I bought a cheap Tuocha at a Chinese grocer recently that came in an older style Xiaguan jia ji box that tastes quite nice for it's price but probably is not authentic.
The things that make me question it's authenticity are the product standard is Gb9833.6 ( I thought this was for brick Tea?).
The absence of any accompanying documentation.
It tastes very nice but is there any possibility of this not being faked?
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
Xiaguan is cheap. I doubt it's fake, especially if it's young (which I'm assuming it is if it was in a grocery store)
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
That's the problem. It is packaged in an old style box with the Tuocha written over Yunnan and with the crane emblem on the side. The Tuocha is wrapped in a paper with the crane emblem in green and red and is other wise plain. There is no g symbol or other impression on the Tuocha. The steeped leaves do not resemble young shou but the Tuocha is quite dark and steeps quite dark.
Even if I am mistaken and it is shou there is no fermentation flavour. The Tea is very sweet in flavour with only a mild bitterness appearing after the first few steeps.
I don't really care if it is faked (as it was very cheap and not sold as an aged Tea), but I am curious about whether the fact that it is stamped gb 9833.6 can tell me anything about the tea.
Even if I am mistaken and it is shou there is no fermentation flavour. The Tea is very sweet in flavour with only a mild bitterness appearing after the first few steeps.
I don't really care if it is faked (as it was very cheap and not sold as an aged Tea), but I am curious about whether the fact that it is stamped gb 9833.6 can tell me anything about the tea.
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
The packaging sounds like classical xiaguan jia ji toucha. Those are still made i think, and you can often buy them cheaply in chinese grocery stores. The newer productions I believe have an impression. Maybe you have an older version. The crane indicates i think that it is not too old (post cca 2000, not sure when exactly they started to use that symbol). Those that i've seen have been stamped GB9833.5 (not .6), not sure what is the difference. Also if it is a relatively young sheng the liquer shouldnt be dark. It would be interesting if you could show some photos.
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
There are both raw and ripe (and varying level of quality) of the green box tuocha. From what you say, I would still bet that it's ripe tea. Leaf texture and appearance of the brewed tea, as well as the taste, may tell you a fair amount. You can post the pics of the box, tuo, any identifying papers inside, and the wet leaves and brewed tea, and some people may be able to hazard some somewhat more educated guesses.
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
even though xg toucha is very cheap when new, there are lots of fakes too. be careful when buying 2001-2004 period tuocha. generally can be spotted by the printing on paper. confirmation will require tasting test.
fake iron cakes are mainly from the same period too. can also be differentiated physically from wrapper, the printing and spikes underneath the cake.
fake iron cakes are mainly from the same period too. can also be differentiated physically from wrapper, the printing and spikes underneath the cake.
Re: Faked xiaguan Tuocha?
Of course the older, valuable ones are fakedgetzer wrote:even though xg toucha is very cheap when new, there are lots of fakes too. be careful when buying 2001-2004 period tuocha. generally can be spotted by the printing on paper. confirmation will require tasting test.
fake iron cakes are mainly from the same period too. can also be differentiated physically from wrapper, the printing and spikes underneath the cake.
However, I've never been to a grocery store that sells 15 year old puerh, or popular iron cakes