2005? Haiwan Lao Tongzhi Sheng Bing (wet stored)

"Lao Tongzhi" (老同志) can mean one of two things: "old comrade", as intended by this brand name, or "old homosexual", in Chinese slang. I would really like to make a pu'er cake under the brand "Old Homosexual" and have a pic of Rip Taylor smiling, perhaps confetti would dot the paper. I don't think the Chinese would get it, though.

I think it could work, no?

This sample comes to me courtesy of MarshalN, whom I begged for a sample because I happen to own a similar cake from the year before. I wanted a glimpse into the future. The moldy future, as per the frosty leaf below:



This traditionally stored tea went through its time at a wet storage warehouse, and its release into the market is perhaps premature. Generally, these teas are wet stored for 2 years and then aired out for another long period, perhaps as much as 6 to 10 years or more. 2005 plus 2 is 2007, plus 6 is 2013. But here it is, our little premie, forced into our world still frosted with mold.

In 2005, this cake was known for being a punch-you-in-the-mouth (ow!) sheng pu, powerful, bitter, complex, and with a long aftertaste. And now...?



The first two infusions are mostly mold taste, with some tea flavor appearing when cool. The more interesting flavors appear thereafter, but with the mold taste ever-present above them. It's strong but more like a slap (I demand satisfaction, sir!) than a punch, to keep my violent metaphor going. The "soup" is nicely thick and the aftertaste and afteraroma are decently long. It even lingers at the root of the tongue.

It pleased me to see this tea change into something drinkable and enjoyable, moldiness aside. It would do better with drier storage, and so I'm looking forward to tasting mine again soon to see how it compares.



From the brewed leaves as pictured above, it seems the storage was not too wet; the leaves have not carbonized, and they retain their tenderness and flexibility.

2005 Liu An Basket of Anhui Keemun Liu An Tea Co

2005 Liu An Basket of Anhui Keemun Liu An Tea Co.



Liu An is a love of mine. The real stuff is becoming rarer, although as demand is increasing, this may no longer be the case, thankfully. This Liu An from Puerhshop is a 2005 production of the Anhui Keemun Liu An Tea Co. The basket is squatter than most other liu an baskets I've seen. It has a rustic neifei:



The leaves are bigger than average and green. Twigs make up about 1/3 of the basket's volume, but this is on par with older liu an. However, bigger leaf means that there are very few tips, which concerned me. Also, brewing raw liu an from 2005 usually results in very bitter, unpalatable tea.



A close look at the leaves shows their color, size, and grade. Notice the prominent yellow-green leaves amongst the darker green.



The taste was mild, surprising for a young liu an, but not surprising for the size of the leaf. The twigs also help cut the strength of the tea, but I feel like this was a leaf grade issue. I can't say what this will age into. In fact, because of the huge production gap with liu an, late 1950s to the early 1980s, no one really knows what our new liu an baskets will become in 30~50 years. I've had some very good late 1980s Sun Yi Shun brand liu an, but that tea had few twigs and many tips. If that's the right recipe for good liu an, I'm concerned with this basket. However, liu an I've had from the 1930s and 1950s has had many twigs and a varied blend of leaf, so I have to withhold judgment of this basket.

I do wish it tasted stronger and activated more energy. There's no such thing as an "everyday" young liu an tea.



I won't be buying another basket, but I'm glad to have this one just to know what happens to it with time. Since the cultural revolution, so much about knowing what young teas will age well is reinventing the wheel, as much with liu an as with pu'er.