What’s in the bag?? For people trying to explore pu’erh, sampling is inevitable. A sample is a good, albeit imperfect way to learn and get a feel for a tea. Pu’erh is an endless subsection of teas with various makes, source materials, storage etc. and while repetition is also very important, it’s also a good idea to sample widely to experience the breadth that pu’erh offers. Here’s a few considerations to keep in mind while sampling. (more…)
Author: James
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Tin vs. Straight from the Cake.. 1990s HK Style Raw Pu’erh via White2Tea — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #27
This week’s inbetweenisode is a comparison using the 1990s HK Style raw pu’erh sold by White2Tea. One of the brews has been tinned for the past few months, whereas the other was freshly broken off.
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Floating Leaves Tea’s 2014 Winter Farmer’s Choice Baozhong [Episode 103]
Back to our roots! A very nice Winter Harvest Baozhong from Floating Leaves.
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2000 CNNP Tiepai 7532 via White2Tea — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #26
A mature pu’erh from White2Tea. This tea has seen some humidity but has hardly any stank to it! This one’s for you Uncle Larry.
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JK Tea Shop’s Bai Ji Guan [Episode 102]
A really nice, somewhat unusual lighter-roasted Wuyi tea, JK Tea Shop’s Baijiguan. Like last episode, this is another of James’ picks from his tea of the month tastings.
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Zhang Jinghong’s Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic
This is a review of Zhang Jinghong’s Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic. Please also check out TwoDog’s review. More people need to read this book. Seriously!
What is authentic pu’erh? This question is constantly asked in Zhang Jinghong’s challenging and informative Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic. Similar to other buzzwords like artisan or specialty, authenticity is frequently used as a term to push a product (tea or otherwise). The pu’erh world is very guilty of this. It’s no secret that the pu’erh world is full of lots of bullshit and misinformation that are just there to sell tea (read an ebay description). It’s a marketplace built on flat-out lies (ummm..) and numerous softer, difficult to verify lies (i..e why are all the trees ancient and wild?). Zhang’s book attempts to do the impossible and unpack the endless maze of perspectives and opinions in the pu’erh world. (more…)
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Bannacha’s 2014 Jingmai Special Gushu — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #25
A brief break from Yancha to review Bannacha’s Jingmai Special Gushu. One of several of Bannacha’s 2014 Jingmai offerings. Thanks to William from Bannacha for sending this tea.
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Tea Yuan’s Rou Gui [Episode 101]
A very nice higher-roasted Yancha from a new vendor, Tea Yuan. The Rou Gui reviewed in this episode is a new tea company exhibits alot of the traits of higher-end Wuyi.
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![Yancha (Wuyi Oolongs) [March 2015 Tea Drinking Report]](https://teadb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/other-wuyi-lineup-940x198.jpg)
Yancha (Wuyi Oolongs) [March 2015 Tea Drinking Report]
Big shoutouts to Brian, Carolyn, and Richard (+vendors) for providing several of the teas for this month and allowing the content to be what it is! I hope you like long-form content, because this tea of the month report is truly massive.
In the month of March 2015, the tea of the month was Yancha. During this month, I had Yancha at least once a day (unless totally unfeasible). I’ll still consume other teas, but the primary focus is understanding and building a palate for a specific type/genre/region of tea through repetition. This is the most personal blogging type style of post for TeaDB, and the goal is to stretch my palate as well as give recommendations to interested parties. (more…)