2018 has been a year where I’ve continued to settle into regular habits of drinking my own tea rather than a year of exploration. I still very much enjoy drinking tea and have it at least once daily but the hobby is more restrained than a few years back. I haven’t bought teaware in several years and I drink from the few categories of tea I enjoy and not much else. Call me a grump, but I got a good idea what I like and what I’ll drink. (more…)
Author: James
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2014 Xizi Hao Grade B Manzhuan [Episode 294]
This episode Denny and I drink a companion to the 2014 Gedeng a few episodes back. This tea is the XZH Grade B Manzhuan and is also from the 6FM area. This session is a bit more balanced and the tea shows off a strong aftertaste and body feel. It is quite potent, but it integrates well and hits us more easily than the Gedeng. A very high-quality tea and session. Thank you Darius for providing the leaves!
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2018 YS Year of the Dog Blue Label Ripe Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 185]
This episode I drink a tea from Scott’s 2018 ripe line. Bought blind, this has been a regular tea in my rotation for the past few weeks. An enjoyable tea that is very clean, smooth, and a great daily drink.
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2014 Xizi Hao Red Mark Iron Gedeng [Episode 293]
This episode Denny and I drink a very high-end tea from the six famous mountains range, the Gedeng. This productions uses some very high-quality leaves and is easily one of the most potent brews we’ve had on the show. If you are a lover of incoherence and substance abuse, this is the episode for you. Thank you Peter for providing the tea!
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Old Tea: 1967 Baozhong
I picked up this tea from a vendor in Taiwan in 2017. Generally speaking, I lean skeptical of age and even moreso extreme claims of this extent. But I spent considerable time with this vendor and trust them more than most. Call me a chump, but I mainly believe it in this case. Finding tea this old is not common and I wanted to document the experience since I have not encountered many oolongs that I reliably consider this old and doubt I ever will.
About this Tea
This tea was picked in Pinglin which isn’t too far outside of Taipei and was one of the primary growing regions in Taiwan during that period. Like other teas, the processing of Baozhong has changed substantially over the years. I had the opportunity to try a (young) Baozhong produced in an older style when Origin Tea was still in business and it fit firmly into the category of a darker, roasted oolong. Today, the tea is typically processed very green and is usually considered one of the greenest oolongs on the market. (more…)
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2014 YS Man Tang Hong 3 Ripe Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 184]
This episode, I finish up a ripe pu’erh cake I bought a while ago from Scott. The cake is part of Yunnan Sourcing‘s Man Tang Hong line, a series of teas I’ve had decent experiences with. The tea is brewed in a fashion that I normally drink my ripe pue’rh, in a big pot fairly casually.
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Yunnan Sourcing’s Mengku Assamica Black (Red) Tea [Episode 292]
This episode, Denny and I drink another tasty Hongcha from Scott. This one is from Yunnan and stands out for its engaging texture and taste. We actually unknowingly drank this Mengku Hongcha earlier this year for an episode.
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2017 Gao Ma Er Xi Hunan Fuzhuan via YS [Episode 291]
This episode, Denny and I drink a smoky, savory Hunan Fu brick from Yunnan Sourcing. A very unique and engaging tea that stands out from your typical Fuzhuan.
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Why Storage Advice from Humid Parts of East Asia isn’t Always Very Useful for the West
Storage: keep in cool, clean, dry, ventilated, no peculiar smell, no pollutant, no direct sunlight place.
This sort of advice is common. It’s especially prevalent when looking at vendor descriptions on ebay or amazon or whatever. For a novice it all looks pretty uncontroversial, and for certain parts of the world it’s pretty good advice. But there are some real issues when this advice is directly applied to a drier climate. The first issue is with cool. This advice seems translated and copy/pasted from a place where temperatures are often higher. It’s important to keep in mind that places where pu’erh has been stored for the longest are hot. If you interpreted storing your tea “cool” relative to room temperature you may end up doing something dumb, like storing your tea in the garage at sub 50F degree weather for an extended amount of time. There is also ventilated. Airflow is a hotly contested topic in western circles, but leaving your tea in an open air environment in the west where room temperature air is a lot drier is not great for the long-term outlook of the tea.With the help of Titan Garage Doors Vancouver experts you can secure your garage with a great quality door. (more…)
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Storage Deep Dive featuring 2007 YQH Lingya [Inbetweenisode 183]
This episode is my second deep dive into looking at the storage . I recently acquired a cake of Lingya from a non-Yang source in Taiwan and decided to compare it with the tea I’ve been storing. The first cake is a cake I’ve kept in my own pumidor storage (an unplugged wine cooler) for three years and was previously acquired from Yang. The second cake is one that I’ve stored in a pumidor for a year in a half and then on my shelf in a ziploc for another year in a half. This is the cake I’ve consumed out of and I’ve drank up around half of it. The final cake is the aforementioned cake acquired from Taiwan.
The tea featured is the 2007 YQH Lingya Yiwu. In my opinion this is a very decent Yiwu and I enjoy drinking it quite often.
The episode is set around a mix of visual examination/narration and direct comparison. I begin by taking a look at dry leaves and the humidity generated by them. I then compare the three teas with each other, before concluding with a wet leaf examination and some overall thoughts/takeaways,
If you are are pu’erh nerd or at all interested in storing pu’erh I think you will enjoy this episode. If you want to learn more about storage conditions, please check out some of our other storage related content.
Feedback for this episode is highly appreciated!
From Yang/Fridge/Shelf Rating: 7.5.
From Yang/Wine Cooler Rating: 7.7.
From TW/Non-Yang Rating: 6.1.If you missed it, please check out the deep dive on the storage of the 2006 Chenguanghetang Yiwu Yecha .