Need some advice on puer

OK, I bought a tuo cha (mini) from Upton awhile back and that was fairly smooth, and right now what I have in the kitchen is a tuo cha from my local Asian market that is...well, lemme just say that I'm really not GETTING this whole Puer love thing. Could someone (::cough:: Mike and Michael::cough::) (or more than one someone) who is knowledgeable recommend specifically to me a type (name, where to get, specifics) that will be the best "introduction" to the world of puer for me..I want to try again but I want to know that what I'm drinking is representative of puer as a whole before I just bag it and decide puer isn't for me. Something that's financially reasonable would be nice (like under $10 or so? Under $15?) I really want to give this a fair shake since I hear others' enjoyment of it. I'm not positive what kind of puer I have from the Asia market...it was inexpensive of course, and in a green and white box.

Oh BTW, I found that an oyster knife seems to work well to break chunks off...I seem to remember reading that someone was looking for a way to do that.

Thanks very much for helping out the puer newbie. :)

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda
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Hi Melinda,

Is this Asian Market tea a green or black puerh? It almost sounds like it may be a green which is a totally different beast. Next time you go to the market ask for "shu" puer (black/ripe/cooked) which is what your Upton sample most certainly was. If you print my Rosetta page and take it with you can point to the Chinese character that represents "shu" or the characters for "Xiao-Tuocha" which is the mini tuocha but make sure you ask for "shu" as Xiao-Tuocha is available in both green and black.

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Look at the other thread going on right now about Silk Road Teas and give David Hoffman a call. 415-488-9017 I highly recommend the Bamboo puer. You may also want to try a ripe golden melon.

A few other good shu/ripe/black teas are:

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Yes, oyster knives, letter openers, and special puer knives all work well. I also keep a clean set of channel-lock pliers in my tea drawer for the really hard cakes.

Hope this helped,

Mike Petro snipped-for-privacy@pu-erh.net

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remove the "filter" in my email address to reply

Reply to
Mike Petro

Hi Melinda,

I'm not sure how others feel about using an oyster knife on pu'er, but I personally refrain from using steel or metal object to break open my pu'er. I use a yak's horn to crack open the pu'er into larger pieces, and a japanese chopstick (wooden, unlacquered) to wriggle loose the leaves.

Reply to
samarkand

I don't own a yak horn, but somehow I coubt that any horn could crack open some of the tightly compressed Puerhs I've had. Lately I've been thinking about dedicating a saw to this purpose. Seriously.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

I hear yak horn reacts badly with all sorts of tea. Experts recommend chunks of fossilized mammoth tusk.

Reply to
Falky foo

So you didn't like the Upton tuo cha either? They only sell black puer.. if you didn't like that then you probably don't like it, because Upton puer is pretty standard stuff.

Reply to
Falky foo

Hi Mike,

Well, see, I'm not exactly sure and yeah I've looked at your page...I'm still pretty confused about the green/cooked thing, as far as how to tell just by looking at it. It IS a darker brown color if that helps, and the texture is somewhat course (i.e. it's not like a pressed powder).When I wrote to the import export corp that was on the box they sent me two pictures, and from them I am guessing that it's a cooked puer. The smell of barn is kind of overwhelming though..is this normal? (And I do mean barn, not new mown hay or anything like that...)

Reply to
Melinda

Take a look at this beauty. Tea knife for puerhs!

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2 I am buying one right now. ("No, no, officer - this is just a TEA KNIFE"!)

Sasha.

Reply to
Alex Chaihorsky

Funny, I thought everyone had one of those. Along with the eye of newt to inspect the leaves.

Steve

Reply to
news.verizon.net

Apparently, however, I need to buy an identity. Sorry about that guys.

Reply to
Steve Hay

Would a Japanese box lathe for dried bonito work? The blades on some can be adjusted, so you're not limited to producing only paper thin shavings. A drawer under the blade collects the shavings and slides out for easy retrieval. A lovely artifact for all object fetishists.

I'm compelled to ask, though: If drinking Puerh demands brute strength and hand tools, is it really something to be exalted? Seriously.

--crymad

Reply to
crymad
Reply to
Doug Hazen, Jr.

Well said Doug....

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 22:35:30 -0400, "Doug Hazen, Jr." cast caution to the wind and posted:

Reply to
Mike Petro

I just realized today that another reason I may be having a hard time with the puer I do have is that I may be brewing it way too strong. I don't have a scale so I have been eyeballing it. I brewed it a little lighter today and didn't mind it so much.

Not using gong fu...have a cute small one-cup (10 oz) ceramic beehive teapot from Japan that was my grandma's and I just realized tonight it will be perfect for now. It's even shaped more or less like a yixing pot for puer.

I called and am having Mike at Silk Road send me a price list. I don't have any money to spend on tea the rest of this month..:( and next month I am hoping to get more samples of assams as I am still searching for one that really knocks my socks off. Need to restock my keemun. I want to get some honeybush for evenings (I know not tea, no caffeine though). Etc. etc...but I will get a good puer around $10 or maybe a little more and see if it lets me catch a glimpse of that elusive something. I do like the loam smell that people have mentioned before..not getting it from this cheap one though and I didn't notice it at the time with the Upton. Which could very well entirely have had to do with the fact that I was a total beginner and didn't have a clue what I was looking for.

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

snipped-for-privacy@xprt.net/21/04 22: snipped-for-privacy@xprt.net

snip

If the knife shreads and tears, it's not a good instrument to pry at the Pu-erh, IMO. The idea is to wedge, wriggle, and wiggle from an edge so as not to harm the leaves. That's the best case scenario. However, my Hong Kong back to China commemorative requires a hacksaw, a hammer, and super strength to get a workable piece.

It doesn't usually. Bricks might, but cakes definitely shouldn't. The idea, again, is the get at the leaves so as not to mutilate them, as far as possible. That's what I think, at any rate. Yak horn or treated bear claw both work equally well.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com9/22/04

01: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

Good observation. No doubt about it. With Pu-erhs I like to err on the side of caution, especially getting to know a new one. Brew it a bit lighter still, and you might just fall in love.

snip

Who is this Mike at Silk Road?

No Assam tea *ever* knocked my socks off. I think you might spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

Well, you're not a total beginner anymore. Somebody had mentioned that Upton sells middling Pu-erhs. Somebody else gave a list of vendors recently. I'd get the Pu-erhs from Silk Road Teas. That way, you'd be able to describe the qualities you like and get recommendations that mean something.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

Hey, I thought the Bushido thread was over!

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Sorry, I wasn't being completely serious. It's this character flaw of mine: I just can't bring myself to use smileys. Also, I thought I was being clever by referring to Crymad's "tea product" epithet. I'll try to be good in the future.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

I meant Dave of course. ;)

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

"Not until the last petal of the iris... "

Sasha.

Reply to
Alex Chaihorsky

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