Puerh and Thanksgiving !

[tieguanyin]

Hello everyone,

For those of us in the US, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this coming Thursday. With all the cornucopia of food that will be involved, which puerh will you be drinking for the occasion? Before, after or during the meal?

For those who do not celebrate this event, what puerh would you drink with a heavy meal consisting of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, etc,...

Have a good one,

TGY

 

[tieguanyin]

Were it not for kitchen duties, I would probably be enjoying a sheng puerh prior to the start of the meal; possibly the 2008 XG Happy Tuo since this tea always puts me in a good mood. I generally do not drink tea during the meal (water please!).

Towards the end of the feast or shortly after it, I would probably go for a shu puerh. Which one? I am not really sure. While I would be tempted by recent offerings such as the celebrated 2008 Menghai V93 tuo or the 2008 Menghai "Hong Yun" mini-cake, something slightly aged might be in order (heavy dui wei flavours may not be conducive to pleasent digestion). The Hong 2005 * Gong Ting Tribute mini-cake (regular cake is 1 kilogram in weight, a bit much I think) comes to mind as a candidate.

Alternatively, a colleague brought back for me a can of ripe loose leaf puerh from Beijing. If the label on the can is to be believed, it is a Menghai production of 2009. The leaves are tiny (gong ting grade maybe?) and despite its youth, it has an easy, pleasant flavour without being super heavy like many young shupu. The tea does not last long steap wise but it just might hit the spot. After such a heavy meal, one's taste buds and general body disposition may not be ready for subtle teas !!!

This is my two cents on the subject. Anyone else have ideas?

 

[Maitre_Tea]

I probably won't have the time/energy to brew a cup before, during, or even after the meal, since I'm the main cook on Thanksgiving; however, after being exhausted/bloated, nothing would settle me more than a nice cup of ODB

 

[ambrose]

humm idk maybe something light and smooth something young from mengku

 

[netsurfr]

OK, I have been thinking about this for a while. I am going to have a nice dark roasted TGY with dinner. I think the guests will enjoy it a lot. After the meal, I will be serving a 2009 Menghai "Da Yi Gong Tuo" Ripe Pu-erh tea - 100g. This is a new ripe that has become a favorite. No fermented taste is this brand new tea.

 

[Hreafn]

Earl grey

 

[arghblech]

Earl grey

Earl Grey isn't puerh.

 

[GFlanagan3]

Earl Grey isn't puerh.

it is BARELY tea

 

[ambrose]

2000 fu hai

oh man there is something just so special about this tea to me.

 

[tieguanyin]

OK, I have been thinking about this for a while. I am going to have a nice dark roasted TGY with dinner. I think the guests will enjoy it a lot.

OoOoOo sounds like a separate thread should be created (Oolong for Thanksgiving). Dark roast TGY would be a good pairing. Also good after a heavy meal or to soothe an upset stomach

After the meal, I will be serving a 2009 Menghai "Da Yi Gong Tuo" Ripe Pu-erh tea - 100g. This is a new ripe that has become a favorite. No fermented taste is this brand new tea.

Sounds like a winner ! Especially if you have guests new to shupu. Fermentation flavours may be a turn off.

 

[Maitre_Tea]

So my SOTD for Thanksgiving turned to be a BOTD, and I had no time to drink any tea...ditto for today also. Though I had a nice up of some Nepalese Black Tea that Tea Goober through in as part of his sample kit for me. It was a nice drink that went along nicely with dessert.

May have some sheng later, though not too conducive with young kids running around

 

[tieguanyin]

So my SOTD for Thanksgiving turned to be a BOTD, and I had no time to drink any tea...ditto for today also. Though I had a nice up of some Nepalese Black Tea that Tea Goober through in as part of his sample kit for me. It was a nice drink that went along nicely with dessert.

May have some sheng later, though not too conducive with young kids running around

Actually mine turned out to be OOTD for Thanksgiving - Ba Xian Dan Cong Oolong from Camellia Sinensis in a gaiwan. I think I went for it because it had just arrived (lack of patience???). Yes small kids running around not very good for a sheng pu session!

 

[Maitre_Tea]

I also brewed a sample of the super-expensive TGY from Hou De, and one of my cousins (7) asked for a sip...and expecting her to spit it out I gave her some, and suprisingly she liked it
looks like there's another tea geek growing up in my family...

On an odd note, that same cousin said, "why are your teapots and cups so small, they looks like the ones I use to play tea time with..."

 

[ouch]

It wasn't Thanksgivings Day proper, but I had some Changtai with turkey last night, and the combination worked just fine.

 

[tieguanyin]

I also brewed a sample of the super-expensive TGY from Hou De, and one of my cousins (7) asked for a sip...and expecting her to spit it out I gave her some, and suprisingly she liked it
looks like there's another tea geek growing up in my family...

Was it the High Roast HouDe Select of 2009 TGY? I have some on the way. Aside from your cousin approving of it, how did you like it?

I read your blog entry for the Thanksgiving wrap-up. Sounds like it was a successful event (despite small cousins not liking technical read-outs of their favorite stories).

On an odd note, that same cousin said, "why are your teapots and cups so small, they looks like the ones I use to play tea time with..."

Well you could have pranked here with a "here have a sip of this tea (some sort of ultra-smoky Bulang)..." ! Just kidding, that would not be nice to a young cousin (but maybe ok for a sibling closer to your age ). Who knows, one day she may partake fully in this fantastic hobby (and thank her uncle).

 

[Maitre_Tea]

Was it the High Roast HouDe Select of 2009 TGY? I have some on the way. Aside from your cousin approving of it, how did you like it?

Yes, it was.

I think it really depends on the brewing style and pot involved. The first time I tried it in our tea group it was brewed super-strong (the wet leaves were actually pushing the top off a bit), and in a pretty non-porous, high-fired pot. The resulting brew had some interesting sourness, but in a good way. The sourness is a bit metallic, like licking a spoon. It may also be where TGY (Iron Goddess of Mercy) got its name. Nice vanilla and woodsy notes to it. But it was a bit bitter/strong, and since you would usually let such high-fired stuff sit longer and mellow out, it's to be expected. I think if you gave it some time to rest it'll be a delicious brew. I've tried other Mu Zha TGY, including the competition winning (read: super super expensive) from J-Tea, and it wasn't as good as this. The price is high, but Mu Zha TGY is usually more expensive, because it's a dying art.

I brewed it myself later at home, with a smaller amount of leaf (so I could have two sessions instead of one), in a fairly porous, medium-fired Zi Ni pot. The vanilla/woodsy components were a bit weaker, but perhaps because I used less leaf than I would have (I brew with a 1:2 ratio or more). But the bitterness and "bite" wasn't there, which was nice. The tea was quite full-bodied and thick. But for the price... I don't know if I would buy more. It's a good deal, I think, but I can be more than half satisfied with HK high-fired TGY at about half the price of the Hou De. In a perfect world, I would buy more of the Hou De.

I suggest brewing with lots of leaf in a fairly porous pot, and do pretty quick infusions.

 

[tieguanyin]

Alright everyone, this is a little bump to get the thread going for Turkey Day 2010 !

At present, I am still undecided which puerhs to go for. Time and event permitting, I am pondering a sheng for the morning (while waiting for my turn to slave in the kitchen) and something shu'y after the meal.

Please drop by and share your tea adventures during this holiday !

 

[tieguanyin]

So here goes. In the morning of Thanksgiving, I was able to finish off a session with Jing Tea Shop 2005 Bada brick in a teapot from Lin's Ceramic Studio - one of those with a special ceramic inner-coating (sorry no picture). The session was pretty good although the teapot still needs little more breaking - has nice heat retention through.

For after the meal, I decided to go with a puerh I purchased a while ago but never got around to trying. I got this one from Ching Ching Cha, a real treasure of a tea house in the Washington DC area. Their tea and food menu almost never changes. Their puerh selection is mostly cooked both in loose and cake format. I bought a random cake of their shu puerh. I need to get it identified (nothing on the wrapper, inner ticket or neifei provides any meaningful information). The session I had with it (in a gaiwan) was short but nice. This cake may have had some wet-storage in its past. Earthy and notes of wood were present. It made for a nice digestif ! I need to revisit this one using a clay teapot to see what gives.

Anyone else had interesting tea for Thanksgiving?

 

[netsurfr]

So here goes. In the morning of Thanksgiving, I was able to finish off a session with Jing Tea Shop 2005 Bada brick in a teapot from Lin's Ceramic Studio - one of those with a special ceramic inner-coating (sorry no picture). The session was pretty good although the teapot still needs little more breaking - has nice heat retention through.

For after the meal, I decided to go with a puerh I purchased a while ago but never got around to trying. I got this one from Ching Ching Cha, a real treasure of a tea house in the Washington DC area. Their tea and food menu almost never changes. Their puerh selection is mostly cooked both in loose and cake format. I bought a random cake of their shu puerh. I need to get it identified (nothing on the wrapper, inner ticket or neifei provides any meaningful information). The session I had with it (in a gaiwan) was short but nice. This cake may have had some wet-storage in its past. Earthy and notes of wood were present. It made for a nice digestif ! I need to revisit this one using a clay teapot to see what gives.

Anyone else had interesting tea for Thanksgiving?

Had some 80s Menghai shu to finish off the dinner. It made for a great finish!

 

[shah8]

Had a 4 years Menghai first grade loose shu to finish off eating my leftovers today...

Lots of bulang sheng for creating the munchies in the first place.