2003 Langhe Raw Pu erh Tuo

 

This is an almost 20 year year old raw pu erh tuo.  This tea is a Singapore stored tea. 

In spite of the hot and humid climate this tea has only shown only some mellowness.  This tea is an extremely strong tea. I had thoughts that this tea would be mellow and smooth after almost 20 years of storage but No!.  This tea still has bitterness with an astringent bite in the aftertaste.  I have drank many old pu erh of this age.  Most of the tea would had demonstrated a nice mellowness; reduced smokiness like a wisp of smoke, less harshness and quite easy to drink......but this tea is strong and bold after 20 years.  Hair curling experience. I like.

But I digress.....I had blogged about newer pu erh tea.  Many of these tea are ready to drink or 'can drink now'. I suspect this is due to a change of pu erh tea processing that made the new pu erh tea less harsh or less astringent. The newer tea now almost taste like a fresh green tea.  Yes, even with a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. It is quite enjoyable. Like the famous saying 'same same but different'. I had stated that I am unsure how this new tea will age but I dare say that it cannot be stronger in taste and aroma than it it is now. A tea cannot be stronger taste after storage. There will be some mellowing out of flavours after storage. I can Imagine that the 2003 Langhe was very difficult to drink when new.  Just my 2 cents of thoughts. 

Back to my hair curling 2003 Langhe tea. 

Pink Dayi

 

I had blogged about this tea in 2016 (link).   This tea was sold by Taetea (aka Dayi) without wrappers to Taiwan but was accidentally shipped to the Malaysian distributor instead. This tea is estimated to be produced in 2003.

I liked this tea and had bought quite a fair bit of this tea before it was sold out. 

Already abut 20 years old, the tea remained very bold and strong.  Taste and aroma from the initial infusions are peppery, camphor, peaty with a long sweet aftertaste. This taste profile is quite pronounced and the tea can brew up to more than a dozen strong brews. 

Old well stored dayi tea are highly sought after by Chinese tea drinkers around the world. Such tea also commands a high price and are really hard to come by.

I will be starting by tea travels in June and I look forward to share my tea adventures with my readers.  

The Chi In Tea

 

There are many tea articles on Chi.  What is 'chi'?  Some writers call it the life force of tea or the energy of tea. Before you rushed to change to your Star Wars costume, let me give you my take on this 'chi' thingy.

Chi is the effect that you experience after having a tea session of Chinese tea.  Besides tea being a thirst quencher, there are many effects that tea drinkers may experience and here are some of the effects (not in any order) that I have felt or witnessed when I am drinking with a group of friends. 

1.  Sweaty or heat sensations. I have seen a few friends sweating profusely after a tea session. Whether drinking pu erh or oolong, my friends would be sweating.  The back of their shirts would be damp with sweat. On occasions, I do feel very warm or hot, like I did a workout. These sensations will pass within 5-15 minutes. 

2.  Feeling energised or feeling subdued.  There are instances where a friends in a tea group becomes quite active; like being more perky. They seemed more energised, more chatty or in the another session, the group seemed more quiet and subdued. Again the sensation take a short time to pass. We do have some sweet snacks available when we feel we need a sugar-rush.

3.  Burping or slightly intoxicated. I had seen these effects and had experienced them myself.  The intoxicating feeling is quite mild like I had a few glasses of wine. Again such sensations are temporary that passes in a few minutes. 

I suppose these effects are the 'chi' of Chinese tea. There are many tea drinker friends I know that enjoy such sensations and would buy the tea after experiencing this chi. 

Have you ever felt the energy of the tea?  May the force be with you. 

An Old Yinhao tuo

 

This raw puerh tuo was produced in 2000.   I broke up this 22 year old tuo and stored the pieces in a tea caddy.  The compression is still quite hard and I had to used a pick to carefully fry the tuo apart. 

This tea is strong.  Lighty smoky with an interesting Chinese tonic soup qualities in both taste and aroma.  Mild camphor aroma with a slight intoxicating sensation after drinking the tea.  I enjoy drinking this tea hot.  Smooth and mellow.   

But I digress.  The difference in drinking an old tea, in this case a 22 year old tuo against a newer pu erh would be that the older tea would have some age in taste and aroma.  In this case, this tea was less smokey since I drank a similar tuo 10 years ago.  This tea has mellowed but remain a strong tea.  I actually reduced the tea leaves used for a tea session. My thoughts are that if you are aging your pu erh tea, please expect your tea after aging for 12-15-20 years to be more mellow than it was after time in storage. The tea cannot be stronger in taste and aroma after time in storage. What I am trying to say that if you have a pu erh tea that is smoky or fruity or floral and you store it away..... that tea will not become more smoky, more fruity or more floral.  Some pu erh tea may not age to one's expectation. It is not that the tea is good or bad but this was the result of the tea, the processing of the tea and the storage conditions while the tea were being kept away.  Storing a pu erh tea is an adventure in itself. I have a number of teas that is coming to 20 years of storage. I look forward to drinking them. 

A Tea Set For A Road Trip

 

I am sure for many tea drinkers, you had wished you had a tea set with you when are out of the house for a few hours or a few days.......  something like a short stay with friends or relatives, an urgent business trip or a weekend getaway.  Yes, a teapot or gaiwan and a few cups are all we need to brew a tea but I am sure that a little extra or fancy stuff like a tea tray or fairness cup can make the tea session a little more enjoyable.

I had initially bought this 'portable' tea set as a gift to a new Chinese tea buddy who is starting his Chinese tea adventures.  However, he had excitedly told me, even before I wanted to present him this set, that he had went out and got a tea set himself.  I am now 'stuck' with this set. However. I am quite happy with this purchase.  

This set is inexpensive.  It comes with a 'rubber like' case with strap (23cm square).  Inside you get a gorgeous tea tray (20cm square); bamboo top on plastic. a glass fairness cup (230ml), a porcelain gaiwan (160ml), 6 porcelain teacups (50ml), a porcelain filter and holder, a pair of bamboo tongs and a tea towel.  Quality and finish is good.  Cost - $20.  

My thoughts - cheap and good. Practical and useful. I might keep it for myself. 

2008 Zhongcha Wild Yiwu Cake

 

This 2008 Zhongcha brand, aka CNNP is composed of wild Yiwu material. Already 14 years old, this raw pu erh cake is a fun tea to brew. This tea had been stored locally and there is a good aged taste and aroma in the tea. The tea brews strong and I like the long aftertaste in the mouth after drinking a cup of this tea. There is a nice oil mouthfeel and this tea in my opinion can be quite addictive. I find myself finishing a session of brewing and drinking this tea very quickly. Happy days.

But I digress. I have increased the flat rate shipping from $10 to $12, for my online store. This increase will help mitigate the dramatic rise (past 2 years) in postage cost.

Chinese New Year

 

Happy Chinese New Year.   Its the year of the tiger and I wish all my friends, readers and tea buddies a roaring year ahead.  It is already the 5th day of the Chinese New Year and I am have brewed up some Chinese tea and poured them into a few cups, settling down on my work table to write this blog entry.

I looked forward to the year of the tiger. Singapore had started vaccinated air travel late last year and the response was very good.  The Omicron dealt a set back these 2 months but I foresee this as a temporary disruption before air travel starts to pick up again in summer this year.  I may need to travel to Europe end of this year and I hope to visit Mona (her 2nd name is Lisa) during a free day there.  

Talking about tea, here are some news:

1.  Price of Chinese tea is not getting cheaper.  Chinese tea is getting expensive.    Older tea (10 years or more) like pu erh and oolong are seeing a dramatic price increase (within China and outside China as well).  This is due, from what I gathered, not due to an increase in tea drinkers but instead due a reduction of tea being produced or made available for sale.  My tea distributor friends told me they noticed the new tea produced are much less in terms of quantity.  Limited edition teas were also hard to get.  For older tea, collectors are now only willing to sell the tea for much higher prices.  

2.  Physical tea shops are not doing well. Due to restrictions, many tea shops see a drop in customers to their shops.  Many are now operating online and may even reduce their shop size or closing down the physical shop entirely and opting to sell and buy tea online.

3.  Tea buyers now get their tea online.  Yes, we buyers are spoilt for choice with many online shops offering a big variety of tea and tea ware at comparable prices.  Most of these tea are new tea.  Buying the older and more expensive tea is a little more tricky, unless you are familiar with the seller.  I myself have bought a gorgeous travel tea set and I will be writing on it soon.  However, I am starting to see many online shops that sell tea.....that tea is just one of the many products in their store.  This meant that the shop may be selling handphone accessories, toys, bags and other stuff and tea is just one item within the store.  The shop may have a carton of pu erh and a carton of tinned oolong and only replenish the tea carton once the tea has been sold out.  Is this good or bad?  You decide.

Happy New Year.  Live long and prosper.