Banzhang - Lao Man Er Brand

 

This is Lao Man Er's offering of BanZhang raw pu erh tea. A large 500g raw pu erh tea brick, this tea had been in my storage for more than 10 years.  The compression of this 2010 tea brick is quite hard and I had to use a tea knife to pry open the tea. 

This pu erh tea is strong. It has a very strong and bitter taste.  No sweetness but a nice mouthwatering aftertaste. I enjoy the bitterness in the tea which added to the complexity of the taste......woody, bitter and slightly medicinal. This tea is good for about 10 good infusions.  Quite addictive.  

How Long Should You Store Your Pu erh?

     

    

I recently opened a 1996 Dayi shou brick and had a tea session of the tea 2 weeks after I had broke up the tea brick. 

An almost 30 year old tea. It was no surprise that the tea was smooth, mellow with a light sweetness in the aftertaste. 

The question now is whether the tea will age further with further storage. Chan Kam Pong, a famous Chinese tea writer felt that pu erh will reach a 'climax' in terms of taste and aroma around 40 years of storage.   

I have very little experience drinking such tea. I only got these special treats when my collector friends brewed their old tea. I had mainly got to drink early 90s tea so far.  I actually found that such tea was much smoother and a few were lighter in taste and aroma than I had hoped. These tea were smooth and mellow.  Very enjoyable. 

Storage of pu erh tea to me is......actually controlled decomposition.  How the pu erh age or decompose is subjected to temperature and humidity,, which the tea collector can control.  Collectors in  temperate countries may use a pumidor to maintain temperature and humidity.  I store my tea in an empty bedroom (used to be 2 rooms). I closed the windows and draw the curtains in the room and left my tea to age with no fuss and bother.  I stay in Singapore, a hot and humid country. I do not expose my tea directly to the climate. I store my tea in a clean and dry room where the weather outside is hot and humid.  The room's humidity and temperature  is relatively constant all year round. 

I agree with Mr Chan that there is a peak storage time for pu erh tea. Yes, the tea will continue to age with more time in storage but the taste and aroma might peaked or be more ideal (a subjective conclusion) around the 40 year mark, give or take, based on our climate here. 

Time for a cup of tea.     

The Legendary Yellow Tin Oolong

This is the legendary yellow tin oolong. Produced by Xiamen tea import & export co under the Sea Dyke brand.  This tinned tea had been around for more than 50 years. 

This 125g oolong is high roasted. it is aromatic and has a pleasant aftertaste. Take a sip in your mouth and breathe out through your nose. The tea aroma would linger for sometime after you had drank the tea. Good for 5 infusions. 

This is not even a top shelf tea but I consider this a legendary tea.  Chinese migrants who had migrated from China to South East Asia many years ago, looking for better prospects, were usually poor with only their shirts on their backs. When these migrants (a big number from Fujian, China) settled down in these countries, buying and drinking this tea (when this tea was introduced in the late 60s) was a nostalgic moment and an emotional connection back to their hometown roots. 

Today, this Lao Chung Shui Hsien yellow tin oolong, is still produced and made available all over the world. I enjoy this tea very much. An inexpensive tea, a high roasted tea, strong taste and aroma. I cannot ask for anything more. I am happy. A legend.  

2012 Haiwan Shen San Lao Shu

 

Chinese tea drinkers today are spoilt for choice when buying tea. They can go to a physical tea shop or buy from online shops.  These online shops operate from around the world; China, USA, Europe, Japan and South East Asia.  Not sure of what to buy?  Go online and visit blogs and the various social media sites like Youtube or Instagram  and you can see many reviews on tea. Some of these sites might even give you detailed pricing by price per gram of tea or even give you a list of tea you can buy with $100 - $500.

The most popular pu erh brands are Taetea and Xiaguan.  These brands are well known and these tea factories produce a wide selection of tea every year for the tea market.  For the western tea drinker, he or she is in a way 'limited' to tea that are available for their purchase.  Let me explain.  There are a lots of tea that are not covered by social media or made easily to the western buyer. They are not aware or are unable to have access to buy these lesser known tea. 

Lesser known tea are not less popular or inferior tea. Many of these tea have a huge loyal following among the Chinese tea drinkers in China and South East Asia.  6 famous mountains, Chang Tai and Xinghai tea factories are few examples.  

Haiwan tea factory produces this famous Shen San Lao Shu. This tea has a very big following within China and South East Asia.  This tea is strong, lightly smoky with a long sweet complicated aftertaste.  Yes, it is impossible to try or buy every tea but I want point out that there are many good tea out there that would interest you and give you a good bang for your buck.  Try to made a trip to China or South East Asia and visit the tea shops there. It will be an eye opener for you. I promise. 

Hong Kong Traditionally Stored Pu erh Are Drying Up

 

NO, no, I am not talking about the climate change or weather in Hong Kong. 

I am talking about the scarcity of traditional Hong Kong pu erh tea. 

Tradition HK pu erh are pu erh stored by Hong Kong tea shops about 20-25 years ago. Old tea shops in Hong Kong might have basements or tea storage rooms that are slightly more humid. As a result pu erh tea stored during that time had a taste and aroma that is slightly different than say a regular dry stored pu erh.  Traditional HK puerh taste a little grassy, has an older taste and if you drink this pu erh regularly, you can detect a very faint citrus note in the tea.  This older taste and aroma is unique and I like it very much. I would like to warn that drinking this tea is an acquired taste. You either like it or not at all. 

With Hong Kong going through rapid development these past 25 years, pu erh tea in Hong Kong are now dry stored. New tea storage rooms are now less humid.  There is no longer any new traditional HK storage pu erh.  

This resulted in a scarcity of such tea.  I was in Hong Kong last month for a day and got to visit a few of my regular tea shop haunts. The shopkeepers there told me that many of such tea had been bought up by collectors and shops now have very little of these old pu erh left. 

If you like traditional HK storage pu erh,  you should consider flying to Hong Kong to pick up a few cakes.  Your wallet will experience some pain though.  

2003 Xiaguan Jia Ji Tuo Green Box

During one of my tea exchanges with a tea buddy in Guangzhou last month, I received a pair of 2003 Dayi 100g brick and a Xiaguan 100g tuo.  I was very happy and opened the tuo when I was back in Singapore.  

This tuo's compression is still very high even after than 20 years. I used a tea pick to break up this tea.  

How is the tea? There is an old taste and aroma in the tea. This is the reward of pu erh tea drinkers and collectors who store their pu erh for many years. There is an old antique wood scent with very light floral notes. The tea is smooth and is very easy to drink. Long aftertaste. I detected a very faint hint of humidity in the tea which gave a light spicy tingle to the tongue. I enjoy this humidity in this tea which I do not get from my tea collection.  Chinese tea stored all over the world will have differences in taste and aroma due to the storage and climate conditions.  These differences are the main reason why I travel to many places to enjoy and appreciate Chinese tea there.  I get to make new friends, compare notes on tea and tea ware and do tea exchanges.    

The Tea Market In Guangzhou

 

The tea market in Guangzhou.  

Located in Fangchun, this tea market is the largest Chinese tea wholesale market.  You are simply spoilt for choice when you are looking for Chinese tea and tea ware there.  I had visited Fangchun many times for the past 10 years. Here are my recent observations from my recent trip.

The 'flavour of the month" is Chen Pi or dried orange peels. There were many new tea shops selling these peels, new and old.  There is no depth in the Chen Pi, say compared to pu erh or oolong where one can choose the pu erh region or even the roast levels of oolong tea. I foresee that these Chen Pi shops will slowly dwindle down significantly In the next 2 years. 

The world economy has slowed down. Physical and trade wars around the world had affected Chinese tea sales.  One must remember that drinking good Chinese tea is a luxury rather than a necessity.  There was a Chinese tea ponzi scheme that happened in Fangchun, China a few years ago. Many investors and some tea dealers were attracted by promises of handsome returns. 'Fang cha' tea had very fancy packaging as well. When the Ponzi scheme collapsed, many of these investors lost all their investments.  All these factors did not bode well for Chinese tea. My tea dealer friends are now predicting a lower 10-20% reduction in new Chinese tea prices.  Wholesale tea dealers now are selling tea online to the retail markets. I noticed many light box set up in many tea shops there, where these dealers would take pictures of their tea and market them online.  I was told such sales had helped mitigate the downturn of the Chinese tea market.

I was told that many pu erh and oolong tea producers are also cutting back on the tea production these few years.  There are no longer tea investors or speculators that buy tea by the cartons and were hoping to make a quick buck.

Pix shows a new Douji pu erh as well as a Douji ginger pu erh tea sachet pack. The Gan pu erh shown is a 12 year old teabag production and was a gift to me by me tea buddy friend there.  

I had also noticed the younger generation in China are drinking less traditional Chinese tea. They prefer the cold bubble tea or coffee at fancy cafes. It is possible that traditional Chinese tea will become a smaller market in years to come.