Tuesday, April 30, 2013

2011 Jin Dayi

Last Sunday morning I was missing puerh so much, I could not help but brew up something. My husband said perhaps moderation early morning could be the key.

I had these most generous hunks of the Jin Dayi from Ira that I've been wanting to try but truthfully  I had been afraid to.  I am not the biggest fan of Dayi sheng as most of them pack too powerful a punch. Hobbes can withstand many a potent Dayi cake but such agressive strength in young sheng translates into multi-day physiological woes for me.


This Jin Dayi has to be a cake for aging. Even in the second sip, it gave me a sheng headache right behind the eyes. I forged on but I felt a bit manhandled by this tea. I am still trying to recover from the sheng-hangover today and feel so sleepy that I have only one eye open to tap out this post.

In the past, young sheng was not commonly drunk as it is now. Is drinking young sheng regularly bad for your stomach and liver? My body protests at even thimblefuls of this young sheng so I must listen. I'll have to tuck this cake away for another decade at least.




10 comments:

  1. I believe nothing in Chinese medicine would indicate that this stuff, when brand new, is good for you.

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  2. Not good for you and bad for you are two separate categories is it not? I'll tolerate temporary pain and discomfort but I don't want to be haplessly trashing my poor liver or kidneys.

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  3. Dear Hster,

    I must commend you on another phrase that has entered my vocabulary: "I felt a bit manhandled by this tea", which goes to join the pantheon of other fine phrases, including one of my favourites, "Worried it's going to suck."

    I often think the latter when I'm firing up the kettle for a dodgy cake... :)


    Toodlepip,

    Hobbes

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    1. Dear Hobbes,

      It is often I that is manhandling- teas that is- delicate floral Yiwus and oolongs. I think you must have some sort of genetic advantage in thriving on young sheng. Between you, apache, and a few others- we should figure out the genetic markers. Unless of course it's the same trick from Lawrence of Arabia.

      H

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    2. I suspect the ability to drink young shengpu is a consequence of centuries of grizzled Anglosaxon DNA reproductions in a dark, cold country. We seem to get by on foodstuffs that the rest of the world rejects. :)

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    3. What trick does Lawrence of Arabia use?

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  4. The trick as the movie version says is not minding of course. I had secret suspicions that it was the British stiff upper lip in action.

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    1. Both you and MarshalN are correct, of course. Some sentiments are so firmly engrained in the culture of a people. :)

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  5. Hmm.. maybe the Hobbes is correct. I am also inclined toward the bold and hearty sheng's.. along with all sorts of other odd strong flavored foods that people at work often complain about as being unpalatable and too strange for human consumption. I also come from a long line of fog dwellers it seems...but I still don't understand the Chinese disdain for moldy cheese.. or any sort of cheese for that matter. I suppose that's where our paths fork on the road.

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    1. I seem to be married to the only person of Oriental extraction who likes Epoisses and Roquefort. :)

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