Brutal Ripe Puerh
Langhe is one of the factories I follow, primarily for ripes. Their fermentation style in producing ripe puerhs is lighter, ostensibly making them better for long-term storage and little rankness. In 2013 I acquired acquired their ’06 Peacock Tribute cake. At that time, it was brutal. It still is. Too dry. Fairly astringent.
’06 Peacock Tribute
Maybe over the years some of the astringency has dissipated, but not much. True to the Langhe fermentation style, there isn’t any wet pile taste. It’s just the taste that it does have bears a closer relationship with your typical Indian black Assam. The aftertaste is much like baker’s chocolate, especially the astringency, not a good taste on the tongue. They’ve got 25g samples over at YS if interested.
Speaking of YS, they’ve got a bone dry offering that I’ve been punishing since ’12 to no avail. It’s the ’05 Jin Se Zhen Ming. This one is gorgeous in color but so astringent, it could easily be confused for a black tea. It’s been processed in small batches, which is supposed to up its overall profile. It is a most exceptional production… exceptionally brutal. None of the seven years of storage have done anything to round this bugger out.
’06 East is Red
The ’06 East is Red, also by Langhe, is a decidedly superior production that started out a bit dry but is now pleasingly sweet with a pleasantly gentle camphor finish. Its aroma is stronger than most ripes, giving off some faint peachy notes, like the Dianxiu. There’s some astringency there, goes all the way down the throat. The finish is quite similar to the 55, but 55 has a coffee character whereas the East is Red is a rare ripe Zen production. Both had that baby powder quality.
Infusion #1 East is Red
It’s interesting to notice the variations that a factory can produce. The sweetness and camphor of the East is Red, for example, reaches another level with the Boss Tuo from the same year. Being humid stored, the Boss Tuo possesses some lower notes. Instead of Zen, it is medicinal, if peppermint candy can be considered medicine. That one has never been brutal.
