On the tea table is Moychay’s 2019 Lao Chahu shou puer. This shou material is of 2017 tips, twisted, and thin leaves from Myanmar (formerly Burma), then pressed in 2019.
Before I get into the tea, Moychay has been highly requested to be featured on Oolong Owl for their cool wrapper art, large selection, fair prices, and Russian mystique. They contacted me first and sent me a lot of tea try. They ship out of Moscow, and with their express delivery, it took only 7 days to get to Seattle!
Leaf and Steeping Method
2019 Lao Chahu’s leaves have a woodsy and nutty scent. This cake feels on the fragile side due to the thin leaves. There was a bit of fallen debris, but also very easy to break off drinkable pieces.
For this ripe puer, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml gongfu ratio and two rinses in boiling water. Stepped up, the leaves smell intense like old wood and decaying fall leaves.
Tasting of Moychay’s 2019 Lao Chahu Shou Puer
First and Second Infusion: Early steepings of 2019 Lao Chahu are light and nutty, tasting like a boiled chestnut and peanut shell. There is a pop of old carpet and wood in some sips. The second infusion added a bit of sweet dried raisin, kind of like a Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate bar, but the chocolate is replaced with slightly dank and delicious carpet and wood.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: 2019 Lao Chahu hit ink status with that dark colour. The main flavor is mostly of nutshells and wood, a hint of old carpet, with a mineral sweetness. Some sips have a bit of sourness and medicinal funk to it, while others some dried fruit. This shou is interesting as it does show a bit of aged wet storage qualities. The texture is slightly silky but doesn’t stand out.
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: The leftover flavor of Lao Chahu is a slightly dank medicinal and nutty flavor that finished of sweet mineral lightness, but then echos a bitter wood in the aftertaste. Each steeping gets more of that nutty woody dank flavor with a longer sweetness. As the tea fades, it goes more to a sour wood flavor.
Comments
Moychay’s 2019 Lao Chahu shou puer from Mynamar is a great shou for those who love the nutty, woody, sweet, and slight dank medicinal flavors.
I found it interesting how Lao Chahu has a bit of an aged taste already – there must have been some very humid storage shenanigans going on with the original 2017 material, but regardless it tastes great if you love this puer tea profile.
At this time of writing, 2019 Lao Chahu is $50.91 USD for a 357gram cake.
(tea provided for review)
