Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

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


Aug 7th, '12, 23:29
Posts: 38
Joined: May 27th, '12, 07:22

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by ciphoto » Aug 7th, '12, 23:29

bryan_drinks_tea wrote:Okay Guys...I'm gonna be that guy, and I'm sorry in advance.

Since when did this have anything to do with enjoying tea?

The only comment I've ready so far regarding enjoying it is the one stated by beecrofter. Who cares about the numbers, really? Are you trying to find a mathematical way to enjoy something?

Science and math are both wonderful things, but only in the right circumstances. Perhaps we should focus on enjoying our tea rather than playing some numbers game.

I'm out of this discussion.
Hmm it is about enjoying the tea, and making a plan to do so…

Aug 8th, '12, 03:10
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by theredbaron » Aug 8th, '12, 03:10

ciphoto wrote:
bryan_drinks_tea wrote:Okay Guys...I'm gonna be that guy, and I'm sorry in advance.

Since when did this have anything to do with enjoying tea?

The only comment I've ready so far regarding enjoying it is the one stated by beecrofter. Who cares about the numbers, really? Are you trying to find a mathematical way to enjoy something?

Science and math are both wonderful things, but only in the right circumstances. Perhaps we should focus on enjoying our tea rather than playing some numbers game.

I'm out of this discussion.
Hmm it is about enjoying the tea, and making a plan to do so…
Exactly.
Collecting and planning for future enjoyment of tea is enjoyment of tea. I enjoy my teas slowly changing from raw cakes into lovely teas, once a while prying a few leaves away for testing how they have developed, and laying some cakes aside for further aging so that one day i have a nice stock of 20 year plus cakes as well without having to win the lottery to afford such teas regularly.
Enjoyment and appreciation of tea means also the process of learning about tea, refining taste and improving skills.

Aug 8th, '12, 12:29
Posts: 170
Joined: Jul 9th, '12, 16:37

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by iovetea » Aug 8th, '12, 12:29

ciphoto wrote:
beecrofter wrote:If one had the means to do this it would perhaps be better with a partner or two so that upon your demise the tea does not end up in a yard sale or a dumpster.

The best experience is a shared one.
Agreed...
while i agree its nice to share lovely things with your wife, doing things with others that involve money often get wrong.

just watch hong kong gangster movies from the 80s ;)

Aug 8th, '12, 12:38
Posts: 170
Joined: Jul 9th, '12, 16:37

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by iovetea » Aug 8th, '12, 12:38

its really sad you tell me the awesomeness of malaysian storing. i have a burmese friend who went to malaysia and i forgot to tell him to bring pu erh. damn.

Aug 8th, '12, 13:43
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by theredbaron » Aug 8th, '12, 13:43

iovetea wrote:its really sad you tell me the awesomeness of malaysian storing. i have a burmese friend who went to malaysia and i forgot to tell him to bring pu erh. damn.

Unless your Burmese friend knows about tea, knows where to buy and how to taste, it is quite useless to ask him to bring you semi aged Pu Erh, or any other high quality tea. It's not like walking into a department store and picking things from the shelve.
The joy of buying tea means sitting and testing many different teas with others that enjoy tea, learn from their experience and knowledge, and find what suits you, and suits your level of experience. Drinking Chinese tea is not instant gratification, but a subject of lifelong study.

Aug 9th, '12, 07:44
Posts: 170
Joined: Jul 9th, '12, 16:37

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by iovetea » Aug 9th, '12, 07:44

theredbaron wrote:
iovetea wrote:its really sad you tell me the awesomeness of malaysian storing. i have a burmese friend who went to malaysia and i forgot to tell him to bring pu erh. damn.

Unless your Burmese friend knows about tea, knows where to buy and how to taste, it is quite useless to ask him to bring you semi aged Pu Erh, or any other high quality tea. It's not like walking into a department store and picking things from the shelve.
The joy of buying tea means sitting and testing many different teas with others that enjoy tea, learn from their experience and knowledge, and find what suits you, and suits your level of experience. Drinking Chinese tea is not instant gratification, but a subject of lifelong study.
ofc you would also not send a 200 kilo secretary into a store and let her buy something to dress for your hot super model girlfriend.

User avatar
Aug 10th, '12, 14:46
Posts: 154
Joined: Dec 19th, '11, 20:36
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: VA, USA

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by Lerxst2112 » Aug 10th, '12, 14:46

ciphoto wrote:
bryan_drinks_tea wrote:Okay Guys...I'm gonna be that guy, and I'm sorry in advance.

Since when did this have anything to do with enjoying tea?

The only comment I've ready so far regarding enjoying it is the one stated by beecrofter. Who cares about the numbers, really? Are you trying to find a mathematical way to enjoy something?

Science and math are both wonderful things, but only in the right circumstances. Perhaps we should focus on enjoying our tea rather than playing some numbers game.

I'm out of this discussion.
Hmm it is about enjoying the tea, and making a plan to do so…
I can sort of agree with the principle - making a financial plan. I see it as responsible when one sits down and goes "I have x amount of dollars put aside for tea. How should I go about getting the most out of it?" If, used in that responsible regard, one can easily tie in enjoyment. Either by way of securing a lot of tea that they enjoy, or a high quality tea that they will enjoy, or maybe some to pass on to others by sharing, or having sessions with other people.

Maybe this person wishes to collect tea and leave it to his kids one day. Maybe he wants to experiment with storage. Maybe he just really really likes aged tea.

One can never assume motive.
Peace, love, 'n tea
Jess

User avatar
Aug 15th, '12, 02:42
Posts: 2000
Joined: Mar 3rd, '09, 17:18

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by entropyembrace » Aug 15th, '12, 02:42

My 30 year plan....

Buy tea I like when I have money to spend on it

Drink teas I like whenever I feel like it

enjoy life and enjoy tea :)

Aug 15th, '12, 03:12
Posts: 133
Joined: Oct 5th, '11, 09:39

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by yanom » Aug 15th, '12, 03:12

It's lucky you're either rich or don't drink much tea that has got pricier with age. :mrgreen:

Aug 15th, '12, 04:12
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by theredbaron » Aug 15th, '12, 04:12

entropyembrace wrote:My 30 year plan....

Buy tea I like when I have money to spend on it

Drink teas I like whenever I feel like it

enjoy life and enjoy tea :)

Well, and drinking tea whenever i feel i like it (which is every day) needs some future planning. Some of the teas i like are very rare, not cheap, and take quite some traveling to get them.
Others, such as high quality older Pu Erh, i could not afford to buy. That is why i have to age them myself. Which is also a huge joy - smelling them regularly, tasting them once a while to see how they develop.

I am very glad that i started storing Pu Erh a bit more than ten years ago, and have a nice supply of good now drinkable tea, and will have in a few years, before Alzheimer sets in, several very good 20 year plus teas to drink without having to rob a bank, while at the same time i have a more than sufficient supply of ten year plus teas for every day drinking.
Over the past years i have seen the price of top quality tea rise incredibly. If that continues there may be a time when i may not be able to afford the teas i like anymore.
Already good older Yixing tea pots (70's and earlier, when they were still fired in dragon kilns) are now so expensive that i cannot afford them anymore (and there are so many fakes around now...). Fortunately i have enough tea pots which i bought 10 to 20 years ago, and don't need to worry. The same is happening with tea cups. I like tea cups from the Qing dynasty (Ming would be nicer, but good ones are really rare and expensive), many i bought some 17/18 years ago, often for a dollar a cup. The same cups - if you can find them, which is increasingly difficult - now cost 30 dollar or more a cup, will only increase in price and rarity. I don't need any more pots or cups, and only buy tea when i feel like it.
The more affluent China gets - the more expensive teas and utensils will become, and the more difficult it will be to find them. Just ask around any of the tea centers outside China, such as in Taiwan and KL - mainland Chinese buy up everything now - old teas, tea pots, etc, and for enormous prices. 20 years ago Taiwanese went around emptying the markets, hording pots and teas. That's when cheap cultural revolution Shui Ping pots, for example, leaped from a few dollars a pot to very high prices (and still rising).

Some years ago, i had a difficult time financially. At the same time i ran out of good teas, could not afford to buy them, and was mostly stuck with very mediocre teas for about two years. I do not want a repeat of that. If i am broke, at least i want to still have good teas.

It does take quite a bit enjoyment out of tea when i would need to think that i have not enough good tea at hand, would have to use mediocre pots and cups, etc.
Now i just chose a pot and cups out of the shelve i feel like using for any particular tea, have a nice selection of good to very good teas, and simply enjoy.

User avatar
Aug 15th, '12, 05:42
Posts: 637
Joined: Apr 11th, '09, 12:39
Location: UK

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by apache » Aug 15th, '12, 05:42

It's nice to see dicussions about this topic. Obviously, if drinking aged pu is not your cup of tea, there is absolutely no point to have any plan to store any tea.

I think for any tried and tested well known good quality pu, price would increase roughly 30% every year. e.g. Big Green Tree, 2003 Dayi Gold. In a few years time, the price of most of these cakes would be out of my reach.

Anyway, one way to get round this is find some good but less well known tea, but I find this is not an easy task. Very often I find my opinion shift after I finish half a cake. At the beginning, I thought that cake tastes great, but after many sessions and comparision with other teas, then I thought, hmmm, may be not.

Aug 15th, '12, 06:15
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by theredbaron » Aug 15th, '12, 06:15

apache wrote:It's nice to see dicussions about this topic. Obviously, if drinking aged pu is not your cup of tea, there is absolutely no point to have any plan to store any tea.

I think for any tried and tested well known good quality pu, price would increase roughly 30% every year. e.g. Big Green Tree, 2003 Dayi Gold. In a few years time, the price of most of these cakes would be out of my reach.

Anyway, one way to get round this is find some good but less well known tea, but I find this is not an easy task. Very often I find my opinion shift after I finish half a cake. At the beginning, I thought that cake tastes great, but after many sessions and comparision with other teas, then I thought, hmmm, may be not.
One still has to consider that taste in tea usually grows with increasing knowledge/experience, especially also regarding aged teas. What one may not yet appreciate, may turn in a few year's time into tea heaven.

Not just Dayi grows in price, but also and especially rare cakes of wild and ancient leaves, or master blends. Some of the cakes i got around 2000 to 2002 (no name brands, but very selected leaves by long established shops) have now reached absurd prices in the market (i just enjoy them - no price speculation here). When i bought these teas, i was not yet much fascinated by Pu Erh, but was advised that one day i may be, and it would be then good to have them. Which was the case, indeed.

I see also young teas grow steadily in price as China's economy grows. If this continues, good young shengs may soon be out of the reach of average tea drinkers as well.

Aug 15th, '12, 13:32
Posts: 1274
Joined: May 9th, '09, 15:59

Re: Pu Budget for one's life time (30 Years)

by shah82 » Aug 15th, '12, 13:32

Good young sheng from certain well known places in Banna rarely even makes the internet-visible marketplace, it seems.

+ Post Reply