Two teas from late 90'- Red Mark and Fuhai

 There is so many teas I would be happy to share with you. Not only to write here about my experiences, but rather to prepare water and steep leaves for you. Light charcoal, clean cups, pick up some leaves from my new cabinet. Sit down please, and have a cup of tea.

If you can listen to music when you read this, you can try put on this version of Sting's Shape of my heart.  I like it.

▶ ReMuse: Shape of my heart - YouTube

Yesterday, my morning was about sheng puehr cha from 1997, today then from 1998. I am not drinking them in line to make a competion. I just celebrate and enjoy days after our last firing of this year. When it comes to celebration, then aged tea is more then welcome here.

Two cakes were made under big factories some sixteen years ago...

First sample, the 1997 Big Red Mark, I have bought at Chawangshop, second then, The 1998 Fuhai, from TeaUrchin. 

Both teas have several similarities, like faces of two guys from far away country. They can look the same at first. Not just that they are both almost of the same age and similar in pricing (in both cases is close to 170$). They were also stored in humid areas, both in warehouses. Leaves of both cakes will be probably mixtures from different places and qualities. And I can tell, it was joy to drink both of them.

Big Red Mark 97

Fuhai 98

Big Red Mark is the calmer brother here. It starts with lighter smell of dry leaves and ends with more settled qi performance at the end. Even when I was not drinking those tea side by side, slight but, clear differences were obvious. The Red mark is more "done". Forest aroma of wet leaves, resin and woody aftertaste with some nice bitterness from second to fourth infusion. Many brews, patient leaves. Meditative and medicinal tea. For those who look for colorful fragrances it might be letdown. Not for me.

I dont know were the purchasing officers from newly seperated Fuhai factory spent their 1998 spring. But I would guess: leaves for this cake grown in Yiwu. This tea is stronger, more distinct. Forest honey and heavier colored flowers go though my nose, my mouth, my throat and become part of me. Energy is vibrant, and the tea shows live and still a bit of rush. There is still some spece to grow, to age.

When I can not advice to buy any of those cakes blindly, I would recomment to sample them when you get a chance. Those are good examples of wet stored, aged teas, without moldy/muddy look, smell or taste. When 170$ can sound like expensive, it is (unfortunatelly) not over the roof these days. One way or another, if one like age puehr, it is easier to seek for teas with some age and quality then to dream about aging fresh cakes on our own. It is fun too, I still put aside some fresh leaves every year, but we have to admit...there is too much but and maybes.

spent leaves from 1997

spent leaves from 1998

Thank you for reading!

tea testing

A couple of weeks ago, my friends arrived from their "tea education" trip to China. As guides and companions on this trip they were happy to have owners of the quite new eshop based in Kunming- Cha wang shop. So I have taken an advantage of it and asked my friends to bring me some tea. Every time I look at menu of any new teashop I am tempted to buy some new tea. But especially, when the offer looks honest and interesting it is not easy to choose. So I appreciated the opportunity offered by ChaWangShop to get samples. I asked for few and have got double of it! 

So what should I try like a first? I was feeling if I do not hold back I will open them all at once. At the end I try few readily. But can I choose from 10g of leaves if I should go for whole cake or basket? It can be tricky but I enjoyed the adventure...


First tea I have tried from this selection hit me by label - 98 Maocha from Lincang pressed in to the 400g cake in 2006. That does sounds interesting, doesn't it?  I approached to this tea without any additional informatio.

It was not easy to take picture of those leaves - dark, shiny with moderate pressing.

 

What is it? What is going on? If you were present on my tea section that day you would probably hear these questions several times. When I sniffed from the bag for a first time - dry plume aroma reminds me aged oolongs. But later I realized that there are rather raisins and walnuts. Shiny, dark leaves which crepitate between my fingers. Only from those dry leaves I knew - this is going to be something new in my cup.

 

 rom first sip of the tea I was sure this is not Puer as I know it. I cut the sample in half  - first I prepared it in porcelain wood fired teapot with less leaves and then the second part in small Ixing with less water and shorter brews. For the first time it reminded me a fancy red tea from Georgia I had years ago. Then in smaller pot I find more similarities with some oolongs. Liquor is sweet in both aroma and taste. Raisins and walnuts join herb flowers and scents of flowered devilwood. It will be nearly true that leaves were oxidized, with low or without roasting and then dry stored for many years.  


It will be nearly true that leaves were oxidized, with low or without roasting and then dry stored for many years.  
Looking at leftover leaves you don't find many buds or superfine leaves. Rather larger broken leaves with some stems. None the less I enjoyed five -six good infusions.

 And I was becoming quite sure – This tea is going to be quite difrent/exiting with  more leaves! This tea was not what I asked for and going thru ChawangShop I have not find this cake. So I send my questions to Honza (owner of the shop) and got my answers. "The Maocha is from Lincang-Burma borders and tea businessmen from Kunming found it around 2004. But "material" itself - honestly I don't know and even those discoverers don't know. For sure the tea is old, dry stored and unsorted quality. It reminds me some HeiCha. I have few samples of very expensive, old Sichuan heicha with similar character. On the other hand it is also similar to pressed Formosa TieGuaYin from 1995 I had before. I still work on to get  this tea for eshop. The price should not be too high (around 30-35usd for 400g cake)" 

And I have to say I look forward to it!