2020 Puerh Reflections
As is customary during the long dark days, opportunity for reflection on the year past presents itself. I thought it might be nice to contrive a list of what I found to be the best five performers for the year 2020. Since we’ve had plenty of drama this year, I’ll display my impressions as concocted sans the drama.
First Tier Puerhs of 2020
There shouldn’t be any doubt that “Poison” is the best performer of 2020. It has completely destroyed my conceptions about 6FTM. I’ll go into why this is such a slam dunk (yeah I remember sports) in part two.
The Yang Pin Hao Lily of the Valley is the perfect counterpoint to Poison. “Counterpoint” seems the trap into which Bach has been placed, but this does both him and counterpoint a disservice. In any event, some puerhs definitely express counterpoint within the class they exist, but here counterpoint is taken as the balance across class, floral vis mineral, tobacco vis Zen for example.
As far as the Lily of the Valley goes it is clearly a Mozart concerto. It isn’t trite, but it is clever with a sophistication that surprises. Poison, despite prior references to Bel Biv Devoe, is Rachmaninoff— yeah it’s that serious.
Bridge
This year, the local classical station had a Top 250 List as determined by voters. (ahem) I listened to a great deal of it with great zest only to be crushed that my boy JS tapped out in the 30s or 40s with the Phantom of the Opera. Gimme a break! The Mass in B-Minor was in the 70s while Star Wars was in the teens. I know that my Bulgarian, French, and Lebanese readers are gripping their sides with guffaws of incredulity. Show some sympathy for your humble Puerh Junky why don’t cha?
Second Tier Puerhs of 2020
Now by second-tier, the Puerh Junky doesn’t mean to imply that these productions are in the least second-tier. In fact the ’10 Bingdao, YP could easily contend for THE very best production of the year. It’s simply fantastic. One of the most disappointing and expensive at the time of purchase six years ago, it turned out to be amazing after considerable neglect and abuse. And were you to taste it, you’d guess it was maybe from ’14 at the latest. I cannot say what a big deal this treasure is and haven’t because it’s not for sale and the Puerh Junky isn’t one for rubbing it in your face. This is not a sales job but an honest record of the year’s puerh experiences, so it had to be mentioned. No puerh experience exceeded the ’10 Bingdao, YP, which lasted five days.
The Thick Zen has produced the greatest gratification this year. It blossomed to root beer and tastes so alive. It maintains the Zen but brings the zing. It’s so warm and stirring. Yes Smetna. It’s an Yiwu that didn’t just fall from the radar but is cloaked from detection altogether. There are some things that one could nit pick about but comparatively speaking, productions thrice the price aren’t this sweet, smooth, and root beery.
Here’s why Thick Zen is so special. Upon acquisition it was completely straw Zen, much like the “dirtier”, i.e., more humid productions from generally ’03-’99, without any hint of dirt. These productions command a very handsome price, but to the Puerh Junky’s mind they’re a shade ho-hum, like many of Beethoven’s sonatas where he continuously plagiarises from himself. Many of those older dirtier productions seem to have a ways to go or have gone and went. Thick Zen is at a point where it is very alive in the mouth like. . . root beer, sweet and. . . I want to say David Sylvian.
Third Tier Puerh 2020
Grenouille blew my mind. It doesn’t bear this name beyond Grenouille being a master at his skill. It’s not about how he produces the most magical of perfumes. Perfume can be interesting but the term should be defined. “Perfume” usually stands an octave above floral. When a perfume is an octave below floral it is incense. Incense possesses wood notes, sometimes sap which ventures into petrol and various “camphorols” like mint, toothpaste, borneol, cinnamon, which a wood-grade camphor.
Grenouille expresses incense AND perfume along a substrate of Zen. I’ve always considered it good but most recently discovered that it had evolved into something truly exceptional, literally transitioning from tobacco to Zen class. At least one other person believes Grenouille still to be decidedly tobacco, but the difference might reflect the Puerh Junky’s fortunes to track Grenouille’s development over time. Penitence perhaps?
I Haven’t Mentioned. . .
The Tiger, CMS. I’ve only shared with two others. Sublime and defies conception. Absolutely the best tea I have EVER had of any sort. I have mention the Simao Green Mark (7542) petrol qi destroyer, which as tamed a bit. Simao is bad-azz when they choose to be.
In the next missive, I’ll take up the Puerh Junky’s Top Five Flavour preferences. Upon reflection, three tiers emerge from this year; the first two tiers are counterpoint to one another, each at different ends of the tonal range. Grenouille is probably more “trans” but now functions as a fulcrum balancing the two upper levels, an ineffable middle c . . . in the minor key.
