My First Big Pu Fix
 

Hello all,

First of all, I'd like to encourage everyone to do what they can to
help the people of the gulf coast. As is so often the case with natural
disasters, the people most effected are poor folks who couldn't get out
in time. Many people are living in developing world/ refugee
conditions. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are both taking donations.


Instapundit.com has compiled a list of links to charities.
http://instapundit.com/archives/025235.php

Well, life in Minneapolis goes on. I was ecstatic today to receive my
initiate shipment of puer from Jing Tea. My order: 1999 Menghai 7352
raw cake (350g), 98 Feng Qing raw tuo (100g), and a 95 Menghai Feng Cha
(small square brick, 100g).

Naturally, I had to try them all consecutively. First up was the tuo. I
was enchanted by the fragrance, evocative of a forest in autumn covered
in morning dew on a chilly morning. It was easy to flake off a good
amount with my fingers, which I proceeded to brew in my trusty glass
gaiwan.

The liquor of the early infusions was a darkish amber color. The aroma
was a mellower version of the one I encountered in the dry tuo, with a
touch of moss.
The flavour was definately and pleasently woody, with a typical camphor
undertone. I savored the tingling feeling in the back of my throat. My
girlfriend described it as "minty". Subsequent infusions revealed more
sweetness.

Next up was the 99 beeng. The aroma of this cake had a more pronounced
camphor element. I was able to coax a bit off the end with my fingers.
The first infusion yielded a darker amber liquor. The flavor reminded
me of another 99 Menghai cake I'd sampled- more agressive in the
camphor flavor, yet without any bitterness and without the astringency
of that other cake.

What delighted me most about this one was the complex, lingering
sweetness that developed in the later infusions, together with a
soothing presence in the mouth and throat.

Finally, I unveiled the feng. My first impression was a reluctance to
deface this lovely piece. Chinese characters are imprinted on both
sides. Upon sniffing it, I was reminded of something very famliliar-
old cardboard boxes. Indeed, the brick was packaged in such a box.
Peeking through the smell, however, was the mellow floral aroma of the
cake.

The cake is extremely well compressed. I had to pry some off with a nut
cracker. Once steeped, the tea began to reveal its complexity. The
liquor was more reddish in color than the previous teas. The first
infusion bore the cardboard smell fairly prominently, and there was a
touch of mustyness to the flavour. Subsequent infusion became mellower,
sweeter, and very complex. I especially noticed a ripe lichee flavor
and aroma in the third infusion, while the fourth gave forth the smell
of green plantains.

To conclude I'd like to offer some insights to other newbies looking to
exlore puer further, and to those who have not tried any puer or raw pu
and are wondering if they'll like it. You should consider if you like
aged scotch wiskey, or any other alcoholic beverage aged in oak. The
flavors I've encountered here are reminiscent of other aged beverages
in their woody aroma and mouth filling texture.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my order. I owe Mike and Sebastien my
gratitude for their advice in making these selections. I'm sure to
enjoy them for months to come.

Nico

Thanks for your post; I've been eyeing the samples at Jing Tea and
thinking about getting one 25g sample of each. Then if I like what I
taste, I'll order some for immediate drinking and some to put away. If
I store some 2004 well enough, I'll be celebrating my 50th birthday
with some 15-year puerh of impeccable provenance :-)


stePH
--
GoogleGroups licks balls.

I'd be more concerned about the obesity epidemic. Okay somebody
explain the camphor taste without making me smell ointment. I know
that sickening sweet smell to mask putrification. I have my share of
recent greens which are very aromatic and what I would describe in some
as minty or soothing to the throat in particular a wild tree puerh log.
I have some that don't taste this way at all. On TaoBao you get the
impression it is present from day one in some but here it magically
appears when you buy from some recommended website selling aged puerh.
I get the impression it might be a scent introduced in processing like
Jasmine.

Jim

Nico wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> First of all, I'd like to encourage everyone to do what they can to
> help the people of the gulf coast. As is so often the case with natural
> disasters, the people most effected are poor folks who couldn't get out
> in time. Many people are living in developing world/ refugee
> conditions. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are both taking donations.
....snip
> The flavour was definately and pleasently woody, with a typical camphor
> undertone. I savored the tingling feeling in the back of my throat. My
> girlfriend described it as "minty". Subsequent infusions revealed more
> sweetness.
> Next up was the 99 beeng. The aroma of this cake had a more pronounced
> camphor element. I was able to coax a bit off the end with my fingers.
> The first infusion yielded a darker amber liquor. The flavor reminded
> me of another 99 Menghai cake I'd sampled- more agressive in the
> camphor flavor, yet without any bitterness and without the astringency
> of that other cake.
>
> What delighted me most about this one was the complex, lingering
> sweetness that developed in the later infusions, together with a
> soothing presence in the mouth and throat.
....snip

Space Cowboy wrote:
> I'd be more concerned about the obesity epidemic. Okay somebody
> explain the camphor taste without making me smell ointment. I know
> that sickening sweet smell to mask putrification. I have my share of
> recent greens which are very aromatic and what I would describe in some
> as minty or soothing to the throat in particular a wild tree puerh log.
> I have some that don't taste this way at all. On TaoBao you get the
> impression it is present from day one in some but here it magically
> appears when you buy from some recommended website selling aged puerh.
> I get the impression it might be a scent introduced in processing like
> Jasmine.

Camphor in authentic aged puerh is not introduced, it develops
naturally over time on some but not all puerh. The aged puerhs
considered to be the best are often said to have this taste, many
people selling aged puerh claim this because it is a sign of good
puerh. The aroma is very similar to the smell of camphor trees and has
a somewhat minty taste. However, it is a common trick to store puerh
with or in camphor wood to induce this aroma. The way to tell the
difference is in the taste of the later steeps. If the camphor
developed naturally it will remain through a great many steeps, if it
was induced artificially through absorption the camphor flavor will
only last a few steeps and then be gone. Everybody and their brother
who sells aged tea likes to claim camphor, only a fraction truly
exhibit this quality.

Mike

[Nico]
> ... to those who have not tried any puer or raw pu
> and are wondering if they'll like it. You should consider if you like
> aged scotch wiskey

And vice versa, of course.