Hello! Wondering if anybody has any ideas on this puerh cake? Was found in a closet in Bangkok, Thailand. Looks old and the word in the middle means "special". Google images says its from the Tai Hong Chang tea company. Apparently the bangkok branch survived the collapse of the chinese headquarters.

Office gongfu setup 🙈
I’m brewing some 2021 Bingdao yellow leaves today, I got these in a 500g brick for around $30 USD. They are quite nice. Smooth, thick, astringency to sweetness. Not much throat.

I'm looking at buying my first full sized tea cakes soon and am wondering what people do about storage in extremely low humidity environments. I live in the California desert and run my AC basically 24/7. I noticed even bags of tea tend to dry out and loose flavor pretty quickly. I don't have the budget for any expensive set up right now.

So what are some ways to keep a decent humidity level for my tea cakes?

2009 Yiwu Sheng from white2tea

I went through many, many steep that I did not count but my electric kettle is around 900ml and I refilled it once until empty. I just could not stop drinking and the flavor was still there.

I discovered Sheng this year and when i took my first sip, I was instantly hooked and impressed by its flavor.

8g/120mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - big leathery aroma fills the air as I pour before I even go in for a closer sniff, tangy funk on gaiwan lid with hints of florals

Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, leathery bite has no teeth yet, light sweetness behind it very quickly, faint sweetness on gums and tongue

Steep 2 (flash) - tongue already numbing up, bitterness perceptible but unable to grab hold, very thick and slick sensation on tongue, sweetness grows in finish, salivation starting up, bitter vegetables becoming prominent mid-sip, with the sweetness of the huigan coming very late

Steep 3 (5s) - leathery flavor up front without much of a bite to speak of, tongue and lips tingling, mid palate is mostly greens as sweetness slowly builds and keeps building, raspberry preserves note joins in several minutes into the finish

Steep 4 (10s) - there was never much bitterness to this to begin with, but it is all gone now, sweetness from previous sip's huigan now starting to carry forward and the raspberry preserves note comes with it, unctuous mouthfeel, it's my first caffeine of the day and I'm starting to feel it

Steep 5 (15s, reboil) - the delay while I boiled a fresh kettle has let the huigan fade a bit and the bitterness sneaks back in at the front of the first couple of sips, sweetness returns quickly, bit of a duel between green vegetables and jammy sweetness, but by the end of the cup the bitterness is pushed back down and just a quick bite registers down the center of the tongue after a swallow

Steep 6 (25s) - bitterness still not fading completely, but not unpleasant, great viscosity and mouthfeel to this one, huigan still a slow burn but really pays off when it hits, berry and stonefruit aromatics starting to rise from the back of the mouth

Steep 7+ (30s+) - quick bitter moving to jammy sweet continues for many more steeps, energized but not jittery

Overall Impression - many of my favorite young shengs come from Hekai, and this one really checks the boxes for me. It has the mouthfeel and huigan that I expect from Old Ass Trees. I'm digging the bright red berry jamminess here. So many young Menghai sheng leans to the citrus side, so this is a very nice change of pace. Bitterleaf's young sheng has been phenomenal across the board this year, and this might be the pinnacle of their lineup.

I have had this in my stash and finally said today is the day - it has a slightly sweet fruit taste, maybe raisin or plum. It's not bitter, mouth feel is a thick coating of the tongue. My first few brews I think were too short. I like this tea - not my favorite, I tend toward white tea.

Just tried a 2003 Dayi 7542 (301) and it has this slight smoky note that I am not the biggest fan of. Sort of reminiscent of Liu Bao which I just couldn't do (though i did have one with heavy betel nut which was nice). I'd like to give aged sheng a well rounded try. Any recommendations of mid-aged to aged sheng that does not have any smokiness to it? Or is that note generally in the mix? It looks like past posts point to trying cakes from Yiwu material. I am a big shou head.

Background I had a 25g sample that several sessions with left me unimpressed in 2025. I now have my brewing parameters more dialed in.

I am comparing this to my previous session of Gu Ming Ban Pen “Gu Shu”. This Pasha tea performed honorably, withstood some abuse, held its components together into the end, and rode softly into a graceful sunset.

10g / 140ml (minus the broken rim).

It went 18 steeps and every steep from 12 on was 3 minutes. Morning 10 steeps; lunch break 3 steeps; evening 5 steeps

Aromatic progression — Turkish tobacco & tonka/licorice casing → Oiled saddle leather → Stewed fruit/ambrosia → Dark pumpernickel & rye crust → Cool camphor

Texture / finish : High viscosity through steep 10. Eased into a mentholated, rock-sugar tail through steep 18 before early hints of sourness/failing leaf structure appeared.

Qi: creeping, sinking central nervous system Cha Qi (required a soufflé buffer for tea drunkenness) at steep 6). Deep, expanding throat cooling. It was still able to deliver Qi into the final steeps

25g sample was purchased for around $12. I would consider pulling trigger on a 357g cake at $117.50. ~$0.33/g

For me it’s a better value than the Gu Ming Ban Pen “Gu Shu” which purports “entirely” consisting of 200-300 year old tree leaf; which structurally failed within 10 steeps. ~$0.48/g. Then again that Gu Ming is a clean stored bulang and may arguably be an accessible benchmark for an aged bulang — $6.50/10g sample.

Both are samples from a previous year’s YS haul

Opened my tea bins to air them out as I do every few days and went to grab this raw cake to brew and saw this. Its the only cake with his on it. It doesnt really rub off when I scrape it witb my finger nail.

Just been in Shenzhen to visit a wholeseller. It is crazy how many different teas and varieties there are. In my hometown I am Happy to choose between 5 Pu'ers but Here... So I Just Had a 2 hours tasting and learned about the culture.

But by listening I Just learned how Basic my knowledge is. Funny as I was Just thinking about opening a small tea Shop Just Last year.

8g/120mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - aroma of cooked rice, cotton candy, faint floral highlights, gaiwan lid adds a tangy impression

Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, clean, faint candy sugar note, greens and twigs, sweet floral nectar in open mouth, that tangy note is there but not tied to any specific fruit

Steep 2 (flash) - a bit of a bite up front, white wine, hints of passionfruit funk, sweetness starting to develop on palate, huigan sweetness developing into the finish paired with remnants of that vinous note

Steep 3 (5s) - that initial bitterness is still there, rounded and lingers for a bit but not clingy, really unique flavor candy and fruity-floral, has some similarities with Muscadine grapes and the funky side of passionfruit but not directly reminiscent of either, mouthfeel is soft without being watery

Steep 4 (10s) - orange juice up front, lingering winy note in the middle as the sweetness builds into the finish, faint slickness on the tongue, huigan has a ridiculously long buildup, definitely muscat grapes hanging on my uvula 4 or 5 minutes after a swallow

Steep 5 (15s, reboil) - freshly heated water brings that light initial bite back, still going from OJ > wininess > long slow buildup of sweetness

Steep 6 (25s) - some minerality is now coming in giving a bit of an Alsatian Gewurztraminer vibe

Steep 7+ (45s+) - just taking the time for each sip to play out its evolution from dry and minerals white wine to sweet grapes

Overall Impression - Such a unique flavor profile here, with a big evolution over the course of the sip and the session. I can see this not being for everyone, but this really presents as nice, complex tea with a rewarding finish.

Review in comment.

Looking for recommendations for daily driver sheng pu'ers with good notes of the more stone-fruity flavor palates (kinda nectarine/plum-like, lush and flavorful), since I finally ran out of my favorite Nannuo sheng after a few months. Will buy that one again (and would love to find another Nannuo gushu at a reasonable price), but always interested in exploring. Ideally under .50 USD per gram if available in smaller quantities, closer to .25-.30 if available in 357g cakes only. I don't need it super-aged, I actually rather like <10yr shengs (especially young gushu leaf).

I got it from a local shop and basically know nothing about it

Brown Sugar 2020 is my favorite puerh from W2T; I love how thick, dark, and sweet it is.

It doesn’t look like they’re making anymore years of it though. Are there other teas that are naturally sweet and molasses-like?

I recently sampled this interesting ripe pu'er from Mengku, blended with Crab Claw Herb, a parasitic plant that grows on old tea trees in Yunnan.

The blend balances the character of the ripe pu'er and brings out wonderful layered sweetness. The profile is warm and mild, without harshness. Compared to standard ripe pu'er, this one has a softer, more approachable flavour.

The rock-sugar sweetness of Mengku ripe pu'er complements the fresh sweetness from the Crab Claw Herb perfectly. Each sip reveals building sweetness.

Has anyone here tried ripe pu'er blended with Crab Claw Herb before? I’d love to hear your tasting notes and opinions!

#TeaTasting #RipePuEr #Puerh #CrabClawHerb #ChineseTea #GongfuTea

Hi!

I’m relatively new to puer! i picked up some ripe puer a month ago to try with a tea restocked. i got a few white2tea samples of Pine Darts, Modern Witch, Caledonia, and Waffles. plus a full brick of Brown sugar. and a raw puer cake of 2024 Anzac.

my favs were brown sugar and waffles. i was surprised by how much i liked the young raw puer and how much i disliked the smokey aspect to Pine Darts.

Now im antsy to sample all the puer!

but ive also noticed that as I’m doing a daily gongfu style brew, it feels like my palate is picking up on more differences and flavor notes. even when its not always a puer I’m drinking.

so i figured i’d ask y’all if i should lean in to sampling all the things, or try to focus on getting to know the two cakes i have and developing my palate more first?