Category Archives: The Junky’s Log

Applicious Yiwu Puerh from ’03

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 Sep

It took five months for the Applicious Yiwu from ’03 to come into form.  Form doesn’t necessary mean Root Beer class, however.  This is decidedly not of the Root Beer class.  It’s more of the Yang Pin Hao vibe: forever Zen.  As I say this, I instantly recall that Glee is turning Root Beer.

I’ve been tasting this since April ’19.  Rare is the instance where a puerh ships and is ready for drinking in short order.  The Applicious Yiwu has had the opportunity to benefit from humidity at least 70% in temps well above 60 these past few weeks.  Sometimes the temps are over 30c but the humidity doesn’t go below 62% and be as high as 85%.  The tea loves this.

The Applicious’ huigan is mac.  Basically everything about it from when I got is is a testament to proper storage on the front and back end.  The dry storage ensures no stinkiness while age sets end; the back end brings out the life in the leaves through humidity and temperature– without the stank!

The Puerh Junky’s Spidey senses didn’t fail him here.  The real gem is its sneaky sourness.  This isn’t orange juice sour.  It’s not in the liquor.  It sneaks up in the huigan giving rise to an amazing cheeky sensation that is closest to the “salivation” sensation so oft mentioned.  It isn’t astringent, just a sneaky sour, surprising and pleasant, a squeeze of lemon so to speak.

Those familiar with Yiwu productions might be surprised.  I’m familiar and certainly surprised.  If you want to understand the quintessence of fruity Zen then try this, but otherwise don’t bother.  Many people like to be smacked with obvious sensations and that’s not the vibe of this production.  It is of exquisite quality and typifies the “gentle” (柔) class of puerhs.  No Root Beer treasure can be considered gentle.

Puerh Fakes: The Karaoke of Tea

Posted on by Yang-chu
05 Sep

Sitting in traffic and listening to the local mandarin station, I happened upon a music program that made me draw a link between karaoke and puerh fakes.  Karaoke isn’t so appealing to Americans.  Sure there are exceptions, but it’s not like you’re going to find karaoke bars flourishing in every town and hamlet in the States as they do in China and Korea.  When Chinese associates asked me why karaoke was not popular here, I replied that we prefer original performances over mimicking the work of others.

The radio host introduced a song that hit big on the charts and in karaoke bars of China: Miss Dong.  The song was so popular that the host noted how sick he was of hearing it stream from every karaoke bar, especially given what he called the schmaltziest (油腻) of delivery.

How does karaoke relate to puerh “fakes”?  The answer lies in a belief that when something is really good it establishes a standard.  The standard cannot be perfected but should be emulated.  This viewpoint goes back at least as far as the national examination system established in the Han Dynasty (220 bce- 220 ce).  The centerpiece of those exams was emulation of strict poetic forms themselves thought to embody a certain perfection between heaven and earth.  How do you perfect the synchrony between heaven and earth?

Karaoke is an entertainment form of state exam mentality, so to speak.  Songs that hit big in the karaoke scene reflect a certain perfection.  Improvising is totally unheard of in karaoke, because the song itself is already perfect.  There’s no such thing as putting your personal mark on perfection.  That which is perfect can only be emulated.

Which brings us to puerh “fakes.”  Now, I’m sure you’ve been to karaoke and been amazed by some performances.  You didn’t watch the performer wondering so much whether they were the recording star.  Still, it didn’t mean that the performance wasn’t stellar.  Maybe you hadn’t even heard the original recording, but it didn’t stop you from enjoying the performance.  The same applies to puerh.  There is a “hit” from ’75 that I’ll use to illustrate this point, the 7542.  What will be briefly highlighted are the nuances that have gone into the “karaoking” the 7542.

Nuance #1 is even though the 7542 originates from the Menghai TF during the monopoly era, other major factories were making it too.  First, once the branding of individual factories became more important different names emerged for the same recipe.  Thus, Kunming TF’s Green Mark is the 7542.  The recipe number doesn’t tell you whence the production came; it tells you when and where the recipe was originally crafted.  Is this karaoke or more like recordings of the same song at a different studio?  You decide.

Nuance #2 is that numerous individuals at the vaunted Factory #2 were forced to strike out on their own in the 90s as the monopoly transitioned from cooperatives to market-based operations.  Band members like Boyou, Du Qiong-zhi, and Zou Bing-liang have all gone on to have remarkable careers of their own.  Mme. Du in particular has performed the classic 7542 in at least one different recording studio, Pengcheng, and has been involved extensively with collaborations with Xinghai TF (also female owned) among others.  I haven’t pursued this line of inquiry extensively in terms of other mix masters sharing these recipes with other factories or their own productions, but it doubtless a common phenomenon regardless of whether stated or not.  Producers are mum about the makeup of particular recipes, so one is left to conjecture and lots of comparing.

Nuance #3 is productions without name.  These are the closest to what could be considered a genuine fake.  Still, namelessness has no bearing on the quality of performance.  These no names are just puerh creations that haven’t the studio or engineer name on which to hang their hat, so they often randomly pull a classic recipe name from their hats with no idea about what they’re referencing.  This might be analogous to a song’s title being “You Light Up My Life” and then hearing a performance of “Hotel California.”  If you’re not bent on hearing the former, then the quality of the latter’s performance may carry the day.

Puerh Fakes: Closing Thoughts

To this humble Puerh Junky’s mind, the use of the term “fake” is far too indiscriminate.  Karaoke offers a vantage point where an analogy can be drawn regarding puerh productions in this regard, both culturally and in terms of the evolving puerh market.  The next time you see the term bandied about, see if you can tell if the user demonstrates any awareness of the nuance in the karaoke of tea.  These nuances boil down to name of factory, mix master, or no name at all.

Update: ’07 Peacock Puerh Cake

Posted on by Yang-chu
03 Sep

Here’s an update on the ’07 Peacock puerh cake, by Kunming Tea Factory, i.e., the venerable Zhongcha, aka China Tea.  It just dawned on me that Zhongcha means China Tea.  Anyway, the ’07 is one among three ’07 Peacocks edition in my possession.  The only one for sale is this, though it is arguably the least tasty of the three.

Puerh Nostalgia

When I first acquired the ’07 Peacock, I drank quite a bit of it.  It called my name regularly, not because it was particularly delicious but because it was just that cryptic.  I’ve called it “Thick Zen” in another post.  One of the things that particularly struck me about it was just how waxy rich the leaves were.  It just looked like it had a lot of stuff in it, though the Zen taste did seem more than a shade incongruous.

It seemed plausible that the Peacock would age into its puerh relative the Blue Mark.  This means it would develop into a more aged-taste Zen treasure.  This week it started showing signs that it would actually transform into the Root Beer class.  Hooray!  It’s still at its incipient stages.  At the end of the hot season, by Dec ’19, it’s possible that it will be a degree or two deeper.  Another 12 to 16 mths, I anticipate that the root beer will be much stronger.

 

 

 

Gongting Sheng Puerh?

Posted on by Yang-chu
20 Aug

I picked up this ’08 Gongting Sheng puerh back in ’17 when in Kunming, even though I’d never heard of gongting sheng. “Gongting” translates into “palace” and is a designation for the smallest leaf size and highest grade (ostensibly) of ripe puerhs. This is the second organic production I’ve encountered from this no-name factory that I’ve been following since the time that I started my puerh project.  I wrote something about a 250g tuo of theirs that I’ve been sitting on since about ’15.

Until the spring of this year, ’19, the Gongting sheng puerh was simply not ready.  I’d been baby storing it in conditions between 60-73% rh with temps ranging from 13-25c based purely on conditions here in the heart of Los Angeles.  The conditions proved sufficient to allow it to transform into it next stage, seemingly forgoing the awkward teenage years characterized by a displeasing measure of sourness.

Tiny Leaves

Puerh Transformation

There’s much to be said for mid-aged puerh that gets the austere treatment of Kunming before landing in the impressive conditions of coastal SoCal.  To be honest, tasting puerhs in Kunming is by and large a gut-wrenching experience– literally.  Even the older productions are too dry get beyond the astringency.  The thing is however, that these conditions do a great job of preserving the essential personality of the tea itself, which when livened up with humidity is still present.  I’m noticing that with wet-stored productions these essential elements are cooked out of the cake, making the predominating taste essentially that of dirt, not bad dirt but dirt nonetheless.

The Gongting has all of its complexity.  As it has transformed, it is quite evident that it is comprised of superior raw material.  There are tastes of root beer, toasted honey, Chinese licorice, fennel, melon, and explosive camphor.  There’s some bitterness in there as well.

One thing possibly related to transformation, or the lack thereof, is just how murky this puerh cake is. . .

Infusion #3

I think the murkiness might relate to a stage.  In the case of ripe puerhs, murkiness often indicates that the microbes and enzymes responsible for transforming the production have not finished eating.  It’s possible that the same logic applies to some raws.

Puerh Class

Our ’08 Gongting puerh cake is decidedly in the Root Beer class.  For the next few years the camphor and root beer will only get stronger.  It seems as though the ’08 and ’07 cakes are starting to come into their own.  I also wonder how much the leaf size and the chopping factors into this progression.

Cashed Chopped Leaves

The appearance of these cashed leaves greatly resembles the cashed material of the ’07 Beijing Olympics, which I also recently reviewed.   The Gongting, however, is not nearly as tightly pressed as the Beijing Olympics, however.

Quesadillas and Zhongcha’s “55”

Posted on by Yang-chu
18 Aug

This Sunday morning, my wife whipped up some quesadillas that had sausage, pepper jack, zucchini, and scallions.  After a bite or two, I thought some ripe puerh was in order.  I wanted something that could hold up to food.  Zhongcha’s “55” called my name.

Let’s start at the end.  Bam!  Two pots shared between my wife and me and we were definitely feeling the qi.  I’m still feeling it.  Maybe it’s the chemical reaction between Italian sausage and puerh that’s producing this wooziness, kinda like the two herbs mixed together to make ayahuaska.  Warmth swirls in the chest and throat and the hackles at the back of neck and arms go into full effect.  I was asked just last week if it was possible to get high from a ripe as with a quality raw.  The ’06 “55” puerh cake emphatically answers this question in the affirmative.

Thick and Complex Ripe Puerh

We only drank those two pots.  It’s that satisfying.  It’s sweet like molasses.  Imagine Postum, if you can, with molasses.  I’m quite fond of postum, as my mom used to make it for me when I was but a lad back in Detroit.  It tastes like a very close approximation, a taste that’s still echoing in the flavour chambers of my mouth 45 minutes after the fact and with food!

But there’s more: light camphor in the aftertaste, incense in the front of the mouth, and baby powder in the back.  There’s also smooth chocolate candy, a la Tootsie Roll, notes.  This accounts for much of the sweetness.

Fourth Infusion 10s

Aging and Ripe Puerhs

There seems to be a consensus that ripe puerhs only require a year or two of settling before they’re drinkable.  I haven’t found this to be the case.  When I first got the 55, from the Kunming Tea Factory (KMTF)/Factory #1, it was overly astringent.  Perhaps it was two years ago that I began to detect the camphor and baby powder notes; only today the incense.  I understand that it may be a year or two (allegedly) for the wodui odor to dissipate.  However, there is more to a good ripe than dissipating the “fishy smell.”

In the world of puerh, what the “7542” is to Dayi, the “7581” is to the KMTF.  The older a “7581“, the higher the market price.  If the matter is simply wodui, then the market is either crazy or the older productions possess some distinguishing property that makes it more valuable.  It turns out that even though the “7581” is a ripe production, part of the secret recipe includes raw puerh material.  Perhaps this is the modus operandus of for most of their ripes.  Anyway, this is the first year in which I can say the “55” is really good, raw seasoning or not. It’s from ’06.

I don’t think I imagined reading something about ripes topping out.  Maybe this is a phenomenon akin to the wretched “oolong processed” so-called “gu-shu” puerhs peddled by some boutique sellers.  It sorta makes sense that the recipe and processing would contribute to the shelf-life of a production.  Dunno.  There’s a lot of boring ripes out there after sifting through the hideous.  The thing is some of those after 2 yrs in the wondrous environs of LA might turn out to be a delight.  I just can’t tell. .  . most of the time.

Similarly, some of the best raw puerhs are those that transform into something almost unidentifiable from its youth.  Maybe there’s something similar going on with the good ripes.   That something can only be attributed to boss source material, I suppose.

Secret Recipe

Food and Puerh

I’ve never been to any of those Yam Cha places in Hong Kong where they are purported to drink puerh with their dim sum.  I’ve done a little travel through SE Asia and I never encountered puerh.  I guess that means that if I want to kick my quesadilla with a treasure like “55”, then it’s only evidence of how adaptable tea culture is.  Let’s talk details.

Italian sausage and pepper jack cheese possess traits that greatly compliment a complex production like the “55”.  The fennel of the sausage, the fat of both the sausage and cheese, the smoothness of the toasted tortilla and cheese, all find correspondences with the brew.  The remaining astringency and the emerging camphor cleanse the palate and opens the breast, while warming the gullet and belly.  Grease and astringency are a perfect pair.

That’s enough for now.

 

Wow! Beijing Olympics Puerh Cake Update

Posted on by Yang-chu
13 Aug

The ’07 Beijing Olympics puerh cake is a Kunming TF (KMTF) production from ’07.  I’ve been drinking it from one season to the next since its acquisition in ’13.  Whereas many productions from that period have jumped rather high in price and there has been a prevailing sense of disparagement toward ’07 more than any other, this puerh gem suggests this viewpoint is more urban legend than truth.

Puerh Cake Stats

The Beijing Olympics is a commemorative puerh cake for the ’08 Beijing Olympics.  It’s pressed mercilessly and comprised of chopped leaves.  Infusion times are consequently much longer than is generally the case, but standard for the “atomic” pressed cakes, bricks, and squares.

I generally refer to KMTF productions as Zhongcha.  This is because until quite recently I only dealt in Zhongcha productions from that factory, the factory designated #1 by the erstwhile state monopoly.  KMTF has always seemed to take a back seat to factories #2 Menghai TF (Dayi) and #3 (Xiaguan).  Each “house” has its own processing methods and natural material preferences.  I had taken it upon myself to focus on KMTF in part because shysters didn’t find it economically feasible to fake their productions and because they maintained ownership of the iconic 茶 symbol displayed from days past.  Yes.  Total frivolity.

Puerh Progression

The house taste of Zhongcha productions tends to be very soft, in great contrast to either of the other two.  I’ve a few posts on the Beijing Olympics.  The gist is that until this May ’19, it could only be characterized as Zen with peachy, waxy notes.  Now, there is no Zen.  The wax has transformed to petrol.  The first infusion is unbelievable, a sandalwood depth that is extremely exciting about its future.

Let’s face it, its very difficult to divine the future of a puerh.  There are Zen productions that will transform into the forest and ones that will just turn out ok.  The same applies to sweet, floral, sharp, and astringent productions.  How a production ages is a huge factor in assaying its quality and also a great mystery.

This Beijing Olympics has been babied.  Most of the six years in which its been stored has been under very moderate Los Angeles conditions.  There’s just no mistaking that Hong Kong and Guandong/Taiwan stored items, albeit transformed, lose loads of character and complexity over time.  Nothing has been lost here.  In fact, the Beijing Olympics is gaining a head of steam, getting stronger and more complex.

Puerh Class Transition

Whereas the puerh class into which the Beijing Olympics had been placed was Zen, now it now more squarely falls into the Petrol class.  Additionally, it is now ridiculously sweet, even as you plow into the deeper infusions.  It’s a saccharine sweetness, which combines with petrol that might be confused with smoke.  Consequently, the huigan is instantaneous, sweet from broth to aftertaste.  Thrown in are tobacco notes and tropical fruit.  Imagine a pack of sugar-free juicy fruit soaked some kind of dry oak-aged whiskey.

Here’s the kicker. . .

All these flavors despite the evidently light colour.  Above is more than the 8th infusion.  Even as it fades with long infusions better than four minutes, it never stops being very sweet and fruity.

This is a hugely underrated puerh production.

 

 

’07 Thai Country Tuo, Raw Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
29 Jul

The ’07 Thai Country Tuo has a remarkable box.  It is also quite good.  It’s in the petrol, pencil shavings class.  Sufficiently sweet and complex.  The factory whence it hails is vastly underrated.

I’d say that it is comparable to the ’08 Dali Tuo but the ’07 Thai Country has more petrol and less tobacco.  In terms of complexity and richness they’re on the same page.

I don’t drink this one much, because I’m of the opinion that it’s going to age into something extremely interesting.

Brutal Ripe Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Jul

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.

 

Another Zhongcha Peacock Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
23 Jul

There are two excellent Peacock productions from ’07 Zhongcha, otherwise the Kunming Tea Factory #1.  Today I had the one that reminds me of a perfected Xia Guan offering that I’ve never quite had.

This production isn’t for sale; just thought I’d share that today three people other than myself all remarked positively.  It’s damn good.  Sweet and minerally.  Clean stones and camphor, with a mellowness of age.  It’s too damn tasty to be Zen, yet it possesses that Zhongcha Zen.

One perspective was that it was floral.  She admitted to lacking the vocabulary for tea.  She also noted that it had tastes that she most associated with white tea, but was surprised by what she  thought were black tea characteristics later.  Astringency.  One day I shall write a treatise.

It might be classed as a medicinal root beer.  It is herbal without being the least bit herbaceous.  Its certitude expresses with each infusion, revealing a darker liquor from decent storage.

Let’s get to the serious matter, however.  The wrapper…

 

Zhongcha’s ’07 Peacock Bada

 

If you can’t dig this wrapper, then I can’t help you.  Then again, maybe I can…

 

Anyway, I mentioned that this is like the Xia Guan that never was. This brings us to the ’09 Gift Puerh. Much bosser in cover…

The Gift Box is an enticing Xia Guang production that has morphed from a peppermint pitch to mid-note medicinal camphor.  Both the Bada and the Gift Box are sticky sweet.  Very not Zen.  But in the Gift Box there is a slight thread of dank.  It’s at such a subtle level that the dank lover won’t notice it, but the dank hater will eventually detect.  This one kinda snuck up on me to my indignance.  That seems to be a trait among this production because it was evident to a putrid level in the ’10 Small Gift Box, which I tortured till it became a most root beer manufacture. . . sans the dank.

Dank is not necessarily humid.  There is a measure of humidity in the Bada, evident in the smell, what one patient noted in the taste.  Minerals suggest good humidity.  It also suggests a level of liveliness in the leaves, in addition to how they’ve been cared for.  These all rank highly here.

I happened upon a vendor of a Blue Mark engaged in a bit of puffery but nonetheless a good price, so I gambled.  It’s ridiculous how powerful the qi is on that one, light years better than any Blue Mark I’ve had.  Vanilla, mostly.  There’s vanilla in the Bada as well.  The Bada is delicious but the qi of the “Blue Mark” blows it outta da water.  You just never know.

Cheers folks.

 

 

’11 Rich-n-Mellow Puerh: Cherry-Vanilla Coke

Posted on by Yang-chu
19 Jul

The ’11 Rich-n-Mellow Puerh lays to rest the assertion that age doesn’t factor into ripe puerhs.

You can smell the minerals and cherries in the lid of the clay pot.  It still stinks out of the wrapper.  I got this because the wrapper was sufficiently curious.  Dry in the pot, there’s the light smell of cherries along with something that I can’t place: the sea, old coffee, feet?  As it cools, different notes become apparent while others fade.  The target moves so quickly that one is afforded no measure of certainty, though such mysteriousness grows upon this sniffer with each sniff.

Cashed Leaves

Rich-n-Mellow’s minerality is present in the aroma of the broth too.  The cherry taste, also in the broth, fades to vanilla.  In the rinse, gorgeous I might add, there’s a bit of sourness, along with incense and talc in the huigan.  Immensely interesting.  The huigan with this puerh potion is real.  The fading of the liquor down the throat is followed by a sweet and dynamic coating that stimulates saliva.

By the third infusion, it becomes apparent that this ripe puerh cake isn’t exactly “ready.”  Oh yes, by then the sweetness, the cherries-fading-to-vanilla, and the Coke fizz on the tongue and throat are all there, but it’s not the taste.  It’s the clarity or the lack thereof to be precise.  This should clear up in a few years.  I’m moving the remainder of this cake to more intense conditions to see if it can get there in 18 mths or so.  Otherwise, a rough guess is that it’ll be there in three years.

Rich-n-Mellow 6th Infusion

The Rich-n-Mellow is surprisingly tasty, seemingly perfect for summer.  It’s qi is warming in the belly and tingly in the upper shoulders and back.  This Kunming Tea Factory offering differs from the standard bearing 7581 formula in its lightness, cherry-vanilla, and Coke fizz.  It’s taken all of eight years and four here in Los Angeles for it to take on a character befitting its name.  I down to my last cake and will probably retire it by months (Jul ’19) end because restocking this is impossible and it’s turning out to be a hidden treasure.