How time flies …
I started blogging quite late but what sometimes feel like a blink of an eye I am now into my 10th year. Hitting the milestone puts me in a reflective mood, ironically more so than the 2 decades of being a puerh tea collector. I believe the reason being, blogging allows me to organize my thoughts and think more clearly and deeply about the issues that I encounter. Time and experience has reinforced my belief that the category of age puerh tea is one of the most challenging to get into and understand. In part the amazing breadth of diversity and constant changing nature of age puerh require considerable time to get to know and become familiar. The last decade has seen puerh tea as a product become increasingly more commercialize with new and modern productions going off on a tangent from traditional norms. Furthermore rising inflation, energy and labor costs makes for worrying times. With this in mind I wanted to commemorate the 10th Blog Anniversary by putting together a “Special Listing” aimed at making age tea more accessible to drink, learn and enjoy! The selection of age tea comes from a previous era in tea production (Pre-2004). It is a time period that remains my primary focus and one that is fast disappearing into what will only appear in the history of our memories.
- SPECIAL LISTING -
Price in US$ per teacake unless stated
1) 2000s CNNP (Private Production) US$120 US$180
2) 2000s Bangwei US$150 US$240
3) 2003 Yiwu (Special Grade) US$200 US$320
4) 2003 Six Famous Tea Mountains (Yiwu) US$150 US$240
5) 1990s Hong Kong Classic (Ripe) US$160 US$220
6) All Samples (50g x 5) US$150
- Contact me at varatphong@yahoo.com
2000s CNNP (Private Production) This teacake serves as a nice introduction to the world of age puerh tea. Pleasant character with mild caramel sweetness alongside woody, herbal notes. There is some residing bitterness in the background which is a sign that the tea can develop further with more ageing.
2000s Bangwei This small factory (Yunnan Simao Huimin Factory) is a hidden delight. Good leaf material, dark character, sweet caramel/brown sugar, marmalade jam, old wood in a soft and smooth brew.
2003 Yiwu (Special Grade) Special production made from select leaf consisting of young buds and top tender leaves. The extra effort really shows up in how the tea drinks. Elegant character, aromatic bouquet of aromas with strong sweetness in taste, balanced by a touch of tart and bitterness, reminds me a lot of the charming sweet/tart signature of Riesling wine.
2003 Six Famous Tea Mountains (Yiwu) The SFTM company was established in 2002 by Ruan Dian Rong who was Menghai Tea Factory's former factory manager. The tea is all round pleasant, good sweetness and soft mouthfeel. The natural (dry) storage means that the tea has retained a lot of fine nuances, cooked vegetables, hints of marshmellow, wood, more hidden within the dark green layers.
1990s Hong Kong Classic (Ripe) This production of ripe puerh tea was made for the Hong Kong market. The Hong Kong Classic is very much representative of how HK people enjoy their tea paired with food. Combines very well alongside delicious Chinese cuisine that is rich and savoury like Peking duck, BBQ pork, dim sum, stir-fried noodles/rice, etc. The tea shows its age, the brew is noticeably soft and smooth with a level of refinement that can only develop with significant time. The character is very TCM forward with dark herbs and dried root/wood note, the earthiness is very mild almost unnoticeable.
