For the past couple of days, I spent two evenings sampling tea and chilling out with Oldmanteapot and Mr Khor of Penang, Malaysia. We were joined the first evening by PgHo, and I do believe, a good time was had by all.
I'd arrived in Penang from Kuala Lumpur approximately 3 hours late, and Oldman wasted no time in whisking me to Mr Khor's fine establishment. First we indulged in that most supreme of street food delicacies, the inimitable Char Kwey Tiau to line our stomachs and to provide fuel for the marathon ahead.
The tea list for night one:
- 1980s Xiaguan Tuocha
- 1970s shu... Oldman, help me out here, as you know I'm notoriously bad with remembering these things...
- 1970s Yellow-Mark
I learned a lot from both Oldman and Mr Khor, and it truly was a fellowship of tea nuts.
I'll be posting a bit more once I get the photos sorted out, but for the time being, I'll leave it to Oldman to fill in some blanks.
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Sounds like a really nice time - hope rainey season is not too bad, but it is always a great excuse to sit and drink tea and talk 
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Nice selection. Looking forward to hear more about your gathering.
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Ah, to live in that area of the world and have such easy access to such selections. Please do tell more!
I'm also curious what constitutes street food delicacies for Penang...?
I'm also curious what constitutes street food delicacies for Penang...?
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Jedi wrote:I do believe, a good time was had by all.
It's a shu from the late 70s CNNP Shu Brick. Pressed with specially selected grade of leaves. Nicely aged and well 'awaken' after being aired for over 2 months! The aroma has changed to an aged aroma, leaving behind no hint of any of it's original 'fragrance'. This is the so called, "Aged (霜) Aroma" that's so sort after by Pu drinkers all over.Jedi wrote:1970s shu... Oldman, help me out here, as you know I'm notoriously bad with remembering these things...
It's the vintage 70s CNNP Xiao Hwang Ying (Small Yellow Mark). An amazing tea to say the least. Having it's stand among it's older comrades like the Red Mark, Blue Mark and the Yellow Mark. This tea just keeps on going and going not giving up on us, but rather it was our bodies that gave up just before the strike of midnight!.... ahahaha... Thank goodness none of us turned into a pumpkin!Jedi wrote:- 1970s Yellow-Mark
We just had to bring ourselves out for a late night supper Let's just say we had a wonderful evening exchanging knowledge and cementing a friendship over a cup of teaJedi wrote:I learned a lot from both Oldman and Mr Khor, and it truly was a fellowship of tea nuts.
Cheers!
Last edited by oldmanteapot on Dec 1st, '09, 02:00, edited 1 time in total.
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Hi Drax,Drax wrote:I'm also curious what constitutes street food delicacies for Penang...?
Here's a little more of what we consider Hawker Food or Street Food here in Penang.
http://rasamalaysia.com/penang-hawker-f ... image-3619
Enjoy!
Cheers!
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
The photos are almost done.
Oldman,
Could you edit my tea list from Night 2?
All were 'newer' teas so to speak?
Menghai Da Yi wild tree beeng (age?)
Xiaguan Tuocha '04/'06
....and the killer tea... the '09 Wild Thousand Year Old Tree Super Flavour Supremo...
will be back later with my notes on these...
Oldman,
Could you edit my tea list from Night 2?
All were 'newer' teas so to speak?
Menghai Da Yi wild tree beeng (age?)
Xiaguan Tuocha '04/'06
....and the killer tea... the '09 Wild Thousand Year Old Tree Super Flavour Supremo...
will be back later with my notes on these...
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Hello OMTP and Jedi,
That was a really great tea session we had at Khor's place. Excellent teas, great company and we had a tea master doing all the brewing.
Well, let me give my views of the teas that night. Jedi brought with him his lucky acquisitions; one each 80's and 70's Xiaguan Tuo Cha in those green boxes. The 80's one was brewed as it was felt that the 70's need a little more airing and awakening. Joined the session at the 5th brew, as expected the tightly compressed tuo still hold quite a punch. One wouldn't mistaken this pu-erh as a shu, astringency and bitter taste still linger in the mouth moving to a sweeter taste at throat. Verdict, the tuo can be aged further but looking at the tuo, there wasn't much left.
Next was the 70's CNNP shu brick from OMTP, the brick had a nice neifei still intact. With the first cup, one can feel a sense of calmness that flow through the body. No off smell, no wo dui, just a nice fragrant in a smooth soup that fill the mouth. Can feel the throat acknowledging the fragrant too. For a aged shu it still cause the tongue to tingle. Per Mr Khor that was because the leaves were high quality (he said good base).
The Small Yellow Mark from the 70's has been classified in the same category as the 50's and 60's masterpieces, at least in one the book I read. The tea looks very clean, no frosting and no storage smell - very well kept indeed. We were very lucky indeed to have this opportunity to enjoy this tea, thank you OMTP. This tea is still very active at the tongue and throat; tingling and cool mint sensation and the strong flavors - a nice bitterness that turns sweet without any astringency. It was like all the good stuffs from the sheng were maintained or enhanced but the bad stuffs gone, maybe just a hint at the very back of the throat.
During the session in between brewing, Mr Khor was explaining some finer points on brewing and pu-erh in general. Even for the Yellow Mark, he did 2 quick rinses (no, we did not drink the rinses 'cos there are great tasting brews to come) and he left the cover of the gaiwan open for a few seconds in between the rinses. This help to rid any remaining storage smell from the leaves and the rinses wash away tea dust or dirt accumulated from the long storage. What a great tea this is. If only all my tea is like this one, alright alright ... even one cake, I will be a very happy man.
So, if you want to have similar experiences look up OMTP, not me, I have only young sheng.
That was a really great tea session we had at Khor's place. Excellent teas, great company and we had a tea master doing all the brewing.
Well, let me give my views of the teas that night. Jedi brought with him his lucky acquisitions; one each 80's and 70's Xiaguan Tuo Cha in those green boxes. The 80's one was brewed as it was felt that the 70's need a little more airing and awakening. Joined the session at the 5th brew, as expected the tightly compressed tuo still hold quite a punch. One wouldn't mistaken this pu-erh as a shu, astringency and bitter taste still linger in the mouth moving to a sweeter taste at throat. Verdict, the tuo can be aged further but looking at the tuo, there wasn't much left.
Next was the 70's CNNP shu brick from OMTP, the brick had a nice neifei still intact. With the first cup, one can feel a sense of calmness that flow through the body. No off smell, no wo dui, just a nice fragrant in a smooth soup that fill the mouth. Can feel the throat acknowledging the fragrant too. For a aged shu it still cause the tongue to tingle. Per Mr Khor that was because the leaves were high quality (he said good base).
The Small Yellow Mark from the 70's has been classified in the same category as the 50's and 60's masterpieces, at least in one the book I read. The tea looks very clean, no frosting and no storage smell - very well kept indeed. We were very lucky indeed to have this opportunity to enjoy this tea, thank you OMTP. This tea is still very active at the tongue and throat; tingling and cool mint sensation and the strong flavors - a nice bitterness that turns sweet without any astringency. It was like all the good stuffs from the sheng were maintained or enhanced but the bad stuffs gone, maybe just a hint at the very back of the throat.
During the session in between brewing, Mr Khor was explaining some finer points on brewing and pu-erh in general. Even for the Yellow Mark, he did 2 quick rinses (no, we did not drink the rinses 'cos there are great tasting brews to come) and he left the cover of the gaiwan open for a few seconds in between the rinses. This help to rid any remaining storage smell from the leaves and the rinses wash away tea dust or dirt accumulated from the long storage. What a great tea this is. If only all my tea is like this one, alright alright ... even one cake, I will be a very happy man.
So, if you want to have similar experiences look up OMTP, not me, I have only young sheng.
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
I believe the next session is soon approaching.pgho wrote:So, if you want to have similar experiences look up OMTP, not me, I have only young sheng.
Your '99 Li Da Shu is equally as amazing. Given a few more good years, it will definitely be a 'killer' in it's own rights
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Yes. They were all post 2000 production.Jedi wrote:All were 'newer' teas so to speak?
The first one was the sequel to Dayi's 2001 Li Da Shu (Big Green Tree) Special Selection genre. Pressed from Yiwu Zhen San leaves. It's known as the Red Dayi (Special Selection) 2002 Pressing. Definitely a tea to be recon with! Strength, huigan, aroma, all there, powerful and full-bodied.
Followed by a 2006 Dayi Sheng Tuo. Nothing spectacular about this tuo, just an ordinary 2006 Sheng Tuo.
Then, we closed the session with the 2009 DeYewTang Mek Mei pressed with leaves from a combination of 3 thousand yearold wild abor, harvested (pre-spring) from 3 different mountains. Source was not disclosed. But, nevertheless, this tea is a killer! This tea, I must admit, is the very first ever 2009 Pu that I consider drinkable and ageable. How did I come to this conclusion?... We've been observing the 2008 pressing for a year to monitor it's aging and taste. Nothing scientific done here, just a simple store, break, brew and taste process over a year. The 2008 pressing was harvested post-spring. And it was showing very good signs of being a forefront runner in becoming a champion in it's breed! The potential of the 2009 pre-spring harvest looks bright!
Of course, I would prefer if this Pu can go into storage for a few more years. Very few high mountain ancient abor pressings come close to this one. This I mean in all aspects of aroma, huigan, chaqi, yun and viscosity. The smoothness is simply unbelievable for a 2009 tea!
Cheers!!
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
And I believe I went home with a tong of the 2009 DeYewTang Mek Mei.
Time to forget about it for a while.
The brewing lessons were well observed in my opinion.
I've found myself paying more attention to the leaves, water temperature and rinsing times. Steeping times of course, get more attention.
Thus far, I believe it's better to strive for several CONSISTENT brews, each showing a stage in development of the brewing potential of the tea, rather than going to multiple double-digit flushes of broth each with varying intensities and characters.
Time to forget about it for a while.
The brewing lessons were well observed in my opinion.
I've found myself paying more attention to the leaves, water temperature and rinsing times. Steeping times of course, get more attention.
Thus far, I believe it's better to strive for several CONSISTENT brews, each showing a stage in development of the brewing potential of the tea, rather than going to multiple double-digit flushes of broth each with varying intensities and characters.
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Sorry, I am late to this discussion. What is that floating in the bowl, here. Is it a tea brick?
Re: We've Been Drinking Together Again
Hi Janine...
The little object inside the dish is a mat, made of an exotic fabric extracted from descended meteors, woven with tea-tree fibers culled from thousand year old high mountain arbor trees to dispell negative chi and magnetic forces from interfering with the smooth brewing of the tea in the gaiwan.
The little object inside the dish is a mat, made of an exotic fabric extracted from descended meteors, woven with tea-tree fibers culled from thousand year old high mountain arbor trees to dispell negative chi and magnetic forces from interfering with the smooth brewing of the tea in the gaiwan.