Category Archives: The Junky’s Log

Bada Peacock: Hot to Trot

Posted on by Yang-chu
15 Feb

This just in: As of February 2022, the Bada Peacock is Hot to Trot.  Some time ago, the Puerh Junky did a side-by-side with Hideout.  Well, the Bada has left the Hideout in the dust.  At the time of that review, the Bada had a copper twang.  It’s no longer there.

Kunming TF productions aim for Zen.  The Bada Peacock is no exception.  There’s no bitterness here, nor any astringency.  Giving the leaves a good 15m soak and there is still zero of either.

In all its Zen, one thing distinguishing the BP from some of the other KMTF/Zhongcha offerings is its complete deviation from that fruit undertone so easily associated with the flagship jiaji (甲级), i.e., Top Notch Tuo, but also evident in the HK Returns, Water Blue Mark, and emerging in the Thick Zen, and presumably to appear in the Beijing Olympics and the still very young Mangosteen, a rough customer despite being from ’07 leaves before being pressed in ’12 (As an aside, it should be noted that HK Returns cake is still in a burly phase.).

Most ZC productions from ’06-’14 do not specify region or village, as the emphasis during this era was still on recipes, mostly some combo of eastern Lincang and Menghai/Bulang.  In this regard, BP is unique. The taste is pure rock sugar.  It’s very, very, sweet and this sweetness never wanes.

Ephemeral and ineffable.  You could drink and drink the Bada Peacock trying to figure it out.  The light floral note offers a nice accent to an sugary treat that doesn’t require much thought for an offering’s that’s hot to trot.

Forever Zen Post Mortem

Posted on by Yang-chu
13 Feb

Just yesterday (12 Feb ’22), Forever Zen made its debut.  A more detailed post mortem is in order.  The ’09 Forever Zen is a dry stored offering from a longstanding vendor of mine, since ’13.  It is from them that I learned of the Banzhang Zhengshan TF, an outfit offering productions both raw and ripe of far superior value.  Remember this?


That’s the Vanilla Prince, the only raw I’ve ever seen associated with “gongting.”  Here’s a very tasty tuo with lemon notes that I’ve not been able to source but was once offered by the same vendor.

Anyway, I really can’t say enough about how much I like what they do, BZZS.  The thing is that being named “Banzhang” suggests their forte is in the region of their origins.  Years ago, Puerh Junky offered samples from a burly Jingmai (Simao) kilo brick that they offered, but this was essentially in keeping with the fuerte vibe to be expected.

Jingmai Kilo

Regions are marked not just by differences in terroir but also differences in processing methods.  That’s a topic for another discussion.  In any event, when a factory strays from their region of origins, there’s reason for caution.  For example, 6FTM’s Yiwus are incongruous with the fundamentals of Yiwu.  Thence, I was skeptical that BZZS could pull the Yiwu bit off successfully.

This skepticism proved unwarranted.  Everything about the Forever Zen is quintessentially Yiwu, in this case Manzhuan.  That’s the blue stamp below specifying Manzhuan along with their literally fire-branded signature.

They went full traditional here opting for the bamboo ties as well.

They’re not monkeying around here.  No flash or glitz.  If I didn’t know this factory, I would have easily moved onto a flashier peacock or commemorative wrapper.  This no frills conception carries over onto the spartan neifei.

I just spent the last month reading though the blog of a prominent blogster who is to bitter and astringent as I am to root beer.  However, the blogster seems to confuse personal preference for tea quality.  This is an egregious tasting flaw.  As noted on more than one occasion, my personal preferences don’t cloud my ability to assay a production’s quality on its own terms.  I certainly do not use bitterness and astringency as a basis for forecasting what a production will become.  Furthermore, I have great reserve regarding any opinion that cannot clearly differentiate between bitter and astringent.  As far as I’m concerned, such a gaff is the equivalent of not knowing the differences between “your” and “you’re.”

As Chinese are wont to do when conveying truths, there’s an aphorism that goes,

  班章为王，易武为后

trans. Banzhang is this the king and Yiwu is the queen

These prefatory statements relate directly to Forever Zen, which is as queeny as you can get.  Here’s the deal, there’s a reason why all the six famous tea mountains are in Yiwu.  When the Qing (1644-1911) envoy, whose name eludes me, was dispatched to the southern tributary of Nanzhao in the late 17th-c to scope out the good stuff, he was looking for productions that jived with the genteel tastes of the Qing court.  Burly Menghai/Bulang/Banzhang offerings wouldn’t make their mark till the late Republican era (1912-1948) and early PRC when the outlook on life was “bitter.”

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s proceed further to Forever Zen, which hearkens to the age of gentility.

Infusion 10-11

Gentility doesn’t preclude qi.  Day one, in which I got in seven infusions, the experience reminded me of swimming in the farm pond in my backyard in Iowa, where pockets of swirling warmth commingled amidst the cooling waters.  This warming sensation swirled in spots, from the gut, to the skin, followed by a veil of heaviness, then back to a swirl in the gut.

Infusions 12-13, 15s

Despite the lack of any real astringency, it’s both cheeky and throaty.  In particular, the throatiness lasts for better than 15m.

Infusions 14-15, 25s

On day two I gave myself permission to stop after infusions 16-17.  Sure the quality had tapered a bit.  Unfortunately, I don’t recall the mouthfeel, as I was so high, smashed in fact.  Day two was much headier than day one.  By then I was up to 45s.

Puerh Junky Inventory 2021

Posted on by Yang-chu
10 Feb

The Puerh Junky Inventory 2021 is the unfolding of a continuous saga of a puerh nerd referring to himself in the third person, yet the facade must continue.

These past couple weeks have witnessed a cataloging of the Collection, items for sale, and the Stash, those not for sale.  The inventory project involved evaluating current productions in light of their aging trajectory here in the climes of Los Angeles.  The Puerh Junky hardly drank everything, only the things piquing his curiosity, understanding that every production has its own personality requiring evaluation on its own terms.  Brewing and preparatory measures can greatly affect how a tea performs in light of judging a production  Blog entries posted by the Puerh Junky largely detail these nuances.

There is much that goes into a fantastic puerh, not the least being time.  In this regard, the ’12 Gentleman deserves mention.  At its current stage it is spectacular.  Previously, it was nice for the wrapper and intriguing, not exactly bad but not spectacular or even showing such signs.Gentleman sold out a few years ago.  A spectacular performance involves great taste over numerous infusions, at least 10.  Gentleman now fits the bill because it has the staying power that it previously lacked, not due to any fault of its own but because it’s been processed to blossom over time.  That time has come and is consistent with experiences with other productions that in the first five years of possession were not up to snuff but later turned out to be far better than average.

I delisted the ’05 Gushu, YPH sometime in the last two years.  It’s not affordable anymore and people would think I was crazy for posting.  Pricing goes by somewhere between purchase price and market demand.  The enthusiasm around this production has not flagged. This production is a real superstar and not just by reputation.  Yes root beer.

Here’s where an aside should be made for Xiaguan, which is the splendid decision for wintry weather.  Their ’08 Dali Tuo is a very nice tobacco production.  It’s not overly smoky and has a good deal of sugary roundness.  It’s a great everyday drinker.  XG should not be overlooked for making extremely strong performers, with both classical and flashy presentation and great pricing for the quality.

Dali Tuo Wrapper

I might have made a mention of LME’s Quincy recently.  I’m basically stunned.  I’m consistently impressed by LME’s productions.  Quincy has evolved into an exceptional production.  The weird taste of Raid has morphed into complex fruit and camphor expression that is altogether a delight.  LME is an operation that seems quite proven in its native areas.  The jury is still out on their Yiwu offerings.

Cashed leaves from ’19

Junkified attentions to Bazhong productions have involved gauging rehabilitation efforts of expensive offerings erroneously stored in cardboard and the year’s transformation.  Quite recently I gained a new insight into “fakes.”  It has to do with vendors trusting you recognize rappers while their verbiage says nothing of the sort to evade bots.  The vendor of the ’03 Marquis sells real productions but employs the bot-evading technique, for example.  The instance of the Marquis has nothing to do with fakery as such.  After all, the vendor is totally transparent about factory origins, but in other cases, as with the Yiwu Prince, it is intentionally misnamed.  They practice the same sleight-of-hand with the Green Mark A stamped, which my wife remarked was possibly the best puerh she’s ever had.

As far as I’m concerned any purchase of Bazhong involves fakery.  This matter requires some understanding of how the market has evolved, how branding was alien to most producers until about ’05, and how smaller factories fed into the overall production of the big three, particularly Menghai TF.  In some regards fakes are the most fascinating aspect of mid-aged puerh.  That said, there are certain hard lines that I have and date faking is an unforgivable party foul.

Back to the Yiwu Prince, which hails from he factory of the year, Jinglong.  When the rainy weather started to get to me, the Yiwu Prince showed all his impeccability.  In terms of smoothness, texture, and root beeriness, it’s comparable to Zhen Silong with more camphor.  Regarding the latter, I notice a clear difference in the rapidity of transformation from the ’05 and ’11 treasures I have.  The ’11 is far more expressed and reminds me of the ’10 Tiger, MKRS in terms of early maturation.

Yiwu Prince

I guess that enough for now.  There’s only so many amateurish fotos that one can stomach in one sitting anyway.

 

Beijing Olympics: Enigma No More

Posted on by Yang-chu
10 Feb

Cut the Puerh Junky some slack, will ya?  This is a work in progress.  PJ doesn’t claim to know the answers nor does he believe they’re to be gathered instantaneously.  Beijing Olympics: Enigma No More is a crushing and condemning tale of the Puerh Junky’s utter obtuseness, his lack of insight, and his ultimate triumph through no doing of his own.

Over time the ole KMTF has lost a bit of luster in the eyes of our questionable hero.  He would point to the Beijing Olympics as to no small reason why.  Puerh Junky has written numerous times on Beijing Olympics.  One of the prevailing remarks was “fuzziness.”  Perhaps the PJ has not elaborated upon his feelings about fuzzy, but they’re akin to feelings about jagged.  Floral is often jagged; fuzzy is the opposite but no more desirable.  Crayolas, pastels.  Yeah they’re nice (sorta) if you want.

So at fifteen, Beijing Olympics is decidedly out of the fuzzy stage.  Now its seeking to become a contender.  There can be no doubt that the primary reason for this is that it is now sweet.  It’s sweet like sugar-cured tobacco.  There is a depth with sweetness and a fruit accompaniment evocative of the Water Blue Mark and the Top Notch Tuo.  Little wonder.  Many of the KMTF raw productions are variations on a theme, a theme with an unmistakable yet ineffable fruitiness expressing at different stages in aging, presumably due less to differences in material than to differences in processing.

In any event, the Beijing Olympics is serious now, certainly more serious than its ever been.  It can now stand up for itself against the OG Gangsta or the Dali Tuo.  Of course, it has its own kung-fu but at the very least it can stand in the ring.

What struck me most in the latest tasting was the aroma, its depth of sweetness.  There are now no longer any crayolas, which are fuzzy, a taste your humble Puerh Junky doesn’t favour.  Cool, the wet leaves conjure what many call “hay.”  I might detect a faint air of eu de crayola, but wood, sugar, and tobacco now predominate.

Liming Puerh Lamentations

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Feb

Liming Puerh Lamentations is an intentional biblical reference.  There’s a book in the Bible called Lamentations and the Puerh Junky’s lament is nothing short of biblical.

“How now, Horatio?” sayest thou if you’re of the king James, Shakespearean bent.  I’m quick to note that my name is not Horatio, but that I get what you mean.  The problem is that you don’t get the Puerh Junky’s meaning.

Repent!  Liming is here now.  There is no need to await the second coming.  The Puerh Junky is the true messenger.  Seek ye now no longer.  Those with tongues to taste, taste ye now.

Yeah verily, this is a jeremiad.  Behold the 2017 musings of the Wisconsonian Cwyn.   It’s a solid appraisal.  It’s actually glowing from one who is most begrudging and her assessments.  She’s a solid source with a demanding standard.  I sent her something that she tried to source on her own, but I had already told her that I couldn’t get more and that I bought when in KM in ’13.  She certainly has head strength.  Anyway, that was years ago.

That said, she likes the ’07 Golden Peacock, LM.  I purchased that production in ’16, about a year before she posted.  That’s because I’m a peacock kinda Puerh Junky.  As early as ’15, I had come into contact with the Peacock Brick.  Aye, I lament, because those with the slightest clue would instantly beat their breast for neglecting this treasure.

’06 Peacock Brick, LM

I recently read where the Hobbes character had commented upon a Liming brick of unbelievable pleasure.   I cannot speak to this, but this Peacock brick is unbelievable.  It defeats any other brick of the Tobacco Class, but to speak of it in the light of a brick is to do it no justice.  It is a positively sick production.  Sick, I say.

This week I drank the ’07 OG Square.  The production is flawless.  It actually tastes aged, but not in the sense of being rushed and lifeless.  In fact, this production is full of life.  It gets overlooked because it’s so cheap and doesn’t have a fancy peacock with it.  However, it’s fantastic.  The material and age make it a stellar price performer.  The deathly compression does require some practice but with 100g one should be able to get up to speed in terms of how it responds to varying approaches.

Liming Square: Power compression!

Even the Liming productions I hate, at least at this point, I can recognize as being real quality.  I just visited the ’07 Golden Peacock and it was seriously flawed by storage.  I’ve had it since ’16, so I consider it all my fault.  It tastes of cardboard even though it’s never been in it.  Ayei-fie! I’ve entered into yet another zone of uncertainty.  Tinning seems in order, we could also say bagging.  The Water Blue Mark, KMTF from the same year comes to mind. (Note: the next the the experience was more up to standard.)

Water Blue Mark

The Water Blue Mark is an imposing KMTF production that was too smoky for drinking when first received it in ’19, but as it emerged from its slowly aged coma, remarkable colours emerged.  I served it to a pair of gypsies en route to Las Vegas in the summer of ’21.  Both positively adored the bagged version I served up.

Recently, I reached for the ’05 Peacock Country

Not all peacocks bear a peacock

Acquired in ’15, its taste was nothing short of sonorous until Jan ’22.  Here “sonorous” refers to a caustic floral racket, bitterness, and general bad manners.  No amount of fiddling in terms of brewing parameters could tame it.  It’s the type of expression that those who like Earl Grey go for, I suppose.  In any event the most surprising thing about the most recent tasting was the absence of any brashness.  It also lasted for four days, never bottoming out.

I recently ran across a Liming lament of another sort, where the drinker complained of how horrible it was.  However, it was a ’18 production and as the case of the ’05 somewhat illustrates, Liming isn’t cutting corners that would make young productions instantly appealing.

 

 

Classic Tobacco Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
19 Dec

The ’08 Dali Tuo is a Classic Tobacco Puerh, and very good one I might add.  It’s on par with the Water Blue Mark and the Cherry Blossom in terms of tobbaccoey tastiness.

This raw Xiaguan TF treasure has been written up several times.  One occasion lay witness to a distraught Puerh Junky who thought that the DT had gone south.  Truth be known, it has a great intensity: smoky, sweet, woody, spicy.  Sure, it’s in “7536” (’07) company, but the absence of any playfulness up front makes it a kind of paragon of the Tobacco Class.

Productions seem to vary wildly from year-to-year.  It’s been some since I’ve had the ’06 version of the same production but it’s always seemed to be a peaty animal, whereas the smaller ’08 is more petrol.  Similarly, the ’04 version of the 7536 by Fuhai is vastly different from ’07.  The 7536 has been penned as a 7532 imitation, which is conceivable with the ’04 production but inconceivable with the ’07.

Oops.  At about the fifth infusion a fruit note does come out.  It’s what made me liken it to the ’13 Forever Love, which I do not own.  The fruit is certainly not its feature but it is expressing in a fashion consistent with puerh of this age.  By contrast the WBM and CB exhibit their fruitiness up front alongside the tobacco and sweetness.

Tobacco is naturally bitter.  Dali Tuo’s bitterness nicely balances the other more prominent notes.  Yeah, there’s astringency but it isn’t drying, leaving a nice zing in the mouth.

Visiting Tulin’s Puerh Tuo

Posted on by Yang-chu
18 Dec

Visiting Tulin’s Puerh Tuo finds the Puerh Junky faced with the arduous task of drinking more tea.  Tulin is essentially Xiaguan factory #2.  The person who runs their show is descended from the XG lineage.  If one doesn’t know XG, then the reference is pretty much lost.  The gist is that XG takes their tuo seriously and by extension so should Tulin.

The May 2019 acquisition of the ’06 Silver Pekoe is showing the first signs of root beerification.  The taste is still predominantly sandalwood and dish detergent.  The material from this production is excellent but dry storage will greatly impact its expression and you can’t get root beer from dry-stored puerh.  Thick and intense.  Only time will tell if this second batch root beers it up more intensely.

Tippy Tuo has been the most popular among the three Tulin tuo offerings.  The latest batch is surprisingly well stored, if a bit dry.  The broth brews rusty orange, with flavours of peat, attic newspaper, and some old flowers.  The flower note comes through in the huigan, in the event you notice it given its unbearable astringency.  It’s super drying, though cheeky as well, which will induce the salivary glands in some.  It’s a tad throaty but the sensation is mostly with the cheeks and throat.

Tippy Tuo 2021

In contrast to the two above, the AMT comes from chopped leaves.  It’s definitely sweeter than the Tippy Tuo and less thick than the Silver Pekoe.  The floral huigan is its most outstanding attribute which seems to be from remarkably consistent storage.  Over that time, the mushroom taste seems to have been replaced with newspaper.  The astringency characterizing this production has waned slightly but not sufficiently to make me a huge fan.

AMT Tulin 2021

Boris and Natasha love the Tulin tuo productions.  If you don’t catch the reference, it’s because confounded moose and skvirrel talk much lies to Puerh Junky about astringency.  Often Xiaguan references might be associated with smoke.  These Tulin tuo haven’t any hint of smoke.  Among the handful of XG tuo your Junkyness has sampled, the Tippy Tuo at one point approximated XG’s Gold Ribbon but now it and AMT more closely some pedestrian MKRS offerings, while the Silver Pekoe compares favourably with Grenouille from Simao region. All of these Tulin are from Wuliang.

Imperial Roots Puerh Insurrection

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Dec

An Imperial Roots Puerh Insurrection is presently afoot.  This is your intrepid Puerh Junky reporting live at the site of the second batch of the Imperial Roots, acquired in ’19.  The second batches are never as good as the first.

Yes, this is another storage lament.  The original Imperial Roots came into the Puerh Junky’s possession in late ’15.  Even though it was young, it was minty and lively.  This present cake, even after two years in my possession is stunted.  It’s not sweet.  The root beer darkness is nowhere to be found.  Instead, it is super minerally.  It tastes like coloured rock water with a considerable lichen influence.  That lichen taste is nearly absent in the original.

This is the most Zen Xiaguan production to come come under my radar.  It’s super Zen and must be drunk at moderate temperatures lest you be bored to tears.  Looks like some tinning is in order.  It’s already been moved to what I hope are more agreeable storage conditions.  There is no hope of recreating the original Imperial Roots, but I can still do some coaxing.

Right now, this is an absolute must for the mineral Zen lover.  The storage conditions have stunted the camphor, sugar, spice notes making it steely, like a medieval knight.

Two Puerh Heavyweights from ’06

Posted on by Yang-chu
30 Nov

I’m finally ready to release Two Puerh Heavyweights from ’06.  They reside at opposite extremes of the puerh spectrum, mid-aged to be precise.  One is the Fohai, 6FTM and the other is Xinghai’s BZ Peacock.  I’ve had the former better part of 18 mths and the latter over a year though began tasting in April.

The Fohai is old name of Menghai city and the famous tea factory.  Since a great many of 6FTM’s productions are region specific, perhaps the choice of Fohai is a creative nod to the past.  Perhaps this formulation hearkens back to a much earlier formula than but similar to the 7532. The reference might be to the Menghai factory itself but I cannot recall any direct MHTF linage as is the case with many notable others, e.g., Xinghai, Haiwan, and Du Qiongzhi to name a few.

The citrus and floral attributes sound with resolute clarity and joy.  I’ve been tinning it since Feb ’21 and the honey notes and viscosity increased considerably.  Being stored in conservatively cool conditions, it’s definitely on the younger side of ’06 by six years.  This is more or less the case with most 6FTM productions between ’04 and ’09, the compression years.

Interestingly, tighter compression is less an index of quality than it is for how the treasure should be extracted from the whole and brewed.  As far as the Fohai is concerned, larger pieces with a bit of shake is superior to any form breaking into smaller or individual leaves.  This is not that type of production and tea bits invariably brew up more bitter and abrasive.  Allowing the leaves to unfurl naturally through the course of several infusions yields a superior experience to the nuance of the tea itself.

The Fohai is stunningly elegant as far as most 6FTM productions I’ve encountered.  It has a citrus note reminiscent of the Jade Mark but utterly foreign to any of their other 6FTM productions in the stash or collection.

The BZ Peacock is not for light weights.  It’s in the Spirits Class of productions.  Mesquite pervades the character of this Xinghai puerh cake.  It possesses nearly all of the hideous notes: petrol, ash, wood, leather, and smoke but includes a most unexpected tartness.  Without having experienced their ’06 Delta Peacock, I would have considered this sourness a bit of a flaw.

The cakes were magnificently stored on the drier warm side.  The wood note thrives in such dryness.  Others might discern mushrooms.  Since being in my possession from Nov ’20, the BZ Peacock has only now reached a level of sweetness where it can be considered at drinking weight.  It’s the sweetness amidst a welter of contrasting tastes that likely accounts for its precipitous appreciation of three fold since ’19.

If there’s any consolation, the BZ Peacock will be classified under Tobacco, since no Spirit category exists.  Though banzhang is a part of the production’s name, it plays zero part in why it became part of the Collection.  Name of terroir is only incidental to factory and wrapper.  Mid-aged Xinghais with fancy wrappers command a great deal of the Puerh Junky’s attention.  Offerings with the name BZ may command the attention from a great many others.

These two treasures will be offered by the 5th of Dec ’21.

 

Best Puerh Surprise 2021

Posted on by Yang-chu
30 Nov

The Best Puerh Surprise of 2021 is the Jinglong Factory.  They’re an Yiwu outfit that seems to have access to some very good Yiwu material and a consistent, if unimaginative, approach to tea production.  The thing is when all you imagine is root beer vanilla and camphor goodness, why deviate?

The Yiwu Prince made its debut this year as the first Jinglong in the Collection.  It’s from a favoured vendor who has excellent storage ensuring a good deal of cooking of the leaves.  This is necessary to get the root beer taste from Yiwus.  This character is completely absent in young productions.   The Yiwu Princess hails from the same vendor and features the same cooking with a greater floral expression.  Jinglong’s offerings avoid the floral trait.  Even though the Yiwu Prince proclaims Yiwu Spring Tips. . . the size of the leaves are altogether too long and thick to be the spring that comes to mind when a wrapper says spring.

The dark brew of the Princess, lest she be jealous.

I hastily sampled a newly arrive Jinglong production creatively named Early Spring from an unfamiliar vendor.  Even though its a great deal cheaper than their Prince, it’s every bit as good: the root beer, vanilla spice, all sweet no bitter, placid on the tongue.  I was surprised being fresh off the boat.

The above is a shot of the ’05 Jinglong Red Ribbon, thus named because it has an embroidered red ribbon in it. But don’t take my word for it; here it is:

Anyway, this production comes from a vendor where I’ve tended to only gander iconic productions.  Amidst a sea of very particular Zhongcha productions with handsome asking prices, this Jinglong rather stood out.  It’s the offering for which I developed the greatest affection, though I’ve only tried it twice.  The ribbon really seals the deal for me, even though some storage factors were dicey at best.  Fortunately, it hasn’t affected taste.

The Best Puerh Surprise of 2021 turned out to be a factory.  Hmm.  Jinglong offerings are remarkably consistent.  They deliver a first-rate Yiwu Zen regardless of price range.  They’re not apricoty and grapefruit seed like CMS.  They’re not grapey, berry, or fruity in any way.  Think of cane juice to which was added all types of very interesting tropical spices, something extremely pleasant like stewed pears in heavy syrup.

Samples of 20g for each is 60g of root beer vanilla goodness.  Hit me up if you’re interested in upping your Jinglong game.