Many times I drink pu-erh and I'll be indifferent to it's charms or lack thereof. Sometimes I have to really make an unnatural effort to get into a tea. I have to bend my noodle to this way and that way, research the provenance of a tea, and try to come up with reasons why I like or dislike a tea. When a tea is just flat out boring, one can't bore readers with boring descriptions of boredom. So today when I was trying out the mini-pot Emmett sent me, I was surprised by the instant chemistry between me and this tea. I just liked it and really could not even think of reasons why. But I didn't have to. Imbibing this tea brought instant relaxation.
There's a blog I like called You Are Not So Smart which covers all manner of self-delusions. David McRaney, the blogger, writes that the actual reasons why we think we like something follows after we like them, not the other way around. I.e. we are forever rationalizing why we like or dislike things but after we subconsciously have made up our minds about it.
I had put in Ira's sample mistaking it for the 05 Yiwu Zheng Shan Yesheng and found something different. The aged taste is soothing and clean without any hint of trad-stored talcum powder taste. Not too dry(XG Butterfly), not too wet (Hengli Chang Bulang), this tea was just right.
Despite it's Yiwu yesheng designation, I could not detect any sort of Yiwu fruity delicacy or wild tree strength. Is it aging or the tea leaf being a blend? It's not a complicated tea but it doesn't matter when you just want to wind down instantly. It was a gift from Ira so I wonder if my mind will change about this tea if I knew how outrageously it was priced.
It costs less than the $165 Star of Bulang/Bulang Mountain Qiaomu Raw Cake.
ReplyDeleteEven now? IIRC this came from Stephane, no?
DeleteI much prefer this Fuhai over the Heng Li Chang Bulang($190) but I'm not sure how willingly I'll peel $165 from my wallet. If it just had a thimbleful more complexity, I wouldn't think twice. (I think I'm still not used to paying over $150 a beeng. It just seems like a lot of money yet I've already spent way more than that on various mediocre teas.)
DeleteWell I don't have to think much because it appears not to be available anyway.
I am glad you are putting that pot to use, and getting some good brews out of it as it was as a neglected pet, just sitting and watching as the other pots drank all the good tea.
ReplyDeleteI think it found a good home.
I had tried the 99 Fuhai Yiwu Yesheng from EOT and found it quite good also, it was the one older cake I actually wanted from them. It had better storage than the others. But when I went to try to get one they where long gone. Now I have a wee little piece waiting as a special treat.
The little guy is getting so much action as the special aged sheng pot. It has a few quirks being so little(like leaf blockage) but it adds to the charm and needs a constant swirl.
DeleteH