I just purchased some Pu Erh cakes from Silk Road Teas. I ordered this cake, http://www.silkroadteas.com/servlet/the ... Cha/Detail and was wondering if it is Raw or Cooked and how I should store it? In a dark place, perhaps my closet? Also, what is your alls favorite Pu Erh online shop and where is a great place to get some Yixing pots. I have one small Yixing pot, but would like to purchase some others.
thanks in advance,
Sam
Re: Just Purchased some Pu Erh Cakes
That's definitely a raw (not fermented) toucha. You can store it just like you store your other tea; in a dark and dry place. Some of the more hardcore of us build our own "pumidors" to accelerate aging. Since you seem relatively new to pu erh; you shouldn't worry about building a "pumidor" just yet. Here's a list of popular websites for buying puerh:
http://www.puerhshop.com/
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sour ... QQ_armrsZ1
http://www.puerhshop.com/
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sour ... QQ_armrsZ1
Re: Just Purchased some Pu Erh Cakes
hi
Welcome to teachat. The description says "green" which is the same as raw or sheng.
It can be stored in a place out of direct light, should have some airflow, and not too dry. At 100 grams, if you use 5 grams or so per pot, it is about 20 pots of tea, each pot can be steeped multiple times. I'd use really really short (like maybe 10 secs) steep time to start.
If you end up liking pu'erh, you might want to look for vendors in china, or those who specialize a bit more in pu'erh. Many people look for the exact factory, mountain, year, recipe, etc when buying. Kinda like wine, you might wish to explore grape, vinyard and vintage.
If you hate pu'erh, you might wish to try a few other samples, as there can be pretty giant differences between cakes, and even the same cake over reasonably short times.
good luck and enjoy
Welcome to teachat. The description says "green" which is the same as raw or sheng.
It can be stored in a place out of direct light, should have some airflow, and not too dry. At 100 grams, if you use 5 grams or so per pot, it is about 20 pots of tea, each pot can be steeped multiple times. I'd use really really short (like maybe 10 secs) steep time to start.
If you end up liking pu'erh, you might want to look for vendors in china, or those who specialize a bit more in pu'erh. Many people look for the exact factory, mountain, year, recipe, etc when buying. Kinda like wine, you might wish to explore grape, vinyard and vintage.
If you hate pu'erh, you might wish to try a few other samples, as there can be pretty giant differences between cakes, and even the same cake over reasonably short times.
good luck and enjoy