Don Mei : Hey teaheads! This is Don from Mei
Leaf. In this video : The Art Of fermenting
tea. In this video we are going to be tasting
our latest cooked Puerh tea, and we're going
to be talking about what makes a good - versus
a bad - fermented tea. This video is going
to go under the "Teamaster Classes", "Drinking
With Friends" and "Single Tea Tastings" playlists
- a "triple-header". If at any point in time
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Celine : [laughter]
Don : I'm here with Celine...
Celine : Hello. [WAVING]
Don : .., and Ugo!
Ugo : Hey! [WAVING]
Don : [This is his] debut on YouTube. Ugo
is a good friend of ours. [He's] formally
an employee of Mei Leaf.
Ugo : True.
Don : So he used to be behind the bar. How
many years were you working at Mei Leaf?
Ugo : Uh, three -and-a-half, actually.
Don : Three-and-a-half years. So he knows
his tea, but he hasn't tried this one yet.
Celine : [It's] so exciting.
Don : It's a Saturday. We are running a little
bit behind schedule. I'm sorry. We're going
to be editing and posting this up tomorrow,
because it's been crazy-busy with the "Black
Friday" weekend.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : If you haven't seen the "Black Friday"
weekend offer - if you're watching this , obviously,
this weekend - then go check it out. We've
done a video about that already. It's still
live. If you are watching us afterwards then
you can't take that offer anyway... [laughter]
Celine : [laughter] Sorry!
Don : So it's been a mad, mad weekend, but
it's Saturday [and] we're here chilling out,
and we want to try a new tea.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : So we thought we'd get Ugo in, because
you like your Puerh teas, right?
Ugo : Yes.
Don : Do you prefer raw or cooked?
Ugo : I like raw Puerh, actually.
Celine : Mmm.
Ugo : That's mainly because of the flavor,
I would say.
Don : Yeah. Cool. Well, we've got some ripe...
but you drink ripe Puerh as well.
Ugo : Oh, yeah...yeah...yeah.
Don : Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we've got a ripe
Puerh that we want to introduce to everyone.
Celine, you do the honors.
Celine : [laughter] I literally just printed
this this week.
Don : Yeah. This is fresh off the press. This
is...
Celine : No pressure.
Don : This is our latest cooked Puerh. You
can see the title on there. It's the "After
Party Enchanter".
Celine : Indeed.
Don : [It's] the "After Party Enchanter",
with the bear [lying] on a chaise longue,
chilling out next to a waterfall. But what
is that waterfall? Is it a waterfall, or is
it something else?
Celine : No!
Don : Anyway, we're going to be talking about
the name and the artwork in a bit, but I think
the most important thing is that we don't
influence you too much...
Celine : Oh my Goodness!
Don : .. and we taste...
Celine : I was going to say what the waterfall
[is]! [laughter]
Don : Yeah, don't talk about it! So yeah,
we don't want to influence Ugo too much, because
we want to taste it.
Celine : Sorry.
Don : That's one cake [that's] just been wrapped.
Here is a cake that we've been eating into
already. As I said, Celine and I have obviously
tried this tea, in selecting this tea, and
I'm going to be talking to you about what
we think makes this tea so special. But take
a look at that.
Ugo : Mmm.
Don : [It] looks good, no?
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : First impressions? Ugo, what do you
think?
Celine : Tell us your thoughts. [laughter]
Ugo : What do I think?
Don : Tell us your expert opinion.
Ugo : Can I just grab it and smell it?
Don : Just grab it, yeah.
Celine : Your expert opinion.
Don : have a sniff.
Ugo : [SMELLS TEA]
Don : It's very difficult to get much out
of the dry leaf.
Ugo : It is hard.
Don : Yeah. But it's [a] nice, nice, good
level of buds. You can see quite a lot of
buds. [There's] nice, small leaf..
Celine : MmmHmm.
Don : ... which is good thing as well. Usually..
I mean, these are not exclusive, or exhaustive,
rules at all... but, generally, if you see
a nice small leaf, and this golden, kind of,
rusty color...
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : ... it means it's more bud-heavy, and
that tends to produce a finer drink. Do you
want to break into it?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Do you want to break into it here, so
people ...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... so people can see you cracking into
this cake?
Celine : Sure can.
Don : So this is brand new in. It actually
is arriving next week, so we can only put
it on pre-order. It's going to be arriving,
probably, [on] Thursday next week.
Celine : [laughter]
Don : [laughter] Splash!
Celine : [laughter] I actually want to use
this one.
Don : Then we'll start wrapping them. But
Celine is busy printing, right?
Celine : Yeah. That will do.
Don : [You] had a nice printing session?
Celine : I did! You know, I actually really
enjoyed doing that print. I like doing new
prints anyway. But it wasn't too difficult,
this one. Sometimes it can be really a challenging
day at print club, where nothing goes right.
The printers will know this.
Don : Yeah, absolutely. You have good days
and bad days.
Celine : But it makes it kind of more exciting
when it does go well, and everything prints
really [nicely], but its...
Don : The rough with the smooth.
Celine : Yes, exactly.
Don : One defines the other. You can't have
good if you don't have bad, right?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Ah! We're getting all "Yin-Yang" on
a Saturday. [laughter]
Ugo : [laughter]
Celine : [laughter] Yeah.
Don : What are you getting?
Celine : Okay. Now I get more...
Don : It's got some nuts to it.
Celine : Nuts, and like those cherries in
alcohol.
Ugo : [SMELLS TEA] Brazil nuts.
Don : What? Ah, Brazil nuts.
Celine : Brazil nuts!
Ugo : I would say [it's] Brazil nuts.
Don : Oh, yeah, Brazil nuts. Yes.
Ugo : A lot. [SMELLS TEA]
Celine : Let me smell that again. [SMELLS
TEA]
Ugo : Yeah.
Celine : You know what? That's pretty spot
on... and raisins. I get those "Sultana" [raisins].
Ugo : I can kind of get that, yeah.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : [SMELLS TEA] Mmm. [It's] really nutty.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Yeah, [it's] definitely nutty, and a
little bit caramelly as well.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Okay.
Celine : Oh.
Don : Let's give it a brew. Let's give it
a rinse. [It's] very important that you rinse
your cooked Puerhs, and we're going to be
talking about that in a little bit. But essentially,
because it's fermented, right...
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : ... [there's] lots of fungal activity
[and] there's lots of bacterial activity - [which
is] all good stuff, and we're going to be
talking about that in [the] session. Try and
put it here so that they can see it, and use
the filter.
Celine : [laughter] No, I'm rinsing it!
Don : Oh, okay. Right... because you want
to just [throw away] that initial rinse, because
it's more likely that that initial rinse will
have some contaminants, just kind of [generally]
through the fermentational - or composting
- stage there's going to be, naturally, things
that develop, right? So you just want to pour
that away. We'll talk about it in a second,
after we've tasted it. But, you know, rinsing
is a good practice to do with most teas, but
I would say [it's] fundamentally essential
for Puerh teas. You know?
Celine : Yeah, that makes sense.
Don : Definitely. You know, even when you
take any Puerh tea...
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : ... after you've rinsed it it tastes
very different to if you just brew it from
dry.
Ugo : Oh yeah.
Don : There's that mustiness that comes...
Celine : Yeah!
Don : ... even with the high-quality one.
Celine : True.
Don : But anyway, let's have a sniff of that
...
Ugo : I'm so excited!
Don : ... have a sniff of the wet leaf..
Celine : Go for it.
Don : .. and I will show the liquor to the
camera. So this is, what color would you say
this is?
Celine : It's like... uh... Coca-cola? [laughter]
Ugo : Coca-cola.
Don : Yeah. It's kind of coffee [or] Coca-cola,
but it's a little bit more red than that,
no?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : It's got a bit more red to it.
Celine : [A] red tinge.
Ugo : So it's more like a liquor, actually.
Don : It's more like a...
Ugo : Like an old liquor.
Celine : Or prune juice.
Don : ... a very, very oxidized ... Yeah,
prune juice! Exactly.
Celine : Prune juice, yeah.
Ugo : Yeah...yeah...yeah.
Don : Like you know how prune juice that dark
- but slightly red - look to it? What are
you thinking on smell, you guys?
Celine : Yeah, what are you schmelling?
Ugo : You know what I keep thinking?
Celine : What?
Ugo : The more I smell it, you know, it's
like [treacle] syrup, or maple syrup... kind
of...
Celine : Ah!
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : If it didn't have sugar...
Celine : Yeah!
Ugo : If it didn't have sugar, this one.
Don : What, maple syrup or a treacle? Yeah.
Ugo : Without sugar. Yeah.
Celine : Yeah!
Ugo : So that's be a healthy version of it.
Don : You're doing well so far!
Ugo : [SMELLS TEA] That's what I think about
it.
Don : Okay.
Celine : Let me schmell it as well.
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : If you do it like I did.
Celine : [SMELLS TEA] Oh my God!
Don : So it's got a very [desserty], sweet
kind of note to it, right?
Ugo : Mmm.
Don : It's got that kind of [treacley], sugary
kind of note to it.
Ugo : Yeah. That's what I was kind of...
Celine : Like even a bit of brioche in it?
Don : [SMELLS TEA] Yeah.
Celine : Which is weird.
Don : [SMELLS TEA] [There's] a bit of baked
bread...
Celine : Yeah.
Celine : .. and that might be some of the
...
Celine : Like buttery!
Don : ... natural kind of yeasts in the ...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... fermentation process.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : You know, those kinds of things. You
know.
Ugo : [SMELLS TEA] Yeah, [those] things.
Celine : Buttery!
Ugo : Definitely.
Don : It's got that buttery, baked...
Celine : Oh!
Don : ... but light, brioche bread.
Ugo : That's amazing though.
Celine : Yeah. [laughter]
Don : Ah!
Ugo : I'm really excited to drink it.
Don : Cheers everybody!
Celine : Cheers!
Ugo : Cheers!
Don : The "After Party Enchanter". [SIPS TEA]
Celine : Uh-huh!
Don : [The] texture [is] super-smooth, right?
Ugo : Yes.
Don : [It's] unbelievably smooth.
Ugo : Can I have another one?
Don : Yeah.
Celine : Oh yeah! Sorry. [laughter]
Don : Thoughts?
Ugo : Again, [it’s like] nougat without
sugar. So there's nuts, again, for me. There's
like this caramel, I think, for some reason,
I feel like really strongly.
Don : So caramel [and] nougat...
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : ... but less on the nutty [and] more
just pure kind of nougat?
Ugo : Yeah. That's what I was saying!
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : That's why I keep saying like take the
sugar out of it, because I'm trying to think
about it like it's just a really raw flavor...
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : ... of something really nutty, [with]
caramel.
Don : Right. So [it's] nutty [with] caramel...
Ugo : Yeah, I would go for that.
Celine : I agree completely.
Ugo : Kind of ...
Celine : It's so caramelly.
Ugo : ... you know, like if you cook it for
a while where ...
Don : Mmm! Yeah, so it's like cooked sugars.
Ugo : Basically! Yeah.
Don : Kind of. Yeah.
Ugo : That's what I [meant].
Don : Cooked sugars...
Ugo : That's what I meant
Don : ... but without the sweetness, [and]
the texture, for me, is one of the most incredible
things on here. It's very, very smooth.
Celine : Oh my God!
Don : Going down it's like butter. You know
what I mean?
Ugo : Yeah.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : It's just so smooth. [Yes], after a
while the dryness starts to come, [and] you
get a little bit of dryness on the tongue.
but the first [instance] after swallowing,
it's really silky, isn't it?
Celine : Mmm!
Don : It's a very silky tea.
Celine : I was just thinking [that] maybe
that's how like a Tibetan tea - you know,
the one with the butter and the milk...
Ugo : Oh my God! Yes! I tried that.
Celine : You know?
Ugo : Yeah...yeah...yeah.
Celine : Have you tried that before?
Ugo : Yeah. When I went to the Himalayas....
Don : Was it salty?
Ugo : It's very salty. I went to this Tibetan
restaurant for my birthday, and they just
gave us the tea afterwards.
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : It was intense. Like, I think I stopped
halfway through it, and I love tea, so...
Celine : [laughter]
Ugo : It's really [intense]
Don : Was it more like a savory soup than
a ...?
Ugo : Yeah. That's what I found it, because
I felt like I was not drinking tea, but also
eating at the same time...
Don : Yeah...yeah...yeah.
Ugo : ... so it's quite hardcore.
Don : Yeah, I know.
Ugo : It's good, but ...
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : ... you should know that.
Celine : Oh!
Ugo : But it's very salty as well, yeah.
Celine : Yeah. Everyone says that, that it's
like very salty. I always imagined it to be
sweet, but it's not.
Ugo : It's kind of fatty as well, because
they kind of...
Don : Yeah, [it's] yak butter.
Ugo : Yeah, it's like intense, and you can
see it's very oily.
Celine : Whoa!
Don : Anyway, so this is silky and smooth.
We're getting caramels. [There's] some nuts
in there. There's ...
Celine : Fudge. it's so fudgy.
Don : I mean, [for me] it still does have
... you know how [ripe] Puerhs have a slight
medicinal taste to it?
Celine : Yeah. MmmHmm.
Don : You know?
Ugo : I know what you mean, yeah.
Don : Almost like a herbal, medicinal note.
Celine : Mmm.
Don : But I totally agree with you that the
real, shining kind of flavors are much more
[like] cooked sugars [and] nuts, and the reason
why we made this waterfall look this way - or
Celine made this waterfall ...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... look a little more viscous - is
because we were trying to basically show kind
of fudge waterfalls, or caramel waterfalls.
Celine : Yeah, fudge!
Ugo : Really? I [got it]. Well done to me!
Celine : [laughter] Yeah!
Don : Pat on the back, Ugo! Pat on the back.
Ugo : That's supposed to be you. [laughter]
Don : That's why we made it that color as
well, because we wanted it to be kind of fudgy.
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : Because the first time that we tasted
this tea we were just like, "Fudge!".
Celine : Yeah.
Don : "Fudge and caramel", and we loved it
for that.
Ugo : Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
Celine : Instant fudge.
Ugo : I agree with that.
Don : Okay. So now we've gone through our
initial tasting, and we'll keep drinking it.
Let's talk about the art of the fermentation
process, because I think that's really, really
important...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... and what is so interesting about
this tea. For those of you who don't know,
the big difference between raw Puerh and ripe
Puerh is that the ripe Puerh goes through
a fermentation phase, which is sped up. So
the raw Puerh is technically fermenting and
oxidizing over years, whereas [with] the ripe
Puerh they shorten the time, and they do it,
artificially, through a kind of "wet piling"
process. So what they'll do is they'll take
the leaf, they'll bring it to their fermenting
factory, they'll pile the leaf up, and then
they will usually put water...
Celine : [It's] like spraying water?
Don : ... sometimes around 30 percent... No,
quite a lot of water...
Celine : Really?
Don : ... [like] 30 percent water over it,
and it, and it goes through a kind of composting
phase.
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : But the floor of the factories can - and
usually are - porous ...
Celine : MmmHmm.
Don : ... and because they've gone through
lots of fermentation before they're like seeded
with this culture of bacteria and fungus,
yeah?
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : So fungi and bacteria are seeded within
the floor.So that's like your starter, right?
That's why when you have bread, you know,
and you have your starter [culture]. You need
your starter culture.
Celine : Or like kombucha, with like the starter.
Yeah, right.
Don : Right. But then you've also got the
natural fungi and bacteria that live on the
natural fresh leaf in these forests in Yunnan.
Celine : Ah!
Don : That's why getting good, relatively-wild
tea leaves are better, because they're going
to have more of that kind of fungal and bacterial
colony, right? Then what they do is they cover
it with water, and then they put, sometimes,
straw matting, or other types of matting down,
and what they do is that matting is also seeded
with bacteria, and with previous fermentation
processes. So you're getting this kind of
really rich diversity of fungi and bacteria.
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : I don't want people to be put off.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : I mean, people talk about fungal activity
and stuff like that...
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : ... and everyone thinks that that is
negative, but we are all...
Celine : We've got tons in us!
Don : Yeah. You've got more [microorganisms]
in your body -- you carry around with you
more microorganisms in your body than you
exist yourself. So you are - in a way - more
of like a vehicle for microorganisms than
you. You know what I mean?
Celine : Yeah.
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : Like you have more. I know that some
people talk about 10 times, but I think that
that's not quite accurate.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : But it's still a hell of a lot.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : So we live in a symbiotic relationship
with bacteria, and that's how we survive.
Celine : Yeah, that's what we need, isn't
it?
Ugo : Yeah, definitely.
Don : Now there is a trend back - finally,
thankfully - towards misos, and kim chis,
and sauerkrauts, and kombuchas and kefirs...
Celine : Mmm.
Don : ... and long may that continue, because
we are finally like regrasping this wisdom...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : .. you know, that the microbiome is
essential for your health.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : So don't be put off when I start to
use words like "fungal activity" and "bacterial
activity", because that's part of nature,
and part of life.
Celine : It's a good thing.
Ugo : It's natural.
Don : Exactly. Well, so but this is the point...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... bs there's so much diversity in
the different fungi and bacteria, right?
Celine : Uh-huh.
Don : ... they've done tests, okay, and they
have found nearly four hundred different types
of fungi...
Ugo : Whoa!
Celine : Four hundred!
Don : ... and nearly six hundred different
types of bacteria in Puerh tea. Right? So
we are talking about massive diversity here.
Because there's so much diversity ...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : .. you can get it wrong and you can
get it right.
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : We all know - even forget about the
toxins part of it ...
Celine : Yeah.
Ugo : Mmm.
Don : We all know that there's really low-quality
ripe Puerh, which tastes squidy, and fishy,
and not very nice...
Celine : [It's] so fishy.
Don : ... and all the way to like supremely
fermented tea, and for me - when we taste
this tea - the first thing that stuck out
was [that] this has been fermented immaculately.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Like the way that it's been fermented
is immaculate. So...
Celine : Can I just say something?
Don : Yeah. Go for it.
Ugo : [laughter] I can start drinking [more].
Celine : That means that in the "Live", when
I drank that really crappy, fishy Puerh - we
did like a game..
Don : The Live Session.
Celine : I kept getting that bloody [fishiness].
That means I was having bad bacterias in me,
isn't it?
Don : Well, you know, I don't know. I don't
know [if] they were toxic or not.
Celine : I didn't feel bad afterwards.
Don : ... but certainly, I do believe that
you should trust your taste buds.
Ugo : Yeah. [laughter]
Yeah. [laughter]
Don : Nature has probably armed you with like
enough knowledge passed over generations to
say, "That taste is not good for me. I'm not
going to drink it."
Celine : Yeah. Like, "No more." [laughter]
Ugo : Yeah. It is no fun [without trying it].
Yeah. I agree.
Celine : Oh, it's good.
Don : So what's special about the "After Party
Enchanter", for us, is the [backstory] of
it. So, through our connections in Yunnan
there's a fermenter who's been fermenting
for decades, yeah? He's been fermented probably
since... because, you know, fermentation - or
this "wet piling fermentation" - is traditional
in other parts of [China] ...
Celine : MmmHmm.
Don : But in Yunnan ít's relatively new,
you know?
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Celine : Oh!
Don : [In the] 70s [or] 80s [it] really kind
of started to take off. So we've got one fermenter
- one person who's a producer - who has been
doing it for decades, right - so pretty much
at its inception. His name is Mr. Huang, and
he is a master fermenter - a master fermenter.
What's special about this tea is [that] he
really took ownership of this tea, and he
said he wanted to make a fermented - or ripe
- Puerh tea which he took ownership from the
very beginning. So he selected the leaves
[and] selected the pickings. This is from
100-year-old tea trees, so it's not Gu Shu,
but it's certainly not plantation tea.
Celine : Mmm.
Don : So he's picked really high-quality Bulang
leaves, he chose the leaves himself, and then
he oversaw the entire "wet piling" process
himself, personally, from picking all the
way to pressing it into our Mei Leaf cakes.
Ugo : Did he do [it] just for this specific
batch?
Don : So it's just the batch.
Ugo : Yeah? That's amazing.
Celine : That is amazing.
Don : This is why we're really privileged
to be able to get this level of expertise
from the whole process.
Ugo : [I took a sip of that.]
Celine : [laughter]
Don : [laughter] No...no...no. I'm sick of
talking. I just want to drink. [SIPS TEA]
Ugo : This tastes really nice. I'm sorry.
You're talking, but I feel like I can still
[drink tea].
Celine : [laughter] [SIPS TEA] Oh, it's changed,
actually - the second infusion.
Ugo : It's really, really nice.
Don : Okay, what are you getting. We'll take
a pause from the theory.
Ugo : I keep trying to think about what it
tastes [like] from the beginning.
Celine Yeah.
Ugo : Because I said like those two things
that I really think it is, but there's something
else that I really think it tastes like, but
I couldn't remember.
Celine : It's like an herbal note, I feel.
You know? It's like...
Ugo : It's probably something else that I
know, or something that I've tried, or drunk,
[or] something.
Don : I do get the herbal. I get a slight
attic kind of note to it ...
Ugo : Mmm... Frangelico.
Celine : Ah! Oh my God!
Don : Yes. I was about to say. I was about
to say. I was about to say. [I wasn't] going
to ...
Ugo : Because I was thinking [that] it's missing
the sugar, obviously, and the alcohol, but
it is exactly what I was kind of tasting.
Celine : That's amazing.
Don : You did a really good job there, because
I was going to say [that] it has a slight
alcoholic note...
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : ... but Frangelico is the right ...
Ugo : Yeah. Definitely.
Celine : I can't believe you. That's so spot
on.
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : Good.
Don : Yeah. [laughter] You're like...
Ugo : I'm still on it. I'm happy that I still
can identify good tea.
Don : I've still got it. Yeah, because you
haven't been working at Mei Leaf for what?
Ugo : I left in February 2015?
Celine : Yeah.
Ugo : Or 2016?
Celine : '16... Yeah.
Don : '16...Okay, about a year-and-a-half.
But you've still got the taste buds. That's
good. But going back to the fermenting process,
it's actually really interesting, because
[ripe] Puerh tea has always - [always], [well]
over the decades - has been used as a digestive,
yeah?
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : Like to help you digest, and it definitely
works, right?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : You have like a heavy meal, and having
a ripe Puerh is one of the best, best drinks
for that.
Ugo : Slow-roasted.
Celine : [laughter]
Don : Slow-roasted?
Ugo : Slow-roasted meat in the oven.
Don : Oh.
Ugo : ... and with Puerh it's just like delicious.
If you want to have a pork belly. I would
[guess], because this helps a lot.
Don : Well, I forgot to say that Ugo is [from
Portugal]. He's a real "foodie". The Portuguese
like their meats, don't they?
Ugo : Yeah. We like them slow-roasted and
like really fatty. So these teas actually
just help a lot.
Don : Yeah...yeah...yeah. So actually, it's
the perfect [accompaniment] to Portuguese
food.
Celine : He's a very good cook as well.
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : So the ripe Puerh is well-known for
its digestive qualities, and it's interesting
because the research [that's] been done shows
that, basically, when you take the fresh leaf
the fresh leaf has a huge diversity of [fungi]
living on the leaf, right?
Celine : MmmHmm.
Don : But quite a low diversity of bacteria.
So [there's] lots of different types , but
at low quantity. So it's all there, right?
All the funghi is there , but at low quantity.
When you ferment it what happens is the diversity
shrinks a bit, so [actually] kind of some
colonies take over, and other colonies die
of, right?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : So it shrinks a bit, but it radically
increases the amount. So it radially increases
the amount of this kind of activity, and for
bacteria there's very little bacteria on the
fresh leaf, but in ripe Puerh the bacteria
content shoots through the roof as well. Again,
[there are] lots of different good bacterias,
you know, [and] all these different things
that live in the gut as well.
Celine : Mmm.
Don : Then, if you take the in-between - which
is raw Puerh, yeah? - it's kind of in between.
So the diversity is like closer to the fresh
leaf, but as it ages it does move towards
similar profiles to the ripe. But it is different.
So if you take aged raw and you analyze it
compared to ripe you're going to have slightly
different sets of colonies...
Celine : Right.
Don : .... but it’s closer, and there are
plenty of fungi in tea - in the Puerh tea
- that theoretically should create microtoxins.
Celine : Right.
Don : But what is actually interesting is
[when] they analyze for the microtoxins [it’s]
very, very rare that they find it - not very,
very rare, it's there, but it's in very, very
low volumes - so what they think is that the
tea polyphenols - the actual tea constituents
- allow the fungi to grow, but neutralize
the toxins.
Ugo : Oh.
Don : So it modulates the toxins. Because
that's one of the surprises is that there
are all these fungi which, theoretically,
should create toxins, but they can't find
the toxins in the tea.
Celine : Whoa!
Don : Do you understand what I mean?
Ugo : Yeah...yeah...yeah.
Don : So there's something happening with
the synergy - or the relationship between
the tea polyphenols and the funghi - to kind
of allow them to grow, but neutralize the
toxins. lt's an interesting thing, and I would
love to learn more, and I'm sure that there's
more out there. If you've got more information
put the information in the comments section
below. I would love to read more, and I'm
sure that we're going to get a lot more science
out of it so we can understand these activities.
But let's get back to the taste. [SIPS TEA]
Celine : It's so delicious! [SIPS TEA]
Ugo : [SIPS TEA] Mmm. Can I just...
Don : Yeah. Go for it. Go for it.
Ugo : I just want to smell it to see if it
changes. [SMELLS TEA]
Don : So you can get many infusions out of
this.
Celine : [It's] creamier now.
Don : Yeah.
Celine : It's like it kind of goes in different
waves, isn't it?
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : Yeah. I'm starting to get more malt,
yeah?
Celine : Yeah.
Don : [There's] a little bit more of those
kind of warmer, creamier notes to it.
Celine : Mmm. I get a bit of cream-fresh like
oiliness. You know, after you've had [it].
Don : Mmm! I get kind of dark, forest honeys.
[SMELLS TEA] You know, those kind of dark,
slightly medicinal, like Manuka honeys.
Ugo : Yeah. Oh my God! The black honey. You
know that honey?
Don : Yeah, like those kind of dark honeys.
That's what I get from it - medicinal honeys.
Celine : Is Hanuka honey black?
Don : Manuka. [There are different colors].
Ugo : [SMELLS TEA] I makes me think of "Grandma
recipes" every time I smell this. That's why
I think about like...
Don : [It] makes you think of "grandma recipes"?
[laughter]
Celine : [laughter]
Ugo : Yeah, because it's very like - how to
say [it]? You know, you use ...
Don : What? The Portuguese?
Ugo : Yeah, because my mom is from [Madelos]
[where] they use black honey.
Don : Okay.
Ugo : ... and they do [Madeo] cake, which
is super-heavy, but it tastes amazing. These
just remind me of the same, for some reason.
Don : They do Madeira cake with black honey?
Ugo : Yeah. They do it with everything.
Don : Because the Madeia cake that I've seen
is always light and pale.
Ugo : Oh, but that's because you buy it here.
Celine : Oh!
Ugo : You have to bring it from [Madera],
and then yes.
Don : Damn!
Celine : I need that in my life.
Ugo : It's just one of the best cakes I've
ever had. My mom sends me, always, like ...
Don : You're bringing us... Get your mom to
send us some Madeira cake.
Ugo : I have to. Yeah. I'll ask her, actually,
because it tastes amazing, and with tea ...
Don : We'll drink... would it go with this?
Ugo : ... this would be amazing. Yeah, with
Puerh .
Don : Okay. So you're going to come back with
a Madeira cake [with] black honey.
Ugo : I'll find like a proper one. I know
a place even here, or I have to just send
from there.
Celine : Oh, I'm so excited. [laughter]
Don : No, no. I want it from Portugal.
Ugo : Yeah. I'll get it from there.
Don : Okay. So we've done the look of the
leaves, [and] the look of the liquor.We've
done the taste. We've done the texture. [The
finish] is quite clean, right?
Celine : Very clean.
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Don : [It's] clean, which is what you want
from a ripe Puerh. You want that cleansing
[effect] .
Celine : Yeah.
Don : .. you know, stripping down the grease
when you have your [fatty] pork-belly.
Ugo : Yeah. Well, just like once in a while
though.
Don and Celine : [laughter]
Ugo : Not all the time.
Don : [laughter] I'm sure. Now he says that.
Celine : You do like your veggies though,
so that's good.
Don : So it's good. It's got that cleansing
note. It's definitely got this kind of medicinal,
honey-like note on the empty cup. Let's talk
a bit about the feeling, which I know is hard
to assess, because 'we've only been shooting
for 30 minutes or so, so it's not instant.
But are you starting to feel it? Because I'm
starting to feel something. I'm starting to
feel a little bit kind of ...
Ugo : Should I say before you say something...
Don : Yeah. Go for it.
Ugo : ... because I don't know what I should
feel, really.
Don : Go for it.
Celine : [laughter]
Ugo : I have no idea. I would say I feel like,
actually, awake a little bit. [I feel] in
a good mood as well. It kind of like balances
you mentally, so it just wakes you up and
makes [me] slightly "into me", yeah? [It's]
a bit giggly, though, I'll say.
Don : A bit giggly? So you're saying a bit
giggly...
Ugo : And energetic.
Don : ... a bit awake.
Ugo : Yeah.
Don : [There's] a "feel good" feeling.
Ugo : Yeah, definitely.
Don : So, do you understand why we call it
the "After Party Enchanter"?
Celine : [laughter]
Ugo : Now it kind of makes sense.
Celine : Yeah.
Ugo : Like, I actually forgot about the name.
I just realized now.
Celine : [laughter] Yeah.
Don : So basically, the reason why we call
it the "After Party Enchanter" is because
when we first drank this tea we felt like
you...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... like [a] giggly, good mood, [awake]
energy, but not like hyper, like you need
to party.
Ugo : Not at all. I'm not like... Yeah.
Don : So we kind of related that feeling to
the after-party. You know [when] you've gone,
you've danced, [and] you've had your fun.
Ugo : Oh! I agree. Yeah.
Don : Then afterwards you're just like [on]
that mode where, yeah, you're not like hyper...
Celine and Ugo : Yeah.
Don : ... but you're awake, and you're having
a good conversation with a character like
this guy, who's just giving you good conversation,
sitting out [and] chilling out at the after-party.
You know, just kind of like this friendly
character that you meet at the after-party,
having a good conversation [and] drinking
tea.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : That's how we felt about it, and we
stayed up quite late.
Celine : We stayed up really late. We were
just like lying in bed just talking non-stop
- just talking.
Don : Yeah, just chat.
Celine : It's nice, like laughing and talking.
Ugo : I can see that, because I definitely
feel - like I said - like energetic and happy.
But I'm not anxious, [because] that's what
happens when you drink coffee - at least to
me.
Celine : Yeah.
Ugo : So if [I do this] I'm not like.
Don : Yeah, it's not shaky.
Celine : And Gu Shu. I find Gu Shu can do
that.
Ugo : No, I'm just like happy and energetic,
and I feel good.
Don : Yeah. But also, [for me], it also has
that just nicely settled feeling. I don't
feel like I need to go out partying.
Ugo : Yeah, exactly.
Don : I feel like I'm just like good where
I am, [having] a chat, which is why the chaise
longue bear, we felt, was the right character.
Ugo : I was wondering, actually.
Don : You know? It's just like this guy with
a pillow under his arm, just chilling, but
having a conversation.
Celine : Listening [and] chilling.
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : I'd like to [have] a party after this.
Don : Yeah. So he's the after-party enchanter.
He's the kind of person that you meet at an
after party, you have a really good conversation,
and then you forget to exchange numbers.
Celine : Oh, yeah.
Don : Then it's like... and in a way you're
kind of happy, because it was that one little
perfect little moment.
Celine : Moment.
Don : You know, where you had that after-party
experience.
Ugo : I know the feeling. [laughter]
Celine : [laughter]
Don : I'm sure you do. Portuguese people,
they eat [fatty] foods, and they know how
to party.
Celine : For sure.
Don : What time did you go to bed last night?
Ugo : Six.
Celine : [laughter]
Don : That's what I thought. So yeah, [you
just need] to carry some of this tea around
with you.
Ugo : That's all I needed today.
Celine : [laughter]
Don : All right. I think we should do one
more infusion. Do you want to heat that up?
Celine : Sure. Ding... ding... ding...ding...ding...ding...ding...
Don : So yeah, this is our new tea, and I
think that the key here really is... it would
actually be really nice to do a [horizontal]
tasting with other ripe Puerhs, so you can
taste the difference that like a really master-fermented
tea tastes like.
Ugo : MmmHmm.
Celine : Mmm.
Don : But you will know. If you try a ripe
Puerh you will know if it's bad fermentation,
certainly. But, you know, this is definitely
something special. So..
Ugo : So that would be like, for example,
a normal cooked Puerh would be like following
the standards, basically, to ferment it...
Don : Yeah.
Ugo : ... whereas this one is done with knowledge,
more like a craft, kind of, thing.
Don : Well, I think that the chef analogy
is the right way to look at it. Like, you
know, a chef can pass on the knowledge of
how to do something, to his sous chefs...
Ugo : That's something else.
Don : ... but there's something about like
a head chef cooking you a meal - his food,
or her food - you know, themselves...
Celine : Yeah.
Don : ... where they just have that extra
little bit of knowledge. As I said, for me,
what strikes me about this tea is [that] it
tastes planned.
Celine : Yeah.
Don : Do you know what I mean? It tastes crafted.
It doesn't taste like, "These are the bacteria
and fungi. Let's see what happens." It tastes
like, "No..no...no. I know if I do this, and
I seed it with this material, and I put it
on this floor, that it's going to produce
this really smooth, silky, fudgy, caramel,
[gorgeous] tea." But we will keep drinking.
Celine : Cheers!
Don : It's going to be a nice Saturday afternoon
for us. We're going to edit this video [and]
get it online tomorrow morning. But from all
of us in London...
Celine : Cheers, guys!
Ugo : Cheers!
Don : Cheers everyone!
Celine : Thanks for watching.
Don : No matter what you're drinking make
sure it is the "good stuff". [SIPS TEA] That's
it teaheads. If you made it to the end of
this video then please hit it with the thumbs-up.
Check out our YouTube playlists and let us
know if there are any videos that you would
like us to make. If you're ever in London
then come visit us in Camden to say "Hi!"
and taste our wares. If you have any questions
or comments then please fire them over. Other
than that, this is Celine, this is Ugo, and
I'm Don from Mei Leaf. Thank you for being
a part of the revelation of true tea. Stay
away from those tea bags, keep drinking the
good stuff, and spread the word, because nobody
deserves...
Don and Celine : ...bad tea.
Ugo : MmmMmm.
Don, Celine and Ugo : Bye [WAVING]
