Developments with 2012 ’07 Material Puerh

The ’12 ’07 Material is a study in the aging process.  This production is still about five years away from what I’d consider to be in the zone of excellent tasting.  Though this puerh cake is comprised of material from ’07, it more resembles its year of production.  Let me relate some of my most recent findings below.

First, the high camphor notes have not faded.  They may have even increased.  Camphor is evident in the liquor, lending to a medicinal quality.  The aftertaste is not just cooling; it’s frigid.

Second is richness.  Previous sessions only lent themselves to about two rich infusions.  Now it is about four.

Third is from floral to fruity.  There were some intensely tropical fruity notes on day two of the sample visited.  I mean intense like the 11 Fruit Monster without the smoke.  This is a surprising development, as tutti-frutti is not a taste I’ve encountered in KMTF productions.   Usually the fruit taste is of stone fruit, but this one has a musky, tropical vibe.

Overall, the ’07 Material presents a different type of young from most that are too rough for drinking.  This isn’t rough, and the high-pitched camphor notes have certainly not waned and may be becoming even more pronounced.  However, time has shown that there is much depth and richness to be expressed.  I’m at a stage now where “I get it” to the extent that I don’t feel it necessary to revisit this at the earliest a year from now.

Visiting Zhongcha’s ’55 Ripe Puerh

Since the request was something with camphor and chocolate, I gave my wife the option of either the Langhe Ripe Tuo or Zhongcha’s ’55 both from ’06.  She chose the latter.  The ZC ’55 is in its 13th year.  It has transformed from surprising astringency to velvety smooth, especially in the first infusion.  The first infusion, about a minute, is definitely the best.  Deep medium note camphor permeates the broth.  It’s my guess that it would perform even better grampa style.

Altogether, there were four infusions from the session.  As the camphor and thickness wanes, black tea tannins come through.  For the first time I noticed a hint of dried cherries.  By the last infusion, about four minutes, much of the viscosity vanishes, despite remaining a dark caste.  I also picked up some vegetal notes, which aren’t my favourite.

Infusion #2, 10s

The ZC ’55 is an exceptional ripe puerh.  Its strongest attribute is how it has been transforming.  The tannins continue to mellow, making the brew richer.  The camphor is much more evident now.  The chocolate appears more evident when the brew temp lowers.  Two pots in, the qi kicks in.  It warms the chest.  A slight sweat broke out on the brow.  It also stimulates the appetite.  Again, it’s not advisable to have on an empty stomach.

Five Best Ripe Puerhs of Puerh Junky Collection

It seems that the universe of ripe puerh is filled with many very ho-hum productions.  Much of the variation arises from age and storage conditions, but raw material and fermentation style obviously matter as well.

Some factories, like Langhe, specialize in a fermentation style that is intended to allow the production to age naturally afterward.  I recently learned that CNNP/Zhong-cha’s famous 7581 recipe is comprised of some percentage of raw material.

These creative variables in material will determine just how long production may have to sit before it is good for drinking, which might explain why in China the preference is for older raw puerhs.

Roll the drums please. . .

 #5   ’06 T8371, CNNP 250g brick

Gorgeous Ripe Zhongcha Brick

I like the camphor-accented ripe productions.  There are scads of them out there that advertise themselves as having camphor fragrance, but to be honest, they are few and far between.  This one has an unmistakable camphor vibe.  It has also been light humid stored.  It is not wet or dank, just well done.  As you can tell from the picture, it possesses remarkable clarity and is all around gorgeous.  The qi presence is strong.  This brick ranks highly based on numerous criteria.  Sold out.

#4   ’06 Banzhang Thick Brick

The longest huigan EVER!

Banzhang Thick Brick (kilo) seems to have been wet-stored for a short duration before getting the ole Kunming dry-stored treatment. It is an incredibly complex ripe puerh, possessing tastes of camphor, cinnamon, earth, and loads of sweetness. The huigan is quick and lasts and last, exuding the cooling of camphor and sweetness of oud.  Sold out.

#3  ’07 Boss Square Puerh

That tight embossed kinda brick

The ’07 Boss Square is an entirely dry-stored production.  It very much strikes me as what every dry-stored ripes only they could be: cocoa, malt, vanilla, a shade of tingle.  The aftertaste lingers with notes of cocoa.  There is a solidness to the Boss Square which is quite rare and usually only filled out with some touch of humidity.  Taste best with the quickest of infusions.

#2  ’06 Langhe Humid and Clean

’06 Langhe Tuo

Do you see how crystal clear that brew is?  The ’06 Humid and Clean is spectacularly delicious.  Balanced between humidity, camphor, sweetness and leather, it provides a special experience.  In terms of clarity, color, aroma and taste, the ’06 Humid and Clean is no joke.  There is no overrating the quality of this tuo and the craft applied to the humid storage, which is somewhat similar to somewhat similar to the Xiaguan Nanzhao raw but excelling compared to it in terms clarity of taste and overall balance.

   #1  ’12 Operation Macau

The ’12 Operation Macau is a special order Xinghai Tea Factory production.  With a taste of petrichor and the umame of light pea soup, this humid-stored treasure is among the best that ripe puerh has to offer.

Why?

Well, first of all the aroma wet and dry varies little, and that aroma is quite pleasing.  Second, its color is clear and true.  Third, the clarity of the aroma and color carry over into the taste.  Humid productions can often be overbearing or dank, moldy tasting.  Executing humidity, which seems to strongly favour ripes, well is easier said than done, but here its been done fabulously well.

Fourth, the qi with Operation Macau produces an obvious warming sensation in the chest.  You might break a sweat at the nape of the neck, small of the back, or forehead.  To get there, you needn’t over brew to avail yourself of its powerful effects.  Finally, brewed gong-fu style this production has staying power that evolves, revealing nice mouth cooling effect later on.

It is quite obviously made from excellent base material.

 

Conclusion

It just occurred to me that four of the five best have been humid-stored.  None of them have been “wet-stored.”  The latter is much more dank, where the microbial taste is the predominant note.  At the same time, proper humidity adds a depth that makes a big difference in terms of the enjoyability of a ripe.

Another observation about the Five Best Ripes is that three of the five have obvious camphor notes.  Pronounced camphor flair ripes aren’t too common.  Some of it might have to do with age, but aged ripes in no way guarantees a real camphor effect by a long shot.  Interestingly, a production of old tea nuggets started out minty but on the last visit was not detectable.  Perhaps some tampering.

For me the clarity of a ripe is a vital reflection of the craft and quality of the production.  I do not drink puerh as a substitute for coffee.  I’d prefer less to pour ripe brew into a chai-hai than I would some raws, because there’s a certain charm in all that redness, something that cannot be appreciated with a cloudy brew.

Finally, four of the five are major puerh tea factories.  King among them is #5 CNNP/Kunming TF.  Their 7581 is a classic production, which is somewhat similar to the #3 Boss Square, known for some productions of their own and the Boss Square being one.  All the above factories also make raws.  Langhe, the maker of #2 Humid and Clean, definitely has a reputation for producing excellent ripes which are usually very masterfully crafted.

 

 

2012 Mooncake, Yangpin Hao

This is the first Yangpin Hao of the ripe nature that I’ve sampled.  It’s the only so far as well.  I’d put this in the dark-roast category of ripes.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s discuss the brick itself…

Pressed into a compact yet easily decompressed square brick of 200g, the Mooncake is just as its name suggests.  Mooncakes are confections, filled cookies of sorts, made of a baked crust on the outside and filled with sweet stuff, egg yolk, and meat with different permutations thereof.  The bread-like outer crust is formed from a mold that has characters that say auspicious things in addition to informing what’s inside.  They’re called “Mooncakes” because they’re eaten during the full moon of the Mid-Autumn festival, also called the Moon Festival.

The Mooncake has been pressed in a mold with the Yangpin Hao logo.  It breaks apart easily without crumbling, flaking off easily with my porcelain-handled tea-needle blade.  It is not overly compressed, so the taste of the brew releases quickly.  After the first 15s infusion, following flash brews were more than sufficient for the next four rounds before adding 30s to the next two before cashing out.  About 6 infusions.

Besides the deep roast taste, Mooncake possesses a taste reminiscent of Johnson’s baby powder smell.  This signature can be detected in some of their raw productions as well.  Consistent with baby powder, this note is quite soft but prevailing.  Other tastes include dried-fruit sweetness and active “zinganoids,” which play on the tongue for a pleasing spell after drinking.  The tannins suggest that even though it’s plenty fine for drinking now, there’s more to expect with age.  There is no wodui in the taste but there is distinctive hand in the fermentation style.

’06 Menghai Bird’s Nest 100g

Recently, I decided that I’d really pay close attention to my stash of ripe puerhs. My basic opinion is that most are the same, with the exception those that lie at both ends of the spectrum of good and bad. As I’ve seen the price of certain productions climb, I am assured that price has less to do with the overall quality of drinking experience with ripe puerh than it does with raws.

Most ripes in my stash, I’d rate as “Decent.” They do not possess an off flavour, but if you lined it side-by-side with another, you’d be hard pressed to distinguish it. It’s such a moving target as well. Annual season and storage conditions factor greatly in how a tea changes. I may spend a bit of time with one over the course of a few months to see how it sits with me. I experiment with different steeping vessels and times. I’ll note whether the cha-qi evokes the same sensation and exactly how the light plays in the brew in terms of clarity. Invariably, I’m looking for something that possesses some type of artistic flair and that possibly deepens my catalog of knowledge regarding a particular company.

Presenting the ’06 Menghai Bird’s Nest by Langhe. This tuo is better than decent. It starts out with the classic Langhe clarity but unfortunately becomes progressively murky. Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. After all, the cylindrical box in which it is stored is exquisite. With an antique impression of two peacocks in a characteristic Chinese painting, it sits nicely among the peacock-themed puerhs in the stash. Those poor boxes took a serious beating in transit, but a friend doctored them a bit so they now possess a kind of gold-leaf edge. The wrapper on the tuo/bird’s nest itself is characteristically Langhe, with its trademark emblem front-and-center. The box, on the other hand, is suitable as a nice gift for someone who appreciates the beauty that often accompanies tea. It gives a clear impression that it’s not just any old product.

The outer box looks to have a few years under its belt, but it doesn’t smell like it nor does the inner tuo wrapper look very old either. Storage conditions, we’ll say, were on the drier side. Though many drier stored puerhs start to take on the taste of old books, there’s no hint of that. This all adds up to making me quite suspicious that it is as old as it purports.
No proper puerh junky avoids doubting the age and authenticity of an item even when it looks old. From just this junky’s limited experience, it takes a few years for ripe’s taste to fully develop. Companys vary in their fermentation process, so the fishy smell is not only an undesirable trait but probably the mark of a pretty poor fermentation process or at the very least a production still requiring a few years to cook.

Nothing could be further from the truth for the ’06 Menghai Bird’s Nest from Langhe. I’ll elaborate in the next missive.

Fermentation is Key to the Digestive Benefits of Pu erh Tea

In a previous post, some basic Chinese medicine theory about the nature of ripe pu erh explained the mechanism behind its digestive benefits.  Central to this perspective is the metabolism-boosting effects of heat in pu erh and that weak digestion is due to waning heat production within the digestive system itself.

The fermentation process that ripe pu erh undergoes changes it from being cold in nature, like raw pu erh and green tea, to warm.  It seems pretty fair to conclude that it is the enzymes and probiotics that are key to changing its constitution.  This would be a mistake. There are plenty of cold probiotics, such as sauerkraut and yoghurt.  However, the wodui (渥堆) method of processing hand-twisted broad-leaf variety Camellia sinesis subjects the tea leaves to a heat transformation as with any other type of composting.  The micro-cultures, e.g., Aspergillis niger, specific to foods processed in a manner similar to pu erh may carry a heat factor that differs from the probiotics in foods like sauerkraut, e.g., Acidophilus.  Who knows.  It is likely that not all probiotics possess the the same properties.  Even more compelling is that the convection involved with the wodui fermentation method plays at least as significant a role in changing pu erh’s character as any particular microbe. Continue reading