2005 Lao Tong Zhi Raw Brick
2005 Lao Tong Zhi Raw Puerh Brick | Sheng Pu Erh
The 2005 Lao Tong Zhi Brick is a raw puerh produced by the Haiwan factory from tea harvested in Meng Hai using only high quality leaves. The name "Lao Tong Zhi" translates as "Old Comrade", but, though it may mean "old", this tea has all the bright notes of a young puerh. The true characteristics of the tea emerge after a couple of infusions with rich, subtle and complex flavours.
Our Buyer’s notes
"A good, traditional-style, raw puerh that shows great potential for ageing into something really special.”
Read more about Puerh in the Canton Tea School
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Range |
Premium |
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Year of Production |
2005 |
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Factory |
Haiwan Tea Factory |
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Harvesting Area |
Meng Hai |
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Puerh Type |
Brick |
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Style |
Raw (Sheng) |
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Weight |
500g |
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Leaf Appearance |
High quality leaves from grade 5 and above |
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Aroma |
Green wood and hay with a mild floweriness and a touch of smokiness |
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Liquor |
Full-bodied |
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Tasting Notes |
This puerh tea tastes like way young puerh ought to taste, the aromas are hidden behind the greenness of the leaves, and it takes a couple of brews before the true profile of the tea comes out. |
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Quick Brewing Instructions |
Use a yixing (zisha) teapot or gaiwan. 3-5g of tea per 140ml boiling water: 95°C (203°F) Wash tea briefly then make several 10-15 seconds infusions
Read more in Canton Tea School. |
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Puerh Vintage |
2004 to 2008 |
Customer Reviews
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More notes Review by David
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When you've got a big slab of tea like this, you have to do a bit of work on it, and not just assume it will mellow in your mouth. The brackishness and astringency need taming, and what you really want to end up with is the marvellous velvety mouthfeel of real mature fermented puerh tea, there's no other taste quite like it. You can get it with this tea by carefully breaking up the slab into wedges, and storing it in a ceramic pot with a loose lid to give it air. Give the tea at least three days to breathe before you brew it for the first time. Then with the gong-fu method in a yixing pot, you will have all you ever want to taste in a puerh tea. This Lao Tong Zhi needs a bit of work on it, but what you end up with is a very satisfying brew. (Posted on 10/28/11)
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A tea to tease out. Review by David
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This tea looks expensive at £42 a brick, but as it is a generous 500g slab, it doesn't work out too costly. First infusion gives a dark thick liquid, a shade brackish, with an astringent, tannic mouthfeel. Tastes of straw and chestnut, November woods and acrid smoke. Subsequent infusions mellow it out, with a reduction of astringency and more of a velvety mouthfeel, quite chewy in fact. A rounder, smoother palate emerges, intriguing in its subtle variations. An interesting tea to savour at leisure, but it does need careful handling. Be careful how you prise this apart and try not to break up the leaves. Sieve it well to get rid of the dust. And you must use a Yixing pot to get the best out of it. It needs coaxing, but it's well worth the effort. (Posted on 10/8/11)
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A quality Pu erh tea which has many different facets Review by Dil
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4.0 out of 5 stars Pu Erh tea, 7 Feb 2011
By D. Datta "dsinghduk" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: 2005 Lao Tong Zhi Brick Raw Puerh Tea (500g)
Puerh teas come in a variety of forms loose leaf compressed into bricks and tea cakes, shaped as birds nest or even mushrooms. Pu erh tea is as diverse as red wine in both it's complexity and also it's something which given the right vintage can be an investment which gets better with age!
The brief introduction is not intended to put anyone off but I am hoping that you get an appreciation of just how diverse this type of tea can be.
Pu erh tea comes as cooked and raw this one being raw the difference being in general that the taste differs between raw and cooked.
The 2005 Lao Tong Zhi Raw brick is something that appreciative of proper preparation and steeping to get the full benefits from this magnificent type of tea.
The first thing you will notice about Lao Tong Zhi is that as it comes as a brick you will need to break a large leaf from it this is best done by using a large broad sided knife or oyster knife get as much whole leaf as you can then use a infuser such as a Bodum or gaiwan to infuse.
The amount of tea per cup is 3-5g of per 140ml of near boiling water by that I mean 95 degrees centigrade. The time required to steep the first time has been given variously as 10-15 seconds I personally steep for a minute to a minute and a half as I like the strong earthy flavour it produces.
The first brew produces a earthy almost malty tating brew it's not haevy but is strong some purists would discard the firt brew as they assert that the real flavours come around the third brew onwards.
Pu erh tea can be infused many times five to eight is not unheard of the subsequent infusions produce different tastes more floral notes come to the fore and a lighter more mellow flavour also the colour becomes lighter without sacrificing the quality.
This is a lovely Pu erh tea and it is a complex tea as it has many different flavours as it evolves in each subsequent infusion it takes on different characteristics.
(Posted on 2/8/11)
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A good raw pu erh tea for medium term storage Review by Tudor
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The brew is dark yellow, darker than any young sheng I've brewed to date. The initial flavors were smoke and burnt hay and very strong, with a bitter edge. The bitterness weakened as infusions progressed, and the smoke disappeared by the third brew. Brews 2 through 6 had a strong floral flavor, an almost soapy tuberose or orange blossom flavor, with strong flavors of burnt hay and woodiness like a fresh twig.
Good ageing potential, I think, I will taste it again in 6 months, to see it's evolution. (Posted on 10/10/10)
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very nice tea Review by Ming
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Quite expensive but really quality tea. (Posted on 5/11/10)
