Opening of the 1970s Liu An Sun Yishun Basket

Puerh and other heicha
Post Reply
User avatar
VaratPh
Vendor
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:34 am
Location: Thailand

Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:43 am



Sharing a recorded clip of the opening of a rare 1970s Liu An Sun Yishun basket.
TheEssenceofTea
Vendor
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:59 pm
Contact:

Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:12 pm

Do you know why the tickets are on top of the leaves in this basket? I've only ever seen baskets where the tickets are under the bamboo leaves
User avatar
tealifehk
Vendor
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:58 am
Location: Hong Kong
Contact:

Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:05 pm

TheEssenceofTea wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:12 pm
Do you know why the tickets are on top of the leaves in this basket? I've only ever seen baskets where the tickets are under the bamboo leaves
Well spotted!
User avatar
VaratPh
Vendor
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:34 am
Location: Thailand

Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:02 am

TheEssenceofTea wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:12 pm
Do you know why the tickets are on top of the leaves in this basket?
Welcome to the forum David. Hope everything is well. I’m glad you ask this question.

I remember this old tea vendor well. He is an honest old fashioned Chinese guy. He probably would never have imagined his act (intended for transparency) of taking the inner ticket from inside the basket to placing it outside would put the product in question. The reason for having the inner labels on the outside was simply to have the brand Sun Yishun of the Liu An basket visible for easier recognition. Liu An baskets under different brands often look very generic/similar because the labels are indeed inside the basket, therefore it can be confusing for people who are not experts to identify them. People can have different views on this I guess but as someone who places more of an emphasis on judging teas by tasting them than minor deviation in appearance (as outside appearances can be easily manipulated) it didn’t really matter to me at the time. I remember being so impressed by the quality of the tea (and being a big fan of Liu An I had been hunting down old stocks and tasted many) that I actually acquired all that remained of his stock. So I have both, I have the baskets with the inner tickets on the outside that was on the shelf at the time and the baskets from his back storage in their original state with the tickets inside. Both are obviously the same Liu An tea (see photo).
//
1970s Liu An SYS Labels.jpg
1970s Liu An SYS Labels.jpg (319.43 KiB) Viewed 3626 times
It is a valid observation and whilst appearances have their importance let us not forget where the weight lies. The final and most important aspect for evaluating tea really is in the tasting it. Do not place a sizable order for tea without first drinking the tea. With the increasing prevalence of fakes and badly age teas brought to market the offering of tea samples is a way for honest sellers to offer easy access to validate their products. Never rely on appearances alone to assess tea, especially in light of varying storage quality and the capability of the forgers in the underground market. So with that said, I have also made 10g sample (or at custom weight above) of this tea available to tea enthusiasts and collectors.
>> Just email me at varatphong@yahoo.com

PS: As an avid enthusiast and fan of Liu An tea readers are welcome to share my experiences with Liu An tea on my blog through the articles that have been posted.
http://theguidetopuerhtea.blogspot.com/ ... l/liu%20an
Post Reply