We Canadians should drink Chinese tea more often. Here in Burnaby we are fortunate to have access to some of the finest teas on the market, and yet how many of us hesitate to sample them? In our home we like to boast that we have our own "Tea Museum". We get away with such incautious remarks because over the years many good friends have given us gifts of superb teas, some of them purchased at auction in Taiwan and China. My favourite tea is Formosa Oolong, but in fact I like many varieties. I am not competent to describe good tea, or to make recommendations, so I asked a friend to help me out. She writes well, and is also a photographer. So the photographs are hers too.
What if CONSUMER REPORTS magazine
tested Chinese Puer (Dark Tea)?
by Amethyst Yi Chen
The prices of Chinese teas can range from cheap to extremely expensive. For example, you can buy a box of Lipton Black Tea which contains 20 tea bags in Superstore for only $16. However, expensive teas can cost more than $2,000 or can be so extreme that you need to attend the auction for it.
Do more expensive teas generally taste better? What are the factors behind the pricing of tea? It is worth understanding the pricing rationale, so that you can make a better purchasing decision. There are many types of tea available in the market, with each there are different ways to determine the quality. Therefore, we are going to mainly focus on the sheng Puer tea today.
What is Puer?
There are two types of Puer tea – sheng Puer and shu Puer, which literally mean raw Puer and matured Puer, respectively. Each style begins with Puer Mao Cha (unfinished tea). To be considered a Puer, the tea leaves must be grown in Yunnan Province and must be from descendants of Da Ye Zhong (large leaf type). The leaves must also be dried in the sun. The difference between sheng and shu Puer is the processing methods for each. Sheng Puer is a style of Puer where Mao Cha is aged naturally over time. Aging here means a combination of oxidation and fermentation. On the other hand, Shu Puer is wherein Mao Cha is pile-fermented, a process known as wet piling.
Products I am Tasting
Here is the list of sheng Puer that will be tested, sorting from low to high price:
David’s Tea Sheng Puer:$8.98 for 50g, one-year aged
Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007: $12 for 50g, 12-year aged
Cha Le Aged Sheng Pu’er Cake 2007: $180 for 357g (equivalent to $25 for 50g), 12-year aged
Yunnan Tingxiang Puer Cake 2015: $300 for 357g (equivalent to $42 for 50g), 4-year aged
Simao Yunnan Puer Cake, 2008 Limited Edition: $1300 for 400g (equivalent to $162 for 50g), 11-year aged
Whether it tastes nice or bad sometimes can depend on personal preference, but the quality of tea is strictly determined through inspecting the dried leaves, the tea liquor, and the spent tea leaves.
Here is the process I am intending to follow for testing: I will take 4 spoonfuls of tea from each product, respectively, brewing with my Yixing clay teapot in 100℃water. Since Puer is not supposed to steep, I will pour the tea liquor to my cup with a funnel right away (in 5 seconds, or the tea will be too strong for tasting). And before drinking the tea, I will observe and record the colour of each of the tea liquors and spent tea leaves.
Dried leaves:
Colour: As the tea ages, the colour of the tea leaves will turn from green to brown red. I can see that David’s Tea Sheng Puer andYunnan Tingxiang Puer Cake 2015 are relatively green, while the Cha Le Cha Le Aged Sheng Pu’er Cake 2007 and Simao Yunnan Puer Cake, 2008 Limited Edition have turned dark brown red. Although age is one of the pricing factors (the older, the more expensive), it is not the key indicator of good quality puer tea.
Shape: High quality leaves are visually distinct. If you take a closer look at the leaves, they should ideally be whole and very indistinct. David’s Tea Sheng Pueris comparatively fragile and powdery – a signal of low end Puer.
Aromas: Older Puer tea smells more fragrant even when they’re dry. Among all the products, Yunnan Tingxiang Puer Cake 2015 andSimao Yunnan Puer Cake, 2008 Limited Edition have the best aromas. Tingxiang, like its literal meaning in Chinese, smells like flower fragrance. This could be because the leaves came from a tree which was surrounded by flowers. The Simao Yunnan Puer Cakehas a natural wood-scent, which is a commonly seen in high end Puer.
Tea Liquor:
Colour: Instruction in David’s Tea Sheng Puersaid it should be steeped for 4-5 minutes; however, the authentic way to brew Puer is not to steep at all. I followed the traditional way to brew David’s Tea Sheng Puer(pour the tea to an empty cup in 5 seconds). The colour of the tea liquor is very light – pale yellow – so I expected it to taste like water. Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007 showed a dark brown colour but looked relatively muddy. The tea liquor of Tingxiangis like orange yellow, which is commonly seen in 3-5-year aged Puer tea. Simao Yunnan Puer Cake, the most expensive tea on the list, proves that it is worth the price. This 11-year aged tea shows a crystal-clear garnet colour.
Aromas: Just as how I mentioned in the dried leaves section, the Tingxiang Puer Cakeand Simao Yunnan Puer Cakehave the best aromas in their tea liquor.
Tasting: Generally, the taste of sheng Puer should be smooth, with slight hints of bitterness. It can also be woody or earthy. The taste can change as the tea ages, so sometimes it is hard to judge if the tea is considered a top grade through tasting. As long as it is mellow and smooth, not tightening your throat (some low-end teas do!), I will consider it ok. More importantly, the special feature about Puer is its sweet aftertaste, called “hui gan” in Chinese. It means that once the bitter sensation of the tea liquor is gone, the sweet aftertaste appears in the mouth. Unlike other types of tea, the aftertaste of Puer is generally long-lasting. For top graded tea, you can feel the liquor down the throat rather than just on the tongue.
Among the five products I am tasting, Simao Yunnan Puer Cake, 2008 Limited Edition has the strongest and longest aftertaste (hui gan), leaving a nice “feeling” in the back of the throat. Tingxiangtastes a combination of sweet and bitter and also has a nice aftertaste. Generally, teas with good aftertaste and a thickness of flavour generally do better over time. Therefore, if we store Tingxiangproperly (dried and neutral) for an extra few years, it will definitely taste even better. David’s Tea Sheng Puerhas the least strong taste – I can barely taste it.
For best results prepare the tea in an unglazed earthenware pot.
Affordable tea services are easy to find in Metrotown malls.
Spent Tea Leaves:
The condition of spent Leaves is one of the most important indicators of the quality. There are three factors to evaluate spent tea: tenderness, colour and the overall tea leaves shape.
Tenderness: Press the spent leaves with a finger – if they are soft and not elastic, then the tenderness is considered great. Based on this rule, here is the ranking of the tenderness, from good to bad: Yunnan Tingxiang Puer Cake 2015 >Simao Yunnan Puer Cake, 2008 Limited Edition >Cha Le Aged Sheng Pu’er Cake 2007. Note that the David’s Tea Sheng Puer and Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007 are comparatively crumbly, which I could not judge if they were tender.
Colour: High quality of Young sheng Puer spent leaves usually appears bright yellow green. If you see dark green, or dark green leaves with red stems, that could be problematic. On the other hand, if aged sheng Puer shows bright red, then it is considered great. Among all the products, again, Tingxiang Puer Cake 2015and Simao Yunan Puer Cakehave the best colour.
Evenness:
It is important to contemplate the overall evenness of spent tea leaves because high end tea leaves are very consistent in shape and colour. By that I mean, they will appear in about the consistent size of leaves and colour. As I mentioned, the David’s Tea Sheng Puerand Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007are crumbly and have large number of broken fragments. The rest of the teas are modest.
It is important to contemplate the overall evenness of spent tea leaves because high end tea leaves are very consistent in shape and colour. By that I mean, they will appear in about the consistent size of leaves and colour. As I mentioned, the David’s Tea Sheng Puerand Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007are crumbly and have large number of broken fragments. The rest of the teas are modest.
Recommendations
In conclusion, Yunnan Tingxiang Puer Cakeand Simao Yunnan Puer Cakeperform the best in every respect of the testing. Simaois much more expensive than Tingxiang, but they are actually about the same level of quality. The reason that Simaois pricier is that it is 11-year aged while Tingxiangis only 4-year aged. With that being said, if the Tingxiang is also 11-year aged, they could have priced the same. Cha Le Aged Sheng Pu’er Cake 2007is considered okay. If you are a beginner with Puer tea, I would recommend you try this one first. However, I would not recommend David’s Tea Sheng Puer and Cha Le Aged Lotus Pu’er Loose 2007.
