First time

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


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Aug 12th, '08, 19:56
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by shogun89 » Aug 12th, '08, 19:56

Salsero wrote:
shogun89 wrote: I'm not that worried about mold because when manufacturing shu, the humidity can get up into the upper 80s. I think as long as I stay below 70% I should be fine, I hope.
The cigar guy said anything under 75% was good.
Yeah, I just want to stay at about 70% just to be sure.

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Aug 12th, '08, 20:58
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by taitea » Aug 12th, '08, 20:58

OK, this thread clearly indicates to me that pu-erh is a gateway tea.
I highly recommend getting this cake
http://www.puerhshop.com/index...cts_id=153
What does the "green" in "Green Pu-erh Tea Cake" mean? I thought pu-erhs were always black tea.

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Aug 12th, '08, 23:13
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by shogun89 » Aug 12th, '08, 23:13

I think this site can help you understand it better than I can explore this site and come back with any questions, and I will gladly answer them tomorrow.

http://www.pu-erh.net/

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Aug 13th, '08, 02:32
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by omegapd » Aug 13th, '08, 02:32

Salsero wrote: The cigar guy said anything under 75% was good.
As a very anal cigar collector, yes- 70 degrees and 70% humidity is the ideal storing situation for cigars. Pu seems to be more forgiving from what I've read, though. At 80% humidity, the cigar's filler will expand, usually cracking the wrapper leaf. That's much more common than mold appearing. Cigars also get what is called "bloom" which is a fine white powder over the wrapper. Many people assume this is mold, but it's not, and is actually wanted. It shows that the cigars have aged for some time and the cigar was made with premium leaf. It's something similar to the natural sugars in the leaf coming out and to the surface.

Ask your cigar buddy if he ever heard of bloom and give him a hard time if he threw away those cigars thinking it was mold. :twisted:

EW

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Aug 13th, '08, 02:40
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by Salsero » Aug 13th, '08, 02:40

omegapd wrote: Ask your cigar buddy if he ever heard of bloom and give him a hard time if he threw away those cigars thinking it was mold.
It was just a thing online so I don't actually know the person.

Good info you've shared, EW. A few months ago my shu was all covered with a light white color. Hop identified it as something pu collectors call white frost and said not to worry. It brushed off easily. I wonder if it is something similar to or the same thing as what you describe on cigars.

Thanks for sharing.

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Aug 13th, '08, 03:02
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by omegapd » Aug 13th, '08, 03:02

Salsero wrote:
omegapd wrote: Ask your cigar buddy if he ever heard of bloom and give him a hard time if he threw away those cigars thinking it was mold.
It was just a thing online so I don't actually know the person.

Good info you've shared, EW. A few months ago my shu was all covered with a light white color. Hop identified it as something pu collectors call white frost and said not to worry. It brushed off easily. I wonder if it is something similar to or the same thing as what you describe on cigars.

Thanks for sharing.
Yep, bloom will wipe right off. Mold won't and looks different. Check this link out for pics.

http://home.alltel.net/jbperry/cig.htm

EW

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Aug 13th, '08, 03:04
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by ABx » Aug 13th, '08, 03:04

I wrote a paper for my blog as an intro to puerh that you might like:
http://www.dyingsun.net/Tea/puerh-intro.doc
I wrote this to cover as many of the questions that I see around from those new to puerh as possible, but please do let me know if there's anything you want to know so I can add it. The content is done otherwise (including being edited, though I might give it another once-over for wording), I just need to take some pics and make it look nice before I post it to my blog. So it doesn't look pretty yet, but the info is there :)

Any and all feedback is welcome :)
Last edited by ABx on Aug 15th, '08, 05:25, edited 1 time in total.

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Aug 13th, '08, 08:43
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by shogun89 » Aug 13th, '08, 08:43

ABx wrote:I wrote a paper for my blog as an intro to puerh that you might like:
http://www.dyingsun.net/Tea/puerh-intro.rtf

I wrote this to cover as many of the questions that I see around from those new to puerh as possible, but please do let me know if there's anything you want to know so I can add it. The content is done otherwise (including being edited, though I might give it another once-over for wording), I just need to take some pics and make it look nice before I post it to my blog. So it doesn't look pretty yet, but the info is there :)

Any and all feedback is welcome :)
I dont know why but I was unable to open it. :cry:

Edit; Never mind I converted it to word and the font was in gibberish so I made it times and I t looks great. I will read some today.

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Aug 13th, '08, 09:27
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by tony shlongini » Aug 13th, '08, 09:27

ABx wrote:I wrote a paper for my blog as an intro to puerh that you might like:
http://www.dyingsun.net/Tea/puerh-intro.rtf

I wrote this to cover as many of the questions that I see around from those new to puerh as possible, but please do let me know if there's anything you want to know so I can add it. The content is done otherwise (including being edited, though I might give it another once-over for wording), I just need to take some pics and make it look nice before I post it to my blog. So it doesn't look pretty yet, but the info is there :)

Any and all feedback is welcome :)
An outstanding and compendious introduction to puerh. Well done, and thanks!



(You should be able to open the file in Word.)

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Aug 13th, '08, 13:50
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by taitea » Aug 13th, '08, 13:50

p.s. this is the tea I was refering to: http://www.mcot.ca/en/catalog/product/17/LT-013/

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Aug 13th, '08, 14:05
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by shogun89 » Aug 13th, '08, 14:05

taitea wrote:p.s. this is the tea I was refering to: http://www.mcot.ca/en/catalog/product/17/LT-013/

Personally that website does not look like a high quality tea seller. They seem to have a very small selection with very very limited information. I also do not like how they have the puerh in the black/red tea section, also there is absolutely no information what so ever about the puerh, obviously they know nothing about what they are selling. Over all I just dont like the look of this site at all, and it just looks likke they are out to make a quick buck. I am sorry if I am sounding harsh but I just dont want you to get a bad experience and waste money.

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Aug 13th, '08, 14:17
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by taitea » Aug 13th, '08, 14:17

I don't think you're being harsh, I agree with everything you said. I knew that the place had a phony buzz when I walked into it, but they had a lychee tea, which I had been looking for, so I went for a sample pack that had the lychee and the "pu-erh".

My expectations were very low to begin with. But alas, here I am pondering what this pu-erh world is all about, so maybe there will be a happy ending after all.

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Aug 13th, '08, 14:26
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by shogun89 » Aug 13th, '08, 14:26

taitea wrote:I don't think you're being harsh, I agree with everything you said. I knew that the place had a phony buzz when I walked into it, but they had a lychee tea, which I had been looking for, so I went for a sample pack that had the lychee and the "pu-erh".

My expectations were very low to begin with. But alas, here I am pondering what this pu-erh world is all about, so maybe there will be a happy ending after all.

In this world you will go through many ups and downs but they will usually turn out positive and of course delicious! Take some time to read ABx's report and if you like get some stuff from Puerhshop. You can have alot of fun there with $40.

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Aug 14th, '08, 03:44
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by ABx » Aug 14th, '08, 03:44

I'd be careful about being so definitive, shogun. While I tend to agree, it could also very well be that they simply can't move the stuff and so only carry the one (it's all about demand). That one could actually be good with a little age - the off flavors are common to young shu. As for the rest, I'd have to taste to judge but generally I would pass them by for online sales as well. Store fronts can be a little different, though, when they're in an area where gimmicks are the only way to keep the store afloat.

Most loose puerh won't have any accompanying info, as it's usually not available (and usually not that important). They don't give it some abstract name, and the tidbit of info they do give is accurate. There are better places to start, however, if for no other reason than variety.

I actually prefer Angelina's as a better starting place, as they have a more carefully selected stock. See my paper for more specific recommendations.

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Aug 15th, '08, 05:27
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by ABx » Aug 15th, '08, 05:27

Just uploaded a small update - mostly formatting.
http://www.dyingsun.net/Tea/puerh-intro.doc
(changed original link as well)

I'm still interested to hear any feedback that anyone has, particularly taitea :)

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