When I investigated the teas that western vendors tend to sell (tldr: young raw pu’erh), the topic of pu’erhs value over time was brought up. In that post, I found that the average cost of a young raw pu’erh listed on western vendor’s sites tended to be less expensive than the semi-aged (7-15yrs+) or ripe teas that were listed. You shouldn’t read too much into this as it’s an imperfect comparison. The most obvious flaw is that the source material isn’t the same. There’s no quantitative way to measure the quality of the leaf, which makes the question of value over time tricky to answer. This article kicks off a series of posts looking at the pu’erh market. (more…)
Category: Raw Pu’erh
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2008 Dayi 8582 801 Raw Pu’erh feat. 2005 8582 [Inbetweenisode 144]
This episode, James continues his exploration of Taiwan stored 8582, with the 2008 version. This is also a solid tea and is starting to mellow to a more drinkable state. At the end of the episode, James compares the 2005 version from the previous episode vs. the 2008 one.
Special thanks to Marco for providing the tea.
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1999 Xiaguan All Red Neifei 8653 [Episode 228]
Strong, punch, potent, retired smoke this is a semi-aged factory tea that does not go down without a fight.
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2005 Dayi 8582 502 Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 143]
This episode, James covers one of the famous raw pu’erh recipes from Dayi, the 8582. He drinks a semi-aged version, previously stored in Taiwan.
Special thanks to Marco for providing the tea.
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The Western Pu’erh Scene is Really Dominated by Modern Young Pu’erh
For people looking to learn about pu’erh I usually recommend picking a western-facing, pu’erh-centric, vendor and ordering a bunch of samples that cover a few different categories (my suggestion: young raw pu’erh, semi-aged raw pu’erh, and ripe pu’erh). Most pu’erh vendors feature teas from two or all three categories but the focus of pu’erh-centered western vendors has drifted towards just one of those three — young raw pu’erh. (more…)
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2006 Fengqing 7811 Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 141]
This episode, James brings on a premium, tippy, extremely powerful pu’erh from Best Tea House. Thanks to Bev at http://listeningtoleaves.blogspot.com/ for the very generous sample.
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2011 Wangong [Episode 225]
A 2011 tea from the Wangong area in Mengla County. Clean and very high-quality material that has been dry-stored.
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What to Expect from Traditionally Stored Tea
I get asked a lot about traditionally stored and wetter pu’erh. I like to drink these teas and it’s unfortunately a type that lacks a lot of the exposure in comparison with young pu’erh or ripe pu’erh. Most pu’erh focused vendors don’t offer this type of tea and the ones that do, it typically makes up a small part of their catalog.. Pu’erh offers a broad array of unfamiliar tastes to the western palate that can be different and a unique experience for new drinkers (see ripe pu’erh or young raw), but sitting atop that list is traditionally stored pu’erh. That lack of exposure isn’t the case in areas around southern China, where pu’erh has been consumed for much longer than anywhere else and traditional storage has historically been the default. (more…)
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2012 BYH Guafengzhai (single tree?) [Episode 223]
In this episode, Denny and James drink a supposedly single tree raw pu’erh. The focus is not on this fact, but on the tea which is a punchy, strong treat. Biyun Hao is a boutique Taiwanese brand. Thanks to Pedro for introducing this brand to the west!
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Reading & Drinking Numbers, Numbered Recipes in Pu’erh
I’ve seen the hashtag #drinkingnumbers around instagram used by a few pu’erh heads. This usually means that you’re drinking a tea labeled by the recipe number.. The recipes are usually four digits, and you’ve probably seen them attached to certain teas, both raw or ripe pu’erh. 7542, 7572, 8653, etc.. (more…)