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“I am starting to appreciate the Sheng Pu’er. Pu’er to me is a mystery. Sheng is even more so. For some reason when I am tasting them I cannot find one thing to compare to them. The flavors of...” Read full tasting note
“!!! an unflavored pu’erh that I like? I find that overpowering earthiness of shu pu’erh so…creepy. Not to mention it upsets my stomach (which is true of just about everything in this world, sigh)....” Read full tasting note
Even, smooth, heavy. Aromatic and awakening. Though they only get better with age, raw pu’ercakes are also a perfect everyday tea. Keep the first infusion short and you will be able to appreciate the subsequent pressings. Very lively and rich, smooth with hints of bitterness.
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I am starting to appreciate the Sheng Pu’er. Pu’er to me is a mystery. Sheng is even more so. For some reason when I am tasting them I cannot find one thing to compare to them. The flavors of all that I have tasted are in leagues of their own. Earlier in a tasting of a Shu I stated that I prefered Shu over Sheng. I have to correct myself. I may start stockpiling Sheng to age. Not to say that they are too green now. They are delicious. This one from Asha I would recommend. It’s very good. Like I said I cannot write that it tastes like this or it tastes like that. Sheng truly are unique….
!!! an unflavored pu’erh that I like?
I find that overpowering earthiness of shu pu’erh so…creepy. Not to mention it upsets my stomach (which is true of just about everything in this world, sigh). So I thought I’d try sheng pu’erh, but then I was worried since the general consensus seems to be that sheng is even weirder and less palatable than shu, which would be saying something.
and the dry smell was kind of off-putting. but I DID request this as a sample, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
the smell while I was rinsing it frightened me. I was all ready to hate it. And then something strange happened. I took a sip. And it’s good! It’s not a tea I would glug (mugs of black tea tend to disappear alarmingly fast around me), definitely a sipper. But it’s got a rich, green earthiness. Maybe like a cedar or something? It makes me think of a forest in the rain. I like it. This is an issue – now that I like sheng pu’erh I’m going to end up with even more teas on my covet list.
More to follow as I resteep this.
Yes yes yes. It’s true, I think all tea lovers are intrigued by pu’er (or should be intrigued). At first we start drinking Shu pu’er because it is a little more “accessible” shall we say? We get to a point where we have tried a variety of Shu’s and have seen somewhat of a spectrum of what it has to offer. Then someone introduces us to Sheng pu’er…we learn the story, the difference between the two, and realize that Sheng is the REAL deal. Here is what Shu is an impersonation of. (That’s not to discredit Shu, I think it is gorgeous)
Like you said, Sheng pu’er has flavors that are hard to describe. It’s as though Sheng is reinventing our definition of what flavors and taste can be.
The only issue comes when we start trying Sheng that is found commonly on the open market. We realize that it is drying, sometimes overwhelmingly so. The flavors that could come out of the leaf is somewhat masked by the intensity of some younger and unruly Sheng pu’er. In trying literally dozens of Sheng’s out there it starts to become clear that really high quality Sheng pu’er is hard to find and one often needs to try 100 bad Sheng pu’ers before finding one exceptional one.
BUT…once we find some really breathtaking Sheng. I mean…Sheng pu’er that will redefine everything you thought you knew about yourself and your relation to the world (those of you who know, know). We know that it is here that is the pinnacle of the tea world. Because at that point it is no longer a single flavor, a single profile. Really exceptional Sheng will never be cornered in to a box. The second we think we’ve figured it out, just give it a few months, and we come back to it and realize it is so much more than we had thought. We start drinking Sheng pu’er with a new mindset…not only is the finest of its kind other worldly, it is also something we can start imagining what will come of it.
And that is the beauty of Sheng pu’er. It encourages us to dream and imagine what it will change in to. It summons us to come alongside its growth process and beckons us to dare to guess what great heights it will reach in its lifetime. As exciting as this tea is, as well as some other incredible Sheng out there just imagine what it’s going to taste like int 10, 15, 25, or even 50 years.
Mind Blowing.
Just remember that in 10, 15, 25 or 50 years, you won’t get to taste it.
Nathaniel I appreciate that you can articulate what i have’nt been able to. I am very new to Pu’ers. There is a certain intensity that I love. I am certainly discovering the pinnacle of the tea world. I am by no means new to the world of tea. I loved this precious nectar for over 30 years or more. Pu-ers have a grip on me. There is nothing like them. Shu are easier to examine while Sheng have my head spinning. And Jim has a very good point if the Mayans are correct. Please tell me where to find the breathtaking Sheng. You know I have virtually everything by Verdant to the best of my recollection.
I was actually referring to what is going to happen to the prices of those precious sheng in 10, 15, 25 or 50 years.
Yeah, I more mean that you should buy the good stuff now while affordable and let some of it age for that amount of time.
Ah, true. But then that isn’t nearly the same thing as getting a sheng that is, in fact, that age.
Hmm. I’m not sure I follow.
I think when we find a Sheng that we really love we should buy a 357 gram brick (or more) and then try it once every 6 months. Keep a diary or small notebook for that tea. Each time you try it, record how it has changed in color, smell, wet aroma, and obviously flavor. We can then live out the journey of our tea as we age with it.
Buying old Sheng is fascinating and fun to try. I’ve had the privelage of trying a few Sheng that were 40 and 60 years old. They were incredible! But I think the real joy will be to obtain some Sheng that is great now and journey with it on that long aging process.
Being aged in a cave and being aged in your house simply aren’t comparable. The aging which occurs in cave conditions which promotes fermentation and the aging which goes on sitting on a shelf in your house simply aren’t the same.
It is similar to buying a bottle of whisky from a good year and putting it on your rack for 20 years, versus buying whisky that sat in the cask for 20 years. The bottle that sat on your shelf for 20 years might be much better than a brand new bottle, but it isn’t going to be anything like the 20 year cask.
Anyway. I started an unfortunate tangent. Ignore me.
LOL
Haha, yes…tangents tangents.
But Jim brings up a good point though. It’s true that a Sheng that has been perfectly aged in a cave for years will taste different than one sitting in a very dry climate. It is possible to (and many people do this) keep your pu’er in a humid controlled environment (humidor). Granted, it’s still not going to be able to emulate one that has been stored in the ideal environment of a cave.
The advantage is that pu’er stored in a dry climate has much less of a chance to mold…it is a much safer way to keep pu’er for years for those of us who don’t have our master degrees in wet storage of pu’er.
Fascinating topic though. I love learning more and more about tea…especially Sheng pu’er :)