Apr 13th, '08, 02:13
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OK because of all this discussion, I have actually spent some time reviewing Jim’s offerings of Puerh samples at PuerhShop. They are all tempting so I will go along with whatever the group wants to do, but here is how I see it and what I suggest for now:
There are five samplers offered. One of those is shu or cooked puerh (Taste of Mellowness). While I love shu, I am a little worried that some of our group might be put off, since shu puerh is the one that gives rise to the stereotypes of muddy, fishy, rubber tasting, swamp, etc. While a good shu doesn’t always exhibit a lot of such flavors … Well, let’s just say it doesn’t seem like the best place to start. I think of shu as a sort of specialty, a niche puerh that would be good to move on to after getting some of the more standard, sheng puerh under our belts.
That leaves four samplers of sheng or raw or green puerh (all referring to the same style of tea). These will have a lighter flavor, closer to oolong than cow pie, and will be candidates (if we like them) to buy, collect, and age. Three of those four -- Pride of Menghai, Spirit of Yiwu, and Best of Puerhshop -- sample the most expensive offerings or the offerings from a specialized area. I certainly do want to taste those eventually also, but that wasn’t my original interest in this project. I wanted to find out if there is cheap pu I can buy now in quantity to age and drink now without breaking the bank. That leaves Year of Green Puerh sampler, which emphasizes the best of the cheap ones. We also get the most samples for the money in Year of Green Puerh.
All this leads me to say: go for the cheap ones first, then we can move up to the fancier ones and we may be in a better position to appreciate them. Does anyone feel otherwise? Let's go with that.
Andy825 is right, however, that we may as well order more than one if we are inclined, so maybe we should lay out the sequence for those who want to order at once to keep shipping down.
Just to put an end to the conversatiion I propose we do, in this order:
There are five samplers offered. One of those is shu or cooked puerh (Taste of Mellowness). While I love shu, I am a little worried that some of our group might be put off, since shu puerh is the one that gives rise to the stereotypes of muddy, fishy, rubber tasting, swamp, etc. While a good shu doesn’t always exhibit a lot of such flavors … Well, let’s just say it doesn’t seem like the best place to start. I think of shu as a sort of specialty, a niche puerh that would be good to move on to after getting some of the more standard, sheng puerh under our belts.
That leaves four samplers of sheng or raw or green puerh (all referring to the same style of tea). These will have a lighter flavor, closer to oolong than cow pie, and will be candidates (if we like them) to buy, collect, and age. Three of those four -- Pride of Menghai, Spirit of Yiwu, and Best of Puerhshop -- sample the most expensive offerings or the offerings from a specialized area. I certainly do want to taste those eventually also, but that wasn’t my original interest in this project. I wanted to find out if there is cheap pu I can buy now in quantity to age and drink now without breaking the bank. That leaves Year of Green Puerh sampler, which emphasizes the best of the cheap ones. We also get the most samples for the money in Year of Green Puerh.
All this leads me to say: go for the cheap ones first, then we can move up to the fancier ones and we may be in a better position to appreciate them. Does anyone feel otherwise? Let's go with that.
Andy825 is right, however, that we may as well order more than one if we are inclined, so maybe we should lay out the sequence for those who want to order at once to keep shipping down.
Just to put an end to the conversatiion I propose we do, in this order:
- 1) Year of Green
2) Taste of Mellowness
3) Spirit of Yiwu
4) Best of Puershop
5) Pride of Menghai
While I'd like having a thread for each vendor, it really doesn't leave room for discussions on each tasting. I'm worried it would wind up being a mess of reviews and discussions. Would it be possible for sub forums for main vendors that allow separate threads for reviews?Wesli wrote:I think that it would be best to have a thread for each shop in that case.
So if you do buy some beengs from Scott at YSLLC, start up a thread titled something like "YSLLC Reviews" and we all can scribble out thoughts on his stuff in there.
Coming back to the puerhshop tasting, it seems as if the package the most love is being showed for is "Taste of Mellowness." Anybody feel strongly against having this tasting first?
Apr 13th, '08, 11:24
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Me too. And I am at least a little creeped out by the fact that our host is a vendor, essentially a competitor of some of the stuff we plan to discuss. It doesn't seem like good manners. Sort of like making dovey eyes with some chick in her husband's house -- esp when you know he has an aresenal in the next room!Trioxin wrote: I'm worried it would wind up being a mess of reviews and discussions. Would it be possible for sub forums for main vendors that allow separate threads for reviews?
Since there's a substantial chance the whole thing may fizzle out after a couple weeks, I say we march forward (like fools) for a few weeks, opening a new thread for each individual TEA. If that becomes too awkward, we can find some other system*. And if we overthink it now, we might never get off the ground.
For the moment, I propose we start a new thread for each TEA rather than for each VENDOR. If we move to a different format later, we could cut and past from here.
What say you Master Wesli, Master Trioxin?
*(It may be possible to do something within Wikicha which is owned by Brandon, or maybe open a sort of community blog in one person's name who would push text onto the blog (if that even makes sense). Some of our IT types have thought out loud about setting up systems to contain reviews, and Bearbearsbears' LJ community is already set up to accept and catalog reviews of puerh, which could be done as community reviews through the Comments section.)
Apr 13th, '08, 11:26
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Ron Gilmour
This is fantastic! I've only tried pu-er once, and I don't think it was a very good one. I've been wishing that I had some expert friends to assist me in learning the tao of pu. This tasting sounds great and I can't wait to learn from you all. I've just ordered the Year of Green from Pu-erh Shop. This is going to be almost indecently fun!
Apr 13th, '08, 11:35
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Well, at least one of us has a sense of adventure. Ron has taken the plunge and I will follow suit later today.Ron Gilmour wrote:I've only tried pu-er once, and I don't think it was a very good one. ... I've just ordered the Year of Green from Pu-erh Shop.
Congratulations, Ron, so far you have had one bad puerh - soon you will have five more!
Seriously, even if the tea sucks, Ron is right, "This is going to be almost indecently fun!" What have we done to deserve all this wicked joy! My heart is brimming!
I think this is the best format for now. I proposed something like this earlier on the thread. An IT manager type myself, I believe this is the most straight forward organization and process.Salsero wrote:For the moment, I propose we start a new thread for each TEA rather than for each VENDOR.
I also support starting with Year of Green Puerh. Just waiting for the GO signal.
Apr 13th, '08, 11:59
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chamekke
I'm from Canada and agree with Beidao of Sweden... it would be nice to be included.Beidao wrote:I vote for Mellowness. I very much want to participate and make this a bit more international
Is this tasting for people in the U.S. only? I don't think Beidao received a reply to his posting.
If the international participants need to chip in a little extra $ for the additional shipping, of course I for one would be fine with that.
My inquiry is based on the fact that I tried some (loose) pu ehr bought at a local tea shop yesterday. I bought a small amount out of caution, since the tea shop has been a disappointment in the past, and my experience left me feeling that it would be really nice to start with something I know is supposed to taste good.
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Apr 13th, '08, 12:48
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silverneedles
Apr 13th, '08, 13:04
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Of course, we LOVE the interntional flavor. The only limitation would be how far Jim at Puerhshop is willing to ship and whether you are willing to pay the shipping. I assume that he is like everyone else and delighted to ship anywhere at a modest price. But check out the site. http://www.puerhshop.com/silverneedles wrote:Everybody from all corners of the world is welcome to the pu tasting!
It says "For international customers, we will only ship your orders via USPS" (U S Postal Service) That should be fine, modest price and reasonable speed.
I was really in for Taste of Mellowness - I want cooked pu - and it's not as fun if everyone else orders the green one. So I've decided to buy from a high quality shop in my city. I don't want them to close down because everyone wants papaya tea! Plus, I don't have to pay shipping... But this a really good idea and you'll have a splendid time, I hope. I'll read your reviews with much interest.
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