Curses, Puerh Junky!

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 May

Curses, Puerh Junky!  Your collection of mid-aged puerhs has ruined my tastes.  I can’t drink my young puerhs anymore.  You’ve ruined me!  You’re a villain, an apostle of unspeakable foulness, a criminal of the first order.  You’ll pay, you. . . you. . . Puerh Junky you!

Alack!  Alack!  What’s a Puerh Junky to do but sound fair warning to stand clear of the collection lest you too should fall prey to the wiles of mid-aged puerh.

Seems like the Puerh Junky isn’t the only one offering advice these days.  One piece went something like, “only buy and drink the stuff you like now, because. . . ”  I can’t remember the rationale because I fell from my chair hitting my head upon the glockenspiel and went unconscious.

Many have neither the patience nor conditions for storing puerh.  Nonetheless, it is very hard to believe that one could possibly gain any real sense of what puerh is actually about by drinking offerings under ten years old.  Actually, there’s considerable banter about a offerings with fewer than five years age.  The perception, based almost wholly on ignorance, is that puerh and aging is some type of marketing ploy.  I used to think the same, especially when it came to Yiwus.  Then I tasted some older ones and realized I wasn’t having my leg pulled.

The best way to not have that bubble shattered is to heed the Puerh Junky’s warning.  I want you to continue to cherish that 2017 you’re drinking.  The Puerh Junky is just bad news for any young collection.

 

Puerh Junkosophy: Camphor

Posted on by Yang-chu
05 May

Some will undoubtedly question whether camphor is truly a subject for Puerh Junkosophy.  Such concerns are warranted, but the Puerh Junky has noticed a prevailing confusion about camphor and so some measure of junkosophy is necessary.

There are complex chemo descriptions for camphor that prove utterly elusive to a simple junky like myself. Camphor is simply a sensation.  This sensation can appear in the aroma and taste but it is primarily an aromatic sensation.  Just as chilies impart a sensation that unifies varying types of chilies by their shape and sensation of heat, so too does camphor unify varying profiles by the sensation of cooling.

When but a lad my mother would rub Vicks Vaporub on my chest when I came down with something. Vicks is camphor.  If you don’t know Vicks, then peppermint also qualifies.  I know that chemically camphor and menthol differ but the cooling effect is the same.  Camphor is also present in freshly ground cardamom.  Some others are eucalyptus, tea tree, and pine.  Camphor is that fresca, chilly feeling.

Interestingly, in Chinese medicine camphor is considered so hot it’s cold.  Technically, the camphor you buy as a bug repellant comes from cinnamon.  It’s the crystalized form, a “crackification” of the cinnamon bark.  It’s more pure than frankincense, which also possesses some camphor compounds though in a less concentrated form.  That faint thrilling aspect of chrysanthemum is also camphor.  Now let’s talk about camphor in terms of puerh.

Puerh and Camphor

There’s a book that I caught wind of documenting over 100 camphor attributes in puerh.  In sum, every taste or close to it is a type of camphor.  However, such a declaration clearly only muddies the water.

First, it should be remarked that certifiable medicinal camphor notes express more resolutely in productions with some years under their belt.  This is not to say that camphor is absent in young productions.  Tips, for example, tend to be aggressively camphorous but are of a less medicinal and more minty quality.  This tippy camphor pop may just be a stage in development.  For example, a tinned version of Mangosteen developed an explosive camphor sensation at one stage before transitioning into a creamy, fruity, citric acidy creation.

Mangosteen

Raw camphor notes are familiar to most puerh drinkers.  The bright finish of tippy productions is exemplary of floral camphor.  The Jingmai “003” is a case in point, so are the Rat tuo and the LME Spring.  Here, the camphor is a zing that strikes like a whistle, hands down the most popular variety of puerh.

A more obvious expression of camphor resides further down the register.  Here, tastes are often referred to as medicinal, like cough drops.   For this to emerge the camphor notes age along the backdrop of the raw material to sound a crystal note.  Again, the note is impossible to distinguish from menthol because the effect is essentially the same.  The king of medicinal in the Puerh Junky collection is Quincy, the name taken from the TV show.

Incense, pencil shavings, and to a lesser degree wood evocations are shades of camphor less associated with camphor.  Incense is made from wood or wood sap.  Similarly, incense, petrol, pencil shavings aren’t going to manifest till the raw material gets more woody.  More dry-stored puerhs of this variety can take on perfume and talcum properties, while the slightly wetter-stored and older exhibit sandalwood and other bark type fragrances.  A nice representation of of the former profile is Grenouille, possessing a light incense expression and the jaw-droppingly precocious Jade Rabbit, which has a lot of gasoline going for it.

Jade Rabbit

Root beer is also a camphor expression, particularly raw puerh.  Root beer, the beverage, is a complex recipe containing more than just sasparilla.  Vanilla, ginger, even star anise also contribute.  This is the melange of nuance in the delightful root beer puerhs.  Examples include, Thick Zen, Vanilla Palace, and Poison.  These are easily the favs for the Puerh Junky.

Closing Remarks on Puerh and Camphor

Camphor is a familiar sensation that in the context of puerh has two connotations.  One is nothing short of minty medicine, like Vick’s Vaporub or the inhaler.  The second refers to a broad range of flavor expressions, evident in both raw and ripe puerh.  Attention has been directed solely to raws in this communication as the nuances are more stark in raws than ripes.  Floral, graphite, petrol, and root beer are all unique camphor profiles, some associated less with camphor than others.  On the whole, camphor is as much a sensation as a taste.  This sensation and aroma is cooling, refreshing, and expansive.  Let the Puerh Junkosophy conclude here.

Puerh Junky’s Spring 2021 Report

Posted on by Yang-chu
20 Apr

Puerh Junky’s Spring 2021 Report

I was chatting with a friend the other day and he informed me that the Western vendors are all offering free shipping till the new tea arrives.  I guess that’s a pretty big deal if you’re shipping from Mainland.  My offerings are here in Los Angeles, so that’s not much of an issue for American buyers who get free shipping on orders larger than $75.

I guess it’s some way to stir excitement over offerings from the spring picking.  New tea is really not the Puerh Junky’s thing.  There’s so much older tea that hasn’t been hoarded to discover that not only meets the standard but also still presents comparatively greater value.  But, these gems are disappearing apace.

Over the past five years factories have progressively been restricting their sales to preferred vendors.  Some factories, like the maker of the Jingmai “003”, have already disappeared, except for their flagship site.  The same has essentially happened with GPE.  Many of the Puerh Junky’s preferred vendors have vanished or moved into more obscure brands from famous regions and greatly scaled back their offerings.

Observing this trend, the Puerh Junky has also had to adapt.  Since Nov ’20, I’ve primarily focused on re-upping on exceptional treasures while they’re still available.  Along the way, unfamiliar productions from well-known factories have been acquired, in addition to virtual unknowns from trusted vendors.  As this project has evolved, thematic productions have taken a back burner, though I continue to be tempted by a sexy wrapper.  I still love a good wrapper, but focus has mostly settled into familiar productions and factories.

’06 Old Geezers Ripe  

As far as themes go, it is clear that 6FTM is becoming a theme unto itself.  Productions from their early years are particularly interesting from a collecting point of view, especially before their brand identity solidified.  Some of these will be listed in the coming year.

Breaking the Mold

“Breaking the Mold” is probably not the best turn of phrase when talking about puerh, but alas I’m breaking from my standard practice of holding offerings for six months before listing.  Some productions are ready now and there’s little point in having them lazing about in LA when there’s work to be done in Brockton, Bethesda, and Boise.  There’s a bevy of ripes that are already quite good.  Many have already been snatched up by insiders who rely upon his junkifiedness for the hook up.  Still, some of these have yet to be spoken for.

’06 Nannuo, LME

Here’s were a digression into the junkisophical must be indulged: price is no reflection of quality.  Quality factors less than reputation and collectability.  Naturally, these are not altogether independent variables.  The Puerh Junky provides a range of reputations and collectability, while never sacrificing quality.  Sometimes quality is difficult to discern, but where it’s immediately apparent, fellow junk… er enthusiasts should not be deprived.

Puerh Junky’s Collection and Stash

Let’s call the Collection that which is listed and the Stash that which is not.  As for the Collection, most treasures number but a few.  Chances of re-upping depend on availability and price.  If you need to score a tong then you need to contact me directly.  Otherwise, if something strikes your fancy, it’s best not to dally.

The Stash consists of productions that have yet to graduate.  They are “aging.”  The Stash also has treasures that sold out or sky rocketed in price.  These were trial purchases, testing either vendor or production.  Sometimes prices jump even before arriving.  This especially happens around the lunar new year.  Be it availability or price, these treasures end up orphans until lightening strikes or, in a fit of junkydom, I break down and pay what they’re asking.  This process can take years.  How sublime it would be for these orphans to join the Collection, but for most this simply will not happen.

Hoping and Praying

Puerh Orphan Sample Annie

If you think I’m breaking up these cakes, then you’ve been drinking to much!  In a grand gesture of junkaciousness, however, I can part with a few samples from my own cake.  We’ll call these Orphan Samples.  They’ll be arranged in interesting sets unified by a theme like year, factory, or region; I’ll confabulate something.  If a treasure from the set appeals to you, you may directly inquire further about availability.  Orphan Samples are identical to regular samples, i.e., 15g, except very few are being offered, and the specific intent is to find a home for orphan cakes, as opposed to providing general edification and enjoyment.  Since you’ll have sampled for yourself, there is zero need to leave anything to question about quality or personal appeal.

Final Word

A final word of thanks for reading and enjoying these missives, however epi- and rhapsodic.  In the coming weeks, beyond new listings, be on the lookout for blog postings on the back story of some of the more vaunted factories offering these treasures.  I understand that the world of Chinese puerh factories is enigmatic for those with limited access to Chinese. Nonetheless, arming yourself with a bit of context provides at least of modicum of rationale for being the Puerh Junky that you are.

Floral Class Puerh II

Posted on by Yang-chu
10 Apr

Puerh Picking Season

We left off talking about age and terroir as indications for floral class puerhs.  Season also factors greatly.  The earlier the picking, the more likely it expresses high-pitched florality.  “Early spring” is the puerh term most usually used to describe “first flush” selections.  Pickings are differentiated in spring by those picked before or after Qingming Festival in early April.

Many puerh offerings are sold by designation of season picked.  “Spring tea” implicitly means Floral Class.  Some recipes may have a preponderance of spring tea to be in the Floral Class.  Maybe many versions from the late 90s to early aughts of 7542 fall into this category.

Puerh Leaf Picking

A significant factor in floral expression is the actual leaves picked.  The closer to the bud/tip, the more floral the expression.  There’s some famous British brand of black tea sporting the name “Tips.”  Ostensibly, this is a very floral and energizing beverage.  Similarly, small grade puerh leaves size 1-3 (from 1-9) are bright and bracing.  Conversely, small leaves are usually flashes in the proverbial pan, being less durable than larger leaf sizes.

Conclusions on Floral Class Puerhs

Really the only true grip one can gain on the subject of Floral Class Puerhs is to drink and and lots of them.  The quality of flowers is going to vary upon age of production, terroir, season, and leaf picking.  Some Chinese factories have floral notes serve as signature of their house taste; Liming, MKRS, and Tulin are factories to look out for in this regard.  Of course, there’s always 6FTM.

OG Gangsta Appraisal

Posted on by Yang-chu
puerh tea brick
06 Apr

Here’s feedback from my first Germany order regarding the OG Gangsta. . .

I like it a lot even though I am brewing it in a porcelain gaiwan. But for me the astringency really came out only after the fifth or sixth brew. Seeing you only gave it an average mark I am anxious to see what else you have in stock 😉

I have only been drinking puerh for one and a half years or so but I would say this is the best one I have ever had.

Those who know, know.  The OG Gangsta doesn’t claim its name for nutthin’.

 

 

Floral Class Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
06 Apr

Floral Class Puerh is not a monolith.  Many variables factor into the quality of flower notes.  These are age and terroir primarily, not to mention the time of year and whence the leaves are picked.  Let’s examine each of these a bit more closely.

Floral Class Puerh and Age

One of the main drivers of floral attributes is age.  By age, we’re talking about  how old the leaves actually are.  If we imagine floral notes as keys on a piano, then we could assign younger productions to higher keys and older productions to mid-range keys.  Young productions have a tendency toward being “pitchy.”  It’s not uncommon for these to possess sharpness, an edginess that carries with it a measure of bitterness and astringency.  These attributes most often mellow with age, though some will intensify into perfume and incense depending on the particulars of the production.  Some young productions will express no florality only to age into it.  such is the case with some very highly regarded Yiwus.  This floral attribute will be of a much different nature from its young counterparts from other terroir due to where they reside on the keyboard.  These are not the least bit “pitchy.”

Floral Class Puerh and Terroir

The topic of floral class puerh and terroir is bound to create confusion and elicit strong reactions.  Part of the discord arises from differences among villages within a terroir.  Village productions within a terroir may differ considerably from the region name itself.  For example, Yiwu region productions are not floral, while Yiwu villages Mahei and Yibang often express floral tendencies.

Another factor for consideration in this regard is house style.  Some house styles despite being situated in one region may focus upon a niche not generally associated with the terroir itself.  Here the brand carries the day and seems to be the approach of most vendors from Taiwan, but is also evident in Chinese factories offering recipe productions.  Recipe productions here is characterized by bearing numbers, like 7542 (of course).

In general, if the productoin states the name of the the terroir, then information about the puerh class to which it belongs follows.  Daxueshan, Jingmai, Fengqing are some of the most vaunted floral terroirs.  Factories tending toward the floral side are Liming, Mengkurongshi (MKRS), and 6FTM.

To be continued. . .

 

Puerh Rating: LME Spring

Posted on by Yang-chu
05 Apr

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the LME Spring.  LME is a factory that started to raise its profile around ’14, but whose older productions had hidden under the radar till 2020.  This factory of late has gained attention as the high-profile productions have vanished from the market and the value seekers continue their pursuits.

LME Spring is highly representative of aught productions: generally high quality, traditional processing, and atomic compression.  The year ’07 was likely the apex of atomic compression, as a thought occurred that cakes shouldn’t bear the same pressing characteristics of tuo and many bricks.

Compression invariably affect how an offering will brew.  The LME Spring brews with fantastic consistency and duration.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          14
  • Clarity           11
  • Sweetness   10
  • Viscosity       10
  • Astringency    9
  • Huigan         13
  • Qi                 15

Reflections

The LME Spring is an incredibly sophisticated raw puerh cake without the sophistry of water cooler hearsay.  Even though the wonderful floral notes are quite obvious, it appears to be a Zen class production heading toward root beer.  The flowers come through in the huigan, which is nearly perfect.

Speaking of perfection, the qi score is.  There probably aren’t any other productions that score perfect on qi and certainly none at this price.  It also possesses a phlegm-cutting attribute.  Along with the flowers in taste, there’s serious Malt O’ Meal notes, with some salivary friendly sour notes.

Conclusions

The LME Spring is for those who enjoy the marriage between floral and Zen productions.  The durability alone makes this an extraordinary offering, given its qi it’s essentially a steal.

Puerh Rating: LME Spring

82/105 B

 

Puerh Junky’s Floral Hypocrisy Exposed!

Posted on by Yang-chu
25 Mar

Puerh Junky’s Floral Hypocrisy Exposed!  Our sources have uncovered gross Puerh Junky hypocrisy.  These are grave offenses in eyes the puerh faithful.  He has been running an ostensible root beer racket with brazen aplomb, but we have discovered that aside from his ripe forays in placation of his wife’s morning pleasures, that he actually isn’t as averse to florality as commonly presented.

Our unnamed sources have reported to us today on the 24th Mar that he has been dallying with floral Yiwus, CMS (Chamasi) to be exact.  We’re talking about the Dragon, CMS to be exact, which this morning pulled off a stunning performance.

Our sources have revealed that his Puer Junkyness was tasked to unveil Yiwu and resorted to introducing the recently listed Dragon, CMS.  Little did he know that his tasker was our undercover agent.  All of his feigned humility and uncertainty vanished from the very first infusion.  The Puerh Junky himself acted surprised.  He noted a sublime florality, and then started making excuses stating nonsense about Shanghai refinement and the absence of rough edged that the upper crust of China seek out.

For his part, our agent endeavored to keep his wits about him, despite was was an obvious full-body qi effect.  He reported, to his credit, that PJ’s floral recriminations needed to be balanced against Zen.  These are matters that our agent is just learning about, though his atunement to cha-qi is keen and her did his best to remain skeptical through his inebriation.

Puerh Clay Storage

Posted on by Yang-chu
07 Mar

Yesterday one of my chief drinking buddies came by for a shesh.  We had some leftovers, a ’18 Bingdao and ’07 Yiwu both huangpian.  He was very myeh regarding the latter, saying, “I’ve had it with the fruity and floral and want more like your ’98 Red Mark.”  What’s a proper Puerh Junky to do?

Yeah, I have a few late 90s raw puerhs in the stash.  One is a “Red Mark.”  It is one of those aged raws that have been punished with a good deal of heat and a dash of humidity imparting that detestable dry old-book newspaper vibe.  That bugger has been placed in the detention container with the rest of the cardboard-stored creations that have lost their pizazz due to my own dunderheadedness.  That Red Mark, however, was none of my doing.  The hope is that I can work a little PJ magic on it and something jucier and complex can emerge.  Of course, the reader knows that that taste is highly regarded in some circles but in the eyes of the Puerh Junky such storage is deeply flawed.  But I digress. . .

I was talking about my tea compadre’s request for that humid aged taste.  What better chance to try out the recently “tinned” Lucky 7542  DQZ, but minding my junky etiquette I gave him an option.  “Well, I have a wet-stored ’06 Mengku that is aggressive and floral or we can try the wet-stored 7542 from tea meistra Du Qiong-zhi.”

Lucky 4524, DQZ

“Oh, 7542?  I’ll definitely take that,” trying to restrain his enthusiasm.  “Now, you do know that this isn’t a Menghai TF?  It’s from someone who worked her self through the ranks of Menghai TF before breaking out on her own in the late 90s during the restructuring,” I warned.  “I’ll have that,” he assured me.

The Lucky 7542 got transferred to a clay caddy around mid-Feb 2021 as part of the tinning project initiated after the fabulous findings from Fu.  Whereas most of the productions thus transferred reside in metal, the Lucky got clay.  Since I had previously moved a hideously wet late 80s Tulin tuo to a clay caddy with a glazed exterior to great result, Lucky’s humidity informed placing it in clay.

Now the Puerh Junky could regale you with all the details about that ’89 Tulin tuo, but the focus here is regarding the findings from Lucky after only three weeks.  For starters, the wet storage smell is evident in the clay itself.  My compadre upon one whiff went into a reverie about his childhood, memories of his grandfather.  I personally detected a note of cinnamon which is a very good sign in light of storage and age.

Recently, the floral-designated pot (150ml) has been getting quite the work out.  It pours slowly, so I only used 4.5g.  Far be it from the Puerh Junky to be at a loss for words, but suffice it to say that a production that I found unsatisfactorily stored is now close to perfect.  The layers of complexity to the tea are now much more evident.  Even the floral notes are more precise.  The overall effect results in what tastes like the ideal 7542, the archetypical 7542.  Are there better 7542?  Well duh, but this captures everything that the 7542 is supposed to be including the humidity.

The Puerh Junky’s wife is keen on the humid productions and just happened upon the scene of the crime to join us right when the first pot was being poured.  Both mi amigo and mi wife remarked upon the sweetness.  What stood out for moi was the volume in terms of breadth imparted by the clay storage.  Imagine Miss Brown Eyes Blue Crystal Gale and her long strait locks getting a good dose of 80s hair mousse. Pour some sugar on me, baby. . . sans the spandex.  The interplay between flowers, minerals, and humidity could not be detected in previous sessions with Lucky but with clay storage, I detected such complexity causing me to completely revise my assessment of the material’s underlying quality.

 

 

 

 

 

Puerh Battle of Hegemons

Posted on by Yang-chu
06 Mar

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 witnessed the Puerh Battle of Hegemons.  Both the ’07 Vanilla Palace and ’05 OG Gangsta brought formidable organic credentials to a frenzy pitting two mid-aged raw puerh against each other.  The Silver Peacock ripe agreed to moderate the fracas.

“Puerh Battle of Hegemons?” you ask.  “Yes!” I reply.  You see, one of the descriptions often attributed to big-taste aggressive puerhs is “baqi” (霸气), where “ba” translates to “hegegemon.” This is to say a strong-handed ruler, a forceful customer in puerh terms.

The battle started with the Vanilla Palace.  It bears the name “gongting,” which is usually reserved for the smallest grade ripe.  For a raw puerh to be called gongting is a first. As it ages, the Vanilla is becoming richer and rounder.  The punch from a few years back continues to transform into a delicious vanilla root beer.  The edges continue to transform not flatten and each progressive infusion releases more florality that is in the perfume stage.  The transformation trajectory of the Vanilla Palace is excellent and represents a fantastic value.

puerh tea brick

The OG Gangsta is one of GPEs atomically compressed bricks.  On the heels of the Vanilla Palace, Gangsta‘s sour and subtle fruit notes really jumped out.  Those favouring astringency, we’re talking dictatorial astringency, will lean toward the Gangsta.  The dark root beer expression, however, sufficiently balances the bite.  One recent enthusiast described Gangsta as a smoker who wears perfume to cover the smoke– not in a bad way, he was quick to add.

About six infusions from each elicited the call for food.  Don’t drink either on an empty stomach but especially not the Gangsta.  After a bit of grub the Silver Peacock brought its Zen attributes to wash it down.  The Silver Peacock is at a stage of transition, from pure ripe Zen to the fruitiness common in many aged raws and common in heicha.  Infusions 6-8 at better than a minute, pushed progressively, were surprisingly rich, sweet, and complex– positively nothing challenging about this ripe puerh cake but everything enjoyable.

In the end, the pairing of the Vanilla Palace and the OG Gangsta highlighted their contrasting personalities, despite being in the tobacco cum root beer class.  The VP is round, warming, settling inviting.  The OGG is rambunctious, astringent, slightly fruity, with perfume and smoke.  Both offerings express a good deal of complexity and durability.  Altogether about nine infusions were gathered from each and an additional four infusions or so the next day.  The perfume of each was much more noticeable on day two.  It’s fair to say the OGG proved more hegemonic.

However, in the final assessment pairing these two is a shade excessive.  Both are complex productions deserving of focused attention in their own right.  Moving from one two the other is more a mark of skittish gluttony than pairing.  Contrast to this excess likely accounts for why the Silver Peacock ended up stealing the show.