2004 6 Famous Mountain Pu erh Yellow Label

There are many things I like about this tea.  This is a 357g pu erh cake produced by 6 Famous Mountain Tea Factory.  Stored in Singapore for more than 16 years, the hot and humid South East Asian climate had done much to help age this cake to a mature and sophisicated tea session.

The tea brews very strong. I could use less tea and yet get 10-12 dark amber infusions. Spicy, woody with a nice faint sweet aftertaste. The added complexity of the tea can be detected from a much subdued smoky camphor profile.  I will reach out for this tea on quiet afternoons, where I do my work while savouring every sip. 

I always believed that pu erh tea should be drank old and this tea had supported this thinking.  

1993 Y303 Oolong

 

This oolong is a 1993 production.  This tea was given a name - Y303.  This Chinese oolong was a special order for a Japanese beverage company. Packed in carton boxes of 18kg, this large consignment of tea was meant to be shipped from China to Yokohama, Japan, via Singapore.  However, the Japanese company that ordered the tea experienced financial difficulty (bankruptcy) and this tea was 'stuck' in Singapore before subsequently sold to a local tea merchant.  

This 28 year old tea is very smooth and mellow. The aroma is perfumed like with a sweet lingering aftertaste that stays in a mouth for about a minute. There is also a light mineral taste in the tea.  Smooth, mellow and sweet. Good for 6 to 8 infusions.  

 A vintage tea.  Happy days. 

The World Of Tea

 

You got the whole world in your hands.  My tea set up comprises of the following:

1.  Japan Nambu Tekki cast iron tetsubin kettle.

2.  Taiwan purion teapot. This teapot is sitting on a vintage Chinese porcelain plate where the owner had etched the family surname 'Lu" on the surface of the plate.

3.  Teacups; blue ones made In Frankfurt, Germany while the green ones are Korean celadon teacups.  

4. Coasters are made from rattan; handwoven in Lombok, Indonesia.

5.  Tea is a  2008 pu erh tea cake from Yiwu, Yunnan. This was a special order cake from teashop in Malaysia.  The teashop owner had even got his tea calligraphy friends to help design the wrapper of the tea cake.  Tea had been stored in Malaysia for more than 12 years. 

This is my adventure in every cup. 

De Hong Pu erh

This 100g small iron cake was made by a lesser known factory in De Hong, Yunnan.   There is no date on the brown paper wrapper and my guess, from the taste and aroma, would be slightly more than 10 years old.  

I call this pu erh - the peated whisky without the alcohol. I enjoy Scotland whisky and there is a type of whisky that is peated in aroma. This is due to the drying process where the distillery used peat and burn the peat to dry the barley. As a result, the alcohol distilled from the barley contains this smoky, peaty profile. This pu erh has a similar smoky peaty profile; smoky like burning embers, peaty, camphor and mint aroma, spiciness and a faint sweet aftertaste. 

Not for the faint hearted.  If you are not used to smoky pu erh, please belt up. You may like or not like the smoke but you will admit that the smokiness do add an extra dimension to a pu erh tea session.   If you enjoy peated whisky like me, this tea is up your alley.  

2004 Nan Qiao Tea Factory Raw Pu erh Cake

 

I chose a 2004 Nan Qiao raw pu er cake to refill my tea caddy last week.  Readers would now I have a few tea caddies specially dedicated for pu erh tea.  I have 3 caddies for raw and 2 caddies for Shou or ripe pu erh.  I believed that breaking up a cake, brick or tuo and storing the tea in tea caddies do bring out the taste and aroma of the tea. This time, 3 caddies need to be refilled and I am happy choosing the teas to put in them. 

This 2004 Nan Qiao cake is very strong in my opinion. This is not a tea to introduce to a new Chinese tea drinker.  This tea is strong with woody and herbal notes.  There is a nice woody taste with an oak-like wood aroma (like those oak cask notes in a Scotland single malt whisky).  There is a bitterness of herbs.  I had sat down for about 30-45 min to have a tea session of this tea and there was a mild sweatiness and intoxicating sensation which lasted a few minutes.  There is hardly any sweetness but the oily sensation in the tea was very good. Mouthwatering and the tea simply slides down the throat.  There are some seasoned tea drinkers that prefer a more floral and sweeter profile....so such tea like this Nan Qiao may not appeal to all pu erh tea drinkers. 

If you like being 'tea drunk' or 'in a state of stupor" from drinking tea... such tea would be a good choice.  

Kettles For Brewing Chinese Tea

 

No, I do not collect tea kettles. But I own about 8 tea kettles. Why talk or write about tea kettles?  Aren't these kettles used for boiling water?

Yes, kettles are used for boiling water.  People in some parts of the world boil water for baths.  Where there is no water heater in the house, pouring a kettle or two of boiling water into a pail or tub would make bathing a warmer experience.  People in many countries boil water to sterilise the water for drinking.  Today in modern urban cities, we boil water in kettles to make hot drinks.  There are also now hot water 'on tap' where electric appliances or water dispensers can fill your mug with hot water without any waiting time.

When it comes to brewing Chinese tea, many tea drinkers and teashops would use a kettle in the tea sessions.  Having a Chinese tea session, whether by yourself or with a group of friends, is a more deliberate affair.  Tea is brewed and drunk more slowly than just 'gulp and go'. Chinese tea is unique in that a serving of tea (in this sense like 7g of oolong or pu erh) can make several infusions.  There are differences in each infusions (ever so slightly).  Each cup of tea taste different in terms of taste and aroma.  This uniqueness is further seen, when you revisit or have another session or the same tea.  The tea would have aged and taste even slightly different.

Using a right kettle or tea ware can make a tea session better.  That's what I did, I own kettles and tea ware that would make the Chinese tea I am brewing better in taste and aroma....again ever so slightly. Many tea users who used a Japanese tetsubin (cast iron) claimed the water is more smooth and 'softer' in the mouth.  There are also Chinese tea enthusiasts that believed clay kettles made the tea more vivid, amplifying the taste and aroma of the tea. There is a teashop in Malaysia that use the Hario kettle.  This stainless steel kettle was designed for drip coffee where one can control the pour of the hot water.  I enjoy using the Hario kettle as the pouring looks and felt more deliberate.

Pix shows 3 kettles.  The clay kettle is a vintage. The cover rest loosely on the rim and will rattle when the water is boiling. It is like a whistling kettle. The Japanese tetsubin has an unusual 'brown soil' colour on the exterior. It holds slightly over a litre of water; suitable for 1-2 person tea session.  The stainless steel kettle is the Hario 'drip kettle'.  It is great fun to use. 

I would try to have one tea session a day.  It gives me a mini 'get away' session from the hustle and bustle of city living. A time to contemplate or dream or just rest for a few moments from daily work.  I am happy sipping the tea for a few blissful minutes.  

An Inexpensive Tea

Good tea does not mean that the tea has to be expensive. 

If you had been reading my blog, you would had known that I sometimes bring some old Sea Dyke tea to tea meet ups and gatherings with friends. A few of my tea friends had claimed to had accumulated vast knowledge on oolong appreciation, and more often than not, will often look down on oolong brands like Sea Dyke. labelling them as cheap, inferior supermarket teas.  I will usually not tell my friends much about the tea I had brought for such gatherings.....just brew the tea and enjoy the tea.  A few oolong 'experts' will often liked the Sea Dyke tea and they go into a state of disbelief when they found out that they had drank Sea Dyke.  Many of my friends were similarly also 'tricked' thinking my older Xiaguan iron cakes were very expensive old pu erh after a tasting session (old Xiaguan tea are getting expensive and now harder to find this past 2 years).

I just opened a 2010 Sea Dyke red tin Ti Kuan Yin.  Such tea by local law had to have a expiry date, in the case 2013; where the tea are allowed to be for sale for 3 years from production. This oolong was high roasted (the Sea Dyke shui hsien are heavy roasted ).  The aroma is pleasant, like a bouquet of dried flowers, almost perfume like. Smooth and pleasant.  The 11 years of storage had given the tea a mild aged taste as well.    Good for 6 infusions.  

This tea was easy to store.  I had just kept the tea in its original packaging and had kept it away for many years in my storeroom.  I would like to suggest that you buy a couple of tins every year for the next 10 years and you will a nice stash of old oolong to drink for the following 10 years.   

I like this tea. Inexpensive. Cheap and good.