Looking to get a yixing pot for puerh.

[Michael] Seb if you're listening, save me two of those new ones with the fisher fellow in cobalt blue, as well as a couple cups of the same size I had ordered from you previously. [Buried message here to see if Seb and Jing read my brilliant interspersions on rfdt.] [Seb & Jing] And we are, we like this forum very much, it is one place full of life! Small Yixing...saw one today, clay is good (tiao sha zi ni) and craftmanship is ok. One thing though, it is a traditional yixing teapot, which means no screen. Probably 60 to 70cc. Will have to check later if you are interested.

About the Gaiwan...done. Could you remind me about the cups, are those the one that are "very flat and with the mouth very opened"?

SEb

Hey on that topic I have a quesiton-what is meant by the "bamboo" quality? Because I ahve a bamboo puer from David Hoffman (packed in a bamboo tube) and I can't pick out a "bamboo-ness"...can you elaborate (whomever) on what you mean and what I should look for? Shoul a bamboo shu taste as different from a non-bamboo shu and a shu does from a sheng for instance?

Very interesting.

Melinda

I want a teabox with a pretty guy on it with a come-hither look..if anyone sees one let me know, ok? ;D

Melinda

[Mike Petro] [Michael Plant] [Mike Petro] In the USA market I would agree with you. In the better Eastern shops the first 7 carry a lot more weight than they do here. Mike Petro "In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed." Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

Regarding the "Bamboo component" I have found a very wide range of noticeable flavor. The handmade nature of these teas seems to lend itself to wide variations even within a given brand. I have experienced everything from an almost perfume like thick fragrance to a barely noticeable hint of something extra. For what its worth I prefer a light influence on my sheng puerhs but a heavier influence on my shu puerhs. The characteristics I associate with the "bamboo component" are likened to grass, hay, and hints of grain.

Michael, the last batch of bamboo canes we shared was an anomaly in my opinion. It seemed more like a heavily roasted oolong than a puerh to me, albeit still tasty it was not typical.

The one noticeable exception to the variable consistency issue is the larger diameter Menghai brand Dai Nationality puerh. The product is very consistent from what I have seen. The Bamboo component is light with the emphasis being on a sheng qualities rather than bamboo fragrance. This one always comes removed from the bamboo cane and is about 3 inches (6-7cm) in diameter. Seldom do you actually see the Menghai label,look for it when you can, you can see an example at

Mike Petro

"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed." Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

Hi Melinda, also see my other post this morning that talks about the "bamboo component". The genre covers a wide range of teas. There is a big difference between teas wrapped and stored in bamboo versus teas compressed directly in bamboo and left there.

Yes, you can indeed tell the difference between a bamboo sheng versus a regular sheng if the component is strong enough. I generally don't taste that component in the teas that are simply compressed and then stored in bamboo containers. The component is much more noticeable in the teas compressed directly into a bamboo cane and allowed to age there. I have tasted some shu bamboo canes where the component was very strong, and pleasurable, but it was the type directly compressed and stored in the cane.

I have seen and tasted those so-called smoked-pipe bamboo, the ones where a stack of tablets is wrapped in paper and stored inside of a bamboo tube with a removable cap, some descriptions claim it to be compressed in bamboo and extracted and sliced. I don't buy that description. If you inspect those tablets closely you will see that the leaves are not sliced or broken on the surface, the leaves on the surface are whole, they are clearly compressed into that tablet shape much like the mini-tuocha. I have my doubts that they ever saw bamboo before being packaged and stored.

Mike Petro

"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed." Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

Absolutely. bamboo is NEVER perfectly round inside - always elliptical. If you fill bamboo with tea it will take the shape of internal hollow of bamboo- you will be able to see many features like grooves and such on the surface of such tea. Such tablets are always perfectly round, though.

If you inspect those tablets closely you will see that

I agree. To slice such a tad cylinder would be an enourmous waste of tea during slicing.

Sasha.

snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com6/26/05 21: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

Melinda,

It's hard because I'm not sure. I taste an unmistakable, strong -- almost overpowering sometimes -- flower/reedy quality. When it's truly strong, it does *not* grow on me, to say the least. I haven't gotten to the shu/sheng/bamboo trichotomy yet.

Michael

[Mike Petro] [Michael] Thanks Mike, that's interesting and good to know. My experience with these teas is more or less limited to two I'd gotten from Silk Road Teas (David Hoffman) a year or two ago, and a couple samples sent to me by vendors, one that Rick sent awhile back, and the canes we've shared. My favorite was David's because it is most subtle, wherein the bamboo quality integrates into the total picture more gently. Adding to my previoius description in another post -- "flower-reedy," I think your "perfume like thick fragrance" could also be said. I think we're getting to the bottom of it. Thanks too for the pictures.

snip

Michael

I have one whose bamboo flavor is unmistakable. I own several bamboo flutes, so have spent much of my life French-kissing the material, but even so do not think that anyone else can miss it. Think bamboo shoots. But there appears to be wide variability in these teas. I get the feeling that they are manufactured in "unregulated conditions", meaning out in the country around a campfire. Friends and I have found several tubes in the same shipment to vary wildly in taste, smell and appearance.

Best,

Rick.

I would be _very_ surprised if you couldn't get such a thing in Bangkok. You might have problems finding a pretty guy with clothes on, though.

--scott

Clothing can be optional, I'm flexible, LMAO!

(OK, I'll stop now, lol...)

Melinda

P.S. Speaking of Bangkok...can anyone point me to teas sold that are from (or made in) Thailand that are NOT thai tea (the orange anise flavored stuff, you know), in other words, regular hong cha or even greens? Do they grow any tea in Thailand? I can imagine tea infused with Thai flavors such as ginger and hot chili and kaffir lime leaves and tamarind...it would be different. Lemongrass too. Might make an interesting "savoury" tea....

[Melinda] [Rick] [Michael] This gets interestinger and interestinger. Bamboo shoots? NOTHING like it, *I think.* The quality that flies out at me is flower-reedy and, as Mike had written, perfumey. This is unknown in other Pu'erhs. Mike also says that the primary example I've used for this description is something of an anomoly. Rick, you might recall sending along a "China Yunnan Famous Tea -- Aroma Bamboo Tea" (from the label) encased in bamboo. That one also has this quality. I don't know what to say. Obviously there are wild fluxuations in the bamboo effect, undoubtedly encouraged by a lack of regulation and control. What can I say?

Let's here more.

Michael

That one that Rick brought back with him was a cooked bamboo puer with a very strong "bamboo component". I liked it a lot! Mike Petro

"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed." Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

So the one bamboo puer I have is the "bamboo fragrance puer" from Silk Road teas that is in the bamboo tube, not in pellets, one long length. It seems to have been made in the tube as it fits inside and doesn't look like it could have been inserted after setting. There is a "window" section cut in the side of the tube to get to the tea.

How about that one, for any that have tried it. Michael? Have you had that one? I didn't notice any different quality but as I said I guess I'll have to go back to taste again.

Thanks to everyone, this is indeed interesting.

Melinda