Official Pu of the day

[gasninja]

2005 dayi 7542 woke me up at 8 this mourning its still going at almost 3:30. Definetly mellowed abit in 6 years.

[bagua7]

I fell like I discovered Pu-erh after everyone else is getting over it.

Not me for sure. My modest home will welcome any free cakes; they can send me all their stuff if they like, for sure.

Anyway, YS has included a free sample of an autumn harvest (I disagree with this anti-Daoist practice) which was quite astringent (2010) but loaded with Qi and a long lasting "gan" (several hours), a meaty and delightfully woody taste. I only had three brews, but I reckon this beast will last easily more than 15. A couple of pics:





Yunnan Sourcing 2010 "Autumn Mang Fei" raw puerh.

[whatsinaname]

I am in New Haven county, in the shadow of the Sleeping Giant. My fear is as you say, too dry in general.

What do you speculate would be the outcome of puerh stored in boxes here without further humidity/temp. intervention? I think you will say, "dry tasteless tea". Would you recommend a pumidor for a puerh stash in these parts?

Perhaps it was a mistake on my part to purchase tong quantities of Nada's 2010 offerings?

How would you proceed with regard to caring for puerh if you were in my situation?

I think the dry winters in your house is a problem, and the summers aren't really wet enough. Where in NE are you? It's a big difference from, say, coastal Connecticut to inland MA.

[whatsinaname]

Also, sorry for the drift folks. Love this thread!

More dingxing for me today. Will be breaking into the 90s Songpin from PuerhShop this week as well.

I may see a gaiwan of maocha today, too. Just feels right. BTW, how does the moacha from PuerhShop compare to other offerings? Any recommendations for "best" sources of maocha?

[fdrx]

YS has included a free sample of an autumn harvest

[gasninja]

Today im sipping on Nada's manmai a nice but not very strong flavor. Its kind of a let down from the smell of the dry leaves ( which are incredibly fruity and seem to promise much more). Not that the tea is disapointing at all just lite and crisp though still complex. The Qi is very nice, strong but comfortable. This is The first of the EOT teas that I've tried. I'm working my way up starting with what I think I will like the least and working my way to my imagined favorite. So if I'm right and this is the one I like the least. I should be ecstatic this is a nice pu.

[Drax]

2010 Grade A Green tuo from PuerhShop this evening. A simple, young sheng. I stocked up on these....

[Drax]

Trying out a sample of Jim's American Hao 1005, a shu.

It's a pretty nice, smooth shu. Drinkable now. I'm not really tasting any of the "multiple grades of whole leaf raw" that are also apparently in here....

[whatsinaname]

Love that Dingxing. Just the right amount of win.

[MarshalN]

Love that Dingxing. Just the right amount of win.

Traditionally stored tea FTW

[Drax]

Enjoying Yunnan Sourcing's 2009 hand-braided wild arbor pu'erh tonight. Pretty good. Very strong, clean taste, and clearly very young.

And of course, the cake itself looks quite beautiful...!

[bagua7]

YS 2009 Wu Liang Shan raw puerh.



Highly enjoyable strong caramel aftertaste (hui gan) that is also kept on the lips but only for the first 5-6 brews, after that the tea loses its power and becomes rather soft but still enjoyable. Mild qi is felt under the tongue but it takes a while to show up. Some astringency but not the typical of young shengs.

[whatsinaname]

Love that Dingxing. Just the right amount of win.

Traditionally stored tea FTW

An acquired taste well-worth acquiring!

[moto]

I arrived home today to find a package from JAS e-tea with three cakes:

2008 Hai Lang Hao "Lao Ban Zhang & Man'E Ancient Arbor" tea - 400 g
2009 Yunnan Sourcing "Ban Zhang Chun Qing" Pu-erh tea - 357g
2009 Douji Ban Zhang Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh tea - 357 grams

I ordered them only three days ago, and here they are!
I had decided that descriptions of Ban Zhang tea had compelling allure.

So the first to get opened is the Hai Lang Hao.

Look at the leaf/bud on the top of the pile after the first infusion

It's almost 4 inches long. In my short history of pu erh, this is a new experience. Working my way through various young sheng, I have been experiencing various factory blends, single mountain varieties, but this is a wow. I was ready to post after two infusions, so I will probably say more later, and try to compare to the other two cakes. I will do my naive best with the forum format in my own uneducated words:

Astringency - in the back of the mouth, giving way to smooth and mellow
Smoke - smelling the dry cake, I thought it would be strong. It is there, but subtle
Dryness-(mouth) - not so much
Mouthfeel - silky
Hui gan - still there, even after picture taking uploading posting etc
Flavor - complex in the way I hoped it would be
Overall value - that's what I'm talkin about!

I spent more money on these teas than I have on any other. I have been drinking pu erh every day for only 3 months maybe, but this is a big difference. Not disappointing.

[David Duckler]

My Pu'er of the day is real find. My disclaimer is that I am starting up pu'er importing, and this is one of the teas I am selling, but still- I have been drinking this one since long before my importing days, so here goes:

Famers Cooperative Banzhang Mountain Sheng

Year: 2003

Dry Leaf: Very dark, large curled leaf, unbroken with longer stems. Loose hand-pressed ball of tea.

Aroma: Smoke of a campfire deep in a wet forest of redwood and eucalyptus after fresh rain.

Tea Color: Small floating down gives this Chardonnay color a darker opacity that turns orange in sunlight.

Taste through early steepings: Immediately creamy with a tingling sweetness like the finest spring Gyokuro. Assertive notes of toasted walnut and hazelnut linger in the throat. As this continues steeping, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom spice with mucovado brown sugar play across the palate.

Taste in middle to late steepings: The intriguing muscovado sweetness carries through even as the intense tingling texture subsides. The spice of early steepings slowly moves towards baked apple. Very late in steeping, the texture of licorice root comes through across the tongue accompanied by notes of malt and barley.

Steeped Leaf: Enormous dark green leaves that are thick and strong with abundant buds and long stems.

PS: It is great to see so many other people excited about pu'er. Let's spread the word. Friends don't let friends dislike pu'er!