Deep Dive: An Exploration of Temperature & Heat Retention [Inbetweenisode 189]

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

This is a non-tea drinking episode that explores a topically related topic to tea. In this episode, I perform a series of very simple tests that explore the interaction between heat and a number of various factors.

I use a variety of different devices (small gaiwans, large gaiwans, yixing, larger pots) and measured temperature immediately, after a minute, and then after five minutes. These experiments were repeated a few times.

Topics explored include pre-heating, does yixing retain heat more, high pours, filling up half your vessel and how quickly you may want to reboil your kettle.

Posted in Long-form Podcast, Podcasts | 4 Comments

Dayeh (Big Leaf) Pu’erh from Su [Episode 301]

Posted on February 12, 2019 by

Thank you to Su for sending both this gift. This episode Denny and I drink a smooth, easy-drinking Dayeh (Big Leaf) Pu’erh from Su. It’s an extremely comfortable and likable tea.

Posted in Podcasts, Raw Pu'erh | Leave a comment

Send Us Your Questions!

Posted on February 12, 2019 by

Denny & I will be filming an AMA episode with your questions. Send them in!

Posted in Podcasts | 2 Comments

Shop Like It’s 2012. One Way to Think About and Find Value.

Posted on February 9, 2019 by

I got into tea in 2012. One of the first things I did was read everything I could in the western tea scene. This included old forum posts, new forum posts, blogs like Marshaln, Half-Dipper and the Chadao Blogspot. One constant I found was the constant bemoaning the ever-rising price of pu’erh, as long as there’s been dialogue about it on the internet. It didn’t matter if the post was written in 2008 or 2012… Since 2012, the situation hasn’t exactly improved. The most dramatic rises have been in maocha and current year productions. The majority of the highest-priced tea being peddled from popular online sources definitely isn’t old vintage tea, it’s something made in 2018 (OK, maybe 2017)!! Notably not everything has gone up equally. Things like YQH Qizhong, while never cheap in the first place have been fairly stable in price even since my initial foray into pu’erh. For the value-minded, this has made some of these semi-aged teas the target for people like myself. Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

2006 Yangqing Hao Chawangshu [Episode 300]

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

For episode 300, Denny and I bring on one of my favorite teas that I own, the 2006 Yangqing Hao Chawangshu. This is an especially thick and potent Yiwu tea. Thank you all for following us for 300 episodes!

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2018 WuyiOrigin Xingren Dancong Oolong [Episode 299]

Posted on January 29, 2019 by

This episode, Denny and I drink another Dancong from Cindy at WuyiOrigin. This one is everything you like from a greenish oolong. It is aromatic, floral and very tasty.

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Datapost: 2018 Pu’erh Prices are More of the Same

Posted on January 26, 2019 by

About a year ago, I used the Way Back Machine/Archive.org to go back and examine the prices at conception of tea from western vendors since 2011. This was a valuable exercise and produced some interesting findings on a range of things, from price fluctuation, to the specific market each vendor aims for, etc. Crunching the numbers also statistically confirmed what many have long known. Fresh/young pu’erh prices have gone up in price by a whole lot in this decade.. I decided to update that  post with teas that were added since. I added 55 spring productions in total, 51 productions from 2018 and 4 from Chawangshop’s 2017 (they were slow to add them to their site in 2017). Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

2013 Xiaguan FT Love Forever Paper Tong Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 188]

Posted on January 24, 2019 by

This episode I drink a tea that I own quite a lot of, the 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong. This tea has become fairly popular in the specialized western pu’erh in the last couple years. Despite being pressed six years ago, the tea material is older (from 2003) making this a tea with significant age on it. The tea is also special to me as my wife and I were gifted a tong of this on our wedding day from the tea community.

The tea itself is quite strong, with a very dense taste and a long lasting mouthfeel. It is also not really like other Xiaguan teas as it was made by Feitai (FT) under the Xiaguan label. While it is semi-aged, this is a tea with a lot of potency to be aged in the future. In the video I also go over a bit of the history of this tea and talk a bit about the bamboo tong version, which is not as good.

Rating: 6.3

https://teaswelike.com/product/2013-xiaguan-love-forever/

Previous Review w/Denny.

Posted in Podcasts, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged | 7 Comments

2018 WuyiOrigin Tafu Hou Dancong Oolong [Episode 298]

Posted on January 22, 2019 by

This episode, Denny and I drink an excellent Dancong from WuyiOrigin. While it is relatively green, the tea has a lively texture and is vibrant. Very enjoyable tea from a genre of oolong we don’t have often on the show.

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2015 YS Huirun Ripe Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 187]

Posted on January 18, 2019 by

This episode, I drink a ripe pu’erh from Scott’s Huirun series. it’s a tea I’ve brought onto the show before, but now I’ve gotten through nearly an entire cake of it! This tea is textured, elegant, and well-balanced. A quality ripe pu’erh.

6.4 Rating.

Posted in Ripe Pu'erh | Tagged | 4 Comments