Michael Plant wrote:
> [Mike Petro on what to look for in a good storage candidate cake]
>
> some snipping
>
> > To further complicate matters it appears that 2005-2006 maocha is not of
> > the same quality as maocha from years gone by. China's newly affluent
> > families have created such a demand for puerh that almost any maocha is
> > being used regardless of quality. The standards appear to have been
> > lowered. There is even speculation that the puerh bubble will crash in a
> > year or two. To sum it up, 2005-2006 cakes may not be the best choice for
> > aging.
>
> I rely on you for such information, and thank you for
> sharing it with us. Meanwhile, another question: Mao
> Cha comes in any number of "grades" ranging from one
> to perhaps 20, and also letter codes that indicate
> qualities better than "1." It is my understanding that
> those cakes most amenable to good development over time
> would be cakes that are *not* produced solely from leaf
> of the highest quality -- according to the scales -- but
> rather from leaf that mixes "higher" and "lower"quality.
> (This does not contradict your statement about 2005-2006
> leaf, but I think it bears discussion.)

Ahhh,yes. The "quality", in the context that I intended it, was in no
way related to "grade". Quality has to do with the pedigree of the
trees from which the leaf was picked, as well as climate, drying
skills, etc; grade is just a classification of leaf size. The Yunnan
Large Leaf varietal (Da Ye), from which all "authentic" puerh is
made, has some exceptions to traditional grading that encompass the
larger than normal, often wild, leaves. Cakes made entirely from small
sweet leaves are not good candidates for aging, generally you want a
healthy portion of the larger grades in there for the "strength"
component which is where you see the biggest transformation over time.
Conversely, some cakes made entirely from larger grades of leaf are
often quite good when aged. Smaller leaf tends to be sweeter,
particularly if it includes the buds. The larger leaves are often
bitter when young but, if of good pedigree, become sweet and mellow
with age.

A lot of good cakes have a blend of lower grade (ie larger leaf not
necessarily lower quality) leaf for strength and character, usually
positioned on the inside of the cake, mixed with higher grade (ie
smaller leaf not necessarily higher quality) for sweetness. The smaller
prettier leaf is often on the surfaces of the cake for appearance
reasons. Other "single plantation" cakes can be made of a single
grade leaf, particularly if the trees are wild. Just because a cake is
from a "single plantation" does not make it good, it still depends
on the pedigree of the trees.


> Also, those cakes made from one single certified ancient
> tree -- please don't run out to try to find one -- would
> most likely maintain their quality each year, regardless
> of how the mixed leaf cakes fluxuate, would it not?

Cakes made from "Truly" ancient trees are a bit of an exception;
for one thing they are quite rare and very seldom make their way into
public distribution. Chinese aristocrats get the bulk of them. When
found they are generally VERY expensive. They will always be a good
investment as the true aficionados will always treasure them even if
the mass-market bubble was to burst. I am not sure that "every"
ancient tree yields good leaf, but I have not heard of any that
don't. Be very wary though as the terms "ancient" and "wild"
are buzz words used extensively for marketing purposes and are often
only partially true or not true at all. Many supposedly "wild"
cakes only have 10% or less truly wild leaf in them and are blend with
leaf from other cultivated trees. Don't expect to get an authentic
100% "wild" or "ancient tree" cake for $20 or less....

_____
Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net