Disassembling a tuo?

[GongFu]

From what I gather most tuos are meant to be put straight into the pot?

The ones I got from NadaCha are huge, and I really only want to make a few cups at a time, but when I try to remove a bit with a butterknife, I just end up producing broken leaves and powder. Any tips? Steaming perhaps?

[shogun89]

Only the cheap (nasty) tuos you throw right in the pot, those are 5g. one time tous. What you have is probably a 100g. or 250g. I will usually get a pairing knife, put the tou on the table hollow side facing down, and about halfway over from the center stick the knife vertically down and wiggle a bit, then move over about a half and inch and do it again till you end up with some nice flakes of tea.

[cha-fu]

IMHO, using steam to break up tuocha is not recommended, unless you plan to consume it within a month or so. See this thread, Pu erh beginner, for discussion on this topic.

Also, Xing Cha (awaken the tea) is an important step to release full flavor of pu-erh. This is particular true for tuocha due to limited surface area of its shape (comparing to shape of a cake).

Here is a video on how to break a tuocha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2WFx-oG1-M

[IPT]

I would recommend using an ice pick to break the tuo apart. it is easier and safer (no knife slips) and it also doesn't damage the leaves as much. I always start from the outside, although many people work from the inside out to preserve the appearance of the tuo.

[Maitre_Tea]

Okay, this probably is a stupid question but what's wrong with steaming a tuo to "loosen" it for better aging? There is probably the risk of mold but if you carefully monitor the process it shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?

[IPT]

Steaming would, essentially, cook the tea. Even a small amount of steam would alter the tea. There is also the increased chance of mold.

[Maitre_Tea]

But here's the weird thing though: isn't maocha lightly steamed before it's compressed into cakes? And from my limited understanding it seems that these microbes can be fairly hardy. I might do this with a cheap tuo and cheap it isolated from all my other cakes and see how it fares.

[oldmanteapot]

Steaming would, essentially, cook the tea. Even a small amount of steam would alter the tea. There is also the increased chance of mold.

+1

It would alter the taste and character of the tuo completely.

[bsteele]

Just one big chomp like a candy bar should do the trick.

[apache]

Use a tuo cha pick, here a link on YouTube show you how:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2WFx-oG1-M

[edkrueger]

My suggestion would to be pry bits off of it when you want to use them. If this is the tuo I'm thinking of –the 90s sheng– then it should be loose enough to pry apart without damaging the leaves.

[heavydoom]

use a steamer to soften up the tuo. i have this steamer that i use for my baby's milk bottles and i put in my cake and it was very easily taken apart afterwards with my hands. so much easier to handle the cake.