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.
Author: James
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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.
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Send Us Your Questions!
Denny & I will be filming an AMA episode with your questions. Send them in!
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Shop Like It’s 2012. One Way to Think About and Find Value.
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. (more…)
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2006 Yangqing Hao Chawangshu [Episode 300]
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!