Puerh Junky Report: Jinglong TF

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Yang-chu

17 May

Jinglong TF is a doozy of a puerh outfit specializing in Yiwu productions. They started production in ’95 under another name, settling upon Jinglong in 2000. Their quizzicality can be attributed to their marketing posture, which can only be characterized as all over the place. They offer some really cheap ripe and no-name raw bricks directly on Amazon, while having some more intriguing offerings sold by puerh specialty vendors.

Jinglong came onto the Puerh Junky’s radar because a preferred vendor featured one of their offerings. Hey! they didn’t go wrong with either the Yiwu Princess or the Marquis du Greenmark, why should I get cold feet now? After noticing the brand, it started coming from the woodwork everywhere, various productions mostly from ’05-’06 but a few from ’08-’09 as well, all at wildly different prices.

The Puerh Junky has now tasted three of their productions since Jul ’20, and they’re all quite tasty. For the enthusiast of Yiwu Zen, they’re definitely worth sampling. Their offerings share some similar traits in terms of big leaves with alluringly long stems, rock sugar sweetness, and durability. They’re ready for drinking now with next no astringency, possessing aged trajectories of either medicine or root beer. Need I really say more? They aim to please.

Floral Class Puerh

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Yang-chu

06 Apr

Floral Class Puerh is not a monolith. Many variables factor into the quality of flower notes. These are age and terroir primarily, not to mention the time of year and whence the leaves are picked. Let’s examine each of these a bit more closely.

Floral Class Puerh and Age

One of the main drivers of floral attributes is age. By age, we’re talking about how old the leaves actually are. If we imagine floral notes as keys on a piano, then we could assign younger productions to higher keys and older productions to mid-range keys. Young productions have a tendency toward being “pitchy.” It’s not uncommon for these to possess sharpness, an edginess that carries with it a measure of bitterness and astringency. These attributes most often mellow with age, though some will intensify into perfume and incense depending on the particulars of the production. Some young productions will express no florality only to age into it. such is the case with some very highly regarded Yiwus. This floral attribute will be of a much different nature from its young counterparts from other terroir due to where they reside on the keyboard. These are not the least bit “pitchy.”

Floral Class Puerh and Terroir

The topic of floral class puerh and terroir is bound to create confusion and elicit strong reactions. Part of the discord arises from differences among villages within a terroir. Village productions within a terroir may differ considerably from the region name itself. For example, Yiwu region productions are not floral, while Yiwu villages Mahei and Yibang often express floral tendencies.

Another factor for consideration in this regard is house style. Some house styles despite being situated in one region may focus upon a niche not generally associated with the terroir itself. Here the brand carries the day and seems to be the approach of most vendors from Taiwan, but is also evident in Chinese factories offering recipe productions. Recipe productions here is characterized by bearing numbers, like 7542 (of course).

In general, if the productoin states the name of the the terroir, then information about the puerh class to which it belongs follows. Daxueshan, Jingmai, Fengqing are some of the most vaunted floral terroirs. Factories tending toward the floral side are Liming, Mengkurongshi (MKRS), and 6FTM.

To be continued. . .

Puerh Eternal: Green Mark

Posted on February 7, 2021 by Yang-chu

07 Feb

Puerh Eternal: Green Mark– The Quest Continues

This week had the Puerh Junky embarking on a recovery mission. If you haven’t been brought up to speed about Puerh Storage Horrors, you need to. One of the cakes that I’m endeavoring to revive is an ’02 Green Mark (A), GPE. It was one of the most expensive and deadly productions that I’d ever had when first sampled in April of 2020. By August of the same year it had tamed considerably, but I hadn’t put two-and-two together to identify the cardboard box as the culprit for than a less favourable turn.

This February 2021 marks the one-year mark of having that cake. Since it was so damn expensive, I put it in cardboard thinking that I was giving it the best of love, only to be slowly suffocating it. What a contrast to ze Marquis du Green Mark, whom I stuffed in the Zhongcha box where he has not missed a beat.

Since the ’02 Green Mark (A), GPE had only been stored for a year in the box, it was not as drained of blood as some of the other top-shelf victims. The others, even after day two of drinking, were quite boring and it may be the case that it’ll take a full year for them to revive, for my poor ’03 7542, DQZ even longer. On the other hand, the GPE may only need only as few as three months.

I couldn’t bring myself to throw out this tea. I gave it several long infusions the next day and then let it soak overnight, a doing that has prompted this post. Tremendous. A sweetness, depth, and incense that does not remotely disappoint.

One of the most confusing aspects of puerh is how one production or recipe can have so many different makers and how the same maker can go through so many different versions of presenting the same production. In the case of GPE the answer in part has to do with the era in which it emerged. This was the decade of transition, basically ’97-’06. Factories would generally follow the prevailing marketing trend and often paid some type of fee to use the Zhongcha label. Sometimes there were outright collaborations. It’s hard to say, but the neifei gives NO indication that it is a GPE production. This is where you just have to defer to the vendor, who’s not steered me wrong yet.

Water Blue Mark: The Woolly Sweater

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Yang-chu

29 Jan

The Water Blue Mark is a Woolly sweater. The level of complexity with this raw puerh cake cannot be overstated. It it is reasonable to call it in the the tobacco class but it is not that simple. Tobacco class productions although darker by nature aren’t necessarily woody. There is a real woodsiness to this.

When the Water Blue Mark first posted, it was primarily aggressive and smoky. It was evident that it was strong but difficult to gain a full sense of its attributes. This brings us to the obvious fruitiness. In fact, when the Puerh Junky’s better half smelled the dry leaves she blurted out “fruity.” It is very fruity. When she smelled the wet leaves, her eyes brightened in surprise exclaiming, “plums and prunes.” Yes, it is a very fruity production, but. . .

The fruit so evident in the aroma must contend with wood and smoke. For being a 2007 production, the material is beyond its age by around three years. It resides in the low end of the scale, hanging with the bad crowd of the Puerh Junky’s collection, Joey White Tips, Mugsy Dragon, and OG Baby Face Square. Let’s put it this way, it’s as far from Zen as absolutely possible. It is very much NOT in the Zhongcha/KMTF house style.

A natural question to ask is whether the cake is coming or going. That is to ask, “Is it getting stronger or is it fading?” That is difficult to answer. The usual thing is to expect the smoke to dissipate. However, this is not overwhelmingly smoky. From the time of listing in thsummer of 2020 it has become better. The fruit note combined with the wood and smoke make it unique. An obvious association with XG’s Forever Love might be made but the Water Blue Mark is is darker and woodier. Its not just fruit and ash lie FL. In fact, there is little ash. The sense of oak aged liquors comes to mind.

Brandy? Whiskey? These are all too dry given WBM’s sweetness. Did I mention sweet? At least for the first four infusions it is very sweet and thick with a bit of frothiness thrown in. At the same time, it has a warming quality like some kind of spirit. It’s warming and surprisingly relaxing. It hangs heavy on the body like a woolen sweater, absolutely appropriate for cold winter nights, eliciting a counterintuitive power that welcomes curling up in the bed with some cozy Beethoven sonata in the background.

After the sixth infusion, it loses most of the woodiness and in contrast to Forever Love, loses all of the smoke. The production takes on a more characteristic KMTF Zen tone, sweet yet always with a hint of bitterness.

Fruit Monster: From Hyde to Jekyll

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Yang-chu

27 Jan

The ’11 Fruit Monster first came into the Puerh Junky’s possession in early 2018. At the time it was aptly named, but three years later it takes considerably more infusions to get to the tobaccoey, smokey attributes. Furthermore, the tropical fruit like jackfruit notes have all but disappeared. Yes, the Fruit Monster has turned from Mr Hyde to Dr Jekyll.

Transformation is the name of the game with raw puerh. Where something is this year doesn’t speak for the following. A production sharing the same name from the same factory will most assuredly differ from year to year. So it goes.

For the most part the big and bold Hyde has transformed into something considerably more refined. There’s lots more vanilla in there. In fact, vanilla is the overriding taste, not dissimilar from the old school Vienna fingers.

There can be no doubt that Fruit Monster is now a decidedly different animal, far more genteel than earlier in its life. The broth is rich and frothy with lots of sweetness. It imparts a filling and enjoyable experience. The macho fuerte of tobacco is still there but lies hidden for the late infusions to reveal. Overall, however, Fruit Monster for the time being has turned Zen in 2021. This is not an awkward phase of expression. There is nothing off about how it performs. The contrast from the early stages of drinking and the later ones, however, may leave the impression that the cake is still “young.” This may particularly be the case if it had not been sampled during its youth.

Puerh Rating: Cultural Revolution Series

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Yang-chu

14 Jan

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on ‘12 Cultural Revolution Series. This offering was first posted in spring of 2016. At the time it was very much in that “so what” stage. The Puerh Junky imbibed of it in those five years a total of four time and twice this week, being the second week of January in 2021.

Upon the second tasting in ’18, the CRS exhibited certain talcum notes, giving the impression it was going to take a turn for the perfumy type ripe but has now settled into the domain of richness with camphor. This production is clearly getting better with age, so lets get down to it.

After three rounds the totals were as follows:

Aroma 8
Clarity 9
Sweetness 11
Viscosity 8
Astringency 12
Huigan 11
Qi 4

Reflections on Cultural Revolution Series

The Puerh Junky has a preference for lighter ripes that demand less brewing time to get the most from them. In the final assessment, the CRS is decidedly NOT that type of ripe puerh. In fact, it was apparent in the fourth infusion which I pushed for a minute that it was decidedly better than the previous three because it had received the requisite time to sufficiently enrich the broth.

Increased brew time does not adversely affect CRS’s most outstanding attribute, smoothness. The astringency/tannins noted in ’16 upon posting are no longer there. Second is its sweetness, which is building with time. Notably, as one digs deeper with each infusion there isn’t a big drop off in sweetness, while the huigan builds. Camphor and sweetness express strongly in both the broth and the huigan, the sweetness such a presence that one my call for water to dilute the sugar. It is a sugar sweetness, not molasses. In fact, even though the camphor indicates a fair amount of aging and juicy storage, there is no darkness, yeastiness, or even humidity characterizing Guandong type storage.

The PJRS gave the CRS a low qi score. However, it appears that its qi effects are considerably greater, though they come on rather slowly. The sensation once it came on could be felt in both the head and the muscles of the neck and arms, giving that “need to stretch” sensation.

Conclusion

The Puerh Junky could hardly think of a more appropriate production to introduce someone to ripe puerh than the Cultural Revolution Series. It is sweet and camphory without any hints of wetpile taste. At the same time, given the trajectory of the offering itself, it is clear that it is at an interesting stage that is trending in the right direction for the seasoned ripe drinker, particularly ones who enjoy their ripes on the thick side. Puerh Rating: Cultural Revolution Series

63/105, C

2020 Top Tastes

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Yang-chu

17 Dec

Herein, the Puerh Junky lays bare his 2020 Top Taste preferences. This is going to be short.

Root Beer
Imperial Roots— from peppermint candy with faint dank to boss root beer.
Thick Zen— from thick Zen dry straw to sweet root beer. Que bueno!
Tiger, MK— Daxueshan florality with effervescent root beer. Sold out this year.
Tiger tuo, LC— From pineapple and green apple to root beer.
White Tips tuo, TL— dynamic to the hilt. The second batch is now in cooking stage so can be picked up at a fair price. It’s simply not the same as the original as it is so much drier. This imparts an incense and floral vibe instead of forest and mint candy.
Vanilla Palace— Burly Bulang with florality to zesty root beer.
Zen
Grenouille— tobacco to Zen
Hideout
Mineral Camphor
Cherry Blossom
Leifeng Ripe– a few free samples avail but not for sale
7261 Ripe– Coming soon.
Bada Peacock
Floral
Lily of the Valley
Yiwu Princess
LME Spring Puerh
Perfume
Red Star
White Tips Tuo second batch– wretchedly perfumey, what will
Buddha’s Impression– Coming in 2021

Some have probably ascertained that the Puerh Junky has simply plied artifice in an effort to sell his wares. Guilty. In actuality, his is a fairly dualistic view toward the entire affair of puerh tastes: root beer or not. It’s become a bit of a way to gauge life itself: is it root beer puerh or not? Higher order life questions include whether an offering portends the promise of root beer. Of course, there are other manifestations that can be quite exquisite; it’s just they’re not root beer.

Puerh Rating: Red Star

Posted on September 20, 2020September 20, 2020 by Yang-chu

20 Sep

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the ’11 Red Star Iron Cake. It’s one of a few Xiaguan TF (XG) productions offered. There are so many XG productions available that I tend to venture elsewhere. When I do venture into the XG terrain, I’m looking for something aesthetically captivating. The Red Star certainly captivates.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

Aroma 6
Clarity 9
Sweetness 7
Viscosity 10
Astringency 14
Huigan 9
Qi 8

Reflections

Ancient Shot

I wrote “peat” in my notes. It comes up in reference to puerhs on occasion. Is there any relationship to astringency? The Red Star performs outstandingly in the astringency category. Is “peat” the same thing I associate with soda? Not what right-minded folks call pop. I mean soda as in baking soda, sorta salty.

In a fairly recent post I wrote about how the Red Star Iron Cake has transformed. One of their more popular productions is the Gold Ribbon. What accounts for its popularity eludes me. It doesn’t possess the smoke of some of their other Crane icon productions, I suspect. Smoke will usually be some aspect of their offerings. The Red Star is no exception but it doesn’t adversely affect the taste in the least. It also transforms in a way that marks a dynamic process in the leaves. It’s not about tastes softening but actually cooking into something unrecognizable from the outset.

Conclusions

In reviewing the results, I felt I might have been a bit overly critical on the aroma score. This is probably because when I first got it, the aroma was at least twice as strong. Whatever is left in my stores has been here since May of ’16. I’ve never felt it needed punishment.

XG is an immensely interesting operation. I’ve previously mentioned that they are still about 1/2 state owned. Last I heard 50% of production is still reserved for Tibet. At the time of writing here in 2020, it is a sold everyday drinker in the tobacco class, with strong soda/peat notes. Classic XG expression, 5000X more than the Gold Ribbon. Puerh Rating Red Star

63/105, B

Ripe Steady: 55

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Yang-chu

10 Sep

Ripe Steady: 55 renders Kunming Tea Factory’s ’06 “55” ripe puerh cake to the Going Steady Method, GSM. Inasmuch as it echoes of Dr. Frankenstein, never have I been more convinced of the rectitude of the GSM.

The “55” is commemorative ripe puerh, marking 55 years of the Zhongcha endeavor. Flossed with golden buds and tagged with a big fat neifei, it is quite enticing.

This KMTF production differs from the iconic 7581. It is more tannic and more camphorous. As an insider note, it should be mentioned that the Puerh Junky has had this in two separate storage and possibly production batches. The first batch was pressed much more tightly. The second batch expresses a wood sap flair that is particular to certain ripe productions. It is a petrol-esque taste and aroma.

Reflections

The idea behind the GSM is to make ripe puerhs taste as they actually should. Although the variables of the PJRS are always in the back of my mind, it was not applied here. That said, clarity came in at a five for two infusions.

Lightening. That’s what I’d describe this as. Both wood sap and high camphor notes express strongly, neither over powering the other, but both fierce. Sweetness is there but the emphasis is on potent resins.

Day two the experiment proved NO better. This might be due to it already being quite old. Tanins expressed resolutely, as the puerh has been intentionally crafted.

Ripe Puerh? Go Steady my friends.

Puerh Cake Take: Peacock 9611

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Yang-chu

07 Sep

This Puerh Cake Take concerns the ’07 Peacock 9611, ZC. It’s the best cake among the KMTF ’07s primarily due to its durability. I might be able to offer this in a year, if the stars align. Presently, it might be interesting to augment the record on ZC’s ’07 productions. First the specs. . .

’07 Peacock 9611, Zhongcha/KMTF

Regular readers know that for me Zhongcha is the Kunming Tea Factory. Dayi is what they are, as is Xiaguan. The ‘07 Peacock 9611 is among at least two other Peacock productions from that year, mentioned previously. The Thick Zen is a peacock made of large leaf Yiwu material. The Bada Peacock is minerally and increasingly floral with each infusion. The 9611 is decidedly floral, comprised of very small leaves and buds.

Somehow, the 9611 in my possession was stored with heavy humidity. The cake stored here in Los Angeles for at least a year before it could be considered drinkable to my person. It does not possess the perfect storage traits of the Yiwu Princess, but it may given a few more years. Presently, it is still laced with a certain dankness that I wish weren’t there. A handful of drinkers covet that taste.

The numbers 9611 are clearly displayed on the wrapper. Following the traditional logic would suggest that this formula was devised in ’96, comprised mostly of grade 1 leaf, and devised by factory #1. Along with the neifei is a piece of gold ribbon. The characters above the numbers descriptively read “Peacock Cake.” The wrapper and neifei are identical.

Tiny Leaves Tinier Gold Ribbon

Reflections

There are some attributes of KMTF productions that I generally look for, primary are Zen and broth clarity. I do not find that in most of their productions that they’re trying to imitate the Dayi taste, as is the case with many other factories’ productions. When I say Dayi, I think I mean 7542 and/or 7543. It doesn’t matter. It’s thematically much heavier.

Breaking Dawn Puerh Glimmers

KMTF tries to express something much more subtle than Dayi. Given its storage conditions the broth is incredibly dark.

That’s a shot from Jan 2019. Here’s another shot brewed from clay, about infusion 13.

This puerh just never bottoms out. The floral, hint of cinnamon from wet storage, and sweetness just continue from one infusion to the next. This shot would have been day four. The taste of the flowers is never jagged. The quality of experience has that glassy smoothness of the Early Spring, but everything here is kicked up a notch without any wheat or malt notes.

Contrasting Floral Puerhs

There are two kinds of floral, a macho and a genteel. Among the macho floral, again we have the Lunar Series from 6FTM. This is the type of floral for people who like to get knocked over the head with very loud and aggressive tea. Lincang productions from Fengqing and Daxueshan are extremely popular, with Mengku TF probably producing some of the best grade affordable puerh out there.

By contrast, genteel florals must express all the intensity of flowers found among machos but never at the expense of smoothness and subtlety. This is where the 9611 falls, along with the other Yang puerh folks, YPH.

Final Views

The floral profile is not my favourite of puerh taste classes. The 9611 is nevertheless an excellent puerh by virtue of its durability. Its enduring sweetness, clarity, and smoothness are all noteworthy. The wetter storage conditions offer deeper insights into the intention behind the classic factory style craftsmanship. It actually seems that now is the time to begin making calls about the ’07s, not when they were made ten years ago.

Amidst Puerh Junky’s stash, the 9611 is unique. A floral wet-stored puerh that is sophisticated and smooth isn’t that common. Aggressive storage can often rob the tea of life, but in this case I’m wondering whether the opposite applies. Further perplexing matters is that small leaves and buds don’t usually brew that long.