Inbetweenisode Episode #3 from James. The tea is 2012 Menghai 8592 Ripe Pu’erh from Yunnan Sourcing. Topics include ripe pu’erh and big factory pu’erh.
Inbetweenisode Episode #3 from James. The tea is 2012 Menghai 8592 Ripe Pu’erh from Yunnan Sourcing. Topics include ripe pu’erh and big factory pu’erh.
12 responses to “Menghai 2012 8592 Ripe Pu’erh — Yunnan Sourcing — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #3”
Dear James,
Another great InBetweenIsode, and I have loved watching all the ripe pu-erh videos. Thanks for explaining about the date of pressing. I always assume it is the harvest date. Good info about the “fishy” flavor. I have some teas with that characteristic so I will probably put in a bag and try to air out. Do you have any idea how long that will take?
Also, I am always interested in your brewing parameter and would like to know how many grams of ripe tea do you usually use per gaiwan/yixing?
Thanks again for all of your work. I love all of your videos and essays.
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for the comment. re: fishy taste. If you revisit the tea in about a year, I’d guess that much of it may’ve dissipated. If waiting isn’t your thing just rinse the time three-four times instead.
For ripe pu’erh I actually use lighter parameters than other teas. 3g/60ml gaiwan, 7g/145ml yixing. Some higher-quality ripes do alright with more leaf, but for lower-grade stuff I’ve found it best to go easy on the ratios.
Cheers!
-James
+1 to Carolyn’s comments above. Great that you are explaining many of the basics of these puers for us newbies. Thanks!
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the comment and the kind words. Cheers!
-James
One good starting point for ripe I use is 2g / 30ml of water. It’ll usualy max out at steep number 3 and die at around steep 8-10 like James told
Love the InbetweenIsode. Love the format. Please continue!
Hi Xavier,
Thanks for the comment and sharing your experiences!
Cheers!
-James
We all know that the more a puerh is aged the price is higher.
What would be a cut off point age wise in buying ripe/shou/black puerh???
Hi Larry,
Thanks for the comment. I think in the case of Dayi pu’erh it is OK to buy from the current year. In my experience a few years will help the tea a little bit, the price will only have increased marginally by this point. For other factories, 2-3 year old ripe pu’erh should be immediately drinkable.
The worst value propositions are the more aged example of ripe pu’erh. Things start to rise significantly once they reach about 10 years of age. Buying Menghai ripe pu’erh from the 90s or early 2000s is expensive! Even then, there are still off-brand/white label deals like White2Tea’s 1998 White Tuo that can be acquired for exceedingly reasonable prices.
Cheers!
-James
I’m glad to be aware of this cake, I missed it on YS apparently when I last looked. Can you guys clean out the pitcher maybe with some baking soda? Getting hard to see the color, which is an issue for me when buying ripe, I’m looking for the depth of brown. Which probably won’t be there yet in a newer ripe, but I’m at the age of needing to peer a bit anyway. Thanks for the coverage!
Hi Cwyn,
Thanks for the comment. Yes that pitcher does tend to get quite dirty! I’m generally OK with the stains but my girlfriend reminds me time to time that I should try to keep my cha hai in presentable form. Since filming this episode I’ve washed it.
Cheers!
-James
Just curious – I’ve been wondering how you find your experience with your tetsubin, and what you prefer from it compared to a regular, “modern” kettle?
Hi Carolyn,
Sorry for the slow response. I must’ve missed this comment while responding to others!
I like the tetsubin, but I’m afraid I haven’t done any in-depth water tests that I can speak of. Given the cost, it’s certainly not a very cost-efficient way to improve/soften your water. I’d recommend you read MarshalN and Hobbes (http://half-dipper.blogspot.com) reading on tetsubins as it’s far more comprehensive than I can get!
Cheers!
-James