I'm just finishing off some 2006 Douji "Qiaomu", then I'm heading onto your bamboo-wrapped Youle! Thanks again
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Liu'an and liubao make me produce zombie noises. UnnNNnNNnnng. Never has so much been written by so many about so little.
If you really love shupu then this might be fun. The quality can be more horrific than shupu if you're unlucky (imagine that).
I would stick to samples of these post-fermented basket teas, unless you really, really know what you're getting yourself into!
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
P.s. Is the Xiaguan FT mushroom the one that comes in the cubic box? If so, it's good!
An example of the potential pitfalls of pu'er shopping:
Today-
'07 Mengyang Guoyan classic 88
preparation- doens't seem to matter.
This one is a dud with a capital D. It just has nothing to offer.
2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone Pressed Yi Wu.
After exchanging e-mails with Hobbes about whether to get this tea, I realized I had a cake (duh!) so decided to brew some up.
I'm using my strainer and a smallish Denby mug (sorry for you purists out there).
All in all, this is a pleasant tea - its a step up from average, but not stellar. Its worth the $20 I paid for the cake, but I won't rush out to buy another.
I really like the light compression - it makes taking the cake apart quite easy and many of the leaves are intact (despite the fact that I only pry off what I need and my rather inept abilities at bing reduction). The leaves are nice and health looking - bright green with nice central veins and are about 3 inches long by 1/2 an inch wide, not including the stems.
My cake has very little broken leaves and to my inexperienced eye, nose and palate, the processing seems to have been well done.
Yes please.
2006 Changtai 339 Pu-erh Tea Cake
2008 Bulang Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick
2008 Douji Dadou Pu-erh Tea Brick
Xiaguan FT Tibetan Flame Mushroom Tuocha
2003 CNNP Grand Yellow Label Pu-erh Tea Cake Sample
Just a quick plug for Jim at Puerh Shop. Now although receiving a prime product may be trickier than at other shops, I can't fault his service. He ships my package before he receives my payment, and that alone makes me a repeat customer.
Indeed. My order was placed at 2:39 today, and I got a notice it was shipped at 3:17.
2005 Green City Peak (cake)
2008 Purple brick of Dehong (brick)
2008 Menghai Peacock of Mengsong (cake)
2007 Mengku Mu Ye Chun 001 (sample)
2005 Yong Pin Hao Stone-Pressed Yi Wu Mountain (sample)
But the sickness gets worse. After all, this stuff takes weeks to arrive from China. What to do? Order some stuff more locally while I wait:
2006 Changtai 339 Pu-erh Tea Cake
2008 Bulang Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick
2008 Douji Dadou Pu-erh Tea Brick
Xiaguan FT Tibetan Flame Mushroom Tuocha
2003 CNNP Grand Yellow Label Pu-erh Tea Cake Sample
And of course it is not like I already need a new home to house all my existing stock. Crazy. I swear there is crack in this stuff
I had my finger on the button for the Buland arbor brick from Yiwu Zhengshan, but my bs meter told me it was one of Jim's bottom shelf offeriings- hope I'm wrong. I did get the FT mushroom- just as cheap as from YS. The Douji mini brick looks cool, and I knew you were eventually going to grab a cake of the Changtai 339. That overwhelming smokiness and punch in the face flavor profile was compelling.
I plan to drink the Douji Dadou brick in a few hours, by sheer chance. It is so small a brick that it's real comedy.
Excited to read that the Bulang brick was from Yiwuzhengshan (makers of the "Douji" brand, of course), I read the description over at Puerh Shop that confirms it. This could be a decent tea - given that it's only $12, though, I keep my expectations low.
The Changtai 339 is one I've not even heard of - time to try some!
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Jim at PS refers to it as the Hobbes single serving size.
I really wanted to give this a go, but the price made me leery. Scott volunteered to take one for the team, so if he gives it the thumbs up, I can always grab one.
That's the only tea I ever brewed that made my wife threaten me. She thinks that any smoky tea from China is dried with the exhaust fumes of trucks. It tasted like bacon to me.
This is the smokiest and most astringent of the 4 samples I have. I wonder if it would be worth getting one to put away for a while?