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.
Author: James
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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.
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Aged Oolongs [September 2014 Tea Drinking Report]
In the month of September 2014, the tea of the month was Aged Oolong. During this month, I had Aged Oolongs 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 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.
Vendors ordered from:
Also featuring:
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2001 Dingxing Hao via Jiujiucha (Taobao) [Episode 73]
NOTE/Disclaimer: Since filming this, exchanging samples with someone else who bought this tea and simply doing more research, it’s become pretty clear to me that this tea (as most acquired in this fashion) is probably not what is actually advertised. That being said, the tea review still stands on its own.
In episode 73, Denny & James review a pu’erh of questionable origins (supposedly 2001 Dingxing Hao) acquired via Taobao. To buy from Taobao you need a Taobao agent (we used Cheap Agency).
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Crimson Lotus Tea, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Crimson Lotus Tea is a part of our Pu’erh Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Pu’erh-centric vendors that sell to the west. This interview was conducted with Glen of Crimson Lotus Tea.
Crimson Lotus Tea is one of the newest and hottest vendors in the pu’erh scene. Formed in late 2013, Crimson Lotus is based in Seattle and is composed of the husband/wife duo of Glen and Lamu Bowers. Lamu was originally from Yunnan, creating an instant familial connection to the land of pu’erh. The pair made their first sourcing trip to Yunnan in Spring 2014 (they also got married on the same trip!). The sourcing trip was well documented on their blog and resulted in a diverse range of pu’erh, Crimson Lotus brand cakes, teapets, and Jianshui teaware offered on their site. Crimson Lotus Tea fits firmly into the curated pu’erh vendor category with a small but eclectic selection of raw and ripe pu’erh. (more…)
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1990s Menghai Grade A Tuo Cha via Tea Classico [Episode 72]
In episode 72, Denny & James review a deliciously dry-stored raw pu’erh from a new vendor, Tea Classico. The tea reviewed is a 1990s Menghai Grade A Tuo.