Puerh I am drinking now, more info please

snipped-for-privacy@localnet.com snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com2/9/06

Hi,

It will be interesting to see if Mike concurs, but I think you overpaid for it vastly. Having said that, the *real* issue is whether you liked it or not. Did it go opaque on you, or did it remain clear? If it remained clear, did it go dark and produce a red ring at the edge of the surface of the soup? Was it earth-loamy sweet? No mention on the site regarding its age, which is always a downer. Suggest you go for some green (sheng) Pue'rh from vendors you will find on . Try at least three new ones because they differ among themselves, and while you might not like one, you may find another the cat's meoux (or however you spell that).

As for the tetsubin, why not? But, remember that Pu'erh is pretty aggressive, and your tetsubin will soon share Pu'erh with all the other teas you place in it. I've got a tetsubin, but its dedicated to green teas, mostly Japanese.

Please keep us posted on your Pu'erh journey, good and bad.

Life is good? Well, I guess that's better than "Life sucks, and then you die." Both equally true. (Sorry; just spreading joy.)

Michael

I paid around 20 bucks for it delivered so that I might have something new to try while the boxes from China were in transit. Since then the vender has hedged their bet with higher delivery costs or just buy it now instead of auction. Weight for weight in comparison to the teas I started with I found it reasonable. (I began this trip with mini tuos from Tribute tea.)

I did not see a ring of color at the edge but if I am looking for it in a dark tetsubin and not my cup there may not be the contrast needed to see it and I can't say that I noticed an earth loamy sensation, I have made large amounts of compost and have a bamboo grove so it's a smell I am familliar with (and love).

Right now I am trying sme of the Yu Wi Mountain fire dried 2005 from Yunnan Sourcing and it's first infusion is vegetal and a bit astringent. I will try it a few times to really get my head around it and then let it age.

I really enjoyed the stuffed Yunnan tangerines I bought from Holy Mtn. But I didn't quite stop to put words to the experience.

Life sucks only in that it has an end as do all things which bring us joy.

Thought I would chime in my 2cent worth when I return so that I can plough through my mountainous books as Mike said I have...

History:

Some time in late 2004 some tea sponsors and the local government got together and had an idea to retrace the old Tea-Horse route from Yunnan to Beijing, well they gathered it was a good time to further promote Yunnan and its tea with all the Pu'er hype that's going on, and also good for the publicity.

On 1st May, 6 groups of Tea-Horse gang comprising of 42 members and 120 horses and mules from the various tea producing regions in Yunnan gathered in Simao city Yunnan and began the long journey, over 4000 miles & 80 odd cities, to reach Beijing 5 months later on 9th October 2005.

The teas were auctioned off in Beijing and the proceeds went to the building of a local school in Yunnan, Xi Wang Xiao Xue, Hope Primary.

I believe there were several (2 I think) official pu'er cakes to commemorate this event. However, the one you bought isn't the official one.

The Tea-Horse gang brought only the green pu'ers on the trip, none of which were cooked.

Cooked pu'er and tetsubin are not ideal match - 01. The tea will bring out the metallic taste in the pot, the pot's iron content will bring out the sweetness of the tea, covering the other flavours. 02. Cooked pu'er requires a thick pot with 'lousy' heat insulation to force out its flavours - I'm not sure how tetsubin will perform in that though. If you have a porcelain pot, or a clay pot, brew the tea in these to determine which is the most ideal one.

Danny

Let me Confuse you further offline... :")

Danny