ain lanu melech- 2006 yiwu king of kings puerhshop

1 adar 5781 (rosh chodesh)

first, the first of the month of adar lines up with the Chinese Lunar New Year. Happy New Year to those who celebrate!

(fun fact: the Jewish calendar has lunar months but has a solar year. i dont understand astronomy enough to explain what this means, but it's pretty cool).

 

on to the tea review. yes, i said tea review (which i dont enjoy writing), but this post talks more about my continued learning and what i am starting to pick up on more than a specific tea.

 

this is the last tea i wil be writing about from Puerhshop for now. ive had more but they weren’t worth writing about (that means you: 2005 yiwu zhenghsan, 2007 ronshen, and 2007 mengku big tree). this tea is called Yiwu King of Kings Anceint Tree from 2006. i have not had a ‘Yiwu’ before. 

Yiwu mountain is one of the ‘six famous tea mountains’ within Mengla County in the Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan. Xiashuangbanna is the southern most prefecture in Yunnan and is regarded as having the best trees whether this be true or hyped up merchant buzz. ‘Yiwu’ puer is known for being lighter and more floral. since ‘Yiwu’ adds clout to a cake, often what is in a ‘Yiwu’ cake is not always Yiwu material. also, Yiwu has a certain style of processing which also lends their teas a certain character. sometimes, people can reproduce this style which mimics that 'yiwu' taste even if the leaves are ot from Yiwu.

 

to cut to the chase. this is a good tea. whether it is from Yiwu or comes from ancient trees i cant say. the broth does taste mild and light in a nice way. but, here’s the kicker, it is a good example of what i am learning from these PS samples. although it is from 2006, the tea brew up very yellow. not only that, but it tastes more like a fresh sheng on the initial steeps. this is what dry storage does. PS usually buys dry stored teas and the warehouse they keep them in is classic indoor Midwest conditions (kept at 65 fahrenheit with a RH of around 45. that is dry). this isn’t necessarily bad, some people like teas of this style, but it is not what i was looking for or expecting.

 

this is still one of the better teas ive bought from PS. also, its only $46 a cake which is a good deal. a question i am curious about though is how this tea will continue to age. i don’t think it is going to develop much more character but i have no idea and have no experience with aging tea. if i had the time and money, id buy it to see just for fun and to age it in some more humid conditions to see how that affects it.

 

as for the general tea review if you want it:

the aroma was earthy and had hints of spring flowers. the lid of my gaiwan carried the smell of lomatium including that little bit of menthol. there was a faint returning flavor of a young sheng or roasty green tea. i preferred it brewed like i would for a young sheng (between 200-2005 for the first few steeps) and it went for 10+ infusions. the later steeps had a minerally aftertaste i wasn’t fond of.

 

i also really enjoyed the qi of this tea. the cha qi was present and felt heady, happy, playful, and warming.

 

let the learning continue. maybe i can make up a funny moto for this blog like ‘throwing away money on bland tea so youdon’t have to,’ but that’s not a good moto because tasting is the best way to get experience. so whether i like the teas or not, i am learning and i just have to get over being [as] cheap.