Young Raw Pu-erh Deserves More Recognition [via: Puerh Tea Community]

October 19th, 2009

An interesting post came up today on the puerh tea community, and I wholeheartedly agree with what Linda Louie had to say: “Most attention about Pu-erh tea has been paid to the aged Pu-erh. There is a consensus in the Pu-erh community that Pu-erh tea is “the older it gets, the better it is.” Don’t get me wrong. I love aged Pu-erh because it possess qualities that no other teas can match. However, young raw Pu-erh should not be devalued either. Unlike the old days, many young raw Pu-erhs manufactured today are made of premium leaves and from a single mountain. When brewed with lower temperature water and short brewing time, they are light, brisk, fresh and have very comfortable “Qi.” Although young Pu-erh generally has more caffaine as compared to aged Pu-erh, it gives a good “pick-me-up” during the day. Young raw Pu-erh has features similar to green tea, except it is more flavorful, can last multiple brewing and richer in nutrients as they are made with the broad leave species. The old belief that “newly made raw Pu-erh tea is undrinkable” is only a fallacy.”

Wow… well said Linda!

Read the rest of the post and all of the replies at the Puerh Tea Community’s website: http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/240215.html

2 Responses to “Young Raw Pu-erh Deserves More Recognition [via: Puerh Tea Community]”

  1. Jason Witt says:
    October 20, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    Linda and I share this passion for raw, young Puerh. I like aged and ripe too, but they really don’t compare to the green Puerh in my eyes. So of course I wholly agree with her sentiments here. –Teaternity

    Reply
  2. Charles says:
    November 2, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    I have to agree enthusiastically on the young sheng pu-erh recommendation. For years I avoided young raw pu-erhs, having sampled a friend’s two-year cake that was harsh and bitter and just downright unpleasant.

    When I mentioned this offhand during a visit to my favorite high-end tea shop the owner looked askew at me and then took a current-year raw beeng off of the shelf for us to taste. The taste was raw, grassy/woody and herbacious, yes, but it was also increasingly sweet with each serving and had no trace of bitterness at all. I asked how much it was and was told $45 CDN — this shop was a wholesaler so this seemed a bit much for a first-year cake (although the taste certainly warranted it). “Yes,” I agreed, “the more expensive beengs aren’t bitter.”

    The shop owner smiled again and pulled another cake off of the shelf. This one was only $15, another first-year raw, and I prepared for the worst. Like the first one though, it had sweetness and an interesting depth but there wasn’t the slightest bitterness. These weren’t mild or cool pours either, but full-strength with near-boiling water. “Good pu-erh never needs to be bitter, even the cheaper cakes,” he explained. I took home a tong.

    Three years later and they’re aging very well, already with darker liquor, smoother mouth-feel, and a richer, less grassy flavor.

    On the other end of the spectrum, some of the ripened pu-erh cakes I bought years before that are muddy rubbish that are undrinkable by comparison. To be fair there are ripened cakes that are fabulous though!

    I guess the final conclusion is to judge each tea on its own merits and don’t assume all teas of a type are the same.

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Aging Puerh Tea vs. Cigars [via. Mandarin's Tea]

September 8th, 2009

Mandarin’s tea blog held an interesting three-part discussion on the similarities and differences between aging cigars and puerh tea, if you are interested in aging your puerh, check these articles out:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Thanks for the great read!

2 Responses to “Aging Puerh Tea vs. Cigars [via. Mandarin's Tea]”

  1. Vineeta Jalan says:
    September 9, 2009 at 9:03 am

    Great to see that you are follwing us. How do we showcae our teas and holidays with you.

    Reply

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Puerh Tea: China’s Next Hot Commodity? [via time.com]

August 26th, 2009

Puerh tea has gotten a lot of press recently, in recent years prices have skyrocketed as the Western world learns of this curious tea, this time Puerh made it to Time.com:

Puer Tea: China’s Next Hot Commodity?

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1918419,00.html

One Response to “Puerh Tea: China’s Next Hot Commodity? [via time.com]”

  1. Jason Witt says:
    September 17, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    Wonderful to see this publicity for Pu-erh. Nothing could be finer. However, I think it’s a bit of impropriety for them to call it a “commodity.” In the tea world, that would likely imply a Pu-erh that wasn’t very good quality. –Spirituality of Tea

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How to be a smart pu-erh purchaser…

August 17th, 2009

(via: Puerh Tea Community Blog)

Linda Louie, Owner of the Bana Tea Company [http://www.banateacompany.com] wrote this great post:

“Not only are occasional Pu’erh drinkers fooled, professionals can be fooled also. Whether Pu’erh novice or professional, one needs to utilize common sense and trust his or her natural instincts. When it comes to buying Pu’erh, the most important thing is taste it before you buy. Many tea shops offer free tasting and many on-line tea shops offer free samples or samplers for a nominal price. Take advantage of these offers.
Good Pu’erh, new or aged, should give you a comfortable sensation in your mouth and a sense of well-being after consumption. The flavor should be clean and brisk without any odd taste or odor. One of the most unique characteristics of quality Pu’erh is its lingering aftertaste, especially in aged Pu’erh. For newer raw Pu’erh, your may find it a bit bitter or grassy when your tongue first comes in contact with the tea. However, the bitterness should quickly dissipate and transform into a subtle sweetness that coats your mouth. If the bitterness lingers, it is likely that the tea is of lower quality. Low quality Pu’erh is also flat and lacks the body that quality Pu’erh offers. Additionally, the brew from good quality Pu’erh should be clean, bright and translucent, not dull or cloudy. Finally, the more specific information the tea vendor provides, such as a the exact vintage, harvesting season, region where the tea was produced, the higher the likelihood you are buying a good product. Vendors who want to make a quick profit usually do not care about tea and will not invest the time to gather the information for their customers. Pu’erh teas produced after 2006 are required to pass the inspection of the Yunnan Food Administration. A blue “S” logo and a certificate number should be printed on the wrapping which serves as verification that the product has passed the inspection for food safety.”

Thanks for the great information!

One Response to “How to be a smart pu-erh purchaser…”

  1. Jason Witt says:
    September 17, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    Linda generously sent me a sample of her latest Pu-erhs. I was pleased to find that her selection contains the kind of variety that I hadn’t known existed in the Pu-erh world. There are so many different kinds of Pu-erh it almost reflects the entire rest of the tea world. And I know she has some good products because I found her tea that claims to be from wild trees is indeed the real thing, at least according to what experts say. I know because it has that camphor taste from growing near other kinds of trees. Very impressive.

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On Proper Storage of Pu-erh Tea

July 20th, 2009

Pu-erh is one of the most interesting and sought after teas these days because of its medicinal properties as well as its general collectibility. With pu-erh cakes from decades past going for thousands of dollars these days, collecting pu-erh for long-term storage can be quite an investment.

Before deciding where and how to store pu-erh, you have to figure out which type of pu-erh you are actually in possession of. Jump over to Wikipedia to decide whether you have a raw pu-erh or ripened pu-erh. Ripened pu-erh has already gone through a secondary fermentation process to “fake” the aging process, so further aging this tea may produce a questionable result. Raw pu-erh is what most speak of when discussing the storage of pu-erh cakes.

Tea natually takes on the odors wherein it is stored; this is wonderful for adding a hint of vanilla or bergamot to your tea, but in the case of storing pu-erh — finding a neutral smelling place to store it is of utmost importance. Stéphane Erler from http://teamasters.blogspot.com suggests you “flake [off] some pu-erh and put it in the open for a couple of months in the basement and in your other alternative place(s). Then smell and taste the different samples to see which aged best over this period.”

Pu-erh masters reccomend storing the tea at 60-80% relative humidity, while carefully monitoring the tea to ensure that no mold or any other unsightly organisms are making home in the tea. Wesley Crosswhite took this information and came up with quite the creative solution seen here: http://thegreenteareview.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html

It has also been said that pu-erh ages better when stored with many other cakes at the same time. This kind of makes me want to grab a shovel and dig my own pu-erh cave below my floorboards and fill it with puerh cakes. Pu-erh ages best when kept in the bamboo wrappers groups of cakes come in, unfortunately these packs of pu-erh are hard to come by in western countries.

The main take-away points are:

  1. Keep the tea in an odor-free environment.
  2. Keep the relative humidity between 60 and 70%.
  3. Keep a constant flow of fresh air going through your storage place.
  4. Keep the storage area dark.
  5. Keep the tea covered with a breathable material (fabric, or the original paper wrappers work fine) free from dust.
  6. Always test the are you plan to store your tea in with a small amount of tea to save yourself from ruining a large amount of pu-erh.
  7. Check the progress of your tea often.

If anyone has any solutions to pu-erh storage or any corrections, feel free to let us know!

We recently began selling airtight tea tins at Chicago Tea Garden: Airtight Tea Tins @ Chicago Tea Garden

One Response to “On Proper Storage of Pu-erh Tea”

  1. DANIEL says:
    July 20, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    great article. I’m loving it.
    The best way of brewing Pu’erh tea is Yixing tea pot. so smooth.

    Reply

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