What if you tend to PREFER young sheng??

[expatCanuck]

This reply in the Puerh for beginners thread got me thinking (rare, but it happens).

One other thing to keep in mind is whether you want the cake to drink now or not. I would buy a 2008 7542 (in fact, I have some), but I wouldn't be tempted to drink a whole lot of it now.

If you're looking for a tea to drink now, shu (loose or in cakes), loose aged sheng in smaller quantities, samples of aged sheng, wet or fairly humid stored cakes or tuos with at least 5-10 years on them, etc. might be better places to start. Depending on how new you are, I would say it's a good idea to first get an idea of the spectrum of puer tea and figure out which teas taste good to you and make your body feel good. A whole cake is almost a pound of tea, so it's a lot of tea if it ends up being something you don't like. There are some good threads already on here about good stuff for beginners to try to get an idea of the characteristics that are roughly typical of various types of tea.

While there are, of course, many people who disagree, I think a lot of people would argue that it's not a great idea to drink a ton of young (<10 yr) sheng.

Caveat - I've a heathen, uncultured, Western palate.
(Hey - I'm a heathen, uncultured Westerner.)
That stated ...

As a rule, I've not been terribly fond of the older sheng I've drank (drunk? drunken?). But I've rather enjoyed some 3-7 year old stuff.

What's your experience? And what's so awful about drinking younger sheng?

- Richard

[hop_goblin]

Don't sweat it! There is no rule to drinking pu-erh. If you like it at that age, which it not unheard of, than drink it. If memory serves me correctly, I think I read an article where a teamaster suggested that he likes it around 5 years of age.

[shogun89]

If you like it young ( I do) be happy as you can save yourself a hell of alot of money!

[Salsero]

I like it young too, but it's entirely possible that I have never had really good aged stuff ... there isn't much out there.

[Sydney]

I've had (a little) fantastic very old stuff. But I've had numerous sessions of sheng anywhere from a few to several years old and liked it just fine for a low fraction of the cost.

As has already been said by others, drink what you like how you like it.

[thanks]

Regardless of whether Chinese or Western medicine states it, I find it hard to believe that drinking a lot of young sheng daily can be healthy. Trust me, it'll catch up with you long enough. I think it only took me a year before my stomach now protests if I drink too much young sheng in a week's time. The stuff is brutal on your digestive system. I also just plain don't like drinking younger sheng in general. I'm one of the unfortunate souls that has to get his kicks from expensive stuff or decent shu. For me personally, until all my stuff has at least 12 years on it, I'll be drinking yancha, already aged sheng, and dancong.

Again, it's all personal preference. There's a strange mixture of elitism and humbleness that comes with this part of the tea world, and sometimes it seems as though you'd be beheaded for admitting you brew all different types of tea in the same yixing, or drink tea only out of pint mason jars. Just remember, it's your taste buds, it's your wallet, and it's your life. Why not make it your tea?

[Sydney]

When you say "a lot of young sheng daily" what do you mean?

Seems that "a lot... daily" when it comes to tea is problematic for a good number of people. I'd love to drink more tea than I do, but I find that beyond a certain threshold I'm asking for trouble.

[thanks]

When you say "a lot of young sheng daily" what do you mean?

Seems that "a lot... daily" when it comes to tea is problematic for a good number of people. I'd love to drink more tea than I do, but I find that beyond a certain threshold I'm asking for trouble.

Finishing out a whole session is a lot of tea on it's own.

[Sydney]

Finishing out a whole session is a lot of tea on it's own.

How long are your sessions? 2 infusions? 10?

I've seen a few people mention difficulties resulting from drinking lots of young sheng daily, and I've grown curious how much "lots" is.

[thanks]

Finishing out a whole session is a lot of tea on it's own.

How long are your sessions? 2 infusions? 10?

I've seen a few people mention difficulties resulting from drinking lots of young sheng daily, and I've grown curious how much "lots" is.

To me a full true session of tea is outlasting the leaf. Until it gets to a point where you require infusion times above 10 minutes, and even then it's watery- that's when a session ends. It's different for every tea, but generally (especially where young sheng is concerned) it lasts a little while.

[Sydney]

Ahh, marathon stuff, then.

Yeah, drinking like that is pretty excessive for a good many people. The body was only meant to take just so much punishment.

[Salsero]

I have been drinking five to ten infusions per night most days of most weeks for the last year or two without ill effect. For the last six to eight months it's become pretty much of an everyday thing ... maybe substitute shu one night every two weeks.

[shogun89]

I'll usually have about 3 sessions per week each of about 8 steeps. I've been doing that for a year and have had no ill effects. "Everything in moderation" and you will be good to go.

[Salsero]

I've been doing that for a year and have had no ill effects.

Then why is your avatar still wearing a Santa Claus cap at the end of January?

[PolyhymnianMuse]

I've been doing that for a year and have had no ill effects.

Then why is your avatar still wearing a Santa Claus cap at the end of January?

LOL

I really enjoy my young sheng. I think my tastes have really changed though from when I originally first drank a raw puerh, so maybe I'm just used to the taste

From my own experience (and the fact that I really haven't had much pu any older then 7+ years) I enjoy raw sheng that is only 2-4 years old, and I admit I have even liked sme 2008 shengs quite a bit