Puerh Storage Horrors!

Posted on by Yang-chu
04 Feb

Puerh Storage Horrors– Realtime tales from the Puerh Junky Crypt

Last time we left our villain, the Puerh Junky, he was lamenting the performance of his totem-totaling icon ’04 Monkey, 6FTM.  That was in summer of ’20.  At the time it was removed from the box and placed in plastic upon the top-shelf of the somewhat controlled conditions of the unplugged refrigerator.

In the meantime, an entire stack of boxed cakes all ’04 and younger were getting the life sucked from them through those damn boxes.  Maybe if wrapped in plastic then enclosed in the box. . .  but otherwise a big thumbs down on boxing.  Certainly cardboard boxes.  If you had a nice clay box, that would be another story.  Cardboard is a horrible storage vessel.  It sucks moisture from the tea while imparting a deadening taste.

Using the boxes was conceived with keeping the fancier productions all nice and tidy.  You can write the name and year on the box and quickly identify what you want.  But it’s horrible.  It makes the tea horrible and robs it of qi.

Case:  I tasted three of my most powerful productions after finding my ’03 7532, DQZ turned horrible.  I put it in a plastic baggie and it’s now in the TTP.  The three from yesterday were not as wretched but that 7532 has been stored since ’15, where the others from around ’17.  Each of the three showed marked dimunition in expression, while being rather dead.

“8582” Blue Lable Big Qi, Root beer/Zen

One basis of direct comparison was between the ’03 Lily of the Valley,YPH, one stored in container and the other in a box in the fridge.  The former has gotten much more succulent and refined in its floral presentation, where the latter is muted and is flatter than it should be.

The final test was with the ’04 Monkey, which had been destroyed by the box but wrapped in plastic and kept on the top-shelf of fridge in an effort to resuscitate it.  It is now fine but quite different from what I ever remember it being, particularly in the later infusions where there is much more apple and sweetness.  The floral has definitely entered a different stage.  There’s still much bitterness if over brewed and drunk hot, but as it cools the bitterness mellows and the astringency is not worth mentioning.  After six months removed from the box much more life has returned to the cake, though its expression either much different due to age or what was removed by the time in the box.  None of the other lunar productions are expressing fruitiness of this order.

All of the box-abused have been placed in plastic and in a container.  In July I’ll test a few.  Fortunately, only the most unique of the generic label productions were affected.  I used to think plastic was a bad thing.  That’s much less a concern than protection of wrapper, conserving leaves that escape from the bag, and additional transformation capacity.  Some bags are lined in what in a waxier plastic than the plane cellophane but they all work far better than boxes.

Boxes are a horror for storage but it doesn’t spell the bloody end, only a few months in plastic with some likely changes in character.

 

Marquis’s Floral Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
31 Jan

The Puerh Junky finds most floral productions too ostentatious for this tastes.  There’s something about flowery productions that sound an off note.  There are some notable exceptions, like the Lily of the Valley, YPH and the Banzhang Organic from ’08, neither of which listed, but you can message if interested.

Liming and MKRS cake productions really push the limits of cordiality as do 6FTM‘s.  These are all floral productions in the stash but not ones that ever beckon beyond mostly for purposes of checking in on how they’re possibly toning it down. . . which they’re not, except the Monkey.  Then there is the Marquis du Green Mark, quite urbane and agreeable in every regard.

Could the reason for the Puerh Junky’s love for the Marquis have to do with storage?  Probably not.  The ’09 Ox, 6FTM for example is also more humidly stored but but it doesn’t hit like the the Marquis.  No doubt sweetness plays a factor. Many report such productions as Tulin’s T868 or the Lancang Jingmai 003 as sweet, though they strike me as being more like that woman at church who wears loud perfume that oppresses the senses, so much so that the sweetness is muffled.  Those two are both very tippy and could be a very telling factor.  Let’s continue. . .

There’s something about where most florals strike on the scale that poses a challenge for the Puerh Junky.  That  place is about two octaves above middle C.  The Marquis and Yiwu Princess seem to sound an octave lower, and alas, their leaves are considerably larger, as is also the case with Lily of the Valley and the Banzhang Organic.  With the Marquis, perhaps leaf size is also that which provides the overlay of vanilla and undertow of minerals.  In other works, there’s something about the leaf size that not only tames the scream of flowers but also provides additional layers of complexity and deliciousness.

Still, Liming and MKRS offerings aren’t always comprised of little leaves though they almost always pack a very serious punch.  Here’s where age seems to factor in, at least to some extent, perhaps also terroir and production style.  MKRS/Daxue Shan, just isn’t a terroir style suiting the Puerh Junky, though there are always surprises.  The MKRS ’10 Tiger was simply fabulous, a creation where the root beer formed very early and throttled the flowers forming a fantastic experience.

The Marquis is not the DXS flower.  It isn’t in DXS sharp and the Puerh Junky is just not one to know flowers like that.  Yes, with some it’s obvious, Lily of the Valley, Jingmai 003’s honeysuckle, but with many other’s its a toss up.  The DXS and Fengqing floral definitely resonates with black tea floral.  Low and behold, that’s where much black tea actually hails.

The Bad Crowd Raw Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
31 Jan

The other day I mentioned something about “the bad crowd” in the context of the Water Blue Mark.  You know, those husky raw puerhs that have a big bite, with an equally big taste, astringency, and that something that lingers in the mouth that is decidedly of the tobacco class.  I’ve written on the Liming Square in the past, but the climactic conditions of cold and rain convinced me to revisit it.

Liming OG Square: A Bit Bigger and Warmer Raw Puerh

The Puerh Junky seems to recall having ranted on the merits of Liming TF in the past.  They’re clearly one of the most underrated of old-school factories and by old school, we’re talking  about before the 60s.  They generally have two types of productions: cakes and bricks, with the former far out numbering the latter.  There is a difference between the two that goes beyond shape.

Liming cakes express varying ranges of floral.  They go from a very strong, high-pitched floral that could be likened to Meng-ku rong Shi productions to a slightly lower level of florality with an overlay of azz-whoopin’.  These are extremely popular expressions among many puerh drinkers, and will largely judge quality and qi by level of brashness.  One of the interesting features of Liming’s floral expression is that it doesn’t fade or transform but seems to just get more sonorous, like a scene outta Hitchcock.  It bears mentioning that many of their mid-aged cakes are extremely reasonably priced, presenting a superb value given the base material.

Sonorous Liming

Bricks on the other hand are not nearly what the Puerh Junky would class as floral but more as tobacco, not that any of the bricks tasted could be in any way smoky.  Here, tobacco refers to a darker cured Similar to the cakes bricks are quite durable, releasing many infusions.  The ’07 Organic Square still appears green around the gills but the taste is not green in the least, with very obvious root beer notes.

The sweet, grounding, and medium tone sound of the OG Square is very pleasing in the cold of winter.  The bad crowd is real good at times like these.

Water Blue Mark: The Woolly Sweater

Posted on by Yang-chu
29 Jan

The Water Blue Mark is a Woolly sweater.  The level of complexity with this raw puerh cake cannot be overstated.  It it is reasonable to call it in the the tobacco class but it is not that simple.  Tobacco class productions although darker by nature aren’t necessarily woody.  There is a real woodsiness to this.

When the Water Blue Mark first posted, it was primarily aggressive and smoky.  It was evident that it was strong but difficult to gain a full sense of its attributes.  This brings us to the obvious fruitiness.  In fact, when the Puerh Junky’s better half smelled the dry leaves she blurted out “fruity.”  It is very fruity.  When she smelled the wet leaves, her eyes brightened in surprise exclaiming, “plums and prunes.”  Yes, it is a very fruity production, but. . .

The fruit so evident in the aroma must contend with wood and smoke.  For being a 2007 production, the material is beyond its age by around three years.  It resides in the low end of the scale, hanging with the bad crowd of the Puerh Junky’s collection, Joey White Tips, Mugsy Dragon, and OG Baby Face Square.  Let’s put it this way, it’s as far from Zen as absolutely possible.  It is very much NOT in the Zhongcha/KMTF house style.

A natural question to ask is whether the cake is coming or going.  That is to ask, “Is it getting stronger or is it fading?”  That is difficult to answer.  The usual thing is to expect the smoke to dissipate.  However, this is not overwhelmingly smoky.  From the time of listing in thsummer of 2020 it has become better.  The fruit note combined with the wood and smoke make it unique.  An obvious association with XG’s Forever Love might be made but the Water Blue Mark is is darker and woodier.  Its not just fruit and ash lie FL.  In fact, there is little ash.  The sense of oak aged liquors comes to mind.

Brandy? Whiskey? These are all too dry given WBM’s sweetness.  Did I mention sweet?  At least for the first four infusions it is very sweet and thick with a bit of frothiness thrown in.  At the same time, it has a warming quality like some kind of spirit.  It’s warming and surprisingly relaxing.  It hangs heavy on the body like a woolen sweater, absolutely appropriate for cold winter nights, eliciting a counterintuitive power that welcomes curling up in the bed with some cozy Beethoven sonata in the background.

After the sixth infusion, it loses most of the woodiness and in contrast to Forever Love, loses all of the smoke.  The production takes on a more characteristic KMTF Zen tone, sweet yet always with a hint of bitterness.

 

 

Fruit Monster: From Hyde to Jekyll

Posted on by Yang-chu
27 Jan

The ’11 Fruit Monster first came into the Puerh Junky’s possession in early 2018.  At the time it was aptly named, but three years later it takes considerably more infusions to get to the tobaccoey, smokey attributes.  Furthermore, the tropical fruit like jackfruit notes have all but disappeared.  Yes, the Fruit Monster has turned from Mr Hyde to Dr Jekyll.

Transformation is the name of the game with raw puerh.  Where something is this year doesn’t speak for the following.  A production sharing the same name from the same factory will most assuredly differ from year to year.  So it goes.

For the most part the big and bold Hyde has transformed into something considerably more refined.  There’s lots more vanilla in there.  In fact, vanilla is the overriding taste, not dissimilar from the old school Vienna fingers.

There can be no doubt that Fruit Monster is now a decidedly different animal, far more genteel than earlier in its life.  The broth is rich and frothy with lots of sweetness.  It imparts a filling and enjoyable experience.  The macho fuerte of tobacco is still there but lies hidden for the late infusions to reveal.  Overall, however, Fruit Monster for the time being has turned Zen in 2021.  This is not an awkward phase of expression.  There is nothing off about how it performs.  The contrast from the early stages of drinking and the later ones, however, may leave the impression that the cake is still “young.”  This may particularly be the case if it had not been sampled during its youth.

Dali Tuo’s Fade into Forever Love

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Jan

The Puerh Junky has been on a ride with the ’08 Dali Tuo for a number of years now.  Yesterday’s weather was quite nippy, so I thought of something from the tobacco class to warm me up.  I first reached for the Fruit Monster but my leaf amount was too little, feeling left unsatisfied.  I’m going to leaf up on that today and issue a report.  My next choice was the Dali Tuo.

The first few infusions were what I had expected but deeper in, a taste I hadn’t noticed before made itself known: tutti-fruti— all Rudi.

So a few weeks ago I tried a sample of XG’s Forever Love, a production comprised of ’03 material and pressed in ’13 if I’m not mistaken.  The similarity between the two is striking.  This particular fruity note is is only evident in productions that have some years under their belt.  As stated, the numerous years of tasting the Dali Tuo, no fruitiness was ever evident.  It was sweet, rich, and warming but never remotely fruity.  The ’06 production under the same name but different box and size (150g) still bears zero marks of fruitiness.  There’s just the solid tobacco grit and ash with peaty minerals laced with sweetness, maybe a little petrol, ya know Xia Guan.

Exactly how many infusions one must dig into Forever Love to get to the sweet I cannot recall but a fellow sampler seemed to note a progression with it that his Puerh Junkiness has discovered with the Dali Tuo.

The real notable is that it doesn’t bottom out.  The ash infused fruit spiked with stevia goes on and on.  Once you get to that stage it stays to the very end.  The color and clarity are superb if not deceiving, as it is hard to imagine hue and clarity could pack so much flavour.

“A bobbabbalubao, a-bob bam…”

 

Black Brew– Xinghai’s MO

Posted on by Yang-chu
25 Jan

A brief interlude into Black Brew and Xinghai’s MO, if you will.  The other day, the Puerh Junky ran across a query from someone in Turkey who asked about a particular ripe puerh cake that was under the Xinghai label.  Interesting thing about Turkey is that Turks drink more tea per capita than any  other, more than Russians, Indians, or Chinese.  However, Puerh tea still seems a relative unknown there, but the things I know about Turkey could fit on the back of a dime so…

Someone helped the inquisitor out by telling him that the cake was Xinghai and that they had a solid reputation for both raw and ripes.  Someone chimed in stating that Xinghai was NOT a very good brand and then cited a twitter-like ap called Discord as evidence.  Quick to gather information, in my junkiness I ran over to Discord to assess these views.  Maybe all five of them.

Absurd.

Xinghai, just like all the other major second generation factories, descends from one of the big three.  In this case, Xinghai is effectively known as Dayi/Menghai TF junior or Dayi #2.  Xinghai’s ripe puerh production may vary from Dayi.  The number of Dayi ripes the Puerh Junky has sampled is extremely small.  On the other hand, Xinghai’s hand in ripes is extremely consistent and well executed.  Theirs is not the stout type ripe so popular among many shou drinkers.  Rather it is a light style that seeks to highlight qualities one might find in aged raws, qualities like minerality, sweetness, and camphor.  The makers are NOT going for the syrupy, chocolately effect that screams shu but something closer to an actual aged raw.

Black Brew remains true to the Xinghai MO, though it is darker than most.  In terms of clarity, it is is a four of five lasting about six plus infusions.  It is very sweet, but the sweetness is like rock sugar not molasses.  There is no breadiness, rather minerals and camphor throughout.  The taste remains consistent from one infusion to the next, the ratios of sweet, mineral, and camphor remaining the same to the very end.

Black Brew is a shade richer than the Silver Peacock and without any of the humidity of Operation Macau.  None of these express any dried fruit notes.  It is clear that the same hand was involved in the production of all three.  None of these treasures are recommended for brewing grampa style.  You’ll otherwise miss the beauty of their clarity and the skill with which they were produced.

 

Puerh Rating: Cultural Revolution Series

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 Jan

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on ‘12 Cultural Revolution Series.  This offering was first posted in spring of 2016.  At the time it was very much in that “so what” stage.  The Puerh Junky imbibed of it in those five years a total of four time and twice this week, being the second week of January in 2021.

Upon the second tasting in ’18, the CRS exhibited certain talcum notes, giving the impression it was going to take a turn for the perfumy type ripe but has now settled into the domain of richness with camphor.  This production is clearly getting better with age, so lets get down to it.

After three rounds the totals were as follows:

  • Aroma           8
  • Clarity            9
  • Sweetness   11
  • Viscosity        8
  • Astringency  12
  • Huigan          11
  • Qi                   4

Reflections on Cultural Revolution Series

The Puerh Junky has a preference for lighter ripes that demand less brewing time to get the most from them.  In the final assessment, the CRS is decidedly NOT that type of ripe puerh.  In fact, it was apparent in the fourth infusion which I pushed for a minute that it was decidedly better than the previous three because it had received the requisite time to sufficiently enrich the broth.

Increased brew time does not adversely affect CRS’s most outstanding attribute, smoothness.  The astringency/tannins noted in ’16 upon posting are no longer there.  Second is its sweetness, which is building with time.  Notably, as one digs deeper with each infusion there isn’t a big drop off in sweetness, while the huigan builds.  Camphor and sweetness express strongly in both the broth and the huigan, the sweetness such a presence that one my call for water to dilute the sugar.  It is a sugar sweetness, not molasses.  In fact, even though the camphor indicates a fair amount of aging and juicy storage, there is no darkness, yeastiness, or even humidity characterizing Guandong type storage.

The PJRS gave the CRS a low qi score.  However, it appears that its qi effects are considerably greater, though they come on rather slowly.  The sensation once it came on could be felt in both the head and the muscles of the neck and arms, giving that “need to stretch” sensation.

Conclusion

The Puerh Junky could hardly think of a more appropriate production to introduce someone to ripe puerh than the Cultural Revolution Series.  It is sweet and camphory without any hints of wetpile taste.  At the same time, given the trajectory of the offering itself, it is clear that it is at an interesting stage that is trending in the right direction for the seasoned ripe drinker, particularly ones who enjoy their ripes on the thick side.  Puerh Rating: Cultural Revolution Series

63/105, C

 

Visiting Bulang Organic

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 Jan

Just a quick update after visiting Bulang Organic, a KMTF offering from ’13.  Initial impression is that this is the best brewing experience with it so far.  It is still incredibly young, but it is finally starting to express some sweetness.  The first couple infusions are murky and there is a surprising amount of bitterness in an exceptionally thick broth.

Infusion Three

I flashed brewed the first five infusions.  That archetypical Bulang bitterness is quite evident in the first two infusions and particularly when the brew cools.  Ten seconds were administered vis gaiwan in the sixth infusion. All infusions were gaiwan. The colour was much darker, no evident sweetness to speak of and displeasingly bitter.  I tapped out.  This ain’t no bitter turning to sweetness and it’s not any more astringent than usual.

Spring ’16

 

Jan ’21

I’m working on the same cake from back in ’16 when I got this.

<<pause>>

So, I came back a couple hours later and my impression of this production has changed entirely.  Infusions seven and eight were remarkably sweet, with elements of roast apparent in the aroma and a bit of fruitiness in the taste.  The thickness remains.  I gave number eight a good slow ten counts and some agitation at the end.  Zero bitterness.  It seems like it could go for at least another five rounds.

Infusion 7, 8 is darker

The Puerh Junky has still yet to get his head around the concept of “shengtai” (生态). It seems to straddle the line between organic, wild, and young, trees maybe around 50 yrs growing kinda wild.  Many wild and shengtai productions have an unapologetic bitterness reflecting a rough character that some find pleasing.  Clearly, what’s interesting here is that that bitterness washed away after six infusions and two hours to reveal an altogether different character of the tea that could not be attributed to its fading because it’s still very thick and quite sweet.  And um. . . no sencha notes.

Horehound Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
22 Dec

I decided to look up horehound because I continue to associate Quincy with it.  The site mentions that it is in the mint family, which makes sense as mint for all intents and purposes to the Puerh Junky is another type of camphor expression.

I can think of only a few other productions that are as medicinal as Quincy.  All of them are characterized by a certain quality of camphor that reminds one of lineaments, potions in a carrier often of an oil alcohol blend, aka turpentine.  Some of the Chinese potions still carry turpentine.

Yeah, here the flowers are turning to wood or already have to some extent.  In contrast to its sister from the same year, Quincy’s flowers or fruit, if ever present, have changed to sweet straw and horehound camphor.   The feeling is both slightly warming and stimulating.