After reading this thought provoking article by James at
TeaDB, I started thinking about how my sampling has changed over the
years and about why we should sample puerh and how best to do this...
Why Sample Puerh?
First reason is to
learn. There is no better way to
learn than to actually try more puerh and form your own opinions about them.
Second reason is to compare
and evaluate for purchase. Comparing
and evaluating can be comparing and evaluating samples for the purchase of a
cake or tong or maybe just more of the same sample. It can also be comparing and evaluating
samples against one’s own collection.
Part of learning is to compare and contrast and evaluate. These first two reasons are covered extensively in James post and following commentary.
Third reason is to
simply experience. Sampling puerh can
also be done just simply to enjoy different puerh at a lower price point. Puerh is getting so pricy that sampling
instead of cake purchasing might be the end goal. Variety is the spice of life. Instead of drinking the same puerh until 357g of it
are gone, we can sample a rainbow of puerh for the same price! Sometimes it’s good to simply experience and
enjoy something new and different in life, this goes for trying different puerh
as well. Of course, to experience is to
learn- to learn from our puerh experiences.
And while experiencing we might pass judgement- to pass judgement is to
compare and contrast against our past experiences with puerh. But to simply enjoy something simply for its
own sake without trying to learn or describe or compare or contrast is reason
enough to sample puerh.
Sampling with Others
vs Alone vs Online
Sampling with others
can be a powerful way to learn, compare/ evaluate and experience puerh while
sampling it. It has been said by a commented on this blog that if you are the most experienced one around the table you are
probably at the wrong table. Yes, it’s
very good to sample with others with more or varied puerh drinking experience than
you- you will learn quick this way. But
the pitfalls are that you can easily be swayed in a certain direction or pick
up bad habits from them or simply get steered toward the status quo.
If you are the most experienced one at the tea table there
is also great responsibility in being in the position for you to transmit your
knowledge. This can be just as powerful
of an experience. I feel that it is
equally important to learn from beginners- they will point out things that an
experienced puerh drinker might take for granted or something that might be
beyond their personal bias. The beginner
mind is a powerful mind and we shouldn’t be quick to disregard someone’s
experience. This is a reason I like to
read beginner tea blogs- I learn quite a bit from them.
If the sampling is done at a tea shop you have to remember
that the end goal is to get you to buy. Surprisingly, in the tea shops in
Asia, it’s just people who are hanging out experiencing, learning, and comparing
tastes with others with no one really intending on purchase. I like how Marshal’N describes how a
long session of puerh sampling usually progresses at a tea table with many people-
I pretty much agree with that. The one
thing that we have to pay attention to when sampling in a group is that the
options of others around the table can start to influence your own perceptions. Also, the shop owner can guide the direction
a bit as well.
When we sample at home/
solitary sampling definitely removes the groups influence good or bad and
leaves us with our own options and bias.
Confirmation bias can be a strong one to overturn as we see things in
our pureh that aren’t there. As we are
learning about puerh- we are learning about ourselves. Group sampling is almost always most ideal
when new, and solitary sampling is better when very experienced. When we have lots of experience under our
belts we can really go in many directions with a sample- its endless really
especially in a solitary session.
Sampling Bloggers
Recommendations- What you read influences your sampling. Review reading and blog reading influences
those new and old to puerh but especially those in the West with no other
experience with puerh. Comparing and
contrasting our own opinions of samples to other random reviews or famous
bloggers is a healthy way to learn.
Reading as much publicly available information as possible about
puerh is an important part of learning but can lead to someone just falling in
line instead of developing their own options about what puerh they actually
enjoy.
How Sampling Puerh
Has Changed?
Sampling has really changed over the years for myself as
well as for Western puerh drinkers as a whole.
Sampling in the era
of factory puerh- mainly sampling wearhoused samples that were considered
“aged puer” not “young puerh”. It was
uncommon 15 years ago to sample young puerh because the thought was that puerh
should be aged before regularly consumed.
This was, of course, an idea by those in Hong Kong and Guangdong the
places where puerh was mainly wearhoused.
Personally, I sampled mainly older puerh in Korea. Of course, these were also much more
expensive than the crazy cheap freshly pressed cakes- so this could have just
been the influence of the teashop owners a bit as well. This is also a reason that old time puerh
drinkers that were around in this era revere factory puerh and never write it
off.
Sampling in the gushu
transitioning years- In the mid/later- 2000s all of a sudden there was
gushu!!!! And everybody and anybody could press a single estate product instead
of just going for the classic factory blends.
Western vendors started pressing their own single estate at this time
such as Yunnan Sourcing and The Essence of Tea.
There was some serious confusion as to what Gushu was and how to even
appreciate it. A bunch of more detailed
puerh producing sub areas and towns and mountains popped up and no one had much
experience knowing much about the specific character of these regions and how
to evaluate them and apprise them.
At this time I liked to focus on simply experiencing them
without too much comparing and contrasting and went through a phase of Zen like
appreciation of puerh that is outlined in early posts on this blog which gives
my philosophy of how to approach sampling (here and here). It was a bit of me trying to come to terms
with how to appreciate these gushu single estate puerh and a bit a result of doing many hours of daily meditation back then. At times I questioned whether they were even
puerh because the factory experience years before shaped my idea of what puerh
was supposed to be and this gushu type stuff was not that. I remember arguing with a vendor when this
type of puerh first became easily available that this single estate young puerh
was not “real puerh”… hahahha…. I also remember discussions at tea houses in
Korea at the time that questioned how these should be appreciated. When I started this blog a lot of the posts
back then focused on this single estate puerh that was coming out at the
time. I sampled single estate quite
extensively at this time trying to learn and experience more than compare and evaluate. Although I sampled
a lot I purchased very little of it.
I know most people reading this right now will have a hard
time even thinking about a time when single estate gushu puerh was completely
unprecedented with no standard way of thinking about this new direction of puerh. Most readers have had the privilege of
walking into puerh with a wealth of knowledge already out there. I still think the advice of Mr. Kim, my teamster,
holds- if you like it then its good puerh… it seems overly simplistic but this
advice was pretty useful when no one had a golden standard of comparison at
this time. I also think it’s a good
starting point for those new to puerh and for sampling- listen to yourself.
Common puerh era
– maybe around 2012 ish people started to get a pretty clear idea of what
single estate puerh is all about, the most famous puerh producing areas have
been found and well known (Lao Banzhang, Bing Dao, Xi Gui) and by this time
there was a wealth of knowledge about this. … so let the comparisons and
evaluations begin… hahaha.. Around this time I started to compare and contrast
more. Upon returning to the puerh scene to re-stock, I found myself comparing
and contrasting and evaluating more which makes the most
sense when the price of puerh is so expensive and you intend to purchase a lot
to stock up for the long term.
Who Did the Sample
come from?
Who sends the sample influences how I approach a sample. It gives me a suggestion of how I should/
might do with that sample.
Purchased Sample- For me and, for you too, a purchased
sample should have a very specific purpose.
Even if the purpose is just simply for puerh experiential enjoyment. Samples purchased on a whim with no clear
goal in mind might just pile up with no motivation to drink.
Free vendor sample with purchase- I recently wrote about this a few months ago. Everyone loves a
free sample and there is absolutely no obligation do anything but enjoy these.
Free vendor sample provided for review- This is a bit different
than free sample with purchase as there is a bit of an understanding that you
will try to post your session.
Sample from Friend- Cwyn N of Death by Tea said something
about this topic that is so true its funny.
Its something to the effect that there are two kinds of samples she receives
from friends… The first is a sample that is quite good but is sold out and not
for sale. The second is a sample of
something someone is trying to get rid of and is usually not so good… hahahhah
I think I’m a bit of an online hermit although sometimes someone is able to
track me down and send a sample.
I would say that my fiends send samples for 2 reasons….
First is the same as Cwyn’s above, a very good sample that they are not getting
rid of and is not for sale. The second
is for an evaluation of something they have acquired or are thinking of acquiring
a lot of. I thoroughly enjoy a good evaluation
of puerh so either one brings me happiness…
Advice on Starting to
Sample
First and most importantly, you should have a clear goal in mind and attempt to understand your own
drinking before you purchase too many samples. Some people say that you should sample widely
(Such as James of TeaDB) and others say that you should narrow in on a certain
area to try to understand it (such as Shah8 of Sheng of the Day). Either direction you take you should do so
mindfully. If not you will be left with
a box stuffed full of samples with no desire to go through them or find it a
chore to go through them and that’s not what sampling is all about. Sampling is super fun not a chore. If it’s a chore, you should probably just
cake purchase.
Sampling Up- I
think it’s pretty good, if you can afford to do this. Read this post on it here.
Sampling Down-
the only way to see if you can get similar quality puerh by paying less or by
seeing how low your taste in puerh can go while still enjoying puerh, is too
sample low. Sampling high will not do
this. This is a mission in value and
practicality. To some people this will
be more important than sampling high.
Again you need to be clear about what your sampling goals are. Over the last two years I had sampled low
sometimes and the results were stunning.
Some of those puerh I purchased are worth many multiples more because
the price didn’t catch up to the quality yet.
I think, generally speaking, that new puerh drinkers might
want to aim a bit higher if they can and real experienced puerh drinkers should
aim lower they wish to be more economical and haven’t obtained too much puerh already. If you read Hobbes Half-Dipper and even Cwyn’s
Death By Tea after they gained a bunch of experience and before they dropped
off regular publishing they were sampling low.
A search for cheap everyday drinkers is an exercise in sampling low. To optimally sample low you still need to
have an understanding of more desirable qualities in puerh or to at least know
your own taste well enough and that is done by sampling high.
Sampling Sideways- puerh of the same price is rarely the same
quality and certain qualities of puerh are valued more than others by a wider
puerh drinking audience. Sampling puerh
of the same price will give you a good feel of value.
Random Sampling-
you can find something you never even knew existed or a factory or area you
have never tried…. Different type of storage, ect … This is fun sometimes…
Blind Sampling-
its always an exercise in how bad you are at identifying a general character of
a puerh region but can also determine value by removing bias.
Size of Sample- James
of TeaDB has written articles on the benefits of both large and small. He has also commented about the benefits of full cake samples. There are obvious benefits to
each. Again you need to be clear about
what you want from your sampling. Cake
samples are better if you are thinking about making a large quantity
purchase. Small samples are better if
you are attempling to sample high and have a goal of learning or just want to
treat yourself to something worth more.
All sampling is good but it should match your goals at what
you are trying to achieve with sampling.
I love Binghole
samples!- I think binghole samples get a bad wrap. I understand the tight
compression of a binghole is not represented of the cake. I never hear anyone complain about corner samples or just off the top samples which would also not be so representative of a whole cake. So if you are sampling to evaluate you
probably won’t appreciate the binghole. But as
someone who prefers tight compression, it’s always a special treat to open a binghole
sample. I makes me enjoy the sample more
on its own merits and makes me wonder what could have been if the vendor had
just iron pressed it….
I have heard people say “The future of puerh is storage” I have heard others say “The future of puerh
is sampling”. Both of these statements
speak a bit the concept that you can only buy so many cakes before you have acquired
enough that you can’t possibly finish in your lifetime. It also speaks to the ever rising costs of
puerh. Certainly there is enough ways to
approach a sample to keep you engaged in puerh without having to ever purchase
a cake.
Peace
