A personal recommendation from Denny. Yunnan Sourcing’s Ai Lao Mountain Black. A good, durable performer from Yunnan Sourcing.
Author: James
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The Price of Menghai Tea Factory Recipes: Taobao & Other Purchasing Options
Menghai Tea Factory. The gold standard of ripe pu’erh and the producer of famous benchmark raw pu’erhs from the 1980s and 1990s. If you purchase legitimate Menghai, it is usually thought of as a safe buy. Dayi has the reach to make these recipes consistent year to year and while there is a higher price associated with the brand, you are paying for a reliable tea factory with a proven track record (Dayi tea is also liquid). This article examines a number of different routes available to purchase young Dayi plantation recipes. One advantage to purchasing pu’erh, especially classic recipes like these is the ability to research the price compared with the Chinese market price (Taobao). (more…)
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2002 CNNP Tiepai White2Tea Ripe Pu’erh [Episode 62]
The final episode in our series on White2Tea. This episode covers a wet-stored ripe pu’erh with a classic recipe (7572). Dark and creamy this is a well-above average ripe pu’erh.
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Nannuo Pu’erh [June 2014 Tea Drinking Report]
Every month, I dedicate it to one type of tea. This means I drink that genre of tea in some form at least once a day. This could mean gong-fu, grandpa, or even a cold-brew. 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. I had so many different teas this month that my notes were especially useful for this write-up.
Vendors ordered from:
Primary tea producers:
- Mengyang Guoyan (Yunnan Sourcing)
- Hai Lang Hao (Yunnan Sourcing)
- Yunnan Sourcing
Also featuring:
- Ruiyuan, Taochaju, Yunhai, (White2Tea)
- Mingsheng Hao, Nannuoshan Tea Factory, Changtai (Cha Wang Shop)
- CNNP, Guan Zi Zai (Yunnan Sourcing)
- Chen Yuan Hao (Origin Tea)
- Supermarket Pu’erh (Tienxi/Uwajimaya)
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2007 Repave White2Tea Raw Pu’erh [Episode 61]
The second episode on a White2Tea tea. This episode is a 2014 White2Tea production the freshly pressed 2007 Repave. The mao cha was aged for seven years before being pressed by TwoDog.
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Pu’erh Factories: Why Buy from a Big Factory? Feat. Menghai, Xiaguan
Pu’erh brands play an important role in the marketing and selling of samples, cakes and tongs of pu’erh tea. This is far more pronounced in the Yunnan-based pu’erh when compared with their Fujian-based Yancha selling counterparts or Taiwanese oolong selling merchants. This has resulted in some fascinating convolutions within the pu’erh scene… CNNP sold their name and wrappers to anyone willing to pay, seemingly every operations specialist at Menghai formed their own factory (1,2,3), and forgery continues to be a major issue. This is true for not only highly-priced gushu and expensive aged tea but Menghai plantation tea! The pu’erh market also has a tendency to attach itself to brands and certain recipes (see 7542 speculation) and even a brand that has been protective over their reputation like Menghai, has had their recipes blatantly copied until it was deemed illegal in 2005. (more…)
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2005/2014 Manzhuan White2Tea Raw Pu’erh [Episode 60]
The first of a three episode series on White2Tea and their selection. This episode is a comparative tasting featuring TwoDog’s 2005 Manzhuan (Xiangming Factory) and 2014 Manzhuan (a White2Tea production).
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2014 Baiying Shan Crimson Lotus Tea Raw Pu’erh [Episode 59]
Again joined by Crimson Lotus Tea. This episode we take a look at a tea hot off the presses. A recently pressed 2014 Baiying Shan Raw Pu’erh from Crimson Lotus Tea. This is a nice young raw pu’erh, it will be interesting to see how this evolves.
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Ripe Pu’erh Concepts
Depending on who you ask you will get dramatically different reactions to ripe pu’erh. Ripe pu’erh, also shu, shou, or cooked pu’erh, is preferred by many as an easy, smooth drink. It is also often shoved aside by tea people as an inferior or simply uninteresting tea. In Zhang Jinghong’s fantastic Puer Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic she draws the analogy between raw/ripe (cooked) pu’erh and raw/cooked food. In this analogy the wo dui process that ripe pu’erh undergoes is the cooking process and the aging of raw pu’erh can be likened to naturally slow cooking cooking the tea. Freshly pressed raw pu’erh is simply uncooked (and has even been classified by many as not pu’erh!). This article will explore some intermediate level concepts of ripe pu’erh and examine common variations in the “cooking” process of ripe pu’erh and how it might affect your cup. (more…)
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2008 Bulang Crimson Lotus Tea Ripe Pu’erh [Episode 58]
In episode 58, Denny and James welcome back special guests from their sourcing trip in Yunnan, Crimson Lotus Tea. This episode showcases their 2008 Bulang Ripe Pu’erh.
