TeaChat

Hi
I found this tea and was wondering if anyone has come across a similar brand or can tell me more. I have a chance to buy more for a very low price.
I assume the date is the year.

Thanks

pookguy wrote:Hi
I found this tea and was wondering if anyone has come across a similar brand or can tell me more. I have a chance to buy more for a very low price.
I assume the date is the year.

Thanks

The date might be the year of the recipe or something like that, it might be the year the tea was made but it is not certain.

I would not buy stuff like this at any price. Even if it's free I'd have to think whether it's worth wasting space for it or not.

MarshalN wrote:I would not buy stuff like this at any price. Even if it's free I'd have to think whether it's worth wasting space for it or not.

@MarshlN-It seems you know more about this tea. Would you mind sharing your reason and experience?

Thanks

pookguy wrote:

MarshalN wrote:I would not buy stuff like this at any price. Even if it's free I'd have to think whether it's worth wasting space for it or not.

@MarshlN-It seems you know more about this tea. Would you mind sharing your reason and experience?

Thanks

Marshaln has some experience. His blog probably contains the most information about tea written in English than any other single source in the world. He doesn't have to know about every individual piece of garbage in order to know it when he sees it.

I think what the OP is asking here is, what aspects of the tea lead to the assumption that it's poor quality stuff?

In the same situation, I'd want to know if that assessment was made because no one would use good tea for an obviously ceremonial brick; the color of the dried leaves; information in the chinese characters that most of us can't read; or some other factor. We'd like to learn how to fish rather than just to be given a fish.

Agreed. Marshal's blog is great, but burden of proof should be honored.

M.

debunix wrote:I think what the OP is asking here is, what aspects of the tea lead to the assumption that it's poor quality stuff?

In the same situation, I'd want to know if that assessment was made because no one would use good tea for an obviously ceremonial brick; the color of the dried leaves; information in the chinese characters that most of us can't read; or some other factor. We'd like to learn how to fish rather than just to be given a fish.

True. I'm sure some reading of his blog would answer a lot of questions.

"You know it when you see it" is about right. That kind of brick is made more for display than for drinking, of the worst possible leaves. If you drink it, you'll have your proof.

I trust the folks on this community forum and @marshaln writes a great blog and is well respected here. I am just interested in his knowledge and reasoning behind his assessment.

Thanks for the comments and help.

There have been a lot of posts over the years about such bricks. The 1997 HK Return brick is famous, and potable...

But probably the most likely reason MarshalN isn't taking a brick like that is because most moulded tea bricks use extremely low quality tea leaves and could further be adulterated by unhealthy ingredients. It's probably not safe to drink. They are also not particularly convenient to chip out a serving, either.

Now, it could totally different than what I described! However, the look of the surface doesn't seem very appetizing at all, and there is little definition of leaves remaining, or maybe never present.

bonescwa wrote:

debunix wrote:I think what the OP is asking here is, what aspects of the tea lead to the assumption that it's poor quality stuff?

In the same situation, I'd want to know if that assessment was made because no one would use good tea for an obviously ceremonial brick; the color of the dried leaves; information in the chinese characters that most of us can't read; or some other factor. We'd like to learn how to fish rather than just to be given a fish.

True. I'm sure some reading of his blog would answer a lot of questions.

What website is his blog?

AllanK wrote:

bonescwa wrote:

debunix wrote:I think what the OP is asking here is, what aspects of the tea lead to the assumption that it's poor quality stuff?

In the same situation, I'd want to know if that assessment was made because no one would use good tea for an obviously ceremonial brick; the color of the dried leaves; information in the chinese characters that most of us can't read; or some other factor. We'd like to learn how to fish rather than just to be given a fish.

True. I'm sure some reading of his blog would answer a lot of questions.

What website is his blog?

http://www.marshaln.com