Tag Archives: aged puer

Beginning Root Beer Notes: Tiger Puerh Tuo 250g

Posted on by Yang-chu
21 Mar

Beginning root beer notes are emerging in the Tiger Puerh Tuo 250g.  What began as an overly aggressive, feisty production which transformed to incense is now mellowing.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not mellow but I did move up from the typical 6.5 g to 8.  Today, I also tried it in the gaiwan .

I’ve been storing this since about Aug of ’16.  I’ve not made it through the first tuo I opened as it was too strong for my tastes.  Now is a different story.  The direction it is changing speaks to the promising prospects for it future.  There’s still quite a bit of astringency, but interestingly the bitterness is fading along with the floral notes.  The astringency has a kind of siltiness to it.  All of the macho seems to be converting into root beer.  All of the apple notes from its youth are gone as well.

Let’s take a look at an earlier shot of the liquor

Year of Tiger Puerh Tuo in ’16

Here’s a shot from 21st Mar ’19

Here’s a close up from a couple years ago…

2010 Tiger Puerh Tuo Closeup

Here’s one from 21st Mar ’19

2010 Tiger Tuo Closeup ’19

Now about the huigan and qi.  The liquor goes down smooth with that silty astringency at the edges.  As the liquor vanishes down the throat the cooling sensation of camphor and flowers emerge.  This sensation builds to a crescendo, reaching into the throat, and leaving the mouth tingly.  Some might find it a shade drying, while others may find that its cheekiness promotes salivation.  Perhaps both.  As for the qi, a pot or two should make you sufficiently stupid.  I felt both very extra-sensory and high from it.  It also produced an exceptional diuretic effect, whereby I p%%ed as if I’d drunk a gallon of beer, with just as much force!

At a cooler temp and a higher measure of tea, I’m picking up on some of the bitterness, pineapple/granny smith.  There’s also just a hint of petrol developing.  This production is no slouch.

Visiting the 05 Peacock Puerh, LM

Posted on by Yang-chu
25 Feb

Visiting the ’05 Peacock Puerh, LM is not what I’d consider to be the most memorable experience.  I’ve been sitting on this for about three years.  It is tightly pressed early spring material from what seems to be Daxue Shan or Jingmai material, but this is only a guess.

A few weeks ago, I took it out of storage.  I has a session with it about two weeks ago, where I noted strong green floral notes quite similar to 6FTM Lunar Series productions.  However, the Monkey is far superior to this production. . . at least what I’ve tasted of it.

Infusion #6

Infusion #6

For starters the ’05 Peacock takes two infusions not counting the rinse to get beyond a storage taste, one that it had upon acquisition.  None of the 6FTM Lunar Series have a stale storage vibe.  The ’05 Monkey upon acquisition four years ago already had some distinctive spice notes.  The ’05 Peacock is starting to develop a hint of petrol, but only for the second and third infusions.

The aftertaste of the ’05 Peacock is its greatest attribute.  Usually by now, a production of this age has floral notes that are more chrysanthemum or dandelion in nature not orchid.  In this regard it is quite similar to the Jingmai “003” from the same year, though the “003” has a young floral zing in the liquor as well as the aftertaste.   In some regard, both possess aggressive attributes.  The robustness of the ’05 Peacock’s liquor fades quickly before expressing Zen characteristics.

Aged appearance, some froth.

The body feel and effect of the Peacock is non-existent.  The “003” and the Lunar Series are both far superior in this regard.

I’ve tasted the ’05 Peacock, LM on numerous occasions.  I find it disappointing and overrated.  The ’06 Peacock Brick, also by LM by contrast, is rich, spicy, and durable.  They’re qualitatively different productions.  The ’05 is decidedly spring tea, which is what accounts for it valuation.  The Lunar Series and the “003” are two better productions that fall within the same floral class.

 

 

Puerh Aging: Two Years in the life of Green Mark

Posted on by Yang-chu
16 Jan

Time for a little puerh nostalgia, by examining the aging of a “Green Mark” that I liked enough in ’15 to get a tong in ’16.  At the time, I was most impressed by the delicate touch of humidity that had been added.  There’s enough to where the “golden flowers” of fungi were visible through the aid of my camera.


Though the storing touch was impressive, I quickly surmised that it was more than storage that was responsible for it color and quality.


Regard, an obvious blend of raw and ripe.  Obviously, not a real Green Mark but interesting execution nonetheless.  The tastes were always quite complex, rich, sweet, and inviting.  The kick of astringency as in later infusions was always a bit of a bummer but certainly not the end of the world.

April 2016 shot

This shot shows a fairly handsome brew, but as noted always had a bit of tweaking astringency.

Bell Pepper Pot with the ’01 GM Puerh

This is a shot from Aug 2018.  It is quite remarkable how much darker it is.  The astringency has pretty much faded.  It’s expressing that glassy effect evident with productions have oxidized a great deal.  The contrast between the raw and ripe material isn’t there anymore.  The camphor may not be quite as punchy as it was.  Overall, it’s still quite pleasing.

There are some “real” productions that are blended.  They are usually ripes.  For example, the “7581” is mostly ripe material.  LYH has a ripe production called Auspicious that was positively undrinkable when I first got it a few years ago.  A few year later, it turned out to be nice and glassy.  I noticed that YS introduced a raw/ripe blend of some sort in the past year or two.  It seems all the rules are being broken.   Ultimately, the proof is in the taste and effect, which is an ever-moving target.

I find this Green Mark to be very good, and is aging along quite nicely.

Wet-Stored Zhongcha Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
07 Peacock 9611, CNNP
14 Jan

Two shots of the same production from ’07 brewed in different vessels. It’s been wet stored, so it’s much darker than usual. The gaiwan shot was taken at night, the clay pot shot in day. The latter is much sudsier and sweeter, with some cooling camphor notes that can be felt at the end of each sip.

Night shot

When I first got it I couldn’t drink it, so I stuffed it away for six months, a fairly short spell actually. A friend recently sent me a sample of the Global Tea Hut “tea of the month,” which was a Blue Mark, same factory as below, from 2000, stored in Taiwan for 18yrs. It smelled like it too.

Day shot

Anyway, one wet stored production begets another. This ’07 production is better than the Blue Mark. It’s thicker, sweeter, and more complex, even though both are very much in the Zen vein of puerh, either Lincang or Yiwu material.

Two Puerh Peacocks from ’07

Posted on by Yang-chu

These two puerh peacocks couldn’t be more different from one another.  The ’07 Bada is complex, minerally, medicinal, sweet, and floral.  The ’07 Peacock is pure Zen, thick and wheatie with almost no taste.

Both brew to a rich golden hue.  The leaves of Peacock are considerably larger.  It also has more froth than the Bada, but to call it frothy would be an overstatement.  Astride a slight sweetness is a pinch of bitterness, quite similar to Sweet-n-low.  Overall, it possesses a character similar to a roasted barley tea, only thicker and sweeter.

The Bada is in company with some older spring teas in the Junky’s collection, such as the ’05 Peacock Puerh, LM, ’06 Gold Ribbon Tuo, XG and the ’05 Yiwu, YPH.  However, the Bada’s taste is altogether more complex.  There’s some mild camphor and sweet cinnamon notes.  The aged floral huigan is noteworthy and lingers.  You can smell the cinnamon too.

Pushing the Bada in later infusions only makes the brew thicker.  It never bottoms out, as signified by a bitter-metalic taste. The spice notes gain prominence the further one advances in the session.

Puerh Cashed Leaves:
Left: Peacock; Right: Bada

It is not possible to say that one production stands head-and-shoulders over the other.  They’re not comparable, because they fall into different classes.  The Peacock is in the Zen class.  As far as some similar Zhongcha productions, like the Blue Mark, it is even better tasting and a superior value, a diamond in the rough.  The Bada falls into a category that I might most associate with the ’08 Gift Puerh, from Xiaguan, at least as far as some of the mineral notes are concerned, but as noted above old flowers and spice figures prominently.  It is quite in a class of it’s own.

The Dark Side of Puerh: Wet Storage

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Jan

The dark side of puerh refers generally to storage methods associated with Taiwan and HK.  There’s also Malaysia and some outliers in Yunnan itself, but these tend to be quite a bit less common.

I was recently gifted a sample of the 2000 Blue Mark, CNNP, which had been Taiwan stored for 18 years.  It was proudly being offered by The Global Tea Hut, an outfit that takes a decidedly spiritual approach to tea.

Just one whiff of the Blue Mark gave the impression of a pretty darn wet storage.  I was excited to give it a try, since I’ve tasted a few Blue Marks that were younger and Kunming dry stored.  The Blue Mark is the epitome of a Zen production, a reference that means the bulk of the material hails from Yiwu.  Yiwus have a reputation for getting better with age, perhaps more so than others, where the focus tends to be more on the settling of the aggressive notes.  This applies particularly to Menghais and Jingmais.  As far as any of this is concered, we’re talking about plantation puerhs, as the profile of ancient arbors vary greatly.

The storage effects from Taiwan and others are very popular among some puerh enthusiasts.  Heat and humidity expedite the transformation process, while adding a microbial profile that is highly desired and usually absent from KM productions of a similar age.

This microbial profile can vary widely, but it accounts for a bona fide “dirt” taste.  Profoundly wet stored productions not only taste dirty but also possess a dankness or rottenness, sometimes straight up moldiness.  And before one shutters in horror, perhaps bleu cheese might offer some perspective.  Executed well, wet storage can offer an added depth to a production.  That said, seriously wet stored offerings are far from my favourite, as the microbes often distract from the tea itself.

A final point on wet-stored puerh involves a discovery made when storing here in LA a filthy late 80s production.  In short, the filth can be “cooked” out, giving rise to rich cinnamon notes and a complete fusion between the storage and the raw material itself.  “Cooking” here is long term storage under the varying intensity that productions receive here under the LA seasons.

Now to my findings on the 2000 Blue Mark. . .

  • Clean dry dirt with a hint of cinnamon.
  • The liquor is stunningly beautiful, glimmering and crystal clear
  • Full-body qi effect, particularly around the chest, back of neck, and top of head

As far as the effects of Taiwan storage on Yiwu material, I can’t say that it changes it much if at all.  There aren’t any camphor or petrol notes that develop, for example.  It doesn’t appear to be any richer than the younger Blue Marks, though it is likely less astringent.  These changes or lack thereof as the case may be may only be applicable to the Blue Mark itself and not to Yiwus in general.

 

 

 

Puerh and the Progression of Glee

Posted on by Yang-chu
07 Jan

Glee is a production that entered the market in ’15 but was formed and pressed in ’05.  For those 10 years, rest assured it received the most conservative of Kunming storage conditions.  Previous reviews can be found here and here.  I thought I’d make a couple updated observations after having just visited it here in the new year of ’19.

  • Glee is getting sweeter.  It’s not knock-your-socks sweet, but it is pleasantly sweeter nonetheless.  There’s a bit of brown sugar in the aftertaste.  The broth itself has a tame honey sweetness.
  • The astringency is waning.  What used to be a remarkably astringent huigan is beginning to express much more moderately, even when pushed.  This astringency is a common trait among Yiwus, which is whence this production hails in all likelihood.
  • Camphor notes are emerging.  Mid-session, some surprising camphor notes are starting to make themselves known.  They are evocative of the ’07 HK Returns brick, though nowhere near as strong.

Did I mention, still looking quite gorgeous?

Two Root Beer Puerhs Five Years Removed

Posted on by Yang-chu
05 Jan

Here I want to take a look at two root beer puerhs five years removed: ’10 Tiger, MK and the ’05 Qizibing, XH.  The root beer class of puerhs express vanilla tempered by herbal notes that give the impression of that hallowed beverage of 19th-c cowboy saloons.

The Tiger typifies MK’s quality productions.  Stone pressed, The Tiger shows that the factory exercised an added measure of care to make it aesthetically pleasing.  Hailing from the aggressive side of the Lincang region, The Tiger’s notes are floral, characteristic of productions from Fengqing and DaXue Mt.  The hallmark Fengqing offering in the Puerh Junky collection is the Lunar Series from 6FTM.  These are feisty puerhs that’ll grow hair on your chest.  By contrast, MKs tend to be softer around the edges, much more refined, less astringent, with a more complex ensemble of flavours.

Xinghai TF productions seem to be all over the map.  The nondescriptly titled Qizibing is a recipe about which not much information is provided beyond being from Menghai.  I’ve rather concluded that it is an assortment of Bulang villages given it’s straightforward presence and lack of florality.  The cake itself looks like a standard recipe cake that been thrown together with some buds, some leaves, and stems.  The compression is perfectly appropriate, flecking apart easily with the knife.

Generally, root beer doesn’t express, if at all, until a production has quite a few years under its belt. Both productions have been Kunming stored, but the Tiger is one of the most aggressively aged KM productions I’ve encountered.  That said, it’s lost none of character and depth or if it has still possesses a great deal mellowed by a great deal of heat.  The QZB’s age is what’s to be expected of a properly KM aged ’05.

Two Puerh Flavor Giants

Posted on by Yang-chu
Mincemeat puerh
02 Jan

For the past three days, I’ve been imbibing of two puerh flavor giants imminently appropriate for the winter season:

The Bamboo puerh possesses a highly distinctive taste: dry-roasted rice or barley and strawberry, evocative of Franken Berry or some other fake strawberry-flavoured breakfast cereal.

Most puerhs aren’t very roasty.  Usually, there are variants of smoke and ash.  Here, the roast is like genmaicha.  Strawberry is also a rare encounter.  On every tasting of this production, I’ve had since ’13, the strawberry just shine through.  The two tastes meld together nicely, with a fait bit of flowers on the top, finished with a great deal of astringency.  It’s a bit of a gut buster, at least on this third day.  Over all, an infusion or two is more than sufficient, as it is filling and easily spills over into the “just too much” terrain.

The ’07 Mincemeat is a puerh that I’ve been waiting for till this time of year.  It still strikes meas being very mincemeaty.  Perahps, it’s not as warm and spicy as previously noted, but there’s still a dash of clove in there.  Now, there seems to be a very noticeable taste of fresh bay laurel, if not bay laurel then distinctly evocative of a Christmas aerosol my mom had back in the day.  It has some resonance with one of my favs, the ’07 Wuliang Rhyme, a now long gone production.  The leaf material of the Mincemeat is of decent quality, and it’s a reasonably famous production that stands to age well.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the bamboo on hand and it isn’t available anymore.  The Mincemeat is a recurring formulation, coming out maybe every other year.  Productions older than ’07 start to get up there in price, and I surmise that in a year or two the same will apply for the ’07.  I still have a few on hand.

 

Mid 90s Wild Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
15 Dec

In the hot loaner teapot, the dry mid-90s wild puerh iron cake smells strongly of vanilla.  Wet, the vanilla mellow against a symphony of balanced aromas.

Brewing requires a measure of light-handedness.  Five seconds for the first six infuisons proved sufficient for me.  That’s because this production comes with some serious bitterness.  Unmistakably bitter.

Bitterness is not the most prevailing note, just the most daunting.  It’s definitely present in the aftertaste, along with vaguely mineral-graphite-petrol notes.  Still, that bitterness lingers.  All those complexities are present on the back end.

The main taste is a rich cream soda, with elements of spiced wood.  In terms of age-expressed herbal complexity, it shares an association with ’10 Year of Tiger, MK, though the Mid 90s wild has no floral notes.  All told, I get more than 12 infusions on a consistent basis.

It’s not uncommon to conjecture about the actual age of a production.  The best way to judge is by the colour of the leaves.  Storage conditions vary wildly.  It makes a huge difference in terms of how the tea expresses over time.  Here, the leaves are certifiably red, though the liquor is not particularly deep in hue.  At the same time, from one infusion to the next, it does not get lighter, perhaps even darker, as oxidation has penetrated evenly through the leaves, not just the superficial layers and at the edges.  Even though in many regards the ’10 Tiger, MK is more aged in some regards, the notes are significantly brighter, something only expressed in “young” teas.  In this case, I’ve an ongoing relationship with this seller.  Their storage is consistent and prices reasonable, so I don’t feel cause for there to be unreasonable suspicion toward their claims.

I’ll be posting sometime next year.