The first of a two-part series on a couple Tea Urchin teas that were included in the Yiwu report. This one is a soft, easy-drinking young pu’erh, the 2014 Yiwu Beauty.
The first of a two-part series on a couple Tea Urchin teas that were included in the Yiwu report. This one is a soft, easy-drinking young pu’erh, the 2014 Yiwu Beauty.
12 responses to “2014 Tea Urchin’s Yiwu Beauty [Episode 112]”
Another fantastic episode guys! Sounds like a great offering from Tea Urchin. From their website it appears that in almost all their teas they use high quality leaf which is awesome. This tea sounds awesome and it’s good to see Denny drinking more young raw hopefully he will bring some raw on his inbetweenisodes as well. There is no such thing as too much raw haha. Will you guys be bringing any more Tea Urchin stuff on in the future? Also how does this stack up compared to 2014 white2tea Last Thoughts? In the sense is the Last Thoughts worth an extra $335 per cake? Since they are both from Yiwu and from Gushu. Thanks a lot guys keep up the good work.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the comment. Good questions.
Frankly, it’s not in the same league as the Last Thoughts. This is a very decent tea, but the 2014 Last Thoughts was something else entirely (and priced accordingly).
Yessir. We have at least one more Tea Urchin episode coming out next week with one of my favorites from their 2014 line.
Cheers,
-James
I had the Misty Peaks and it was like nothing like the Yiwu Beauty. I am starting to think the Yiwu Beauty maybe wasn’t from Yiwu…maybe Tea Urchin is conning me. At least Misty Peaks is like from one peak so I don’t have to worry about where it came from.
‘Yiwu’ covers a large area and, while there can be a general characteristic of teas from that area, there is also a lot of variance. Just because one Yiwu tea doesn’t taste like another, I think it would be a mistake to jump to the conclusion that you’re being conned by one vendor or the other.
I’d recommend trying other Yiwu teas. For me, just when I think I’ve understood it, there’s always another tea that will surprise me.
haha that was total sarcasm David. I would never piece out one vendor’s tea as representative of an entire area; especially when it’s as large as Yiwu.
Hi bellmont & David,
David, I know bellmont in person. He is undoubtedly up to some trolling :), given Misty Peaks questionable sourcing this year.
Cheers,
-James
Denny has such an exquisite palate, seems to me with raw puerh any older than a year the storage could be a palate kill. Getting to the base leaf takes 5-7 quick steeps to pour off all that storage, tea older than a year changes color from orange-y to yellow. When you hit the yellow, you’re at the base leaf. If I were brewing >1 yr age tea for you guys I’d make James drink the storage and have Denny evaluate at steep 7 or 8. 😀
Hmmm…. I don’t think I would agree with that… 7 to 8 steeps for a young tea over a year old to get the actual flavor….? I feel even with a seven or eight year old tea I can get “actual” leaf flavor from the beginning if it’s been stored relatively cleanly. Maybe three infusions for the leaves to fully wake up though.
Denny was referring to raw puerh in general as having a particular taste, which this one doesn’t have in all likelihood because it is young.
After two years or so, dry-stored teas begin to develop a characteristic of fermentation. To some people that tastes like slightly sour hay, others describe it as “plastic.” This is especially noticeable in Menghai teas. This is what you get from dry storage, and the process happens from the outside-in. Wet storage of course tastes humid. There is no reason to drink the first five brews of fermenting tea unless you’re interested in tasting the storage and fermentation. If someone simply wants to taste the leaf, pour all those infusions off.
Hi brian & Cwyn,
Interesting discussion..
Cwyn, I see how it is. I’m just storage fodder for the real sommelier. Maybe I should take that class that you were talking about to level up my tea game :).
Cheers,
-James
I find that funny since you like your storage two minutes from compost by comparison to me 😀
Haha. I actually think I’m pretty middle of the road when it comes to storage!
Cheers,
-James