pu-erh of the day. Sheng or Shou

Having gylxtea’s Da Xue Shan.
Finally able to get a note up on this one.
I was provided a sample to try from the tea shop.
I used all 8 grams in the shibo. I preheated the shibo and tossed the leaf in and let some of the steam carry the aroma out. It was some flower perfume and some wisps of smoke as well. I gave the tea a quick rinse and noticed the tea is aromatic when I opened the lid. A bit different than the dry leaf tossed around the warm brewing vessel.
First brew very quick. Some color in the cup, a mix of some vegetal , grassy and a touch more of the smoke without being overpowering. Second steep, still the wisps of the smoke maybe a touch bitter and some wood in there as well. Third steep a bit longer and a little tingle on the tongue and some sweet mixing in with the wood. Smoke is dropping out faster now.
Steeps 3 to 5 were very similar to the second steep. Leaves are starting to unfurl slowly in the pot. I ended up with 10 good brews to this. The later steeps were the next day and the leaf kept giving a decent brew. Maybe not as much on the sweet as the Bangdong but an interesting one to sip on.

Flavors: Bitter, Smoke, Sweet, Vegetal, Wood

Had a very special tea session with mid 1960’s and early 1970’s aged from Tea Masters. 8 grams of each.

The 1960’s had a consistent smoothness throughout, and was very refined. It felt like an elixir. Subtle notes of sour cherry and acorn. Later steeps were like a light mushroom soup.

The 1970’s had a very strong start, had a darker liquor than the 60’s, and a less elegant ending. Tasting notes of light tobacco, willow bark, wet wood, beef bone broth. Also a light mushroom aroma mingled in the early steeps.

2017 pu-erh.sk Naka:
Strongly reminiscent of the 2016. It’s light, but with a pervasive bitterness, and most of the fun happening post-swallow. Bitterness aside, this is nice and easy going for a young sheng. My preference would be for the 2016, which had an obvious “sneaky” qi, which I didn’t find so much today with the 2017.

2017 pu-erh.sk Lao Man E:
I was digging this tea as soon as I read the name “Lao Man E”. Fortunately, it did not disappoint, giving an “it’s on” vibe straight from the first sip of the rinse. The tea continued to truck on, being strong, syrupy, bitter, and making me feel great. Once I got to the later long infusions, I turned on some Planetarium (Sufjan Stevens et. al.) and was really riding on a cloud.

Pu-erh.sk 2017 Lao Mansa:
Perfumey. Personally, I’m a fan of some brutality, so I’d drink the LME now, but I think for most the Mansa would be the young puer to drink now of choice.

YS’s 2014 Bang Dong. After a year in humidity and temp control, this tea has developed some aged character. 10g in a 6 oz gaiwan.

The dry leaf gave off a woody sweetness, with hints of horse blanket. The wet leaf added some earthiness to the mix.

The 1st steep started medium bodied with some aged paper flavor, followed by notes of tobacco and rock sugar. The following 3 steeps built on the body, adding a syrupy consistency, with strong floral spice elements that reminded me of paan. By the 5th cup the qi was rising and there was a slight pressure behind the eyes (hopefully not from early onset glaucoma!).

While not much of a huigan, this tea did leave a pleasant lasting finish, with some good throatiness. Look forward to drinking this at it continues to age.

This morning I made some of the Big Green Hype from w2t’s monthly subscription box. It was quite enjoyable and I look forward to seeing how it will age.

The Portland Teafest was today. I found a niche in the ‘Tea Here Now’ section, plopped myself down and began to brew, offering the various passer-by the chance to sit down and enjoy some puer. I started off with an ’06 Yiwu from the Mandarin’s Tearoom, then transitioned to a 2003 Nannuo from Wistaria Teahouse. No-one turned me down, and most seemed to quite like the tea, in spite of my heavy brewing. I ran into a surprising number of people I knew. Some interesting vignettes, with the quotes paraphrased:

Someone asked me for a book recommendation, and off the top of my head, I gave a glowing review to ‘Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic’. I have not read this book.

I was told: “I don’t normally like puer, but this one is good”
My response: “Honestly – Most puer sucks” (of course, I’m not talking about your puer, dear vendor. All of your puer is awesome)

Someone asked me if I preferred brewing green, white, or black puer. Apparently a vendor had just told him there were these three kinds of puer. I tried to explain that puer was its own separate processing style, and what shou/sheng were, but I’m not sure I really got anywhere.

I was talking about the rampant fakery in puer, and someone pulled out a chunk of a 1998 cake they had just purchased and asked if it was real. I looked at the price/weight, $3.50/1oz, and said flatly: “That’s too cheap to be real”. In retrospect, maybe I could have been less blunt.

All in all, a great time.

Tea Urchin’s 1998 Menghai Factory Red Mark Red Ribbon. This puer reportedly spent most of its years being naturally aged in Taiwan.

The first cup had a decent amount of plant and mineral flavor, coupled with upfront astringency and bitterness that quickly transformed into sweetness. There were some lively mouth dynamics, with the expected wood, aged paper and hints of smoke flavors being present as well.

The second cup transformed into an earthy bourbon, with bright camphor notes, attacking the front of the palate, before moving to the middle of the throat. Successive cups broadened the flavor, with a strong huigan and qi drawing to the navel.

The final cup still relinquished a sweet earthy molasses flavor, with a lasting finish. Back into storage for this one.

Mystery aged shou mini toucha from a local tea store. It was smooth and fairly tasty, like dried prune. No bitterness at all.