A black puerh - from 1970???

The big green letters say Dian (i.e., Yunnan) Pu Cha. I'm certainly no expert in authenticating supposedly old packaging for Pu'er, but I was surprised to see the informality of "Pu Cha" rather than Pu'er Cha". Sorry, but the smaller characters are too much of a struggle for me at the moment.

/Lew

1970 is 39 years ago. go look at a newspaper from 40 years ago, it yellows and dries out. imho, the packaging is less than 2 years old.

there is no evidence of aging, or drying of the paper.

i do not know about the cake itself, but the package is new.

the second picture clearly shows the paper is still pliable, no wrinkles or creases but smooth curves. still has a new shine to the paper. almost like it is waxed

The packaging and brick looks too crisp to me. At best it was sold as a 70s meaning before Dec 31 1979 and some from Hong Kong still around, supposedly. The resolution isnt good enough for me to decipher the characters under the Star. Im sure a native speaker could make more of the inscription. I posted a couple of days ago The Strangest Factory Name where I mentioned Yun Pu. It was odd to me Pu by itself like here.

Jim

Here is the TaoBao link. Ill try to make sense this weekend unless someone beats me to it. ~3000Y is $375.

Jim

Sorry, pulled the trigger too soon. Some more expensive, some less.

Jim

Not to take away from the excellent legwork you've done, but I think

3000Y is more like $440 USD right now... so ~$500 seems close and not as ripped off as it first seemed.

- Dominic

Thank you Jim, great job! Yes, this is the one, at least the package is exactly the same. So there is no need to upload a picture in higher resolution.

I have translated the first page that you have linked to with Babelfish. It says that it is a ripe puerh brick that was made in the 70'es (and not in

1970 proper) by the "Courageous sea" factory, which corresponds to the Meng Hai Tea Factory according to Mike Petro's list of "Common Factory Names". Is it correct?

Gyorgy

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Not to mention the ones that are offered for 11.440Y, which is almost $1700! Of course one can not know if anyone is ready to pay this price for one brick of old tea leaves, but if it is a realistic price, than $500 was a steal. Or a proof for that the brick is a fake... :-)

Gyorgy

"dxt178" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@o36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com... > Here is the TaoBao link. Ill try to make sense this weekend unless

Not to take away from the excellent legwork you've done, but I think

3000Y is more like $440 USD right now... so ~$500 seems close and not as ripped off as it first seemed.

- Dominic

You might be right, but then have a look at this one at Taobao:

The paper looks as fresh and pliable like the one I have posted. Nevertheless the seller states that it is an old brick from the 70'es, and asks for it the huge amount of 11.440Y ($1700). So who knows for sure?...

Gyorgy

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I think the key is the neifei or the little sticker in the cake. Maybe somebody could recognize it as Menghai Tea factory from the

73-79. I dont see the modern logo for Menghai. That doesnt mean much because it could have been a private pressing by Menghai for somebody else. I think it should look a little more weathered ie falling apart or the edges a little less sharp. Im wondering if the neifei bleed through is from storing the cake in a wet climate. If authentic I think a great deal. Youre not going to find it on this side of the Pacific. Im less concerned about the packaging since maybe it was a private label that someone decided to sell now. If you get a chance to try some and your eyeballs start spinning with the Chinese character for chi/qi Id say it is the real deal.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks again, I will let her check the neifei. I actually did taste the tea because she has bought two bricks and has broke up one of them. I must confess that it did not taste any special. Just another earthy and somewhat mild shu. But then I have to confess that I can not really taste big differences between shu and shu. I definitely could not taste the $500 deal, neither did I experience any qi, but blame my taste buds for that. On the other hand I do appreciate a nice sheng when I meet one and I can get quite a kick out of it.

Gyorgy

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That was 2005 exchange rates when I got my last shipment from China Post. The declining dollar is never more apparent when exchanged. Ive never been able to figure out why the dollar was always weak against the pound. Thats another country that is bankrupt like us and doesnt know it.

Jim