What cake for a gift in 18 years?

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


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Sep 6th, '08, 00:41
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What cake for a gift in 18 years?

by Bubba_tea » Sep 6th, '08, 00:41

I read the 'best cakes for aging thread' with a lot of interest and seems like there's some nice options. I would like to buy a gift for my two daughters. One was born in 2006 and the other was born 2007 (11 months apart... yikes...) and I would like something special to give them when they turn 18 - from their prospective years (2006 and 2007 cake).

A few questions....
Is there something in particular from the above thread that might be more likely to age / gain in value better than others? I know it's not for sure, but just looking for a safe bet and will do my best to follow the advice for pumidoring.

I'm thinking 1. 2007 mengku wild arbor and/or guoyan phoenix and 2. 2006 mengku lao ban zhang (I assume YS is a reputible place to buy with all the fakes out there) and maybe the meng hai da yi that Hop mentioned.

Also... What would you do - buy 2/3 - drink one through the years and gift the other? If I do that - can you just open it, break off a piece, and wrap back up and store for later again without 'distrubing' the cake?

Cheers all !

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Sep 6th, '08, 00:52
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by Salsero » Sep 6th, '08, 00:52

If your girls will be like mine (now in their 20's), you better buy them each the same thing or they will fight about who got the best one! What a lovely idea. They will be well-aged pu by then.

Opening a cake, tasting it, and rewrapping it is standard procedure.

Sep 6th, '08, 00:57
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by teakid » Sep 6th, '08, 00:57

Make your own cakes! Take a trip to Yunnan, China!

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Sep 6th, '08, 03:18
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by Wesli » Sep 6th, '08, 03:18

Breaking off chunks will not disturb the aging process [noticeably].

My 2¢ is to buy at least two per daughter, stored in different locations. In case one develops mold (or other problem), you will have a backup. If you want, also get a third one for yourself, break it in half, and store one half with each cake.

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Sep 6th, '08, 10:48
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by shogun89 » Sep 6th, '08, 10:48

First of all your idea sounds really cool!
Even though these cakes are cheap now, look at the price they go for a year latter. These are among the best recipes and best cakes for aging, being in production since '75. I think in 18 years these will be amazing cakes! I am going to get about 3 of them myself for that reason. I am of course talking about the famous Menghai 7542.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Menghai-Tea-Fa ... dZViewItem

You can absolutely take from a cake then put it back into storage. And yes YSLLC is a great dealer with great prices!

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Sep 6th, '08, 16:46
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by orguz » Sep 6th, '08, 16:46

shogun89 wrote:First of all your idea sounds really cool!
Even though these cakes are cheap now, look at the price they go for a year latter. These are among the best recipes and best cakes for aging, being in production since '75. I think in 18 years these will be amazing cakes! I am going to get about 3 of them myself for that reason. I am of course talking about the famous Menghai 7542.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Menghai-Tea-Fa ... dZViewItem

You can absolutely take from a cake then put it back into storage. And yes YSLLC is a great dealer with great prices!
I agree with the General,

That's what I thought too go for the classics, those have been tried and tested
get cnnp or menghai 7542 or a quality yiwu from those factories.

Many aged raw cakes for sale are the classic recipes, and why not get a tong for each daughter. Keep it aging in the bamboo leafs and it looks nice when they open it. As long it's not kept in a over humid condition they will age well I think :?

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Sep 6th, '08, 17:14
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by shogun89 » Sep 6th, '08, 17:14

orguz wrote:
shogun89 wrote:First of all your idea sounds really cool!
Even though these cakes are cheap now, look at the price they go for a year latter. These are among the best recipes and best cakes for aging, being in production since '75. I think in 18 years these will be amazing cakes! I am going to get about 3 of them myself for that reason. I am of course talking about the famous Menghai 7542.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Menghai-Tea-Fa ... dZViewItem

You can absolutely take from a cake then put it back into storage. And yes YSLLC is a great dealer with great prices!
I agree with the General,

That's what I thought too go for the classics, those have been tried and tested
get cnnp or menghai 7542 or a quality yiwu from those factories.

Many aged raw cakes for sale are the classic recipes, and why not get a tong for each daughter. Keep it aging in the bamboo leafs and it looks nice when they open it. As long it's not kept in a over humid condition they will age well I think :?
Thats one of my questions, when you mention overly humid. Will puerh age at all if the humidity is at about 50%? Obviously it will slow down but, will it age? Getting a tong for both would be awesome!!!!!!!!! Each Tong is $101, minus about $20 if purchased through email from Scott. With shipping about $250 for 14 cakes, 5,000 grams of tea!!! Also look at the 7532, They are $14.50 a cake for 2008 and a 2007 costs $30! Thats a 100% increase in one year!!!!

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Sep 6th, '08, 17:45
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by orguz » Sep 6th, '08, 17:45

I am not looking at the speculation part of it, the consumption 18 yrs from now matters only. Aging conditions fluctuates everywhere, Bubba lives in MO they have average of over 60% humidity there so no problem. In HONG KONG it's not hot and super humid all year round. They have dry periods too between november and march it's less humid 60% avg. Actually perfect MO is excellent for aging.

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Sep 6th, '08, 18:06
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by shogun89 » Sep 6th, '08, 18:06

All in all my opinions still rides with the 7542 or 7532. Cheap cake that wont break your wallet and has potential to become a true fantastic cake! Since they are so cheap I suggest at least 3 per child. The more pu the better!

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Sep 6th, '08, 18:37
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by nada » Sep 6th, '08, 18:37

Since this is for a special occasion, why settle for a tea which comes from pesticide sprayed plantations. Just because the number on the front of the bing remains the same, it does not mean that the quality of the leaves nor the health of the plants is the same as those classic bings of old.

If I was in the situation which you describe situation, before buying I'd be tasting a lot of samples of better quality bings. My suggestion would be to have a browse at Houde for many samples of good quality bings from old growth teas from these years.

nada.

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Sep 6th, '08, 18:44
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by Bubba_tea » Sep 6th, '08, 18:44

Hey everyone - great stuff - thanks for the suggestions! I originally wanted to buy a bottle of red wine that would age well, but that's definitely one topic I know nothing about. I'll probably buy a couple of different cakes, the popular 7542 and maybe the 32 and also a quality cake from hou de. A tong would look great, but starts to add up a little... and putting all the eggs in one basket.. or tong as it were!

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Sep 6th, '08, 19:30
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by orguz » Sep 6th, '08, 19:30

nada wrote:Since this is for a special occasion, why settle for a tea which comes from pesticide sprayed plantations. Just because the number on the front of the bing remains the same, it does not mean that the quality of the leaves nor the health of the plants is the same as those classic bings of old.

If I was in the situation which you describe situation, before buying I'd be tasting a lot of samples of better quality bings. My suggestion would be to have a browse at Houde for many samples of good quality bings from old growth teas from these years.

nada.

Would you say brands with any logo that states they are grown organically are pesticide free. I like anyone else rather go without chemical residue in my tea. Would you have to buy wild arbor as opposed to estate grown to avoid pesticides? Is buying old vintage safer then, which make them unaffordable for me.

Thx

Sep 6th, '08, 19:39
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by teakid » Sep 6th, '08, 19:39

Since investing 18 years to me is way more valuable then the $14 Dayi 7542, I wouldn't go cheap on the Menghai Dayi products. Their quality has suffered significantly over the last few years. Ask Guang at Houde for advices. I believe he has set aside some tea cakes for her daughter to drink in the future as well.

Sep 6th, '08, 19:44
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by teakid » Sep 6th, '08, 19:44

If you want to age tea cakes, try to avoid products from these type of plantations:

http://www.puerhshop.com/photo/main.php ... 1.jpg.html

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Sep 6th, '08, 20:25
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by orguz » Sep 6th, '08, 20:25

I will stay away from puerh from now on I'll stick with gao shan oolongs where the colder temperatures makes it unfavorable for pests, or buy Oriental Beauty only.

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