Re: What was your first tong purchase?
The second link you put up I will verify as a good seller. It takes a while to get here but I have always had good experience shopping this store.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
You could send some of that endless supply my wayMarshalN wrote:What's good value? Hong Kong has an endless supply of these things.whatsinaname wrote:
These comments are why I've stopped buying young puerh. I fear my results in 20 years will be subpar.
On the other hand, I'm always on the lookout for good value 10 year old traditionally stored tea cakes. Always open to suggestions on where to find some!
Jul 24th, '13, 09:24
Posts: 104
Joined: Dec 15th, '09, 21:03
Location: at the bottom of a cuppa
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
I would believe your evaluation of what constitutes good value for traditionally-stored tea given your location and expertise. This would be an interesting topic of discussion in itself.MarshalN wrote:What's good value? Hong Kong has an endless supply of these things.whatsinaname wrote:
These comments are why I've stopped buying young puerh. I fear my results in 20 years will be subpar.
On the other hand, I'm always on the lookout for good value 10 year old traditionally stored tea cakes. Always open to suggestions on where to find some!
Some of the teas you have personally liked and purchased in tongs, I was unable to procure due to location and language.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
I bought my first and only tong in 2008, menghai 8582. It was iron cake like compression, and green like freshly cut grass. 5 years on, it is no longer like fresh cut grass, but not exactly like it is on it's way to 88 cake status anytime soon.
Since then, I realized I have no interest in trying to figure out what to buy now that will be fantastic in twenty years, and not really wanting to wait twenty years to see if my bet paid off.
I rather drink shu and older sheng, which costs significantly more, but it is what it is, rather than what it might be.
Since then, I realized I have no interest in trying to figure out what to buy now that will be fantastic in twenty years, and not really wanting to wait twenty years to see if my bet paid off.
I rather drink shu and older sheng, which costs significantly more, but it is what it is, rather than what it might be.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
That there is why I tell people not to buy cheap tea when tonging.
You are almost certain to be better off buying good quality shu instead. Of course, truly good quality shu (by that I mean no flaws and with qi) is as rare as a decent blend of dried out wet storage sheng chips in the West.
You are almost certain to be better off buying good quality shu instead. Of course, truly good quality shu (by that I mean no flaws and with qi) is as rare as a decent blend of dried out wet storage sheng chips in the West.
What was your first tong purchase?
Ok shah, if you were going to buy 1 tong of any tea for less than $500 specifically for aging right now what would it be?shah82 wrote:That there is why I tell people not to buy cheap tea when tonging.
You are almost certain to be better off buying good quality shu instead. Of course, truly good quality shu (by that I mean no flaws and with qi) is as rare as a decent blend of dried out wet storage sheng chips in the West.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
Not really sure. I know I will buy a tong of 2002 Tai Lian should I have money again soon. I know it, I love it, but plenty of others don't like it. However, beyond that, much of my thinking about tongs have been about securing pleasant tea to drink up rather than store. We're talking a limit of $75-$80 here, and this makes it rather difficult to buy tea that has good young tea qi, or good old tea qi. The days when you could buy good puerh for less than about 25 cents a gram are very much long gone.
I know the Taipei expo jincha is first rate for $30/250g, but those are gone right now, and you'd have to hope they show up again. I don't know about Red Lantern's iron cake version I've already pointed you at before, but do be advised that Red Lantern's price is old. Houde's price for the shu iron cake is actually appropriate, and it seems that the iron cake sells nominally for more than $100 now. The iron cake, however, was originally priced less per gram than the jincha, so it could have inferior materials or something, though I don't know how, given the dust and coarse materials that's in it.
I suspect that you may also want to check out the Chen Guanghe Tang Hongyin replica from '07. Never had it so don't know how good it is, but it might be okay for storage. Nada's 2010 Manmai might be a good idea. It has a few relatively minor flaws, like a light tendency to choke-throat, and there may be brews with a lot of overoxidized leaves, but it also actually has qi, and does most everything well. I'm hesitant to recommend the 2012 Baotang because I feel that it's not really rolled hard enough, but that also has qi, but the taste isn't that good and will take time. I'd ask Nada for samples of the 2011 Mansai, and ask if there might be a tong available should you like that. Mansai 2010 is quite good and aging well, but does not have qi, so a matter of waiting for and hoping for old tea qi. No 400g bings either.
Seriously though, should have asked that question in 2011. There were plenty of things with qi and prospects available to Westerners back then. I'm inclined to say that you pretty much have to go to Taiwan or China to sample for young teas with taste and power just as much as you always had to do for old tea. Of course, a major reason I'm saying so is because I haven't been buying my own samples and don't know much about teas I would have tried like pu-erh.sk stuff.
I know the Taipei expo jincha is first rate for $30/250g, but those are gone right now, and you'd have to hope they show up again. I don't know about Red Lantern's iron cake version I've already pointed you at before, but do be advised that Red Lantern's price is old. Houde's price for the shu iron cake is actually appropriate, and it seems that the iron cake sells nominally for more than $100 now. The iron cake, however, was originally priced less per gram than the jincha, so it could have inferior materials or something, though I don't know how, given the dust and coarse materials that's in it.
I suspect that you may also want to check out the Chen Guanghe Tang Hongyin replica from '07. Never had it so don't know how good it is, but it might be okay for storage. Nada's 2010 Manmai might be a good idea. It has a few relatively minor flaws, like a light tendency to choke-throat, and there may be brews with a lot of overoxidized leaves, but it also actually has qi, and does most everything well. I'm hesitant to recommend the 2012 Baotang because I feel that it's not really rolled hard enough, but that also has qi, but the taste isn't that good and will take time. I'd ask Nada for samples of the 2011 Mansai, and ask if there might be a tong available should you like that. Mansai 2010 is quite good and aging well, but does not have qi, so a matter of waiting for and hoping for old tea qi. No 400g bings either.
Seriously though, should have asked that question in 2011. There were plenty of things with qi and prospects available to Westerners back then. I'm inclined to say that you pretty much have to go to Taiwan or China to sample for young teas with taste and power just as much as you always had to do for old tea. Of course, a major reason I'm saying so is because I haven't been buying my own samples and don't know much about teas I would have tried like pu-erh.sk stuff.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
Ya it's a shame I didn't get into puerh until the last year or so. I already have two cakes of the 2011 mansai that I'll have to revisit. Lucky for me I have already applied for multiple study abroad programs in college so I will most likely get a chance to spend up to 2 years in China so I'll have a chance to learn about tea in Chinashah82 wrote:Not really sure. I know I will buy a tong of 2002 Tai Lian should I have money again soon. I know it, I love it, but plenty of others don't like it. However, beyond that, much of my thinking about tongs have been about securing pleasant tea to drink up rather than store. We're talking a limit of $75-$80 here, and this makes it rather difficult to buy tea that has good young tea qi, or good old tea qi. The days when you could buy good puerh for less than about 25 cents a gram are very much long gone.
I know the Taipei expo jincha is first rate for $30/250g, but those are gone right now, and you'd have to hope they show up again. I don't know about Red Lantern's iron cake version I've already pointed you at before, but do be advised that Red Lantern's price is old. Houde's price for the shu iron cake is actually appropriate, and it seems that the iron cake sells nominally for more than $100 now. The iron cake, however, was originally priced less per gram than the jincha, so it could have inferior materials or something, though I don't know how, given the dust and coarse materials that's in it.
I suspect that you may also want to check out the Chen Guanghe Tang Hongyin replica from '07. Never had it so don't know how good it is, but it might be okay for storage. Nada's 2010 Manmai might be a good idea. It has a few relatively minor flaws, like a light tendency to choke-throat, and there may be brews with a lot of overoxidized leaves, but it also actually has qi, and does most everything well. I'm hesitant to recommend the 2012 Baotang because I feel that it's not really rolled hard enough, but that also has qi, but the taste isn't that good and will take time. I'd ask Nada for samples of the 2011 Mansai, and ask if there might be a tong available should you like that. Mansai 2010 is quite good and aging well, but does not have qi, so a matter of waiting for and hoping for old tea qi. No 400g bings either.
Seriously though, should have asked that question in 2011. There were plenty of things with qi and prospects available to Westerners back then. I'm inclined to say that you pretty much have to go to Taiwan or China to sample for young teas with taste and power just as much as you always had to do for old tea. Of course, a major reason I'm saying so is because I haven't been buying my own samples and don't know much about teas I would have tried like pu-erh.sk stuff.
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
What I would never do , is take advice from someone who hasn't purchased a tong ...........
Re: What was your first tong purchase?
Seems like it can be both exciting to age tea long-term, but also risky if the tea doesn't develop well over time. I appreciate all the thoughtful feedback from those with more experience. At the end of the day, drinking what you love now is also important. Best of luck on future Taiwan and China trips @exempt - should be a great way to learn more!