Official Pu of the day

[tony shlongini]

'08 Menghai 0622 (801)

This is another example of why I think the leaf grading system has to be scrapped. Certainly, better looking leaves must be easier to sell at the wholesale level, and will command a higher price, but that doesn't always translate into a superior tea. For (yet another) wine analogy, consider the wines of the Rhone. While Syrah is one of the world's great grapes, a proper Rhone will succeed by the skillful incorporation of the other, "lesser" varietals- Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Petite Sirah, and even the counterintuitive inclusion of the white varietals Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. The mix may approach twenty different grapes.

So how does lesser leaf yield a better tea? In a word, balance. Those tiny little tea leaves may be sweet and delicate, but pu'er needs the backbone provided by those big old gnarly leaves.

The 0622? Very nice tea. I'll admit to coveting it for some time, when I was in the "I gotta get me some of that grade 2 leaf" stage. From that perspective, it's not a blockbuster, just an honest, straightforward, well made sheng. It has enough bitterness to counterpoint the sweetness, and the straw and mushroom flavors are augmented by lovely hints of tobacco. It's not unlike the 7532, though a bit less vibrant. Of the "newer" recipes, this one strikes me as one of the more successful.

[puerhking]

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08 Xiaguan 7653 -

I could tell from the brewed leaves this was going to be a smokey one. First few brews were light as I did not pry the leaves apart. The first 6 or so brews were solid wood....liquid wood with smoke. Little sweetness with an occasional reprieve of dry orange peel. There was a roundness to it though, do to the lack of astringency. It had mellowed a bit by the eighth brew and seemed like it would have no problem going 16 or more. Clearly this is meant to be aged as you would expect from an old recipe. I think that it has the guts to improve down the road provided the smoke mellows.

[tony shlongini]

x- post from b&b

08 Xiaguan 7653 -

I could tell from the brewed leaves this was going to be a smokey one. First few brews were light as I did not pry the leaves apart. The first 6 or so brews were solid wood....liquid wood with smoke. Little sweetness with an occasional reprieve of dry orange peel. There was a roundness to it though, do to the lack of astringency. It had mellowed a bit by the eighth brew and seemed like it would have no problem going 16 or more. Clearly this is meant to be aged as you would expect from an old recipe. I think that it has the guts to improve down the road provided the smoke mellows.

I was pleasantly surprised by the '08 7653. At $13, I thought it was quite the bargain.

Today-
'05 Xiaguan Cang Er tuo

Lot of hoopla on this one, it seems. I expected to be blown away, which was not to be, but my second go around with this tea was another enjoyable session nonetheless. I can't wait to see what some of the current FT releases become in a few years.

As for the format, I think the extra large tuos are very cool.

[puerhking]

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08 Xiaguan 7653 -

I could tell from the brewed leaves this was going to be a smokey one. First few brews were light as I did not pry the leaves apart. The first 6 or so brews were solid wood....liquid wood with smoke. Little sweetness with an occasional reprieve of dry orange peel. There was a roundness to it though, do to the lack of astringency. It had mellowed a bit by the eighth brew and seemed like it would have no problem going 16 or more. Clearly this is meant to be aged as you would expect from an old recipe. I think that it has the guts to improve down the road provided the smoke mellows.

I was pleasantly surprised by the '08 7653. At $13, I thought it was quite the bargain.

It wasn't bad save the smoke. Personally I think the 08 CNNP Bulang for $9 is a better deal for a better tea.

[shogun89]

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08 Xiaguan 7653 -

I could tell from the brewed leaves this was going to be a smokey one. First few brews were light as I did not pry the leaves apart. The first 6 or so brews were solid wood....liquid wood with smoke. Little sweetness with an occasional reprieve of dry orange peel. There was a roundness to it though, do to the lack of astringency. It had mellowed a bit by the eighth brew and seemed like it would have no problem going 16 or more. Clearly this is meant to be aged as you would expect from an old recipe. I think that it has the guts to improve down the road provided the smoke mellows.

I was pleasantly surprised by the '08 7653. At $13, I thought it was quite the bargain.

mmmm. I am gonna have some of that bulang tonight. So happy I got a tong of it. $60 for a tong, that is a deal!!!!!

It wasn't bad save the smoke. Personally I think the 08 CNNP Bulang for $9 is a better deal for a better tea.

[Dizzwave]

I ordered a sample of this from Nada, but he was out of the cakes. I liked it so much, I bought two cakes from Andao when they restocked them last week-ish. $12 each.

The interesting thing about this shu is that it lasts many infusions. Most shu, even if I want it to last a while, seems to turn jet black in no time on the 3rd-4th steeps, and by #6 it's given up. This stuff, if I pour quickly, I get a nice medium brew -- yet quite flavorful for its light color -- on steeps ~2-7 (@<10s). Then I have to start going longer to milk it.
The first few steeps exhibit some of that "biscuity" flavor that I like in a young shu. Kind of like some of Menghai's stuff, but with less off flavor (that normally would take a couple years to lose).
The wet leaves have a nice chocolatey aroma.

Anyway -- overall, great for the price. Anyone else tried it?

[Drax]

Anyone else tried it?

I placed an order from Nada earlier this week and added a sample or two of the cake, but he was actually sold out.

I might just have to stroll over to Andao and take a look!

[sp1key]

x- post from b&b

08 Xiaguan 7653 -

I could tell from the brewed leaves this was going to be a smokey one. First few brews were light as I did not pry the leaves apart. The first 6 or so brews were solid wood....liquid wood with smoke. Little sweetness with an occasional reprieve of dry orange peel. There was a roundness to it though, do to the lack of astringency. It had mellowed a bit by the eighth brew and seemed like it would have no problem going 16 or more. Clearly this is meant to be aged as you would expect from an old recipe. I think that it has the guts to improve down the road provided the smoke mellows.

I was pleasantly surprised by the '08 7653. At $13, I thought it was quite the bargain.

I saw them for below well $10!

[Dizzwave]

I might just have to stroll over to Andao and take a look!

Drax (or anyone!), if you'd like a sample of the 12G's shu, PM me.. as I'm pretty sure I bought up the last of Nada's sample..

[hop_goblin]

I went ahead and pulled out the cake of this I had gotten. First thing I noticed, was the rust/orange of the leaf color had turned much more brown

I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPENDS

[Dizzwave]

Hey Tom, nice to hear what someone else thinks of this one.

The steeped leaves have olive and brown in them, and still look leaf like.

Agreed -- I found that interesting too... a shou pu with actual complete leaves in it??

Taste is not outstanding - pleasant - but does not really excel in any particular way. For the price ($12.00 - I think) - nice to enjoy as a daily drinker.

I'm with you there too. I have to admit, part of the excitement for me is just owning a 12 Gentlemen cake... the wrappers are so pretty in an artsy minimalist way, and their stuff just seems to be (in general) a bit nicer.. or maybe it's the psychology of seeing all their higher prices (on their sheng pu -- only small samples of which have I tried).
-dave

[Dizzwave]

I went ahead and pulled out the cake of this I had gotten. First thing I noticed, was the rust/orange of the leaf color had turned much more brown

I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPENDS

Interesting, what does that usually mean for a young shu?

[shogun89]

Today is a lazy rainy day where I live, so when I got home after a day of school I decided to unwind with a session of a tea I had not tasted since last summer. I had only had this tea once before and since my brewing skills and sensitivity has developed greatly since, I was in for a treat. The tea is a 2003 CNNP 7581 250g. brick. I got it at puerhshop last august for around $9. Not only does the brick itself look quite nice, good leaves, and the compression is becoming looser, beginning to actually form layers in which the tea can be pried of from, from what I understand to be a good sign of age. The brick has a very strong smell to it, I had it wrapped in a cotton sheet and as soon as it came off, the room smelled great. I pried off about 6g. and used a 150 ml. yixing. The brew had a nice mellow sweet foresty aroma, very nice! Even the smell calmed me immediately. The tea is incredibly smooth, it passes thought the mouth and down the throat without any discomfort, very smooth and creamy. The tea immediately put me in a very relaxed state, I was able to close my eyes and was pretty much "out of it" for about 20 minutes. I am very happy with this tea and am glad to have almost the full brick left. This brick will be a special occasion only tea now. Tea like this lead me to believe that investing in quality young shous would be a very good idea. If I could get a tong of some menghai cake and age it for about 7 years and have it taste like this, I will be a happy guy. I will start to take shou's more seriously now.

[Salsero]

What a great experience, Shogun, thanks for sharing it with us.