Why Simple Storage Solution are Often A Better Fit for the Western Hobbyist

Posted on August 24, 2019 by

If you stick around the western pu’erh scene long enough, you’ll hear about people setting up a variety of different storage setups. Unfortunately there is only a light track record for us to draw on. A handful of 10-15 year old western stored pu’erh has been lightly circulated but this isn’t exactly a quick feedback loop. While some folks flirt with fairly complex systems of storage, most people end up settling on something relatively simple. Why is that?

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Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Raw Pu'erh | 1 Comment

Distant Teas 1990’s Aged Shoumei, Aged White Tea [Episode 328]

Posted on August 20, 2019 by

This episode, Denny and I drink an aged Shoumei (an aged white tea) from new vendor Distant Teas. The tea is very clean, with clearly good base material. An interesting tea from an interesting new vendor.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DistantTeas

Posted in Podcasts, White Tea | Leave a comment

Three 20ish Year old Dayi Teas [Inbetweenisode 208]

Posted on August 18, 2019 by

In this episode, I talk about three older Menghai Tea Factory teas that are all around 20 years old. While I don’t drink them on camera, I share my thoughts on each and my overarching impression and how I think they fit into my own understanding of Menghai Tea Factory Tea.

Relevant article published on these teas.

The samples were purchased from: http://taishunhe.com/.

NOTE: I’m not too satisfied with how the video turned out with me reading from a script I pre-wrote. I think it wasn’t particularly well-executed and I’d do it differently if I were to do it again. Nevertheless I think the concept of the episode and what is portrayed still works so I decided to release the video anyways.

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

WuyiOrigin’s Jinjunmei Hongcha Black Tea [Episode 327]

Posted on August 13, 2019 by

Sorry for the incorrect title card.

This episode, Denny and I drink a stellar Hongcha from Cindy at WuyiOrigin. Thank you Cindy. This tea is subtle, nuanced, with a lot of complexity and highly enjoyable.

https://www.wuyiorigin.com/

Posted in Black Tea | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Few Considerations in a Group Session

Posted on August 10, 2019 by

I’ve had the opportunity to participate and host a number of group sessions since I got into tea. The context varies.. Some have been with a couple people unfamiliar with tea, others are with regular tea friends. This article on a couple approaches to choosing what to brew sequentially in a group setting and a few more of my thoughts that I thought I’d share.

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Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 1 Comment

Storing Pu’erh in North America (& The West). Pu’erh Storage Q&A [Inbetweenisode 207]

Posted on August 8, 2019 by

This episode, I answer a series of questions sent in about pu’erh storage. This is one of the more hot button topics in the west.

Over the course of the episode, I give some context on how pu’erh storage has been stored in east Asia, and talk about what I find to be acceptable parameters. Also talked about are how my teas have been aging in the 5 years I’ve stored them here in Seattle. Many more questions answered as well.

Thank you for those who sent in questions!

Mentioned:
Marco’s Hotbox, https://mgualt.com/tealog/2018/08/04/temp-control-experiment-w2t-bosch/ and https://mgualt.com/tealog/2019/07/20/storage-experiment-2016-w2t-bosch-two-years-in/

Washington Progress Report and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9oflRNrCOM

The 70/70 Line

Posted in Long-form Podcast, Podcasts, Raw Pu'erh | 3 Comments

2019 Everlasting Teas Baozhong Green Oolong [Episode 326]

Posted on August 6, 2019 by

This episode, Denny and I drink a green, very fresh, and friendly Baozhong from Everlasting Teas. Sammy over at Everlasting has kindly sent us tea for the past few years and the fresh Baozhong (one of their regular teas) is always a favorite.

Posted in Low-Elevation Oolong, Oolong, Podcasts, Taiwanese Oolong | Tagged | Leave a comment

2008 Liubao Brick via W2T [Inbetweenisode 206]

Posted on August 2, 2019 by

This episode, James drinks an old tea of the month club tea from W2T, a 2008 Liubao brick. This tea is nutty, smoothish, and woody. It’s not quite as rich as ripe, but still plenty drinkable and a decent change of pace.

Rating: 5.0

Posted in Liubao, Podcasts | Tagged | 2 Comments

2010 Yunnan Sourcing Xikong Spring Raw Pu’erh [Episode 325]

Posted on July 30, 2019 by

This episode, Denny and I drink a 9 year old, US-Stored raw pu’erh sent to us by shah. This tea was at or towards the top of Scott’s 2010 Spring lineup and has been aged around the Atlanta, Georgia area for close to a decade. Xikong is near Yibang and this production also uses the small leaf varietal. The storage is definitely dry, the tea is quite approachable but gets stronger as the session goes on. Overall, a well-above average tea that still tastes great. Thanks shah!

https://yunnansourcing.com/

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What I’ve Been Buying Recently (The Past Couple Years)

Posted on July 27, 2019 by

I get asked now and then what I’ve bought and where to buy from. Despite some past efforts of transparency and publicly shaming, I haven’t talked as directly about teas I’ve bought. If you read between the lines you can probably get some idea of what I go for. Over the last few years, I’ve slowed down an awful lot, first in terms of sampling and now in terms of buying. A few cakes I’ve bought in the last 8 or 9 months.

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Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Low-Elevation Oolong, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh, Taiwanese Oolong, Wuyi Oolong | 8 Comments