Visiting the 05 Peacock Puerh, LM

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Yang-chu

25 Feb

Visiting the ’05 Peacock Puerh, LM is not what I’d consider to be the most memorable experience. I’ve been sitting on this for about three years. It is tightly pressed early spring material from what seems to be Daxue Shan or Jingmai material, but this is only a guess.

A few weeks ago, I took it out of storage. I has a session with it about two weeks ago, where I noted strong green floral notes quite similar to 6FTM Lunar Series productions. However, the Monkey is far superior to this production. . . at least what I’ve tasted of it.

Infusion #6

For starters the ’05 Peacock takes two infusions not counting the rinse to get beyond a storage taste, one that it had upon acquisition. None of the 6FTM Lunar Series have a stale storage vibe. The ’05 Monkey upon acquisition four years ago already had some distinctive spice notes. The ’05 Peacock is starting to develop a hint of petrol, but only for the second and third infusions.

The aftertaste of the ’05 Peacock is its greatest attribute. Usually by now, a production of this age has floral notes that are more chrysanthemum or dandelion in nature not orchid. In this regard it is quite similar to the Jingmai “003” from the same year, though the “003” has a young floral zing in the liquor as well as the aftertaste. In some regard, both possess aggressive attributes. The robustness of the ’05 Peacock’s liquor fades quickly before expressing Zen characteristics.

Aged appearance, some froth.

The body feel and effect of the Peacock is non-existent. The “003” and the Lunar Series are both far superior in this regard.

I’ve tasted the ’05 Peacock, LM on numerous occasions. I find it disappointing and overrated. The ’06 Peacock Brick, also by LM by contrast, is rich, spicy, and durable. They’re qualitatively different productions. The ’05 is decidedly spring tea, which is what accounts for it valuation. The Lunar Series and the “003” are two better productions that fall within the same floral class.

Tasting Notes on the ’06 Peacock Puerh

Posted on August 30, 2018 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 August 30, 2018 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 August 30, 2018 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 August 28, 2018 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.