Update: ’07 Peacock Puerh Cake

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?

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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.

2014 Hekai Dragon Pearl Photos

Here’s some shots of the 2014 Hekai Dragon Pearl puerh taken over the course of three separate years.  Hekai is a Bulang village.  It is often the chief component of mater constituting “Bulang” productions.  Here’s a chance to taste the pure Hekai taste.

2014 Hekai 2015 Shot

 

2014 Hekai Dragon Pearl 2018 Shot

 

2014 Hekai Dragon Pearl 2019 Shot

Let the pictures speak for themselves.  Brewed in porcelain, this puerh is a sweet and satisfying summer beverage.  The cashed leaves would be excellent for a cold brew.

 

Bitter Tea: LME Puerh Dragon Pearl

The Lao Man E (LME) Puerh Dragon Pearl is a top-shelf study in bitter tea.  LME, distinguish from the brand, is a village within the Bulang mountain range.  It is next to Lao Banzhang (LBZ), the most famous village of the region, but also including Banpen, Hekai, and a few others.

Similar to LBZ, hallmark LME should be bitter vanishing into sweet.  When I bought this five years ago, it was the vendor’s most expensive offering. . . before coming to the ones priced in the stratosphere, Xigui, Bingdao, and LBZ.  I only bought a few and this is my second time enjoying.

Before fully opening, the puerh potion is sweet and light.  My wife astutely picked up some grapefruit notes.  The first three infusions were relatively long, stopping after four rounds.  An intimidating fifth infusion of 10s four hours later, had me back off to flash brewing what is nowa  total of 12 infusions.  It’s still going strong.  I anticipate at least eight more.

This dragon pearl has a seriously bitter taste, like grapefruit peel, complete with complex citrus essential oils.  Exhalations from the nostrils amplify those notes.  This bitterness bears a close relationship to Bitter Nail tea, particularly since Bitter Nail cannot be construed as astringent.  The LME is not rough like an immature production.  The qi noticeably relaxes and gets the skin glowing a bit.

I didn’t know what I was drinking the first time I had this.  Understanding that there is a category bitter tea helps to orient one’s taste buds.  Bitter tea is never going to be a fav, but it is nice to appreciate the personality of a high quality production.  It provides an unmistakable if ephemeral frame of reference for distinguishing between qualities of bitterness.