7542

7542 1601. 2016.

This tastes fine. Gets a bit spicy a bit too fast if youre not careful, but thats not too bad either. I cant detect anything negative in its ageing. Nice aroma that becomes very sugary smelling, with a good mouthfeel on later steeps.

Heres a few TeaDB episodes about 7542.

Chapo & Chapo Mid 2021

Its a lot better than ripe, any Liu Bao is better than ripe (most things are).

Chapo & Chapo Mid 2021 from W2T Liu Bao Heicha. Really crunky shit fungal compacted to near pointlessness. Has urotium cristatum, some of which i have attempted to harvest and propogate.

3.75/5 stars

Thermos Brewing / Big Brewing

I started drinking kinda compact when i wanted more tea at work and it be my tea and good tea.
Im pretty sure I could gongfu at work but I respect my collegues.

I find this style works to get more nuance out of teas I know, and is great for daily drinkers or breaking down a bitter or older tea. Roasted Oolongs are great this way as a lover of them and boricha/barley tea and that roasty flavour, its something that can really shine here.

This isnt about recreating a 70ml gongfu sip into 400mls. Its about enjoying a tea in a more casual and extended format, both in time and in taste.

I dont think many teas would be lessened by this style, but I would still maybe go daily drinkers at least at first. It kinda puts the tea in a different spectrum. It can draw out a tea that becomes too bitter fast, or as mentioned above open up roasted and raw teas.

IMPORTANT: Water Quantity and steep time is most important here. Less steeps, shorter steeps, in higher water volume.

Items needed
1x Tea I use maybe 10 grams in ~350ml, I eye ball it, but have a vague idea from colour, smell, and its very tea specific. but its per tea and per taste in the end. A daily drinker should be more casual.
2x thermos or 1x large hot-water safe container and 1x other heat maintaining container. One should have a filter of some kind – but not IN a cage thing, the tea needs to be in the water lose in the thermos, or use a hand held filter. You just need a thing to make 3-400ml of tea and a thing to pour it into and keep it warm. I do this at a desk so two thermos is very safe and tidy.
1x cup that holds a decent amount, 200ml or as much as you want. I use a random coffee mug.

I do maybe 3 or 4 boiling/hot as above steeps, and the last 4 and 5 with cold water…OR

THERMOS / BIG TEA BREWING is a great way to get a lot out of lighter teas. Also to experience a bit more depth over a longer time, particularly with ripes that might feel too dense or old/worn out, and teas that that can blow out early and get bitter fast.

Again, roasted Oolong works fantastic this style.

***


Pic: 2023 Prosbloom from W2T.

Teas

  1. 2021 Camphornaught – W2T
  2. 2023 Prosbloom – W2T
  3. 2024 A Flash and then the Quiet vol 2 – Kuura

Prosbloom is a mild smooth ripe, has some stank to it though its been broken up and stored in a jar for a few weeks. There is a mild vanila taste deep in there, the usual forest mulch, a very mild bitterness along with a very light sourness. Camphornaught is much like the above but smoother, milder, less variation, with a broader forest floor base note. they both stay pretty similar over multiple steeps, and dont get crazy or overbearing.

A Flash and then the Quiet vol 2 is a big raw bitter blast. Short steeps work, but a bigger brew works really well to get more out of it and not be punished by over steeping. Its actually quite nice if kept in control. A few grams in 300ml, steeped for 10secs or so, decanted off into a thermos for pouring.

Tea note

I break up my tea, trying to keep as much leaf shape as possible, leaving any “chunks” that will only result in flakes, and store it in containers for use on my counter. I do this to half of a cake and then store the other still intact half in a mylar bag with a boveda in a container in a location with relatively stable temperature, this keeps the tea at approx 72%RH and approx 23-26C. If the tea is good for aging and I like it enough I’ll rebuy it for long term storage to replace the half.

Tea

Yunnan Sourcing 2024 “Autumn Suan Zao Shu” Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh.

Image is the 4th or 5th ~5 second steep.

Nice floral aroma, strong encompassing mouthfeel. There is initially some light sourness which matches nice with the aroma. The bitterness builds creating a lot of returning sweetness.

some recent teas

2005 Xinhai “Lao Ban Zhang” ripe, is average, feels a bit worn out, I have it stored to hopefully awaken it a bit. 25 years has most likely dulled this generally, far too old for a ripe IMO.

2010 Chunhai “Jin Ya” ripe, is very small buds, this is still interesting with hints of rooibos, a nice red colour, mild taste.

2023 Red Loon ripe, has a nice forest floor aroma, second steep (10 seconds) is a lot darker colour, muted tannins, richer mulchy broth. 3rd (10sec) everything amps up a little bit, but stays relatively the same. Steep 4 and 5 are more like steep 2.

2024 Waffles ripe, really interesting aroma, especially when drank from a thermos (20g in maybe 300ml of hot water). Waffle/pancake and maple smells. The taste is an average ripe.