Trying not to insult the purists

You mean fangchas are this way as opposed to bingchas or other pu'er form factors?

/Lew

I used FangCha as an example of sharp green puer. Or should I say I used FangCha as an example of dense pressed green puer that are usually "sharper" and require more precise brewing than green puer beenchas that are almsot never as densely pressed (exception commemorating green Puerhs like one for HongKong joining China, Olympic Games, etc.

Sasha.

Why would the extra compression make the taste sharper?

/Lew

Lewis snipped-for-privacy@panix1.panix.com10/18/05 12: snipped-for-privacy@panix.com

You need sharper fangs to cut into it? Michael

Well, unless I undertake a full investigation I'll never KNOW, but I have my theories, and quite simple ones too.

1. The denser the puer the less the ventilation so the higher concentration of the gaseous products of microbe lifecycle is possible. Thus, the different densities may make the same puer into completely different microbial colonies.

1. Juice. In denser puers tealeaf juice can be squeezed out enough to SEAL in some cases and provide more aggressive media for fermentation in others.

I have a brick that demonstrates this well - its a VERY dense large (1.4 kilo) "Tibetan" brick and its lower part is much darker and is literally soaked in teajuice that turned into almost a brittlish tar. Tea brewed from the upper part and tea brewed from the lower parts are not just dissimilar - they are radically different.

IMHO, the "iron, or "Russian" presses that became possible after 1950-ies created that new effect both in just "dry" high density and "wet (juiced) high density" and that (Yet again) added more variety to puerhs.

Tell me if that makes any sense to you or I am a delusional idiot and need to grow fangs.

Sasha.

Well, unless I undertake a full investigation I'll never KNOW, but I have my theories, and quite simple ones too.

1. The denser the puer the less the ventilation so the higher concentration of the gaseous products of microbe lifecycle is possible. Thus, the different densities may make the same puer into completely different microbial colonies.

1. Juice. In denser puers tealeaf juice can be squeezed out enough to SEAL in some cases and provide more aggressive media for fermentation in others.

I have a brick that demonstrates this well - its a VERY dense large (1.4 kilo) "Tibetan" brick and its lower part is much darker and is literally soaked in teajuice that turned into almost a brittlish tar. Tea brewed from the upper part and tea brewed from the lower parts are not just dissimilar - they are radically different.

IMHO, the "iron, or "Russian" presses that became possible after 1950-ies created that new effect both in just "dry" high density and "wet (juiced) high density" and that (Yet again) added more variety to puerhs.

Tell me if that makes any sense to you or I am a delusional idiot and need to grow fangs.

Sasha.

Makes sense.

How much is tea juice versus the moisture introduced by steanming? Most maocha is already fairly dry so the steam probibly introduces the moisture and disolves components of the leaf along with it to create a juice.

I am curious Alex, which do you perceive as tasting better, the juicy lower side or the dryer upper side? What are the main differences?

And who is to say that both are not true? ;-)

Mike

Take a piece of cheap Greek baklava and observe that the lower part is all soaked in hoiney while upper part is quite dry. This is very close to the picture I was trying to paint. The upper part can be (with great effort, but still) cut by the saw. In teh lwoer part the saw get stuck almost immediately. Ax is more like it. You need to brew them differently. Upper part is more like green tea, lower - more like very delicate oolong. may be the best it to combine both parts and brew like green. But the lower part is somewhat oxidized and I think somwhat fermented too. Brick of fun. I would have sent you some, but I have only one huge brick left and its unopened. I will loook at ebay, may be they still have'em.

Sasha.