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mbanu wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 11:33 pm

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mbanu wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 9:19 pm

First, the tin is lined in paper, which I am not used to seeing. Not just a paper liner underneath the double lid, but paper liner along the sides of the tin. (Is this supposed to be helpful for loose pu'er, or is this something that was originally done with all Hong Kong tinned teas?) *Edit: To clarify, not a paper package in a tin, but rather slips of paper.

....
Maybe they were worried about condensation?

That is my best guess

@mbanu rice paper is often used to further better seal tins and help soak up some moisture. I do this for all my clay jars, one sheet cut to size in between.

Bok wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 8:42 am

Mangzhi 2007, via Anmo Artcha. Nice, clean and refreshing!

This is a very nice one indeed. I also had it yesterday!

@mbanu is yours an older tin or one you get recently? does it have a FooJoy logo on it? I'm wondering if at some point it was just the name/brand that was purchased or if its still the same tea coming from the same supplier as it used to.

had some TuLin shu from an iron cake earlier... it was alright but I think it spent too long in too dry of storage and is gonna need a good while to rehydrate and really do much. it did have some bitterness to it though which was kind of a refreshing thing to get from a shu for a change. I got a small raw cake of theirs this week that is resting now. I'm curious to try out some more of their teas, including their sheng, since they seem to offer a pretty good value for age and the general profile seems to be like Xiaguan but mellower.

I really need to try some of Anmo's Sunsing teas.

wave_code wrote: ↑

Wed May 12, 2021 2:47 pm

mbanu is yours an older tin or one you get recently? does it have a FooJoy logo on it? I'm wondering if at some point it was just the name/brand that was purchased or if its still the same tea coming from the same supplier as it used to.

It was purchased recently from Pearl River -- no Foojoy logo. They have been around for many years, so I suppose it could just be an old tin, but the condition is pristine, a single scuff on the underside of the foot, but no scratches or corrosion marks.

I see that Foojoy has (or had?) a very similar-looking tin -- I don't know much about the history of Nor Sun, though, so I don't know if it is a copycat or if the blend switched makers at some time in its life.

Looking at an empty vintage tin online, I do see a couple of differences. My tin gives the net weight as "150 GMS (5 1/4 OZ.)", while the older tin gives the net weight as "5 OZ." so they switched to metric some time in the past. MarshalN's 2008 tin was also in metric. The brand on the top of the tin in both is "Tin Find Brand", but in the older tin, no address information is listed for the packer on the "DIRECTIONS" side.

*Edit: The Foojoy version seems to only come in paper packets. Their website lists it as being currently offered, but I can't seem to find any good pictures...

Taking time to enjoy a sample of a 1988 Menghai brick this time.

Rich, mature, and with a forcefully calming feeling to it. Not the most complex tea, but that's not the point of drinking something like this for me.

A relaxing session, interrupted only by a brave lorikeet who flew into the room...

It's nice every now and then to drink something a bit more special than the old loose leaf pu er that is my usual tea of choice. It calibrates my senses, reminds me of why I like old tea so much, and encourages me to try other special teas more often. Rising prices tend to put me off of drinking old teas, but there's no point to having them (and even less point to refraining from buying them) if I never get to enjoy them.

Andrew

Finishing up a session with the 2003 Hong Kong Henry “Conscientious Prescription”, after a heavy, duck fat-rich "gedatang".

Pretty heavy forehead perspiration right now. I attribute it 50/50 to Henry and the duck fat.

Balthazar wrote: ↑

Sat May 15, 2021 12:30 pm

Finishing up a session with the 2003 Hong Kong Henry “Conscientious Prescription”, after a heavy, duck fat-rich "gedatang".

Pretty heavy forehead perspiration right now. I attribute it 50/50 to Henry and the duck fat.

Is this the TWL one? I saw it’s back in stock... Tempting.

Tea Adventures wrote: ↑

Sat May 15, 2021 12:36 pm

Is this the TWL one? I saw it’s back in stock... Tempting.

Nope, this was from a group buy kindly organized by the auction blackbelter @sqt

Taiwan storage on this one too, though.

I've just started dipping my toes into those FB groups myself. It's a deep rabbit hole and a real exercise in self restraint.

The Henry was from someone I know rather than an auction, we cleaned out the last of his stock last year. It's a nice tea given the right storage. Personally though, I really would consider it overpriced at anything over $100-110, and that's with the recent price bump and exchange rate taken into account.

If you have another source at $100 or near with a proper storage, please do share. From Europe, I could only source the TWL one. I'm not adventurous enough to go onto FB and obscure social networks... lack of time, knowledge, confidence.

Ditto what olivierd said on sourcing those cakes and being too inexperienced to explore those FB groups... been drinking more aged Liu Bao lately as that's much cheaper as a daily, age:price ratio wise. Would also be very interested in purchasing an HK Henry cake for ~$100

m2193 wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 6:37 pm

Ditto what olivierd said on sourcing those cakes and being too inexperienced to explore those FB groups... been drinking more aged Liu Bao lately as that's much cheaper as a daily, age:price ratio wise. Would also be very interested in purchasing an HK Henry cake for ~$100

Even though Henry Trading is a wholesaler, they run a couple teahouses (普洱居 is the name, I think). Maybe they would be willing to sell an individual cake? Their website: http://www.henrytrading.com.hk/contactus.php?lang=eng

mbanu wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 7:23 pm

m2193 wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 6:37 pm

Ditto what olivierd said on sourcing those cakes and being too inexperienced to explore those FB groups... been drinking more aged Liu Bao lately as that's much cheaper as a daily, age:price ratio wise. Would also be very interested in purchasing an HK Henry cake for ~$100

Even though Henry Trading is a wholesaler, they run a couple teahouses (普洱居 is the name, I think). Maybe they would be willing to sell an individual cake? Their website: http://www.henrytrading.com.hk/contactus.php?lang=eng

I've seen that site! Their listing the prices as "Negotiation" is the first thing that scared me off LOL

@olivierd, @m2193: I don't think that's gonna be easy outside the auctions unless you have "contacts". The Serious Formula does show up fairly regularly in the auction groups, but then there's the challenge of knowing if the seller in question has good storage. (Most listings are deleted some time after the bid time is over so I couldn't find any recent ones to see end price, but did find one from last year that hadn't been deleted. That one ended at TWD 2500.)

OT: Drinking the 2003 Changtai Jinzhushan again, this time with my nixing pot (bigger size).