Who wants to drink young sheng on a Saturday morning on an empty belly? Your truly! I prefer to have a session first thing in the morning so my palate isn't clouded. Recently Su wrote to tell me to that drinking gushu or old tree/ancient arbor bothered her much less which matches what I've experienced. Plantation or taidi cha is definitely rougher on the system even when aged 10+ years whereas new-born sheng from gushu tends to bother my system much less. Of course there are teas labeled gushu that still bother me for which I can only suspect taidi cha has creeped in.(I'm looking at you Douji 06 Bada!)
From the reader survey- I was surprised to see a good quarter of the respondents had a sheng handicap. For those of you who cannot take much sheng, I would love to hear if you have found gushu being easier to drink or maybe there's other factors besides gushu/taidiness. Is gushu really a guarantee for safe drinking? Are certain mountains easier than others? Maybe even gushu from Bulang might be troublesome.
What is the cutoff age for considering a tree gushu- older than 50 years? 75 years? I guess it doesn't matter since those sheng-sensitive would have to determine drink safety empirically for each tea.
I'll strive to make a new list of young sheng's known not to burn a hole in one's stomach but please feel free to comment. High end Yiwu's on the whole have been safe- 2010 HLH Yiwu Cha Wang and 2012 YS Gao Shan Zhai. The only odd man out was the 2001 Jin Chang Hao Yiwu from EoT - the astringency still burned by gullet and I was surprised to see that it's "100% Old Growth Tree". I don't know if my system was particularly sensitive that day and I will give it a second go this month.
For this morning, I took out the 2010 YS Nannuo Kou Ya that I purchased 3 months ago which is purportedly from 80-240 year old trees. I remember reading somewhere that Nannuo had more gushu than any other mountain but now can't seem to verify this claim. I happily drank this tea without too much complaint. Too bad this tea wasn't as much to my taste as the YS Yiwu Purple which I enjoyed more- the Yiwu Purple comes from 20-30 year old trees.
From the reader survey- I was surprised to see a good quarter of the respondents had a sheng handicap. For those of you who cannot take much sheng, I would love to hear if you have found gushu being easier to drink or maybe there's other factors besides gushu/taidiness. Is gushu really a guarantee for safe drinking? Are certain mountains easier than others? Maybe even gushu from Bulang might be troublesome.
What is the cutoff age for considering a tree gushu- older than 50 years? 75 years? I guess it doesn't matter since those sheng-sensitive would have to determine drink safety empirically for each tea.
I'll strive to make a new list of young sheng's known not to burn a hole in one's stomach but please feel free to comment. High end Yiwu's on the whole have been safe- 2010 HLH Yiwu Cha Wang and 2012 YS Gao Shan Zhai. The only odd man out was the 2001 Jin Chang Hao Yiwu from EoT - the astringency still burned by gullet and I was surprised to see that it's "100% Old Growth Tree". I don't know if my system was particularly sensitive that day and I will give it a second go this month.
For this morning, I took out the 2010 YS Nannuo Kou Ya that I purchased 3 months ago which is purportedly from 80-240 year old trees. I remember reading somewhere that Nannuo had more gushu than any other mountain but now can't seem to verify this claim. I happily drank this tea without too much complaint. Too bad this tea wasn't as much to my taste as the YS Yiwu Purple which I enjoyed more- the Yiwu Purple comes from 20-30 year old trees.
For me, as I am limited in how much young sheng I can drink, I think that the area of the tea is of the largest importance. Yiwu and Youle does me good in general, even in the morning. But Lincang tea does not, harder Bulangs aren't good either. I do not know about Jingmai, but I guess it would not be the best for my tummy either.
ReplyDeleteBtw. the gushu border is undefined, of course, but I guess that it should be at least 100-200 years.
Yes I do agree that gushu has to be at least 100-200 yrs old. But there are also taidi that age too. Gushu from what I know refers to big trees over 100-200 years old and should be organic. The problem is that gushu in different mountains are also different ages.in some mountains 50-70 yr old trees are already gushu so I do think it shld be standardised.
DeleteJakub- Yiwu is also on the top of my list for gentlest gushu and young Bulangs are generally on my avoid list.
DeleteSu- I'm very curious about the different rates of tree aging for different mountains. Could you give us an example? Because then gushu designation can't be based strictly on physical age. I guess it's all about the tea leaf. It's almost akin to designating wisdom in humans. I guess if a tree is really 100 years old but does not have deep qi and other gushu qualities, it's moot.
H
H
Read your e mail!
DeleteHster,
ReplyDeleteI believe that gushu is supposed to be at least 100 years, but as Eugene (Tea Urchin) noted on his blog... some don't consider trees gushu unless they are 300+. Plus, I think there are feelings on the size of the trees. He is right, it should be legislated at a certain number of years, similar to chocolate bars only being considered chocolate if they have a minimum percentage of cacao. Why white is even considered chocolate is beyond me as it doesn't contain cacao solids. it is essentially a confectionary by product. Anyway... ;)
I wonder if your sensitivity might have something to do with the region's leaf as Jakub has suggested, but less in specificity to its mountain/village, and more the full spectrum of the conditions within which the trees exist. Different soils, influence of different surrounding trees and plants, agrochemical influences -even if not a direct impact, etc. Each of these elements is surely going to contribute to how the tea impacts the individual body.
Before I make these recommendations, it should be noted that young puerh rarely bothers me... instead I usually have problems with awkward adolescent cakes. That said, you might want to try a cake of the Jinggu that Bannacha is selling now. I just tried it yesterday and it was sweet, soft and pure. It is something like 25 euros for 250g. Chawangpu's Jingmai is also highly pleasing, and doesn't rough the system up. EoT's recent Bangwei and QiShengGu are both gentle. Zhi Zheng's 2012 JingMai, Kong Shan Xin Yu, NanNuo. Tea Urchin's cakes never bother me, though I would suggest avoiding LaoManE if your stomach/palate isn't much for bitterness.
I have cakes of ZZ's JM and KSXY on the way if you would like some when they have arrived. I also have 2012 Urchin cakes I could send you samples of. Just drop me a note... :)
Eric
Dear Eric,
DeleteOn the factors of terroir, I imagine trees grown under shadier conditions tend to be gentler. I purposefully grow certain herbs in the shade for milder flavor so I can use them directly in salads and such. If I grow basil in full sun- the flavors are so strong and bitter which is fine for making pesto but not as good as sandwich leafage.
Thank you for the recommendations. I will start with the Tea Urchin's samples all this month. Bitterness doesn't bother me as much as the burning astringency.
I wonder if gentle cakes will not age well. Any thoughts?
H
(I will drop you a note once I get myself out of this Conference black hole.)
Yes, that is my experience as well with herbs at home as well, nice to know I am not alone in that quest for sharper and softer. All of these elements that contribute to a tea are endlessly fascinating to me, and I love reading various opinions/experience on them. Cacao captivated my head in quite the same way with its varietals, terroir, etc.
DeleteIt's funny you should mention the aging of more subtle teas. I just posted about that Bannacha JingGu cake, and MarshalN brought to my attention that in his experience JingGu cakes do not age well. I wondered in return, and had considered it while drinking it, if when these cakes age that they need longer durations of aging, HK style aging. I love that Jiang Chen tea at Bana for its simple, sweet energy, and the origin of its leaves were also Simao area, though not JingGu. And it was stored in Hong Kong. Her introductory narrative on the tea though is similar to the now profile of the JingGu. While the Jiang Chen is certainly not the end all be all of aged sheng, it is great for quiet moments, and you don't feel so guilty drinking it daily for its cost.
I am curious!
Eric
I agree with Jakub, it's not a simple dual system gushu/taidi. A lot of good Pu-erh tea comes from natural tea gardens which have variable age and grow in different environments.
ReplyDeleteOld growth Mengsong tea (a village in Bulang Shan) gave a hard time to my stomach, the most bitter tea i've ever tried.
Yes I have also noticed that newer more green raw puer which you can drink almost immediately after production does not age so well , unlike the teas we used to get which were bitter and horrible and frequently smokey when we bought them. I have a couple'a cakes of teas like that which were simply awful and almost 20 yrs on now,they taste pretty good.
ReplyDeleteIf only I had 20 years to fast forward through..lol I have had some really awesome 20-30 year old teas and wish there was a fast forward time button so I didn't have to wait that long to find out! I think the dry and arid area in which I live is impossible for storing tea. My bad experience with "aging" tea is either due to horrible storage conditions or the tea's I have purchased are simply not good at aging. The teas that are sweet, buttery and fragrant when green are turning into the equivalent of aged cardboard..with only a hint of their former glory. Had a beauty from GuaFengZhai that is now sadly almost dead..it was mind blowing when I first had it. I have decided its better for me to buy small samples and if the tea is good... Buy more.
ReplyDeleteI thought Yunnansourcings 2010 BangMa was pretty stout when it first came out. I renamed it "Horse Kick in Head Tea". I rather liked it. It was like having your head shoved in a pile of fresh hay and then being trampled by a horse. I'll have to buy another sample from him later and see if its tamed a little.
Dear Tea Monster,
DeletePuerh has a masochistic following it seems. I'm not sure I want the "Horse Kick in the Head" treatment at all! But that's been the most humous description of tea I've read and I'm going to start a new list of such gems! I'll give you full attribution.
I've got plenty of "Clean out the Barnyard" shu and aged cardboard that I should pitch. But I just can't do it.
H
I forgot to answer your question.. I do think gushu is good for your stomach. I seem to gravitate to it after eating something of dubious quality or something terribly greasy and I don't crave the sheng so much. Gushu seems to be very soothing. However I do recall drinking an old gushu that tasted like barn and stung like acid in my stomach. I couldn't tell you where it came from was a gift from one of my Chinese friends which was gifted to her from one of her Chinese friends.. which I can only imagine was passed on from another friend of a friend from antiquity.. Also had a bamboo roasted gushu that had the same effect. ouch.
ReplyDeleteBack to the aging thing.. I did buy a LaoManE cake which was too scary to drink after first buying it...and after a year or two in my less than desirable storage conditions it is now the equivalent of a harmless puppy.. aka cardboard. It has to be the humidity..