Tag Archives: zhongcha

Developments with 2012 ’07 Material Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
09 Jun

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.

Jade Mark Puerh Turns Five

Posted on by Yang-chu
02 Jun

The ’14 Jade Mark by the Kunming Tea Factory (KMTF) turns five this year.  Feeling a bit singed by a few delicious young productions that have been “oolong” processed that fade with age, I started to have my suspicions about the Jade Mark.

This is my second tasting of the year.  I can’t recall when the other was, but my suspicions grew even greater, even though KMTF is not likely to deviate from their traditional production methods, particularly the established recipes.  Still one can never be certain.

Scenic View with Neipiao

Another shot.

Jade Mark Closeup

Of course the weather is a huge factor in how a fine tea will perform.  Weather seems to be the culprit as the Jade Mark is concerned.  This morning’s session was in no way divergent from my initial impressions a few years back.

Infusion #1 10 seconds

High fruit aroma, zero bitterness, sweet, with a buzz of puerions at the edges of the tongue.  It’s the presence of the buzz, in no way diminished, that I’m happy about most, because that’s what fades in the oolong processed productions.

’14 Jade Mark Infusion #4

Altogether I went eight infusions and could have gone another two.  Yeah, the astringency builds but the sweetness remains.  It seems that it might actually be sweeter in the later infusions than comparable infusions from a few years early.

The oolong processed puerhs have their own charm, but if they can’t be aged then I feel that they cannot really be viewed in a traditional light.  Part of the fun of the puerh endeavor is monitoring the transformation.  I cannot possibly get through a cake, even 200g, in a year or two given the amount of sampling and monitoring I do.  A little transparency on part of the seller might be nice in this regard, since the working assumption with puerh is aging.  To some extent, not stating so strikes me as pawning fakes, more fake than the actual puerhs produced using traditional methods.  In any case, the ’14 Jade Mark is a traditional production that at five hasn’t faded.  My apprehensions seem have been more related to a hibernation that occurred during the colder drying months.  Whew!

Visiting Zhongcha’s ’55 Ripe Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
28 Apr

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.

Visiting ’07 Thick Zen Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
26 Apr

The review I gave on the ’07 Thick Zen puerh is accurate.  Since offering it, I’ve had it many times.  It’s most striking attribute is how rich the leaves look.  Excellent storage, glistening in its black brownish splendor.  The liquor produces a decent thickness and there is little astringency to speak of… or sweetness… or flavor… or qi.

I was hoping the a little time would bring out some interesting flavours, but it doesn’t.  It is very much in the vein of the Blue Mark.  It can be brewed as heavy-handed as you wish and it will never get bitter.  There’s no bottoming out either.  That is to say, there’s no point at which Thick Zen looses its initial character or turns undrinkable.

Depending upon what you have it with or your habit for sweets, you may be able to detect some apricot sweetness.  I’ve definitely found the peacock more pleasing in warm weather.  If it had more qi, I’d classify it as an amazing production… possibly.  It’s lack of transforming into a more complex expression makes it a larger leaf, autumn Blue Mark: quintessentially Zen, quintessentially Lincang.  I find the 9611 Gold Ribbon more interesting.

 

 

 

Wet-Stored Zhongcha Puerh

Posted on by Yang-chu
07 Peacock 9611, CNNP
14 Jan

Two shots of the same production from ’07 brewed in different vessels. It’s been wet stored, so it’s much darker than usual. The gaiwan shot was taken at night, the clay pot shot in day. The latter is much sudsier and sweeter, with some cooling camphor notes that can be felt at the end of each sip.

Night shot

When I first got it I couldn’t drink it, so I stuffed it away for six months, a fairly short spell actually. A friend recently sent me a sample of the Global Tea Hut “tea of the month,” which was a Blue Mark, same factory as below, from 2000, stored in Taiwan for 18yrs. It smelled like it too.

Day shot

Anyway, one wet stored production begets another. This ’07 production is better than the Blue Mark. It’s thicker, sweeter, and more complex, even though both are very much in the Zen vein of puerh, either Lincang or Yiwu material.

Two Puerh Peacocks from ’07

Posted on by Yang-chu

These two puerh peacocks couldn’t be more different from one another.  The ’07 Bada is complex, minerally, medicinal, sweet, and floral.  The ’07 Peacock is pure Zen, thick and wheatie with almost no taste.

Both brew to a rich golden hue.  The leaves of Peacock are considerably larger.  It also has more froth than the Bada, but to call it frothy would be an overstatement.  Astride a slight sweetness is a pinch of bitterness, quite similar to Sweet-n-low.  Overall, it possesses a character similar to a roasted barley tea, only thicker and sweeter.

The Bada is in company with some older spring teas in the Junky’s collection, such as the ’05 Peacock Puerh, LM, ’06 Gold Ribbon Tuo, XG and the ’05 Yiwu, YPH.  However, the Bada’s taste is altogether more complex.  There’s some mild camphor and sweet cinnamon notes.  The aged floral huigan is noteworthy and lingers.  You can smell the cinnamon too.

Pushing the Bada in later infusions only makes the brew thicker.  It never bottoms out, as signified by a bitter-metalic taste. The spice notes gain prominence the further one advances in the session.

Puerh Cashed Leaves:
Left: Peacock; Right: Bada

It is not possible to say that one production stands head-and-shoulders over the other.  They’re not comparable, because they fall into different classes.  The Peacock is in the Zen class.  As far as some similar Zhongcha productions, like the Blue Mark, it is even better tasting and a superior value, a diamond in the rough.  The Bada falls into a category that I might most associate with the ’08 Gift Puerh, from Xiaguan, at least as far as some of the mineral notes are concerned, but as noted above old flowers and spice figures prominently.  It is quite in a class of it’s own.

Puerh Cake Take: Jade Mark and Pots

Posted on by Yang-chu
27 Aug

My last two sessions with the ’14 Jade Mark raw puerh cake were rather disappointing.  Brewing it in the spring-tea pot mutes its fruity appeal and the elusion rate is too slow for such young mostly autumn material.

’14 Jade Mark photo Aug ’16

Today I got nine spectacularly fruity and sweet infusions, from 4.5g in my little red zisha.  Water temperature ranged from 212 to 195.  As I extended the brewing time, my water temp lowered.  Ten second infusions at 200.  Simply delicious.

Elusion is the rate of pour.  Different pots obviously drain at different rates.  This difference will greatly affect final results, particularly affecting the sweetness/astringency ratio.  I hadn’t really settled which pot was best for what until quite recently.

  • My black zisha pot is for spring tea, old or young.  Slow pour rate.
  • There’s goofy green clay pot that isn’t green inside gifted to me.  I use it for XG productions, smoky and sometimes spicy productions, like some Liming and Xinghai productions.  Medium pour rate.

    Bell Pepper Pot with the ’01 GM Puerh

  •  Eggplant-shaped red zisha.  Fast pour rate.  Referenced above.  Young raw high quality productions.
  • Glazed teapot for Dragon Pearls.  Fast pour rate.
  • Big red clay gifted to me for autumn teas of any age.  Medium fast pour rate.

    “Big” red clay, 170ml

  • My mineral pot, a pot I hated till I found the type I believe it performs with best.  Slow pour rate.

Pour rate is a big deal.  Whenever you cannot affect the quality of taste and astringency through parameters like pour rate and temperature, then chances are good the the raw material itself is of questionable quality for drinking purposes.  These can be repurposed for topical application.

I cannot over emphasize how impressive I found the Jade Mark.  Whatever tweaks I made in storage and brewing proved consistent with the earlier deeply satisfying sessions.

 

A Fuzzy Enigma: ’07 Beijing Olympics

Posted on by Yang-chu

’07 Beijing Olympics Neifei

The ’07 Beijing Olympics puerh cake is a fuzzy enigma.  I can’t put my finger on the recipe.  I guess it’s most similar to the Blue Mark, but the leaves are more broken.  It is certainly every bit as genteel as the Blue Mark.  There’s also a similar waxiness.

4th 10s Infusion After Eight Hours

The aftertaste is very fruity and somewhat astringent.  There’s no detectable bitterness.  Maybe you can tell from the pic that the ’07 Beijing Olympics is pressed super tight.  The lightness of the brew is a mark of how slowing it opens up.

Infusion 7, still 10s

One writer described it as cottony.  Seems about right.  Here’s a shot from 28 months ago:

Here it is two years later:

Transformation has been steady as she goes.  The broth seems to be getting clearer.  At the same time the hue is brassier than before.  The aroma is noticeably fruity.  The fruitiness is apparent in the huigan, otherwise the liquor is mildly sweet with some hints of petrol in the early infusions.  It’s a real Zen production.

Smooth as Glass: ’07 Thick Zen, CNNP

Posted on by Yang-chu

9th Infusion

The ’07 Thick Zen is smooth as glass.  At room temperature, very subtle camphor notes are detectable.  Overall, however, Zen is an apt description of this middle-aged puerh.  Juicy Zen: feint fruitiness, wheat, and a gentle old taste without any hint of any off odors or stale storage.  It smells a bit like a horse stable dry.  Wet more like lightly roasted barley, what they call “ku-qiao.”

The qi of the Thick Zen is very much in the stomach.  It really stimulates the appetite pre-meal and post-meal produces a warming ball of heat in the stomach.  Over all the qi is quite relaxing and seems quite a bit stronger in terms of these effects after eating than before a meal.

12th infusion 3 minutes

Even pushed it exhibits neither bitterness nor excessive astringency.  Part of it has to do with being very moderately pressed even for a CNNP ’07 production.  The photo doesn’t do it justice in terms of just how transformed this here’s a shot of the cashed leaves anyway.

To the naked eye the cashed leaves look much redder.  Anyhoot, the transformation is coming along nicely.

 

 

’07 Bada(zz), CNNP

Posted on by Yang-chu

The ’07 Bada(zz) arrived in April ’18.  It’s already changed quite a bit from a mainly minerally taste to minerals and old daisies.  The taste is quite similar to ’05 Glee, with similar astringency though possibly sweeter.  The after taste of rocky sweetness hangs on in the mouth for quite a spell.

In contrast to the ’12 Cherry Blossom, there are no smoky notes to the Bada(zz).  I recently visited the Cherry Blossom and I notice quite a bit of green apple in there too.  There’s no hint of any fruit in the Bada(zz).  Maybe the aroma is a bit fruity but it strikes more like honey.

Another similarity with ’05 Glee is the taste of grains, evocative of Wheaties.  This is only evident in productions that have a few years under their belt.  It seems like there may be some camphor notes trying to sneak through, something to watch for as it continues to age.

A final curiosity is that this cake bucks the trend of the time toward extreme pressing, unlike the ’07 LME Spring Puerh, which must have set a record for compression density.  Even though the Bada(zz) is pressed densely, it’s not excessive and the material flecks of with relative ease.

Oh yeah, this is Mt. Bada material.  Possibly only the second I’ve tried by name.