1970's Decorative Tea Brick

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


Sep 5th, '12, 10:40
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1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by AaronF » Sep 5th, '12, 10:40

My folks have a black tea brick given to them in 1973. It looks like this:

http://www.theteasmith.com/product/CKBK67123.html

Would it be at all interesting to taste? Could it be harmful?

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Sep 5th, '12, 11:17
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by Chip » Sep 5th, '12, 11:17

I would not drink it. These were generally made to be ornamental and not consumed. I never really looked into buying, one but one vendor said do not drink.

Sep 5th, '12, 13:21
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by shah82 » Sep 5th, '12, 13:21

Frankly, Chip, the drought of aged tea in the West is so bad, I would most definitely try to drink that stupid brick. The qi might be bad-trip LSD-like due to all the ungodly pollutants, but...

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Sep 5th, '12, 16:20
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by Chip » Sep 5th, '12, 16:20

shah82 wrote:Frankly, Chip, the drought of aged tea in the West is so bad, I would most definitely try to drink that stupid brick. The qi might be bad-trip LSD-like due to all the ungodly pollutants, but...
Timothy Leary wrote:... might be "tripping" since we have no idea what they put into those things. 8)

Sep 5th, '12, 16:48
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by AaronF » Sep 5th, '12, 16:48

Heh. I'd ship you some to try, shah, but I don't want to do anything illegal shipping that stuff across state lines...

Thanks for your input.

Sep 5th, '12, 16:50
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by edkrueger » Sep 5th, '12, 16:50

Yeah, don't drink that. Its tea dust and "binders". I have had something similar one once (not intentionally) at a certain fancy teashop in San Francisco whose name starts with an S. It was terrible.

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Sep 20th, '12, 20:00
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 20th, '12, 20:00

Is definitely not decorative brick like some puerh pressed dust. This tea is call Mi Zhuan and is kind of dark tea, from Hubei prov. More old taste more better. Is for normal drink, tea with long history, popular in Xinjiang or some muslim countries. Comperssion is very tight, in not soo good storage still can taste not bad. Have your brick wrapper with date ?

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Sep 25th, '12, 18:01
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 25th, '12, 18:01

I reading now also about Hunan "Mi Zhuan" which was made in 1940´s few years from Hunan black tea and blended with low quality Indian and Sri Lanka black tea ! This "Mi zhuan" is very hot and expensive in market now, also people wrote is tasty ! Is very interesting information.
By the way, if in taobao is some classic 1992 Hubei Mi Zhuan offer with price 2000rmb, you can thinking about sell it back to China :-D Collectors who buy aged dark tea now buy for example some 1930 Hunan brick which everybody know is not tasty, but they just collect it like antique and not hope for taste, price of there antique bricks is extra high

Sep 25th, '12, 18:10
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by edkrueger » Sep 25th, '12, 18:10

This is not Zhuan tea. Zhuan tea is made of compressed leaves –broken leaves often, but still leaves– this is made of powder. I'd highly advise not drinking it.

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Sep 25th, '12, 22:32
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 25th, '12, 22:32

edkrueger wrote:This is not Zhuan tea. Zhuan tea is made of compressed leaves –broken leaves often, but still leaves– this is made of powder. I'd highly advise not drinking it.
Zhuan tea = tea brick. Zhuan - brick, can be made from any quality of leaves, the name is not about quality, but shape.

Mi Zhuan is name for this tea. Translate is "rice brick tea" - 米砖茶 .

The same brick from link up is in taobao here http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a23 ... 4821281983 . In name you can see Mi Zhuan Cha (米砖茶)
Later in the link you can reading this :

米砖茶又名红砖茶,是我国独特的传统产品,是以优质红茶为原料,按传统加工工艺精制而成.砖形为扁薄长方体,紧结平整,内质汤色深红明亮,茶吱浓厚醇和.产品不含任何添加剂,具有生津止渴,清心提神、暖身御寒、消脂祛腻、解腹胀等了饮用功效.本茶不仅是一种良好的饮用品,又是一种高雅的工艺欣赏品和馈赠佳品.....

规格500克

标准代号GB/T9833.8-2002

赵李桥牌坊,采用优质红茶末为原料压制的砖茶,可以做奶茶原料,茶叶用量少,茶味浓,香气十 足,毕竟是百年老字号老茶厂,品质好。

There you can see - any "binders". Which "binders" you mean ? Is pure tea, broken leaves, small like material used in C.T.C black tea. Is C.T.C. black tea not good for drink ?? And also you can see there is normal tea for drink.

Many of hei cha brick have some relief picture, but is nothing about decoration like puerh tea decoration.
Hubei Mi Zhuan is wrappered , normally is not offer "naked", you can see in this links all mi zhuan in taobao http://s.taobao.com/search?spm=a230r.1. ... lterTabBar - 90% have wrapper, and a lot of them not have any relief - all from Guangxi and some from Hunan.
Brick with relief is traditional thing with long history, for normal drinking. I dont know what tea you drank in San Francisco but I not think you drank Mi Zhuan. (but your experience can be terrible with this tea too, I also feel a lot of popular tea have terrible taste, but a lot people drink it. Chemical flavoured milk oolong, for example...).
I not say this tea must be tasty for everyone, but is regular kind of tea for drinking here in China or some other countries. Yes, is low quality product, and can be nice to used like decoration. My father is train driver and he also have this http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a23 ... 4732317094 "locomotive brick" Mi zhuan for decoration. But I must insist on my opinion - this tea is for drink. free of binders

Here is picture of leaves "mi zhuan" tea, in detail you can see is not dust, just small peaces of leaves:
Attachments
2009_Liubao_Mi_Zhuan_500g_3.jpg
mi zhuan
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Sep 25th, '12, 23:21
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 25th, '12, 23:21

For compare with another drinker I tried look some degustation or article in English . Here is one- well known blog http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2008/ ... asure.html and in picture of dry tea piece you can see very good the same relief - part of house in relief. Is definitely the same tea which we talking about. Also here is about the taste.
Yes, new is nothing special than low end black tea, but minorities drink it with sugar, milk etc. But aged mi zhuan...is tasty ! :D

Sep 26th, '12, 17:53
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by edkrueger » Sep 26th, '12, 17:53

OK. Zhuan means brick. This is still not any tea that usually is pressed into bricks –from Yunnan, Hunan or elsewhere. You can even look at your own post and see the brewed version of this brick (see the blog you posted) looks nothing like picture you posted. At best the brick is CTC black.

I'd still debate the tea part. You are going to claim, I bet, that it is tea because it made from Camellia Sinensis. Probably true, but I still doubt this is made for consumption. I also find it hard to believe CTC tea would hold together even after steaming and extreme pressure. I am pretty sure there is some glue (binder) in there.

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Sep 27th, '12, 19:38
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 27th, '12, 19:38

edkrueger wrote:OK. Zhuan means brick. This is still not any tea that usually is pressed into bricks –from Yunnan, Hunan or elsewhere. You can even look at your own post and see the brewed version of this brick (see the blog you posted) looks nothing like picture you posted. At best the brick is CTC black.

I'd still debate the tea part. You are going to claim, I bet, that it is tea because it made from Camellia Sinensis. Probably true, but I still doubt this is made for consumption. I also find it hard to believe CTC tea would hold together even after steaming and extreme pressure. I am pretty sure there is some glue (binder) in there.
The picture i posted is Mi zhuan from Guang xi, I not have pic of leaves for Hubei brick, but I will make it. But in the blog you can see the leaves of brick we are talking about, tasting notes, history etc.
Hmmm ok, I not have more reasons to say again why is not used binder there and why is normal tea. Hope you not think there is some plasma of bull, like I read in somewhere about puerh...

But can you tell me where is all the "decorations", if the Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory make every year a lot of tons this product ? Who are the customers and where is the tea now, milions of decorations ? Some gallery ? I understand why 90% western tea drinkers will have this cheap and nice relief brick for decoration, but can you try belive that this tea is for normal drinking by minorities here in China and in muslim countries near?

Sep 27th, '12, 21:34
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by edkrueger » Sep 27th, '12, 21:34

I am pretty sure that Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory makes other tea than this brick. Actually, I know for a fact they they make other decorative bricks as well non-decorative ones.

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Sep 27th, '12, 23:02
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Re: 1970's Decorative Tea Brick

by honza » Sep 27th, '12, 23:02

edkrueger wrote:I am pretty sure that Hubei Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory makes other tea than this brick. Actually, I know for a fact they they make other decorative bricks as well non-decorative ones.
:roll:
Another bricks they make are qing zhuan( but still with some relief...:) Qing zhuan is different kind of heicha.
But we talk about Mi zhuan from this factory. They make a lot of tons this tea. Every year. For drink. Long time. In best time when they sell many to Russia (by the way, here is some nice story why they used in one brand locomotive), they used broken black tea leaves from 4 provinces.
Where is the tea now, if they made millions of this brick ? And why we cant see some old easy ?
If you want to see, what is decorative tea, made by the same factory, is this one http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a23 ... 8222603349 for example.
Now I am in chat with regular vendor of this factory, he said yes, western people like buy the small brick for decoration, but is maybe 0.5% from all this products they make. Do you have QQ or something can talk with Chinese? I can give contact to him. I dont know which evidence i can actually give you or provide for make you pretty sure this tea is regular tea for drinking. :?: But here is question, you want to try belive or just keep your opinion? :roll:

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