Chinatown purchase

[heavydoom]

was the place a chinsese herbal/medicinal store?

how were the tea stored out in the open? closed in? or out in the open?

how did the tea smell to you when you opened them up at home?


reason for the questions is that i did the same thing and the cake i bought was tossed because the cake had absorbed the various smells circulating within the herbal store.

[Jeremy]

Hey nice score.

I live right near Chinatown and this is my experience with it.

There is 1 vendor on Mott street (at the very end). His name is Allen, his shop has no sign , but it is called Pure Puerh.

The other shop on Mott st (next to eyeglass store) is ridiculous, they wanted like 200$ per bing and couldn't even tell me what it was.

I have seen lots of food stores that have run of the mill tea, and a couple of bings with the Zhong Cha label. I am VERY skeptical of most shops there.

Now The Tea Gallery is technically not in Chinatown but very close.

Allen's shop on Mott street has excellent puerh. He isn't cheap and a lot of his stuff is sourced directly from plantations as opposed to some of the common labels. He also has some of the classic cakes, but they are also not cheap.

I'm constantly searching for new places, if anyone here is gonna be in town, please PM me.

Jeremy

[Consilium]

Today was another busy day, but I managed to get some photos as promised.

I don't really know where I picked these up exactly, the store didn't appear to have a name, as most in that area.

These cakes were indeed stored in an area with herbs and such, but they were in sealed plastic bags and/or glass jars with airtight lids. As far as I can tell, I don't notice any offhand odors - just smells like pu. I'm sure the storage could have been better of course, but I couldn't say no.

7 sons cake


small cake


Rui Pin Hao


No neifei on the brick, as I suspected. I've rarely seen bricks with them.


Any more information you care to lend would be appreciated.

[Salsero]

Oooo, they all look delicious. That small cake sure is a tippy looking blond! You're going to have a lot of fun tasting all that and even more fun reporting back to us!

[heavydoom]

7 sons cake, on the inner paper. you see the words : CONSCIENTIOUS?

[Consilium]

I'm having some trouble deciding where to store these cakes. . .

I know the Rui Pin Hao is a shu, the small wild arbor is obviously sheng, but what about the others? All my cakes have been properly separated up to this point and I dont want to start mixing odors now.

I can't tell from the look alone what the others are, but they sure dont look like the RPH shu.

I'm also not sure about the tuos from earlier on in this post either. Any advice before I put them in storage?

[JAS-eTea Guy]

That's some nice lookin' pu. Enjoy! And, be sure to let us know how all about your experience with it.
You have inspired me. I have a China town in downtown DC and I wonder what kind of treasures might be hiding there. Boy, wish I had a better knowledge of the Chinese language!

[Geospearit]

That's some nice lookin' pu. Enjoy! And, be sure to let us know how all about your experience with it.
You have inspired me. I have a China town in downtown DC and I wonder what kind of treasures might be hiding there. Boy, wish I had a better knowledge of the Chinese language!

hmmm, let me know if you find anything in DC. I used to get mini tuos at Teaism but they changed from menghai to some no-name that tastes horrible and is finished after the second brew. I'm very interested to know what Chinatown is hiding though I am guessing it will not compare to NYC Chinatown.

[Consilium]

. . . I wonder what kind of treasures might be hiding there.

I certainly encourage you to make that trip, especially if you appreciate the cultural aspect as I do. Just don't hesitate to venture every corner - as this is where you will most likely run into small shops where the owners are not aware of the value of the pu'er cakes that no one has ever come seeking. None of the cakes I found came from "tea shops".

You have to consider that for many Chinese, pu'er is a form of traditional medicine - and is treated as such. The first guy I bought my small tuo from took out his herb scale and charged me according to its weight - $6. I think it was a "pharmacy" of sorts - all kinds of little wooden drawers and jars.

I buy only from shops who keep the tea stored in either glass/ceramic jars or plastic. Most, if not all places, store the tea this way - however just be sure to take a good look/smell of the cake before you buy it. As Heavydoom mentioned, some herb shops sell dried out stuff that you certainly dont want hanging around your cakes - ewww dried baby octopus and sea cucumber.

Even if you dont find something your looking for, I hope you have a good time. Dim Sum FTW!

[AllanK]

Hey nice score.

I live right near Chinatown and this is my experience with it.

There is 1 vendor on Mott street (at the very end). His name is Allen, his shop has no sign , but it is called Pure Puerh.

The other shop on Mott st (next to eyeglass store) is ridiculous, they wanted like 200$ per bing and couldn't even tell me what it was.

I have seen lots of food stores that have run of the mill tea, and a couple of bings with the Zhong Cha label. I am VERY skeptical of most shops there.

Now The Tea Gallery is technically not in Chinatown but very close.

Allen's shop on Mott street has excellent puerh. He isn't cheap and a lot of his stuff is sourced directly from plantations as opposed to some of the common labels. He also has some of the classic cakes, but they are also not cheap.

I'm constantly searching for new places, if anyone here is gonna be in town, please PM me.

Jeremy

Does anyone know if this store is still there and where on Mott St it is or was? Sooner or later I will get to NYC.