One of my earliest blogs in 2009 (wow its already 6 years) was my view on buying tea on the internet (link). In that blog, I mentioned that I purchased my tea on the internet as the tea may not be available in my area or it could be more expensive at my local teashops. I still think these reasons are valid today.
I had also highlighted 2 online teashops that I had patronized and had good dealings with them They were Awazon Tea and Yunnan Sourcing. I had visited both proprietors in Kunming and found them to be extremely friendly and knowledgable in their tea. Today, there are many good online retailers in the internet, marketing pu erh and other quality Chinese tea as well.
Scott Wilson of Yunnan Sourcing is a good friend of mine. An American who speaks fluent Mandarin, he was to me (still is) the 'candy shop of tea' on the internet. Today, I continue to be amazed by his wide range of tea and tea ware for sale. Browsing his selection of tea makes a good pastime for the tea collector.
In one of my many orders I made with Yunnan Sourcing in 2009, I had included two 2008 'wild tree raw puerh brick of Dehong'. This tea was one of Scott's earliest house brand tea. His description of this tea - "An incredibly fantastic raw Pu-erh made from Pu-erh tree leaves that have a purplish tinge when picked. The resulting brick is darker. The quality of the leaves and the meticulous processing ensures excellent storage and aging potential. At the same time, it is one the best 2008 raw Pu-erhs to drink. The infused liquor is golden and is almost completely without bitterness. CLARITY, CLARITY, CLARITY! This tea brick is composed of entirely spring 2008 raw material from the exact same area as the 2005 production. This year Yunnan Sourcing is proud to be the exclusive producer and distributor of this very special tea! We have produced exactly 460 bricks in total!" Scott retail price was US$25 for this 500g brick in 2009.
US$25 in 2009 for pu erh was to me an expensive purchase. Let me explain. Pu erh tea in 2009 could be bought at much lower prices. My readers (and even a few comments on me in tea forums) may not believe me when I say many pu erh cakes and tea were available in 2009 for under US$10. Then, newly produced Dayi 7542 and 7572 were about $10 and lesser known brands was sold at about US$5-7, and yes, were even available in Yunnan Sourcing's store as well. Today, prices of tea are higher due to higher costs and overheads. The 2011 version of this wild Dehong today retails for $52.
You will noticed that this 500g tea brick is wrapped in a bamboo leaf and tied with bamboo strips. Compression of my 2008 brick is high and I needed a tea pick to pry apart this brick. The tea leaves appear more blackish in color. This may be due to the purple tea leaves that were used for this tea.
This tea is very aromatic when brewed, giving out a nice mix of flavors. The aroma is a mix of dried fruits and herbs with a sweet woody hint in the aftertaste. I could detect a minty, almost like a eucalyptus scent in the cup. Slightly sweaty sensation after the tea session. Nice overall feel. This tea is good. Die die must try!
You will noticed that this 500g tea brick is wrapped in a bamboo leaf and tied with bamboo strips. Compression of my 2008 brick is high and I needed a tea pick to pry apart this brick. The tea leaves appear more blackish in color. This may be due to the purple tea leaves that were used for this tea.
This tea is very aromatic when brewed, giving out a nice mix of flavors. The aroma is a mix of dried fruits and herbs with a sweet woody hint in the aftertaste. I could detect a minty, almost like a eucalyptus scent in the cup. Slightly sweaty sensation after the tea session. Nice overall feel. This tea is good. Die die must try!
3 comments:
Hi Wilson, thank you for posting this great article. I have 4 100g bricks of Scott's Wild Purple from 2013. Right now it works very well as a laxative. Some people have told me this tea fades and does not age well. But I find that hard to believe because the tea is powerfully bitter. Seems like your tea is aging quite well and this is encouraging.
Apologize for deleting my earlier comment Your 100g version is only available from the YS USA site. I grinned when I read you commented that it "works very well as a laxative". Keep for another 5 years like me, the tea will age well.
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