erhs:

2005 Menghai "Early Spring" Raw Pu-erh tea tuo
2000 Fu Hai "7536" Green Mark Raw Aged Pu-erh tea
1998 CNNP "You Le Qiao Mu" Raw Pu-erh tea cake
1998 Guang Yun Gong Bing * Raw Pu-erh tea cake *
2004 CNNP Menghai 7532 Recipe * Raw Pu-erh tea cake
2003 Dadugang *20th Anniversary Raw Pu-erh tea *