Yesterday I went out to get the mail and there were two boxes in my garage.
One from Generation Tea containing the two gaiwans I had ordered, a white
and blue 6oz. to use for the Japanese and Chinese greens my wife and I share
in the evenings, and a 4oz. yellow zisha to replace the one I broke
recently. I use the yellow zisha gaiwan to brew young raw pu-erhs at work.
They included a 2oz. sample of Organic Hunan Pu-erh. It's a loose leaf
cooked pu-erh.

The other box was from Hou De with the 10g sample of the 70's GYG that Mike
recommended. They threw in a 20g sample of a 1994 MengHai Factory #8582 raw
pu-erh.

I have never tried a cooked pu-erh that I really liked. I don't mind the
taste so much, but usually get a headache and queasy feeling in my stomach.
The Organic Pu-erh from Generation Tea seemed to agree with me just fine and
had the added surprise of the sweet, somewhat fruity aftertaste I love from
young raw pu-erhs. None of the cooked pu-erhs I've had have had this
quality. I brewed it in a mug with boiling water and a 3 minute steep.

Later in the day I brewed some of the 1994 MengHai #8582 in the zisha
gaiwan. I usually brew my young raw pu-erhs with spring water around 160F
starting with a 20 second steep and adjusting for taste on each subsequent
steep. I did the same with the MengHai. It had the camphor taste that I
have heard mentioned, but never tasted in the younger raw pu-erhs I've
tried. However, it lacked the sweet, lingering aftertaste that I love in
younger raw pu-erhs. It held up to many steeps, but never developed the
sweetness. Maybe this is normal for adolescent pu.

Next I need to try the '70's GYG. It is my first and maybe my only 30 year
old pu-erh. Should I brew it like a young raw pu-erh with 160F water? Or,
should it be brewed with hotter water, more like a cooked pu-erh? I don't
have much here, and while I know it's all a matter of my taste, I want to
get the most from my sample.

Thanks,

Blues