Category Archives: The Junky’s Log

’98 Manzhuan Storage Brief

Posted on by Yang-chu
03 Feb

Our first post of the New Year begins here on the fifth day (初五) of celebration with the ‘98 Manzhuan Storage Brief.  Its journey offers some valuable insights into the particularities of storage, heavily stored productions in particular.  As most readers are well aware, Guangdong storage presents with a profile that tends to be dirtier than productions stored in Kunming.  This is due to the humidity of Guangdong and the taste preference of the region, which also includes HK, Taiwan, and Malaysia.  The oft-used term “Guandong dry storage” can vary from one vendor to the next, some imparting very little humidity and others quite a lot.  In largely sharing with the Mainland preference for drier storage, the Puerh Junky nonetheless holds a nuanced perspective toward humid raws, which shall be elaborated upon below.

Humid Raw Complexities

The ’98 Manzhuan introduces some of the complexities intrinsic to humid raws.  These complexities involve how deeply humidity has penetrated the material as a result of the intensity and duration of applied humidity.  Obviously, these factors greatly impact expression.  Some storage can act as a countervailing force fine tuning the effects of heavy humidity.  It took about six months for the Manzhuan to recover from its original storage home.  Though the humidity was clearly quite penetrating, at the same time it was clear that the intensity of storage did not adversely impact the material as the expression was sweet and lively.  This does not happen when a production is subject to intense humidity over a protracted period or scorched into appearing older than it is.  In both instances the tea tends to lose all signs of life.

With junkacious sagacity (ahem), I placed my “at the ready Manzhuan cake” in mylar unsealed along with other Yiwu productions, including an even more wickedly humid production from David Lee Hoffman acquired around the same time.  This is where the music takes a precarious foreboding tone for this is when the Yiwu box took on a decidedly heavier aroma, all within more or less innoculated with eau de dank.  It’s my suspicion that the main culprit was the DLH production; just a whiff of it today turned my stomach. . .  and it’s been out of the box and in the open since early Nov ’24!  That was also when I removed the Manzhuan from the Yiwu box, as its developing trajectory did not compare favourably to the year prior.

Frozen In Time

There’s a particular misnomer that given X and Y conditions that one can keep their productions frozen in time.  This is not too likely.  However, there is the possibility for evaluating the effects of storage and modulating accordingly within certain parameters.  In the mylar and Yiwu box, the Manzhuan became less ebullient and more bland, exactly as if it had been subjected to too much humidity for too long.  This is what informed my taking it out of the box, and when things did not improve at the beginning of Jan ’25, it parted from the mylar as well.

The results on this 5th-day of the New Lunar Year are far better than satisfactory:

  • the humid notes are mostly an afterthought;
  • there’s full sweetness;
  • the peach taste is uninhibited;
  • Additionally, the broth is thick.

Some previous tastings may have been just as thick, but the lack of sweetness along with the very pronounced humidity possibly distracted from appreciating this.  Of curiosity is whether its storied storage path in any way contributed to any of it current glories. It’s hard to say.  It’s worth noting that the Manzhuan stash is not being stored in mylar but a stash box and given tastings therefrom, it appears that air flow factors significantly in producing the favourable results reported above.

Conclusions

In evaluating the ’98 Manzhuan these past few years, I’d venture that mylar isn’t the very best for humid productions if the desire is to bring out the most sweetness while lessening humidity.  Sweetness and humidity may be inversely related provided conditions resembling those here in Los Angeles.  There is a term called “tuicang” (退仓) which refers to post-humid storage specifically geared toward minimizing wet character.  It’s probably the mark of a more finished product.  Certainly since Nov ’24, the Manzhuan (from the “at the ready” Yiwu box) could be considered to have been undergoing tuicang.

Finally, the Manzhuan Storage Brief would be remiss were it not to highlight that this heavier Guangdong storage has not adversely affected the underlying spirit of the material, which is sweet, fruity, lively, and thick.   Also as a complete sidenote, it’s worth mentioning that the appearance of Manzhuan is very much in the old-school vein, rather similar to all other terroir before the wispy whole-leaf style became the trademark of Yiwu offerings around ’04.  You can gander here.  Cashed leaves.

Willie Pueronka

Posted on by Yang-chu
06 Jan

Willie Pueronka.  Dat ole mystery list of flavours evoking a sense of the time when I delivered papers for the Fairfield Ledger, back when it was a daily, back when they delivered papers.  This time it’s Chameleon’s “banana.”  It’s not the real taste of banana, but it is the real taste of Willie Wonka’s Wacky Wafers.  Of course, Chameleon is not sweet like that.  Though it screams “banana flavour”, it’s blended in a sophisticated grown up way, like banana bread.   No foolin’.

Wuliang Longevity Ripe

Posted on by Yang-chu
03 Nov

Wuliang Longevity extends our Haixintang discussion from earlier in the week. It’s been residing in LA for about a year-and-a-half this Nov ’24.  It still posseses a strong cherry nose, blending nicely amidst strong bitter chocolate.  Its body is lighter than some of its Menhai counterparts and as the taste fades an irresistable cream flavour builds.  The huigan engages the drinker for a good spell, in part due to the Menghai contrast.

Xiaguan or Tulin constitute reliable references for ripes from the region including Mt. Wuliang.  It’s been a very long time since drinking a Tulin ripe and even longer for an XG, as in never.  The Wuliang’s bitterness, though pronounced, appears evanessent.  A similarly fruity ripe Merlot, by contrast, impresses with a much more intimidating bitterness.  They’re the same age, but the bitterness with Merlot builds, perhaps due to its Menghai origins.  It’s also quite possible that the evanescent character of the WL is attributable to HXT’s crafting particulars.

Cool, WL tastes an awful lot like coffee.  This goes back to its medium texture, not just the roast.  Were I hankering for a roasty brew, Orchid Vibe would be first on my mind.  It’s another Menghai, with a bold character and texture alongside some cream notes.  Warm, WL screams cherry dark, dark chocolate, but mysteriously as it cools coffee roast notes take centerstage.  This doesn’t seem to happen among the Menghai crew.

Words to describe Wuliang Longevity?  Cozy and affable.   Long after swallowing, a dynamic huigan progression pleasantly engages the drinker.  Such coziness makes it nice during chilly weather and before bed.

Milky Machinations

Posted on by Yang-chu
31 Oct

Milky Machinations finds the Puerh Junky engaged in countless Milk Tea variations.  Let’s take a gander at the latest involving Puerh Espresso.

Pu’erh Espresso

Pu’erh Espresso is the sexy name that Puerh Junky bestowed upon a few kilos of puerh tea paste stored since about ’17.  Tea paste is brewed then reduced into a glue, which is then left to dry.  It’s usually sold in blocks or cubes.  There are companies that specialize in making it, with some productions commanding very high prices based upon the clarity.  These dreadfully fancy ones don’t seem to be consumed as tea, but rather as pills for various medical conditions.  As with traditionally shaped ripes, the older the tea paste the better it is considered to be.  It’s hard to say if this is entirely due to the Chinese penchant for valuing “the old.”  The same funkified factor that makes many ripes undrinkable until a few years after production also applies to tea paste.  In other words, that wodui aroma doesn’t get cooked out in the course of its processing.  That smell is simply something that must age out.  Additionally, aging seems to have mellowed some of the tannins, though it doesn’t appear to have become any sweeter, as is the case traditional-style ripes.  Now for the Milk Tea part. . .

Milk Tea

Milk Tea with Pu’erh Espresso seems to be a perfect marriage.  One of the main benefits has to be convenience.  In previous iterations of milk tea, the ripe puerh had to be brewed for about 15 minutes before cashed leaved being extracted and spices being added.  With Pu’erh Espresso, that’s all one step.  This means that the spices cook the same amount of time as the brew, saving at least 15 minutes.

Second, there’s never any bother about extracting everything from the leaves because the extraction is what Pu’erh Espresso is.  Previously about 13.5g of tea brewed up to make about 6cups of brew.  Now two-level grams make just as much if not slightly stronger and one-heaping gram and one level gram serving up a positively intense base upon to which one adds milk, cream, bone broth, and butter.  Blending these ratios works faster without first cooking the tea because everything can be added at once, though milk and cream should be added toward the end to allay curdling.

Along these lines, there’s no wringing out the last bits of concentrated brew from the leaves.  My strainer is staying in the drawyer, as the cardamom is pulverized in the blending.  Add ons?

Add Ons

There’s a big batch of sour plum, hawthorn, and tamarind ferment that I made up in Sept that doesn’t agree with the ole teeth when drunk strait.  The urge to ever doctor the Milk Tea to execute certain health benefiting properties never ends.  Tamarind is well researched for its effects on counteracting fluoride, and though its dose in this brew would in no way be therapeutic, it can certainly be considered mollifying in terms of the fluoride naturally found in camelia sinesis.

Balloon flower root is a very common Korean vegetable high in saponins.  These compounds found in balloon flower root can be helpful for those suffering from various form of phlegm disorders, including sinuses, snoring, cough.  Again, the idea of its use is to not make the potion an actual medicinal beverage, but it can enhance properties of ripe itself, as ripe is first-and-formost consider a digestive that works by enhancing metabolism of what is generally considered phlegm by Chinese medicine standards.

Wrap Up

Milky Machinations offers more insights into the versatility of Milk Tea, while touting the fantastic results of using Pu’erh Espresso instead of actual leaves.  It’s a time saver, simplifies preparation, and makes gauging additions easier.  Pu’erh Espresso packs a righteous punch, so nothing is lost in terms of intensity by substituting it for leafy ripe.  If anything it adds to the intensity.

 

Grenouille, Stylin, Daxueshan

Posted on by Yang-chu
29 Oct

Grenouille, Stylin, Daxueshan provides storage and development notes on three offerings during the autumnal sweet spot of ’24.  Grenouille, re-upped in ’20, comes to the drinker by way of Haixintang.  Though obscure in the English-speaking world, they hold a solid reputation amidst the welter of puerh tea factories.  Stylin‘ flaunts courtesy Xinghai factory, probably the largest holding of any one factory in the Puerh Junky Collection.  Daxueshan holds the distinction of being from MKRS, a Lincang factory outfit that since inception has been particular about not using pesticides.  Let’s start by recapping weather/storage particulars for the past two years.

Weather

Oct ’23, Los Angeles, California witnessed early rains that lasted off-and-on through February ’24.  Sept ’23 may have been fairly warm though it was not its typical hot and this Sept 24 was abnormally cool.  Spring ’24 resembled weather patterns of the US hinterland.  In fact, the last two Marches have been noticeably different from previous years, March usually being one of the hottest months of the year before the gloom settles in.  A steady barometer for measuring spring weather happens to be the jacaranda: when they blossom and how long the blossoms last.  If many blossoms last into July, then you know you’ve had very cool temperatures relatively speaking.  That has been the case the past two years.  Now for the details. . .

Puerh Details

Puerh Details start in late ’22 when efforts at aggressive hydration proved too ambitious by April ’23, as bits of white frost formed in the big ripe box along with a box mostly for tuo and a few cakes singled out for da business.  By April ’24 the following year, most all boxes were either back to conservative hydration or no hydration at all.  It just wasn’t hot enough where bold humidity would yield desired results.  Grenouille was in the aforementioned tuo box of frost where hydration stopped in Aug ’23.  Since then the humidity has been given a chance to settle in sans any hydration.  The effect has imparted serious mushroom flavours without one shred of dankness.

Out of panic, hydration extraction occurred about the same time as above with a separate Xinghai box, which also includes BZZS.  After the joyous events following the Chinese New Year (ahem), a devil-may-care attitude led to letting the tea do what it would on its own.  Stylin‘, a denizen of this box and visted this Oct ’24, unleashed its best performance to date.  Originally being stored under fairly dry conditions, Stylin’s aging over the past few years involves incremental “juicification” while the intrinsic sugars emerge and deepen.  Given the extreme moderate temperatures, the lack of hydration appears to have been a good move.

Daxueshan gets stored along with other Lincang productions like Creme Florale and some Lancang offerings like Jingmai.  This box only affords a very small measure of hydration.  There’s nothing that can be done to change this aside from eliminating what little there is, which seems like a bad idea.  In any event the DXS is getting better and better.  It is now downright bright with an intriguing blend of tangerine and apricot.  Not mealy apricot either.

Take Aways

One take away tying these productions is sweetness, something that the ole Puerh Junky’s been waiting on for a minute.  This is not to say that they previously didn’t have some measure of sweetness, but now the sweetness lasts.  The texture and flavours are all deeper and more intense, with noticeably quelled astringency. The dryness is gone with Grenouille. There’s scorch up front that lasts but an instant before the onslaught of mushroom. Good sweetness, including a mischevious thread of bitter. Peach follows on the heels of the mushroom, and some infusions after sitting a few hours even yielded bold lemon.  Stylin‘ sounds in the medium-low register, light wood, incense, dried durian. Little astringency and bitterness. Savory with building sweetness from one infusion to the next. Round and full mouthfeel.  It’s a truly sophisticated drinking experience.  Both these two are savoury sweet, while Daxueshan has decidedly been moving in the opposite direction.  The typical floral character of DXS gets replaced by stonefruit and a hint of tangerine.

 

Lemon Swimmin’

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Oct

Lemon Swimmin‘ is a catchy title describing a couple raw productions drunk recently, LME Early Spring, and Tiger Tuo, LCGC.  The two have some differences despite swimmin’ in lemon.  In the following passage, lets’ take a look at the storage parameters, some tea factory highlights, and taste features just for fun.

Storage

The LME Spring came into the cave sometime in ’23, a re-upping from a batch acquired around ’18.  It resides in the bazhong box along with other LME productions.  Weather conditions in ’24 were cooler than previous years.  Hydrating started imparting an undesired heavy aroma, so since around May items have been stored sans any hydration.  It drank very well straight from storage.

The Tiger Tuo sat out for about 15 days, also a re-upped offering this time acquired around early ’21 and originally in late ’15.  Dry-stored, this tuo has been consumed from the “for the ready” fridge.  Transformation has been conservative due to the very moderate temps the last few years.  Drinking directly from the fridge doesn’t do it justice, particularly coming at sweetness’ expense.

Company

As the name indicates, LME specializes in Menghai, Banzhang material.  All of their neipiao (inner ticket) from this era are identical, indicating BZ, Bulang, and Nannuo material.  Differences standout despite neipiao genericness.  LME stands for Laoman’e a mountain/terror not far from the BZ area and is known for being especially bitter.  Just for clarity, LME here refers to the brand, though it is often just a reference to the terroir.  This brand has a very solid reputation in terms of raw and ripe productions.

LCGC designates Lancang Ancient Tea.  They specialize in Jingmai and Jingmai blended productions.  Since about ’18 their reputation for ripes has far surpassed their raws.  Interestingly, they use their best material in crafting tuo.  The factory is a woman-owned private enterprise, with origins going back to the late 60s at the height of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

Taste

LME Spring previously tasted of old chrysanthemum.  For reasons possibly relating to age or storage, lemon swims presently.  Without being piercing, the taste is bright and cheerful, evocative of Lemon Heads but nowhere as sweet.  Fruit is a characteristic stage of many raws, but transitioning from old flowers to lemon is a new discovery.  Chances are that this lot received lighter storage than the previous, possibly never undergoing a chrysanthemum stage.

Tiger presents an interesting study in the evolution of a bright pine and pineapple-y tuo into lemon.  Weather plays such a huge role along with storage in the expression at any given time.  A previous entry notes root beer expression from a few years of very warm weather.  This most recent iteration is characterized by lemon-wood-petrol, with nice sweetness edged by unabashed bitterness.  The personality is darker than the LME Spring, though the broth is lighter.

Wrap-Up

Lemon Swimmin‘ features two raw productions possessing strong lemon traits.  LME Spring is new to the lemon party, while Tiger Tuo has always possessed some citrus-esque attributes.  Both are re-acquisitions from previous fairly conservatively stored conditions in Mainland.  Both are lemon swimmers, but LME Spring’s bright nature evokes childhood lemon, while the Tiger’s wood and petrol combine to spin a more complex yarn.

Championship Round: Ripe Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
20 Jun

The Championship Round of the Ripe Puerh Challenge commenced on 14th June ’24.  Three contestants performed and that day, followed by the last two on the 15th.  Parameters for the championship round differed from the initial round in that 1) contenders sat out for about five days, 2) only two rounds drunk for each, with the second pushed considerably.  Initial round and championship round differed considerably.  In retrospect, all of the contenders reached the championship round in the first place because they performed best straight from storage.  This is to say that no production performed better than straight from storage.  This serves to reason as they all expressed stellar qualities to get them to the championship round in the first place.  This is not to say, however, that the duration for airing was too long.  For example, airing Merlot for only about 18 hrs dramatically increased its performance, while a cake (Hailanghao’s ’05 Jinseming) with an especially innovative fermentation approach on hand for 14yrs performed best it ever has after sitting out for more than two weeks.

Second, a pushed infusion doesn’t necessarily make for the most enjoyable drinking experience, though it does get to the innate character of the production.  Under ordinary circumstances, diluting or stacking of shorter infusions would have been in order.  Still, apprehending the innate character reveals more about the underlying material of the production itself.  Here, there’s no mistaking Yiwu with Menghai.

55, Zhongcha #1  Champion.

Zhongcha’s ’06 “55” commemorative continues evolving along a path of deepening sophistication.  Curiously, Baidu states that it is part of the 7581 series, which either seems wrong or raises more questions than it answers about what precisely “7581 series” constitutes.   No other 7581 is as populated with gold buds as the “55.”  One would think that “series” signals some established standard of material, fermentation, and other processing variables, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.  A previous entry discusses this.

Highlights: Bitterness, piney camphor, incense, cream, balanced sweetness, mushroom, cocoa deliciousness, big qi, cuts phlegm

Ripe Participants

  • Yiwu Commission, DQZ
    Creamy sweet, bitter finish, smooth, chocolate milk–> the second round push exhibited that Yiwu smoove, zero humid notes.
  • BZ Peacock King, LME
    Bitter!  Crazy clarity, dark chocolate then cream, piques salivation, icy-hot camphor, cotton mouth, light incense, cheeky–> would definitely have diluted second round.
  • Operation Macau, XH commission
    High camphor cream aroma, dry newspaper hint, slate, cream aftertaste, piques salivation; cream forward, camphor finish w/ mineral accent, bittersweet cacao, touch of roast, late aftertaste slight sour–> sweetest expression from first to second infusion by far.
  • Silver Peacock, XH
    Malty cream and roast, glass smooth, pecan, vanilla, bittersweet aftertaste–> even-Steven from first to second.

Ripe participants are probably listed in the order in which they placed, though personal preference increasingly trumps quality as they’re all good. Here’s a link to try for yourself.  Scroll down for “champions” selection. It consists of 16g of each participant.  The link will remain active till about 14th Jul ’24.

Spring Ripe Championship Round

Posted on by Yang-chu
11 Jun

Spring Ripe Championship Round commences in four days, June 14th.  All the contestants have just been removed from storage to air.  How they will perform under airing remains anyone’s guess. . . and guess many a spectator will do.  Odds-makers are frantically taking bets.  The sharks placed wagers with cool confidence the minute odds listed.  Yang Q Public (ahem) invariably waits till the last minute.  Here’s the contestants along with the stable represented.

Stay tuned.  Place yer bets.

 

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off V

Posted on by Yang-chu
24 May

The evening prior to Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off IV major domos (or is that doma) Ruan, Zhang, and Du met up for an evening repast of crawfish hotpot with lots of pea greens and limitless enoki.  The following day featured Mme Zhang’s third or fourth performance, while it would be the first for Mmes Ruan, of 6FTM, and Du.  They chatted some about the old days at Menghai TF but mostly the deliciousness of the enoki, the freshness of the crawfish, and nuance of the Sichuan-style broth.  If Domo Zhang appeared more relaxed than her compatriots, if she found the crawfish just a smidge juicier, then it no doubt could be attributed to her already having Operation Macau advance to championship round earlier in the day.  Day V uncertainties weighted in the minds of Domos Du and Ruan.  Let’s get down to the day’s action.

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off IV

  • ’02 Purple Mark, 6FTM
    Light cocoa, Tootsie roll, slight camphor, strong qi, super velvet mouthfeel.
  • ’06 T8371, Zhongcha
    Light oud, balance, hint of red hots, astringency, bitterness, petrichor, big aroma, cocoa, camphor, brut.
  • ’05 Yiwu Commission, Du Qiong-zhi
    Magical aroma in dry pot, bright, buttery, camphor, medium to light body, pine, not so sweet, noticeable qi presence.
  • ’08 Golden Tribute, Xinghai
    Lively dry aroma, bittersweet, cocoa, oreo cookie.

Occupying opposite extremes of dark chocolate bitter punishment are the Purple Mark and Golden Tribute.  Purple Mark is one of the oldest contestants, second only to Drury Lane.  They perform similarly.  Airing considerably improves performance.  Straight from storage, it’s a lot like flat pop, silkiness aside.  Golden Tributes ferocity in no way detracted from it’s performance, contending strongly for the top spot.  It’s currently not listed, only three on hand.

This brings us to the two commissions.  The T8371 holds distinction as being a HK commission.  Judging from the recipe numbers, it’s a slight variant of the classic 7581, key being its light fermentation.  This was T8371‘s heftiest performance, entering a new fermentation stage.  Not to sound like a broken record, but it needed some airing.  The plug-n-playability of productions often depends upon the season.  Each production has it’s own personality.  Every production came straight from storage.  No babying allowed.  It’s more than plausible that results would differ in another season.  The red hots note is new exciting addition to an already excellent performer.

Process of elimination leads to the Yiwu Commission as the winner.  Spring has treated this contestant most generously.  The complexity of flavours with all-enveloping camphor pleased all drinkers.  It held up throughout the day, while the Golden Tribute settled into less distinctive expression.  Through the course of five days of mostly drinking Menghai productions, the buttery Yiwu not formed quite an extravagant contrast.  Major Domo Du will be advancing to the championship round.

 

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off IV

Posted on by Yang-chu
23 May

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off Day IV has contests in no mood to chat with the media before the event.  Late entries have extended the competition to a fifth day.  The late change has put them in a bit of a mood.  As a reminder, each contestant weighs in at 10.5g, receiving arbitrary infusion times in a 150ml clay pot.  The same pot.  Let’s begin. . .

Ripe Puerh Taste Off Day IV

Day III of the Ripe Puerh Taste Off occasioned mention of airing out productions for a few days for maximum performance.  This is relevant to the performances of both Dury Lane and the Langhe Brick.  Experience has demonstrated that DL benefits from a good 10 days of airing.  In the Taste Off there was a noticeable lack of zing that resulted in the descriptor “dense.”  The same likely applies to the presence of “cardboard,” since it hasn’t been subjected to dry conditions.  It is conceivable that this sample’s location in storage might somewhat factor, though cardboard and “old taste” could be construed as being the same and at 22 yrs of age might be expected.

The prevailing taste of the Langhe Ripe Tuo is highly evocative Sweet Richness, an earlier contestant, though not as intense.  Interestingly, as it sat throughout the day, it performed more competitively among the contenders.  This raises questions about prospects for future interestingness, though the maximo light-fermented production of considerably higher quality like the ’06 East is Red and ’05 Peacock Tribute have already hit their stride in the past 2-3yrs, without storage pushing.  Still, the GD stored version of the Langhe Ripe Tuo that did receive a great deal of humidity is actually quite remarkable so the jury remains out.

This only leaves Operation Macau as the obvious winner.  The Langhe Brick, which won the big Guangdong International Tea Expo in ’06, is less intense.  Again, this might be adjusted through airing.  Also, however, the OM is obscenely sweet.  Though it certainly didn’t have the stamina of Drury Lane or Langhe Brick, through the course of the day it was able to maintain its presence relative the others, with the Langhe Tuo rapidly approaching.