ode pa'am- 2012 dayi 7542

22 adar 5781 

i had another 7542 and it was worlds different than the last ones i had. it is all because of storage. the previous ones were aged in Kunming and stored in a very dry environment in the states. this one was ‘dry’ (aka: naturally) stored in hong kong. this one was bitter and had more bite, 2012 is fairly young, and although the PuerhShop 7542’s were lacking in flavor and texture, they were not as bitter because they were older. 

the flavor i was getting from the 2012 was very different from the PS ones. this one was on the side of dark, plummy, some coffee tastes vs the PS one was grassier and very minerally. the 2012 one was also a bit more stimulating. it didn’t give many quality infusions but that may also be a byproduct of its young age i am guessing.

these statements are not groundbreaking or earth shattering for me. if you drink puer or read about it, these are some pretty standard statements. so why am i even writing about it? im one of those people who if you say 'hey, that plate is hot, dont touch it,' i will most likely think 'hm, is it, let's just see about that.' there are different kinds of knowing. yes, i can know that kunming stored vs HK stored teas are different, but i want to taste it for myself. 

 

there are few ingredients and steps to making sheng puer. there is the quality of the leaf, the quality of the frying or drying, the pressing, the storage, and the wait/time. to me, these all count as ‘ingredients’ and each one affects how the tea will turn out.

 

although the 7542 is a ‘standard recipe’ and comes from the same trees and locales, they are still different from year to year. even if the storage is the same, the leaves are always going to be different depending on the weather for that year and whatever else may have been going on in the soil. puer is a living thing and that is something that i really like about it. 

also of note, all the 7542s i've drank have been samples. i do not own any 7542 cakes so i do not have the breadth or depth to judge them as a  tea let alone how they change over time. this is just more education for me in drinking tea stored in different ways and how that is such a big part of sheng puer.