2005 Golden Sail Brand Loose Leaf Pu-erh Tea .PuerhShop.com

Puerhshop.com(review) (not 2005 but 2006/but may be a different item: product link). 2.24/4oz :O  = ~ 9$/lb ( o_O) * !!?!

received with an order, its a ~ 8.4g sample.

Leaf: looks chopped up loose cooked/shu pu. some gray dust + on leaf might suggest “old” ?

Method: not regular tasting setup, but starting to enjoy sitting down at my desk with camera on a Joby Gorillapod instead of standing at kitchen counters and bracing to hand hold 1/8 sec exposures… 4.4oz in 200F 4oz, x2

there was lots of slick “film” on the surface of the liquor, but as it cooled down too fast i didnt manage to shoot it.

1min: hot vapors of nutty dustiness (not really liking), flavor of dusty wood. some sort of concentrated tannin in the back of throat but not rest of mouth, not much aftertaste but doesnt feel watery.

2min: some sort of wet soil, dirt, dust, concentrated tannin (maybe can say like dark chocolate bitterness but that’s too much compared to this).

Update: did try it with less time but the flavors did not change for me (less concentrated yes). too much “dust and soil”

Overall: not enjoying this.

1999 Loose Leaf Pu-erh Tea .Puerhshop.com

Puerhshop.com(review) (product link). $6.39/50g/1.7oz = 3.63/oz = ~59$/lb.

Cleaning out my closet … forgot about this

Leaf: very nice and big on top, most leaf is below this nice layer due to being broken and smaller and whatever the physics that keeps smaller particles below and big fluffier things above. Wet leaf is harsh and gritty, not sure if from age or roast before storage.

Method: 200F filtered water + dixiecup gongfu in 2 ways:
one by 5oz tea in 3 or 4 oz water, timings 15s,30s,30s,1m,2min.
and another 5oz tea in 8oz water, timings 3-4min.

(5oz)
(5oz, different brew)

Taste:
– all methods yielded the same basic tastes: “wood bark” flavor, somewhat/minor/very small: “old-feeling“, “dusty-old book”,
– varying “wateriness“: more water/less leaf/less time = more “wateryness” , and more of throat dryness.
– NO astringency-bitterness whatsoever.
– very small amount of “sweetness” aftertaste …very small, …i felt almost like i was squeezing my tastebuds to feel any sweetness, but alas not much, not enough to satisfy and left me longing …. i tried and will try again with more leaf less water because its like … something is missing!
– depending on water/leaf/time i got this very tough dry throat sensation, sometimes very unpleasant made me cough. not sure if its something with my throat today so i’ll try another day.

Overall: not bad, but missing something for me, and too much throat. hugest leaf to date 4 inches/10cm.

Royal Pu’er Cha (Yun Nan Cha) .Zhong Guo Cha

Zhong Guo Cha A-6-1-1 50g/$10.75 ($6.1/oz, 97.6/lb)

looseleaf puer.

200F 4 oz, no wait between re-infusions (strain liquor to new cup, immediately re-infuse leaf).

5 infusions (20oz total):

1-2 dense, strong flavor: wood, tree bark, a little ‘aged’? feel, dark chocolate aftertaste astringency. wouldnt say earthy (which i’d associate with the smell of wet soil), not old books, just woody. fine with me!

4-5 less dense, more watery. little dark chocolate aftertaste. i still enjoyed it.

very nice.
Im generally not a fan of puer (since i never had one to like…until now), i dont know why i like this one but i do.

had some pears, drank little leftover pu from yesterday, first 1/3 of tongue feels like yunnan black, back 1/2 tongue like puer , nice.

Pu-er $48 .Ten Ren Tea

~~~ complete ~~~

: tree bark nutty :

looseleaf puer.
wet leaf contains mostly shred up parts, darker parts seem to be stems (alot of them), a bit lighter brown being leaves (not that many). I guess most of the bark taste comes from those many stems.

~~~ stress test~~~

hack gongfu tea technique with 1 foot water drop

10sec wash: cloudy brown liquor, tree bark nutty,
20sec brew: cloudy brown liquor, tree bark nutty, 5min wait
“10sec” brew: cloudy darker brown liquor, tree bark nutty, astringency starts to appear, 10min wait
“10sec” brew: same.

~~~ initial taste~~~

dry leaf looks regular, smells mildly of tree bark.

infusion 1tsp 1cup 190F 4min

liquor dark brown tint of red

taste: flavor 4.5/7, good, pleasant, almost completely tree bark as i sensed it. maybe a little nutty. minor medicinal taste. not that earthy, no bitterness, low astringency. did not cause me too much anguish as my first pu.

will do some reinfusions later.

Pu-Erh .Chado Tea

looseleaf puer.

Description: “Its large leaves brew a mellow cup with an earthy taste.”

…i didnt see any ‘large leaves’

Infusion in hot water. …Pooo-argh …well…. what can i say…didnt taste completely as the name might imply, but pretty interesting… has a strong smell and flavor. earthy & medicinal… definitely not my favorite.

pu erh is supposed to ferment for some time. hopefully you dont get any of the bad aspergillus sp. on that because we all know aflatoxin is not good for you. maybe aflatoxin is degraded at high temps…