Tag Archives: langhe tea factory

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off IV

Posted on by Yang-chu
23 May

Spring Ripe Puerh Taste Off Day IV has contests in no mood to chat with the media before the event.  Late entries have extended the competition to a fifth day.  The late change has put them in a bit of a mood.  As a reminder, each contestant weighs in at 10.5g, receiving arbitrary infusion times in a 150ml clay pot.  The same pot.  Let’s begin. . .

Ripe Puerh Taste Off Day IV

Day III of the Ripe Puerh Taste Off occasioned mention of airing out productions for a few days for maximum performance.  This is relevant to the performances of both Dury Lane and the Langhe Brick.  Experience has demonstrated that DL benefits from a good 10 days of airing.  In the Taste Off there was a noticeable lack of zing that resulted in the descriptor “dense.”  The same likely applies to the presence of “cardboard,” since it hasn’t been subjected to dry conditions.  It is conceivable that this sample’s location in storage might somewhat factor, though cardboard and “old taste” could be construed as being the same and at 22 yrs of age might be expected.

The prevailing taste of the Langhe Ripe Tuo is highly evocative Sweet Richness, an earlier contestant, though not as intense.  Interestingly, as it sat throughout the day, it performed more competitively among the contenders.  This raises questions about prospects for future interestingness, though the maximo light-fermented production of considerably higher quality like the ’06 East is Red and ’05 Peacock Tribute have already hit their stride in the past 2-3yrs, without storage pushing.  Still, the GD stored version of the Langhe Ripe Tuo that did receive a great deal of humidity is actually quite remarkable so the jury remains out.

This only leaves Operation Macau as the obvious winner.  The Langhe Brick, which won the big Guangdong International Tea Expo in ’06, is less intense.  Again, this might be adjusted through airing.  Also, however, the OM is obscenely sweet.  Though it certainly didn’t have the stamina of Drury Lane or Langhe Brick, through the course of the day it was able to maintain its presence relative the others, with the Langhe Tuo rapidly approaching.

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 Rating: Peacock Ripe

Posted on by Yang-chu

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on the Peacock Ripe.  This is a 357g ripe cake from the LME TF, produced in ’09.  They have other production years for this treasure, ’06, ’08, ’09, and ’11.  They’ve been in the game of making puerh since 1984, focusing primarily Bulang, Banzhang, and Lao Man E.  The link provides guidance for pronunciation of that letter “E.”

After three rounds the results were as follows:

  • Aroma        10
  • Clarity        14
  • Sweetness 11
  • Viscosity      9
  • Astringency 11
  • Huigan        10
  • Qi                 7

Reflections

The Peacock Ripe distinguishes itself from the Silver Peacock in being richer and deeper.  As the picture shows it clarity is is most outstanding attribute, followed by pleasing sweetness and little astringency.

The qi and viscosity rank lowest, with viscosity being a solid average and the qi expressing itself but not something that’s going to make you crazy, hungry, or frequent trips to the WC.

Conclusions

The Peacock Ripe’s profile is vanilla with some geosmin.  No fruit and despite wikki’s definition, no mustiness.  The Puerh Junky finds LME ripe productions to be outstanding in respect to possessing positively ZERO detested vegetal notes.  The effects of age are evident in its richness and depth.  One drinker who comes to ripe puerh from a wine background noted sustained character even when drunk from a thermos at work. Subjected to the GSM its score would undoubted be higher.  The camphor would pop more. Puerh Rating: Peacock Ripe

72/105, B

Brutal Ripe Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Jul

Langhe is one of the factories I follow, primarily for ripes.  Their fermentation style in producing ripe puerhs is lighter, ostensibly making them better for long-term storage and little rankness.  In 2013 I acquired acquired their ’06 Peacock Tribute cake.   At that time, it was brutal.  It still is.  Too dry.  Fairly astringent.

’06 Peacock Tribute

Maybe over the years some of the astringency has dissipated, but not much.  True to the Langhe fermentation style, there isn’t any wet pile taste.  It’s just the taste that it does have bears a closer relationship with your typical Indian black Assam.  The aftertaste is much like baker’s chocolate, especially the astringency, not a good taste on the tongue.  They’ve got 25g samples over at YS if interested.

Speaking of YS, they’ve got a bone dry offering that I’ve been punishing since ’12 to no avail.  It’s the ’05 Jin Se Zhen Ming.  This one is gorgeous in color but so astringent, it could easily be confused for a black tea.  It’s been processed in small batches, which is supposed to up its overall profile.  It is a most exceptional production… exceptionally brutal.  None of the seven years of storage have done anything to round this bugger out.

’06 East is Red

The ’06 East is Red, also by Langhe, is a decidedly superior production that started out a bit dry but is now pleasingly sweet with a pleasantly gentle camphor finish.  Its aroma is stronger than most ripes, giving off some faint peachy notes, like the Dianxiu.  There’s some astringency there, goes all the way down the throat.  The finish is quite similar to the 55, but 55 has a coffee character whereas the East is Red is a rare ripe Zen production.  Both had that baby powder quality.

Infusion #1 East is Red

It’s interesting to notice the variations that a factory can produce.  The sweetness and camphor of the East is Red, for example, reaches another level with the Boss Tuo from the same year.  Being humid stored, the Boss Tuo possesses some lower notes.  Instead of Zen, it is medicinal, if peppermint candy can be considered medicine.  That one has never been brutal.