New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

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


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May 19th, '12, 02:04
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New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by Jumpmonkey » May 19th, '12, 02:04

Hello,

I'm new to tea and am wanting to try some Puer. As bewildering the array of greens, whites, blacks, etc is, Puer seems more so. I finally found a place that has some affordable Pu' and its even located in the states (Puerhshop.) So, are there any Pu's that you guys can recommend, or any guidelines for starting spots? I'm looking to keep it under $30 or even under $20 if possible (least to start with.)


Thanks alot,
Adam

May 19th, '12, 02:43
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by JakubT » May 19th, '12, 02:43

I think you might try these:
http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=871

http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=389

The former is a rather well known and already rather pleasant tea, the other is a basic reasonable Yi Wu and should be quite pleasant too.

However, I think that if you want to learn about puerh, it would be wise to buy samples rather than whole cakes/tuos - I am not sure if puerhshop does samples though.

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May 19th, '12, 12:49
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by JRS22 » May 19th, '12, 12:49

Also located in the USA are Norbu and Yunnan Sourcing which sell some lower cost puerh and samples. I haven't bought from them yet because I'm still working my way through samples from Essence of Tea (EOT) and the Mandarin Tea Room but they have lots of satisfied customers here. A search of the forum should get you some tips on what to buy.

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May 21st, '12, 22:03
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by Jumpmonkey » May 21st, '12, 22:03

JakubT and JRS22,

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the suggestions and the "local" vendor listings!


God bless,
Adam

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May 22nd, '12, 09:18
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by gasninja » May 22nd, '12, 09:18

Jas-etea.com is also a good vendor in the states.

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May 22nd, '12, 11:25
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by Jumpmonkey » May 22nd, '12, 11:25

Gas Ninja,

Thanks for adding to my resources!

-Adam

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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by tingjunkie » May 23rd, '12, 00:41

I agree, lots of samples is the way to go at first. To add to the list of U.S. based vendors, there is also Bana Teas, who has 4 different sampler packs.

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May 23rd, '12, 04:27
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by TwoDog2 » May 23rd, '12, 04:27

JakubT wrote:I think you might try these:
http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=871

http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=389
Personal preference recommendation here, you might want to steer clear of the xiaguan for a first outing, some people find the smoke flavor put-offish. It is from 2008, so it might be pretty subdued by now, but depends on how it was stored. If you are going to go the inexpensive route, maybe dayi tuos are the way to go.
tingjunkie wrote:I agree, lots of samples is the way to go at first. To add to the list of U.S. based vendors, there is also Bana Teas, who has 4 different sampler packs.
These look like a great way to get your feet wet

May 23rd, '12, 05:43
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by JakubT » May 23rd, '12, 05:43

TwoDog: Well, I do not like smoke either, but the Happy tuo is not really very smoky...

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May 24th, '12, 21:13
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by Jumpmonkey » May 24th, '12, 21:13

Is there a pack-o-samples I can buy someplace or should I go pick try to pick things that sound good to me to sample?


Thanks for all the suggestions folsk,
Adam

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May 28th, '12, 02:45
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by TwoDog2 » May 28th, '12, 02:45

JakubT wrote:TwoDog: Well, I do not like smoke either, but the Happy tuo is not really very smoky...

Maybe I have not had the happy tuo? I have had the yellow and blue boxed tuos from 2011 and they were quite smokey through the first several steepings. In my experience, most Xiaguan's have quite a bit of smoke for at least a few years after production

2008 might be far enough out that the smoke is gone anyhow, depending how it was stored (If there was any smoke to begin with, that is)

May 28th, '12, 07:16
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Re: New Tea Drinker, wanting to try Puer

by JakubT » May 28th, '12, 07:16

2008 Happy tuo is pink, therefore it is probably different.

It's one of very few Xiaguan things I enjoy as it is notably less smoky than the most.

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