Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

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


Aug 7th, '17, 21:11
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Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by CalmingLeaf » Aug 7th, '17, 21:11

What are your thoughts?

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Aug 8th, '17, 02:59
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Rui » Aug 8th, '17, 02:59

It has caught Cwyn, Hobbes and me although I cannot compare myself to them as I am very much a beginner. :)

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Bok » Aug 8th, '17, 03:08

Never for the mainstream. Too much of an acquired taste. Prices for good quality are also inhibitive for the majority. And Chinese are willing to pay much more for these teas, than foreigners.

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Aug 8th, '17, 04:52
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by tingjunkie » Aug 8th, '17, 04:52

Flavored cooked puerh stuffed in bags and marketed as weight loss tea? Perhaps.

Old tree, single village sheng? Nah.

Nothing requiring sincere dedication to do properly will ever become mainstream. Look at wine... all you have to do is open the bottle and pour, and most people can't be bothered to learn much about it.

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Aug 8th, '17, 09:21
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by dizzo » Aug 8th, '17, 09:21

We are a coffee culture.
Teavana, the only thing we have for a mainstream tea franchise, is closing all its locations. There are coffee houses here where when you walk out the front door, you will see another coffee house across the street.
Tea in general doesnt look like it will catch on here.
Im torn on how to feel about this. Im not sure id like to see what Americans would do to the industry.

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Aug 8th, '17, 10:01
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by jayinhk » Aug 8th, '17, 10:01

It's already catching on!

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Bok » Aug 8th, '17, 21:19

dizzo wrote: We are a coffee culture.
Haha, that is so American of you. :lol:

The UK is definitely a tea culture, or it still is, coffee is catching on with speed.
In Germany the North has also more of a tea tradition.
In Russia tea has been the favoured drink for centuries.
Turkey, the Maghreb, the whole middle east, etc. lots of tea culture to be had.

But your doubts are justified, any mainstreaming of tea culture can only be bad for quality tea, demand would outsize supply. With climate change that will only get worse, if not be the end of tea as we know it. But then we will probably have bigger problems than tea…

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Rui » Aug 9th, '17, 04:11

Bok wrote:With climate change that will only get worse, if not be the end of tea as we know it.
Probably that is why I have a pu'er tea collection (please read hoarding) that could last a lifetime (or two)... :roll: :oops: :wink:

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Aya » Aug 9th, '17, 06:16

Thank you Bok and Rui for giving me a good justification to start building up my puerh collection.

Well, only that I already ordered some samples from yunnan sourcing (first time purchasing tea from overseas), purchased humidor, Tokoname crock and made some room in the closet of my not-so-frequently-used room before I read this topic :P

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Aug 9th, '17, 06:29
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Rui » Aug 9th, '17, 06:29

Aya wrote: Thank you Bok and Rui for giving me a good justification to start building up my puerh collection.

Well, only that I already ordered some samples from yunnan sourcing (first time purchasing tea from overseas), purchased humidor, Tokoname crock and made some room in the closet of my not-so-frequently-used room before I read this topic :P
Just do not rush into a buying spree without first being sure of what type/region of pu'er you like. Please take your time enjoying the many facets of tea first.

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Aya » Aug 9th, '17, 06:43

Rui wrote:
Aya wrote: Thank you Bok and Rui for giving me a good justification to start building up my puerh collection.

Well, only that I already ordered some samples from yunnan sourcing (first time purchasing tea from overseas), purchased humidor, Tokoname crock and made some room in the closet of my not-so-frequently-used room before I read this topic :P
Just do not rush into a buying spree without first being sure of what type/region of pu'er you like. Please take your time enjoying the many facets of tea first.
I will :)
I used to be a long time green tea drinker (learned Japanese tea ceremony for more than 10 years since I was a child) and mostly white tea/Taiwanese oolong drinker for these 8 years or so. I found shen delicious only recently, and seem to like Yi wu so far. Will try samples from Yunnan sourcing before ordering a cake or two for immediate drink, then will buy one or two for storage later.

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Aug 9th, '17, 07:04
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by TomVerlain » Aug 9th, '17, 07:04

I think the tea bubble burst, and there may have been more interest a few years ago.

You have to realize, no matter how much a country may be a "tea culture" puerh is not mainstream.

In England - a "builder's tea" is from a tea bag with milk and 5 sugars. These folks aren't going for the earthy tones of a tea which is chipped off a brick and brewed in tiny tea pots.

I have certainly found nice Puerh for sale in local shops in places in the US with big Asian populations. But the day when McDonalds offers a choice of Da Hong Poa or Pureh is exactly never. Maybe cinnamon apple bubble tea, but not high quality varietals.

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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Rui » Aug 9th, '17, 08:17

Aya wrote: I found shen delicious only recently, and seem to like Yi wu so far.
Since you mentioned Yiwu may I recommend you try a sample of this Gua Feng Zhai?

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/201 ... 5756914837

Gua Feng Zhai is in the Yiwu mountains and now I own a tea cake or what is left of it. :wink:

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Aug 9th, '17, 09:21
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by dizzo » Aug 9th, '17, 09:21

Bok wrote:
dizzo wrote: We are a coffee culture.
Haha, that is so American of you. :lol:

The UK is definitely a tea culture, or it still is, coffee is catching on with speed.
In Germany the North has also more of a tea tradition.
In Russia tea has been the favoured drink for centuries.
Turkey, the Maghreb, the whole middle east, etc. lots of tea culture to be had.

But your doubts are justified, any mainstreaming of tea culture can only be bad for quality tea, demand would outsize supply. With climate change that will only get worse, if not be the end of tea as we know it. But then we will probably have bigger problems than tea…
:lol: Lets just call a spade a spade!
When I think of the idea of tea becoming "mainstream" in America, I think of what we have now, just on a grander scale. Large amounts of low quality teas stuffed into bags that sit on store shelves. I already look at the shelf in my supermarket and wonder how much space is used for cultivating this tea that could be used for high quality material. If the demand for tea grew in the west, quality tea would suffer greatly.
Let them eat cake...I mean...drink 64 oz Sunocos unbranded foodmart extra caffeinated dark roast!

Aug 9th, '17, 10:14
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Re: Do You Think Puerh Tea Will Catch On In The West?

by Bok » Aug 9th, '17, 10:14

Cheers to that!

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