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.    

A Week In Guangzhou

 

It had been 5 years since I visited Guangzhou.   I had visited Guangzhou on many occasions as the wholesale tea market there is the biggest in China. 

There were many changes in Guangzhou. There is now more subway lines throughout the city. There is a new line that has a stop right outside the main tea market in Guangzhou. Literally a doorstep away.  Guangzhou had changed during the past 5 years. in turn, these changes had affected the Chinese tea market. Here is what I had observed. 

1.  The economic infrastructure had improved.  Within the city, transportation is efficient and new. I saw several taxis and ride sharing vehicles were all electric. Even motorcycles.  Most people are now paying electronically and the use of physical cash was significantly reduced.  High speed trains connect many cities reducing transport time.  Impressive. 

2.  Yes, world trade has slowed down and China is affected as well. However, ecommerce business within China had cushioned the reduced China export economy.  I noticed many retail shops having mini photo booths, to take pictures of their products. Owners and shopkeepers now go online to hawk their products. There were even live telecasts where their followers can have access to 'flash sales'. Packing off the sold products was easy. Inexpensive door to door deliveries enabled the sellers to dispatch their orders, with the orders reaching any part of China with 2-3 days. My tea shop friends ordered fruits from Xinjiang and Fujian with these fruits arriving within 2 days.  Hungry?  Have your piping hot food orders delivered within 30 minutes.  The e-commerce industry in China is to me, a super size giant economic eco system and this economy is still growing like a speeding bullet.     

3. At the tea markets, shop keepers were also selling their tea  and tea wares  online. I saw many shops selling their stuff  online. Even though the Fangchun tea markets comprised primarily tea wholesalers, this had not stopped them from retailing their tea online. Sales of tea had slowed down these 2 years and in my friend's. words..."online sales had helped pay for many expenses".   E-commerce is a very big market within China.  It is a cut throat market as well.  Search for a particular tea say Chen pi , or dried orange peels, and I got more than a few hundred online hits or offerings for this product. Yes, buyers are spoilt for choice and sellers had to be on their toes to keep their prices competitive and their product offerings unique. 

to be continued......

Aging High Roasted Oolong

 

Readers would know me that I like high roasted oolong very much.   Most of my high roasted oolong are those tinned ones as you see in the pix. 

There is not much effort needed to store and age my oolong. I just leave these unopened tins alone and store them together with my pu erh tea collection. 

If you own one of the tinned oolong, you would have realised that most of these tins are double lidded. This may indicate that the storage tin is quite airtight.....which suggest that airflow is not important in storing and aging oolong. 

This is what I found. These tinned oolong will developed an aged taste from 6-8 years of storage. The taste is like a pleasant Chinese medicinal concoction.  I enjoy this taste very much. The aged taste will be more pronounced with further time in storage. 

There is one exception.  The super high roasted Tie Kuan Yin from Fukien teashop, Hong Kong (see 2nd pix). One of my favourites but this tea will not age well. This oolong will loose its caramel and high roasted aroma within a year of purchase. Mr Yeo, the proprietor of Fukien Tea, said that this tea is best enjoyed within a year of purchase. The tea is not meant for aging.

Time for tea.  

Pu erh Storage - A Deepseek Answer

 

How to age pu erh?  I asked the latest AI assistant, Deepseek.  

Here is the answer, complete and unedited -

Aging Pu-erh tea is a traditional practice that enhances its flavor, aroma, and complexity over time. Proper storage conditions are crucial to ensure the tea ages well and develops desirable characteristics. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to age Pu-erh tea:

### **1. Choose the Right Pu-erh Tea**
- **Raw Pu-erh (Sheng)**: Best for aging, as it undergoes natural fermentation and develops complex flavors over time.
- **Ripe Pu-erh (Shou)**: Already fermented and aged artificially, so it doesn't change as dramatically as raw Pu-erh. However, it can still improve slightly with proper storage.

---

### **2. Storage Environment**
The key to aging Pu-erh tea is maintaining the right environment. Here are the ideal conditions:

#### **A. Humidity**
- **Optimal Range**: 60–70% relative humidity.
- **Why**: Too dry, and the tea won't ferment properly; too humid, and it may develop mold.
- **Tip**: Use a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels.

#### **B. Temperature**
- **Optimal Range**: 20–30°C (68–86°F).
- **Why**: Consistent, moderate temperatures encourage gradual fermentation.
- **Tip**: Avoid extreme temperature fluctuations.

#### **C. Airflow**
- **Needs**: Some airflow to prevent mold and allow the tea to "breathe."
- **Why**: Stagnant air can lead to musty flavors.
- **Tip**: Store the tea in a breathable container or wrap it in porous paper.

#### **D. Light**
- **Needs**: Keep away from direct sunlight and strong artificial light.
- **Why**: Light can degrade the tea and affect its flavor.

#### **E. Odor-Free Environment**
- **Needs**: Store away from strong odors (e.g., spices, cleaning products).
- **Why**: Pu-erh tea can absorb surrounding smells, which may alter its aroma.

---

### **3. Storage Containers**
- **Clay Jars**: Ideal for aging Pu-erh, as they allow slight airflow and maintain stable humidity.
- **Paper Wrapping**: Traditional method; wrap the tea in porous paper and store it in a cool, dark place.
- **Wooden Boxes**: Good for airflow but ensure the wood is untreated and odor-free.
- **Bamboo Leaf Wrapping**: Often used for compressed Pu-erh cakes; helps maintain humidity.

---

### **4. Monitoring and Maintenance**
- **Check Regularly**: Inspect the tea every few months for mold or off-odors.
- **Rotate the Tea**: If storing multiple cakes, rotate their positions to ensure even aging.
- **Adjust Humidity**: Use a humidifier or dehumidifier if necessary to maintain optimal levels.

---

### **5. Aging Timeline**
- **Short-Term (1–5 years)**: The tea will mellow, with grassy or astringent notes softening.
- **Medium-Term (5–10 years)**: Develops deeper, richer flavors with hints of fruit, honey, or wood.
- **Long-Term (10+ years)**: Achieves a complex, smooth profile with earthy, medicinal, or aged notes.

---

### **6. Common Mistakes to Avoid**
- **Over-Humidifying**: Can lead to mold and spoilage.
- **Sealing in Plastic**: Prevents airflow and can trap moisture, leading to mold.
- **Exposing to Light**: Degrades the tea and affects its flavor.
- **Storing Near Odors**: Pu-erh can absorb surrounding smells.

---

### **7. Enjoying Aged Pu-erh**
- **Brewing**: Use a gaiwan or Yixing teapot for the best experience. Rinse the tea leaves briefly with hot water before brewing.
- **Tasting Notes**: Aged Pu-erh often has earthy, woody, or sweet flavors, with a smooth and rich texture.

---

By following these guidelines, you can successfully age Pu-erh tea and enjoy its evolving flavors over time. Let me know if you'd like more tips on brewing or selecting Pu-erh!

Happy Chinese New Year

 

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year.  Many Chinese families will have a reunion dinner tonight.  Like thanksgiving, family members get together and enjoy a meal together. 

For the year ahead, I hope to travel to China and share my tea adventures with my readers. 

To all my friends and readers, Happy Chinese New Year. Wishing you peace and happiness. Live long and prosper. 

Time Flies - Another Year Of Pu erh Storage

 

Time flies.  Before you know its 2025.   For me, it had been a mind boggling light speed adventure last year. I was in Norway and Denmark last September and was happy to see many smiling tourists doing their touristy duties in the cities.......but at the same time, a military war was being waged in their neighbouring countries. We are living in a strange new world.  

Back to tea. To my readers, how is your aging and storing of your pu erh collection......how is your tea coming along?  I would like to suggest a way to check on your tea storage. 

You select a pu erh cake, break up into 6-7 pieces (about 30-50g), put the cake back in storage and take out a piece to drink every 2 years. Do remember to xin cha ( break up the tea and store in a tea caddy for 2-3 weeks) that piece before you try the tea. There would be no significant change in terms of taste and aroma of the tea in the first 5 years of storage.  But sampling the tea would give you an inkling (too dry or wet) about the storage conditions of your tea.  Yes, I believe that your pu erh tea will age with time.  Without being too technical. your tea will age slowly if you are living in a temperate country than in a tropical region. 

One of the difficult challenges of pu erh storage is time.  Storing a tea for more than 10 years or more is challenging. It is a very long wait.   I know many tea collectors giving up after a few years especially when they relocate or have a family.  You must also have the space to store your tea.  For a serious pu erh collector, you might own a few cartons worth of tea. This tea take up valuable real estate space in your home.......and once you start a family......priorities may change. 

My advice if you want to store a pu erh tea. Max 2 cartons. Leave the boxes alone.  Revisit the tea after 10-20 years. If the tea age well, you got nice tea to drink. I was lucky.  Tea was much cheaper 20 years ago and I had ample space to store my tea.   

I am thirsty. Time for tea.