My Pu Smells Funny (aka aged puehr scents)

[spittingoutteeth]

I decided to try some aged teas after hearing many rave reviews. I picked up two aged puehrs this weekend, a 2004-A Sheng and a 1998 Xiaguan Shou.

The sheng smells and tastes like other non-aged pu-ehrs I've tried, but the Shou has a very strong musty scent. I know that some aged teas are supposed to have an "earthy" quality, but this one smells very strong, like a moldy basement.

Is this normal for an aged shou or is there something wrong with the tea?

[TomVerlain]

not really normal ... what does it look like ? Are the leaves easily definable ? Does it break apart ok ? Have you brewed any ? It may have been really wet stored. Which for shou is not really neccessary.

[spittingoutteeth]

Thanks for your reply. Here is a picture of the dry leaves:



The scent of the leaves reminds me of wet wood or moss. The infused leaves take on the same smell (perhaps a bit stronger), but the brewed tea itself has less of the scent. It has a very earthy, slightly smoky taste, almost like mushrooms, with nothing floral or fruity at all in the taste.

Here's a link to the tea itself:

http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/fiche/ ... guan+76563

[TIM]

Would you mind telling us how you brewed it? T

[spittingoutteeth]

It was 3.5g of leaf in a gaiwan with boiling water, infused for app. 4 minutes.

[chrl42]

Thanks for your reply. Here is a picture of the dry leaves:

I sense the humidity

[MarshalN]

Wait.... you brewed it for four minutes with that much leaves in a gaiwan? Sounds like a seriously strong cup.

[TIM]

Wait.... you brewed it for four minutes with that much leaves in a gaiwan? Sounds like a seriously strong cup.

5g of loose shu in a 100ml gaiwan +/- for 4 mins is serious business. How many rinse did you flush? and how many times did you brew with it?

[cha-fu]

Did you awaken the tea (醒茶 "Xing Cha"; aerate the tea) first? It was suggested to "Xing Cha" for a few weeks before brewing Pu. This process helps reduce storage odor and improves flavor.

I had some early to mid 80s Shu Pu samples with strong storage odor (moldy). The moldy smell/taste was gone after placing them in loosely closed paper bags for about 4 weeks. You can shake the paper bag very other day or so to speed up the process. Using a electric fan blowing on tea leaves will definitely take less time to reduce storage/moldy odor, but the tea will loose its flavor as well. So, don't overly aerate it.

Based on your photo, your Pu is loose leaves tea. It might take less time to "Xing Cha" than compressed tea. The duration of Xing Cha varies depending on relative humidity of your place and container used.

Check out this thread Aging Shu or do a search on "Xing Cha" for more info.

[spittingoutteeth]

Wait.... you brewed it for four minutes with that much leaves in a gaiwan? Sounds like a seriously strong cup.

5g of loose shu in a 100ml gaiwan +/- for 4 mins is serious business. How many rinse did you flush? and how many times did you brew with it?

No, it was 3.5g, not 5g. Is that still too much?

Thanks for the great feedback everyone; I really appreciate it. Definitely going to try the paper bag method to try to eliminate some of the odor. The humidity in my house is very low, so hopefully that will help.

Probably should have mentioned this before, but the tea was stored in ceramic containers at the store

[banzhang]

3.5g with 4 minutes still considered a long brewing.

[MarshalN]

Generally speaking the point of using a gaiwan is to infuse quickly and repeatedly, rather than using it once for a long infusion. May I ask what prompted you to infuse it for so long?

[spittingoutteeth]

Generally speaking the point of using a gaiwan is to infuse quickly and repeatedly, rather than using it once for a long infusion. May I ask what prompted you to infuse it for so long?

The tea shop I bought it from recommended a teaspoon of leaves and a 4+ minute infusion. I was under the impression that aged teas need less leaf and longer infusion times so I didn't question it, although I was surprised, considering I usually only infuse my non-aged puehrs for about 15 seconds.

[MarshalN]

I think their recommendation is entirely for non-gaiwan users -- you should infuse them more or less like your non-aged teas. Try it.

[oldmanteapot]

It may have been really wet stored.

+1

Here is a picture of the dry leaves:



The scent of the leaves reminds me of wet wood or moss. The infused leaves take on the same smell (perhaps a bit stronger), but the brewed tea itself has less of the scent.

That's fit the discription of a wet stored Pu, more likely was stored in Hong Kong. Most pre-2000 Pu stored in Hong Kong basement carries this signature character smell and taste.

Cheers!