Uncooked/Raw/Green Puerh suggestions

Hi Blues,

As in another post I recommend bamboo puer as specialty item. However the ones I received from Michael Ryan tasted a bit off to me, like they were stored with incense or something, so I recommend looking for a different source for this particular tea.

You should also try some "Ancient Wild Arbor Tree" puer. Beware as there are a lot of fakes on the market, but a truly authentic one is worth it's premium price. Cheap ones are just that, Cheap!

David Hoffman is indeed a good source but speak with him directly, he wont steer you wrong, I do not think that his new associate is up to par yet on puer though so specifically ask for David.

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

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You can find

in my Chinatown for only $.99(their price yowzer) with a production date of Jan 2000 which is even earlier than stated there. The picture on the left is the wrapper. The tuocha and wrapper are in a green round box(not shown) with the inscription "Yunnansheng Xiaguan ChaChang Chupin". All production information should be stamped on the bottom of the box. I've never bought any tea from any website so maybe they shortchange you on the box. Don't worry about the form of green puerh. You can buy more expensive but I like this one. If you're familiar with the taste of a heavy oxidized TiGuanYin then black puerh shouldn't surprise you. It reminds me of oyster soup. I keep forgetting but I want to try the tea with oyster crackers. At the end of the day tea is tea and it's easy too get caught up in the puerh hype but for me I'll plod along and make up my mind as I go.

Jim

Blues Lyne wrote:

special

Hopefully it

research, but

Hello Jim,

For your information about the Te Ji tuo cha (that's the one on the

from Xia Guan Tea Factory, it was launched in 2003. So if you buy a tuo cha with this same red wrapper but it is written 2000 on a green box, you are getting a counterfeit.

The other reason is that the Te Ji, when sold individually, comes in a purple box while the Jia Ji comes in the green box you described.

SEb

Space Cowboy wrote:

shouldn't

bitten

Then the counterfeiter has a website

with fax,phone,email which has a link to which requires ActiveX to even browse. I don't run ActiveX on the Internet except for trusted sites. So I don't know what is there. I compared wrappers again and mine doesn't have the solid red background but the WhiteCrane is the same. The red background could just as easy be the "red eye" effect I've seen on other wrappers. The WhiteCrane Xiaguan emblem in this photo has a yellow background while mine just vanilla. Also on close inspection the characters are different. On the bottom of the box is is a bunch of information which looks like to me production run information batch,time,etc. I sent his box to another poster in this group and he says his version in Chinatown has no information of the bottom of the box. The last set of characters is ? date: 00 Jan. The ? characters for me look like "Production" but could be something different. One of the Chinese characters for "Run" match exactly. So I'm assuming "Production Run" for ?. When I see a date on a teabox it means either packed on or consume by. The Jia(Good) Ji(Grade) green box has a paper insert where it says Grade A. I'm not sure what the grade for purple box Te(Special) Ji would say. I can see the Te character on the website wrapper and the Jia character on my box from Chinatown. Thanks for pointing out the incorrect comparison. I'll drink the older great tasting cheap stuff.

Jim

SEb wrote:

getting

bottom

That's right. As stated on the Jing Tea Shop web site:

"Since autumn 2004, the Xia Guan Tea Factory has been using their own logo "Song He Pai (pine and crane)" for their beeng cha as the rights for the "Zhong Cha" logo has been taken back by the "Chinese Tea Company". The liquor of this tea has a bright yellow color, the taste is fresh, strong with a delicate smoky flavor, which is combined with a subtle floral aroma."

ie: if it has a crane logo, it's August 2003 or later.

The zhong cha logo (the stylized chinese 'tea' character in green with the zhong character in a circle around it) tea cake is worth a fair amount more than the white crane logo tea cake.

For the record, the Fu Lu Shou Xi that's being sold on sevencups.com for $40 is the same as Upton's item ZM70 selling for $15.

I can go into Chinatown now and buy 'Yunnan Chi Tse Beeng Cha' with the Zhong emblem green chinese tea character surrounded by red medallion which looks like linked chains. The cake is cooked. The cost $3.99. All I can think in my case with the Crane and ? Date: 00 Jan maybe it is old stock with replacement wrapper. There is other Chinese inscription that might explain the purpose of the information. As I mentioned another poster says his version doesn't have any information on the bottom of the box. If you can find it in Chinatown it will be far cheaper than websites. You can find the 'Te Ji' cheaper than Dragonwell elsewhere on the Internet.

Jim

Falky foo wrote:

amount more

I didn't know that, but I did know that sevencups.com seems ridiculously overpriced. Just another reason I will never buy from them.

Thanks for the tip Jim. I've tried to find some locally, but the only Chinese store I've found is a larger chain grocery (Ranch 99 Market) and they only had one type of green puerh. It's a pack of mini tou-cha's that are about the consistency of pressed saw dust and don't have much of any flavor. I think the only other puerh was from ABC Tea House. I'm pretty sure it's black. The rest of the stores I've found around here are either Korean or Japanese. They have some good tea, but not Puerh.

Hmm. The onesI've had I would never associate with TiGuanYin or Oyster soup. It tasted of pond muck, barns, and dank basements and gave me a headache.

The first time I had a Pouchong, the flavor reminded me of my mom's oyster stew with some flowery overtones. Nice and buttery. I loved it. Everything I've had since only had the flowers, not the stew.

That's the only way to do it. While others opinions can help in the search, the best tea is the one you enjoy drinking.

Blues

Thanks Mike, I'll look for some of those types.

Blues

Not all Chinatowns are created the same. In fact I expect them to be different. My Chinatown has a good selection of black Puer and a poor selection of green. Hopefully everything I see on the export sites will mysteriously appear one day. If someone is drinking a tea I don't have it doesn't bother me. I associate black Puer with oyster soup not TGI. As soon as I was weaned off the tittie I was drinking oyster soup in a bottle. I probably couldn't tell the difference if I added a can of evaporated milk to a pot of black puer. One of the aspects of drinking tea is the thrill of discovery. Make up your own mind about what is in your cup.

Jim

Blues Lyne wrote: ...I delete me...

...I delete you...

shouldn't