Official Pu of the day

[nickE]

sample of 2007 Bu lang shang ripe (YS), my first ripe.... nasty, tastes like fish....agggghhh

The only advice here is to rinse 2 or 3 times. I've not tried that specific Shu, so I can't really comment on it.

Thank you nickE, I have tried now 2009 Menghai 7572 901 Recipe Ripe and I don´t like this shu either. The fish taste is very very little but I find it. I think I don´t like shu pu-erh.

I´m going to rinse 2 or 3 times to try, thank you!!!

No problem! The rinsing is worth a try, but it's also possible that you just don't like Shu Puerh. Specifically, the wodui, or fermentation (fishy) smell.

Shu Puerh tends to lose this as it ages, though.

I'm currently drinking Dayi 2007 Yun Xiang. No wodui here. Smells of cinnamon and sweet bread, nice thick mouthfeel. Nothing too fancy, but I like this one.

[betta]

Thank you nickE, I have tried now 2009 Menghai 7572 901 Recipe Ripe and I don´t like this shu either. The fish taste is very very little but I find it. I think I don´t like shu pu-erh.

I´m going to rinse 2 or 3 times to try, thank you!!!

I would recommend not to start your journey in puerh tea world from ripe stuffs. Give yourself some time with raw puerh before jumping into ripe puerh. Such a young 2009 ripe cake still hasn't lost its "fermentation smell", you might need to store it some years to remove this smell.

[lkj23]

sample of 2007 Bu lang shang ripe (YS), my first ripe.... nasty, tastes like fish....agggghhh

The only advice here is to rinse 2 or 3 times. I've not tried that specific Shu, so I can't really comment on it.

Thank you nickE, I have tried now 2009 Menghai 7572 901 Recipe Ripe and I don´t like this shu either. The fish taste is very very little but I find it. I think I don´t like shu pu-erh.

I´m going to rinse 2 or 3 times to try, thank you!!!

[nickE]

sample of 2007 Bu lang shang ripe (YS), my first ripe.... nasty, tastes like fish....agggghhh

The only advice here is to rinse 2 or 3 times. I've not tried that specific Shu, so I can't really comment on it.

[lkj23]

sample of 2007 Bu lang shang ripe (YS), my first ripe.... nasty, tastes like fish....agggghhh

[whatsinaname]

Jim's "90s Songpin" is taking quite a longer while to air out than the Dingxing. It is, however, already lovely and durable with just a bit of the 'ol dusty-musty. Spot on, indeed.

I *heart* traditional storage!

[Drax]

Also trying out a sample from the PuerhShop... the 2009 Bada Mountain from Rongsheng.

I was a bit worried from the aroma of the leaves. It has turned out much more flavorful than I expected... strong straw quality, sometimes lingering floral, and a bitter bite. Not exactly my favorite combination, but interesting.

[nickE]

Having an old sample from Puerhshop today: 2009 Old Man'E shengpu. Pretty bad, nothing really redeeming about it. The taste was pretty clean, I guess.

[nickE]

YS 2009 Wu Liang Shan raw puerh.



Highly enjoyable strong caramel aftertaste (hui gan) that is also kept on the lips but only for the first 5-6 brews, after that the tea loses its power and becomes rather soft but still enjoyable. Mild qi is felt under the tongue but it takes a while to show up. Some astringency but not the typical of young shengs.

Just brewed this up. I agree, its huigan is very long and enjoyable. It's lacking a bit in complexity and also durability, but it's decent tea for what I paid.

[debunix]

Had a nice session with one of the first pus I bought a couple of years ago, a sampler of a loose puerh from Chado just labeled "pu-erh 1992". It's quite a nice tea, but with the limited info I have no idea if the 1992 is their item number, the date of the tea, and whether sheng or shu.

[nickE]

Decided to brew up some 2009 8582 today. It's really not bad; familiar flavors, nice durability, and a long aftertaste.

In other news, YS added 2011 7542 at a price of almost $20. I was hoping that the 2010 price increase was only due to the drought. Oh well.

[whatsinaname]

The Douji Banzhang gets rave reviews, and I love the HLH LBZ/LME at the 2008 price (maybe a bit overpriced now). I've got a few of them in storage.

I've got some more of the Douji enroute myself!

[David Duckler]

My Pu'er of the day is real find. My disclaimer is that I am starting up pu'er importing, and this is one of the teas I am selling, but still- I have been drinking this one since long before my importing days, so here goes:

Famers Cooperative Banzhang Mountain Sheng

Year: 2003

Dry Leaf: Very dark, large curled leaf, unbroken with longer stems. Loose hand-pressed ball of tea.

Aroma: Smoke of a campfire deep in a wet forest of redwood and eucalyptus after fresh rain.

Tea Color: Small floating down gives this Chardonnay color a darker opacity that turns orange in sunlight.

Taste through early steepings: Immediately creamy with a tingling sweetness like the finest spring Gyokuro. Assertive notes of toasted walnut and hazelnut linger in the throat. As this continues steeping, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom spice with mucovado brown sugar play across the palate.

Taste in middle to late steepings: The intriguing muscovado sweetness carries through even as the intense tingling texture subsides. The spice of early steepings slowly moves towards baked apple. Very late in steeping, the texture of licorice root comes through across the tongue accompanied by notes of malt and barley.

Steeped Leaf: Enormous dark green leaves that are thick and strong with abundant buds and long stems.

PS: It is great to see so many other people excited about pu'er. Let's spread the word. Friends don't let friends dislike pu'er!

[moto]

I arrived home today to find a package from JAS e-tea with three cakes:

2008 Hai Lang Hao "Lao Ban Zhang & Man'E Ancient Arbor" tea - 400 g
2009 Yunnan Sourcing "Ban Zhang Chun Qing" Pu-erh tea - 357g
2009 Douji Ban Zhang Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh tea - 357 grams

I ordered them only three days ago, and here they are!
I had decided that descriptions of Ban Zhang tea had compelling allure.

So the first to get opened is the Hai Lang Hao.

Look at the leaf/bud on the top of the pile after the first infusion

It's almost 4 inches long. In my short history of pu erh, this is a new experience. Working my way through various young sheng, I have been experiencing various factory blends, single mountain varieties, but this is a wow. I was ready to post after two infusions, so I will probably say more later, and try to compare to the other two cakes. I will do my naive best with the forum format in my own uneducated words:

Astringency - in the back of the mouth, giving way to smooth and mellow
Smoke - smelling the dry cake, I thought it would be strong. It is there, but subtle
Dryness-(mouth) - not so much
Mouthfeel - silky
Hui gan - still there, even after picture taking uploading posting etc
Flavor - complex in the way I hoped it would be
Overall value - that's what I'm talkin about!

I spent more money on these teas than I have on any other. I have been drinking pu erh every day for only 3 months maybe, but this is a big difference. Not disappointing.

[whatsinaname]

Love that Dingxing. Just the right amount of win.

Traditionally stored tea FTW

An acquired taste well-worth acquiring!