Drinking Old Puer

OK. So I am the worst blogger ever! I think about writing and don't write.

I've been drinking a lot of old puer the last couple of weeks. First, I decided to brew up part of the sample of a 1980s / 1990s Tong Xing sent to me by Yat at Grand Tea. I did not expect to like this tea as much as I did. Such a warm and mellow taste. Not very complex, but very very deep. I will probably buy a beeng, but am waiting for the spring Dragon Well to arrive before I place my order.

Next, I drank some of the Traditional Characters that I purchased from Sunsing Tea. Mind you, I did not buy a whole beeng, but rather 37.5 grams. This is a justly famous tea, extremely rich and complex, lasting well over twenty steeps. Six or so months ago I investigated buying a beeng, but the best Sunsing could do for was unwrapped beengs for $2K. Not for me!

A couple of days later, I decided to break into the 35.7 gram sample 1958 GYG that I also purchased from Sunsing. I'm pretty sure that I did not get the best of this tea--too much haste, I think. It reminds me of the Tong Xing in terms of mellowness, but perhaps there was an edginess--a Chinese medicine taste. I have more of it. I'll try it again soon.

Today I am drinking some of the 1980s Red Iron Beeng I bought from Grand Tea. I think this tea is also called "Simplified Character." I'm kind of disappointed. The flavor seems very very muted. It's a soft tea, with a lingering mouth feel, but somehow not very flavorful. I'm sure I'm using enough tea. Perhaps I need to use better water? I paid a lot for this tea (but WAY WAY less than it currently costs). I probably would not buy it today.