Puerh aging and Qi development
Hi guys, lately I’ve been buying young sheng with heavy Qi, thats my thing, for me tea without Qi is an incomplete experience. My question is, if young sheng cha qi is strong, is that an indicator that lets say 10-15 years from now that Qi will be stronger or at least equally strong? I try to buy the best offerings western vendors have in stock, My tea is stored at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and RH 60-70% most of the year.
Thanks for your imput, and sorry for my english, its not my native language.
It’s really hard to say.
From a very high level, there are two overall factors that contribute to cha qi.
1. The quality of the tea
2. The individual person’s body which includes the person’s health. Their state of health affects the way they feel the cha qi. Everyone is different so no two people experience it the same way.
Generally speaking, the cha qi should become stronger over time as the tea continues to age.
Nobody really knows for sure. Also it depends on what you mean by “qi”,. My advice is don’t worry about it too much and just enjoy the tea. Do some experimenting; break up half your cake and store it in a paper lunch bag or unglazed clay jar and see how it goes. You’ll prob drink your cake before it’s had time to really age 10-30years. Also buying the “best” is subjective, unpocodetodo
Logically I wouldn’t think that qi would get better with age since whatever causes it would degrade and I can’t imagine that fermentation would effect it positively like it does with taste and smell. My limited experience has been that young sheng and young shou that I’ve experienced good qi with has been less intense 6 months later.
Would be really interesting to try something like 2005 Naka in 2006 and then today. My hunch is that its qi is the same or less strong today.
Im a big 2005 Naka fan, I honestly cant imagine it being a lot stronger in its youth, that would be borderline illegal lol
Have you tried the Hai Lang Hao Ba Ma Gong Chun? Kicks hard too as well as the Chen Shen Naka?
I haven’t heard of either and don’t see any reviews online but I’ll add them to my wishlist. Maybe you want to add a review ? :)
The Hai Lang is from Yunnan Sourcing. I can echo mrmopar on it’s strength – I have to leaf down when drinking it not to get my @$$ kicked. I think it has an interesting mouthfeel too. I could swap you some if you like; just send me a PM.
“Logically I wouldn’t think that qi would get better with age since whatever causes it would degrade”…if you don’t know what causes qi, how can you assume it degrades?
I would guess, based upon my experience with many older teas having stronger qi, that the fermentation that occurs over time may somehow increase the bioavailability of the compounds that cause qi.
“Very interesting, cha qi is…know little, we do.” — Yoda, Cha Chronicles, Episide V
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