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Because of tuochas compression and shape, aging takes a bit longer with them. Also the larger the tuocha, the longer it takes to age. I know some people don't even bother with tuochas because they think they take too long to age. If the tuocha has been relatively dry stored, up to a certain age you can tell how it'll taste by basically halving how many years it has on it. 6 year old tuocha? Probably tastes like it's 3 years old. Of course this is just my experience. Personally I love tuochas.

Jeremy wrote:This wiki article is pretty cool. It clearly shows the different brands and levels of their product.

Jin Si - "Gold Ribbon", highest grade túochá produced by Xiaguan. However, it was only produced in 2004.
Te Ji (特级) - "Superior Grade"
Jia Ji (甲级) - "A-Grade"
Yi Ji (一级) - "First Grade"

Yeah, that certainly clears things up.

The Chinese could take a lesson from the French when it comes to classifying their products. One man's superior is another's select, and words such as special, premier, imperial, reserve, etc. have no fundamental meaning, and do little to guide the consumer.

tony shlongini wrote:One man's superior is another's select, and words such as special, premier, imperial, reserve, etc. have no fundamental meaning, and do little to guide the consumer.

I guess they use these words to pretend guiding consumer and the real purpose is to confuse consumer

I've also notice many export products are not labeled with any grade. Probably people assume anything for export is supposed to be good?

Oh, to make it more messy, the pinyin "Yi Ji", it could be 一級, meaning "first grade", but it could also be 乙級, meaning "second grade". In xiaguan tuo, they often use 甲（#1) and 乙（＃２）instead of the real numbers. In such case Yi Ji is NOT the top grade product.

tony shlongini wrote:
Jeremy wrote:This wiki article is pretty cool. It clearly shows the different brands and levels of their product.
Jin Si - "Gold Ribbon", highest grade túochá produced by Xiaguan. However, it was only produced in 2004.
Te Ji (特级) - "Superior Grade"
Jia Ji (甲级) - "A-Grade"
Yi Ji (一级) - "First Grade"

Yeah, that certainly clears things up.

The Chinese could take a lesson from the French when it comes to classifying their products. One man's superior is another's select, and words such as special, premier, imperial, reserve, etc. have no fundamental meaning, and do little to guide the consumer.

Where did you hear that stuff?

Jin Si has been produced since 03, every year using the best water (tho I wonder how water works in making pu). I've got 05, and it does have some clarified taste with hint of mint.

Even our Scott has new Jin Si

chrl42 wrote:Where did you hear that stuff?

Jin Si has been produced since 03, every year using the best water (tho I wonder how water works in making pu). I've got 05, and it does have some clarified taste with hint of mint.

Even our Scott has new Jin Si

Since '03? I had better rethink my entire position then. After all, when a factory in a country with one of the oldest cultures on Earth starts categorizing things for five whole years, the world had better take notice.

Look at any two sites selling tea, and tell me if their product descriptions are a harbinger of wat to expect. A site's own particular grading system may have some meaning within their own product line, but has no value insofar as determining its quality to that of other sellers.

Xiaguan is one of my favorite factories, and is a venerable establishment in the pu'er business. I've had their "gold ribbon" tuo, and it's not nearly as good as some of their other tuos, particularly the FT branded ones.

tony shlongini wrote:
chrl42 wrote:Where did you hear that stuff?

Jin Si has been produced since 03, every year using the best water (tho I wonder how water works in making pu). I've got 05, and it does have some clarified taste with hint of mint.

Even our Scott has new Jin Si
Since '03? I had better rethink my entire position then. After all, when a factory in a country with one of the oldest cultures on Earth starts categorizing things for five whole years, the world had better take notice.

Look at any two sites selling tea, and tell me if their product descriptions are a harbinger of wat to expect. A site's own particular grading system may have some meaning within their own product line, but has no value insofar as determining its quality to that of other sellers.

Xiaguan is one of my favorite factories, and is a venerable establishment in the pu'er business. I've had their "gold ribbon" tuo, and it's not nearly as good as some of their other tuos, particularly the FT branded ones.

Sorry, I must have passed off Tom Verlain's post without noticing. Argh..it always happens

And Wikipedia must know what they are saying!

I really enjoyed the 07 Gold Ribbon. I think it's worth the small price. The FT tuo's are nice, (and in my opinion better) but it's almost apples to oranges seeing as how Xiaguan only really packages teas according to FT's specifications.

My teas are like kids- every one is different and each has its charm.

I hope to someday have them all.

tony shlongini wrote: I hope to someday have them all.

GOTTA CATCH'EM ALL!

TomVerlain wrote:Hi

recently recived the "2004 Xia Guan: 'Golden Ribbon' Raw Puerh" from andao tea.

I see on the wiki it is "Jin Si - "Gold Ribbon", highest grade túochá produced by Xiaguan. However, it was only produced in 2004."

My box is dated 2004. I tried it, and found it did not really seem to have the age I was expecting from a 4 year old tea. The tea seemed pretty tightly compressed. This is the first sheeng toucha I have tried. 5g in 120 ml of water. The liqour had more straw color than amber or red. It was not asrtringent, bitter or smokey. It is neither young, nor old. I think it may have been stored in a pretty dry enviornment, but that is obviously a guess.

At $12.00 for 100g, I was hoping for more. It will go into the "please age quickly" pile to await further testing.

I believe the CangEr Tuos were the highest grade

Sounds enticing! May have to get some of that Gold Ribbon.

Im actually drinking the 2004 gold ribbon daily. Its harsh on the first 3 brews, but on #4 it starts to get nice and floral. Still it is very young tasting.

Any idea what category this stuff falls into? (grade/quality etc)

comments?
(note the cost)

http://cantonteaco.com/shop/2004-guan-250g-p-56.html

drumhum wrote:Any idea what category this stuff falls into? (grade/quality etc)

comments?
(note the cost)

http://cantonteaco.com/shop/2004-guan-250g-p-56.html

I have not had that one. I was "told" that the better quality tuos have red wrappers. Yet the yellow ribbon has white and its supposed to be the highest quality. I dont like the price. Now see this writeup nearly fooled me, it said they have been making it since 82' , I thought the year was 82 for a second. Hells no, 70 dollars for a 2004 tuo, it better be some crazy stuff for that.

If youre willing to shell out some cash, this is one I would buy
http://www.nadacha.co.uk/index.php?page ... t&Itemid=1

Thanks told me about this one, I havent tried it yet.

Jeremy

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Xiaguan Toucha