Tag Archives: aged ripe puerh

Puerh Junky Under Dynamic Moon(cake)

Posted on by Yang-chu
02 Aug

Puerh Junky Under Dynamic Moon(cake) attempts to capture a Sunday-morning moment.  It involved the notorious Puerh Junky and a Menghai ripe in The Collection since ’16, the Mooncake.  Here the focus is on the word “dynamic.”  Much digital ink has been spilled over both this offering and its maker, Yangpinhao YPH.  No need to go there.  Today, it’s about “capturing”, “focusing”, and “dynamism.”  Nonetheless, a tale of the tape is in order.

The ’12 Mooncake is a 200g square, embossed with the fancy YPH logo.  As of ’23 it’s 13yo.  In light of the absence of any petrichor or other humid notes, it’s fair to call it dry-stored; but it’s not dry.  It’s hard to put a finger on how it’s evolved over time.  The silty mouthfeel for certain has diminished, as has the baby powder fragrance.  In its place, perhaps more incense and dark chocolate.  A perfume character has held steady throughout the years

It changes much during the session.  The huigan is the star.  Here is where a mélange of taste sensations come through.  Wood prevails, if that tends toward oak or sandalwood is going to depend upon the drinker.  There’s sourness, wood sour that lingers, but not sharply.  Everything about the experience is refined.  A glassy quality in the broth remains throughout, but as it cools more chocolate milk notes appear. At room temp, it’s pure squeeze bottle Hershey’s without the milk, drizzled over sandalwood powder, topped with half a cherry.  It’s not fruity, but there’s a dash in there to add to the artistry.  There’s quite a bit of vanilla.

This is not they type of ripe that is going for ripe thickness.  Pushing in the early infusions frankly will only ruin the refinement.  There’s certainly no need to push to get the feeling.  The qi is exceptional.  It’s a real nape-necker that spreads along the traps to the back of the arms, another wave up to the ears, eliciting stretches that advance to headrush, Ultraman hand gestures and imaginings, before the urge to seriously lay down, yawns, itchy eyes.  Super, duper relaxing.  No inkling of unsettled feeling in the chest.

Mooncake has entered its next stage of development.  Does this place it in company with the light-fermented ripes that age out over time to approximate raws?  Perhaps, but there’s no raw that I’ve ever tasted that is this dark.  For fun, the thought occurred to compare Mooncake with the Langhe Ripe Tuo, since both have pronounced wood notes.

  1. Mooncake is much more “floral” or “perfume.”  The perfume note of the Mooncake is its most distinguishing feature.
  2. Mooncake has a much fruitier nose in the late infusions, day two.
  3. LHT is sweeter.
  4. Mooncake is more bitter.
  5. Mooncake’s huigan is perfume and late infusions enter the baby powder zone.
  6. Both achieve best results when brewed as if raws, meaning extended infusion times at outset are not ideal.
  7. LHT is much more sour than the Mooncake.
  8. LHT has a smoky hickory finish that’s like bacon.
  9. Mooncake tastes heavier.

Instagram shots.

 

 

Ripe Puerh Report Spring 2023

Posted on by Yang-chu
30 Jun

The Ripe Puerh Report Spring 2023 covers ripes in the Puerh Junky Collection.  Just offering some updated notes on ripes listed and unlisted as they evolve.

Let’s start with the ’04 Golden Sail, which is no longer dry and has taken on quite a bit of sweetness and humidity.  The changes after two year’s storage are rewarding, but there are but two of these left.  These tuo were picked up because they represented an interesting Guangdong angle on the marketing of Zhongcha productions.  Golden Sail in particular seems to have circulation in HK and is marketed as an export item similar to their Lucky brand.  This tuo is for the dedicated Zhongcha follower.

The YPH ’10 Sweet Richness lives up to its name.  That said, there is the matter of greater than normal bitterness.  For some, this is a good thing.  It’s quite noticeable.  No tartness.  Yangpinhao is a venture that strikes me as providing an excellent product but struggling for identity.  This situation is in no way remedied by changes of ownership. They do both ripe and raw, but more known for their raws some of which get faked.  Ripes seem to be given to a heavy fermentation style that nevertheless benefits from generous aging.  The blend of tannins with sweetness strike a good balance at this time. . . if you’re in for bitter.  About three fabulous heavy infusions of a dark, dark chocolate like brownies with a bit of baby powder perfume and slate.

Haixintang is the factory providing Grenouille.  This is a factory I’ve known from the early days and their star seems to be rising.  In ’22 the decision to delve a bit deeper had the ole Puerh Junky acquiring a few of their offerings, among them their ’18 Yiwu Ripe.  It captures the essence of Yiwu, smooth, creamy, sweet, banana.  Total extravagance. Nice price stored in nice conditions for a young, ready now offering.  It’s good.  If your conditions will allow for the fermentation zing, then it’ll be better.  Not expensive.  Send an email or hit me on Insta if interested.

The ’06 Langhe Ripe Tuo and I go back a long ways.  The first batch was Guangdong heavily stored and this is also from Guangdong but likely acquired from Kunming.  Right now, this tuo is on the cusp of something unimagined.  Having the fortune to compare the two storage differences provides a fascinating vantagepoint.  Right now, it’s verging toward the ’05 Yiwu Laoshu raw from 6FTM, petrol .  It’s baffling to say the least.  Langhe ripes are stellar but storage and timing is crucial.  Naught-era Langhe provides insight into the a stage of production that strongly oriented to old raw.  Storage factors tremendously.

The ’12 Arbor King, LME is extremely balanced.: sweet fruit, bitterness, moon pie.  I’d call it plush.

Each of these productions offers distinctive ripe puerh profiles.  The most surprising is the Golden Sail because its transformation has been most dramatic.  Second is the Langhe Ripe Tuo.  Its qi is serious and this petrol profile represents something I don’t think I’ve previously had a ripe.

cheers!

 

Puerh Junky Visits Golden Sail

Posted on by Yang-chu
22 Aug

Puerh Junky Visits Golden Sail picks up with another ripe from the mid naughts.  Golden Sail holds the distinction of selling Yunnan puerh under a Guangdong brand.  As the Puerh Junky has made abundantly clear, brand is about the closest this 250g tuo comes to Guangdong, as it was brutally dry stored.  Some people like that dry-stored ripe vibe, so I made it available even though by my own reckoning it needed resurrection.

The problem with dry stored ripes is that they aren’t sweet.  Ripes should have some measure of sweetness.  I’m not sure how some of the instantly sweet ripes are processed but guesses are that they’re heavily wokked and/or heavily fermented.  Both are heat processing which accelerates transformation of “the stuff” to sugar.

Dry storage also stunts expression.  Notes don’t sound as clearly or vibrantly.  Instead, there are fleeting hints to an otherwise stilted drinking experience.  Such was the case with the Golden Sail, which had hints of fermented cherry but altogether too faint.  Combined with a lack of sweetness and a mid-range vegetal note, it was very difficult to drink.

GS came Puerh Junky Resurrection Center (PJRC) in Dec 2020 complaining of the conditions mentioned above.  An Aug 2021 tasting showed not much change.  The experience was frankly nothing short of horrible, lacking sweetness and if memory serves possessing a sour note totally challenging.  During that session, the cherry note was not detectable either.  I only got through two infusions before tapping out.  Gross.

Aug 2022 presents a vastly improved picture.  Some renovations at the PJRC have afforded more efficient humidification in the summer months to the benefit of all the ripes.  I stopped using a hygrometer.  The Power Humidity Ward (PHW) of the PJRC receives visits on a daily basis, so there is very little concern about mold.  Furthermore, temps remain moderate from daily maritime breezes that cool the air.  Temps have rarely gone above 85, with an average range between 65-85.  Furthermore, any particular concerns about humidity can be addressed by moving ripes from the PHW to another ward in the PJRC.

No such concerns apply to GS, which is now exhibiting sweetness, a cherry-cum-berry flavour, and a slight camphor note.  Remarkable are both bitter and astringent features that express both in the broth and aftertaste, especially the astringency.  The fruit is very promising and much bolder than before.  It’s downright fruity.  Let there be no doubt: GS is in a much better place.

The astringency and bitterness got me curious.  Golden Sail is a Zhongcha/CNNP export brand.  I had assumed that this tuo was their flagship ripe 7581 devised by the Kunming TF but the wrapper offers no indication.  However, this degree of bitterness and astringency doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the 7581, which is never bitter or astringent.  Such a profile suggests that the material comes from considerably smaller leaves, possibly grade-four leaves and smaller.  Close inspection shows tiny twiggy material, tips, and chopped leaf.

Come to think of it, the release rate of GS is along the lines of smaller leaves, very quick.  Even so, the durability is greater than with most gongtings.  It offers six solid infusions.  As with most ripes this age, clarity is first rate.

 

Puerh Junky Visits Langhe Ripes

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 Aug

Puerh Junky Visits Langhe Ripes takes a turn toward the oft neglected shu puerh.  Here the Langhe TF garners the spotlight, in particular the ’06 Peacock Tribute.  This offering has been spending its days in Los Angeles since 2014, back when I would buy onezies instead of at least threezies.  The Peacock Tribute isn’t for sale but it provides a good opportunity to talk about fermentation and storage.

Langhe is a very well regarded factory for their ripes, but don’t take my word for it here’s Scott at Yunnan Sourcing’s blurb:

  Langhe 郎河 : Langhe is a factory of Menghai 勐海 that was founded in 1995. Since then it has built a strong reputation, won awards, and has become one of Yunnan’s most renowned brands. Langhe ripe teas are the most sought after from this tea factory. Classic Langhe recipes include 9599, 9579, 9559, High Mountain Ripe, and Gong Ting Ripe. Langhe ripe teas are excellent for long-term aging because they employ traditional light fermentation “wo dui” technique. This light fermentation allows for gradual aging of the ripe teas and retain much of the character of a raw pu-erh tea.

Now it’s official.  Curiously, there isn’t much chatter about Langhe.  A quick check on the puerh group on FB for example turns up only maybe four posts.  One of them is simply of the neipiao and another conjectures about authenticity.  There’s such paralysis around fakes that people don’t get that the only productions/factories that are faked are the ones that everyone knows.  It’s simply not cost effective to fake everything.  You fake what you know will sell.  Yes.  Langhe has a strong reputation, but that’s among those who know more than Dayi, Xiaguan, and Yangqinghao.  Faking is a business decision and until quite recently where prices have made widespread faking more justifiable, it just has made no business sense to fake lesser known brands and productions.

Boss Neifei

The Peacock Tribute possessed all the attributes of a Kunming dry-stored acquisition.  However, in contrast to some of Langhe’s other ripes, it is next-level astringent.  Is this what all the “small batch” craze is about?  In any event, whereas other treasures like the ’11 Imperial Round and the ’06 East is Red came into form relatively quickly, the former in six months and the latter 18, PT had never come into something resembling form until the tasting of 12 Aug ’22.

East is Red

It’s not because it is a gongting production because so are the aforementioned.  Neither is it because it hasn’t had sufficient time, as its age is identical to the East is Red.  Nor can storage be entirely attributable to its lack of performance because all three were and are essentially stored the same.  No.  It has to do with PT‘s needs or its personality.  Now, I can see a production with little sweetness and hella astringency striking some drinkers’ fancy, especially those who like to add milk and sugar to their brew.  Unfortunately, even those drinkers might be a shade disappointed because there’s no floral note to speak of like black teas, i.e., hongcha, that take doctoring.  Anyway, if I want kind of astringency, I’ll go for Lipton.  Ripes (or raws for that matter) should not be astringent like this.  If they are, then they’re impersonating a hongcha of questionable quality.

Gongting Scene

It seems that this astringency has to do with the processing.  Langhe is known for their ripes because of their light processing, which makes for good storing and resemblance to old raws.  With the PT, it appears that they took their processing to the next-level of “light.”  Even though the most recent tasting was considerably better, a year or two of a good Guangdong punishing would do it well.  That said, let’s get onto the specifics of the session.

Knowing this tea’s personality, I decide to mitigate against the astringency by flash brewing in gaiwan, 120ml, with 5.5g.  Immediately, the Peacock Tribute possessed a sweetness that wasn’t there before.  We’re not talking heavy sweetness, but nonetheless mild and pleasant.  The flavour of walnuts prevails and there’s a light camphor note at the end that matches the sweetness.  The aroma is unpleasant.  No other words to describe it but unpleasant.  The qi is strong.  The gaiwan choice successfully tames the astringency and there isn’t much to complain about in the first infusion.  Clarity, as with all Langhes, is outstandingly gorgeous.

Subsequent infusions always possess a weirdly unpleasant aroma, which fortunately doesn’t carry over into the brew.  The sweetness continues for about six infusions never building.  The same can be said for the camphor.  Walnuts is its overriding taste.  The most outstanding qualities are clarity and qi, both ranking at a five.  The body of is light, not thin but light.

Gongting Cashed

At the end, I let the brew sit overnight to see what the morning would bring.  More of the same only lighter.  Positively no sweetness.  Overall, the experience was greatly improved through gaiwan and emergent sweetness, but it’s still very “young” given the astringency and lack of full sweetness.  Peacock Tribute will need another couple years and a move to more intense storage in approach a satisfactory stage in the Puerh Junky’s book.  Far superior offerings in a similar vein include T8371, Macau Brick, and Silver Peacock.

 

 

Puerh Personality Via Drury Lane

Posted on by Yang-chu
28 Jun

Here’s a chance to chat upon Puerh Personality Via Drury Lane.  Every puerh treasure has it’s own personality requiring varying storage and preparation conditions.  When a few of your sessions don’t measure up, the last thing you want to do is conclude that your treasure has lost its way.  You first want to consider storage and preparation factors.  We can illustrate the matter of preparation by looking at a recent experience with Drury Lane.

Drury Lane is a twiggy 250g ripe brick from ’02.  It made its debut in spring of ’21.  At the time of posting, after sitting a few months to revive from its original storage, Drury Lane possessed a sparkling character, a woody sweetness with a refreshing camphor thread and an overlay of vanilla muffin.  It was the kind of ripe puerh that distinguished itself not for thickness but for a perfection of flavors that made you want to keep drinking.  The cocoa aftertaste that is in no way cloying also hits the summertime spot as far as ripes go.

A bit of an upgrade in containers occurred around Dec ’21.  It’s likely that most of the ripes spent a few months in conditions even drier than usual.  A tasting around the time of the lunar New Year ’22 nevertheless reflected the hibernation to be expected from the cold. . . by LA standards. In May moved the brick into more humid conditions and tried again about two weeks ago.  Myeh.  I tried again three days ago and the result was equally unimpressive, mottled and not particularly sweet.  I let the brick sit out over the weekend and tried on Monday morning.

Drury Lane Jun 2022

The results from the morning were as good as I knew Drury Lane to be.  It had lost none of its original pizazz.  Having the brick sit out in the open for a few days made all the difference.  Nothing with the variation in storage had affected its expression, but some changes in storage have made it necessary to modulate preparation.  Experienced drinkers will often talk about taking their treasures from storage a week or two in advance of actually drinking, sometimes also referred to as “waking” (醒茶), the same name given for the initial rinse.

In at least one previous post, your Puerhness has spoken about the importance of air in storage.  Here, the matter involves air for preparation.  Not all productions require airing before consuming.  This is where personality comes into play.  Some productions would much rather be brewed immediately upon leaving storage.  It’s not too much to assume that seasonal differences will also come into play.  Keeping a mental note or physical record of these nuances become more important the further out you get from the date of acquisition.  If you’re able to quaff down your purchases within three months, then this post isn’t going to matter much to you.

 

Boss Square Reprise

Posted on by Yang-chu
23 Jun

On solstice 2022, the Puerh Junky received a shipment containing an item that he’s been trying to track down since acquiring in ’17.  It’s the Boss Square.  I ended up getting it from the same vendor as before, the vendor from whom I’ve acquired most of my GPE stash.  It seemed like an interesting idea to list what I wrote about the Boss Square some five years ago.  Quite a bit has changed since then, not the least of which is having a modicum of understanding about GPE itself.

Gu Puerh started its exploits in 1999.  As often stated, the breaking of the tea monopoly known simply as Zhongcha witnessed the spawning of numerous private ventures that were previously branded under the Zhongcha label.  Often these factories were supplying to the big three, Menghai TF,  Xiaguan TF, and Kunming TF.  This factor contributes in no small part to my skepticism around the craze around Menghai/Dayi productions.  To be honest, I cannot say just how much “better” Dayi actually is.  I don’t bother drinking them with the exception of a sample or two that I’m gifted.  The Puerh Junky is not particularly inclined toward buying hype, favouring a “less well trod” path.

Aside from the dissolution of the monopoly, many of the Menghai TF braintrust were forced to break out for new pastures, setting up factories of their own, e.g., Haiwan, Xinghai, Boyou, and Pengcheng to name a few.  Some of these individuals, aside from having their own operations, are commissioned by other factories for specific productions or have a significant hand in operations of other factories, such as Ms Du Qiongzhi and Ms Wang Xia.  It is this latter who is much more highly regarded and is known for several famous productions.

The Boss Square, first introduced in 1999, was created by Wang Xia.  It won the Annual International Tea Expo hosted in Guangzhou that year.  That ’99 version, if it can be found, is a collectors’ item.  Any other version, I’ve only seen the ’07, is definitely worth snatching up.  There are many GPE raw squares on the market.  It’s often difficult to discern them from the ZC offerings and the numerous other replicas from other factories.  The GPE raw square is also crafted by Wang Xia.  Fakes for this size seem to be plentiful, but it seems to be usually for the ZC offering.

Wang Xia seems to have the Simao region under her wing.  In at least one previous post, I noted some confusion over whether GPE and the Simao TF were one in the same.  This post is mistaken, btw.  They are the same.  This question arose in the course of purchasing two bazhong productions both associated with the Simao TF.  Only within the past six months did I learn that the bazhong A, one which I’ve written about on more than one occasion, is actually a Wang Xia production.  The thing is, Wang Xia has her own operation also bearing the name Simao in the title.  I’ve not gone so far as to discover the gory details.  Below is the copy of the original Boss Square description.

—-

Of all the ripes I have in my collection, since acquiring this this summer of ’17, I keep it most at the ready.  The conveniently renamed ’07 Boss Square Puerh comes from the Simao Tea Factory, which I believe was designated with the #5 back in the day of the state-operated system.

This is a flawlessly rich ripe puerh.  Zero tannins.  High-impact delivery of chocolately goodness.  No dank, earthy, interesting microbial musing necessary.  In the hot zisha dry it gives off none of the saltiness so common among productions.  Wet in the cup, the wafting aroma from the pitcher is evident.  Grains and malt.

The gan is evident very quickly and lasts and lasts in the mouth and from one infusion to the next.  In order to get past the tannins, many productions require over-brewing or are best when brewed for more than a minute.  After the second infusion, 10s I found to be too much for this.  The release is rich with just 5s.  And the qi is full and expansive in the chest.  The mouth is active.

This is an exceptional ripe production and for experienced drinkers.

Merlot Puerh Update

Posted on by Yang-chu
29 Nov

This is a quick Merlot Puerh Update.  It’s good drinkin’.  It strikes me as being a bit of XG Love Forever in its ripe version.  Many heicha have this fruity note but can be rather hit or miss with ripe puerhs.

Although the berry note seemed to have been making an exit, perhaps the expression varies based upon the season.  The berry is back in any event.  Merlot doesn’t strike me as being a grandpa style production.  There are layers of nuance better appreciated through proper gong-fu brewing.  This includes an ever so delicate hint of sourness that fascinates the edges of the tongue.  There’s also an element of minerality, no doubt due to the water I use, that only becomes evident in later infusions.

Merlot should be brewed hot but drunk at moderate temp, as with most ripes.

Finally, Merlot is among a number of Xinghai TF ripe puerhs in offered at one time or another.  Their ripes are categorically satisfying with some like the Operation Macau Tuo being nothing short of amazing.  There’s intention behind each production, as no two taste alike.  Merlot takes the berry crown. The wrapper’s official title translates to “Restoring Tradition”.  This might be why it is evocative of heicha.

Puerh Junky Visits Drury Lane

Posted on by Yang-chu
13 Jun

The first thing that catches you about Drury Lane is how clean it is.  The aroma is remarkably sweet. Chocolate, camphor, and crayolas.  The rinse liquor sparkles the colour of brandy and it tastes like Kalua.  There’s an ineffable breadiness that entices.  At room temperature, camphor taste up from before being drowned out by milk chocolate.  Big time milk chocolate aftertaste.

The first infusion brews up considerably darker but still crystal clear.  The taste of vanilla jumps out with camphor middle and chocolatey tannin finish.  The sense of how clean it is remains.  Cleanliness hasn’t come at the cost of complexity.

Infusion two is doubtlessly darker still, a ruby.  I’m brewing judiciously about 10s but the waking was probably two minutes.  The broth now is almost sticky, conjuring impressions of Tootsie Rolls.  It’s super sweet and milk chocolately with fantastic camphor and vanilla elements.

Infusion three is slightly lighter than two.  It is still totally transparent.  It’s lighter in texture and the vanilla element seems to be taking the fore.  There’s the muffin element, simple vanilla muffins that aren’t too sweet, with just a hint of cardamom.  I think it’s good for two more rounds.  Might boil it tomorrow.  Twigs will like that.

If memory serves this is Xiangming Factory.  Actually, it’s Yongming.  They didn’t get puer bible listed in the ’98-’03 edition.  Either Xiangming or Yongming or both in one of the editions.  I think I’ve seen some of their offerings posted.  It was the first ripe I’ve purchased from the vendor I mentioned previously, the one who seems focused on selling the tea and not the factory.  Consequently, Yongming is more-or-less incidental to the tea itself.  Drury Lane sounds a shade more inviting than Menghai Ripe Brick for some reason.  The vendor actually never showed the wrapper.

Infusion five soaked for a few minutes delivers on par with the first infusion.  It’s quite rich.  Positively completely totally dry stored.  Quite reminiscent of the Langhe house taste for some reason.    Infusion six was possibly 15m.  The color is still remarkably dark but it’s less sweet and rich.   The final sips of a Black Russian.

Big Leaf Sancha Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu

A few years back I picked up some big leaf sancha advertised as wet stored.  Sancha is also maocha, i.e., loose leaf.  Although there was some wet-stored quality to it, the overriding sense was that it was too vegetal and just not very tasty.  Sunday 7 Feb 2021, I thought I would give it a try.  What a difference.

This ripe sancha is no longer vegetal.  Sancha (散茶）shouldn’t be confused with the Japanese sencha (煎茶）; the former references how the production looks at market, whereas the former references a processing method particular to green tea.

This particular Wild Big Leaf sancha purported to be from ’03.  Maybe.  Items of this sort, however hard to find, I can’t imagine being the ages they purport.  It’s often hard to tell given storage conditions but even so, I’d say that many are as off as many as seven years but usually 3-5.  This “offness” in years makes it difficult to determine how good the production actually is either at the time of tasting or in the future.

The blackness of the leaves here are indicative of a shou.  The taste and colour are more deceptive.  Furthermore, there is zero humidity or old taste, a la newspaper, to tip the hand one way or another.  This is a faint cinnamon, however, suggesting aged raw and a superior ripe accomplishment.

The overriding expression of berry, reminiscent of some raw and ripe productions in the ’99 to ’07 range is exhilarating.  At the same time, the light cinnamon note makes it extraordinary.

It brews crystal clear.  There is nothing murky or dank or “ripe” about it.  This is mandarin ripe, not a coffee substitute.  It doesn’t angle toward coffee but toward old raws, the way real ripes should.

Square Deal: Puerh Tea

Posted on by Yang-chu
07 Feb

Square Deal: Puerh Tea visit a particular ’07 Square, by GPE.  If you get a chance to try or buy it you should.  GPE came on the scene in the late ’90s.  In the first year, their ripe puerh square (fangcha) won a best in show award.  That ’99? production is highly valued.  As late as 2018 productions could still be found fairly easily but after then not so much.

That tight embossed kinda brick

The GPE square was probably the second most popular ripe square on the market next to Zhongcha’s.  ZC’s square is hand’s down the most popular square with a number of fakes out there.  Here’s a closeup of the iconic tea character associated with ZC displayed on GPE’s square:

The GPE icon is  the “cha” character surrounded by 12 (haven’t counted) “gu” characters.  “Gu” means old or ancient.  The most popular gu in puerh circles is “gu-shu” (old-tree).

The GPE Square didn’t have camphor, humidity, fruit or anything to make it stick out beyond a richness reflecting the generally sturdy material from which they derive their products.

You can see the liquor has some clarity but it also looks darker than most Puerh Junky offerings.  Anyway, there’s no need to carry on about this square since it’s no where to be found.  In fact, no occurrence of any other GPE ripes even come to mind.