spike your shu with sheng?

[Dizzwave]

Hi all,
I've been experimenting a little lately, with adding a pinch of sheng to my pot of shu. Maybe around 4g shu to 1g sheng, give or take. Has anyone else tried this?
Of course the result varies a lot depending on the tea, and many of my teas I'd never really consider mixing with others.... But some of them do seem perfect for it.
For instance, this 2008 Nan Jian Tulin 803 shu -- it's a good cheap daily drinker, doesn't really have a strong flavor, and responds well to a pinch of sheng -- spices it up a bit. But I'm not sure, I haven't tried it with Menghai shu yet.

I first got the idea from the folks at my local tea shop (they're from HK). They are big into 90s shu (don't sell much else, actually). The only sheng they had for a while was a very "tippy" late 90s maocha that was heavy on the barnyard taste. But they recommended putting a pinch of that into some of the stronger 90s shus to balance it out.
It definitely adds a dimension to the daily grind of tea-drinking!
Anyone else try it?
-dave

[Wesli]

Not specifically shu with sheng, but during a session of young sheng that I got bored with, I added some 80's sheng from the previous night. I thought it would give the resulting brew a very complex feel and taste. But that wasn't it at all. It came out, very distinctly, as being an obvious mix between young and old sheng. It wasn't really pleasant at all.

Although, I think that if the young and old had been mixed together before being pressed into a bing, then given a few years, then the aroma exchange between the teas would blend them together quite nicely and you would end up with a pleasantly complex tea.

[hop_goblin]

I believe I have seen a beeng that contained both sheng and shu. Being the purest that I am, I can't really make myself try such a concoction. But, who knows, maybe I will have a little left over of each that combined will make just enough to make a few infusions.

[Dizzwave]

Hey hop, how are things inside the tong?
Yeah, I've tried a tea or two that were stored as shu/sheng blends, and like Wes said, it tastes more "blended". I guess what I'm doing is just for kicks....
I keep my main stash at home, but do most of my drinking at work. So I bring a few ziplocks of an ounce of this or that tea.. and occasionally I have a gram or two left in my desk drawer of some tea, not enough for a pot.. Perfect for playing around with.

[hop_goblin]

Hey hop, how are things inside the tong?
Yeah, I've tried a tea or two that were stored as shu/sheng blends, and like Wes said, it tastes more "blended". I guess what I'm doing is just for kicks....
I keep my main stash at home, but do most of my drinking at work. So I bring a few ziplocks of an ounce of this or that tea.. and occasionally I have a gram or two left in my desk drawer of some tea, not enough for a pot.. Perfect for playing around with.

Hey Dizz, it smells great in this tong! lol

Funny, cause I do most of my drinking at home. I do have a gaiwan at work and a tea kettle but only brew tin teas at work since I cant dedicate enough energy to enjoy them. As for playing around, I do the same thing! When I am on the job, and need a caffine kick, I could careless about aroma or taste even! lol

[heavydoom]

2006 Kunming #7581 - 250gr. brick.

The 7581 blend from Kunming factory- Yunnan. The particularity of this blend is a mix of raw and cooked pu erh. This 2006 is 70% cooked and 30% raw A well crafted mix ideal for aging a little bit. Shipping weight is approximately 400gr.


thanks to hop goblin for this guy :

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-Kunming-7581-S ... dZViewItem

[thanks]

2006 Kunming #7581 - 250gr. brick.

The 7581 blend from Kunming factory- Yunnan. The particularity of this blend is a mix of raw and cooked pu erh. This 2006 is 70% cooked and 30% raw A well crafted mix ideal for aging a little bit. Shipping weight is approximately 400gr.


thanks to hop goblin for this guy :

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-Kunming-7581-S ... dZViewItem

+1

What's the oldest 7581 anyone's had around here? Was it as good as you thought it'd be?

[pb2q]

I never brought myself to trying this (blending) but I have considered it. I have added spent aged sheng leaves to lesser brews, and was also disappointed with the results. I can't remember what I was trying to spice up, maybe some black tea.

Dave: Which shop recommended this? A friend who just moved from Portland for NYC was trying puerh in Portland and we've talked about a few shops there.

[Dizzwave]

Hi pb2q,
The shop is called Serenity Art. It's in the FuBonn shopping center (sort of an Asian mall). I love going there, and they even recognize me now, and give me freebies and discounts. Once I went in there with my 1-year-old in one arm, and I was picking up a beeng with my other hand, and OOPS! I knocked a little yixing pot onto the floor, smashed to bits. I paid for it, but they gave me the tea I was buying for free.
(Now, you other Portlanders, don't take that as an invitation to go breaking pots there to get free tea! It probably won't work without the cute baby!)
Last weekend I went in with my now-2-year-old, and we were invited to sit down at their huge slotted tea table for a gongfu sesh of some yummy 90s shu. My daughter even got her own cup, and really liked the tea.

Pardon my ramblings. That was probably more answer than you were looking for. The 2001 XG shu (from Jing) in my cup is partly to blame.
-dave

[hop_goblin]

2006 Kunming #7581 - 250gr. brick.

The 7581 blend from Kunming factory- Yunnan. The particularity of this blend is a mix of raw and cooked pu erh. This 2006 is 70% cooked and 30% raw A well crafted mix ideal for aging a little bit. Shipping weight is approximately 400gr.


thanks to hop goblin for this guy :

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-Kunming-7581-S ... dZViewItem

+1

I have a few bricks of '01 7581 few '04 7562 '01 CNNP beeng. But IMHO, it doesn't do much to age shu more than 5 year since most of the nuances were destroyed during the fermenation process. Aging does infact mellow some of the pond notes and off flavors.

What's the oldest 7581 anyone's had around here? Was it as good as you thought it'd be?

[Salsero]

What's the oldest 7581 anyone's had around here? Was it as good as you thought it'd be?

I have a 1996 Kun Ming Tea Factory, CNNP #7581, and I am not especially impressed with it. My last notes say, "this is good but not as good as many younger (and cheaper) shu that I have had lately."

[Dizzwave]

I just ordered a few things from that guy, including a 25gr sample of 1998 7581. I will post back here in a week or so, after I've tried it.
Here's what else I got (all sheng):
1996 XG tuo (100gr)
2001 7542 (25gr)
2005 Teacher He (25gr)
2002 Kunming Hong Yin (25gr)

[brandon]

I have a 1996 Kun Ming Tea Factory, CNNP #7581, and I am not especially impressed with it. My last notes say, "this is good but not as good as many younger (and cheaper) shu that I have had lately."

Sal sent me a hunk of this tea and I mostly agree. I have to say, the sheng came through in a first flash infusion, hinting at an aged sheng (but not any more aged than it really was). In subsequent infusions shu completely stole the party. It wasn't even good shu.

[heavydoom]

I just ordered a few things from that guy, including a 25gr sample of 1998 7581. I will post back here in a week or so, after I've tried it.
Here's what else I got (all sheng):
1996 XG tuo (100gr)
2001 7542 (25gr)
2005 Teacher He (25gr)
2002 Kunming Hong Yin (25gr)

the sampan dude? eloi?

i ordered something too from him. in canadian funds, this is not bad.

i got that jar of 2002 aged oolong from him. also some competition grade bao zhong and some oriental beauty. let's see how this plays out. btw, that jar contains 600 grams of oolong.

[drumhum]

i got that jar of 2002 aged oolong from him.
... btw, that jar contains 600 grams of oolong.

That tea sounds yummy from the description. Do let us know how you find it!