I'm trying the last sample from a small Tea China vendor's set (sent at no cost for review; many thanks!).
The posts need to have some sort of story that they tell, and often that's about something completely novel, a new style or origin. This isn't that; this is a very standard type. But it could be interesting referencing back to what that standard is. I was still looking into types and background back in 2014 when I wrote a bit on what Dayi / Taetea 7572 is, in 2014, and on storage issues with tasting notes on multiple versions in this post. I can't directly compare back to experiences 11 years ago, but I can try to look at this experience based on trying dozens of versions of shou / shu since.
I'll just call it shou here, but I have trouble deciding which is more correct. If whichever version matches the best standard Romanization practice is less conventional then it would be hard to say.
Their site listing:
Yunnan DaYi Pu’er Tea 7572 Classic Ripe Pu’er Tea ($18.53, for 250 grams)
Pu’Er ripe tea from the famous Yunnan Menghai Pu’Er Tea Factory (Dayi). 7572 is a classic formula for Pu’Er tea and a benchmark for Pu’Er ripe tea. We purchased these Pu’Er teas in 2022.
Dayi 7572 is a bulk Pu’er ripe tea from Menghai Tea Factory, which has been produced since the mid-1970s. It undergoes moderate fermentation, featuring the iconic reddish-brown and thick liquor color as well as a mellow taste.
Taste Profile:
In the new tea stage, it has a rich caramel aroma with a sweet scent, and after brewing, the lingering sugar aroma at the bottom of the cup is rich and full-bodied.
As the storage time increases, its aroma gradually changes. For example, after 3 years of storage, the aged aroma and sugar aroma begin to emerge and become more prominent, while the pile fermentation smell and woody aroma fade away. For ripe teas aged over 7 years, the aroma is mainly dominated by the aged scent.
Review:
First infusion: brewed a bit strong, using maybe 4-5 grams of tea to brew over 250 ml, maybe nearer to 12 ounces instead. I did use a quick rinse this time; that's relatively standard, and it could cut back mustiness or funk a little.
Level of funk stands out most. Shou often has a damp cardboard sort of scent to it, which others could associate as still within the range of peat. It's pronounced in this. Moychay shou versions, which are typically pretty good, tend to have a characteristic form of that, which I guess someone could love or else dislike. Storage conditions input would enter in. I think that aspect is mainly coming from the original tea character, which transitions over time, but storage would change how it is expressed, especially if a tea is stored very dry or very wet (diminishing that range, if quite dry, and changing it and increasing it, if stored wet or damp).
It has always been interesting how Hong Kong is considered quite damp storage, with Malaysia also described as such. From online discussion it sounds like these are two consistent themes, based on conditions in those areas, but in reality vendors could, and probably typically would, adjust humidity level in storage conditions. Malaysia, and Bangkok, are both much warmer and more humid than Hong Kong. I've written about that here, and I wrote so much on that subject that I wrote a summary of it all here. But the second of those was in 2019; I've learned a lot more through experience since. And I write less now; that's how that tends to go.
Back to the tea, flavor is complex in this. It's generally positive. I think these benchmark Dayi / Taetea numbered shou are a great representation of good, basic shou character, and are positive to experience. Of course they would vary. Beyond the heavy earth baseline in this some hint of dried fruit and rich spice stands out, or aromatic dark wood. It all mixes; it's hard to express as a list. Maybe this does taste a bit like betel nut, the traditional Chinese herb input used for chewing, maybe like how people experience chewing tobacco.
This wouldn't be completely separate from the flavor range of chewing tobacco, just not all that close to it either. Probably the larger leaf version, with a richer, deeper flavor, than the sharper, lighter, more stinging version of "snuff," the ground version. I've never experienced much of either, but I did do a tour of vices back in my teens, as was common in the 1980s. Right, I'm getting old.
That's already describing most of the flavor, but in unusually general terms (like spice, like dried fruit or dark wood). Maybe I can narrow that down a bit, along with describing transitions, in a next round. But since I'm brewing this Western style it would typically only make about three strong infusions. This would also be pleasant to experience brewed Gongfu style, and you would see more transition between rounds. Not a lot, typically, for this tea type, but some.
Most people seem to like shou brewed inky black, and there is no limit for astringency or other limitations entering in, so it can be as strong as you like. It's good for thermos brewing, which is just what it sounds like, using a very low proportion and the longest possible infusion time in a thermos, that you take with you. It's so gentle on your stomach that it's the only tea I drink when fasting, beyond a little aged white, and I'm on day 1 of a planned 5 day fast today. It's no problem to have this without breakfast. Rushing through an extra strong brewed 12 ounce mug to write notes on the next part is a little more questionable.
Second infusion: lighter, brewed faster. Some of the peat range drops out. It wasn't really musty before, kind of clean in effect, but describing a fermentation input like peat is hard to clarify related to that. I think this may really relate to what people describe as like betel nut, as a main flavor. I really should try that; it's out there in the local Chinatown (in Bangkok; I'm not in Hawaii now, where I also live sometimes).
The rest is still complex, but still not so distinct. Warm tones do seem like dark wood, and some supporting range like dried fruit or spice. Maybe sandalwood? Dried fruit is perhaps closest to jujube, dried Chinese date. And then it's hard to make any of that more specific.
Feel is decently rich and full. Aftertaste expression is limited, but it doesn't clear from your mouth immediately, so those two parts give it some complexity. It doesn't come across as amazing quality tea, but it's solid, and pleasant.
Conclusions:
On to guessing, limited to age, since I already know what it is. As I see it shou tends to undergo two main transitions related to aging, related to the early fermentation related off notes clearing, typically over 3 years or so, then within 10 to 15 a version can pick up depth, and a less fermented style--which is more rare now--can transition even more. I would guess that this is around that 3 year age range, that whatever off notes remained have had time to clear. That's a bit unreliable, because some shou expresses less of that within the first couple of years. And some more; some is better after about 4 years, which is really long enough for most of that to settle.
That just leaves placing the quality level, or match to what I like in shou. It's as good as it's supposed to be, lacking significant flaws, so it's already in the top 50% of the range. I'm just not sure it's better than 7572 would be from most sources, given it had some age, in appropriate storage conditions.
All shou seems to resemble all other shou more than for most other tea types, to me, kind of like how there is low, medium, and high quality light Tie Guan Yin, and the versions don't vary as much as you'd expect between examples at the same level. Of course plenty of people would reject both assertions.
So it's good; it's how it should be. It's down to pricing and considering aging input, related to where to get it.
No comments:
Post a Comment