We were drinking tea in the shop yesterday morning with a tea-friend when someone he knew walked past. His acquaintance was carrying a brick of ‘thirty year old sheng cha’. A piece was uncerimoniously broken off for us to try.
HM brewed the tea, poured us all a cup then, after one mouthful, “It’s not that old!” he pronounced. “Lets go and have lunch!”.
Later he conceded that the huigan was not bad but the cha qi, xiang qi, yun were all lacking. It also had that kind of flavour that I can only associate with shou cha.
HM said ” I’m not sure how they made this stuff “. Concluding it was wet-piled for a week or two to lighlty ferment it such that it could still be called (by some ) ‘sheng cha’, then after pressing, wet-stored and aired. “That’s the kind of rip-off you get with Puer tea.” he declared with a sad expression.