Official Pu of the day

[puerhking]

2014 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Qing Mei Shan old arbor raw pu'erh - a nice tea for a young pu'erh that fits my taste.

I have the 2013 version of this and like it a lot. The aroma is fantastic.

[Rui]

2014 Yunnan Sourcing Autumn Qing Mei Shan old arbor raw pu'erh - a nice tea for a young pu'erh that fits my taste.

[puerhking]

2010 Hai Lan Hao - Qi Lin Jun Xiu - Yiwu

I bought this tea blind a couple of years back. It is one of the few regrettable purchases I have made in recent years. The aroma is almost nonexistent when smelling the dry leaves. Yet there is a slight strange aroma in there. The leaves look like a not so good mishmash of wulonged left overs. I think I paid $39 for it at the time.

The tea starts with a pesticide like flavor that lingers into subsequent brews. A strange heavy plum with a chemical like sweetness pervade through brews 5-6....which I don't normally associate with dry stored Yiwu teas. This is where I stop and consider whether or not I throw this one in the trash.

Truthfully, as soon as I opened this tea from its wrapper and saw the leaves I knew it was going to be bad. And it is.

[Rui]

2014 Da Xue Shan from Bannacha.com, a very pleasant young raw pu'erh tea.

[steanze]

2011 Hekai... this tea packs a punch! Notes of apricot and chinotto.

[Puerlife]

My second day of steeping 2002 CNNP Little Yellow Mark Private Order Aged which is an enjoyable sheng from White2Tea's selections. This is a tea with nice power – the power of rich content. It begins with a bit of astringency and smoke but quickly they both fade away. Next, the herbal and grassy notes move forward and become more prominent with a lovely sweetness poking through. The sip becomes very smooth by the third or fourth steeping and the sweetness begins to break through. After drinking a few cups, I am left with a distinct dryness in the mouth and throat. This cake is definitely made with good raw material but I think it still has room to mature so I’m going to move it to the back of my sheng cabinet and hope that I can wait to try it again in a year or two. I really like this tea.

I love this tea and your description puts into words what I've been experiencing. But this is a tea that tests my gong fu skill and I don't always get it right. I agree that it could benefit greatly from a year or two more, hopefully in my hot and humid climate. Good qi, too.

+1 x2

It can be finicky when brewing, but worth the added concentration. And yes, good qi

I suppose I was lucky - did not have any problem brewing. I used 6.5g in a 100ml yixing at 195 F. Two 5 sec. rinses and let the wet leaves sit awhile. 5 sec. steeping, then added 2 sec. to each of the following steepings.

IMHO -a cake definitely worth owning.

I have been thinking the LYM was finicky but the last few sessions have all been excellent because I’ve been spurred to concentrate more because I’ve been brewing outside for people every Saturday morning and brewing three or four teas at once. The LYM suffered the most from my split attention but I’ve come up with a few things that I do consistently now that have really improved my results.
Firstly, whether drinking alone or with others, I use 3.5, sometimes four grams with 60 to 70 ml of water. For a powerful tea like the LYM that’s plenty of caffeine and qi for one day if I’m drinking alone. Getting the right size brewing vessel was a big help. I’ve been using this one but the green one: http://www.white2tea.com/tea-shop/ruyao-gaiwan/ The way I fill it, it holds 60 to 70 ml, not just under 100. Secondly, before I infuse I make sure the gaiwan is hot by putting it inside another gaiwan-like vessel to which I’ve added some hot water. In ten seconds that gaiwan is good and hot. Thirdly, when I have a two day session, I put the tea in the gaiwan, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. The LYM gives a minerally, umami-like taste that stays in the mouth, a delicate, lighter, more distinctive flavor than I recall getting from any other puer. I’m glad I got a tong.

[debunix]

Enjoying some of a long-unopened YS shu puerh sample: Man Tang Hong Gong Ting from 2011. It's a very nice earthy sweet shu, not as fruity as the plummy 2009 Lao Cha Tou from Norbu tat I've been drinking most often lately, more humus and sweet. It's very nice, and better yet, cakes are still available. I think this might be my next daily puerh for bulk-brewing situations when my stock of the Lao Cha Tou runs out.

[BW85]

I suppose I was lucky - did not have any problem brewing. I used 6.5g in a 100ml yixing at 195 F. Two 5 sec. rinses and let the wet leaves sit awhile. 5 sec. steeping, then added 2 sec. to each of the following steepings.

IMHO -a cake definitely worth owning.

Yeah, I guess I didn't mean finicky as in difficult to get a good brew or that it needs specific parameters, but just that sometimes its very good while other times it's only average good... There will just be something extra during some sessions that I don't manage to pull out every time. Slight variables in how the water is poured, the ambient room temperature, etc. My state of mind but this can be true for all teas and is what gongfucha is about I suppose

Drinking the little yellow mark now actually

[mam2431]

My second day of steeping 2002 CNNP Little Yellow Mark Private Order Aged which is an enjoyable sheng from White2Tea's selections. This is a tea with nice power – the power of rich content. It begins with a bit of astringency and smoke but quickly they both fade away. Next, the herbal and grassy notes move forward and become more prominent with a lovely sweetness poking through. The sip becomes very smooth by the third or fourth steeping and the sweetness begins to break through. After drinking a few cups, I am left with a distinct dryness in the mouth and throat. This cake is definitely made with good raw material but I think it still has room to mature so I’m going to move it to the back of my sheng cabinet and hope that I can wait to try it again in a year or two. I really like this tea.

I love this tea and your description puts into words what I've been experiencing. But this is a tea that tests my gong fu skill and I don't always get it right. I agree that it could benefit greatly from a year or two more, hopefully in my hot and humid climate. Good qi, too.

+1 x2

It can be finicky when brewing, but worth the added concentration. And yes, good qi

I suppose I was lucky - did not have any problem brewing. I used 6.5g in a 100ml yixing at 195 F. Two 5 sec. rinses and let the wet leaves sit awhile. 5 sec. steeping, then added 2 sec. to each of the following steepings.

IMHO -a cake definitely worth owning.

[BW85]

My second day of steeping 2002 CNNP Little Yellow Mark Private Order Aged which is an enjoyable sheng from White2Tea's selections. This is a tea with nice power – the power of rich content. It begins with a bit of astringency and smoke but quickly they both fade away. Next, the herbal and grassy notes move forward and become more prominent with a lovely sweetness poking through. The sip becomes very smooth by the third or fourth steeping and the sweetness begins to break through. After drinking a few cups, I am left with a distinct dryness in the mouth and throat. This cake is definitely made with good raw material but I think it still has room to mature so I’m going to move it to the back of my sheng cabinet and hope that I can wait to try it again in a year or two. I really like this tea.

I love this tea and your description puts into words what I've been experiencing. But this is a tea that tests my gong fu skill and I don't always get it right. I agree that it could benefit greatly from a year or two more, hopefully in my hot and humid climate. Good qi, too.

+1 x2

It can be finicky when brewing, but worth the added concentration. And yes, good qi

[Puerlife]

My second day of steeping 2002 CNNP Little Yellow Mark Private Order Aged which is an enjoyable sheng from White2Tea's selections. This is a tea with nice power – the power of rich content. It begins with a bit of astringency and smoke but quickly they both fade away. Next, the herbal and grassy notes move forward and become more prominent with a lovely sweetness poking through. The sip becomes very smooth by the third or fourth steeping and the sweetness begins to break through. After drinking a few cups, I am left with a distinct dryness in the mouth and throat. This cake is definitely made with good raw material but I think it still has room to mature so I’m going to move it to the back of my sheng cabinet and hope that I can wait to try it again in a year or two. I really like this tea.

I love this tea and your description puts into words what I've been experiencing. But this is a tea that tests my gong fu skill and I don't always get it right. I agree that it could benefit greatly from a year or two more, hopefully in my hot and humid climate. Good qi, too.

[mam2431]

My second day of steeping 2002 CNNP Little Yellow Mark Private Order Aged which is an enjoyable sheng from White2Tea's selections. This is a tea with nice power – the power of rich content. It begins with a bit of astringency and smoke but quickly they both fade away. Next, the herbal and grassy notes move forward and become more prominent with a lovely sweetness poking through. The sip becomes very smooth by the third or fourth steeping and the sweetness begins to break through. After drinking a few cups, I am left with a distinct dryness in the mouth and throat. This cake is definitely made with good raw material but I think it still has room to mature so I’m going to move it to the back of my sheng cabinet and hope that I can wait to try it again in a year or two. I really like this tea.

[debunix]

Enjoying an old friend--not really that old in puerh-terms, but one that I have not prepared for many months--2006 Haiwan 'purple bud' sheng from Norbu. It still has a bit of smokiness but this aspect is lessening, while the earthy sweetness is continuing strong and wonderful. I'll still be working on this one tomorrow. I wish I'd bought another cake or three of this one!

[PuerhCollector]

1000 Year Old Tree from TDZ

did you experience that lovely strong rich umami taste in the first 2 brews? that was yumz!...

Hello Kyarazen,

For me it was more like a combination of nutty and slightly buttery taste. Very nice as you rightly mentioned.

Best, VP

[j.p.rich]

My last 10g of the last thought sample in a 200cc yixing pot.

This is a very high quality gushu blend yiwu tea. The tea broth is thick and considerably smooth for its young age. Brewing quite strong, the astringency is low but its there to give a bit of dryness that makes one's mouth feel activated like a nice sencha. The sweetness covers the entire mouth. Huigan is impressive, viscous and falling deep down the throat, comparable to those of pure Guafengzhai. I think this is a blend that perfectly put together the best aspects of a more masculine yiwu like Guafengzhai and those that are more feminine like Dingjiazhai. Well done. Won't comment on the price/quality as its already sold out!

Excellent review, I share every sentiment and could not have expressed them any better. The best young sheng I have tried by some margin.