This tea was generously gifted to me by Su as a wedding gift. Thanks so much for your generosity!
Ripe pu’erh was invented in the 1970s, so this represents an extremely early specimen. The process has been tinkered with throughout the years so this humble tuo might show us a bit of how ripe has changed with time. (more…)
This episode we drink an old blogger favorite, the Fangmingyuan Nannuo. This tea is from Tiago over at Tea Encounter and has been stored in Beijing for 10 years.
So you got mold? This is a real risk for anyone aging pu’erh, especially those with setups designed to add some form of humidity. After you deal with the immediate outbreak, you essentially have two options.
I think people often freak out and choose option 1, when option 2 will usually suffice. In some cases finding a new setup is justified. If your container holding pu’erh is leaching off aromas into the tea or if your container is susceptible to a spill risk, you’ll probably want to make significant changes.. (more…)
This episode I drink a Washington state stored raw pu’erh. The tea is the Changtai Jingpin, which was stored a couple hours east of Seattle. I think the dry-storage has treated this tea (which probably wasn’t overly aggressive to begin with) especially well. The tea is smooth and rich with a lasting huigan. Big thank you to Geraldo, the collector who sourced this tea years ago.
6.2 Rating (amended up after video).
This episode, I talk on Marco’s fascinating experiment where he heats up his pu’erh in a cooler (kept at a fairly steady humidity). It’s only one year in, but there’s a lot of food for thought!
https://mgualt.com/tealog/2018/08/04/temp-control-experiment-w2t-bosch/
https://mgualt.com/tealog/2018/08/12/storage-experiment-w2t-tuhao-af-2016-one-year-in/
This episode we drink a premium Yiwu from Crimson Lotus Tea. Very fresh, premium young tea with huge leaves.
Thanks to Glen & Lamu for the sample.
This episode I answer a series of questions on tea, covering a pretty wide range of topics. Topics include vendors for aged oolongs, water, tea books, caffeine content, judging pu’erh, and some pu’erh recommendations.
Thanks for all the great questions sent in! I answered as many as I could, but unfortunately could not get to everything.
In our small little westerm tea community, there was quite a stir over YQH in 2015 and 2016. I’ll personally admit to being caught up in both the dialog and purchasing of these teas. YQH remains available via Emmett, the most important figure in making these teas accessible). And while YQH as a conversation piece in the tea community has faded, I thought I’d share some thoughts on YQH, looking back with some perspective. (more…)
This episode, I drink another Yangqing Hao raw pu’erh. This one is purportedly a spring only blend of the six famous mountains. It is softer and quite different than the 2007s with deceptive strength.
6.5 Rating.
I had the pleasure of meeting tea vendors and Russian expats Valerii and Jane when I went to Chiang Mai. I had not been planning on any tea meetups on this trip, but Valerii happened to see I was traveling to Chiang Mai on Instagram and we met up for tea. Valerii’s family was very generous and we ended up meeting up a few times during my brief trip, including an outdoor excursion and tea session to the scenic Bua Tong waterfall. After we parted and he sent me home to Seattle with a ton of samples, we agreed to do an interview on the interesting niche he occupies, selling Thai teas. (more…)