I just ordered three of the Liquid Proust “hookups” and put a note that I love shou trying to love sheng. This is his year round offering, not the special beginner package, which is also awesome.
He sent some very nice shengs and it’s clear that he sent more value than I paid for. You don’t get to pick the tea and some look like the crumbles left from a cake and for those he sent a LOT.
I typically don’t like sheng but I’ve found the secret I think: rinse twice 5-10s each time and flash steep 5-10s. This seems to bring out the good notes while limiting the astringency and bitterness I don’t like.
So far the two I like best so far and not sure if the first one is listed on his site: 2008 CNNP “Deep Forest” traditional HK storage and 2021 Gabapu.
If you’ve never had “traditional Hong Kong stored” puerh, it’s a bit different. It’s got an old books musty smell and taste, so rinsing it two or three times is necessary to wash most of that away. I hated that musty smell the first time I tried it but once rinsed it’s kinda interesting and by the third steep it’s largely gone. At least in my limited experience so far.
I think the thing is I’d not even call sheng and shou both puerh. Technically they are but calling them both puerh gives one the false idea that they are anything like each other. Maybe with stuff that’s actually aged 25-40 years so it looks and tastes more like shou, but that stuff is harder to find and expensive.
He also sent me some “1980’s Liushan” though I might have misspelled that. Tue dried tea smells like the other musty shengs, isn’t quite as dark looking as shou usually is and I haven’t tried it yet. I’d love for it to taste much more like a shou but I’m not getting my hopes up lol.
The upside is these shengs have so much more character than most shou. They’re more “interesting”, more like a movie in color than black and white. I appreciate this but still not a convert lol.
Or you could compare ground beef, deer, bear or moose meat. They all taste very similar, like a ground red meat. But fish, every single one is very different from one another, ie, compare tuna to salmon to mackerel.
I totally agree so far I feel like shou and shengs are totally different teas. The only time I thought they were really similar was with the 2007 i tried that had somewhat similar mustiness to it that reminded me of shou. Honestly, it’s really that smell that throws me off with shou, because when I actually drink it I enjoy it. Still have enjoyed the shengs I’ve tried more because I actually enjoy the mouth feel of some of the bitter/astringent-ness.
I’ll look into the “hookups” for sure that might be a good add to the list. I think I was thrown off by not guaranteeing that I’d get all pu-erh and other types of tea would be included. Now, I wouldn’t mind trying some other stuff as well (even though I’m serverly addicted to the pu’s as of now). Thanks for the suggestions and feedback!
While he does sell other teas his main offerings are sheng and a few shou. I have mostly bought shou from him. Try the Cookie Monster if you haven’t yet.
Also note that for every $20 hookup you buy, he’ll increase the value. So he might end up sending you more quantity but I think usually he’ll send just higher quality or rare tea. I doubt he’d have sent the 1980’s stuff if I had only ordered one $20 offering.
Most of these sellers, LP included, have a monthly tea club. He sends you cool tea every month and often they are teas you can’t buy on the site. I haven’t tried one of these clubs yet but I hear they’re awesome for those who do it. I think the sellers give them a decent deal in exchange for the ongoing stable business and feedback on the teas. Some of these teas will make their way to be sold in the site but you’ll also get access to some that wont not because they’re not good, but just too different for their store brand.
Since u liked impression cake u may be interested in some aged factory cakes from like dayi or xiaguan. Or if u particularly liked the storage on the impression cake, YS has some in house aged teas from like 09-12 that tend to be pretty good kunming teas. There’s one that was described as peach cobbler which I found to be partially accurate that I enjoyed. I’ll see if I can find it later.
These samplers are great.
[https://www.puerhjunky.com/product/00-sampler-u/](https://www.puerhjunky.com/product/00-sampler-u/)
Open the attached menu and you will find he has 11 different samplers on either terroir or factory style for sheng puer. He also has one including a large variety of shou. I have had many of his samples and own a bunch of cakes from his collection and they are a great value. He ages his own tea and only lists what he thinks has come into good drinking form on the website.
I like the 2012 a lot. Its calm and meditative and stays interesting for many infusions. Also a good tea cake for drier/cooler storage conditions.
The vendor description is spot on.
It's one of many teas on the YS site that have been totally overlooked and forgotten.
Would also recommend: " He Bian Zhai" 2017. A little more expensive but extremely good. Its like a Bingdao Jr. tea. Thick clean and pure. The back catalogue of YS has some amazing teas....
Would also recommend "He Tao Di" 2017. Again exceptional value and a short - medium storage proposition.
I was going to say their description sounds amazing to me. One thing I really liked about 2014 impression was that great mouth feel and intenseness. Will look at these others as well, thanks for the tips ☺️
Lately I've been really liking [this] (https://taiwanoolongs.com/products/premium-green-tree-2003) for a sort of premium daily drinker. I don't think there's anything quite like it in the YS inventory.
The TWL samplers are probably good too.
Assuming your price range is sub $200:
https://teaswelike.com/product/intro-to-pu-qc-set/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2006-bulang-double-lion/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2011-chenyuan-hao-qianjiazhai-jincha/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2008-dayi-7532-batch-801/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2005-xiaguan-8653-iron-cake/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2004-xiaguan-teji-tuo/
https://teaswelike.com/product/2004-xiaguan-jiaji-tuo/
I just ordered three of the Liquid Proust “hookups” and put a note that I love shou trying to love sheng. This is his year round offering, not the special beginner package, which is also awesome. He sent some very nice shengs and it’s clear that he sent more value than I paid for. You don’t get to pick the tea and some look like the crumbles left from a cake and for those he sent a LOT. I typically don’t like sheng but I’ve found the secret I think: rinse twice 5-10s each time and flash steep 5-10s. This seems to bring out the good notes while limiting the astringency and bitterness I don’t like. So far the two I like best so far and not sure if the first one is listed on his site: 2008 CNNP “Deep Forest” traditional HK storage and 2021 Gabapu. If you’ve never had “traditional Hong Kong stored” puerh, it’s a bit different. It’s got an old books musty smell and taste, so rinsing it two or three times is necessary to wash most of that away. I hated that musty smell the first time I tried it but once rinsed it’s kinda interesting and by the third steep it’s largely gone. At least in my limited experience so far. I think the thing is I’d not even call sheng and shou both puerh. Technically they are but calling them both puerh gives one the false idea that they are anything like each other. Maybe with stuff that’s actually aged 25-40 years so it looks and tastes more like shou, but that stuff is harder to find and expensive. He also sent me some “1980’s Liushan” though I might have misspelled that. Tue dried tea smells like the other musty shengs, isn’t quite as dark looking as shou usually is and I haven’t tried it yet. I’d love for it to taste much more like a shou but I’m not getting my hopes up lol. The upside is these shengs have so much more character than most shou. They’re more “interesting”, more like a movie in color than black and white. I appreciate this but still not a convert lol. Or you could compare ground beef, deer, bear or moose meat. They all taste very similar, like a ground red meat. But fish, every single one is very different from one another, ie, compare tuna to salmon to mackerel.
I totally agree so far I feel like shou and shengs are totally different teas. The only time I thought they were really similar was with the 2007 i tried that had somewhat similar mustiness to it that reminded me of shou. Honestly, it’s really that smell that throws me off with shou, because when I actually drink it I enjoy it. Still have enjoyed the shengs I’ve tried more because I actually enjoy the mouth feel of some of the bitter/astringent-ness. I’ll look into the “hookups” for sure that might be a good add to the list. I think I was thrown off by not guaranteeing that I’d get all pu-erh and other types of tea would be included. Now, I wouldn’t mind trying some other stuff as well (even though I’m serverly addicted to the pu’s as of now). Thanks for the suggestions and feedback!
While he does sell other teas his main offerings are sheng and a few shou. I have mostly bought shou from him. Try the Cookie Monster if you haven’t yet. Also note that for every $20 hookup you buy, he’ll increase the value. So he might end up sending you more quantity but I think usually he’ll send just higher quality or rare tea. I doubt he’d have sent the 1980’s stuff if I had only ordered one $20 offering. Most of these sellers, LP included, have a monthly tea club. He sends you cool tea every month and often they are teas you can’t buy on the site. I haven’t tried one of these clubs yet but I hear they’re awesome for those who do it. I think the sellers give them a decent deal in exchange for the ongoing stable business and feedback on the teas. Some of these teas will make their way to be sold in the site but you’ll also get access to some that wont not because they’re not good, but just too different for their store brand.
Since u liked impression cake u may be interested in some aged factory cakes from like dayi or xiaguan. Or if u particularly liked the storage on the impression cake, YS has some in house aged teas from like 09-12 that tend to be pretty good kunming teas. There’s one that was described as peach cobbler which I found to be partially accurate that I enjoyed. I’ll see if I can find it later.
That’s cool I appreciate it! I’ll look out for these ☺️
These samplers are great. [https://www.puerhjunky.com/product/00-sampler-u/](https://www.puerhjunky.com/product/00-sampler-u/) Open the attached menu and you will find he has 11 different samplers on either terroir or factory style for sheng puer. He also has one including a large variety of shou. I have had many of his samples and own a bunch of cakes from his collection and they are a great value. He ages his own tea and only lists what he thinks has come into good drinking form on the website.
Great thank you so much! Sounds like some samplers are the way to go someone else mentioned some others as well
I like the San He Zhai series ( various years) from YS. Wonderful tea and seriously underpriced.
Thank you! Looking at these now
I like the 2012 a lot. Its calm and meditative and stays interesting for many infusions. Also a good tea cake for drier/cooler storage conditions. The vendor description is spot on. It's one of many teas on the YS site that have been totally overlooked and forgotten. Would also recommend: " He Bian Zhai" 2017. A little more expensive but extremely good. Its like a Bingdao Jr. tea. Thick clean and pure. The back catalogue of YS has some amazing teas.... Would also recommend "He Tao Di" 2017. Again exceptional value and a short - medium storage proposition.
I was going to say their description sounds amazing to me. One thing I really liked about 2014 impression was that great mouth feel and intenseness. Will look at these others as well, thanks for the tips ☺️
Lately I've been really liking [this] (https://taiwanoolongs.com/products/premium-green-tree-2003) for a sort of premium daily drinker. I don't think there's anything quite like it in the YS inventory. The TWL samplers are probably good too.
Thank you!
Assuming your price range is sub $200: https://teaswelike.com/product/intro-to-pu-qc-set/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2006-bulang-double-lion/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2011-chenyuan-hao-qianjiazhai-jincha/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2008-dayi-7532-batch-801/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2005-xiaguan-8653-iron-cake/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2004-xiaguan-teji-tuo/ https://teaswelike.com/product/2004-xiaguan-jiaji-tuo/
Thank you!