Retailers
Hi guys, I am looking for retailers and some good puerh. I have gone through the tread and have not located any good suppliers. Any help on where to order puerh from and what I should order as a beginning in puerh would be greatly appriciated. Thanks for your help.
Re: Retailers
For vendor, you can try check out Yunnan Sourcing, Dragon Tea House, Red-Lantern-Tea. They have a wide variety of Pu.
Or ... you can check out TeaSwap section
Or ... you can check out TeaSwap section
Re: Retailers
I'm new to pu too!
Essence of tea
Houde
both seem very reliable and do paypal
For very young pu I hear yunnan sourcing is a good spot also.
Gingko from Life in Teacup also has some nice samplers and an appealing butterfly toucha to consider.
I've tried a few 5ish year old pu but majority of my drinking has been 90's semi aged sheng (uncooked).
Many here will suggest you try a young, a semi aged, and an older one. Then also try a cooked. Houde has a decent looking aged shu (cooked) that I will try (if I ever feel the impulse for cooked). http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... 4024375163
Sadly most of the stuff I enjoyed from them has been sold out, so it's hard for me to recommend the other stuff that I have not yet tried.
I recently ordered a small number of samples from essence of tea (my first order from them), so if you would like me to keep you posted I can when they arrive.
Essence of tea
Houde
both seem very reliable and do paypal
For very young pu I hear yunnan sourcing is a good spot also.
Gingko from Life in Teacup also has some nice samplers and an appealing butterfly toucha to consider.
I've tried a few 5ish year old pu but majority of my drinking has been 90's semi aged sheng (uncooked).
Many here will suggest you try a young, a semi aged, and an older one. Then also try a cooked. Houde has a decent looking aged shu (cooked) that I will try (if I ever feel the impulse for cooked). http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... 4024375163
Sadly most of the stuff I enjoyed from them has been sold out, so it's hard for me to recommend the other stuff that I have not yet tried.
I recently ordered a small number of samples from essence of tea (my first order from them), so if you would like me to keep you posted I can when they arrive.
Sep 8th, '11, 15:27
Posts: 682
Joined: Mar 10th, '11, 08:17
Location: on top of a mountain.
Re: Retailers
Banateacompany.com for quality, thechineseteashop.com for aged, and sometimes puerhshop.com for bargain hunting. Add those to the other vendors already mentioned and you have a good start.
Re: Retailers
+1 for Essence of Tea. They've been a cut above everything else I've tried. I can't recommend them enough for both their young puer and aged offerings. Their aged loose leaf is a pretty good bargain. Good prices all round, though some famous cakes are expensive.
Yunnan Sourcing also good for the everyday stuff at decent prices.
Puerh Shop pretty rubbish on the whole.
MTR - decent, but expensive.
BanaTeaCompany - not tried.
Dragon Tea House - pretty standard, not cheap, not expensive, not special.
Yunnan Sourcing also good for the everyday stuff at decent prices.
Puerh Shop pretty rubbish on the whole.
MTR - decent, but expensive.
BanaTeaCompany - not tried.
Dragon Tea House - pretty standard, not cheap, not expensive, not special.
Re: Retailers
Essence of Tea's aged selection tend to be slightly wet, so grab samples first! Buy stuff with the expectation that they'll need some airing out for 2+ weeks. Judging by my own example, don't buy just enough for one try, when you sample, buy an ounce, even when it comes to expensive stuff.
There's also China Cha Dao and Red Lantern on Ebay, as well as RJ Teahouse. I've ordered from none of these.
Best Tea House, Vancouver edition also can be ordered from, but prices on most items are very uncompetitive.
Right now, far as I'm concerned, the best deals, if you can handle all the communication and transactional issues, are at Wistaria Tea House. They are not interested in selling outside of Taiwan, so it's probably trouble, but I've sampled enough of their stuff such that I think that if you want some fairly high-end tea, for consumption, it's the best bang for buck. Not cheap, but they don't sell cheap tea.
There's also China Cha Dao and Red Lantern on Ebay, as well as RJ Teahouse. I've ordered from none of these.
Best Tea House, Vancouver edition also can be ordered from, but prices on most items are very uncompetitive.
Right now, far as I'm concerned, the best deals, if you can handle all the communication and transactional issues, are at Wistaria Tea House. They are not interested in selling outside of Taiwan, so it's probably trouble, but I've sampled enough of their stuff such that I think that if you want some fairly high-end tea, for consumption, it's the best bang for buck. Not cheap, but they don't sell cheap tea.
Re: Retailers
How do you air out the tea w/o introducing new odors? I've been considering using some cardboard containers from tea gifts people brought back as souvenirs.shah82 wrote:Essence of Tea's aged selection tend to be slightly wet, so grab samples first! Buy stuff with the expectation that they'll need some airing out for 2+ weeks. Judging by my own example, don't buy just enough for one try, when you sample, buy an ounce, even when it comes to expensive stuff.
Re: Retailers
For short term airing out, I just put the amount I'm going to brew (approximately) in a small dish or ramekin and leave it in a part of the house that's relatively free from direct sunlight or cooking smells (completely uncovered).JRS22 wrote: How do you air out the tea w/o introducing new odors? I've been considering using some cardboard containers from tea gifts people brought back as souvenirs.
If you want to break up a wetter stored cake that's ready for drinking, you can break it up and put it in a cookie tin or something similar, cleaning off any obvious mold as you go.