Official Pu of the day

[bryan_drinks_tea]

i've been enjoying the 04 changtai yiwu zhengpin blue stamp. The last session I had with it was enjoyable, but this one wasn't as good because I neglected to store the sample properly. Regardless of that, it was still okay and I look forward to acquiring a couple of these in the future.

Woody, like cedar, with light herbal bitterness and the beginning of aged flavour and aroma. somewhat complex, but the poor storage had reduced the flavor and aroma a little bit.

[Drax]

but the poor storage had reduced the flavor and aroma a little bit.

Out of curiosity.... what happened?

[auhckw]

Unknown year Yiwu Raw - Sales staff found this and tried. Disappointment. A weird foreign taste is presence in the first few brew. Bad storage of the sample probably.

[auhckw]

2011 Dayi Ba Da Raw - Very strong fresh aroma. Strong till it somehow seems artificial. A bit bitter and astringency. Still quite green. I don't understand why they put sticker in the middle. Could have print it.

[Cole]

That's a great looking Dayi cake and cup of tea there! With how fresh it sounds, I have a feeling it will age nicely

[bryan_drinks_tea]

but the poor storage had reduced the flavor and aroma a little bit.

Out of curiosity.... what happened?

I stored the sample in an aluminum box that was well sealed. it didn't get any air, and bad things happened as a result. much flatter tasting than before. next time, I won't be getting a sample, and I will not be keeping anything in that box.

[bagua7]

'09 Douji Yi Wu "Peace World" shu cake.

I have to say this is my fave shu so far. It has the complexity 90% of the cooked puerhs lack of.

One problem, I only found this tea for sale on eBay (China ChaDao) and I deeply regret buying only one cake. Needless to say all the cakes are gone now, not only '09 but also '08 and '10. Damn!

*****

[DarkenedSun]

Today I decided to go digging through my tea samples and came across one that simply had the number 2 on it. I vaguely remember doing that with some of my samples when I was repackaging. I really have no idea why I decided to be so cryptic. I knew there would be a key somewhere so being curious, I decided to brew some and see what I could tell. Dry leaves obviously came from a puerh cake. Looks sheng to me.

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Once the water hit the leaves, I knew for sure it was a sheng pu. Brewed up a nice color.

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Taste was a bit astringent but not too bad. Had a bit of lingering sweetness. Rather pleasant compared to some of the shengs I've had. It gave out a bit earlier than I would have liked but it was overall quite pleasant. It seems like a bit more age would be good for it but it may not be suited for long-term storage.

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Ok, so now I have to know what it was I just drank. Time to go digging around looking for the key I made for these samples.

And it is....

2007 Mengsa Arbor Raw Pu'er Cake
(according to my key anyway...)

Very interesting. I didn't mean to have myself do a blind tasting but it was really fun anyway.

[HifideliTea]

Mansong is pricey, but this one is ultra expensive.

Mansong Gong Cha (Imperial tea) is rare and very expensive, not something found on shelves in stores. From 1500+ year old tree. Less than 50kg harvested per year.

Very light bright golden yellow liquid. Smooth, flowery, honey sweet and all very subtle. No bitterness and no astringency. It's not any pu erh teas that I have ever drunk before, till now....

dry leaves

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gold liquid

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fresh small greens

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[debunix]

Sounds fantastic. Can you give more detail on what makes it seem so distinctive? Extra depth or layers of flavor? Earthier, sweeter, spicier, fruitier, sharper? Longer aftertaste or different aftertaste?

Just curious, because that doesn't sound like a tea most of us will have a chance to enjoy ourselves.

[shah82]

All of the seriously old tea trees I've heard of are to the west...Bulang, Nannuo, Bada, Jingmai, Kunlu, Bangwei, Fengqing, places like that. Tea trees that are older than about 700 years are either wild or semi-cultivated by original tribal groups living there. It would be "odd" in some ways, generally, because tea trees that old would be mildly different from 400 years to today. Also, Yibang, like many other tea areas, came into prominence during the Qing era, and most of the groves were started then. I find it very unlikely that that there are 1.5 millenium old tea trees in Yibang, and I especially find it unlikely that these trees aren't exclusively reserved for high officials. A cake of something like that would be some appreciable fraction of a Red Mark.

[gasninja]

All of the seriously old tea trees I've heard of are to the west...Bulang, Nannuo, Bada, Jingmai, Kunlu, Bangwei, Fengqing, places like that. Tea trees that are older than about 700 years are either wild or semi-cultivated by original tribal groups living there. It would be "odd" in some ways, generally, because tea trees that old would be mildly different from 400 years to today. Also, Yibang, like many other tea areas, came into prominence during the Qing era, and most of the groves were started then. I find it very unlikely that that there are 1.5 millenium old tea trees in Yibang, and I especially find it unlikely that these trees aren't exclusively reserved for high officials. A cake of something like that would be some appreciable fraction of a Red Mark.

you must have spent allot of Yunnan to know the locations of all the gushu trees this well.

[shah82]

Well, I did miss Qianjianzhai, which was an obvious one.

[HifideliTea]

Many reputable teashops and tea vendors here in China do not serve or sell premium teas for novice drinkers, they'll rather not do your business if you do not understand your teas, as they do not want these teas to "go to waste"... so to speak. It's quite a paradox, the perception that most stores here would want to rip you off on anything, somehow there's some ethics for tea merchants. I still cannot buy many teas in Maliandao, but they are willing to have a cup of the special teas with you. And to try these exotic teas, you also need to go to "clubs" and have contacts to try them. Those days where these teas are meant for officials ...it's not like that anymore.

OTOH, my niece was on a tour here just 3 days ago and told me her workmates where ripped off by an unscrupulous tea shop for tourists by serving then premium pu erh teas and selling them fakes at a premium price. When they got home and brewed the teas,...yucks.

OK, back to the mansong gong cha. This tea has a very subtle taste. A new raw lao ban zhang is bitter sweet, very overpowering and it lingers in the cups and the mouth for quite some time.
A new raw qianjiazhai has a smooth sweet flavour and you can taste it but it does not have the immediate "oomph" like the LBZ. But you can "feel" the rawness and it needs time for this to subside.

The raw mansong gong cha, on the first one to two gulps, does not give you any impression at all. I had drank some ripe and raw teas earlier, but downing 2 cups of the mansong gong cha quickly washed out every flavors in the mouth. It does not taste raw, and it is very smooth. You feel the vapour feel of floral sweetness that is never overpowering and it lingers in your mouth after the drink, like a lag effect...and my experience is from a novice point of view.

[auhckw]

2011 Dayi Meng Song Tuo Raw - This 250g tuo comes with a nice hard box. Noticed the logo next to the Dayi Logo? I was told by senior that the logo only appeared 3 times in this year's Dayi product. Gold, Yiwu and this. Taste? Very young but not that tough to drink. Good aroma and fresh flavor. Not time to enjoy yet...