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Bought this TWL tea the other month and overall, I'm really happy with it. Good price on a 2008 tea. Its has enough age to smooth it out, but it still has some power to it. I just ordered another 3 cakes. I can drink these with abandon and if there is some left in 10 years, might be really nice.

I pried open the cake to air some out and found what looked like dirt. I dont think that its mold. Seemed like crushed dry mud. I brushed it off and didnt find anymore in the cake.

I've never found mold or any super weird stuff that Ive heard. Only the occasional tarp pieces, hair or clothing fragment

Any guesses in identifying my brown dust?

yep, looks like bit of soil got into the tea when swept from the ground. Sometimes very crushed bits of tea might give the same texture after long aging, but form the picture I'd say it's the dust.

I get something very similar looking in some of my cakes. In my case it's dust being crushed and broken off from breaking apart the cake with a tea pick. Nothing to worry about if that's what it is.

Glad to hear others come to the same conclusion. It looked very localized. I would assume that mold would permeate through a few more layer and not brush off so easily.

Tea tasted good, regardless, lol.

I'm in agreement with Aet. Looks like dirt. Since it brushed off easily. Some mold will brush off too but I think you would have seen it in layers.