Tag Archives: aged puer

Hard Pressed: Three Puerhs

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Dec

Hard-pressed puerh productions require “chunking” and long infusion times.  Here we are visiting three hard-pressed puerh productions that have been sampled in tandem over the course of a day or two.  Here we’ll be visiting three high-compression puerhs:

  • ’07 LME Early Spring
  • ’07 Beijing Olympics, Zhongcha (KMTF)
  • ’12 Wuliang Brick, SMTF

First, I must say that all three glimmer with clarity.  Each strikes a different note.  Possessing smoke, the Beijing Olympics strikes a low note relative the Wuliang and Early Spring.  Still, it is not possible to speak of brightness among any or this trio.

Some may differ in this regard when it comes to the Wuliang Brick.  Although the fruit notes of the Wuliang provide a measure of cheer, its complexity is greater than mere cheer.  Over several brewings, I detected a cherry liqueur cough medicine taste.  Infused boldly (i.e., with much time), it proves to be a challenge: bitter and aggressive.  A conservative brewing of around 30s offers tastes of brandy, fermented raisins, and “purple,” a la Fago Grape Pop.  The other two are far less dynamic when it comes to the effects of varied brewing times.

Hard-pressed productions are machine made.  On the one hand oxidation, occurs very slowly; on the other, all the leaves are subject to great stress, i.e., cell wall breakage, upon formation.  This should translate into a species of oxidation that differs from lightly or stone-pressed productions.  What does it all mean?

Least pressed among the lot is the Beijing Olympics. . . and that’s not saying much.  The leaves are quite indicative of the recipe productions with numbers for names.  It tastes alike a variant, maybe a rougher 7532.  For whatever reason, the wax taste, of which I’ve written regularly in the past, is not as prominent, though the hallmark of this particular puerh type is its wax, paraffin, kerosene, petrol.

Glass.  That’s the principle association with the Early Spring.  Smooth and clear.  It has a deceptively potent and expansive qi and a building huigan.  It presently seems to be expressing “that awkward adolescent sourness”, as one fellow drinker calls it, something that I’ve never previously noticed in this genteel and somewhat wheaty production.

All three high-compression puerhs span the range of flavour: fruit, wax, wheat and aged flowers.  The main thing about tight compression is that it yields numerous infusions, at least 10.  Safe for a really heavy hand, the brew turns out mellow and flavourful without excessive bitterness or astringency.

Huigan: Puerh Mysteries #187

Posted on by Yang-chu

’10 Year of Tiger MK

I’ve been pondering this concept of “huigan” lately.  Specifically, I’m wondering about what it might really mean in the context of raw puerh.  Huigan is generally translated as “aftertaste,” literally as “returning sweetness,” or not at all.  In Chinese, the huigan is said to “arrive quickly” or “to have huigan.”

I think it’s fair to conclude that it is a figure of speech, a compliment, but that would be a mistake.  It doesn’t even seem to me to be the same as aftertaste either, because there’s already a phrase for that.

’06 Menghai Tuo

I’m wondering if huigan has anything to do with the astringency that characterizes raw puerh, but ripes are similarly described and they do not have much astringency.

Astringency seems to be an alien concept to many.  Often it is associated with bitter.  Often the terms are used together.  When huigan is mentioned, it’s not necessarily in the context of bitterness and astringency.  Hmmm.

Maybe it encompasses all of these.  Again, the question is why would such a term be particular to puerh but for the fact that gan returns from somewhere.  Is that somewhere bitterness and astringency?

07 Spring LME

For certain huigan has nothing to do with the broth.  Maybe it’s the mouthfeel after the broth.  Some productions have very activating effects on the tongue, cheeks, and throat that are not attributable to the drying-effects of astringency.  To me it very much conjures the effect of the Sichuan pepper.

Anyway, I’ve posted some pictures of productions that I believe capture huigan.  In later infusions, in productions that express a quick huigan, the huigan will naturally take longer to develop.  Gradually an echo of one cup to the next creates a constant buzz in the mouth.

Tasting Notes on the ’06 Peacock Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu

The dry wiff of the ’06 Peacock brick is evocative of 7536.  In a heated pot I caught some veggie notes that I associate with some ripes.  I’m going with a little less than 7g in my eggplant pot.  A few minutes sitting, another wiff after the first rinse.  Vanilla and spice.

The first infusion is a bright gold and that vegetal note is quite present.  Water’s at 212, so I gave it only 10s.  Rock sugar sweet, with an instant “gan” effect at the front sides of the tongue.  It’s striking me as being more numbing than astringent.  As it cools some of that vegetal is present.  Just opening up.

First infusion 10s

Smell of wood smoke is immediately evident in the second round.  It initially reminded me of this:

By the third 7s infusion the color is decidedly more solid.  A bit of froth worked up but vanished fairly quickly.  There’s some tiny bubbles now.  I put in two chunks.  It is pressed nicely.  A suitable amount can be either flecked or chunked.  I’m noticing a lot more minerality now.  There’s now no mistaking the taste of camphor.  No real aftertaste to speak of beyond the feint essence of petrol.

The cold pot smells like pencil shavings.  The fifth infusion has more root beer flavour, evocative of the Mengku Tiger.  I think as it cools the root fades to pencil.

Infusion 5 of Peacock Brick

The Mengku Tiger has more spring material: floral and root beer, which I’m not picking up on in the 6th.  It’s lightened up quite a bit in terms of thickness and is on the other side of froth.  “How does a pot of pencil shavings strike you old chap?”  A very complex blend of medicine, bitter, sweet, smoke, and petrol.  Astringency picks up here.

Overall, quite friendly and dynamic.  Not what my sources of dejavoyance said.

 

 

Dejavoyance: ’06 Peacock Brick

Posted on by Yang-chu

I’m going to try something a bit different with the ’06 Peacock Brick puerh.  I’m going to rave about it before I drink it, without cheating by looking at my notes.  My experience with the ’06 LM Square has got me on a bit of a Liming kick that I might explore throughout the rest of the week.

There’s this really weird consistency that I find with Liming boxes– they’re not stamped.  You can tell by the picture that the brick possesses a fair amount of aging.  Of course, looks can be deceiving.  Note the stylish placement of the neifei.

Liming fancies a good deal of smoke in most of their productions.  The ’06 Peacock hasn’t deviated, but I’m wondering now how much that has changed, especially since the LM Square is pressed much more tightly and is much less smoky.

Looks a bit brighter than the LM Square.  I remember a thick, sweet, and smoky experience.  I think the thickness stuck with me most.  The thickness excels in infusions 3-6.  It lasts for the next seven infusions.

 

I’m very interested in what the cashed leaves will look like.  This shot was taken in May ’16.  Comparing this with a Jingmai brick seems easy, so I might do that as well.

LM Square Puer: Reflections

Posted on by Yang-chu

Let’s do a bit of a retrospective through some photos of the ’06 LM Square.  Pretty harmless looking box.  LM stands for Liming Tea Factory.  One of their brands is Ba Jiao Ting.  The names can be used interchangeably.  Here’s a link to write-ups and products related to this factory.

I want the pictures to do the talking:

At the very least there were two pressings of this production ’06 and ’07.  The best pressing is shown above.  The level of detail is exquisitely expressed here.  Other pressings, though they may taste identical by my standards is decidedly of poorer quality.

Here’s the reverse side.  I just talked about the compression yesterday.  Below is a shot from two years ago.  I didn’t specify which infusion.  Notice how turbid it is in terms of clarity.  Lotsa tasty stuff in there.

Since I know it is a brick, I engaging with it on different terms from a cake.  Sorta like the difference between consume and stew.  Bricks and tuo tend to fall into the stew category.  Stewed fruit to be precise.

’06 LM Square, 10th Infusion

This is a shot taken in late Aug of ’18.  I guess my record keeping is getting better.  Let’s look some more.

Cashed leaves take one.

Here’s from two years ago.

Really tough to differentiate.  One thing I notice is that the shot from June of ’16 has more bitsy material.  I’d rather go with a chunk 10g than to have precisely 7.5g of bits.  No bueno.  If the production comes apart easily, that’s a different story.  In general, we’re not drinking matcha.

I came to Liming because many of their productions possess a peacock emblem.  My peacock category is not just with peacocks or “phoenixes.”  Many cakes boast of being from Peacock Country.  Among those in the know, these are unassailable braggin’ rights.   Pengcheng and Xinghai also avail themselves of this reference.  In terms of consistent high standard, Liming is the best among them.

 

LM Square: Atomic Compression

Posted on by Yang-chu

’06 LM Square, 10th Infusion

The ’06 LM Square is a serious treasure that lasts forever.  The huigan is outstanding.  Its aroma is pleasant and noticeable.  Atomic compression.  Before going into this, let me relate a few thoughts about what I remember it to have been.

Liming productions can come with quite a bit of smoke.  I remember this square to be solidly representative: smoky, sweet, thick, and durable.  I didn’t think it lasted forever.  I hadn’t noticed the aroma or been of the impression that it was spring tea, which it is.  I can’t say that I noticed any light brown sugar, which is one of the pervasive themes from one infusion to the next.  The broth presently tastes like Wheaties.

Now about the atomic compression. . .  As a puerh genre, squares are most likely to be pressed into oblivion.  I have a Liming cake from ’05 also pressed to smithereens.  I do not crumble these productions.  I aim for one or two shards measuring between 8-10g.  The rinse is one minute at 208.  I let it sit for five minutes with the lid on.  Infusions 1-6 brew between 30-1m.  Rounds 7-15 according to your preferences.  208 is the ideal temp for certain.  If it seems too astringent lighten your hand, though this production is very kind to those brewing with a heavy hand.

The surprising thing is that given such compression, I would think that the smoke should still be prominent.  But it’s not.  The first part of the session has deep plum aroma and a light plum taste mixed in with the light brown sugar I mentioned above.  Later infusions reveal the underlying spring nature.

12 Wangong and Yiwu Puerh in General

Posted on by Yang-chu

Sitting on this for four years has seen a good deal of transformation.  Autumn tea.  Some light fruitiness.  Typical astringency for Yiwu material.  It really is the case that Yiwu productions do benefit from years of storage.  It’s gotten sweeter sweeter.  The astringency is not as wicked as I recall.  Here’s a shot from ’14:

Shot in ’14

Big difference in terms of color.  There’s no old-taste to it yet.  The fruitiness of the aroma seems to build as the session progresses.  As luck would have it, it’s the third “Zen tea” I’ve visited this week.  By “Zen tea,” we’re essentially talking about the gentle productions that taste like very lightly sweetened water.  There’s no flash and pizzazz.  You’ve got to sit with it a bit and try to figure it out.  Most of the figuring will be around the astringency, which by the 9th infusion really starts churning in the stomach.  I certainly would not drink this in the winter, though it seems fine enough on an empty stomach.

All of the Zen productions reviewed earlier this week are from ’07.  They all possessed some measure of old taste.  The most surprising was definitely the the Prince with a developing berriness that was nowhere detectable earlier.  None possess any bitterness to speak of but the astringency is something to contend with.

Infusion 8ish

Wan Gong material’s price has gone through the roof since ’14.  So far my reaction to Yiwu has been highly variable, even the same production.  I feel that it has been me more than any particular production.  The jury is still out on Wangong.  I feel that this Wangong is getting better, sweeter and less astringent.

Cashed leaves

I’d say about five more years.  I’ve had some of these Yiwus from the late 90s.  Spring tea, even some blend thereof, tends to be the best imho.  These light ones strike me as being extremely challenging in some regards, especially if there aren’t any flowers to offset the subtlety of the autumn material.

A Fuzzy Enigma: ’07 Beijing Olympics

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’07 Beijing Olympics Neifei

The ’07 Beijing Olympics puerh cake is a fuzzy enigma.  I can’t put my finger on the recipe.  I guess it’s most similar to the Blue Mark, but the leaves are more broken.  It is certainly every bit as genteel as the Blue Mark.  There’s also a similar waxiness.

4th 10s Infusion After Eight Hours

The aftertaste is very fruity and somewhat astringent.  There’s no detectable bitterness.  Maybe you can tell from the pic that the ’07 Beijing Olympics is pressed super tight.  The lightness of the brew is a mark of how slowing it opens up.

Infusion 7, still 10s

One writer described it as cottony.  Seems about right.  Here’s a shot from 28 months ago:

Here it is two years later:

Transformation has been steady as she goes.  The broth seems to be getting clearer.  At the same time the hue is brassier than before.  The aroma is noticeably fruity.  The fruitiness is apparent in the huigan, otherwise the liquor is mildly sweet with some hints of petrol in the early infusions.  It’s a real Zen production.

Smooth as Glass: ’07 Thick Zen, CNNP

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9th Infusion

The ’07 Thick Zen is smooth as glass.  At room temperature, very subtle camphor notes are detectable.  Overall, however, Zen is an apt description of this middle-aged puerh.  Juicy Zen: feint fruitiness, wheat, and a gentle old taste without any hint of any off odors or stale storage.  It smells a bit like a horse stable dry.  Wet more like lightly roasted barley, what they call “ku-qiao.”

The qi of the Thick Zen is very much in the stomach.  It really stimulates the appetite pre-meal and post-meal produces a warming ball of heat in the stomach.  Over all the qi is quite relaxing and seems quite a bit stronger in terms of these effects after eating than before a meal.

12th infusion 3 minutes

Even pushed it exhibits neither bitterness nor excessive astringency.  Part of it has to do with being very moderately pressed even for a CNNP ’07 production.  The photo doesn’t do it justice in terms of just how transformed this here’s a shot of the cashed leaves anyway.

To the naked eye the cashed leaves look much redder.  Anyhoot, the transformation is coming along nicely.

 

 

Berryland Ho!

Posted on by Yang-chu

The ’07 Prince is aging up nicely.  It’s starting to have an old taste.  Not noticing so much vanilla in there as before.  Seems to be working nicely in the warm weather.  The huigan is still hanging on 10 minutes after the fact.  Fruity.  Berries.  You’ve got to wade through at least four rounds before you get to it.  The taste is remarkably light.  Lightly bitter and sweet water.  The broth on the thin side.  By the 8th infusion the fruitiness of the aroma jumps out.

Here’s a shot taken 28 months ago.

Looks about the same, but the taste is quite different.  Here’s a shot of the cashed leaves from today.

Here’s from 28 months ago.

It seems that the one from today is darker.  I’m really surprised by the fruitiness, which makes me think of two things: Kunming storage and the original material.  For 11 year-old puerh, overall it appears that the material has undergone remarkably little transformation.  The thing is, I don’t taste any vanilla or camphor as my write up from two-plus years ago indicated.

Second, Yiwu material is known to be very light in taste with often a no-joke astringency.  It is also known to get richer as it ages.  The difference from say the Bulang or Wuliang is that these are very aggressive where aging is partly aimed at waiting for these productions to settle down.  I can now descry the path upon which the Prince has embarked.  Berryland ho!