Category Archives: Pu erh Knowledge

Developments with 2012 ’07 Material Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
09 Jun

The ’12 ’07 Material is a study in the aging process.  This production is still about five years away from what I’d consider to be in the zone of excellent tasting.  Though this puerh cake is comprised of material from ’07, it more resembles its year of production.  Let me relate some of my most recent findings below.

First, the high camphor notes have not faded.  They may have even increased.  Camphor is evident in the liquor, lending to a medicinal quality.  The aftertaste is not just cooling; it’s frigid.

Second is richness.  Previous sessions only lent themselves to about two rich infusions.  Now it is about four.

Third is from floral to fruity.  There were some intensely tropical fruity notes on day two of the sample visited.  I mean intense like the 11 Fruit Monster without the smoke.  This is a surprising development, as tutti-frutti is not a taste I’ve encountered in KMTF productions.   Usually the fruit taste is of stone fruit, but this one has a musky, tropical vibe.

Overall, the ’07 Material presents a different type of young from most that are too rough for drinking.  This isn’t rough, and the high-pitched camphor notes have certainly not waned and may be becoming even more pronounced.  However, time has shown that there is much depth and richness to be expressed.  I’m at a stage now where “I get it” to the extent that I don’t feel it necessary to revisit this at the earliest a year from now.

Two Root Beer Puerhs Five Years Removed

Posted on by Yang-chu
05 Jan

Here I want to take a look at two root beer puerhs five years removed: ’10 Tiger, MK and the ’05 Qizibing, XH.  The root beer class of puerhs express vanilla tempered by herbal notes that give the impression of that hallowed beverage of 19th-c cowboy saloons.

The Tiger typifies MK’s quality productions.  Stone pressed, The Tiger shows that the factory exercised an added measure of care to make it aesthetically pleasing.  Hailing from the aggressive side of the Lincang region, The Tiger’s notes are floral, characteristic of productions from Fengqing and DaXue Mt.  The hallmark Fengqing offering in the Puerh Junky collection is the Lunar Series from 6FTM.  These are feisty puerhs that’ll grow hair on your chest.  By contrast, MKs tend to be softer around the edges, much more refined, less astringent, with a more complex ensemble of flavours.

Xinghai TF productions seem to be all over the map.  The nondescriptly titled Qizibing is a recipe about which not much information is provided beyond being from Menghai.  I’ve rather concluded that it is an assortment of Bulang villages given it’s straightforward presence and lack of florality.  The cake itself looks like a standard recipe cake that been thrown together with some buds, some leaves, and stems.  The compression is perfectly appropriate, flecking apart easily with the knife.

Generally, root beer doesn’t express, if at all, until a production has quite a few years under its belt. Both productions have been Kunming stored, but the Tiger is one of the most aggressively aged KM productions I’ve encountered.  That said, it’s lost none of character and depth or if it has still possesses a great deal mellowed by a great deal of heat.  The QZB’s age is what’s to be expected of a properly KM aged ’05.

Five Best Ripe Puerhs of Puerh Junky Collection

Posted on by Yang-chu
22 Jun

It seems that the universe of ripe puerh is filled with many very ho-hum productions.  Much of the variation arises from age and storage conditions, but raw material and fermentation style obviously matter as well.

Some factories, like Langhe, specialize in a fermentation style that is intended to allow the production to age naturally afterward.  I recently learned that CNNP/Zhong-cha’s famous 7581 recipe is comprised of some percentage of raw material.

These creative variables in material will determine just how long production may have to sit before it is good for drinking, which might explain why in China the preference is for older raw puerhs.

Roll the drums please. . .

 #5   ’06 T8371, CNNP 250g brick

Gorgeous Ripe Zhongcha Brick

I like the camphor-accented ripe productions.  There are scads of them out there that advertise themselves as having camphor fragrance, but to be honest, they are few and far between.  This one has an unmistakable camphor vibe.  It has also been light humid stored.  It is not wet or dank, just well done.  As you can tell from the picture, it possesses remarkable clarity and is all around gorgeous.  The qi presence is strong.  This brick ranks highly based on numerous criteria.  Sold out.

#4   ’06 Banzhang Thick Brick

The longest huigan EVER!

Banzhang Thick Brick (kilo) seems to have been wet-stored for a short duration before getting the ole Kunming dry-stored treatment. It is an incredibly complex ripe puerh, possessing tastes of camphor, cinnamon, earth, and loads of sweetness. The huigan is quick and lasts and last, exuding the cooling of camphor and sweetness of oud.  Sold out.

#3  ’07 Boss Square Puerh

That tight embossed kinda brick

The ’07 Boss Square is an entirely dry-stored production.  It very much strikes me as what every dry-stored ripes only they could be: cocoa, malt, vanilla, a shade of tingle.  The aftertaste lingers with notes of cocoa.  There is a solidness to the Boss Square which is quite rare and usually only filled out with some touch of humidity.  Taste best with the quickest of infusions.

#2  ’06 Langhe Humid and Clean

’06 Langhe Tuo

Do you see how crystal clear that brew is?  The ’06 Humid and Clean is spectacularly delicious.  Balanced between humidity, camphor, sweetness and leather, it provides a special experience.  In terms of clarity, color, aroma and taste, the ’06 Humid and Clean is no joke.  There is no overrating the quality of this tuo and the craft applied to the humid storage, which is somewhat similar to somewhat similar to the Xiaguan Nanzhao raw but excelling compared to it in terms clarity of taste and overall balance.

   #1  ’12 Operation Macau

The ’12 Operation Macau is a special order Xinghai Tea Factory production.  With a taste of petrichor and the umame of light pea soup, this humid-stored treasure is among the best that ripe puerh has to offer.

Why?

Well, first of all the aroma wet and dry varies little, and that aroma is quite pleasing.  Second, its color is clear and true.  Third, the clarity of the aroma and color carry over into the taste.  Humid productions can often be overbearing or dank, moldy tasting.  Executing humidity, which seems to strongly favour ripes, well is easier said than done, but here its been done fabulously well.

Fourth, the qi with Operation Macau produces an obvious warming sensation in the chest.  You might break a sweat at the nape of the neck, small of the back, or forehead.  To get there, you needn’t over brew to avail yourself of its powerful effects.  Finally, brewed gong-fu style this production has staying power that evolves, revealing nice mouth cooling effect later on.

It is quite obviously made from excellent base material.

 

Conclusion

It just occurred to me that four of the five best have been humid-stored.  None of them have been “wet-stored.”  The latter is much more dank, where the microbial taste is the predominant note.  At the same time, proper humidity adds a depth that makes a big difference in terms of the enjoyability of a ripe.

Another observation about the Five Best Ripes is that three of the five have obvious camphor notes.  Pronounced camphor flair ripes aren’t too common.  Some of it might have to do with age, but aged ripes in no way guarantees a real camphor effect by a long shot.  Interestingly, a production of old tea nuggets started out minty but on the last visit was not detectable.  Perhaps some tampering.

For me the clarity of a ripe is a vital reflection of the craft and quality of the production.  I do not drink puerh as a substitute for coffee.  I’d prefer less to pour ripe brew into a chai-hai than I would some raws, because there’s a certain charm in all that redness, something that cannot be appreciated with a cloudy brew.

Finally, four of the five are major puerh tea factories.  King among them is #5 CNNP/Kunming TF.  Their 7581 is a classic production, which is somewhat similar to the #3 Boss Square, known for some productions of their own and the Boss Square being one.  All the above factories also make raws.  Langhe, the maker of #2 Humid and Clean, definitely has a reputation for producing excellent ripes which are usually very masterfully crafted.

 

 

Temperance Be Damned: Simao Tea Factory the Quest Continues

Posted on by Yang-chu

So there’s this thing with people.  Most of us like “the thing.”  Then there are those of us who purposely avoid “the thing,” simply because everyone is into it. Yeah, I fall into the “alternative” crowd.  In puerh everyone knows that Dayi is “the thing,” especially in HK and Malaysia.  No puerh brand is as much “the thing” as Dayi, otherwise known as Menghai Tea Factory, aka Zhongcha factory #2.

It’s all about the monopoly.  As privatization effected the Zhongcha tea monopoly, Dayi jumped out in front of others in marketing a unique brand.  I feel 90% of Dayi is mystique and the better their myth-making, the more it boosts prices, of past productions in particular.  Amidst the shadow cast by Dayi, however, are a handful of other factories that also belonged to the Zhongcha monopoly and many others that provided raw material for their productions.  This brings us to Simao Tea Factory.

Simao is the old name for a city now called Puer.  I had mistakenly confused Puer Tea Factory with Simao Tea Factory or Simao Ancient Puer Tea Factory.  There’s a difference.  The former is one of the old factories and the latter isn’t.  I’m reviewing the latter.  It is simply called Ancient Puer Tea Brick.

The company advertises itself as combining ancient and modern methods.  This brick is a representation of the modern approach.  It is pressed so tightly that use of a tea-needle is for naught.  You need a thick tea-knife or chisel.

Compression is the major theme with this production.  Whereas I am very cautious about my infusion times, with the Ancient Puer Tea Brick temperance be damned.  This is a good thing, because the there is only the slightest evidence of bitterness no matter how long you steep.  The taste is most reminiscent of Tang, which is partly citrus but mostly some kinda vanilla-like and fruit like that candy stick you dipped into color-flavoured sugar back in da day.  The mouthfeel is delightful.  It is thicker if you let it sit for about a day after opening up with a couple minute or so infusions.  Otherwise, the liquor is a little on the thin side, but it goes and goes and goes, as does the mouthfeel. Maybe 20 infusions.  It has an undramatic bitter phase but never bottoms out into that wretched bitter so common among raws.

 

 

’06 Langhe Tuo Part II

Posted on by Yang-chu
23 Feb

A better than decent ripe puerh must have depth. Ripe puerhs made from average quality leaves lack soul. It gives a taste of blah in the mouth. Langhe is known for a particularly light fermentation style. But for a few Langhe minis that I’ve tasted from the Chawang Shop, there isn’t much by way of earthiness. They have a very clean style that can possess some of the tannins and taste of chocolate. The higher grade Imperial Round had a taste of common hongcha, that is something like a keemun or a other common Irish breakfast tea from India.

The tannic productions, like the beautiful ’06 Peacock Tribute and the ‘07 Menghai Round, could probably benefit from a stint of good ole wet-storage. Just one summer in humid storage has done wonders for the Menghai Round, though it remains on the tannic and dry side. The ’11 Imperial Round was so “raw” right now that it tasted like a harsh black tea… probably the most beautiful liquor that I’ve ever seen in a puerh, considerably lighter than any other. It was exceptional but not at the end of the spectrum I preferred. A more detailed note on that is forthcoming.

Which brings us back to the ’06 Menghai Bird’s Nest, which is ready for drinking now. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a moving target but the target seems to be moving toward a better and better product. When I first got it, I was struck by its umami. That’s the taste sensation that is supposed to be evoked when eating mashed potatoes. This is an interdimensional sensation that arrives when a cake is fermented and stored well. The bad fermentation tastes icky like a dank basement. Some people love it. The good fermentation is one where you taste a microbial action that goes beyond just that which occurs in the process of oxidation. These tend to be rare.

Along with umami, the taste of anise was quite apparent. Presently, the depth is present but umami doesn’t come to tongue. The taste of anise is less apparent as well, with sweet notes prevailing and most distinguishing explosive camphor finish, which lingers for at least a good three minutes. I’ve had two other such distinguishing camphor tasting ripes. A gift from the Tong Ren herb shop in London and a maocha sample from White2Tea. The latter, lost its kick the second time I visited it. The same could be said for the ’10 Imperial Palace. At one moment it possessed great camphor sensation, then it didn’t. I still haven’t been able to put my finger on factors shaping the expression of camphor and its relative relation to the quality of the tea or the relationship of storage and humidity to its expression. Stay tuned.

Puerh & the Peacock: The Animal Totem of the Yunnan Hilltribes

Posted on by Yang-chu
02 Jan

We’re all familiar with animal totems and how they come to represent a people. The bear symbolizes the Russians, the eagle the Americans, and the dragon the Chinese. Those are just the ones that are immediately obvious. One wonders, does the salmon take such a status among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest or the frog (ahem) in France? Is the crawfish occupying the flag of some gulf-coast tribe and what about the lobster for Maine or the cod for the rest of the Northeast?

Well, the question could go on from one culture to the next. If we contrast the bear with the crawfish, there’s a clear difference where they lie on the food chain. Probably, when it comes to choosing totems, there’s a preference for choosing those creatures higher up on it…, the food chain that is.

Egyptian Scarab Beetle

Aegyptian Scarab Beetle

Then there are beasts of burden. The obvious examples being the camel and cow.  I heard a very interesting bit about India and the cow that actually ties to Aegypt, in particular the scarab beetle. The beetle processes the cow dung on which the vaunted entheogenic mushroom is grown. Both totems, at least according to this narrative, reference the netherworldly effects of the mushroom.  Imagine, two of our most ancient cultures could have taken totems for practices that are usually associated with the “degenerates” of the 60s.  Oooh, makes me wonder…

Now that we’ve been made to marvel if ever so briefly at what an interesting lot we humans can be, our attention is directed toward the tribespeople of China’s Southwest and their totem, the peacock.  More on that in part two.

Raw Pu erh vs Green Tea

Posted on by Yang-chu

Raw Pu erh vs Green Tea

Raw Pu erh vs Green Tea – The Differences and Similarities

Raw pu erh and green tea, though similar, have some differences that will be discussed below.

Differences

  1.  Regional differences— Raw pu erh must come from Yunnan Province and the the Mekong River delta.  Green tea can be cultivated just about anywhere.  All of the five major regions of China produce green tea.
  2.   Leaf-type— The regional standard established for pu erh tea requires that it be the Mekong River region broad-leaf variety of Camellia sinesis.  Green tea includes small-, medium-, and large-leaf varieties.  Additionally, the leaves used for green tea are fairly tender, with grading quite detailed, particularly for famous types like Dragon Well.  This is not necessarily the case with pu erh.  Small and tender leaves will certainly command a high price, but it doesn’t ensure a nice product.
  3.   “Kill Green” differences—  There are four types of “kill green” procedures with green tea: sun-dried, baked, fried, or steamed.  By definition, pu erh is sun-dried.

Continue reading →

What is Pu erh Tea

Posted on by Yang-chu

What is Pu erh Tea? – Ripe

what is pu erh teaMost people have never heard of pu erh tea, and those who have are left wondering what is pu erh tea and what makes it special.  It’s all in the fermentation, at least as far as ripe pu erh is concerned.  For starters, pu erh is comprised of two types: raw and ripe.  Raw is the unfermented type, whereas ripe is fermented.  Aging is an important aspect of pu erh tea.  It is far more important for the raw type than the ripe, though even ripe will improve with age… normally.  Aging is a feature unique to pu erh.  In China, pu erh is actually an investment.  There is even a pu erh futures vehicle offered by a Shanghai investment firm.  Most if not all investment centers around raw pu erh and the particular famous brands which produce them. Continue reading →

Top Puerhs 2015-’05, part IV

Posted on by Yang-chu

Top Pu erh teas of 2015

Let’s pick up from where we left off on the discussion of top puerh terriors of the past ten years.  So far, we’ve covered the super renowned like Lao Banzhang, Bingdao, and Wan Gong (aka Bow Village).  You may have noticed that there has been no mention of Yiwu, Lincang or Menghai.  This is because these are the general names where the specific terriors being discussed reside.  Puerhs called Yiwu are usually a blend of materials from various terriors.  The trend is toward greater specificity as these command a higher price on the market than just a general regional name. Continue reading →