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Michael Plant

Mike 11/10/06

> On 8 Nov 2006 12:45:21 -0800, "MarshalN" > wrote:
>
>> For young puerh, it is pretty much the ONLY criteria that should be
>> used to evaluate the tea, because almost all the flavours will change
>> over the course of aging, but mouthfeel is something that will stay
>> constant and will tell you more about the quality of the tea than any
>> flavour you're getting from it for now. A puerh that tastes great now
>> might not age into something great, and vice versa. In fact, if a
>> puerh tastes too good (for example, if it reminds you of a good oolong)
>> it's probably not good for aging. If it's not bitter at all or not
>> astringent at all, it's probably not good for aging. If it's too
>> fragrant, it's probably not good for aging.
>>
>> While I'm not in the "it has to taste nasty now for it to be great"
>> school, it is unfortunately true that some producers now are making
>> puerh that tastes great now, but at the possible price of its future.
>> Some renowned Taiwanese puerh makers are guilty of this.
>
> A large Puerh dealer in Kunming, who tutored me early on, held similar
> views. This guy sells literally sells tons of puerh every month, he
> owns his own shop in the oldest market in Kunming, he also works
> directly with the owners of that tea market itself in Kunming, he has
> proven himself to me time and again as being extremely knowledgeable
> in his craft.

His credentials needn't be defended, as yours are impecable.

> Anyway, he taught me that a good aging candidate will have a certain
> strength in its youth, and that it is this strength that develops into
> the characters we appreciate in an aged gem. He warned me against
> investing in sweet tasting young puerhs like the silver tip ones that
> are popular now. These taste great now but do not have that strength
> (could he be referring to a form of Qi?) that make them worthy of
> taking up storage space for years. He also warned me against many of
> these mild tasting young puerhs as they also do not have the strength
> required for aging. Cakes that he sent me that he described as being
> good candidates did have a lot of astringency and were often bitter,
> they did not taste great when young but some were drinkable if you
> acquire the taste for astringency, others were simply too strong. He
> taught me to be conscious of the feeling in my body, to look for the
> "flush" that would start in my chest and spread up through my head,
> this was the strength he was referring to, not to be confused with
> caffeine either.

That last is the Qi of the tea, but I thought Qi develops with time and
patience over decades, so I'm surprised to hear that we expect strong Qi
from a new Pu'erh. BTW, I drank a 2004 silver bud Pu'erh the other day and
it was lovely, nice, gorgeous, and interesting. Don't expect it to last
forever, but for a few years, I expect great things.

> Wang also warned me about many of these so called wild arbor cakes.
> Many of them come from trees in old abandoned plantations. He spoke of
> five families who used to own most of these plantations. He said many
> of the plantations were abandoned because the soils had been depleted
> and the trees simply did not yield good tea anymore. Now many,
> particularly Taiwanese, speculators are investing in these old
> plantations. The tea from them will not live up to the hype, from what
> I am told.

The depletion of soil is an interesting idea. If an old plantation tree
depletes its soil, what about a 2500 year old tree growing out God knows
where? Can we say that a plantation is lower down the mountain and
the soil is more easily depleted? Can we say that the rock and flint of
the soil around the truly ancient tree keeps the leaf going for hundreds
of years? I have heard this soil depletion idea in reference to the
"original" Da Hong Po trees. What to think? BTW, just how old is this
popular idea of keeping sheng Pu'erh for many decades, enjoying the
improvements in taste, aroma, and style? I suspect the original plantation
planters did *not* subscribe to aging and waiting on purpose. So, in what
sense are those trees depleted? The mind boggles.

Michael