r/puer

Hi there, quite new to teas: have already tried some puers (sheng and shou), some oolongs and a bit of hei chas.

The most I liked so far was this particular shou because it had such an amazing aroma and taste of a walnut shell that I absolutely fell in love with. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find bigger shou cakes that would taste the same. I also don’t know how much marketing bs was put in here, what factory it is and whether they’ve actually used old tree material in there (and to what degree it was mixed in there).

My question to you would be: where should I look for shous with the similar taste of walnut/walnut shells? What Yunnan region should I look check first? Do you have any specific examples of factories or specific cakes you could recommend me? Thank you in advance ❤️

I bought the "Very Lucky Bag" from Bitterleaf a few months ago, which gave 3 random samples of tea from their stash. Two of mine were maocha from two different families in Lao Man'E. I thought it would be interesting to taste these side-by-side.

Double wash, followed by 3 flash steeps of each individually before moving to side-by-side

Lao Man'E Family 2A

S1 - initial medicinal bite, straw/rice, mid body just has fading medicinal notes, woody, slick mouthfeel as bitterness fades, hints of sweetness after long fade

S2 - bitterness similar, woody/medicinal notes, dark bitter vegetable skins, long fade

S3 - similar bitterness, grassy overtaking woody, faster fade on bitterness now, sweetness not intense but a little earlier starting in the back of the gums, faint hints of fruitiness underneath, also faint hints of black tea oxidation, pollen and citrus notes developing with sweetness deeper into finish, slickness also shows up with sweetness

Lao Man'E Family 1C

S1 - significantly less bitterness, more grassiness, cinnamon notes, slow burn on bitterness as it tends to fade in a bit, sweetness in sooner with some honeyed, sweet woody spice presenting as cinnamon in open mouth

S2 - I can't shake that cinnamon top note, bitterness up slightly but still a relatively light base, deeper green notes, sweetness doesn't amplify in finish to a great extent - it is more immediate, slight drying mouthfeel

S3 - more cinnamon-grass up front, bitterness never rising above a moderate level, milky notes and mouthfeel late

Side-by-side - the differences between the two teas definitely seem a bit more washed out and less distinct when drinking immediately side by side. It is also several steeps in at this point. 2A definitely has a touch more bitterness, and significantly more mouthfeel and returning sweetness, along with a notable citrus note late in the finish. 1C still has that distinct woody cinnamon note up front with a drier mouthfeel, and a more immediate sweetness that doesn't develop into the finish. There is a notable lack of that late citrus note that is quite common in Menghai sheng. Both taste like Lao Man'E, but neither one is a classic example.

Combined - so obviously the next logical step is to blend the two teas. The cinnamon note of 1C definitely carries through in the blend. The body of 2A is negating the dryness of 1C and the sweetness now starts early and carries through with a back-of-the-mouth sweetness in the finish. The blend very much a sum of the two separate parts, and the tea is getting quite sweet all around. My preference here would be:

Blend > 2A >>> 1C

Not that 1C was a bad tea, but 2A felt more like what I expect from Lao Man'E, and including 1C in the blend did elevate some of the shortcomings of 2A. Next time I think I'll try a blend of the maocha right from the start at a 2:1 ratio of 2A to 1C to test this out from the beginning. I have to say this was a really cool experiment, and I definitely lucked out pulling these two in my Lucky Bag.

I have just ordered the new Yunnan Sourcing 2026 ripe puerh samples. Has anyone tried them and what are your thoughts on each one?

https://yunnansourcing.com/en-au/products/tea-club-box-ripe-pu-erh-box?variant=41550090404039

Not sure anymore how I ended up with this one 😅.

I bought it on taobao a while ago - I usually only buy teas that I haven't tasted before If I read something about it or at least have some knowledge about the manufacturer...but I can't retrace what convinced me to get this one.

Does anybody know anything about it ? Or the brand?

Unfortunately I don't speak Chinese, but this is what google traslate thinks the text on the back says:

Product name: Xun Gang

Processing method: Pu-erh raw tea (cake tea) compressed tea

Net weight: 200 grams

Raw material: Yunnan large-leaf variety

Production License Number: SC11453090252169

Product standard: GB/T 22111-2008

Storage conditions: Store in a clean, dry, odorless, and contamination-free environment, or keep sealed.

Shelf life: Suitable for long-term storage under proper storage conditions.

Address: Longdongwan, 3 km along Linmeng Highway, Linxiang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province

Manufacturer: Lincang Gumingxuan Sheng Tea Industry Co., Ltd.

Produced by: Pu'er She's Tea Industry Co., Ltd.

Production date:

April 9, 2020

I came to a realization after sharing my tasting notes on the Dayi 7542 that "butter" and "molasses" were both notable descriptors of that semi-aged raw puer and several aged shoumei's I have on hand. So I thought it would be interesting to run a side-by-side tasting to see how these teas from differing styles compare.

Dark Horse - wet leaves fragrantly sweet with honey, molasses and light buttery note, tangy fruit aroma

Steep 1 (light) - buttery bread, pastry shop, sweet rolls, molasses and honey, cinnamon, lingering sweetness on tongue, aged shou mei “old oak leaves” note

Steep 2 (pushed) - more immediate honey and sweet roll, lingering sweetness has distinct honey character, faint tannic astringency

Dayi 7542 - wet leaves buttery-sweet, less fragrant than shoumei, fruit and floral hints

Steep 1 (light) - restrained buttery sweet notes, some light library book notes, sweetness a touch lighter, fruit is separate from the initial buttery note, a bit of grassiness

Steep 2 (pushed) - butter and molasses up front, a touch of bitterness accompanied by a slickness in the mouth, late applesauce and mashed banana fruitiness takes a while to develop

Comparison - In the wet leaf aroma, the shoumei is much more aromatic. The sweetness leads and butter fills out the pastry-shop aromatics. Tangy fruit (pie cherries) also fills out the aroma. By contrast, the sheng has similar aromas, but balanced differently. It seems more like a medicine shop than a pastry shop. Sweetness is less potent, and some floral aromatics mix in with the fruit - which has less tang than the fruity aroma from the shoumei wet leaves.

Flavorwise, the shoumei presents with an immediate honey-sweetness that gets backed up by butter, bread, and molasses to give you an immediate pastry shop character. Sweetness is throughout the mouth and fades into the finish where sweet cinnamon shows up. The fruitiness in the nose takes a far backseat on the palate, and blends in with the sweet roll flavor. When pushed, astringency presents itself as a tannic old oak leaf note.

The sheng starts buttery with some bready notes. Sweetness is lighter and more molasses-like than honey. The fruit only tends to show up in the finish. The sweetness tends to go deeper into the finish, as one might expect from sheng puer. When pushed, the astringency is more hay and tobacco in character.

But I can't lie, these two teas were actually far more similar than I expected. You would never mistake one for the other's style, but I might even say that they are more similar than they are different. I was honestly not expecting that.

I started this experiment out to compare two teas from different styles that I've used similar descriptors for in my tasting notes, mainly butter and molasses. But those kinds of descriptors don't necessarily describe the whole tea. A semi-aged sheng that has notes of butter and molasses still tastes mainly like a sheng puer, and a shoumei with those notes still tastes mainly like shoumei. But I was surprised to find out just how much they overlapped. Definitely a fun experiment.

I love the taste of young sheng. But of the seven or so that I have had, they all taste pretty much the same. While I can sometimes taste differences, they seem very subtle, less than other categories of tea.

I'm curious if I'm missing something. Or maybe I just need to try better quality puer?

I ask because if this is actually the case, I'll just get the best-priced sheng that I still like and call it a day! If not, I'll keep exploring for ones I like even more.

Thank you for any thoughts or help!

Here is a list of young sheng I have tried:

Mei Leaf Young Gusha, 2024

Mei Leaf Juicy Journo, 2021

White2Tea School Day, 2025

White2Tea Anzac, 2024

Jesse's Tea House Sister Ai's Everyday Ancient Tree, 2022

Arbor Tea Organic Sheng

Arbor Tea Organic Ancient Green Tuo Cha (This one actually did taste different, and it was worse. I could tell it was lower quality).

I've tried a few other sheng that were a little older. I could tell more of a difference, but they weren't my thing.

This is the first YS branded tea I’ve tried. And it’s not bad. There’s some astringency, but it’s kind of expected for younger raws. Other than that, this tea has a little bit of sweetness, a complex flavour profile, not very bitter. It has a pleasant mouthfeel, kind of numbing the roof of my mouth and my tongue a little. It has a honeyberry taste to it, and also like some mintyish herby flavour, so it’s kind of refreshing. And also it has like this hygienic lipstick taste, but in a good way. This tea really does feel like forest in some way if you know what I’m talking about. So overall I like it.

6.5g/80mL, duanni clay pot, just off boil

Wash (15s) - aroma of butter, sweet bread, straw

Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, buttery with fairly quick sweetness, quick impression of grass/straw in the aromatics, nice coating mouthfeel without notable bitterness, clean, hints of molasses, salivation at sides of tongue, impressions of fruit late (apple/peach/sweetened hawthorn)

Steep 2 (flash) - buttery note with a hint of cigar wrapper leaf tobacco up front, clings to mouth with only barest astringency, sweetness remains moderate and leans towards front of mouth without clinging, apple butter, banana

Steep 3 (5s) - still buttery, getting a touch of astringency now and faint clingy bitterness, definitely a hearty brew, fruit dialed back a bit

Steep 4 (10s) - holding steady with a bit more tobacco and less sweetness/fruit, will try slowing down a bit to see if that will readjust the balance

Steep 5 (10s, reboil) - buttery note taking lead back from tobacco, sweetness coming back in early

Steep 6 (30s?, oversteep) - slightly more bitterness and astringency here, still buttery up front and sweet in finish, mouthfeel still holding strong, slightly dry from a few built-up oversteeps, sweetness never gets above a moderate level but lingers deep into finish on gums and top of palate

Steep 7+ (30s+) - starting to mellow out slightly, tobacco and sweetness with reduced bitterness and astringency, late sweetness giving hints of sweet herbs

Overall Impression - I have to admit I haven't been rushing to try the more well-known standard/numbered factory sheng because they just seem less interesting to me because of the “standard-ness” I guess. But this one was definitely one of those “I get it” moments. I can see how this is a solid reference tea. And sometimes I forget that the “daily” part of daily drinker isn't just referring to the price, but also that you'd actually want to drink it often.

I know King Tea Mall can kind of trigger some folks around here, but the storage on this is 100% perfect for my personal tastes. It is well-developed for a tea under 20 years old, but without the faintest hint of old books or any dank storage notes whatsoever. Given the ease in finding this particular version, this is probably an excellent puer for storage comparisons. I'll be sure to snag a sample from any vendor I see this at for calibration testing.

I saw someone describe some ripes tasting like you're drinking the forest floor and I thought they were just being dramatic but this literally tastes like…. I'm drinking the forest floor, I don't know how else to put it. So strange.

Definitely not an offensive taste it kind of reminds me of black coffee but without the bitterness, and instead of it tasting like coffee it taste like dirt?.

The battle of the vanilla beans!

Tanzania 🇹🇿 VS Comoros 🇰🇲

Same ripe pu erh but it was made with different beans. 10g/100ml. As the description states the most noticeable difference was the Comoros was definitely sweeter and creamier.

Just got this sample of sticky rice shou puer from Ohio Tea Company. Searching the label got a lot of pages in Chinese including Facebook and Taobao.

I normally really like shou at 95c but it became a little bitter so I switched to 90c. It instantly eliminated the bitterness. This one is not a rock puer either like the other ones I have tried. First time seeing the actual herb pressed with the puer. The rock versions have the same herb fermented with them, but the herb is removed at some point during the process.

Nuo Mi Xiang (Semnostachya menglaensis) is the herb responsible for the amazing aroma and taste of sticky rice tea. Not rice! I was blown away. Plants and nature surprising me yet again.

The mini cake opened up completely by the second brew at 95c after a boiling wash. Loose whole leaves unfolded. The following steeps were at 90c for 10-15 seconds increasing gradually. I stopped at 6 steeps but I think starting at 90c after the 100c wash maybe provide for a longer gong fun session. A great sticky rice shou puer without breaking the bank. I will definitely be getting some more of this one again.

I've seen a few pieces that caught my attention, mainly this handmade cup and these smaller ones

I know their quality is good enough, their ruyao gaiwan (bought via white2tea, but you know, it's the same seller) is my daily choice for gongfu sessions, but I don't know if I'm paying fair money for the handmade cup and/or if I'm getting dropshipped with the smaller, factory made cups. 25$ for an artisan cup seems like a pretty good deal, but at the end of the day it depends on the quality of the product

Also worth noting, I've never had any issues with w2t's shipping, so I'm pretty confident this site won't give me any problems, which is a big plus

So, in your experience, do you think their prices are fair? Do they have good value for money? And, in case you don't recommend it, which sites should I try if I want to buy chinese teacups?

Thanks in advance