Thoughts from a new Hong Kong bo lei drinker

[jayinhk]

Right, I prefer to buy cakes that have been aged at moderate humidity vs cryostorage. HK does have some HK dry storage tea that is pretty tasty, as does Taiwan.

I realize the official CNNP store on Taobao sent me an extra cake to offset shipping. Pretty cool of them. They were very nice to talk to and helpful too!

[mr mopu]

I pulled the 2009 Spring Of Menghai out today. It is a bit golden in color and still a bit thin but there is no off taste to it. Actually I have cakes from 2011 that have aged more than this one. My storage may have accelerated it a bit. I got it from King Tea about 6 months ago.

[jayinhk]

It does sound like your storage is working then! I have a 2005 7542 that has aged quite well since I got it in 2012. The new Dayi Spring cake I got in the same time has lost its smokiness, but is still bitter and less than pleasant drinking. I think it'll need until 2022 to be drinkable!

[mr mopu]

It does sound like your storage is working then! I have a 2005 7542 that has aged quite well since I got it in 2012. The new Dayi Spring cake I got in the same time has lost its smokiness, but is still bitter and less than pleasant drinking. I think it'll need until 2022 to be drinkable!

Have you tried Yunnan Sourcings 2011 Chen Yuan Cha? It has some very clean aged maocha in it. Tastes much older than it is.

[jayinhk]

Trying out the 7542 now. It spent a good portion of the last four years broken up and aging in a Ziplock until I transferred it into paper. It's much more pleasant drinking now and tastes like black tea and honey with some longan. No smoke at all and pleasantly bitter. I'm glad I bought some new 7542s. I hope they are this drinkable in ten years! I'm using my new Jianshui pot for this and it definitely does interesting things to this tea.

[jayinhk]

The Chen Yuan Yun Cha is a nice suggestion again. Thanks mr mopu! I do like a little more humid storage (but not HK traditional storage all the time, which turns everything into super shu)! HK traditional storage can be good sometimes, but it leaves very little aroma behind. It does make for a very smooth drink, though, and I think that kind of storage may actually have health benefits because of the microflora.

[Rui]

One of the teas I have a sample on the way is indeed 2011 Chen Yuan Cha from YS. Looking forward to receive them.

Last night I had a bit of a sniff of the two cakes from King Tea and they do smell a bit of humidity for your information Jay. The proof of the pudding will off course be in a couple of weeks when I'll sample the teas.

[jayinhk]

Hi Rui,

That's interesting--are they based in Guangdong?

[Rui]

Hi Rui,

That's interesting--are they based in Guangdong?

King Tea is based in Shanghai but he is just a re-seller.

[mr mopu]

One of the teas I have a sample on the way is indeed 2011 Chen Yuan Cha from YS. Looking forward to receive them.

Last night I had a bit of a sniff of the two cakes from King Tea and they do smell a bit of humidity for your information Jay. The proof of the pudding will off course be in a couple of weeks when I'll sample the teas.

Did you get the 7542 on there? I have only gotten the newer stuff so far. I think the oldest cake I got was from 2009.
Let me know how humid the one you got is. It will be an interesting note.

[Rui]

One of the teas I have a sample on the way is indeed 2011 Chen Yuan Cha from YS. Looking forward to receive them.

Last night I had a bit of a sniff of the two cakes from King Tea and they do smell a bit of humidity for your information Jay. The proof of the pudding will off course be in a couple of weeks when I'll sample the teas.

Did you get the 7542 on there? I have only gotten the newer stuff so far. I think the oldest cake I got was from 2009.
Let me know how humid the one you got is. It will be an interesting note.

HI Mr Mopu, sure no problem. Just give it a couple of weeks for the tea to rest and I'll post a short review.

[jayinhk]

My sweet spot is HK/Taiwan/Guangdong dry storage--well aged with no humid taste, but enough humidity that things actually happen! IMO that makes for the perfect pu erh! Traditional storage has its place too though.

[jayinhk]

Trying some of the 2005 CNNP 7581 I got from TuoChaTea.com last week. This tea was Kunming-stored and tastes very clean, but doesn't have the aroma or complexity of the Taiwan-stored 7581, which is sweet and aromatic. This 7581 tastes clean, and has a much clearer date taste (just less intense). I like this dry-stored 7581 a lot, actually, but not as much as the TW stuff. Still, I feel it is a good deal and will benefit from a few years of HK storage to loosen things up a little as it is crumbly and dry at present. Maybe some humidity will liven things up some.

The HK traditional storage 7581 is black and tastes like nothing but storage, with no aroma left at all. It's spent a long time in a HK warehouse. Smooth drinking for sure, but no character at all that reminds you of the original. It even has a light layer of white mold on one side of the brick!

Pretty interesting comparing the three--cryostorage, humid dry storage and VERY wet traditional storage. All three are interesting in their own way.

[Rui]

This morning I am sipping some Jingmai 2013 but it has gone a bit well blah. It has lost some of its aroma and taste.

I guess it has gone into its sleeping period for the next few years.

[jayinhk]

Hopefully that's all it is and the aroma and flavor loss aren't permanent! I'm beginning to worry that my cakes/bricks that have spent 4-5 years+ in Kunming may never be what they could have been had they been stored in HK all along. Time will tell! Also a concern is that living 55 floors up, my tea will mature somewhat slower (it's colder at this height). I plan on moving my pu erh later this year anyway, when I move my home office to Lantau Island.