Five Star Puerh Factories

This is a feeble attempt to introduce five bling Chinese factories that you find on the Puerh Junky site.  These factories came into the fold less as a result of their reputation than how they fit around a thematic imperative, peacocks.  This ended up making Fujin a rather obvious choice.  Similarly, there’s a curious fascination with the Yang family.  Therefore, Yang Pin Hao is another obvious choice.  The iconic prehistoric entity of Lancang Ancient TF would certainly fit the bill.  Shujian is not a factory but a vendor.  Their dragon pearls from ’14 are fascinating.  They capture the bougie terroir focus among the boutiques of the current era.  Finally, Chamasi which fell into the lunar category with altogether killer wrappers.

Here’s the Fujin icons.

Here’s a page to their Chinese site.  What’s so interesting is the factory is stated to have started in ’06 but they are clearly listing their productions from as early as ’02.  The number of high-level factories that produced under the ZC label boggles the mind.  Such totally generic wrappers.

The site states that the factory founder is responsible for developing the Big Cabbage production and Peacock seriesFujin is quintessentially Bulang/Menghai raw material.  The Puerh Junky frequently replaces “Banzhang” for “Bulang” in an effort to evade claims of exaggeration.  The puerh from this terroir has less of a black tea (i.e., dianhong) taste as in some Lincang.  There’s less of an aggressiveness than Simao/Lancang.  If a younger Bulang is confused for an Yiwu then it might be too young.  Bulang shouldn’t be Zen, fruity or floral will depend much on the picking.  Bulangs keep it real.  It’s the Midwesterner of terroirs.  There is a stratosphere where differences elude me.  Fujin comes with a clear sense of what it offers and doesn’t stray.

Yangpin Hao is a brand going back to the early Republican era but traversing a number of historic, ownership, and administrative changes since its founding.  There are quite a few very obvious fakes of this brand on the market.  The obvious reason is that the brand goes back to the Republican Era.  So, YPH evokes nostalgia.  Most of their productions originate from Yiwu and tend to be very slow bloomers.  Prices for modern YPH are outrageous.  Their older ones? Some have fallen between the cracks or I was able to acquire before the craze.

Yang Pin Hao in traditional characters flanked by two dolphinlike serpents.

Although their raw productions are most famous, they possess a distinctive ripe puerh processing craft that is far better than average.  Their ripes definitely improve with age.

Lancang Ancient Tea was established as its current brand in ’98 but with a legacy back to ’66.  The primarily produce caustic Jingmai.  They have been known to print Lunar series productions, more with regularity the past four years.  Their Ox and Tiger tuo are comprised of material from five villages.

Lancang Ancient Tea (LCGC)

Shujian is a vendor that sells under its own label, similar to most Western vendors. It does raise some concerns around the consistency of productions from one year to the next.  I’ve been storing a few of their dragon pearls of ’14.  Those puppies are a good way to get one’s head around the hallmark tastes of each terroir.

Puerh Tea Cake

Shujian Logo. Shujian means Book and Sword.

Chamasi has the absolute best wrappers.  They’ve been around since ’06.  They’re an Yiwu, specifically Yibang, operation but it’s likely that they have other offerings.  Full disclosure, Chamasi has produced unquestionably the best puerh I’ve ever tasted, if only by distinctiveness.  Their offerings have a consistent and pervasive Zen vibe.  Their gargantuan 500g Dragon is offered in the Puerh Junky collection.

CMS neipiao w/ logo

The scholar dude is one of their logos.  They also have one featuring with a horse and dragon as below.

Little need to belabour how cool the wrapper is.

And speaking of wrappers, that just about ends this chapter in the chronicles of puerh factory lore.  Fujin is Menghai, Lancang is Simao, Shujian is just a vendor, Yangpinhao and Chamasi are basically Yiwu, the YPH does have at least one Menghai production from Nannuo.  Some of these outfits have become extremely popular, with mind-boggling prices.  Occasionally one falls through the cracks and the Puerh Junky is able to snatch it up.

 

Puerh Potion Number 2001

Puerh Potion Number 2001 is a whimsical tale involving the rather drably named Yiwu Huangpian.  It’s an old ’01.  It’s taken a beating with heat and dryness after its brief humid phase.  It’s pure Zen.  Many Yiwus I’m discovering are quite grapefruity, see Dragon or Yiwu Princess.  This isn’t.  It’s not floral either.  It seems to be a benchmark puerh in terms of it’s “old taste”, chenyun.  A very glorified form of newspaper.

There’s really very little use in talking about a puerh like this unless you’re somewhere where it’s chilly.  This is much more an autumn and winter type experience, puerhistically speaking.

So why am I writing on it you ask?  Because I rarely write upon ripes to a fault and this offering is an excellent introduction to raw puerh for the person who fancies ripes.  Yes.  This is an obligatory ripe post by referencing an old taste raw.

I’ve started to sorta suspect that one of the vendors I like doesn’t sell what he says he’s selling.  I’m willing to chalk it up to losing something in translation.  I didn’t buy the cake based upon what was on the wrapper, but this is one of “those wrappers” I was looking to acquire in any event.  There’s a stylistically similar one that reads spring tips.  This one reads top, bottom, then middle gu shu cha.  You simply can’t get more specifically generic than that. I got it because that vendor has excellent taste.

Now I’m looking at this cake and wondering if the wrapper is really what it is on the inside.  I don’t know.  I’ll never know with these iconic wrappers.  The neipiao is one of those horrible CNNP inserts.  I can’t remember what the neipiao was for the other one of “theirs” I had looked like.  I simply thought the vendor was selling something he liked.  He didn’t make any claims.  I ran into the factory in the Puer Yearbook a few days back.  I decide to pry loose the neifei, will it be as generic as the neipiao with a bazhong?

The plot thickens.  The neifei is identical to the wrapper.  Did this factory use CNNP neipiao?  I have to check the puerh bible.  It only lists their ’99 version which also looks to be huangpian but a different neifei.  The difference proves nothing because these matters change from one year to the next.  I snap a shot.

The thing that stands out in this photo in terms of authenticating this production is the fantastic appearance of the lousy CNNP neipiao in the very upper left.  The neifei marks the year of production in all likelihood.  This one is ’99.  The one of “theirs” from ’03 has a different neifei too.  I haven’t heard much about them but I don’t think I knew what I was seeing either.  I tried to get more of their ’03 but the vendor said they were sold out.

If the vendor’s description included the name of the factory, it could be it eluded me due to the trickiness of factory name.

I don’t know what to make of the puerh bible.  The Xinghai offerings included in it are quite skimpy, not remotely their best.

Another look at the puerh bible and I see that the tea’s name is actually gu cha shu, as that’s what the neifei also reads.  I was wrong about its name.

It certainly tastes its age.  It’s looking like what’s in the puerh bible, so this is supposed to be something.  I suppose. It’s the only thing of theirs listed.  This factory has only come to my attention by accident, only by virtue of the wrapper.  The ’03 version of ostensibly the same production but looking quite different is a dank camphor hydra.

With Puerh Potion Number 2001 you’re getting a classic old taste that still exhibits the exalted Zen of Yiwu.  Now when you’re drinking it you can quote chapter and verse about the neifei and neipiao.  I just thought this was a “white label.”  Maybe it’s a white label brand, which is highly likely.  Hard to find a raw closer to a ripe in terms of taste.  You drink this and you know it’s old.  You taste the Yiwu and you’re either bored or brought to tears.

Puerh Junky Visits Thick Zen

Puerh Junky Visits Thick Zen is one of a catalog of encounters mental and digital with the steal of ’07 and possibly the aughts overall.  We’re talking about Kunming TF’s Thick Zen, a clean and lively Yiwu sensation without the Yiwu price.

Thick Zen called its name for an introduction to someone who has drunk puerh a limited amount and is not altogether clear on the differences between raw and ripe.  With a whiff among the two options, she chose the raw.  Overall, it has good sweetness, thickness, and complexity.  A faint fruity note has fully blossomed.  It lies along the backdrop of root beer with a few bitter notes early.

It got pushed at the sixth infusion holding up very well, a nice brown thickness and sweetness and no bitter.  The next five infusions continued to surprise in that it had more to give.  It is considerably more durable than even a year ago.

This brings up Poison, which is at 18 with as many as five more infusions to go.  It’s still quite round, sweet, and smoky, some surprising minerality that often comes with smokier productions.  The minerality seems to replace the root beer.  Similarly, the fruity note of Thick Zen seems to be creeping in on the root beer but it is hard to say at this point since the fruit seems to be developing independent from the root beer.  Is Thick Zen at its root beer peak?

One Good Puerh

One Good Puerh deserves another.  hahahaha. Yesterday’s experience with the Bada had me promptly decide to check on the ’12 Dragon, CMS.  There’s a whole five-year difference between the two.  Still, they bear some similar qualities, referenced in the missive linked above.  Amidst the welter of the past year, the Puerh Junky seems to recall that the Dragon has been in his possession for a year now, perhaps slightly less.

I guess One Good Puerh is about being able to make calls about where a production is going as much as where it is.  At 500g the Dragon is a decent value provided one’s in storing and aging.  It’s certainly getting better, thicker and sweeter.  It’s lasting longer too.  Over the three days, there are moments where vanilla is starting to express.  It maintains its sweetness even as it pushes into more astringent territory.  The storage on it is very good with no detracting notes to be detected.

Then there’s that grapefruit.  It’s a certifiable Yiwu sensation, but Bada is Menghai so it’s not confined to Yiwu.  Furthermore, certainly not all Yiwu is grapefruit, thank God.  I went to the Dragon because the Bada started going grapefruit in later infusions.  I wanted to compare the two.  It’s an interesting comparison, not off mark.  There are clear differences of course.  These may be mostly attributable to age, but there’s not even a hint of copper in the Dragon.  Furthermore, the Dragon is pure Zen whereas the Bada Peacock expresses an aged Zen like a vanilla confection.

The Dragon has bling factor.  It comes from a bling factory.  In some sense I reckon it to be in league with YPH.  They’re both highly regarded Yiwu factories.  This is not contradicted in my own findings.  The best production that I’ve ever tasted is CMS. That tea is perfection, though the thought of it turns my stomach.  It’s just plain weird and perfection.  A horrible aroma, not wet-stored.  It smells as it would taste horrible, but it doesn’t.  I digress. .  .

I’m quite pleased with the development of the Dragon, CMS at its one-year mark and posted in Feb of 2021.  It certainly lives up to the brand reputation.  Now that the sweetness is really starting to express, it is drinkable now.  At such a huge size, you can also stash a good amount for aging.  Those serious about Yiwu should give this serious consideration.

 

Puerh Junky’s Glee

No, Puerh Junky’s Glee is not about schadenfreude nor is it about how well the Ox performed this morning.  It’s about Yangpinhao’s 200g raw tuo entitled Glee.  This offering was purchased in early ’16 or late ’15 back when I kept lousy records, records that I’ll have you know are probably just as lousy but which I’d like to think are far improved.

A perusal through the annals of the Puerh Junky’s Log will reveal a few meditations on this monstrosity.  Yes.  It’s become a monstrosity, but I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s first give a tale of the tape.

Glee is a tuo that came onto the market in ’15, when it was pressed from ’05 material.  In contrast to the tuo that YPH released in ’05, Glee has visually always been much darker.  It has also been much more Zen and astringent.  As late as ’18, it was still powerfully Zen while at the same time powerfully astringent, wickedly so.  None of the YPH offerings in the Puerh Junky’s stash or collection exhibited such overbearing and uncharacteristic astringency.

Glee‘s Zen was prototypically YPH but it didn’t seem to come with much else, till ’19 when incipient signs of root beer started to emerge.  Glee seemed to be fronting as one of those luxury productions in name only, a challenger that you drink and just tell yourself, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

It’s not you; it’s me.

Fast forward to the present, mid-May 2021.  The bad news is that Glee never turned into root beer.  The good news is that the astringency has all but vanished.  However, there’s even better news– it’s stfu noteworthy.  Not in the least Zen anymore, it’s inconceivable how material that had very little pizazz could morph into such a complex and deeply petrolated creation.

The name Glee evokes a sense of playful and fruity puerh, a ha-ha school-kid charm, easily forgotten.  That’s not where it is now by a long shot.  There’s not an ounce of joy to it now.  It’s a grizzled old mechanic with snaggled teeth in greasy gray overalls.

Puerh Junky Report: Jinglong TF

Jinglong TF is a doozy of a puerh outfit specializing in Yiwu productions.  They started production in ’95 under another name, settling upon Jinglong in 2000.  Their quizzicality can be attributed to their marketing posture, which can only be characterized as all over the place.  They offer some really cheap ripe and no-name raw bricks directly on Amazon, while having some more intriguing offerings sold by puerh specialty vendors.

Jinglong came onto the Puerh Junky’s radar because a preferred vendor featured one of their offerings.  Hey! they didn’t go wrong with either the Yiwu Princess or the Marquis du Greenmark, why should I get cold feet now?  After noticing the brand, it started coming from the woodwork everywhere, various productions mostly from ’05-’06 but a few from ’08-’09 as well, all at wildly different prices.

The Puerh Junky has now tasted three of their productions since Jul ’20, and they’re all quite tasty.  For the enthusiast of Yiwu Zen, they’re definitely worth sampling.  Their offerings share some similar traits in terms of big leaves with alluringly long stems, rock sugar sweetness, and durability.  They’re ready for drinking now with next no astringency, possessing aged trajectories of either medicine or root beer.  Need I really say more?  They aim to please.

Puerh Junky’s Floral Hypocrisy Exposed!

Puerh Junky’s Floral Hypocrisy Exposed!  Our sources have uncovered gross Puerh Junky hypocrisy.  These are grave offenses in eyes the puerh faithful.  He has been running an ostensible root beer racket with brazen aplomb, but we have discovered that aside from his ripe forays in placation of his wife’s morning pleasures, that he actually isn’t as averse to florality as commonly presented.

Our unnamed sources have reported to us today on the 24th Mar that he has been dallying with floral Yiwus, CMS (Chamasi) to be exact.  We’re talking about the Dragon, CMS to be exact, which this morning pulled off a stunning performance.

Our sources have revealed that his Puer Junkyness was tasked to unveil Yiwu and resorted to introducing the recently listed Dragon, CMS.  Little did he know that his tasker was our undercover agent.  All of his feigned humility and uncertainty vanished from the very first infusion.  The Puerh Junky himself acted surprised.  He noted a sublime florality, and then started making excuses stating nonsense about Shanghai refinement and the absence of rough edged that the upper crust of China seek out.

For his part, our agent endeavored to keep his wits about him, despite was was an obvious full-body qi effect.  He reported, to his credit, that PJ’s floral recriminations needed to be balanced against Zen.  These are matters that our agent is just learning about, though his atunement to cha-qi is keen and her did his best to remain skeptical through his inebriation.

2020 Top Tastes

Herein, the Puerh Junky lays bare his 2020 Top Taste preferences.  This is going to be short.

  1. Root Beer
    Imperial Roots— from peppermint candy with faint dank to boss root beer.
    Thick Zen— from thick Zen dry straw to sweet root beer.  Que bueno!
    Tiger, MK— Daxueshan florality with effervescent root beer.  Sold out this year.
    Tiger tuo, LC— From pineapple and green apple to root beer.
    White Tips tuo, TL— dynamic to the hilt.  The second batch is now in cooking stage so can be picked up at a fair price.  It’s simply not the same as the original as it is so much drier.  This imparts an incense and floral vibe instead of forest and mint candy.
    Vanilla Palace— Burly Bulang with florality to zesty root beer.
  2. Zen
    Grenouille— tobacco to Zen
    Hideout
  3. Mineral Camphor
    Cherry Blossom
    Leifeng Ripe– a few free samples avail but not for sale
    7261 Ripe– Coming soon.
    Bada Peacock
  4. Floral
    Lily of the Valley
    Yiwu Princess
    LME Spring Puerh
  5. Perfume
    Red Star
    White Tips Tuo second batch– wretchedly perfumey, what will
    Buddha’s Impression– Coming in 2021

Some have probably ascertained that the Puerh Junky has simply plied artifice in an effort to sell his wares.  Guilty.  In actuality, his is a fairly dualistic view toward the entire affair of puerh tastes: root beer or not.  It’s become a bit of a way to gauge life itself: is it root beer puerh or not?  Higher order life questions include whether an offering portends the promise of root beer.  Of course, there are other manifestations that can be quite exquisite; it’s just they’re not root beer.

 

2020 Puerh Reflections

As is customary during the long dark days, opportunity for reflection on the year past presents itself.  I thought it might be nice to contrive a list of what I found to be the best five performers for the year 2020.  Since we’ve had plenty of drama this year, I’ll display my impressions as concocted sans the drama.

First Tier Puerhs of 2020

There shouldn’t be any doubt that “Poison” is the best performer of 2020.  It has completely destroyed my conceptions about 6FTM. I’ll go into why this is such a slam dunk (yeah I remember sports) in part two.

The Yang Pin Hao Lily of the Valley is the perfect counterpoint to Poison.  “Counterpoint” seems the trap into which Bach has been placed, but this does both him and counterpoint a disservice.  In any event, some puerhs definitely express counterpoint within the class they exist, but here counterpoint is taken as the balance across class, floral vis mineral, tobacco vis Zen for example.

As far as the Lily of the Valley goes it is clearly a Mozart concerto.  It isn’t trite, but it is clever with a sophistication that surprises.  Poison, despite prior references to Bel Biv Devoe, is Rachmaninoff— yeah it’s that serious.

Bridge

This year, the local classical station had a Top 250 List as determined by voters. (ahem)  I listened to a great deal of it with great zest only to be crushed that my boy JS tapped out in the 30s or 40s with the Phantom of the Opera.  Gimme a break!  The Mass in B-Minor was in the 70s while Star Wars was in the teens.  I know that my Bulgarian, French, and Lebanese readers are gripping their sides with guffaws of incredulity.  Show some sympathy for your humble Puerh Junky why don’t cha?

Second Tier Puerhs of 2020

Now by second-tier, the Puerh Junky doesn’t mean to imply that these productions are in the least second-tier.  In fact the ’10 Bingdao, YP could easily contend for THE very best production of the year.  It’s simply fantastic.  One of the most disappointing and expensive at the time of purchase six years ago, it turned out to be amazing after considerable neglect and abuse.  And were you to taste it, you’d guess it was maybe from ’14 at the latest.  I cannot say what a big deal this treasure is and haven’t because it’s not for sale and the Puerh Junky isn’t one for rubbing it in your face.  This is not a sales job but an honest record of the year’s puerh experiences, so it had to be mentioned.  No puerh experience exceeded the ’10 Bingdao, YP, which lasted five days.

The Thick Zen has produced the greatest gratification this year.  It blossomed to root beer and tastes so alive.  It maintains the Zen but brings the zing.  It’s so warm and stirring.  Yes Smetna.  It’s an Yiwu that didn’t just fall from the radar but is cloaked from detection altogether.  There are some things that one could nit pick about but comparatively speaking, productions thrice the price aren’t this sweet, smooth, and root beery.

Here’s why Thick Zen is so special.  Upon acquisition it was completely straw Zen, much like the “dirtier”, i.e., more humid productions from generally ’03-’99, without any hint of dirt.  These productions command a very handsome price, but to the Puerh Junky’s mind they’re a shade ho-hum, like many of Beethoven’s sonatas where he continuously plagiarises from himself.  Many of those older dirtier productions seem to have a ways to go or have gone and went.  Thick Zen is at a point where it is very alive in the mouth like. . . root beer, sweet and. . . I want to say David Sylvian.

Third Tier Puerh 2020

Grenouille blew my mind.  It doesn’t bear this name beyond Grenouille being a master at his skill.  It’s not about how he produces the most magical of perfumes.  Perfume can be interesting but the term should be defined.  “Perfume” usually stands an octave above floral.  When a perfume is an octave below floral it is incense.  Incense possesses wood notes, sometimes sap which ventures into petrol and various “camphorols” like mint, toothpaste, borneol, cinnamon, which a wood-grade camphor.

Grenouille expresses incense AND perfume along a substrate of Zen.  I’ve always considered it good but most recently discovered that it had evolved into something truly exceptional, literally transitioning from tobacco to Zen class.  At least one other person believes Grenouille still to be decidedly tobacco, but the difference might reflect the Puerh Junky’s fortunes to track Grenouille’s development over time.  Penitence perhaps?

I Haven’t Mentioned. . .

The Tiger, CMS.  I’ve only shared with two others.  Sublime and defies conception.  Absolutely the best tea I have EVER had of any sort.  I have mention the Simao Green Mark (7542) petrol qi destroyer, which as tamed a bit.  Simao is bad-azz when they choose to be.

In the next missive, I’ll take up the Puerh Junky’s Top Five Flavour preferences.  Upon reflection, three tiers emerge from this year; the first two tiers are counterpoint to one another, each at different ends of the tonal range.  Grenouille is probably more “trans” but now functions as a fulcrum balancing the two upper levels, an ineffable middle c . . . in the minor key.

 

 

Puerh Rating: Yiwu Princess

The Puerh Junky Rating System (PJRS) takes on Yiwu Princess, an ’03 production joining the Puerh Junky stash the summer of ’19.  Since this is a white label, there is not anything to report on the factory.  The production came highly recommended from a favoured Kunming vendor.

After three rounds the results were as follows:

  • Aroma        13
  • Clarity        15
  • Sweetness 12
  • Viscosity     11
  • Astringency 15
  • Huigan        11
  • Qi                10

Reflections

Yiwu Princess: Cashed Leaves

The Yiwu Princess listed in Spring 2020.  This is one of the few raw puerh cakes requiring no adjustment time, which can be anywhere from two weeks to two years.  In terms of clarity and astringency, this treasure receives a perfect score.  Any production that scores above 9 in every category can be considered serious, and as the list shows the Yiwu Princess’s lowest score is 10, qi.

Let’s say a bit about identifying Yiwu productions and storage.  One give away to identifying an Yiwu is in the formation and pressing of the cake.  Stone pressing is the norm.  Leaves are full, often populated with long leaf stems to give it a sexy filigree.  The tenderness of the pressing is immediately apparent when held.  It’s not the power pressed discus of Bulang, where the compression juices the leaves together into a shellac.  Irrespective of how fancy the factory is, Yiwu production methods are incredibly incredibly uniform and careful in presentation.  The the exact opposite of recipe cakes like 7542 or Blue Mark.

The Puerh Junky feels that storage factors more greatly in evaluating an Yiwu than any other puerh terrior.  It just seems that in contrast to Simao, Lincang, Bulang (and all the villages contained therein) that Yiwus generally provide little indication of what they are until they’ve aged at least 10 years.  This aging needs to be stressful too, particularly if you want to know which direction the production will take: root beer or dried flowers.

The Yiwu Princess hails from a Kunming vendor favoured precisely for their outstanding storage.  Storage of this sort would typically be associated with Guandong or Taiwan.  The Puerh Junky detests dank or hot-stored stuff that kills the tea such that you’re only left with drinking dried garbage or newspaper.

Conclusions

The Yiwu Princess is emblematic of puerh tea in the old school sense.  It’s aged to perfection, preserving chrysanthemum floral note beneath the blanket of perfect humidity.  The PJRS has again produced robust results, in this case by demonstrating how complete a performance the Princess give by all seven criteria.  Puerh Rating: Yiwu Princess

87/105, A