Tag Archives: floral puerh

Winter Tasting 2024

Posted on by Yang-chu
18 Jan

Winter Tasting 2024 finds “Peej”, as he’s known on the streets, back to the arduous task of sampling.  His focus goes back to Xinghai factory, in the dispassionate manner of any hoarder.  He recently acquired an edition of the ’06 Bulang GS without the “special” stamp.  I guess this would make it the 3rd or late 2nd batch.  It you drink it like most teas, it’s hideous; if drunk like cognac or ouzo, then at least you’re prepared.

Bulang Old Tree (no stamp)

There’s that hella fennel, star anise, bitter grasses, like golden rod. . . white oak.  I’m using my slow pour floral zisha, 150ml at 6.7g, which I feel is far too much really, but I’m giving this intensity a go.  It’s deathly astringent and drying, but less so in the throat.  I think the easiest thing to call it would be black tea, dianhong, but this species of star anise is particular to Mt Bulang in Banzhang.  It’s a recuring theme in many Xinghai productions and is evident in the LME Quincy, and the Tiger, CMS.

The Bulang Old Tree “Special” ostensibly is the second batch, as the neifei bears no timestamp.  Presumably, there is a Bulang GS “Select”, identical but for the designating stamp on the wrapper as well as the date stamp on the neifei.  The Special strikes me as having notes similar to the MKRS Daxueshan, a Lincang production.  Such are the hazzards of getting too hung up on terroir.  Daxueshan, nonetheless is on the “black tea” side of Lincang in contrast to Bingdao, which tends toward round and fruity, white grapey, pear.   Daxueshan area has a taste like Fengqing, in Simao, home to the largest and most famous producer of dianhong in all Yunnan.  There’s two cakes of this no-stamp version and price is quite modest, under $70usd.

Dianhong also goes by the name Yunnan Gold, or just black tea from Yunnan.  Oxidized productions are a specialty in itself.  The area of Fengqing is thought to be ideal for making black tea.  The puerh from this area tastes the same, with a distinctive rose nose and taste.  The 6FTM Lunar New Year Series possesses at least 30% Fengqing material.

BZ Wild King

The nose on the ’06 BZ Wild King evokes a sense of a spicy Smurfberry Crunch, lots of vanilla and blueberry, some nutmeg.  It hearkens to an era in the 80s, when Post cereals still existed.  While that opens up, should mention the run in I had with the ’07 Imperial Tuo, 250g raw.  It may get posted soon for a short spell.  It’s a very recent acquisition and has now entered a tasting rotation of sorts.  It has a personality akin to the Tiger Tuo.  A citrus pine vibe presents in the nose and liquor, some characteristic Xinghai apple and moderate sweetness with big astringency. Quite similar to the Green Peacock come to think of it.  The Green Peacock is a dreadfully good buy, more oiling, and one of the most well-received of ’23.

Goodness!  The ’07 BZ Wild King is nice in this ceramic shot glass.  It was just as good in the porcelain cup.  Smoke and wood, sweet then red-fleshed plum, super-intense Juicy Fruit factor on back end.  As usual, possesses that bracing astringency characteristic of Xinghai factory particularly before ’07.  There’s that distinctive medicinal note also found in the Bulang Old Tree.  BZWK has a top end note of swiss chard with vanilla, but turning more fully vanilla with spices like ginger and clove.  It’s on par with ’07 Mincemeat in terms of spiciness.  The sweetness is greater than usual for XH, but that’s definitely balanced out by the bold astringency, which is instant and reaching into the throat.  It may be testament to the “wild” in the title.

Stylin

The smoke evident in the first two infusions forms more of an accent than theme in the overall construction of the batch.  Smoke is much more evident in Stylin, from the same year.  Stylin’s leaves seem to be fairly small and expectations are that it will be intense.  The 6.7g used in the second case of BZWK proved more appropriate than for the Bulang Old Tree (special).  The nose is floral and fruity, sweet and the rinse is sudsy.  A definite aroma of honeysuckle and backdrop of smoke in the pitcher.  The smoke hits first followed by creamy and ferment-y butterscotch and then smoky, fruity, mineral-y.  Very nice sweetness.

The brew is lightest and longest-stored of the three sampled.  Intense smoked dryer sheet essence. Definitely more bitter than the BZWK.  The incense/dryer sheet essence fades to Juicy Fruit.  Stylin is first batch with a timestamp on the neifei.  A florid aroma coats the pitcher, there’s that “pissiness” of certain flowers, like magnolias.  The pissiness is disguised by the smoked wood in the broth.  It may be a puerh, but it’s tequila-identified. Puerh Junky knows next to nothing about tequila, but there is one type that is sweet and palatable like amaretto.  They call it “anejo.”

The third infusion appears slightly more coppery with some lasting suds befitting its dish-soap fragrance.  The really perfume-y puerhs are disgusting.  The flowers here are sultry and oppressive.  It’s pure perfume and the smoke is fighting a losing battle.  A bit of wintergreen and bitter grasses.  Astringent.  Cloying, like a woman seeking attention by wearing very loud perfume.  Although the perfume is evident in the nose, the taste is of ginseng, unapologetically bitter, spinach minerals, and a bittersweetness of Sweet-n-Low.  Feels now more like the cheap tequila that you’re just drinking for the hangover the next day.  Feels like it’s at least five years off for the lightweight Junky.

I just made that five-years bit up to make myself sound like a knowledgeable soothsayer.  Stylin‘, despite its cunning that sounds lower on the register, still possesses a rambunctiousness that belies youth.  Right now, it’s quite dreadful.  The smoke and perfume are hideous and punishing, then the bitterness.  Experienced drinkers may enjoy this or prefer to sit this one out till it gets a few more years under its belt.  It might end up being for the ages if you can store on your own for a couple years.

Instagram shots here.

Jingmai Tete A Tete

Posted on by Yang-chu
18 Sep

Jingmai Tete A Tete finally gives the Puerh Junky the chance to brandish his nonexistent French.  More importantly, it allows him to discuss an interlude between two Jingmai from 2014, the Guper and Haixintang.  This encounter has been more than a month in waiting, as it took a spell to complete the Haixintang page.  Let’s start there.

Haixintang

Toward the end of ’22 after loading up on Xinghai offerings, the Puerh Junky decided upon a deeper exploration of Haixintang.  Both the brick and tuo forms of Grenouille impressed, but it was time to determine whether something of their production personality could be gleaned by picking up a few of their offerings.  An ’06 tuo from Youle could not make The Collection for the time being.  Its got an unfamiliar Youle expression in the Puerh Junky‘s limited forays with that terroir.  At the same time, it does manifest an aggressive spirit that resembles some aspects of Grenouille.  Conversely, the Jingmai to be discussed and ’08 Nannuo (unlisted) could hardly be viewed in the same light.  Instead of aggression, the focus is on simplicity, a truth to the terroir.  It’s difficult to find a thread uniting them.  Let’s get on to how the Jingmai measures up to the GPE offering.

GPE & HXT (Sitting in a Tree)

Jingmai is often recommended for newbies.  The aroma is bright, fresh, effulgent.  There’s probably a great amount of it that’s given the ole sweet-me-now processing, so brewing tends to be very forgiving.  The terroir is large and it’s also conceivable that by some measure it’s naturally sweet earlier than some others.  It’s also imaginable that there’s a processing style common among many producers that favours woking for sweetness.

The thing is the Puerh Junky never came into contact with such Jingmai between ’12-15.  Large- or small-leaf varieties, they were quite typical of other productions requiring a spell to transform.  One possible exception was the first Jingmai tasted in KM, which was a very early spring, tippy production that possessed formidable bitterness behind the orchid aroma.  These prefatory remarks relate directly to the contrast between the GPE and HXT offers.

Both have a wickedly inviting aroma but the GPE possesses a bitterness, a burliness that is possibly less frequently offered by Western vendors.  The HXT hasn’t even a smidge of bitterness.  It’s perfect for the beginning brewer.  The HXT is one of the most even-keeled production ever drunk.  Though infusion times require building, the taste and character hardly budges.  The sweetness remains about the same, ditto for the very mild astringency.  It’s a light refreshing breeze by a tree-lined brook, a shallow and clean brook streaming over little smooth pebbles, shimmers of sunlight here and there.

Suppose you decide to head downstream and you know that you’re in a Grimm Fairytale.  Since we’re talking about a Jingmai, you know that the story should turn out happily ever after, but not without a bit of drama, a lost shoe, some misbehaving ogre, an unrelenting step-relative.  That’s the GPE.  The travails make the story at the very least more interesting.  There’s a crescendo, it’s going somewhere, that part of Jingmai that your step-uncle didn’t tell you about.

Final Words

The tete a tete between GPE and HXT reveals a remarkable contrast between two offerings from the same terroir.  HXT is definitely best for those averse to bitterness, beginners, and for moods where one can do without the drama.  GPE is for those who haven’t had Jingmai bitterness and depth while still remaining true to the Jingmai spirit.  Thought this clip at 6:41 captured the differences.

Puerh Junky Visits Hideout

Posted on by Yang-chu
02 Oct

Puerh Junky Visits Hideout marvels upon a recurrent 2002 phenomenon: the reversed-aging process of some moderately stored raw puerhs better than 15yrs old.   By “moderate”, we’re talking about a reasonable amount of heat and humidity for transformation without humidity affecting the taste.

Not long ago, there was a time when Hideout seemed headed for deep, dark forest.  The prevailing vanilla, with a matching ruddy liquor, presumably should have continued onto roots and spice.  Instead, a second spring has emerged and it takes better than six infusions to get to the vanilla.  The coppery taste noted two years ago has completely vanished.

It doesn’t just turn to vanilla. Powerful floral and lemonene notes gradually merge with the deeper stage.  It’s an extremely sophisticated expression.  Previously, Hideout offered a nice mellow experience.  As of early autumn 2022, its spectacular raw material and processing really shines, imparting a depth and liveliness.

No doubt some dedicated readers of the Puerh Junky will feel the urge to retort, “But PJ, you said you don’t like floral.”

That’s usually correct, especially when talking about young Menghai and Fengqing, Lincang florals.  They’re too brash.  Here, there is nothing brash.  It’s intense but refined through age, Gore Vidal instead of Sam Kinisin.  Hideout is next level good.

 

Tuo for Two

Posted on by Yang-chu
28 Sep

Tuo for Two is a modern-day reverie.  Don’t laugh.  You should be crying.  The three tuo consumed over the past two days are a cryin’ shame.  Before the gory details, a pressing grammatical question should first be laid to rest.  The plural form of “tuo” is tuo.  If you see “tuos” written somewhere, try to be kind.  Even the “your/you’re” dragon has resisted the slings and arrows of correction.  What chances does tuo, much further down on the list of grammatical grievances, actually have?  Now that we dispensed with that there’s something else. .

Given the title of this missive, chances are good that many readers are harboring suspicions that the Puerh Junky considers cornball allusions to Cole Porter cutting edge.   If you don’t know who Cole Porter is, you still might harbor suspicions but of a different sort.  Mind you, I have it on good authority that one should never let a Cole Porter allusion slip by, even if he didn’t write the lyrics.

Two Days of Tuo-ture

Recently the Puerh Junky posted an easy-listing page.  No, you won’t find Christopher Cross or Steely Dan, but there’s a slew of raw tuo.  One is the T861, Tulin which has been in the Collection since ’15.  There are two remaining.  At one time it bore the name AMT.   Comments there are interestingly honest however aberrant that sesh was.

Dry T861 gives off limestone, honey, and a slight hint of newspaper.  Brewed in red clay, the mineral notes stand out, while in the gaiwan it is sweet and smooth with a hint of humidity.  The astringency attacks the blade of the tongue, lips, and deep in the throat.  The Chinese call this “ghost pinching the throat,” 鬼掐喉咙。 Overall, the taste is what is associated with peat.  The huigan is nicely complex with light humidity, honey, and minerals chatting on in unison.  The seriously sweet broth possesses complimentary thickness.  Beware!  There’s lotsa camphor to this.  Upon exhalation even a hint of something floral can be caught.  As one progresses in gaiwan this floral element becomes more pronounced.  Zero smoke, even a bit of sour.  Deeply satisfying, really the epitome of what a recipe puerh should be: cured with character.

Infusions 2 and 3

I accidentally left the 6.3g of the Red Mark Tuo in the same 100ml red clay pot too long.  Out poured a syrupy decoction.  I was certain that it was going to be horrible but ended up horrified.  I’ve been drinking this since Jan ’20 but in Sept ’22 it is not just the best its been but a serious contender for one of the best offerings in the collection.

Foto from early 2022

It’s so smooth and balanced.  Dense petrol, wood, and incense characterize the broth.  It’s not remotely pencil shavings, caustic, or for want of any additional note.  There is a subtle camphor note tying everything together keeping it from becoming oppressive, excessively unctuous.  The summer has been very good to the Red Mark Tuo.

First acquiring the Tiger Tuo sometime in early ’16, it ended up aging quickly into a root beer-y delight.  I decided to reup on the order in the ’20 and then found it at a better price later in the year.  There’s something to be said for slow storage.  In this case, the sharpness has receded while the interesting pineapple and other fruit notes have been preserved.

Summer has also been very good to the Tiger Tuo.  It’s super sweet, thick, and fruity, with a thread of pine sap that makes it distinctive.  A fellow drinker called it the best she’s ever had like “paint thinner”.  What a compliment.  Tiger is light years from the treasures mentioned above.  It hasn’t entered into the transformed state where the camphor comes in and the liquor turns reddish, but it’s transformed sufficiently to allow the sap and sugars to emerge.  There’s no telling how long it will remain in this state.   V. slight smoke and comprised of about five terroir including a Jingmai backbone, along with Bangwei, Bingdao, and others.

 

Wild Jingmai GPE Returns

Posted on by Yang-chu

Wild Jingmai GPE Returns draws the reader’s attention to the restocking of a very good production.  It was last written about in Oct ’20.  As noted in the product description, WJM more than doubled from the Puerh Junky’s original purchase price.  Whereas it was previously a certifiable steal, the price is still quite fair compared to offerings of similar factory reputation, age, and quality.

Perhaps since the last missive on WJM, it has increased in viscosity and sweetness.  The tight compression might be contributing to its pronounced vivaciousness.  It’s hard to say.  The recent lot hails from the same vendor as before.  He favours very conservative storage.  By contrast, his ’07 Tibetan Script Jingmai, GPE, though considerably more expensive, required two years storage on the Los Angeles side before the offering was in drinking shape. Curiously, the Wild Jingmai has always been highly drinkable.

Despite being eight years old, there are none of the ferment-y notes that can be fairly typical for this age.  The unabashed bitterness in later infusions offers a distinctive contrast to its seductive candy floral aroma.   There was a time when I might bash my head against the wall differentiating between bitterness and astringency, but after reading a post where one confused sour for bitter it’s best to leave well enough alone.  That said, astringency is a texture and bitterness is a flavour.  WJM gets off-the-charts bitter deeper down without tasting as though the bitterness is from being immature; rather, it reflects a very common attribute among Jingmais in general.  No doubt about it, WJM is hegemonic, what the call in Chinese badao, 霸道。

Wild Jingmai joins Jingmai “003” as the only other entire Jingmai in the Collection. The Ox Tuo and the Ox, 6FTM consist of Jingmai blends.

Puerh Junky Visits Marquis

Posted on by Yang-chu
19 Sep

Puerh Junky Visits Marquis du Green Mark picks up in the middle of Sept 2022.  Since at least July Puerh Junky had it in his mind to pay the Marquis a visit, so we find him bowing deeply and apologizing profusely.  The Marquis, clad in purple knee-high stockings with matching knee-low knickers, a white shirt with green buttons, and a gauze-y green cape brushes the formalities aside, grabbing the Puerh Junky’s hand, leading him to the tea room.

Marquis du Green Mark

The Marquis takes out 5.3g of his stuff and places in the red clay Ming replica pot of 100ml.  The taste is surprising.  The summer has in no way imparted a heavier layer upon it and it is clear that a great deal of some of the light humid attributes from previous years have retreated.  At the same time two qualities stand out.

First, the floral creme note commands attention.  Here, we find an expression quite similar in many regards to Creme Florale, MKRS.  Second, comes a crispness that is most surprising.  The surprise come from it being more vivacious than it was previously.  It could be the Marquis’s choice of brewing vessel.  Truth be told, MduG  has always had a grabbiness to it.  That texture in the midst of darker humidity, however, left an altogether different impression, a royal impression.  Now the impression is crisp, almost cold.

Marquis cashed Sept 2022

Marquis du Green Mark is one of a number of Green Marks in the Collection and Stash.  Green Mark is another name for “7542″ recipe, which is to raw puerh what 501s are to jeans.  The idea behind the Green Mark isn’t that it is the best but that it is classic and relatively cheap.  The cheapness factor wanes with age and a proper 7542 needs at least a good 15 years under its belt.  Now let’s shift analogies.

Just as every classical guitarist must have Segovia in their repertoire, so too do most factories feel compelled to offer their rendering of the Green Mark. Meistra Du Qiongzhi was commissioned by an obscure boutique in crafting the Lucky 7542.  A few posts on her have been written.  Here the Lucky serves as an appropriate comparison with the Marquis.

Lucky possesses a similar astringent foundation to the Marquis.  However, Lucky‘s creme florale factor, evident in the earlier infusions, melds more harmoniously amidst a medley of expressions.  While spending at least the better part of the summer in a subdued state of malted hay, it has instantly taken on a much more serious character.

Lucky 2022

Floral astringency is the Green Mark identity.  Raw material and transformation determines how special it becomes.  Lucky is now starting to express woody petrol notes that blends with camphor.  It evokes a sense of a much lighter version of Wang Xia’s Green Mark.  There’s a hickory note in there reminiscent of the 50/50 a raw/ripe blend from years ago.  Those two cakes are both quite a bit more aged, but Lucky is showing promising signs.

The Marquis is a crisp Green Mark without any signs of petrol or camphor.  Its floral character, combined with cream, has remained true with less humidity from a couple years back.  Lucky, on the other hand, is a much more complex balance of tastes, reflective of more dynamic transformation of the Naka material.

 

 

Puerh Rating Creme Florale

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Aug

Puerh Rating Creme Florale takes us to a 23 Aug ’22  tasting of a Mengku Rongshi production from 2011.  It’s been in the Collection since April of ’21 and has now in effect sojourned two Los Angeles Summers.  Here we subject it to the much ballyhooed PJRS.

Mengku Rongshi is an outfit focusing narrowly on Lincang offerings primarily in and around Daxueshan.  Bingdao offerings essentially round out their pre-’14 selections, though in recent years they’ve offered more village specific selections, e.g. Xiaohuzhai, Mangfei, Xigui etc.

For several years they’ve been producing Lunar New Years cakes.  One series with a yellow wrapper and zodiac animal floated around for several years but disappeared after ’19.  Those cakes were 900g and equally handsome in price.  A few years ago, PJ issued at least one missive on the Tiger (500g) of an altogether different series (perhaps a one off) that was nothing short of perfect, possessing that DXS zest with a splendid aged root beer-y and floral expression.  I recently saw a description that it was Bingdao, but it’s not.  I’ve been trying to source the Tiger ever since and the last time I saw it, its price was more than 3X the ’15 price and the vendor didn’t respond to calls.  Oh well.  Onto the Creme Florale. . .

Rating Creme Florale

Creme Florale presents with standard MKRS features in terms of moderate compression and an aggressive nature.  Unique is the cream expression that comes in up front and through the middle before tailing off into an aggressive back end.  The contrast between the two intrigues.

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          12
  • Clarity            9
  • Sweetness   10.5
  • Viscosity       10.5
  • Astringency    8
  • Huigan          10.5
  • Qi                    9

Reflections

Creme Florale possesses an extremely inviting aroma, something like Cream of Wheat with a hint of citrus.  Cream and a hint of grass characterise the first infusion’s broth taste, with a thickening and sweetening as it cools.  On comes the astringency, sassy, along with citrus and definite mouth watering.

Infusion 1

An extravagant vanilla aroma follows in the next infusion with a matching taste.  Astringency is strong with a lilies and orchid in the huigan.  This effect possibly gets overwhelmed by the astringency.  The rating notes that CF rates lowest in astringency, not for lack of it but because it has too large a presence.

The qi hits in the second infusion, heady with hints of being too aggressive in the chest.  Salivary activity, as an expression of huigan, excels.  Hunger starts to set in.  At cooler temp, bitterness is detectable with the aforementioned citrus note.

Infusion 3

By the third infusion the lily-orchid note is in full effect, accompanied by very noticeable bitterness.  Cooler the broth thickens and sweetens, with the bitterness abating before returning in the huigan.  The cream note comes through at cooler temps as well.  In this infusion, clarity rates 2.5 reflecting the overall youthfulness.

Conclusions

Creme Florale is aptly named and perfectly suitable for those who like their raw puerhs on the younger side, i.e., with lots of astringency.  The aroma and up front tastes are divine.  The expression holds true to the MKRS house style, and as the session progresses their characteristic brightness and force are on full display.  Give or take, CR lasts a good nine rounds.  This session was flash brewed in a gaiwan and time wasn’t added till about the seventh round.

69/105 B-

About the PJRS.

Ox, 6FTM Follow Up

Posted on by Yang-chu
14 Aug

Ox, 6FTM Follow Up finds the Puerh Junky serving it up for a visitor impressed by the neifei image posted on Instagram.  If you’re asking yourself, “What?!!! Ox, 6FKNTM again?!!”  Don’t worry.  This post won’t be long.

Huge neifei

Just two days ago, the official Puerh Junky Visits Report (PJVR) noted a few things that make the Ox different from the past.  These were sweetness, flawless clarity, and no qi of note.  Hmmm.  Hold the presses.  After two or three days of sitting out of storage, all three of these variables changed.  Still, 5.5g in slow-pour zisha, 150ml.

The rinse.  Sparkling clarity and lively taste.  Light liquor colour.  I took one cup and saved the rest to cool, splitting it when the guest arrived.  She didn’t taste much, but I could sense the qi already.

The next infusion went strait to my head and our visitor poured sweat: head, arms, and legs.  “I feel like I’m in Miami,” she said.  I hand her the box of kleenex.  She’s not impressed with the taste which she feels is mottled compared to say the BZ Peacock (coffee) or the Fujin Green.  To me it’s great and the huigan is bangin’.  Clear broth, about a four out of five.

About 3.5 clarity

Next infusion is more intense and she warms up to the taste.  All infusions are “flashed” but again, it’s the slow-pour pot.  The huigan excels.  Mouth full of roses.  The ole Fengqing attribute stands out as it has customarily.  There is zero sweetness to speak of.  Clarity about the same.  The qi is working full force in my head, though it is sedating the guest.

The next infusion is a catastrophe in terms of clarity, a one.  Guest appreciates the building intensity, but her eyes are starting to roll to the back of her head.  I’m holding my head very still to keep by brains from rattling in the noggin.  Again zero sweetness but explosive huigan that those craving tippy productions seek.

Tap out.

The difference two days out of storage makes. . .   Puerh Junky preferred the experience earlier in the week, but the contrast is quite instructive.  On this 13 Aug ’22, it tasted every bit its age, whereas earlier it tasted about seven years older.

Puerh Junky Visits Ox, 6FTM

Posted on by Yang-chu
12 Aug

Puerh Junky Visits Ox, 6FTM forms part of an on-going saga.  Perhaps the Ox has occupied more digital space than any of the other 6FTM Lunar Series offerings.  It made a quick cameo in a recent post on leaves, occasioning this update.  It’s included in the Six Famous Tea Mountain sample set of Sampler U and is also one of the few samples available from the 6FTM Lunar Series.  Enough with the preliminaries. . .

Flash Rinse

A total of 5.5g were placed in my 150ml slow-pour zisha teapot reserved for floral productions.  Compared with previous experiences, the Ox appears to have turned the corner in two regards: humidity and sweetness.  The humidity has now taken a significant backstage.  Even though one can detect the humidity, it is obvious that the microbial vibe is significantly less than what it was previously.  This concept is known as tuicang, though no intentional effort was made to retreat the humidity.  This is just the product of normal LA storage, no tinning or nuthin’ was involved.

Infusions 10 and 11? One minute soak.

Concomitant with humidity’s retreat arises sweetness heretofore absent.  It’s quite interesting how the sharper attributes have all softened with the emergence of the sweetness.  It’s not sugary sweet but it is sweet and mellow with a subtlety and character of a production that has been carefully aged.  Elegant and refined.

The huigan is stellar, evoking a sense of a sweet flower like honeysuckle.  If you know what you’re tasting for, you’ll find an interesting expression of the Fengqing terroir which was much more noticeable at an earlier stage and tends to be the overriding character with the Pig and Rat.  Most all Yunnan black teas (hongcha) hail from Fengqing.  That’s the note.  Now this note is much more inconspicuous, more in harmony with the Hekai and Jingmai material.

 

Two different angles of light demonstrate the marked differences in the same production at the same time of day.

The Ox presently at an early old stage, where most of the youth has aged out while the sweetness has emerged.  More intense brewing will give a bit of astringency on the tongue but the real gem is the floral huigan.  More intense brewing also magnifies the huigan.  Perhaps the qi to this is relaxing.  It certainly didn’t inhibit sleep as it was drink right before bed.  It’s fair to say that the Guangdong storage has taken a bit from the qi side of the production.

Heavier stored productions that leave a taste of the tea and not the effects of storage are very highly regarded by the Puerh Junky.  Needless to say that the transparency ranks highly as well.

 

Puerh Junky Visits: Fujin Green

Posted on by Yang-chu
08 Aug

Puerh Junky Visits: Fujin Green is an update post regarding the ’09 offering from Fujin.  Puerh Junky has issued at least two missives about both this production in particular and the factory in general.   It’s hard to not roll one’s eyes when it comes to the expense of some of these boutique offerings, but so it is.  At the height of summer and humidity-plus storage, the thought occurred “why not dust off the ole PJRS for a serious evaluation.”

Fujin Green prompted a bit of thinking about the seasonality involved with natural storage.  Performance ebbs and flows in accordance with the seasons.  Right now, FG is at its best.  The aura surrounding Fujin factory becomes somewhat understandable upon opening the wrapper: strong waft of fruity and floral notes fill the nostrils.  The Henan storage gives the impression that the production is still young, five-years old at the most.  This youthfulness is evident throughout and there is a particular green note that is, putting it diplomatically, highly unusual in puerhs and certainly puerhs processed through traditional methods.  Fujin productions are processed by Xinghai factory so there’s little cause for suspicion about shiesty processing.

Infusion #1

At this age and given the general conditions, puerhs should have a bit of ferment to them.  This is not the case with the Fujin Green, also highly anomalous.  It fair to guess that it will go through such a stage but is still off by a year or two.  At its current stage in Aug ’22, it is the closest expression to a two-year-old puerh in the collection. . . ostensibly.  One of the features possibly distinguishing it from a young production, however, is that it drinks all the way through.  In other words, it never reaches a raw stage where it bottoms out indicating that it needs more curing time.  This happened in previous sessions.

Brewing

I decided on using 6.5g in my 150ml workhorse zisha pot.  The pot pours quickly and doesn’t clog easily.  Older and more tightly compressed cakes may take as much as eight grams, but that’s rare.  The usual amount is 7g for this pot, but judging from the smell, 7g seemed excessive.  I don’t like overleafing because it smashes the notes.  In retrospect, even 6.5g may have been too much.  Fujin Green overall pushes to the very edge of being too much.  Stunt drinkers, of which there seems no short supply, will definitely delight in drinking this.  I administered no rinse and flash infused each round.

Rating

After three rounds the total was as follows:

  • Aroma          13
  • Clarity          11
  • Sweetness   15
  • Viscosity      13
  • Astringency  14
  • Huigan         15
  • Qi                 15

Reflections on Fujin Green

Fujin Green is intense.  It lives up to the reputation of the factory.  Each infusion differs a mite.  The character is certifiably Bulang/Banzhang, with an unapologetic bitterness.  The first infusion releases a high floral aroma, which could be easily associated with Jingmai material.  The taste in the the first infusion begins with citrus at the front of the tongue, then proceeds to vanilla mid tongue before finishing with vetiver.  For those unfamiliar with vetiver, it is a dark resinous essential oil with strong baby powder notes.

Infusion #2

The second infusion is much more intense and complex with prevailing notes of grapefruit seed and vanilla.  The liquor coats the mouth leaving the huigan of citrus, then vanilla, and finally that eau de Lick-a-Stix taste.  Pronounced piercing perfume (not vetiver but much higher) and vegetal green notes make their presence known, both quite hideous by the Puerh Junky’s reckoning.  The citrus fruit sourness and a balanced sweetness, offset those figurative flaws.

Second infusion was totally murky.  Both the first and third infusions were crystal clear. By the second infusion the ferocity of the qi became an issue.  The first pot went strait to the head but the second stirred raucously in the chest.

The citrus vibe continues into the third infusion, with the dreaded dry-sheet note making its presence known in the huigan.  Throughout each session the vaunted houyun resounds.  In other words, it’s throaty.  By this round, I was ready to tap out.  The qi has a character not altogether dissimilar from the BZ Peacock, despite being in totally different classes, FG being Floral Class and BZP being Tobacco Class.

Infusion #3

I also had suspicions about FG being a gut buster, which proved to be true.  I served up infusions 4-6 to a visitor who, drenched in sweat from the power, complained of this, stating that such was her experience with tea most of the time.  It was the first among our many sessions.  Gut-busting adds to the stunt-tea appeal. <<ahem>>

Conclusions

Fujin Green is an intense raw puerh most appropriate for the stunt tea drinker seeking young expression in a puerh well over 10 years old.  The huigan and qi are exceptional, and the sweetness is perfectly balanced in the context of the overall treasure itself.  It’s an outstanding production that lives up to the reputation that the factory projects.

96/105 A