2008 Dayi Lao Cha Tou. It's been warm and humid in the last few days; unseasonably warm for this early in the year in HK, but it's been a weird year weather-wise. Colder than usual and then warmer than usual. I pulled this brick out, intending to grandpa-brew a small amount in a big 500ml Yixing teapot that the previous owner had used (heavily) for shu. Noticed a tiny patch of very light gray mold on the top of the brick. I got a 'wet' shu pu erh smell from my cabinet last night, so I guess the higher humidity and temperature has things changing quickly. I won't put my wet teapots back in the cabinet anymore as the external humidity was 92% yesterday! I'm leaving the cabinet cracked as even with three dehumidifiers set at 70% running at home, the humidity in my bedroom is in the 80-85% range. I've had bugs and light mold in the past with no detectable wetness in the tea when brewed later, so I'm not too concerned. it is just that humid here!
After brewing for ten minutes or so, I get a nice, raisin-like taste from this tea. Light sourness and bitterness...quite pleasant. No detectable storage or wet taste at all. Lovely!
Apr 6th, '16, 01:10
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Re: Official Pu of the day
2007 Mo Gu Tuo. Sheng pu shroom from Seven Cups Tea. Got this around 2008 for probably too much money. Smoky. Smooth though. Light on body. Down to the stalk so Herculean force was required to break it. And many steeps for it to open up. Which helped with the smoothness I think.
Apr 4th, '16, 07:17
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Re: Official Pu of the day
There is a fair bit of traditionally stored sheng around, but sometimes it's so wet you can't even tell it was sheng! Sometimes sheng here can taste and look significantly wetter than new shu. Shu pu erh was made to imitate traditional storage; before shu, sheng was stored wet enough to turn it into shu-like tea. At least here in HK it was! These old merchants don't do dry storage.
Some of these Hong Kong pu erh merchants predate the introduction of shu pu erh, so they continue to age sheng the way they always did. If you can still get these older cakes stateside, I suggest picking up whatever you can as they represent value you won't find in today's market.
Some of these Hong Kong pu erh merchants predate the introduction of shu pu erh, so they continue to age sheng the way they always did. If you can still get these older cakes stateside, I suggest picking up whatever you can as they represent value you won't find in today's market.
Last edited by jayinhk on Apr 6th, '16, 01:22, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Official Pu of the day
I can't tell from the photos, but whenever I've ordered Bo Nay Cha in Hong Kong, it has always been a shoucha, not a shengcha. Have things changed?jayinhk wrote:That actually looks like traditionally stored sheng. Yes, that's what Hong Kong basements can do to sheng in a decade or two! I recently bought a traditional storage sheng that barely has any storage taste to it, and it tastes older than 2005, that's for sure. I still prefer my own home storage, but traditional storage done well is really very nice. Sometimes the really wet stuff can be what I'm craving, too, but less so now that I've had more carefully stored teas. Up until I got on TeaChat, the only bo lei I'd ever had was traditional storage shu. HK/Taiwan dry storage is where it's at IMO.Emmett wrote:I have couple of these I got from a Chinatown grocery store here in Chicago.. About 5 years ago maybe... I'm pretty sure they are cooked, but nice larger leaf material, and decent for what I payed... About $12 I think...debunix wrote:I think this is a puerh:
It seems like it was quite a large disc, originally--the fragment that I have is probably 30% of the original size.
It brewed up in to a deep earthy liquor with a full-bodied mouthfeel and a spicy aftertaste, better than I guessed. Anyone able to shed any light on its likely origins?
From now on, I buy new cakes and store them at home. Kunming storage can be pretty bad, especially for sheng, but shu seems to fare better. Well, the 7581 I got from KM is nowhere near as good as Taiwan storage, but the Menghai lao cha tou from '08 is amazing. Note to self...track down some good lao cha tou in KM!
Apr 4th, '16, 01:51
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Re: Official Pu of the day
That actually looks like traditionally stored sheng. Yes, that's what Hong Kong basements can do to sheng in a decade or two! I recently bought a traditional storage sheng that barely has any storage taste to it, and it tastes older than 2005, that's for sure. I still prefer my own home storage, but traditional storage done well is really very nice. Sometimes the really wet stuff can be what I'm craving, too, but less so now that I've had more carefully stored teas. Up until I got on TeaChat, the only bo lei I'd ever had was traditional storage shu. HK/Taiwan dry storage is where it's at IMO.Emmett wrote:I have couple of these I got from a Chinatown grocery store here in Chicago.. About 5 years ago maybe... I'm pretty sure they are cooked, but nice larger leaf material, and decent for what I payed... About $12 I think...debunix wrote:I think this is a puerh:
It seems like it was quite a large disc, originally--the fragment that I have is probably 30% of the original size.
It brewed up in to a deep earthy liquor with a full-bodied mouthfeel and a spicy aftertaste, better than I guessed. Anyone able to shed any light on its likely origins?
From now on, I buy new cakes and store them at home. Kunming storage can be pretty bad, especially for sheng, but shu seems to fare better. Well, the 7581 I got from KM is nowhere near as good as Taiwan storage, but the Menghai lao cha tou from '08 is amazing. Note to self...track down some good lao cha tou in KM!
Re: Official Pu of the day
2015 Red Label Iron Discus from Bana. A sample. An excellent tea no doubt, strong yet balanced, but not sure it's better than lower priced teas out there. Maybe I don't have the experience to recognize such things. Maybe the bet is on the aging.
Re: Official Pu of the day
I have couple of these I got from a Chinatown grocery store here in Chicago.. About 5 years ago maybe... I'm pretty sure they are cooked, but nice larger leaf material, and decent for what I payed... About $12 I think...debunix wrote:I think this is a puerh:
It seems like it was quite a large disc, originally--the fragment that I have is probably 30% of the original size.
It brewed up in to a deep earthy liquor with a full-bodied mouthfeel and a spicy aftertaste, better than I guessed. Anyone able to shed any light on its likely origins?
Apr 1st, '16, 12:02
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Re: Official Pu of the day
Interesting debunix. That store is close to my office, but I don't buy tea there. Maybe I'll try some of their pu and see if I can find the spiciness you detected. Do you think it might be a traditionally stored sheng?
Apr 1st, '16, 11:34
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Re: Official Pu of the day
Yesterday another session with Bo Nay Tea, from the back of Dad's cabinet. Still the same intriguing flavor that I have not encountered in other puerhs, a spicy sharpness that is not bitter but is a very forward note, along with the earthy sweetness I expect from a decent puerh. I really don't know how to describe that flavor element and wish I did.
Apr 1st, '16, 10:55
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Re: Official Pu of the day
I found their menu online; 60s pu erh is HK$800 per session! Wuyi is much cheaper at $200-300.
Re: Official Pu of the day
Rui wrote:I also enjoyed that one very much. It was a samples from the YS tea club.stevorama wrote:Enjoying the 2015 Da Hu Sai sheng pu er from YS.
Yes, very enjoyable! I was impressed by this one. Interesting and solid profile that seemed very well balanced. Long steeping. Later steepings were sedating me some. Mine was from a sample as well.
Haven't tried the tea club. Considering...
Re: Official Pu of the day
That sounds even better. If there is a subsidy it will save me money to buy more tea!jayinhk wrote:Wow, that sounds wonderful! I could take my own Yixing there. Quite far from here but sounds worth the trip.
I actually have only drank at teahouses in Taiwan. This one sounds wonderful! It is probably quite fairly priced, actually, since it is government subsidized.
Apr 1st, '16, 08:56
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Re: Official Pu of the day
Wow, that sounds wonderful! I could take my own Yixing there. Quite far from here but sounds worth the trip.Rui wrote:My wife wants to go there next time we go to HK. It does not look cheap though...jayinhk wrote:Never heard of it! Tell me more!Rui wrote:By the way do you know SONG CHA XIE tea house in HK?
http://www.hongkongextras.com/_nan_lian_garden.html
Talking about tea houses have you got any nice ones in your portfolio for daily rounds of tea drinking?
I actually have only drank at teahouses in Taiwan. This one sounds wonderful! It is probably quite fairly priced, actually, since it is government subsidized.
Re: Official Pu of the day
I also enjoyed that one very much. It was a samples from the YS tea club.stevorama wrote:Enjoying the 2015 Da Hu Sai sheng pu er from YS.
Re: Official Pu of the day
My wife wants to go there next time we go to HK. It does not look cheap though...jayinhk wrote:Never heard of it! Tell me more!Rui wrote:By the way do you know SONG CHA XIE tea house in HK?
http://www.hongkongextras.com/_nan_lian_garden.html
Talking about tea houses have you got any nice ones in your portfolio for daily rounds of tea drinking?