After such wonderful raw pu’erhs in previous months, why subject yourself to lowly factory tea. Believe me. I asked these questions many times. So why do it? (a) I really need to do a stash check and determine how these teas really are. (b) I’ve made alot of mistakes in buying pu’erh, wasting both space and money. Many of these were my tuition, and I think it can be an illuminating exercise to look back and reflect. If you’re only interested in my opinion on young or old premium tea you can probably stop reading and come back when the younger Menghai County report comes out in a few weeks. (more…)
Category: Article
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Evaluating & Purchasing Teas. A Few Things That Might Alter Your Perception.
You’ve just come back from an amazing experience at a tea shop at your local Chinatown. Not only did you strike up an engaging conversation with the tea shop owner but you got to drink through several different teas and eventually pick out your favorite of the bunch. Eager to recreate the experience, you dump $40-100 on a 150g bag of tea (not saying it was cheap). Except there’s one problem. You can’t make the tea taste the same. It’s not necessarily bad or worse, just different. You’ve tried using a lot of leaf, a little leaf, brewing for a long time, brewing for a short time, different water, lower temperature, higher temperature, yixing, no yixing, etc.. Other than adding cream & sugar (because you have a soul), you’ve pretty much tried everything. Disregarding the possibility of being duped (bait & switch) or other sorts of foul play, what’s going on here? (more…)
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![5+ Year Old “Menghai County” Raw Pu’erh [July 2015 Tea Drinking Report]](https://teadb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ripe-puerh3-940x198.jpg)
5+ Year Old “Menghai County” Raw Pu’erh [July 2015 Tea Drinking Report]
Shoutouts to Dignitea, Brian (double B), and Hster for providing teas for this month and allowing the content to be what it is!
By now you know the drill. I drink a bunch of teas following a certain theme. Blah, blah, blah. This month is Menghai County. One problem.. Menghai County is big and I have a ton of teas that qualify. So, like the Yiwu reports (1, 2) I’ve split this in two. So why am I doing 5+ year old Menghai County tea first? Simply, I’m more calibrated for these semi-aged teas because I more recently have been tasting through similarly aged “Yiwu” teas. (more…)
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CNNP Zhongcha: Inconsistency, the Bubble & Bargain Hunters
Editor’s Note: After the episode on the 1997 CNNP 7581 (acquired via Yunnan Sourcing) (a good tea) we received several emails showing other options for late 1990s 7581. Some were drastically cheaper and others were more expensive. Such inconsistency in pricing indicates either faked age or drastic difference in quality/mark-up. Much of this inconsistency is associated heavily with the Zhong Cha brand.
Established in 1949, CNNP, or Zhong Cha, is one of the oldest, most classical pu’erh brands. CNNP wrappers are perhaps the most iconic, featuring the tea character surrounded by the Zhong (China) character. This logo is found on the majority of pu’erh beengs from the 1950s to the 1990s, including all of the famous pu’erh vintages from that time period. Productions in the 2000s used the same logo and similar wrapper as the original Zhong Cha wearing cakes printed in 1951, Still, the brand and the label on its own means very little in terms of a quality product. Far less than a consistent Menghai or Xiaguan product. In the opinion of many, these labels have become increasingly watered down over time but neither has fallen as far as the CNNP brand. In fact, contemporary CNNP of the last 20 years is almost renowned for its inconsistency. (more…)
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Not Quite so Young “Yiwu” Raw Pu’erh [June 2015 Tea Drinking Report]
Big shoutouts to Dignitea and Brian (double B) for providing teas for this month and allowing the content to be what it is!
Welcome to Part 2 of the overly-indulgent Yiwu report. Part 1 was young teas and was composed principally of western vendor’s own productions. This month represents a portion of not quite sp young teas, marketed and sold as Yiwu. With a little over 20 teas, it’s shorter than last month. As most pu-heads know the landscape has been very dynamic in the last 20 years. Even though much of the tea from this month is only a few years older than Part 1, it’s a very different era. I’m also going to be preemptively splitting my Menghai County report into two (July and August). (more…)
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Pu’erh Buying Categories. A Few Common Approaches.
In 2007, it was estimated that as much as 95% of the pu’erh purchased was for storage and speculation, and not actual consumption (Zhang, Ancient Caravans). Psychologically free of tea going bad, pu’erh-heads are known to go a little purchase crazy. People buy and store pu’erh for many different reasons. Some of us buy as we go. Others store pu’erh as a hobby to see what might happen. Others simply store pu’erh because we bought too damn much of it! (more…)
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“Yiwu” Raw Pu’erh [May 2015 Tea Drinking Report]
Big shoutouts to Carolyn, Richard, Dignitea and several vendors for providing teas and others like Shah8 for their recommendations! A brief disclaimer: This report should be taken as my own personal journey into tea and not as the ultimate, definitive anything.
WTF Part 1!? These reports have been getting progressively longer. Rather than do something sensible, (a) get an editor to reduce flab and misspellings or (b) allow my mom or girlfriend to chuck out samples/stage an intervention… I stuck my middle finger out and indulged.. That’s right! This report is even longer than the previous one and will be released in two installments. The first will cover the young tea and the second will consume the Yiwu with some age (somewhat arbitrary set as 8 years). (more…)
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What is Pu’erh?
This article heavily references Zhang Jinghong’s book, Ancient Caravans & Urban Chic. Do yourself a favor and read her book!
At the height of the pu’erh craze in 2007, the Simao prefecture changed its name back to Puer. At the same time, a ceremony was arranged to welcome back the Golden Melon Tribute Tea back to its supposed birthplace in Simao. This event was not without controversy and was not well-received in the neighboring Xishuangbanna. The Golden Melon’s base material was from Yibang (located in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna) and Xishuangbanna-based people felt that their association with pu’erhs history had been compromised and hijacked. Many also complained the name change would lead to confusion, because pu’erh was primarily known and marketed as a tea. (more…)
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Sampling Pu’erh. A Few Considerations
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…)
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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…)