Sunday, January 21, 2018
Oh yes, I have noticed. It seems that I simply enjoy taking my time.
Today I woke up to one of those winter mornings when you can literally sense the change in the air. Everything is white and covered in light snow as if untouched but there is this strange feeling that one door has closed and another is being opened. We were all coming through that Uranus square Pluto frantic transitioning times in 2017 that made our heads spin and just like when you shake a bottle, the liquid inside needs its time to calm the level down a bit or to separate the clean water from the sh*t slowly dropping down to the bottom. Just like cleaning the septic tank, it takes time before you can see the water clean again. Purging was the mantra of us all throughout the last year, as most of us were probably trying to let go of old patterns that did not serve us any longer.
Well, I admit this is probably the worst way how to start a post about tea after 2,5 years of silence. Authenticity, however, has somehow become my closest friend. I guess the transformative plutonic energies of metamorphosis have eventually started to bring its fruits.
Well, I admit this is probably the worst way how to start a post about tea after 2,5 years of silence. Authenticity, however, has somehow become my closest friend. I guess the transformative plutonic energies of metamorphosis have eventually started to bring its fruits.
So what has happened ever since my last post was published? I carried on drinking tea in a hermit mode that helped me slowly grow my wings in a cocoon, separated from the turmoil of external world where part of my being was present, half-asleep / half-awake. It took more time than expected but what else can you do when life gives you lemons? You can make lemonade and find someone who was given vodka and have a party, true. I, however, preferred no hangovers as the reality felt blurred and unclear already and sometimes made me feel "mal de mer", so keeping my head light instead was more bearable despite the squeezed environment of the cocoon.
When the cocoon eventually cracked, I moved to a much calmer area of the city. The city I chose to settle down and call home after seven long years. It feels good. It is actually really empowering. I finally have the space to spread my newly-grown wings (that I cannot properly use yet), and what's more, I have this beautiful view from my windows, right into the vineyards which sometimes look rather misty, clouded heavily in fog:
But back to the tea.
It does not happen very often that I have a chance to do some re-tasting of the tea sample I drank nearly six years ago. In august 2012 I had the opportunity to taste a fresh sample of the Pu-erh.sk 2012 YouLe cake that even at that time I found very tasty, despite its young age (as oxymoronic as it may sound).
As you can read in the old post right here, "YouLe, 游乐, is short for YouLeShan, which is one of the mountains in Xishuangbanna, also known as Six Famous Tea Mountains, that are a canonical growing area for puerh tea, according to babelcarp.org."
In 2012 I was wondering what the cake could taste in a few months' time. Now that nearly six years have passed, I have a chance to find out for myself.
As you can read in the old post right here, "YouLe, 游乐, is short for YouLeShan, which is one of the mountains in Xishuangbanna, also known as Six Famous Tea Mountains, that are a canonical growing area for puerh tea, according to babelcarp.org."
In 2012 I was wondering what the cake could taste in a few months' time. Now that nearly six years have passed, I have a chance to find out for myself.
The sample is from a cake that, according to the information from Pu-erh.sk, was "stored in a warehouse of Douji tea company in Guangzhou since 2012 until 2017." The tea leaves are rather dark in comparison to the fresh sample from the 2012 post. The tea itself, even after more pouring of hot water, keeps its dark honey colour which evokes sweet taste just by looking at it:
In the old post from 2012 I wrote that this tea would "wake up your senses, any time of the day". It could not be more accurate. Just a few sips of this magic potion and you are right there ... summer time in one small cup. This is the typical YouLe with the sweet heavy smell of dry fruit, now with a way more charm and elegance as five summers have passed, leaving their signature in it.
The taste is round, with no astringent edges that are more typical for fresh greenish samples. It is also quite consistent, just milder after refilling your cup for a few more times. There is this acid effect typical for gushu puerh leaves, which makes the taste more interesting and alive. The aftertaste is strong, with the typical returning sweetness on the tongue which does not keep the mouth dry for too long. Lovely tea for Sunday morning.
Best wishes for the new year, which I hope brings good things your way.
Until next time
AC
茶 drops contributors
Powered by Blogger.
blogs we like
-
2022 Tea Encounter Spring Release - For the last five summers Tiago of Tea Encounter has sent me his latest Spring release of puerh for review on this very blog. So every year I indulge i...3 days ago
-
Top Gaiwan - the best gaiwan brewer - Forget Top Gun Maverick. This summer, the real action for people who don't fear getting their fingers burnt is the Top Gaiwan competition among Teaparker...4 days ago
-
Afternoon Tea At Fort Sanctuary - *I had afternoon tea at Tea Sanctuary. Tea Sanctuary is a tea shop in Singapore located in an upmarket mall at Esplanade (where indoor conce...1 week ago
-
-
Gongfu Cha (工夫茶) Demonstration Video! - Hi Tea Friends! It's been a whole year since I popped into this space. I still drink lots of loose leaf tea but my main gig at this point in my life has ...8 months ago
-
New Website - Dear friends, For all of you who would like to take a look, please visit my new website. POTSANDTEA.CZ While I am a potter and definitely not a web d...9 months ago
-
Noborigama - Early in my tea journey I started to collect teapots from Tokoname, Japan. I was so impressed by this functional artwork that it spawned me two pursuits. F...1 year ago
-
2019-2021 7542s - Yesterday I went with a friend of mine to a local Dayi store to drink the new 7542s. We had three – from 2019 to 2021 (left to right). The reason we went i...1 year ago
-
Sale of a 2013 Medium Roast Dong Ding Oolong - It was a nice surprise to re-discover this tea. It was from 2013 winter harvest. For the past several years it was "out of stock", with these several sea...1 year ago
-
Menghai Dayi Year of the Rabbit (2011) and Snake (2013) - Menghai Dayi teas may not be all that exciting on average (not bad, just not overly exciting), but there is one part of the factory's offering that I find ...2 years ago
-
TEAAs the apple trees in the orchard near the hut begin to... - *TEA* As the apple trees in the orchard near the hut begin to blossom, I sit with an old friend. This teapot I use only for Yiwu sheng puer...5 years ago
-
New Website! - Dear reader, It's been a while I haven't posted here. Maybe I have stopped writing about tea because I am too busy learning. I have graduated and now live ...5 years ago
-
Shu Cha 2008 - Posledný blog som zverejnil presne 1. Augusta 2014. Čo je samozrejme dosť zlé. Premlelo sa veľa vecí, narodili sa nám deti, do toho práca a mnoho ďal...5 years ago
-
Tea and Zen - Way up north of Yiwu is not necessarily the first place you would think to look for that rather overplayed blend of tea and Zen, but there it was. I should...6 years ago
-
YangQingHao - So this past year has been busy for me. A new addition to the family as we welcomed or second child to this world, a girl. And she sure is a handful. On the...6 years ago
-
2015 Spring Tea Safari - Our new tea urchinSorry dear readers, we haven't updated our blog in awhile, as we now have *two* wonderful little tea urchins brightening our lives! As y...7 years ago
-
-
The Kitchen - MTR guises under a variety of names—The speakeasy, At 21, The Tea Room, Salon, The Mandarin's—and just about everything else bestowed upon this magnetic sp...8 years ago
-
Pu erh Sheng Fengqing Factory de 1998, Galette n°36 de la Maison des 3T - 5 grammes de ce magnifique Sheng Galette Fengqing n°36, vieilli par les soins de la Maison des 3T. Un Cru de 1998, comme je les aime ! Présenté ici aussi...8 years ago
-
Yi Ho Yeong - Brother Anthony,s 2013 Ujeon? Sejak? - I am very lucky to have the opportunity to try this tea. I,m guessing that the making of this tea was a joint effort between Brother Anthony and Yi Ho Yo...8 years ago
-
-
Yi He Cha Zhuang – 2011 Liu Xiang – Cream Of Banna - My collective experiences with Meng Song region teas have not exactly been, ummm, outstanding. Most have produced insipid liquors leaving little impression...9 years ago
-
2012 Sencha Kaori & Some Thoughts on “Perfect Teas” - Christmas holiday, finally. At last, I should have enough time to talk about all the interesting teas that have been accumulating on my shelf for quite...9 years ago
-
2006 Haiwan Pasha Certified Organic a kamínka - Jedním z čajů, jenž se dostal do mého hledáčku již nějaký pátek zpátky je právě tento zelený puerh z pohoří Pasha od Haiwan TF. Cena čaje v posledních lete...9 years ago
-
A first time look at Ginseng oolong - I have never really looked into ginseng oolong before because I had just lumped it into the category of flavored teas, which usually I don't purchase to dr...9 years ago
-
Winding Down and the Strangest Green Tea I've had to date. - The end of the year is upon us. For a good many, this means parties, resolutions, *the typical stuff.* I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, an...11 years ago
-
-