Category Archives: The Junky’s Log

Puerh Rating: Family

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on “Family,” an ’03 Youle Mt tuo by Yang Pin Hao, YPH.  This brand has been in existence since the end of the dynastic era, 1912, but has passed through several hands.  The brand certainly carries prestige.  A tea lass in Kunming looked at me incredulously when I showed familiarity.

After three rounds the results were as follows:

  • Aroma        10
  • Clarity        10
  • Sweetness 12
  • Viscosity     12
  • Astringency 14
  • Huigan          9
  • Qi                 12

Reflections

Infusion #3

The Youle receives a near perfect score in astringency.  YPH productions are characteristically floral and smooth.  Its thickness, sweetness, and qi make it a strong contender for best among YPH offerings the Puerh Junky has sampled.

Earlier in the week the Puerh Junky sat down with a sample of the ’06 Youle, XZH.  Placing the YPH alongside the XZH the similarities are clear in terms of floral class puerhs.  The XZH despite being Taiwan stored was about where the YPH was two years ago.  Neither production bear any resemblance to anything remotely humid stored, brash, or aggressive.  Both brews maintain a high level of consistency from one infusion to the next and do not bottom out even as they fade.

Conclusions

The Puerh Junky’s archival stash there’s an ’07 Youle Mt cake that is in full-blown root beer expression.  Even in its youth, stored since ’14, it was darker, more camphory, minty.  The Youle, YPH is just now entering a root beer stage, but the overall vibe is soft, clean, and floral.  This is “the other” Yang family boutique puerh vendor.  This isn’t for sale but reach out if interested in buying a sample.  Puerh Rating: Family

77/105, B

 

Puerh Rating: Da Hu Zhai

Posted on by Yang-chu
24 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’14 Da Hu Zhai.  This eastern Lincang production expresses intensely optimistic fruit notes characteristic of the region.  This production comes from a boutique vendor who deals exclusively with the eastern Lincang region.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma           10
  • Clarity            14
  • Sweetness    12
  • Viscosity         8
  • Astringency   13
  • Huigan          10
  • Qi                    7

Reflections

Initially, the Puerh Junky suffered great pensiveness regarding whether the Da Hu Zhai had been process in a fashion that aging would weaken it.  However this is NOT the case, as it continues to get sweeter.  The suspicion is well founded given how delicious it has been out the gate.  Nonetheless, it’s getting better under moderately intense conditions and the prospects are quite exciting.

The PJRS finds the Da Hu Zhai to possess stellar clarity.  Furthermore, that is backed up with just the slightest bit of astringency along with lots of stone fruit sweetness.  At this stage, this puerh might already be slightly beyond what many newer drinkers are familiar with, but nothing that wouldn’t be welcomed.  At the same time, it is something that experienced drinkers might be likely to dismiss due to youth.

As far as parallels are concerned, KMTF’s Jade Mark and “73” both from ’14 strike a similar bright, sweet, and optimistic note.  As I understand, the “73” precedes the Menghai version of the 7542, the hallmark raw puerh recipe.  Sweetness binds them.  Single village offerings tend to be exquisitely crafted.  Classic recipes appear thrown together.  Classics also tend to NOT be terribly drinkable when young, and I’m wonder whether processing methods of even the classics aren’t changing due to the demand from younger, hipper drinkers.

Conclusions

Da Hu Zhai ingratiates the frilly drinker.  Sometimes climatic concerns necessitate frilly drinking, so it’s not entirely your fault if you like this.  Also, if you felt like sitting on something for 10-20 yrs, this puerh treasure seems to be a very good candidate given its development so far.  Puerh Rating: Da Hu Zhai

74/105, B

Puerh Rating: Grenouille

Posted on by Yang-chu
24 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’06 Grenouille 100g tuo.  This Kunming dry-stored raw production came on the radar during an Wuliang Mt. phase of collecting.  The Puerh Junky’s tendencies are now more toward productions amidst preferred factories.  According to Baidu, the Chinese wiki, the Hai Xin Tang factory has been in the game since ’93.  They seem to excel both at raw and ripe productions but their variety is extremely limited to one or two productions of each.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          11
  • Clarity            7
  • Sweetness   14
  • Viscosity        9
  • Astringency  12
  • Huigan          11
  • Qi                 13

Reflections

Infusion 3

Most of the time, PJRS sessions are conducted with gaiwan.  Not here.  This tuo is quite simply the most undervalued item in the collection.  Strong vanilla.  No petrol, no flowers.  Brown sugar, light honey, stones, light smoke.

The sweetness of the Grenouille puerh tuo is near off the chain.  Everything in the composition of this production is in the medium range.  The qi expression is near immediate, stirring, expansive.  Sometimes the thought when facing a tuo is to brace oneself from a cacophony of brash machismo, but such is not the case here.  Generally any score above 8 on astringency is decent, and 12 qualifies as fantastic.

The picture tells you this is an ugly tea.  Some people don’t care about that.  I can say that if lack of clarity is an indication of completeness, which it isn’t, then this puerh tuo takes the prize.  The next day it was even murkier but every bit as complete.

Conclusions

Even though the Grenouille hails from the same region of Tulin and Xiaguan, the processing methods and raw material seems to vary in terms of general quality.  Hai Xin Tan is a much smaller outfit with far fewer productions and seemingly remarkable quality.  In terms of depth, character, and richness, it is closest to the Peacock, LM from the same year.  Puerh Rating: Longevity & Wealth

77/105, B

Puer Rating: Female Teamaster

Posted on by Yang-chu
24 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the renowned female teamaster Du Qiong-zhi.  Let’s say she’s no slouch.  Coming through the ranks of the vaunted Menghai TF since the 70s, she’s had a hand in numerous next generation factories of great repute.  This is her production of the famous 7542 in ’05.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          12
  • Clarity            8
  • Sweetness     9
  • Viscosity        9
  • Astringency  15
  • Huigan         15
  • Qi                 12

Reflections

Stacked infusions 7, 8, 9. Less than 10 sec.

There’s no getting around the wetness of this storage.  Du Qiongzhi’s 7542 received perfect scores in astringency and huigan, as the dank humidity smothered the sharp green notes.  At the same time, this puerh cake did not lose much of its punch in terms of qi or aroma.  The picture above shows intense copper at a phase where typical productions either fade in colour or intensity.  This kept going, but never in a ferocious or discourteous manner.

Old Taste and Funk make this puerh reminiscent of an older style of puerh storage, when HK and others of the Chinese diaspora comprised the overwhelming share of the puerh market.  The dank style is not agreeable to the big bucks in Beijing and Shanghai, but is highly favoured among a handful of old-school puerh drinkers in the non-Chinese world.

The Puerh Junky associates “old taste” with musty books and newspapers.  It bears no resemblance to root beer because there is no fizz and little sweetness.  In the few days of drinking this production, couldn’t come away not feeling that the storage ruined the tea.  Nevertheless, the PJRS allowed my to focus squarely on the relevant parameters and not my taste preferences.  As far as humid storage is concerned, this.

Conclusions

There’s no doubt that the ’05 Du Qiong-zhi 7542 is a serious tea.  The dank storage has not damaged its qi while greatly throttling the astringency, making this a very smooth, some would say “earthy” experience.  It bears old taste traits similar to Taiwan stored productions of a roughly similar age.  It’s currently not for sale, but you can hit me up for a sample.  Puerh Rating: Female Teamaster

79/105, B

 

Puerh Rating: AMT

Posted on by Yang-chu
20 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’07 AMT, TL 100g tuo.  In my puerh junkocity, “one Tulin rating deserves another.”  The Acutal Mushroom Taste (hence AMT) tuo has been on hand since at the latest early ’16.  In contrast to the other two tuo from Tulin offered, it stands out for the absence of floral notes.  Though its notes are lower in the range, it has shown nothing of the transformative capacity of the White Tips.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          10
  • Clarity            8
  • Sweetness     7
  • Viscosity         9
  • Astringency   11
  • Huigan          11
  • Qi                    7

Reflections

The words I wrote were “bitter, vegetal, floral.”  I clearly hated this experience.  It performs well in terms of viscosity and astringency, and there is no single category in which it doesn’t perform solidly.  Hence, it is a very well rounded everyday drinker. But I didn’t taste any mushroom.

The following day I had three very solid rounds from AMT and tasted the mushroom.  Interesting.  My reaction from a day earlier contradicts the introduction regarding lack of floral taste.  I generally do not associate the AMT with being floral.  Obviously, tastes change by the day affected by diet, climate, and context.  That’s why several sessions afford a much more accurate assessment than just one or two.

Conclusions

The PJRS surprises me.  By weighing the seven variables evenly, productions with a better all around performance will score higher relative much “better” puerh productions.  Such is the case for the AMT.  “Better” might be something purely subjective, so the rating scale helps to strip away subjective preferences around taste to simply see how the tea performs in terms of attributes that have some objective basis.

The AMT is a low risk, high reward introduction to semi-aged, semi-humid raw puerh tea.  Some have found its “qi-appeal” much higher than myself.  Puerh Rating RMT:

73/105, B

Puerh Rating: Silver Pekoe

Posted on by Yang-chu
18 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the 06 Silver Pekoe Tuo.   The Silver Pekoe is one of the most ferocious of the Puerh Junky offerings.  It also happens to be one of the oldest.  It is a Tulin TF production, which carries a solid reputation for their puerh tuos.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          12
  • Clarity           11
  • Sweetness     8
  • Viscosity         7
  • Astringency   10
  • Huigan          14
  • Qi                  10

Reflections

2020 Shot of the ’19 Purchase

Ferocious describes the Silver Pekoe, even after 14 years.  Needless to say, if you like a big bite in the mouth, then this is the tuo for you.  In terms of qi, it is also no slouch.  Now a matter of disclosure. . .

I originally purchased the SP in 2015.  At the time, it struck me as “interesting” but with a pronounced orange-juice finish that make me feel there was something wrong with the storage.  It always struck me as dynamic and sometimes the aroma was plain wicked, so I sampled it frequently, while stashing the store away in the container with extra heat and humidity to get the sour out.  The end result was nothing short of spectacular. . . after 3.5 yrs.

In 2019 I was able to source it again.  There is a considerable difference between the ’19 and ’15 that can only be attributed to differences in storage.  The most alarming difference to my sensibility is the degree of bitterness that can be detected in the ’19.  I find it a major put-off.  Second, the ’19 tastes much more petrolly and feels hotter.  This also the taste of dry wood, like in a wood shop or the taste of tequilas and whiskeys.

The outstanding huigan  of the ’19 stored is brashly floral, present instantaneously and demanding of your attention.  The ’15 stored is damp moist forest, expressing cooling and commingling alchemy.  There’s no wood or fire, just mint and roots.

Conclusions

The differences in storage are stunning, sufficient for me not recognize the same production.  It’s not just a muting of notes that occurs with the variance of conditions, so the process cannot be analogized to Davis’ use of the muffler tin or plastic when creating a mood.  This is because Davis will still hit all the notes, but storage determines largely where in the range tastes will develop.  Nothing has made this more apparently clear than the ’06 White Tips.

Whether subsequent heat and humidity deepen the range remains to be seen.  The ’19 version was reviewed and is presently the item offered.  The Puerh Junky Rating: Silver Pekoe

72/105, B

Puerh Rating: Top-Notch Tuo

Posted on by Yang-chu
10 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’07 Top-Notch Tuo, ZC.  This 100g raw puerh “bird’s nest” (tuo) is the first of any identically named productions.  “Top-notch” is translated from “jia–ji.”  Late 90 and early naught jia-ji are appears to be a fairly famous formulation.  Dunno whether this KMTF tuo is true to that original formulation.

Up until Jan of 2020, this tuo cha was stored in Kunming.  The outer wrapper is crisp as if it were last year’s production but the noticeable dry aroma is not in the least youthful.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          11
  • Clarity          14
  • Sweetness     9
  • Viscosity       11
  • Astringency  12
  • Huigan           6
  • Qi                   5

Reflections

The Top-Notch Tuo was only posted last month, Aug 2020.  According to the PJRS this tuo possesses exceptional clarity.  This tends to be a trademark of KMTF productions, something they take pride in.  It is also excels at being thick, smooth, and aromatic.

The tuo shape is synonymous with Xia Guan.  Those tend to be macho puerhs, smoky, minerally.  The tiny Puerh Junky stash of tuo offerings is from reputable factories, sometimes which also captured something thematically captivating.  Among them, the Top-Notch Tuo is definitely the fruitiest, next to its sister HK Returns.

68/105, B

Puerh Rating: Dragon, HM

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’12 Dragon, HM.  The “dragon” theme features somewhat more prominently than other lunar creatures.  The Dragon features a snazzy wrapper and an even snazzier price.  Coincidentally, 2012 was the year of the Golden Dragon, an occasion once every 60 years, so it’s considered particularly lucky.

Without consulting what has been previously written, I remember this raw puerh for being sweet and spicy in the vein of the 7536.  It is easily that one could pay three times the price for it just given the complexity and richness.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          10
  • Clarity            9
  • Sweetness   11
  • Viscosity        9
  • Astringency   8*
  • Huigan         10
  • Qi                  –

The asterisk reflects an earlier working of astringency.

Reflections

This Dragon is extremely pleasant.  Vanilla, light spice, a little smoke.  Excellent daily drinker that’s sweet and produces lots of saliva.  At the time of this sampling, there was zero detectable qi, which greatly affects its final score.

There is no need to over think this raw puerh cake.  It is right around average in every category, with well better than average sweetness.  Since this assessment was when I was just beginning to work out the PJRS, it’s probably good for another five points.

57/105, C

Ripe Puerh: Going Steady

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Sep

I started Going Steady with ripe puerh rather by accident.  I prepare a pot of ripe for my wife in the morning, repeating the process daily till the leaves are cashed.  I started doing this in earnest about six weeks ago, testing each day’s pot for the differences.

Without exception, by Going Steady the experience was better in terms of richness, sweetness, and camphor expression.

King of Camphor and Clarity.

It’s an intensified form of transformation, the pot roasting of puerh, the slow-cooking of shou, the way to get that humid feeling, yeah that humid feeling.

Did I tell you that in Malaysia the only tea they drink is puerh? Well. . . and black tea made by Indians at stalls, but if you’re served tea, it’s puerh.  The best puerh I had in Malaysia was served to me in a glass tumbler, filled about half way with no leaves.  It was light, sweet, and camphory.  The other places all served the same tasteless ink.

It was a Muslim restaurant.  All kinds of other sugary drinks to order.   No doubt that puerh had been getting TTP in the Malaysian heat– and humidity– for years.  A tumbler no less.

Here’s the deal.  I’m at the place where if a ripe does not exhibit camphor notes then I consider it substandard.  The main reason that ripes do not exhibit the camphor they should is because they have been poorly stored. . . by not living in Malaysia and by not being neglected by Muslims.  Oh, I can assure you that the Chinese have plenty of puerh safely tucked away in climate-controlled coveys and warehouses, but the neglect is what creates the stress to cultivate the qi.

The only way to solve the Malaysia Problem?  GSM: Going Steady Method.

Tread lightly into GSM by opening the leaves the evening before your morning session.  If you like the results, stop half way and start up again the following day with the same pot.  Since everyday you’re infusing the tea, you’re keeping the right microbial balance.  At the same time, all the sugars and dynamic processes hidden away by dryness get a chance to develop through a nice slow cook.

Ripe puerh? Go Steady my friends.

 

Puerh Rating: Bamboo Ripe

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on 06 Bamboo Ripe.  The Bamboo Ripe is the only other humid-stored ripe puerh in the collection besides the Operation Macau.  The Bamboo is stored with a higher level of humidity.  Both express what I consider to be the absolute best that humid storage can offer without any of the distractions.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          10
  • Clarity          15
  • Sweetness   14
  • Viscosity        9
  • Astringency 14
  • Huigan         14
  • Qi                 10

The ‘06 Bamboo Ripe is a serious production.  It is possible that the aroma could have rated a shade higher but there is no doubt that it is comparatively light in texture, particularly when warm.  It is clear that this was fully the intent of the tea master.

Brewing times for this ripe are longer, as the block formed within the bamboo doesn’t separate easily even after numerous infusions.  Counterintuitively, the same block crumbles easily with  the fingers.

So far it has brewed for a total of about six infusions over three days.  Each day the camphor and sweetness intensify along with the aroma.  It is glass smooth.  An extremely well executed puerh.

Total 86/105.  A