Official Pu of the day

[mr mopu]

2002 Hai Lan Hao "Ai Lao Shan" mini cake from Yunnan Sourcing.
I got 10 grams of this in the Gaiwan and went to town with it.
The wet leaf gave an almost cinnamon aroma to it. Quite an alluring aroma for a puerh.
I started the steeps at about 3 seconds ,3 times for my big “western” cup.
This tea has a light orange color to it. Since it was stored in Kunming it hasn’t aged as much as a wetter stored one. This is very interesting, smoke is definitely present in this brew. It is a bit strong in the early steeps. I read some reviews on Yunnan Sourcings site and only 1 other person noted this. This tea has nice notes of cinnamon , nutmeg and camphor in its notes. It is a very engaging and active tea in the mouth. It lingers on a while after you finish the cup. The resteeps seem to be going well and the flavor profile has not diminished much at all. I will continue on with this tonight. This is campfire, nutmeg ,cinnamon and camphor fighting for their taste note.
Note to smoky notes, if you don’t like them I would not tell you to try this. If you don’t mind this may be an older sheng to relish as it progresses.

Flavors: Camphor, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Smoke

[mam2431]

I've been enjoying this one all day -- 1999 CNNP “Old Tree” Ripe Brick from Yunnan Sourcing.
Very clean fermentation and excellent aged taste; flavors of wood, honey and spices. Very easy to drink. A new favorite for me and a great break from all the sheng I've been enjoying lately.

[PuerhCollector]

2007 Red Label Hong Yin (Wisteria Tea House)

Personally 2006 and 2007 are not my favorite years for puerh tea as a result of overharvest and the general emphasis by producers towards quantity over quality. This was a period of time that greatly exacerbated the bubble within the puerh tea market that would subsequently burst in around mid-2007.

In my opinion the Wisteria Tea House have done well to be able to produce a solid and pleasant tea like this reproduction of the famous 1950s Red Label amidst the chaos and bad business practice that was rampant during that period of time. The brew is well balanced and there is a harmonious union of characteristics when one drinks this tea. The primary notes are of wood, vegetable, a plummy sourness (that reminds me of mid age Yiwu) within a dark and mildly sweet background of age characters.

Best, VP

[bankung]

Teadezhang Xigui 13

A very solid tea with interesting unique aroma. Its like a big brother of Bangdong cake.

Very balance. Actually, its Thai name for the cake could be translate as "tri symmetries" which I guess reflect the 3 qualities - bitterness, sweetness, and aroma that complement so well to each other.

[Puerlife]

I posted quite a while back about drinking my mixed fannings, the bits produced when breaking up bings that are too small to add to a normal session. Back then I had a steady rotation of about eight very good teas and when drinking those mixed fannings could pick out aspects of the various teas, rather enjoyable. But since then I've added lots of inferior teas to the gaiwan (I store them in a gaiwan) and the result was pretty bad. I the future I will separate good fannings from bad or maybe even just throw away the bad. Some of those inferior teas have been sitting in caddies for some time and have improved, fortunately.

The session began with four very untasty infusions of harsh vegetal underage sheng without a defining taste, but with the camphor of the better teas. Then I had one surprisingly good infusion that was suddenly smooth and woody, another less good, and then a few insipid ones before I stopped and drank some Thai oolong.

[debunix]

At least with mixed fannings, you don't have to feel too guilty if you end up with an 'eh' result and need to toss them out to start over.

[bellmont]

Been brewing up Yunnan Sourcing's 2014 Cha Tou Sheng Yun all day grandpa style. I have to say this tea works (maybe even better) grandpa style especially in comparison to my experience brewing it gong fu.

A dark liquor with a sour, woody ripe taste right away. (--the sourness hung around longer when I steeped this gong fu style.) As the day wore on the flavor morphed into a thicker woody and rye bread taste (with a tinge of rye bread sweetness). Almost no lingering mouth feel at any point, did feel a little chi in my body earlier though.

The value of this brick is good and the tea might work okay as a daily drinker, but I don't think I will purchase it again because I know of similarly priced ripe with more varied and interesting flavor profiles.

[Puerlife]

At least with mixed fannings, you don't have to feel too guilty if you end up with an 'eh' result and need to toss them out to start over.

True, I think of it as free tea, but I was also raised to eat everything on my plate so I hate to waste anything. I think I'll try adding some shu to it.

[bankung]

My last 10g of the last thought sample in a 200cc yixing pot.

This is a very high quality gushu blend yiwu tea. The tea broth is thick and considerably smooth for its young age. Brewing quite strong, the astringency is low but its there to give a bit of dryness that makes one's mouth feel activated like a nice sencha. The sweetness covers the entire mouth. Huigan is impressive, viscous and falling deep down the throat, comparable to those of pure Guafengzhai. I think this is a blend that perfectly put together the best aspects of a more masculine yiwu like Guafengzhai and those that are more feminine like Dingjiazhai. Well done. Won't comment on the price/quality as its already sold out!

[PuerhCollector]

My last 10g of the last thought sample in a 200cc yixing pot.

This is a very high quality gushu blend yiwu tea. The tea broth is thick and considerably smooth for its young age. Brewing quite strong, the astringency is low but its there to give a bit of dryness that makes one's mouth feel activated like a nice sencha. The sweetness covers the entire mouth. Huigan is impressive, viscous and falling deep down the throat, comparable to those of pure Guafengzhai. I think this is a blend that perfectly put together the best aspects of a more masculine yiwu like Guafengzhai and those that are more feminine like Dingjiazhai. Well done. Won't comment on the price/quality as its already sold out!

Hello Bankung,

That is good to hear. Finding good yiwu tea consisting of big tree material has become an increasingly more difficult challenge with each passing year. Good to see a few popping up every now and again.

Best, VP

[PuerhCollector]

1000 Year Old Tree from TDZ

I’ve wanted to try this tea for a while now. I finally had the chance today. A big thank you to Bankung for sending me this sample. This sample has become a well traveled sample I might add, having clocked quite a few travel miles starting from China >> Thailand >> UK >> and a return to Thailand and in my cup

This tea is the wild purple leaf variety and as such has similar characteristics to the Dehong Brick made from wild trees by Yunnan Sourcing. That said everything about this tea is simply more, more depth of feeling, more fragrance especially the lingering kind at the back of the throat, more body. The brew presents a familiar profile of a fresh fruity, slightly nutty character. It is a very pleasant drink that comes with a mild sweetness and a strong cooling sensation in the throat.

Trying to assess young teas is always challenging and trying to compare the differences between this tea and the Dehong Brick in terms of the margins in quality can be tricky and not as obvious as the pricing would indicate. FYI the TDZ 1000 y/o tea is more that 10X the Dehong Brick. Perhaps it is unfair to attempt to judge and compare these 2 teas now. It is my impression that the bigger differences in quality will show up and reveal themselves more and more relative to time. After all puerh tea generally speaking is meant to be enjoyed as an aged tea when its characters have transformed and have become fully matured. After perhaps 20 or 30 more years the experience of drinking these 2 teas may be night and day.

All this is subjective of course on the individual. Treat my wandering thoughts simply as a different perspective and perhaps a consideration for those on the same plane of thought

Best, VP

[kyarazen]

1000 Year Old Tree from TDZ

did you experience that lovely strong rich umami taste in the first 2 brews? that was yumz!...

[j.p.rich]

My last 10g of the last thought sample in a 200cc yixing pot.

This is a very high quality gushu blend yiwu tea. The tea broth is thick and considerably smooth for its young age. Brewing quite strong, the astringency is low but its there to give a bit of dryness that makes one's mouth feel activated like a nice sencha. The sweetness covers the entire mouth. Huigan is impressive, viscous and falling deep down the throat, comparable to those of pure Guafengzhai. I think this is a blend that perfectly put together the best aspects of a more masculine yiwu like Guafengzhai and those that are more feminine like Dingjiazhai. Well done. Won't comment on the price/quality as its already sold out!

Excellent review, I share every sentiment and could not have expressed them any better. The best young sheng I have tried by some margin.

[PuerhCollector]

1000 Year Old Tree from TDZ

did you experience that lovely strong rich umami taste in the first 2 brews? that was yumz!...

Hello Kyarazen,

For me it was more like a combination of nutty and slightly buttery taste. Very nice as you rightly mentioned.

Best, VP

[debunix]

Enjoying an old friend--not really that old in puerh-terms, but one that I have not prepared for many months--2006 Haiwan 'purple bud' sheng from Norbu. It still has a bit of smokiness but this aspect is lessening, while the earthy sweetness is continuing strong and wonderful. I'll still be working on this one tomorrow. I wish I'd bought another cake or three of this one!