What's it about Shu Pu Erh?

[skilfautdire]

the (皮蛋 pi dan) or hundred year eggs are actually preserved eggs. If there is an ammonia smell it is likely that it has come from bad production or storage.

Hmmm... I will have, for now, to disagree with this based on:

1) several Chinese/Vietnamese colleagues
2) wikipedia

Both attributes the ammonia smell as a characteristic of century eggs.

If your Puer Shu cha or even Sheng cha has any notion at all of ammonia it is worthless and there is no nutrition in it at all

OTOH, wikipedia describes ammonia as being an excellent source of nitrogen.

This being said, I would not drink a shu puerh that smells ammonia.

[oldmanteapot]

+1 to everything Old Man Teapot just wrote, except I think for higher end shu, only 2-3 years is all it takes to get rid of the unwanted smells. I just attended a shu tasting tonight where we had a 2001 loose shu and a 2008 shu cake which had been broken up and stored properly since it was a baby. Both teas were fantastic, and neither had any off tastes at all, but surprisingly, the 2001 had a very slight trace of the wodui smell and the 2008 had none. Just remember, not all shu is fermented to the same level, or in quite the same way.

TJ, well said indeed A lot has to do with the storage environment. That's how important and crucial proper storage is. I have a couple of young Shu which are deemed drinkable after a year or two!

Cheers!!

[chrl42]

The other day I had 30-yr-old Shu from acquainted shop, the brewed one showed transparent golden color, ever-lasting Qi. I think the secret is from storing..it was one of those unforgettable moment cos that was the finest Shu I've tasted.

If Qi matters, I don't think those wet-stored 1~20 year-old Shengs on the market can beat that tea so easily

[TwoPynts]

The other day I had 30-yr-old Shu...

That's some old shu!

[Se7en8ight]

Hello All!

I cannot say it enough but this site is great and I am learning so much from reading all of your posts.

So yes. The puerh I got smells like pee... on concrete drying in the sun! but let's not go into how I know that's the smell... I just do.

I need to mention first that I am an oolong/green tea kinda guy... the only other time I remember having puerh was when I was very young in HK. I remember it was nice, smoky, and earthy but then that's about it. So I was in complete shock when I brewed my first round of puerh, that I had purchased recently, and it smelled strongly of ammonia. My friends who I had over to try it with me exclaimed "This one taste like mud!"

That being said, ammonia aside, I actually liked the tastes underneath and it's texture. I now also realize, after reading the posts here, that I still need to "air out" my PEE-erh.

The impatient part of me wonders if I aired out the toucha on like a baking sheet would it significantly compromise the flavor of the tea? Would rinsing a third/fourth time be an option? I live in 70-85% RH almost year round and average of 32C (90F)...

[drinking_teas]

Hello All!

I cannot say it enough but this site is great and I am learning so much from reading all of your posts.

So yes. The puerh I got smells like pee... on concrete drying in the sun! but let's not go into how I know that's the smell... I just do.

I need to mention first that I am an oolong/green tea kinda guy... the only other time I remember having puerh was when I was very young in HK. I remember it was nice, smoky, and earthy but then that's about it. So I was in complete shock when I brewed my first round of puerh, that I had purchased recently, and it smelled strongly of ammonia. My friends who I had over to try it with me exclaimed "This one taste like mud!"

That being said, ammonia aside, I actually liked the tastes underneath and it's texture. I now also realize, after reading the posts here, that I still need to "air out" my PEE-erh.

The impatient part of me wonders if I aired out the toucha on like a baking sheet would it significantly compromise the flavor of the tea? Would rinsing a third/fourth time be an option? I live in 70-85% RH almost year round and average of 32C (90F)...

is it a mini (single serving) or a larger tuocha?

[Se7en8ight]

Haloooo DT!

mini

[entropyembrace]

Hello All!

I cannot say it enough but this site is great and I am learning so much from reading all of your posts.

So yes. The puerh I got smells like pee... on concrete drying in the sun! but let's not go into how I know that's the smell... I just do.

I need to mention first that I am an oolong/green tea kinda guy... the only other time I remember having puerh was when I was very young in HK. I remember it was nice, smoky, and earthy but then that's about it. So I was in complete shock when I brewed my first round of puerh, that I had purchased recently, and it smelled strongly of ammonia. My friends who I had over to try it with me exclaimed "This one taste like mud!"

That being said, ammonia aside, I actually liked the tastes underneath and it's texture. I now also realize, after reading the posts here, that I still need to "air out" my PEE-erh.

The impatient part of me wonders if I aired out the toucha on like a baking sheet would it significantly compromise the flavor of the tea? Would rinsing a third/fourth time be an option? I live in 70-85% RH almost year round and average of 32C (90F)...

Just buy pu-erh that smells better?

[mr mopu]

Mini tuocha are usually made with the left over from the cake and brick pressings. In order of quality, cakes get the best material, bricks the second best and minis, what is left over. Most major factories will "hold" the shou cakes for at least 6 months till the "aroma" of the fermentation process has gone away.

[Se7en8ight]

Just buy pu-erh that smells better?

LoL... I didn't know that I had to look out for non-pee smelling puerh. Being new to this tea, I just grabbed a bag from the store I usually go to for tea and thought that it would be fine.

The farthest thought from my mind... and I mean THE FARTHEST was that my tea could smell like wee! lol that rhymed.

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[Se7en8ight]

Mini tuocha are usually made with the left over from the cake and brick pressings. In order of quality, cakes get the best material, bricks the second best and minis, what is left over. Most major factories will "hold" the shou cakes for at least 6 months till the "aroma" of the fermentation process has gone away.

Ohhhh... I was kind of wondering why the leaves looked milled compared to what I saw on the interwebs.

Now I know and will go find myself a cake!

Thanks!
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[glenbo]

I think I know the aroma you're describing. I've gotten it from puerh that was held in an airtight box for too long. Like a slow boat from China. It will go away with some decent humidity and quality air flow.

[entropyembrace]

Just buy pu-erh that smells better?

LoL... I didn't know that I had to look out for non-pee smelling puerh. Being new to this tea, I just grabbed a bag from the store I usually go to for tea and thought that it would be fine.

The farthest thought from my mind... and I mean THE FARTHEST was that my tea could smell like wee! lol that rhymed.

78

Its fairly common to get pu-erh that is really nasty and will never be drinkable here, even from vendors that are OK for other types of tea. My first pu-erh smelled like cow manure.

also I take back my 5 years age thing from the 1st page It doesn't take nearly that long to air out shu.

[glenbo]

Its fairly common to get pu-erh that is really nasty and will never be drinkable here, even from vendors that are OK for other types of tea. My first pu-erh smelled like cow manure.

RIght?! It is so easy for the wodui process to go bad. It's such an investment for producers to make shou puerh that they have to do something with it. "Hey, let's sell it to America, they won't know. We'll just tell them that's what puerh tastes like." Most tea vendors jump on the chance to add puerh to their catalog.

[Se7en8ight]

@glenbo/ee: thanks for the tips!

When I got it from the store it was repacked into an airtight bag. I'll let it air out for a few months... Then i'll revisit brewing it

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