Official Pu of the day

[shogun89]

hahah! i like the tuocha "pick"

[nonc_ron]

This was my last free sample of "organic mini pu-erh cake". 6g
Once I'd had my first cup I went online and reordered (not the right word but you know) My money this time.
They're so dam convenient, no dragging out the scales. Just plop one into the pot. Nice on those days when you can't make up your mind.
So much Tea so little time.

[Chip]

They would be nice for Pu-erh on the road.

[nonc_ron]

I received an order of Pu-erh tea today from RJ-Tea-House.
http://stores.ebay.com/RJ-Tea-House
Also some free samples of "organic mini pu-erh cake". 6g in each box,
Just the right size to plop into the teapot for 5-7 cups of tea.
(Objects in your monitor may appear larger than actual size)


I didn't detect any shavings of Angles wings or notes of artichoke.
I didn't detect any smokiness or bitterness ether. It was earthy with a sweet aftertaste (hui gan) that leaves you smacking your lips until you can get that second cup.
I give them two thumbs up.

[debunix]

Surprised that his topic is so quiet!

A tasting of four sheng puerhs, 2005-2008 vintages

2005 Menghai "Early Spring" Raw Pu-erh tea tuo (Yunnan Sourcing)
2006 A-Gu Zhai Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea * Bu Lang Shan (Yunnan Sourcing)
2007 Rui Cao Xiang "Wu Liang Wild Arbor" Raw Pu-erh tea (Yunnan Sourcing)
2008 Yi Wu Mountain Bamboo Raw Pu-erh tea (Norbu)

This was particularly fun because these were all such lovely teas. I liked the first and last best, but all were sweet and spicy and complex and not bitter.

Used 1.2-1.3 grams of tea in small 40 mL gaiwans
boiling water flash rinse
Infusions 185°F/85°C-195°F/90°C
10”, 15”, 20”, 25”, 30”, 35”, 40

2005 Menghai "Early Spring" Raw Pu-erh tea tuo (Yunnan Sourcing)

Dry Leaves: sweet, earthy aroma; 250g tuo

Liquor, 1st infusion: sweet, spicy, smoky, love it
Liquor, 2nd infusion: same
Liquor, 3rd infusion: spicy, earthy, sweet, smoky
Liquor, 4th infusion: Sweet, spicy, earthy, smoky
Liquor, 5th infusion: sweet, earthy, smoky
Liquor, 6th infusion: sweet, spicy, smoky, yum
Liquor, 7th infusion: smoky, earthy, trace of sweet

Wet Leaves: sweet, spicy, floral scent; broken leaves of variable sizes, red tint


2006 A-Gu Zhai Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea * Bu Lang Shan (Yunnan Sourcing)

Dry Leaves: sweet, hay/straw, earthy

Liquor, 1st infusion: sweet, camphor, spice
Liquor, 2nd infusion: sweet, spice, less smoky
Liquor, 3rd infusion: sweet, earthy, smoky
Liquor, 4th infusion: sweet, earthy, little spice again
Liquor, 5th infusion: sweet, smoky, spicy
Liquor, 6th infusion: sweet, spicy, bit astringent
Liquor, 7th infusion: warm, earthy

Wet Leaves: sweet, spicy, floral scent; broken leaves, variable size, redder veins, reddish tint to some leaves


2007 Rui Cao Xiang "Wu Liang Wild Arbor" Raw Pu-erh tea (Yunnan Sourcing)

Dry Leaves: sweet tea aroma; sample portions broken from a beeng

Liquor, 1st infusion: sweet, vegetal, rounded and deep
Liquor, 2nd infusion: same
Liquor, 3rd infusion: earthy, vegetal, smoky
Liquor, 4th infusion: same
Liquor, 5th infusion: sweet, earthy, vegetal
Liquor, 6th infusion: vegetal, astringent, but still sweet
Liquor, 7th infusion: vegetal, warm, astringent

Wet Leaves: sweet, spicy, floral scent; more intact leaves, variable sizes, some reddish tints

2008 Yi Wu Mountain Bamboo Raw Pu-erh tea (Norbu)

Dry Leaves: fruity, earthy, black tea scent

Liquor, 1st infusion: floral, fruity, sweet, warm
Liquor, 2nd infusion: peachy, floral, sweet, caramel
Liquor, 3rd infusion: peachy, caramel, sweet
Liquor, 4th infusion: peachy, floral, sweet
Liquor, 5th infusion: same (mmmmm)
Liquor, 6th infusion: sweet, still peachy, floral
Liquor, 7th infusion: peachy, warm, caramel

Wet Leaves: sweet, spicy, floral scent; broken leaves of variable size, twisted leaves that don’t want to be opened, red tint to leaves

Photos:
Upper left 2005 Menghai "Early Spring" Raw Pu-erh tea tuo (Yunnan Sourcing)
Upper right 2006 A-Gu Zhai Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea * Bu Lang Shan (Yunnan Sourcing)
Lower left 2007 Rui Cao Xiang "Wu Liang Wild Arbor" Raw Pu-erh tea (Yunnan Sourcing)
Lower right 2008 Yi Wu Mountain Bamboo Raw Pu-erh tea (Norbu)

[Salsero]

In some ways it is liberating to have an inaccessible past.

Le voyageur sans bagage ... it's really quite a provocative existential pose, even without the samovar cum rifle. Now I am jealous.

[Intuit]

http://www.surplusrifle.com/russianmosi ... /index.asp

Gunpowder tea...yes indeedy.

[TomVerlain]

when i became a non-person, my oeuvre was disappeared. Chip did email Ilya, but I fear he has been busy in the cherry orchard.

In some ways it is liberating to have an inaccessible past.

Shogun - I assume mosin nagant is a samovar for brewing gunpowder tea ?

[shogun89]

oooh, a Mosin Nagant M91/30.

[Salsero]

for better or for worse, my original review of this tea was stalinized ...

I can't find your legendary post on the Concubine. Were all of your old posts sacrificed in the forging of the new TeaChat Five Year Plan?



What a terrible loss. Have you contacted Ilya about it?

[TomVerlain]

for better or for worse, my original review of this tea was stalinized ...

Looks like a year+ has not completely brought it out of the dark side, but it might be improving. I still have some, so I'll see if I can bring it out for a revisit. Perhaps an annual visit to the concubine is in order. Check this spot in 2014 for it's 7th year anniversary.

[aKnightWhoSaysNi]

Pu of the day: the mostly ill reviewed 2007 imperial concubine.
-I bought this tea because it was inexpensive and had a whimsical name; I guess whatever marketing technique they were using worked on me.


A small sample of the spent leaves. Nothing particularly special about them. They are medium to small in size and obviously not from an older plant.

4.5 grams for a 120 ml gaiwan. I rinsed it for 7 seconds with boiling water, then I took the top off of my kettle and let the water cool for approximately one minuet- each infusion, with the exception of the 4th and 5th brews.

1st brew: 30s- a hint of lemon. Citrus was the predominant tasting note. Astringency was there, but not unbearable or unpleasant.

2nd brew: 15s- might have actually been too long. I might go for 10s next time; quite astringent, bitter, and slightly floral. The tea was tolerable; but not particularly great.

3rd brew: 45s- Best brew by far. It tasted like a sweet and exotic spice, with a tinge of citrus now falling into the background. The tea also had a pretty decent hui gan. The astringency had weakened quite a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed this infusion.

4th brew: 1 min- similar to the 3rd brew, almost a clone- only weaker. Exotic spice was still the predominant note, although the taste was simply not as strong.

5th brew: 1.5 min- Weak vegetable water. Not a bad or offensive brew, but I decided to end the session on this note.

If every brew were exactly like the 3rd infusion- I would stock up on this cake. However, I think one is enough for now. Once you get past the 2nd infusion; it's a pretty decent tea. There was absolutely no smoke, which I like, and limited hui gan. All and all, this tea was pretty good for a young sheng.

[apache]

A very short review
My first Xiaguan: 2008 Xiaguan XY "8853" Recipe Raw Pu-erh
Drink this today at work: 7g of leaves, 170ml Yixing Zini.
After 2nd infusion, the tea open up. It was smashing!
Very different style from Menghai Tea Factory Dayi.
I cannot get enough of this stuff and now I know why T S is that keen on Xiaguan.

[wyardley]

Some people like to accuse some pu'er vendors of "doctoring" the tea by intentionally oxidizing it to make it more drinkable now. So you'd get some sweetness and oolong-like flavors, and a darker color tea broth.

In some cases, the oxidation is unintentional - traditional style processing or rougher handling, or badly done kill-green.

Either way, I think many people consider it a flaw for a newly made sheng pu'er to show a whole lot of oxidation. I don't know enough to have a personal opinion about it.

[Intuit]

The redness being a function of chlorophyll breakdown (from mechanical leaf damage oxidation during rolling??), similar to deciduous tree color change in autumn as sap is withdrawn and leaves harden off from moisture loss.