Pu-erh Tea Around the Clock 晨昏綿香的普洱
It is always bewildering for beginners that the prices of Pu Erh tea on the market vary a lot ! After making tons of mistake, I finally rely only on reputable tea merchants I am familiar with.
Since we have this up rising of the “ Strong Country “ , natural and authentic aged Pu Erh tea became an unreachable extravaganza. The HKD 10 per guest tea that you can drink in the Dim Sum restaurant consists either artificial colouring or the unpleasant smell of ammonia from the additives of malolactic fermentation.
This is very unfair to the tea because athentic and natural premium Pu Erh tea can be as palatable as Romanee Conti. Nowadays , a Blue Printed Label of 60 years old from a reliable tea merchant may costs HKD 600K.
I recall my childhood days when detergent is not popular, the most wonderful natural grease washer is raw Pu Erh tea.
In a wedding banquet, after serving the steamed prawns, deluxe restaurant always serve a finger bowl of Pu Erh tea to wash away the fishy smells. Now the cost of the fine Pu Erh loose tea of the standard that we used to swipe the floor is some what like HKD5000 per pound.
With my idiot’s luck, I happened to have collected a log of very lovely raw Pu Erh loose tea from Jiang Chen 15 years ago.
It is from old tree with broad leaves. Now it becomes a lovely young lady with curvaceous body. Tannin is still rich but fine and smooth. I estimate that it can be aged for another 30 years. First infusion is a bit opaque but smells leather like young red Chateauneuf Du Pape . Second infusion is with aromas of vanilla. It develops to dates in the third infusion then young camphor wood comes out in 6th infusion until the 20th.
This tea is pricey, but for a beginner to fine and rare Pu Erh, this is an affordable luxury. In term of a collectible, it is value for money.
普洱茶對初學者來說簡直比葡萄酒更撲朔迷離。市面同一生產商的價錢可以有很大的分別。交過好多學費，最後還是找相熟有信譽的茶商購買最可靠。
自從強國崛起後，真正的天然陳年普洱茶已成為高不可攀的偖侈品。一般茶樓名茶每位十來塊的普洱，要不是人工添加乳化發酵帶刺鼻的阿摩尼亞味，就是添加了工業染料。這對普洱茶十分的不公平，因為真正的優質普洱，其精彩處不亞於法國康帝紅酒。如今可靠供應商提供的60年藍印，恐怕也得開價60萬一片。
想起童年時還不流行用化學洗潔精，廚房去油污的妙品就是青普洱茶。婚宴吃過白灼蝦，高檔茶樓都用普洱茶來給客人洗手。昔年用來茶地板級數的青普洱，散茶也要賣五千多一磅。
我傻人有傻福，十五年前搜購了一手江城老樹大葉青普洱散茶，陳到今天已經亭亭玉立了，即使單寧仍然好高，但卻幼滑。保守估計還可以陳三十年。第一泡有一點倉?，但皮革味猶如嫩齡的教皇新堡紅；第二泡，帶香子蘭；第三泡棗味開始發展，延綿到第七八泡出青樟香，直到二十泡棗香樟香持續。這茶不便宜,但作為頂尖普洱入門卻是很很划算的示範教材。作為收藏品也不昂貴。