Inbetweenisode Episode #2 from James. The tea is 2009 Menghai Ziyun Ripe Pu’erh from Mandala Tea. Topics include the ripe pu’erh market and buying from a big factory in general.
Author: James
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Yunnan Sourcing’s 2012 Purple Yiwu [Episode 78]
In episode 78, Denny & James review a raw pu’erh production by Yunnan Sourcing, the 2012 Purple Yiwu. It is a reasonably priced young pu’erh that is both sweet and very pleasant to drink now.
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![Ripe Pu’erh [October 2014 Tea Drinking Report]](https://teadb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ripe-puerh3-940x198.jpg)
Ripe Pu’erh [October 2014 Tea Drinking Report]
In the month of October 2014, the tea of the month was Ripe Pu’erh. During this month, I had Ripe Pu’erh 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.
Primary tea producers:
- Menghai Tea Factory
- Xiaguan
- Yunnan Sourcing
Vendors ordered from:
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Yong De Organic 2011 Ripe Pu’erh — Yunnan Sourcing — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #1
Inbetweenisode Episode #1 from James. The tea is 2011 Yong De Organic Ripe Pu’erh from Yunnan Sourcing. The 2012 version is available.
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J-Tea’s 1982 Dong Ding [Episode 77]
In episode 77, Denny & James review a 1982 Dong Ding from J-Tea. Sweet and plummy, this is an excellent example of a well-aged oolong.
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Shopping for Bargains, The Case for White Label/No-Name Pu’erh
You are quickly becoming a pu’erh-head and have been diligently been studying and drinking pu’erh. It is a complex online marketplace due to the added dimensions of age and storage. What brings the best bang for buck in the pu’erh world? We obsess and look at factories, regions, storages, teas of various ages, vendors, shipping, blah, blah blah. What region should you go for? What age? The answers are subjective and depend on what brings the individual drinker enjoyment… However, one way to find great deals is to buy white labels or off-brand, judging the tea on its own merits. In pu’erh, what does this mean exactly? Finding deals for Dayi or tea sold as as Lao Banzhang is extremely unlikely. But for drinkers that are OK with more ambiguity, shopping for white label cakes or teas with a lack of relevant information (age, factory, region, etc.) and purchasing simply on the basis of quality can be a simple and effective way to buy good-quality tea for a good price. (more…)
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Life in Teacup’s Pre-Qingming Silver Needle [Episode 76]
In episode 76, Denny & James review another Silver Needle. An early harvest (Pre-Qingming) tea, this one may be the best of all! Acquired from Life in Teacup.
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Tea Classico’s Lapsang Souchong [Episode 75]
In episode 75, Denny & James review a Lapsang Souchong from Tea Classico. Smoky and sweet, this is a nice tea for an example of those that like their tea rugged.
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Pu’erh Regions: Western Xishuangbanna, Menghai County
This article frequently references and links to babelcarp. Babelcarp is a Chinese Tea Lexicon that is an essential resource for tea nerds that want to dive in further and don’t understand Chinese! This article also sources many maps from a TeaChat thread, original sources vary.
Home of the most famous tea factory, several high-profile areas (Lao Banzhang) and many of the most famous cakes from the masterpiece era of Pu’erh, Menghai County is both historically important in old school pu’erh and is featured prominently in much of contemporary pu’erh’s marketing. Much of the importance of region as both a brand and marker of terroir was covered in a post on Yiwu/Eastern Xishuangbanna. Locationwise, Menghai County is the westernmost county in Xishuangbanna, west of both Jinghong and Mengla. (more…)
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What-Cha’s Kenyan Purple Bud Silver Needle [Episode 74]
In episode 74, Denny & James review a very unique tea What-Cha‘s Kenyan Purple Bud Silver Needle. Despite being grown extremely far from China it exhibits many of the classical traits of it’s Chinese cousin.