"The Sauce" - Late 1980s/Early 1990s Traditional Storage Shu Puerh

Old School Traditional Shu Puerh at it's best.

So for the last 5 or so years I've been particularly interested in dry or dryer aged puerh-

a lot of the sweet wood incense profiles we have at Puerh Medicine are on the drier side, if not super dry.

I feel like good dry aged tea is the way to get the cleanest and clearest expressions of the aromatic oils of the tea- especially when it's fully mature sheng-

I've had stuff that's so sweet and caramelized like butterscotch candy liquor!

The thing is, this is really a recent thing- dry aging/craft aging tea to such degrees.

Traditionally, puerh was put in caves! I'm sure a lot of it was the gassiest of gassy, the Bootsy Collinsist of funk if you will.

And some of it is actually quite good!

I've been introduced to a number of contacts who have shared with me some stunning traditional storage and Hong Kong storage puerh that has definitely tickled my taste buds and given me nuance to the avoidance of "funk" "dank" "damp" notes.

Honestly I still have a hard time drinking strong storage note teas (which seems to be pretty common as a high % of puerh is aged in humid conditions), though some of these really balanced Hong Kong storage 1980s puerh are quite extraordinary.

It makes sense that storage exists on a spectrum.

And there are exceptions to every single rule in tea- when we think we have learned something, we truly are ready to be surprised!

Another late 80s/early 90s shu puerh brick that has broken every rule in my book- a traditional (wet storage) puerh that is so well aged, without any funk or overbearing storage notes- that actually resembles our dry aged 1980s "Old Medicine Brick." (Sold out)

How? I dont know!

It took me a second to develop a taste for this refined Hong Kong style, but man, this private reserve 80s shu is quite balanced and stunning. It has just enough extra depth from the storage while still retaining cleanliness and complexity in the cup.

Brew the tea as thick as possible- 10g /100ml.

No storage flavors at all! Wild for a wet storage brick.