Puerh Samples from puerhshop.com

All are from puerhshop.com

2013 Yiwu Zhongshan ripe puerh cake $18 for a 400 g cake

A fairly bland tea. I finished the cake without a problem, but I don't think I would get another. I wish it had a little more something in the flavors profile to make it stand out.

2007 Jingmai Laoshu Gongting Pu-erh sample ($23.90 for a 357 g cake)
This has a bit more interesting going on that the aforementioned cake. I'm not sure if I would get a large amount though.

2010 CNNP 7572 Yellow Mark Pu-erh sample ($17.99 for a 357 g cake)
Oddly enough, this tastes like the yellow mark I remember from several years ago and had quite a lot of (I think it was 2004 give or take a few years). Good stuff for a drinking daily. Probably worth getting some of this. Ordered 3 cakes.

2015 Zenpuer 1501 Year of the Goat Ripe Pu-erh sample ($15.99 for a 357 g cake)
Impressive for such a young product. Ordered 1 cake.

2008 CNNP Grand Red in Red Ripe Pu-erh sample ($23.99 for a 357 g cake)
Mediocre.

2013 Boyou JYMT Ripe Pu-erh sample ($20.98 for a 357 g cake)
This tea has a really nice smell. Some complexities but not bad.

2006 Mengku Old Tree Ripe Pu-erh sample
Hard to describe this one. Not good in comparison to the other samples in this order though.

2007 CNNP Win Ripe Pu-erh sample ($29.98 for a 380 g cake)
This has a good smell reminding me of the first type of pu I bought a decent amount of, but the flavor profile is a bit disappointing.

2011 MGH 1104 Ripe Pu-erh tea brick ($8.95 for 200 g portioned brick)
Standard fare for this sort of a pre-sized brick. Decent staple, but not much going on.

2009 Yiwu Qing Yun Ripe Pu-erh tea
Has a somewhat cloudy brew with lots of small particles.

2010 Banzhang Ripe Pu-erh tea
Has a somewhat cloudy brew with lots of small particles.

2012 Yiwu Zengshan Pu-erh

From puerhshop.com $15 for a 400 g cake

This is a big surprise. I think this is the first ripe puerh I have had where there is absolutely no fishy/swampy (duiwei) aroma at all, which is remarkable especially considering it is a 2012 vintage. It leaves me wondering how they did this and whoever is responsible did a great job. If only they could help all the other producers know what works it could really help the reputation of ripe puerh and raise the quality. This really is a what I would consider a standard ripe puerh. If all ripe was produced in this fashion maybe it would get a better reputation. Its also nice to see some reasonable consistency in the leaf quality and fewer stems and finely chopped material.
(I had found this saved as a draft since I wanted to buy a decent amount before posting. Here it is two years later, it is sold out, and I didn't get any more. Oh well, on to find the next decent ripe cakes.)

2008 Menghai Qizibing Pu-erh

From puerhshop.com $17 for 357 g cake

The brews are a bit cloudy with particulates for my preference. A mediocre tea that I should be able to finish the cake of this slowly mixing it in the rotation for something different.

2010 Charming Menghai Pu-erh Tea Cake

From puerhshop.com $17 for a 357 g cake

The search for a ripe puerh to stock up on continues. This is the first from an order I recently placed with puerhshop.com. This seems a reasonable well rounded tea. Surprisingly nothing really stands out to me to form much of an opinion, good or bad. This might make for a nice daily tea, which is what I am looking for.