Perhaps Less Is Better

 

Over the past two years, I had 2 tea buddies complaining to me that they had a tummy upset when after a tea session.  These two buddies are to me quite hardcore Chinese tea drinkers. They drink Chinese tea (mainly raw pu erh) on a daily basis and they brew their tea really strong. These two tea buddies of mine are not related; one resides in USA and the other in Malaysia. They had been drinking and brewing Chinese tea for more than 10 years. 

I can understand that drinking or brewing your tea strong is nice. The aroma and taste is more pronounced. One may get very warm and may feel slightly intoxicated as well. Many Chinese tea drinkers I know are looking out for such tea and are willing to pay a handsome price to acquire such tea. 

However......a few tea masters from China had already warned me not to make my Chinese tea too strong. I was told to drink the tea 'dan dan' (mild in Chinese) and still enjoy the taste and aroma of the tea. I was further told that drinking strong tea frequently is bad for the digestive system and may weaken the body in the long term. 

I do not know or able to prove the points made by my teamaster friends. However, looking at the Chinese tea sets in the past,  there were many Chinese tea sets that were smallish......in that the teapot and teacups were really small. Teapot size were 60-80ml with cups at 15-20ml in size. It was almost like sipping tea and I would need to drink quite a number of cups to drink the amount of tea that I am drinking using my current set up ( I drink at least 500ml  per tea session). 

Maybe Chinese tea should be enjoyed in smaller portions.  It way be less stressful to your digestive system than if you indulged in drinking strong Chinese tea daily.  You will save on your tea if you use small amounts of tea in your tea sessions.......may even last for a few generations if you use less tea leaves.   

2019 Taetea Dayi Raw Tuo

 

I recently opened a 2109 Taetea Dayi raw tuo.  The tea was moderately compressed and I easily opened the tuo with the help of a tea pick. 

My recent sampling of newer raw pu erh tea was not very exciting as many of the newer raw pu erh tend to be very lightly processed. The new pu erh lack the raw strength in both taste and aroma. There is hardly any bitterness or complication of taste in the tea. Yes, most the new raw pu erh is easy to drink and can be drunk now without the need for long term storage. I suppose this style of processing is to appeal to the newer or younger tea drinkers who want to drink their tea purchases now and are not wanting or have any desire to store their tea for more than 10 years before consuming the tea. 

This Dayi tuo is actually quite pleasant. It is not that 'green' in that I could taste a little of the traditional pu erh processing in this tea. There is light bitterness and a faint sweetness in the aftertaste. 

I prefer my pu erh to be on the stronger side than this greener kind.  Maybe I am too fussy.