This episode, Denny and I drink a traditionally stored tea from Menghai Tea Factory, the 7432. No that is not a typo. This is a recipe that isn’t frequently produced, but the tea is quite legit. It is traditionally stored but overall quite clean. Would make a great introduction for anyone curious about this sort of storage. Sample provided by Marco at Teas We Like. Thank you Marco!
Author: James
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Tea Progress Report – Washington State Stored Tea 2019
This is an extremely overdue tea drinking report. It was conceived for two reasons. (1) I recently reconfigured my storage into a larger setup. (2) I have a yearly tradition of picking some teas out of deep storage to retry and note their progression (or lack thereof). The latter allows me to get a better feel for my storage and pick out anything going wrong with the teas. This year I picked eight teas from my own storage as well as a couple extras from tea friends, all of which have been stored for a significant chunk of their lifespan in Washington state. (more…)
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2012 YS Purple Spring Yiwu Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 192]
This episode as a part of the larger 2019 progress report I drink a tea that has been in my stash for five years, the 2012 Yunnan Sourcing Purple Yiwu Raw Pu’erh. This tea is just turning the corner as a slightly aged raw pu’erh and is much more focused than when I had it now.
Rating: 6.0.
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2007 WuyiOrigin Smoky Lapsang Souchong [Episode 304]
This episode Denny and I drink an aged and smoky Lapsang Souchong from WuyiOrigin. This is an interesting tea (still smoky!) that feels familiar but also different from much of what we’ve tried.
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2017 YS Crimson Rooster Ripe Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 191]
This episode, I finish off another ripe cake, the Yunnan Sourcing Crimson Rooster. This is a light-mid fermented ripe pu’erh fermented by the same guy who did the Green Miracle. A good, textured, well-above average ripe.
Rating: 6.6.
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How We Think About Storage.. The Storage Spectrum. Is Storing Pu’erh at a Constant 70RH in a Box OK?
Pumidors are bad.
Sealed storage is bad.
No airflow is bad, you’re suffocating the tea.
Too much airflow is bad, you’ll suck out the aroma.
Your tea is drying out.
Heated storage is bad.Other than a few select controversial posts, storage articles tend to be subject of vigorous debate and polarized opinions. In my humble opinion there is often too much spoken absolute certainty without leaving room for nuance. It’d be dumb to weight every possible storage setup equally, but I do think it’s good to be open to a wide band of possibilities working. Certainly when it comes to something as uncertain as storing tea in the various climates of the west. Once you get past the do’s and don’ts storage should be thought of more of a range. (more…)
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Naked Yiwu Raw Pu’erh via TWL [Inbetweenisode 190]
This episode I drink a very unique Yiwu tea from Teas We Like. The tea is interesting for both its pedigree and its storage. It is decidedly old school and nothing like the boutique Yiwus that are often produced in more recent years. The tea (est. production 1999-2002) was seal stored in Taiwan which gives it a greener feel.
Rating: 6.3
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2007 Xizi Hao Xishangmeishao [Episode 302]
This episode, Denny and I drink a raw pu’erh kindly sent to us by Darius. Thank you! The tea is a special opportunity to try something that has been dry-stored in the US (near Atlanta) for many years. It is a particularly interesting session because most of the Xizi Hao being circulated has been stored in Taiwan. We have also tried a TW stored version of this tea before and it is totally different.
Darius’ stored version is clean, punchy, and quite powerful. The tea tastes greener and rawer but it rewards in complexity and aroma.
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Deep Dive: An Exploration of Temperature & Heat Retention [Inbetweenisode 189]
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.
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Dayeh (Big Leaf) Pu’erh from Su [Episode 301]
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.