Official Pu of the day

[kuánglóng]

Interesting! I personally can't stand the smokiness of Xiaguan production, simply too much for me, as well as most shou puerh .. as you can see, every tea drinker have a no-drink zone

I'm not much of a shu afficionado either but I have a soft spot for some Xiaguans, especially from the early 2000s and before (heavy ex-smoker ).

Will you buy anything from this new season's harvest?

First and foremost dozens of Darjeelings and Nepali teas, like every year. As to new shengs I'm focused on wild grown leaves and will collect samples from all over the place, as usual but I'll probably spend more money on higher grade mid-aged and older shengs this year, before some of them are gone for good.

How about you? Any shopping plans this year?

Enjoy your Easter weekend, everyone. Happy sipping!

[William]

We're two now ... anyone else?

Seconded, there are exceptions. I have some decent humid aged (HK / Guangdong) shengs from their first years but wouldn't want to drink them on a daily basis since Dayis and some CNNPs are about the only teas that still give me the jitters - big time. For some reason I have no such issues with anything made by Xiaguan or any other mass produced factory stuff I've sampled over the years - pretty strange.

Interesting! I personally can't stand the smokiness of Xiaguan production, simply too much for me, as well as most shou puerh .. as you can see, every tea drinker have a no-drink zone

Will you buy anything from this new season's harvest?

[kuánglóng]

Not a big fan of Dayi puer, especially when young, ...

We're two now ... anyone else?

but this one in particular is rather nice, classic sugary/woody/a-tiny-bit of camphor flavors.

Seconded, there are exceptions. I have some decent humid aged (HK / Guangdong) shengs from their first years but wouldn't want to drink them on a daily basis since Dayis and some CNNPs are about the only teas that still give me the jitters - big time. For some reason I have no such issues with anything made by Xiaguan or any other mass produced factory stuff I've sampled over the years - pretty strange.

[William]

Having a late breakfast with some 2005 7542. Not a big fan of Dayi puer, especially when young, but this one in particular is rather nice, classic sugary/woody/a-tiny-bit of camphor flavors.
The storage has been excellent (definitely unusual), so I am using a F1 Hongni BaLe from the early/mid 70s (pre green-label period). I'm glad I chose it this morning, wonderful tea!

[William]

Having a gentle YiWu (2010) for breakfast; I bought it (400 gr beengcha) a couple of years ago online, probably YS, a small tea-factory-production for sure.
I truly like gentle YiWu material, its sweetish/sugary/woody flavors are so appealing to me.
I definitely need to buy some YiWu gushu material from this harvest's season .. it will probably cost a leg!

Brewing it with a F1 mid/late 60s SP 70 ml, lovely teapot!

Have a lovely day tea fellows!

[kuánglóng]

...
Your terms are colorful though perhaps not totally clear. Thanks.

Thanks for the reminder. Ethan.
We've used the term 'schnotz' (nose) an awful lot back in the day, even though it's a bit ambigous since the term also refers to a viscous substance that's secreted by some membranes in aforementioned protuberance.
William's 'hit me like a dragon' OTOH immediately rings a bell over here. I'm actually feeling pretty tea buzzed right now after just three small cups of some Burmese sheng a friend brought back from a trip last week; this stuff smacks me like a stun gun

[Psyck]

Schnoz is an informal term for nose.

[William]

kruanglong and william,

Getting a vocabulary and poetry lesson from you: "schnotz" or "hit me like a dragon". Your terms are colorful though perhaps not totally clear. Thanks.

Thanks Ethan, kind as always!

With "hit me like a dragon", I refer to the strong feeling I always have with strong BuLang material, hence the reference to a fierce and powerful animal.

I literally felt the energy of this tea starting to accumulate in my head after brew 3 or 4, then being released like an electric shock, first on my spine, then arms and legs, lastly, feet and hands. Call it however you want, caffeine, blood circulation, energy, Qi .. etc ..

Oddly, I have this kind of feelings only with strong puerh from BuLang.

[ethan]

kruanglong and william,

Getting a vocabulary and poetry lesson from you: "schnotz" or "hit me like a dragon". Your terms are colorful though perhaps not totally clear. Thanks.

[William]

I drank this afternoon some BuLang material (2016). Strong bitter body, anise/herbaceous/woody flavours .. strong on body and mind, lovely!

With young puerh I generally use clays with really low porosity, e.g. 60s/70s Hongni. This time I wanted to go heavy with the amount of leaves used, so I took a 50 ml F1 Zini SP from late 70s / early 80s and brewed almost 5 grams .. I think I went beyond 12/15 brews, well balanced aromatics/flavors. It hit me like a dragon. Lovely tea.

[kuánglóng]

2016 'Han Gu Di' Old Arbor [YS via greenteaguru]

A decent, balanced sheng, with nice florals, honey, cotton candy in the cup and schnotz and impressive aftertaste, pretty durable as well, I could smell the aroma of the 12th steep from 2 feet away - not bad. I'll probably get a cake or two ... if I only knew where to store them

[chrl42]

Man Nan of bulang..

first time trying this tea...pretty good so far.

Cha Qi, huigan, pronounced yet balanced flavor, a town of Bulang almost never disappoint me

[William]

First tea of the day, 2016 YouLe (in 70 ml early/mid 70s SP - Hongni); I am sipping it while having breakfast .. typical flowery aroma, light but well balanced flavors, always toward the sweet side, no bitterness or astringency at all. This tea pairs beautifully with this clay: everything good this tea has to offer, is highlighted.

[chrl42]

2014 Ding Jia Zhai

My favorite Yiwu along with Mahei..a hint of sugar cane..
always pleasurable tea

[William]

2015 Ban Pen..

sweet, refreshing! this is what Gushu should be like...good rhythm

How would you define the term rhythm when applied to teas? This is not the first time I read this particular term, used for describing tea's experiences, but never understood the meaning of it!

I think everyone's opinion on this could be different, based on own experiences,

for me it's just how Gushu reacts in my tongue, bitter/astringency that turns into sweetness finanlly transformed as huigan, a little echoing on my tongue the interval is quite clear and lasts..

I see, thanks for explaining!