Recommendations for a newb

Puerh and other heicha
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Dresden
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Location: Bayou Self, Louisiana

Sat May 18, 2019 4:55 pm

Hey there guys and gals of the deep, dark and dank store rooms!

After years of timidly partaking of green, black, white and oolong I think that I am ready to move into the realm of pu erh.

I believe that I have avoided it for this long because for some reason it just seems more intimidating than everything else. Perhaps it is some mental block on my part.

For educational purposes I would appreciate any recommendations you kind people might have for what a good pu erh should be. A measuring stick of sorts that is representative of what is to be expected. Any recommendations welcome, Sheng or Shou.

Regards,
Mike
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Bok
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Sat May 18, 2019 7:57 pm

I would say try to start with Sheng. More easy to like than shou, which can be more of an acquired taste...

Avoid what seems too cheap, in all likelihood it is going to be nasty. Bare in mind that whatever seems expensive can be brewed a lot longer than other teas, leaving you in the end with a still economic amount of tea, maybe even more so than other teas.

I leave the rest to the Puerh aficionados...
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mrmopu
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Sun May 19, 2019 8:43 am

Dresden wrote:
Sat May 18, 2019 4:55 pm
Hey there guys and gals of the deep, dark and dank store rooms!

After years of timidly partaking of green, black, white and oolong I think that I am ready to move into the realm of pu erh.

I believe that I have avoided it for this long because for some reason it just seems more intimidating than everything else. Perhaps it is some mental block on my part.

For educational purposes I would appreciate any recommendations you kind people might have for what a good pu erh should be. A measuring stick of sorts that is representative of what is to be expected. Any recommendations welcome, Sheng or Shou.

Regards,
Mike
Mike,
Do you have a price range or would you rather sample some stuff first? I will echo Bok. Cheap puerh is usually bad puerh.
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Dresden
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Sun May 19, 2019 9:32 am

mrmopu wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 8:43 am
Mike,
Do you have a price range or would you rather sample some stuff first? I will echo Bok. Cheap puerh is usually bad puerh.
Price isn't too huge of a concern provided that it's nothing ridiculous.

That being said, I would ideally like to find a few good representative samples of what puerh should be before committing to an entire cake of something.
mael
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Sun May 19, 2019 11:05 am

I would start with big and classic factory puerh like Menghai tea factory or Xiaguan tea factory. 7542 is the most famous puerh sheng recipe from menghai, but you should also have some of their shu puerh recipe (7572?). But you should purchase puerh at least 6-7 years old. For Xiaguan jia ji sheng puerh tuo or 7513 shu tuo are nice example of classic puerh recipe.
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Dresden
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Mon May 20, 2019 6:04 pm

mael wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 11:05 am
I would start with big and classic factory puerh like Menghai tea factory or Xiaguan tea factory. 7542 is the most famous puerh sheng recipe from menghai, but you should also have some of their shu puerh recipe (7572?). But you should purchase puerh at least 6-7 years old. For Xiaguan jia ji sheng puerh tuo or 7513 shu tuo are nice example of classic puerh recipe.
Thank you @mael. This is exactly the sort of information I am looking for.
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mrmopu
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Mon May 20, 2019 9:25 pm

Dresden wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 9:32 am
mrmopu wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 8:43 am
Mike,
Do you have a price range or would you rather sample some stuff first? I will echo Bok. Cheap puerh is usually bad puerh.
Price isn't too huge of a concern provided that it's nothing ridiculous.

That being said, I would ideally like to find a few good representative samples of what puerh should be before committing to an entire cake of something.
There are some other recommendations that were good as well. Sample big factory stuff for sure. The age on them at 5 to 7 years will be a good starting point. I would also sample some high end stuff as well. Hai Lang Hao, Chen Sheng Hao and Chen Yun Hao may be good to sample from as well. You may want to visit White2Tea, Crimson Lotus and Yunnan Sourcing. All have good teas that are sourced by the sellers. It is a whole new world you are entering and the rabbit hole is deep.......
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pedant
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Mon May 20, 2019 10:25 pm

it would be nice if you had a local tea friend to mentor you. drink someone else's collection :lol:

good suggestions in here. also, maybe join the chat room again if you want.
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pedant
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Tue May 21, 2019 1:45 am

if i had to narrow it down to five samples, the "welcome to puerh starter pack" for me would look like this:
  1. fruity 'oolong' young sheng (imo meant to be enjoyed young)
  2. classic young sheng (more meant to be aged)
  3. classic factory recipe aged sheng highlighting some good sweetness or incense or light smoke
  4. boutique aged sheng
  5. shou
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pantry
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Tue May 21, 2019 10:50 am

I would start by ordering samples of top quality teas from well respected vendors. Try a variety of teas from different mountains and vintages. For sheng pu, Jingmai and Lincang are easy starting points (and pocket friendly). Try new young tea, and teas that have been stored for 5, 10, 20+ years.

Don't rush into buying a full sized cake (357g and up). If you find a relatively young tea you enjoy that is sold in a smaller sized cake/portion (100g), that would be a good way to learn how the tea transforms over time. I have teas that I purchased in a smaller size that I wish I had bought a tong of them, and also teas that are supposedly more precious that I don't much care for. It all comes down to personal preferences, which can still change over time.

I find it a little trickier to find interesting ripe pu, but it could be the fact that I haven't invested in sampling the high-end stuff. I have too many 10-15 yr hand-me-downs to justify spending more on ripe, but all of them tend to be of a similar note.
swordofmytriumph
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Location: Seattle, USA

Wed May 22, 2019 7:23 am

+1 for Crimson Lotus. They are my favorite, and all their stuff is stellar. They have samples too, and also a sample pack where you can get a sample of everything, which is worth it for you. Plus, their selection is well curated. Yunnan Sourcing has great stuff, but it can be bewildering to even try to choose what to get.
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Brent D
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Wed May 22, 2019 10:25 am

mael wrote:
Sun May 19, 2019 11:05 am
I would start with big and classic factory puerh like Menghai tea factory or Xiaguan tea factory. 7542 is the most famous puerh sheng recipe from menghai, but you should also have some of their shu puerh recipe (7572?). But you should purchase puerh at least 6-7 years old. For Xiaguan jia ji sheng puerh tuo or 7513 shu tuo are nice example of classic puerh recipe.
I second this suggestion. What you need is a baseline in which to compare all other sheng with. A nice 7542 is exactly what I would suggest. Try to score a 2009. I would suggest a whole cake to be honest. Learn exactly what it is. From there you can branch off into all the different boutique pu's
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Dresden
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Mon May 27, 2019 7:00 pm

Well then... I finally got tired of hemming and hawing over this stuff. Eventually I found myself on Yunnan Sourcing placing an order. I don't know if I did well, fair, or poor, but I dove in head first and did it none the less. So, the following is what I ended up getting:

Sheng
2007 Pin Xiang "Bu Lang Shan Tuo" Raw Pu-erh Tea - 250 Grams Tuo
2012 Xiaguan "Jia Ji Tuo" Raw Pu-erh tea in box - (100 Gram Tuo)
2014 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake - (357 Grams)
2016 Yunnan Sourcing "Red Monkey" Raw Pu-erh Tea Mini Cake - (50 Gram Cake)

Shou
12 Years Aged Golden Melon Ripe Pu-erh Tea Tuo (3 Tuo)
2014 Menghai V93 Premium Ripe Pu-erh Tea Tuo Cha - (100 Gram Tuo)
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aet
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Tue May 28, 2019 6:24 pm

do not bother to buy anything older 10y , unless u already know how it should taste ( dry or wet stored ). I mean how +10yo sheng / shu taste like. Please note that mushroom, wet dirt, old church ..and whatever that kinda notes , doesn't mean the tea is old. ;-) Don't get to drawn into some myths which are endlessly circling in foreign puerh clubs. Follow your natural taste. Buy samples first. If don't like, don't throw away. Just put it aside and come back to it year later. Start with younger stuff in order to understand the original taste first. Then move on year by year ( learn wet and dry storage ). Pick few vendors and sample them. Buy / put in basket same weight item ( like 357g cake ) and compare the shipping fee ( read shipping terms ) .

Please note that buying a factory tea ( big factory tea ) is like deciding between buying a Coca Cola or homemade juice. Big factories = big marketing . It is like buying a milk and believing that the happy cow on the box is really having a holiday on green grass field below the Swiss alps ;-)
Most of the factory teas is just cheap bush tea wrapped / marketed nicely. Only advantage of buying it is for investment ( is not certain ) or mixtures ( blends ) like shu from Dayi ( small producers can do as well ) or sheng like from Meng Ku Rong Shi or Lao Tong Zhi ( small producers do better these days ) . Some are specific for taste , like Xia Guan. Also areas have different taste ( Yi wu very different from Bul ang for example. ) ...and so on ,so on so on;-)

Very important ! the price is not a guide! Yes, no body sells the gold for the price of steel but they do a lot other way around! Comparing vendors via known factory teas is also not a guideline , since not all vendors have same buying conditions ( buying price from factory / factory agent ). Being big vendor doesn't necessarily mean having a best deals in purchasing. Each vendor also have different running biz expenses ( employees or rent for example ) , which vary from the location.
Also keep in mind the prices of the same pu-erh can differ based on previous storage ( KM or GZ for example ) . ...and so on ,so on so on;-)

anyway...don't hurry up, enjoy the journey of learning, coz this is the best part of it ;-)
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mrmopu
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Tue May 28, 2019 9:32 pm

aet wrote:
Tue May 28, 2019 6:24 pm
Please note that buying a factory tea ( big factory tea ) is like deciding between buying a Coca Cola or homemade juice. Big factories = big marketing . It is like buying a milk and believing that the happy cow on the box is really having a holiday on green grass field below the Swiss alps ;-)
Most of the factory teas is just cheap bush tea wrapped / marketed nicely. Only advantage of buying it is for investment ( is not certain ) or mixtures ( blends ) like shu from Dayi ( small producers can do as well ) or sheng like from Meng Ku Rong Shi or Lao Tong Zhi ( small producers do better these days ) . Some are specific for taste , like Xia Guan. Also areas have different taste ( Yi wu very different from Bul ang for example. ) ...and so on ,so on so on;-)

Very important ! the price is not a guide! Yes, no body sells the gold for the price of steel but they do a lot other way around! Comparing vendors via known factory teas is also not a guideline , since not all vendors have same buying conditions ( buying price from factory / factory agent ). Being big vendor doesn't necessarily mean having a best deals in purchasing. Each vendor also have different running biz expenses ( employees or rent for example ) , which vary from the location.
Also keep in mind the prices of the same pu-erh can differ based on previous storage ( KM or GZ for example ) . ...and so on ,so on so on;-)

anyway...don't hurry up, enjoy the journey of learning, coz this is the best part of it ;-)
Well said
Last edited by Victoria on Tue May 28, 2019 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Mod edit: cleaned up quote
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