Starting a sheng collection

[Maitre_Tea]

From what I've sampled so far, which is limited...I really like the 7532, with the 8582 coming in second place. Best bing under $15, IMO, and I think many here will agree that either of these will are solid choices. If you're a fan of smokey Xiaguan, you really can't go wrong with the '08 FT Baoyan Jincha. The 2008 Mengku Mu Ye Chun 001/002 is nice to drink now, but it's a little too "pleasant" for my tastes. It's not bad tasting, but I like my young sheng to be assertive and full of character. Oh yes, the 2008 Yong Ping Hao Stone-Pressed Yiwu also falls under this category, and it's very good to drink now. The 2004 Hai Lang Hao Jingmai Brick/Cake is also very good. I've been really liking the '09 Guan Zi Zai productions that Yunnan Sourcing carries ... but maybe my fascination with their offerings could be written off to the fact that I've yet to try anything better. Hopefully others with more wisdom can chime in with more suggestions...

Like you, I've been working the rounds of samples I recently ordered, and I'm pretty glad that I didn't buy a ton of bings right off the bat, many of the samples I've tried have been stinkers...not bad tasting (with one exception), but just not to my taste. Of 12 samples that I've tried so far, I'm only going to order 2-3 of them again

[shogun89]

tingjunkie,
You really cant make any mistakes with Menghai Dayi's recipie cakes...
I would recomend getting some 8582's 7542's and 7532's. I plan on getting 3 of each recipe every year. If you want a lotta bang for your buck try these out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Menghai-Tea-Fa ... 518ab0d56b
http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Menghai-08-Qin ... 51858c9d7e

[tingjunkie]

Thanks for the suggestions shogun.

Yunnan Sourcing and Dragon Tea House seem to be the two main places people get their Menghai, but shipping to the US is a killer (yes, combining shipping makes it better). Any alternate US or Canadian sources to look at.

[pb2q]

Any alternate US or Canadian sources to look at.

http://www.jas-etea.com/

[tingjunkie]

Any alternate US or Canadian sources to look at.

http://www.jas-etea.com/

Bingo. Muchas gracias!

[shogun89]

Buy up some of this stuff. I got myself a tong I liked it so much!
http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=854

[oldmanteapot]

Menghai Dayi all the way!!!!!!!!

I don't know if it's my favorite, but it sure is in the top two.

I have seen several types of Menghai Dayi- should I assume they are all pretty decent, or is there a particular # or recipe to recommend?

How about this? It's a 2003 Red Dayi (7542) - Dry stored. Under $30 per beeng.

Good value for money

Cheers!

[Maitre_Tea]

I assume that's the price outside the US that you're quoting there...I'm quite envious of tea drinkers/pu'er collectors abroad, and I've been "holding back" on making excessive purchases of most tea-related items until I make it to HK, Taipei, or Maliandao

[tingjunkie]

How about this? It's a 2003 Red Dayi (7542) - Dry stored. Under $30 per beeng.

Good value for money

Cheers!

On your recommendation... sounds good to me. Which store can I find that one?

FWIW- Just purchased two cakes of 2008 Dayi 7532, and one of the 2009 American Hao 0901. I figured the worst case scenario is I will now have some practice cakes to maul and destroy before I invest in the pricey stuff down the road. And if nothing else, TIM and brandon can laugh at me next year when I'm cursing my own rookie impatience.

[odarwin]

I assume that's the price outside the US that you're quoting there...I'm quite envious of tea drinkers/pu'er collectors abroad, and I've been "holding back" on making excessive purchases of most tea-related items until I make it to HK, Taipei, or Maliandao

i think hk and taipei would be your best choice.

-darwin

[Maitre_Tea]

I assume that's the price outside the US that you're quoting there...I'm quite envious of tea drinkers/pu'er collectors abroad, and I've been "holding back" on making excessive purchases of most tea-related items until I make it to HK, Taipei, or Maliandao

i think hk and taipei would be your best choice.

-darwin

thank the pu'er gods that I have family in both...
BTW Tingjunkie, if you're not happy with that 7532 you can gladly hand it over to me!

[odarwin]

I assume that's the price outside the US that you're quoting there...I'm quite envious of tea drinkers/pu'er collectors abroad, and I've been "holding back" on making excessive purchases of most tea-related items until I make it to HK, Taipei, or Maliandao

i think hk and taipei would be your best choice.

-darwin

thank the pu'er gods that I have family in both...
BTW Tingjunkie, if you're not happy with that 7532 you can gladly hand it over to me!

nice, since you have family in both, why not ask them to send you some?
id do that if i was closer to my aunt's (well shes my mom's cousin, and they are close and i dont want people at home to know how much i'm spending on tea) ill do that. saves me time and money for shipping, of course i pay for the tea and shipping but its a big help if you have someone there locally. some shops dont do email and on line stuff. you can start off with those box tea with some of the hk sellers mentioned here in the forums already. as for taiwan, wistaria tea house is a pleasure to deal with. in fact i have some 30 year old loose raw tea coming their way. and 600grams is around $150.00 its so so quality i think but it has nice qi. email them. youd be surprised, you dont have to stick will the usual on line stuff.

[Maitre_Tea]

I think that's something I would do once I have a little more experience. In my opinion, I think it's hard to get non-tea drinkers to buy stuff for you, especially if you're dealing with something that has a high chance of counterfeits. Granted, I could just deal with reputable shops, but I need to get enough experience to properly direct them.

[tony shlongini]

On that note, I was lucky enough to grab the last cake of Nada's 2009 Nannuo Plantation. I wanted to buy two- one to age, and one to drink- but it was the very last he had. For those who have tried this tea, can you please recommend whether I should dig into it now or leave it alone for a few years?

The answer, as is so often the case, is both. You can enjoy that now and in the future. Why not try it once a month to see how it evolves?

You can get "stuck" with a bing that doesn't agree with you, but you can always trade it or add it to a passaround for some other curious onlooker to try. But if you stick with tried and true recipes, or find a reviewer with whom you tend to have similar tastes, you'll do just fine. This addiction has many levels, and wading through them is half the fun.