Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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Jun 20th, '09, 00:51
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by heatwaves » Jun 20th, '09, 00:51

I don't know if this will add anything to the discussion, but Tuocha Tea has it as well. The photo looks like the exact same buds.

http://tuochatea.com/loose_leaf_tea/wild_tree_bud.htm

Of course in the interest of selling tea, it's referred to as an "extremely rare tea".

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Jun 20th, '09, 15:50
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by Seeker » Jun 20th, '09, 15:50

That sure looks like "Ya Bao". Thanks for sharing it.
So interesting the extremely low price. For "silver buds" :shock: oooooohhhh.
I don't know.
I remain very suspicious.
As soon as I get any new info or pics from my sources, I'll post.

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Jun 20th, '09, 18:02
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by sriracha » Jun 20th, '09, 18:02

How about showing your 'tea buds' to a botanist, perhaps at a university?

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Jun 21st, '09, 19:39
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by heatwaves » Jun 21st, '09, 19:39

Seeker wrote:That sure looks like "Ya Bao". Thanks for sharing it.
So interesting the extremely low price. For "silver buds" :shock: oooooohhhh.
I don't know.
I remain very suspicious.
As soon as I get any new info or pics from my sources, I'll post.
It must be cheaper because it's "sliver" buds, not "silver". I imagine that if you got one of these buds trapped under your skin it would be mightly painful. :lol:

Jun 23rd, '09, 04:32
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by zhi zheng » Jun 23rd, '09, 04:32

They certainly look like ya bao and are big enough to be from wild trees -wild tree buds are likely to be a little larger than those from arboreal trees. In xishuangbanna the best areas for yabao are Nan Nuo Shan, Bulang Shan and Ba Da.

The quality can vary considerably depending perhaps on which sub-variety of tree it's come from etc... and, of course, how well it's been dried and stored.

When good it can make a rather pleasant drink, but one which, like Yue Guang Baiand tea flower, can seem to have little in common with 'tea' as most people know it!

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Jun 23rd, '09, 12:07
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by Seeker » Jun 23rd, '09, 12:07

zhi zheng wrote:They certainly look like ya bao and are big enough to be from wild trees -wild tree buds are likely to be a little larger than those from arboreal trees. In xishuangbanna the best areas for yabao are Nan Nuo Shan, Bulang Shan and Ba Da.

The quality can vary considerably depending perhaps on which sub-variety of tree it's come from etc... and, of course, how well it's been dried and stored.

When good it can make a rather pleasant drink, but one which, like Yue Guang Baiand tea flower, can seem to have little in common with 'tea' as most people know it!
Hi Zhi,
Can you provide any photos of these buds on camelia sinensis trees? Actually on the tree in such a way that we can see it is camelia sinensis? I, and my tea sources (chinese, and very experienced) doubt these are camelia sinensis.
Peace to all.

Jun 23rd, '09, 22:57
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by zhi zheng » Jun 23rd, '09, 22:57

Hi Seeker,

I've just had a look through my photos. I don't have one with yabao on a tree. I will ask around some friends......

In the meantime, I can send you a photo of some buds just after they have been picked which may get you a little closer. They are from a wild tree and we picked them ourselves.

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Jun 24th, '09, 00:42
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by Salsero » Jun 24th, '09, 00:42

zhi zheng wrote: They are from a wild tree and we picked them ourselves.
That is very cool! 8)

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Jun 26th, '09, 02:16
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by Seeker » Jun 26th, '09, 02:16

zhi zheng wrote:Hi Seeker,

I've just had a look through my photos. I don't have one with yabao on a tree. I will ask around some friends......

In the meantime, I can send you a photo of some buds just after they have been picked which may get you a little closer. They are from a wild tree and we picked them ourselves.
:) Great!
It would be great if you could get a photo of buds on tree. I think it's the only way we who have not had the experience of the actual trees can know and understand.

Also, if they are buds from old trees - why so inexpensive? Typically buds from old/ancient trees are expensive, are they not?

Jun 29th, '09, 12:29
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ya bao

by zhi zheng » Jun 29th, '09, 12:29

Sorry, haven't managed to track down a good photo yet....... I'll keep looking.

I guess it's pretty clear by now that ya bao and tea flower buds are not the same thing. As others have pointed out ya bao will only become leaves, not a flower.

Ya bao only grow right at the beginning of spring after the dry season/winter period, which here is going to be as early as february, so the photos previously posted are all rather too late to be useful for any meaningful comparison. They are all just typical tip and leaf formations.

btw. I was looking again at the original photos you posted and was wondering......

Have you got much of the stuff left? If you like, we can do a swap. You know, 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' kind of thing. I can send you a little of what we know to be yaobao and you can send us a little of the buds you have, because I'd be interested to have a look, and show them to people here to see what they think.

Oct 8th, '09, 00:28
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Re: Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

by bryan_drinks_tea » Oct 8th, '09, 00:28

hey you guys,

After reading most of these posts I went to YSLLC and found the exact same thing, only he lists it as a white tea, and says its a "varietal" of camellia sinensis that grows in the western part of yunnan. take a look at it if you want.

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Oct 14th, '09, 13:53
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Re: Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

by Janine » Oct 14th, '09, 13:53

Here's a photo of magnolia flower buds (used in herbal medicine)

Image

Oct 15th, '09, 21:02
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Re: Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

by Canadiangal » Oct 15th, '09, 21:02

Janine wrote:Here's a photo of magnolia flower buds (used in herbal medicine)

Image
Those look kinda "fuzzy" or furry though.
Also the stem part looks more like a branch of twig.
Neat photo though, learning a lot about tea and plants.

Some of the tea flowers kind of remind me of asparagus (obviously it is not that).
They also look a little like small branch tips maybe....

hope someone solves this mystery.
Send some to a university botany dept,maybe they can help.
I know I had a stone I wanted identified and brought it to a gem show where there was a gemologist from the government identifying stuff...

Oct 18th, '09, 21:00

Re: Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

by aKnightWhoSaysNi » Oct 18th, '09, 21:00

http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-Sun-Dried-Buds ... 4a96836296
Your rare and special tea also sells for $7.50 (+S&H) on Yunnan Sourcing.
Last edited by aKnightWhoSaysNi on Nov 25th, '09, 11:28, edited 1 time in total.

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Nov 25th, '09, 03:54
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Re: Where should you NOT buy your Puerh from

by Seeker » Nov 25th, '09, 03:54

Oooohhhhhhh!
My apologies but I got sick and lost track of this thread.
Zhi - I think I have some left. I'd be delighted to share/swap!!
That would be so fun.
Any luck with photos? Of the buds you had picked?
Is the tea you might be able to swap the stuff you picked?

Janine - thanks for the photo! Clearly the magnolia buds are not Ya Bao - very different morphology.

Also, yes, a botonist might be a very good idea. I live not far from UC Berkeley - could try that. I will attempt to organize myself for such a contact. Could be very interesting.

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