2006 Menghai Dayi 7572 Chitse Beeng Cha

This Yixing used to be a designated oolong pot, it,s being transformed into a shu pot. Ive got plenty of oolong pots but only one other for shu so I dont feel like too much of a creep.

A classic recipe from Menghai that was first produced in 1975. A whole lot of people seem to like these cakes so I thought I,d break into one and see for myself what all the hub bubs about. As I have one empty Yixing jar in need of replenishing I might as well go ahead and break the entire cake up, something I dont always do since a lot of the time I just want to try a tea but not make a commitment to it. An entire 357 gm cake lasts me a long time, maybe eight months or more.

The anti counterfeit sticker, Whew! (wiping brow) what a relief. I wonder if any of the Pu-Mafia have figured out a way to copy these yet? Just knowing that they are there does allow me to get a good nights sleep though. Just kidding. So the famous 7572 shu, to tell the truth Ive never tried them before. I bet my bottom dollar It,s good. I wonder where that expression came from, bottom dollar? As opposed to my top dollar? Getting a little too Seinfeld here. But seriously, Ive read so many positive reviews for this pu that I,m sure I will at least think of it as alright. All the outward indications look promising, nice red raspberry leaf , nice smell, not to much compression. I,m sure this was hydraulically pressed but I,m finding it to be fairly pliable and the cake crackles and snap,s just the way I want it to. So far so good.

Hmmm, the cakes surface looks nice enough. Lots of reddish, golden colored leaf to be seen on the surface. But you don't really know what you've got until breaking it open and seeing if the inside appears consistent with whats on the surface. A lot of times there is good looking leaf that is only on the surface, as decoration. On the inside a lower quality tea. That may or may not be the case here, we are about to find out. Well, after breaking into it I see the cake has indeed been decorated, although the interior leaf isn't bad either. Ive come to expect such shenanigans even from Menghai. Maybe I shouldn't look at this as trickery. Maybe they have been doing this since who knows when, and the intentions were never to deceive but just to dress it up a little. Like a bow on a package.

The dry leafs aroma is O.K. none of the heavy, cooked pu odors. The inside of the cake is much darker in color than the surface but still a mix of browns, reds and a sprinkling of golden leaf.
This tea doesn't have a real strong smell, I was expecting it to be a little more aggressive. Even the first pot, after a couple of rinses , was good. This puerh brews a cup with a slightly amber hue, to me that,s good, I didn't want to see brown sludge. Clarity is superb, clear as a bell even on the first pot. The flavor is quite nice indeed. Woodsy without over doing it, and a little sweet. There is a cleanliness to this tea, balanced flavors, none of which trying to overpower the others. Although this shu has plenty of body it somehow leaves a crisp, clean feeling in your mouth. The flavor doesn't really spread much or really permeate, but that,s O.K. I cant help but to put this shu in a category of it,s own, quite different from others in that it is so clean and crisp and the immaculate balance of flavors. Another new pu experience for me. I can see why people like this shu so much, it,s good. But if I had to choose between the 7572 and the V93 tuocha, I,d take the V93. It also has the same clean and crisp aspects as this tea but a little sweeter and a little more body and aftertaste. The 7572 has good durability, I havnt been counting but I think it,s up to around 7 or 8 infusions and just now starting to call it a day. And even if there is more tea to be had here, I,m done. Pretty good stuff!

2007 Xiaquan "Xiao Fa" Tuocha

As I didn't find this tea to be deserving of a glamour shot I,m giving you the above photo. No set up, no mood lighting, just reali-tea.

I read a couple of blogs about these tuocha today and they both were pretty much of the same opinion in that they found these tuocha to be boring. I don't really think of them as boring I think these little 100 gm tuo,s are alright. At $4.00 each, what do you expect? A complex, multifaceted cup? Not gonna happen! Originally made for export to France in the 1960,s they have been a Xiaquan mainstay ever since. Given the price range these tuo are in, the only thing I expect from them is that they brew a cup with good clarity with no offensive odors or flavors. If they can pass those two tests then I think Ive gotten my moneys worth. The maocha used for these is from the Lincang area and some of the smallest leaf size Ive seen. I don't think these will ever improve with time, their a drink now shu. Admittedly these are not the shu,s I reach for when I got a hankering rather when I don't really want to be bothered with having to think about tea is when I drink this shu. Why the French supposedly love these I cant imagine. Nothing to love here, nothing to complain about either.

These are the only Xiaquan shu Ive ever had. I cant see myself buying any more of them but no regrets as their so cheap. I tell ya, these things are a lot better than anything from Rishi or any of those kinds of tea vendors but not interesting enough for the serious pu-heads. A little woodsy, slightly sweet and that,s about it. Their alright.

Afterthought: after just explaining how ordinary this tea is I noticed while brewing some the distinct smell of maple syrup, I ****you not. How bizzare! This doesnt change my opinion though.

Taishan Fo Mei Green Tea

Taishan Fo Mei, also known as Buddhas Eyebrow. Grown on Tai Mountain near the local Buddhist temple this tea is consumed daily by the monks. An inexpensive green tea from Seven Cups, thought I,d give it a try and see what the monks drink for their daily tea. How bad could it be if the monks drink it right? This tea to me looks like Chun Mee, or Precious Eyebrow. Could this be the same thing? I think it very well could be. Nothing very distinctive about the dry leafs appearance, as you can see for yourself. Apparently though it does require great skill to roll the leaf to get the correct shape. It does have a nice pungent green tea smell but nothing I can pin down and say it smells like so and so. This tea,s a sinker, meaning that once the water has been added to the pot the leaves just lay on the bottom refusing to float around and explore. How appalling, their complete lack of motivation. Oh well, what can you do? This tea has a heavy mouth feel, generally not a bad thing but when the teas flavor is so one dimensional it makes for a uneventful tea. I think when teas have such a heavy mouth feel that somewhere in it,s flavor it needs something bright to balance that out, to add something resembling complexity. But that brightness is not to be found here.There is a slight astringency that seems to provide a kind of palate cleansing, thats a good thing considering the teas full body. This teas name comes from the fact that it,s grown near a temple and that the shape of the dry leaf resembles little green comma,s or eyebrows. While the teas flavor is in no way crude or boring it,s just so ordinary that it leaves my vocabulary useless do make it sound interesting. I bet Matt could spin some words around this tea but not me. I,m at a loss for words.

Giving credit where it,s due, this is a good quality, fresh, everyday green tea. That's all it is intended to be, I guess. But for me it,s one dimensional heavy green flavor just isn't very interesting. Chun Mee, Precious Eyebrow or Buddhas Eyebrow whatever you want to call it, is a good tea to have on hand for an everyday tea, a casual cup for when your minds on other things, but nothing I would break out for company. Let,s just leave it at that and call it a day.

Lao Zhuni Yixing

Also from Yunnan Sourcing. This is a Lao Zhuni, I,m not sure what Lao means, I,m assuming red, I don't know really. I also am not clear as to whether the gravel or sand is something that,s added to the clay or if it is inherent. But either way it add,s an interesting surface texture. This pot unlike the Hei Zhuni Pot does appear to be made from the same clay through and through. These pots are not the ones held in high regard or in high esteem by collectors, but they are definitely a good value. A good, well made solid pot that holds heat very well and pours like a dream. This is the pot I always grab when I,m being indifferent about tea, whatever tea is sitting closest to the kettle is what this one gets used for. I mean it,s always some type of oolong, probably more often than not Dan Cong but whatever.It,s capacity is 150 cc still a good size for gong fu brewing for one or two people. Again the price on this one was around $35.00, a good price for a pot of this quality.

And like some of my other Yixing, with consistent, daily use this pot transforms into a deep, dark brick red color with an oily sheen. For someone on a budget but still wanting a high quality, well made Yixing you cant go wrong with Yunnan Sourcing. Scott,s always got dozens to choose from. Not to mention an outstanding selection of Puerh.

The potters name, Tian Zhong. These pots are extremely sturdy and strong. Even if you were to drop it, it,s doubtful it would break or even crack.

P.S. Thanks Will, in the case of this pot Lao translates as old, so..... a pot made from old clay. Traditionaly made high quality clay is aged for however long and I guess that improves it in some way. Seeing how the price of this Yixing was $35.00 I doubt that the claim of this being made from old clay is true.

Hei Zhuni Shi Piao Yixing

Another one of my favorites. This is one of the three Yixing I got from Yunnan Sourcing. This style of pot "Shi Piao" is definitely just about my favorite. There is nothing dainty about the way this style of pot pours. A good solid stream with little or no drips. The claim for this Yixing was that it is made from Hei Zhuni, supposedly a high quality black Zhuni clay. Upon further inspection we can see if this is the case. The price of this Yixing was somewhere around $35.00.

You can see in the picture that the inside of the ball filter is a solid red clay and it appears that the black "zhuni" clay was applied afterwards, maybe painted on, who knows. This doesn't mean there was deception in the description of the pot, just not made from solid black zhuni clay. This makes no difference in how well the pot brews tea, this pots a solid little chump that can brew the snot out of some roasted or heavily fermented oolong,s. It,s capcity is 100 cc, so it,s perfect for a gong fu session for one.

By consequence of the Shi Piao,s design the lids never fit as well as other style,s of pots. I mean they are snug enough and everything, they just don't have that air tight seal that is possible with other style,s of pots. I know that the ability to seal well also has to do with the potters skill but I think with this style it,s maybe just not gonna happen. But to me all that,s just an added bonus anyways, if it does, that,s fine. If not, that,s o.k. too.

You can see in the picture below the seam mark around the base, not a real good job of burnishing. Again, I have no idea if the chop marks are upside down or what. All in all, it,s a you get what you pay for situation here. The pot is maybe not really made from this black zhuni clay but rather cosmetically applied. But just the same, I love this little pot, solid as a rock and brews tea as good as any other regardless of price.

This Yixing has no ring to speak of, just kind of a solid clunk sound when you tap it. The makers name, Tian Zhong. As you can see in the above picture that this is a footed teapot.

Misty New Top Green Tea

With a name like that it sounds like something R.O.T would offer. From Seven Cups It,s been a while since the last time ordering from them, and truth be told I haven't bought all that much tea from them period. I have bought four or five Yixing from them but not very much tea. This tea sparked my interest because it,s made from the Long Jing tea bush. Long Jing # 43 to be exact. Gathered from the growth following the Long Jing harvest. I didn't buy this tea expecting it to have anything in common with Long Jing but rather out of curiosity as Ive never heard of this tea before. From the 2008 season, I know, I should have waited and bought this years tea but this tea is pretty inexpensive so I didn't care all that much. Realistically, I think at best this could be a good everyday green tea, going by the adage that you get what you pay for then this tea should fall into that category. The dry leaf has a range of green colors, chunky, long and spindly. The dry leaf aroma is kinda subtle, you can smell a little of it,s more famous counterpart. But there is also a lot of depth and somewhat grassy. Maybe some of that aroma will wind up in the cup, lets see. Umm.... yeah it does, kinda. In some ways the flavor also reminds me of Sencha in that it,s very vegetal and savory. The color of the brew even looks like Sencha, yellowish with a green undertone. It,s good, I like it. It,s about what I expected, a good everyday green tea. No disappointment with this purchase at all. A really good value, I,ll say that much for it. Nice full mouth feel and a flavor that isnt in the least bit light and wimpy. It,s a tea I definitely will re-order but I,ll wait for 2009 teas to come in. Seven Cups sells high quality teas and tea wares, even their least expensive teas are good for their price point. And of course their high end teas are the best money can buy, but I don't have that kinda money, maybe why I haven't bought that much tea from them. If I ever win the lottery though, Seven Cups here I come. They have a pretty informative site, quite a few videos about all things tea with Zhuping, owner and tea master, she seems to be quite a character and her love of tea is obvious. Ive had several of Seven Cups Rock Oolongs and Dan Congs, all of them very nice. I,m curious their new Puerh,s they recently aquired. Evidently they re-opened the Jing Gu Puerh factory that held at one time an elite position in the Puerh market. Personally, Ive never heard of Jing Gu Puerh but the buzz going around is that it,s pretty good stuff. We,ll see.

Bian Yuan Of Er Pu Zhuni Yixing

My beloved Bian Yuan, of Er Pu. Thanks to Bill of Ancient Tea Horse Road for educating me on the history of the Er Pu potters. Made in the 80,s of Zhuni clay, 125 cc capacity. The small size is perfect for an oolong tea session for one. Being made of medium light weight clay makes it ideal for green oolongs. This is the only pot that I have that has historical significance, all the others are made by artists that Ive heard referred to as celebrity potters.
The Er Pu potters were known for making the shantou type of teapots but some of the better potters of Er Pu went to Yixing to have the opportunity to work with the higher quality hongni and zhuni clays. Superb skill and craftsmanship went into making these pots. Although I have to admit this style of pot is not my favorite. You,ll notice the tip of the spout and the pots body are on the same level. What that does is affect the way the pot pours, the tea kinda shoots up and away from the pot while pouring. I,m not crazy about that but just the same this is one of my favorite pots.

 Stout little guy, don't let the cuteness of the pot fool you, he means business. Er Pu being located in the GuangDong province the potters only type of clay available for use was the local terra cotta. The Shantou pots were generally considered Yixing wanna be,s. And the genuine Yixing too expensive for the average person to afford. What a treat for the potters to be able to work with these clays after making pots considered common and ordinary. Fit for nothing more than the local farmers crude tea.


Chop marks, one of these days I,ll learn how to read these things. Has a crispy ringing ping when tapped. Ive noticed that the lighter weight clays make a higher pitched ring and the heavier pots have more depth and resonance in it,s ring.
Over a year of continual use and hardly any build up of grime to be seen. From what Ive read zhuni pots take a lot longer to become seasoned than other clays. Brews like a well seasoned pot despite the fact that there is nothing very visible. I have noticed that when used on a daily basis the surface of the pot becomes a much darker brick red and very oily (as seen in the top picture) But within a week of lying fallow it returns to an orangy red color. I got this from Hou De about a year or so ago.

Problem Solved

After: problem solved. With a small variation on Jamus,s recomendation. It finely occured to me to seperate the boxes into three piles. Small, medium and large. Put the small into medium and then the medium into the large and presto Ive got a much smaller pile of boxes to deal with. The wooden crate is full of Puerh.

Before: a big towering pile of empty tea ware storage boxes that needed to be dealt with.

Zisha "Tai Mu" Yixing

Another Yixing that goes into my leave out for use pile. Another great pot that Ive had for a few years. Hand made by Xu Xi, it,s capacity is about six oz. This is my Sheng Puerh pot. The wide opening at the top allows for easy placement of large chunks of puerh. Plenty of room inside for long whole leaves to expand properly. Made from high quality purple and yellow clay, the method of clay stacking is called Tai Mu. The image isn't painted on it,s done by stacking different types of clay to create images.


Artists Chop Marks






Pours very nice, a good solid stream of tea with no false starts or much in the way of dribbles.
I dont do the traditional gong fu brewing method of pouring the first pot over the outside of the pot. I just pour it down the sink instead. While it can help your pot to acquire that much sought after patina in time it also makes your pot into a pot that's too dirty and not so attractive to look at. (for a good example of the situation see Marshlans site) he has several posts about how to deal with dirty pots and the ways he has tried to clean them. And personally, I don't care so much about the shine of my pots. And Ive also read that pouring the first pot of tea over your Yixing in some cases can remove the luster from your pot. I know in time I,ll wind up with pots where the color of the lid and pot don't match anymore but I don't care about that. And as for it serving the purpose of pre-heating, believe it or not but there have been studies done that shows that pouring tea/water over the pot does nothing to raise the internal temperature. Pre-heating it by filling the pot with hot water makes the pot as hot as it,s ever gonna get.


As I don't drink Puerh daily this pots taking a while to acquire a good solid lining. It,s well past the new stage though, where it seems like the pot absorbs the teas flavor. Even though the clay isn't all that thick it holds heat really well. This Yixing is a bit on the unusual side in appearances. Upon close inspection you can see small pieces of mica reflecting light. Has a good solid yet crispy knocking sound.

Fujian Snow Monkey

And the first green tea of the year is, Fujian Snow Monkey. Grown in the Taimu mountains.
Snow Monkey is usually one of the first green teas to show up on the market in spring. A fairly common green tea but that doesn't equal ordinary in flavor. I picked this up at my local tea shop, The Steeping Room. I,m not sure about what price online vendors would sell this tea for but it,s a pretty inexpensive green tea.
The dry leaf is beautiful, long slender leaf that is a fresh healthy green and a good proportion of them being covered in white down. Ive also seen this same tea called White Monkey King when it has a high percentage of downy leaf. The picking is a one leaf one bud method. Smells so damned fresh and sweet. In trying to describe this teas flavor I think if you were to take the nutty, veggie richness of a Dragon Well and the sweet, mellow depth of a Lu An Gua Pian and tone those two down a notch you would have as close of a flavor profile as I can come up with.



Three or four grams of leaf, 185 degree water and a two to three minute infusion.
Good durability for a green tea too, oh, at least three good cups. I,m trying to wrangle four out of it. More leaf and quicker infusions? We,ll see.


Brews a nice clear yellow cup with a slight green tint. The tea broth is vegital and sweet. This isn't a green tea that the flavor just washes over your mouth and that's the end of it. Rather it seems to coat the inside of your mouth with a light syrup like sweetness that lasts a while.

I,m really enjoying this tea a lot. After a winter of teas that consisted of whatever I already had on hand (for the most part) this is a long awaited breath of fresh air. Spring and summer for me are all about fresh Chinese and Japanese Tea.



This is the fourth infusion. The leaves don't fully open until the second brew. And that,s the way I like it, that tells me this tea has a little more staying power than most green teas. From my experience the majority of greens give you two or three good brews and then just bottom out. But this Snow Monkey never really goes bitter or bland on you rather the flavor never really changes into anything other than what it started out as. It stays sweet even till the last cup.

A Small Army

Glamour Shots
Look at em, hamming it up for the camera.

A close up of the small spout. The reason for brewing some killer oolong?
A superb job of burnishing the clay, no noticable seams, at least as far as I can see.

The artists seal or chop mark, hand made by Zhao Ming Min

More chop marks, their all over the place
This pot has a very clear high pitched ring when tapping the lid against the body.

After two years of regular use this pots just starting to get a healthy layer of oolong grunge built up inside.

This Zhuni is one of my most used Yixing. As Ive said before, this pot is magic. Used exclusively for Taiwan and Anxi green oolongs. It,s capacity is about 8.5 oz. or so. Ive written about this pot before, it,s intended use is for oolongs and the supposed main feature of this pot is it,s small spout which forces an extended steeping time by means of it,s slow pour. I dont really think that has anything to do with it,s ability to brew good tea. It,s just a really well made pot and made from high quality Zhuni clay.


A lot of these other Yixing are getting packed up and put away for the summer. How do you know when you have too many? I try to stop myself from buying any more of em, but I cant help it sometimes. With the exception of a couple of pots for puerh I think the majority of these are going to get neglected through the summer. Poor little guys, just when they were getting their hopes up.




Oh how the mighty have fallen. Summer is coming and I dont love you anymore.
Believe it or not but Ive got more than this, these are just the ones I actually use.


Going through all of these pots should work out to be a good thing as it,s an opportunity for me to catalog all of them. Who made them, what type of clay, when they were made and so on. So in a big way me posting about these pots is kinda more about me than the tea community. Something I should have done a long time ago but just never got around to it.

Texas Hill Country In Spring

Ummm........the smell of fresh, clean air in the spring. In the hill country the landscape is carpeted with wild flowers. Wild ferns and lord knows what else. It makes my day to go for a walk and just admire all the wildlife. The chain link fence doesn't detract from the Lantana,s beauty at all. The center pic is the state flower, Bluebonnets and the top pic, Texas Mountain Laurel, which smells like blueberry bubblegum.

Tysons Morning Ritual, For LaoChaGui

Another episode in the life of Tyson. Tysons always the neighborhood personality, Ive lived with him in three different places now and everywhere we have lived he,s the dog that everybody knows by name. Loves everyone (except for that one guy) who he tried to bite. Loves kids, other dogs and his favorite, kitty's. I don't know why but he loves cats, but he cant figure out why they don't want to play with him. Our morning ritual consists of our walk. We first of all, go feed the kitty's. Across the street from my house is a shed that somebody dumped off a litter of kittens (I hate it when people do that kind of stuff) so every morning me and Tyson pack a baggy full of food and go feed them. Then we walk down that special sidewalk where most mornings out of the drive thru window a anonymous hand is waving one glazed donut in the air, it,s for me and Tyson. I have no idea who this woman is but if she,s working that day we get a free donut. Tyson loves windows, sometimes windows have french fries though, you just never know whats going to come out of the window, their magic. Then the all important pee and a poop and we are on our way home. Then it,s time for a snooze (for Tyson) and I can get on with what I need to do that day. Every things always about Tyson, if he doesn't get to start his day with this routine he pouts and sigh,s for the rest of the day. Poor baby, he,s got such a rough life. But seriously, I wouldn't trade him for anything. He,s really a well behaved dog, in the four years Ive had him he has never once used the bathroom or gotten sick inside the house. Even if it,s the middle of the night and he has to do something he will very gently wake me. Nobody likes being woken at three a.m. but that,s much better than the alternative. But we enjoy each other and are so co-dependant, I cant imagine what life would be like without him. Knowing the days coming when that will be the case even when he,s pissing me off I just think of that and whatever he,s doing/not doing doesn't seem all that important anymore.

Tysons favorite toy, Dot. He,ll chase this thing all day. Sometimes he try,s to pin it down under one of his paws, he,s thinking "now Ive got ya" it,s funny because he very slowly raises his paw to discover that dot somehow got away again. Very disturbing for him.