游牧民

My envelope showed up late in January, just as I was beginning to question whether it would or not. It arrived in a plastic sleeve with an apology from the post office and looking as if a little customs mouse had chewed through the corner in search of something other than tea. The leaf was about 2/3 intact with the other 1/3 quite broken up. As noted by others, there was some prominent smokiness to the dark green to brown leaf.

How much of the 10g sample should I use? I wanted to try this tea on two separate occasions but wanted to make sure to use enough the first time so as to acquire a proper impression. So I used about 6g in a 100cc gaiwan and sat down with a friend to Cloud’s generous sample of 2003年银大益 (2003 Silver Dayi).

Steepings proceeded after an initial short rinse and consisted of 180-degree water and short steep times (I usually pour off directly after the time required to set the kettle down and place the lid on the gaiwan – essentially, 10s right there), with water temperature and durations adjusted as noted:

1st – roughly 10s rinse, lost some of the finer leaf in the pour-off; the astringent aroma speaks to this tea’s 3-4 years of aging
2nd – golden (honey) liquor; astringent, smoky, with an underlying floral component; mouthfeel and 茶气（chaqi) full and strong
3rd –consistent color, reduced smokiness – intermingled with the now prominent fragrance; nice structure and balanced flavor emerging; leaf starting to relax in the gaiwan; qi rush this steeping
4th – initial bitterness that quickly diminished, astringency present but not offensive; flavor-balance still expressed nicely
5th – color slightly lighter, clarity to liquor; leaf fully open and flavor relaxed; floral quality diminished; chaqi still present but lighter
6th – water temperature raised and longer steeping (15-20s); color returns, as does smokiness - obscuring the structure; still lightly floral, sweet; saliva flowing
7th – water temperature slightly lower; full mouthfeel returns; lighter, but overall balance good; sweetness on sides of, and flowing underneath, tongue; chaqi subsiding
8th – (before drinking this steep, became aware of the enduring finish from the previous cup) pushed this steeping with higher water temperature and 20-25s steep; my friend was on his way out and, as he took the first sip of this, his final cup, exclaimed “It’s back!” – wow, the qi just reasserted itself, as if from #2 or #3; mouthfeel thick, resinous, green – like a sapling; everything pronounced but milder than first course
9th – very relaxed in the mouth and on the palate; although body and flavor are subtle, there is a very distinct and noticeable presence that endures in the mouth . . . hmm, an insubstantial substance; still producing saliva
10th – tea leaves requested hotter water but relatively short steep; lighter liquor but still has character and quite drinkable; mild anise flavor
11th – an almost instantaneous sweet saliva throughout mouth blending with the atmosphere of this tea; consistency and flavor as a light, herbaceous nectar - very mild mintiness; short lived, diminished practically by the time I finish writing this phrase; tea has acquired a cooling feeling, though it is producing a light perspiration
12th – solid rolling boil, 1min. steep; color returned, like golden grain; brief qi fullness in shoulders and head; sweetness and fragrance diminished; steady saliva
13th – extended boil again – poured water directly on leaves and steeped 1-1½m; like wild grass with hot water flushed over it; mostly perceived/tasted as a vapor; mouthfeel is watery with very light herbaceous/green/sugar quality – presence nevertheless; qi is very fluidly, thinly running throughout along surface of body
14th – extended steeping of about 2m; . . . it’s back – color, mouthfeel, flavor all expressing themselves to some degree; even a warmth in abdomen, up spine, through neck to head – there is a subtle strength; gently forcing me to open and relax (mind/body)
15th – okay . . . one more, as the liquor is not yet water and I feel a sweet spot opening up somewhere in the middle of my body . . .
. . . color, flavor, fragrance seem to evoke the memory of previous steeps rather than having their own substance (talk about a finish); I experienced this cup almost entirely on a physical/energetic level.

Pu’er can express itself differently from one day to the next, depending on our state of mind while brewing, weather, water and so on. I have had the occasional extraordinary experience in Kunming where a skilled practitioner under the right circumstances has brewed a certain tea; this is something for which much gongfu is required to acquire the skill. (For instance, a pu’er mentor of mine in Kunming can easily steep tealeaves twice as many times as I, for instance my 12 steeps to his 24 – a far subtler understanding of how to evoke not only the flavor of the tea, but also the value of the experience.)

This 2003 Dayi Silver Label, for some reason, decided to speak to me. Perhaps this is due to the gracious nature in which it was given to us all – the spirit of enjoyment and constructive dialogue with which we could engage this pu’er – truly a fine metaphor for the pervasive vitality of tea in general. Over the course of this sitting, the tealeaves clearly expressed themselves both intuitively and empirically.
I experienced these leaves in three stages, each one subtler than the previous, though no less distinct. The overall experience was clear and clean, with a ‘smoke screen’ that would assert itself only to dispel and reveal a solid structure and balanced flavor profile. The overtly responsive nature of this tea and its corresponding qualities has led me to ponder the following:

We generally consider raw pu’er to be drinkable at seven years. I am of the understanding that, through the process of fermentation, bitterness migrates out of the tea and creates a temporarily astringent liquor with associated heat. Once this astringency dissipates, the qualities of an aged pu’er reveal themselves minus the prominent bitterness of a young sheng.

So, this tea being at that halfway point, is it possible that it sits at the peak of initial fermentation, in a rather unstable state, and is now beginning to let go of the acquired, temporary astringency in order to reveal the character of a newly aged pu’er?

(Thank you to Cloud, of Hong Kong, for generously providing this sample!)