Intrested in trying Pu Erh

[Crafty_Mom]

Since I got "serious" about my tea drinking, I've had and loved several varieties of teas and tisanes. However, I've never tried Pu Erh.

Would advice or tips would you give to someone just starting out?

[Zpro]

I do not know if you will be interested in it, but this site is a good starting point: http://www.pu-erh.net/

Also, know right away that there are two form of puerh tea:
Raw,
Uncooked loose leaf green tea usually from the Yunnan area, either compressed or kept loose. Can be drunk immediately, or kept to age for many years (40years and more...)

Ripe,
Which is "cooked" for several weeks to simulate the aged flavor and characteristics that a naturally aged ripe would exhibit after many years at an affordable cost. Again either loose, or compressed in various shapes and sizes.

Much peace your way,
Zach

[debunix]

Start with lots of samples--shus and shengs--before you buy bings or tuos of much of anything. A one ounce sample is enough for several brewings under different conditions, to practice with.

[Chip]

One way to try samples and share the experience with other members is to participate in the next OTTI, Round 5. This will be the first of at least several OTTI featuring pu-erh. Look for announcements in the OTTI forum.

This round will feature pu-erh from two members of TeaChat who also sell tea.

http://www.teachat.com/viewforum.php?f=66

[Proinsias]

If previous otti's are anything to go by this would the perfect opportunity to get a good intro to pu at minimal cost, with plenty of knowledgeable people chiming in.

[TwoPynts]

Start with lots of samples--shus and shengs--before you buy bings or tuos of much of anything. A one ounce sample is enough for several brewings under different conditions, to practice with.

+1
I've recently started my pu drinking "career" and I agree that samples are the way to go. Both raw and cooked until you find out which you prefer.

[Crafty_Mom]

Thanks for all the great responses! Now, about teaware.

Yixing pot and clay cups OR gaiwan? Discuss.

[Proinsias]

Start with a porcelain gaiwan. If you end up with a habit then start looking at clay.

[shogun89]

agreed with above. start with a gaiwan (100ml.) as it will give you the true flavor of the tea. After a bit begin getting some pots. Whenever I try a new tea it always goes to the gaiwan first then i compare with yixings after.

[apache]

Or if you find a gaiwan just a bit awkward to use (get your fingers burn, spill half of the tea on the table ...) try one of this
http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... oduct=1387

I'm thinking getting myself one.

[Proinsias]

The easy gaiwan are worth considering too.

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/cat ... ry=8014745

[laura99]

I am just starting to experiment with Pu Erh myself. I added a few samples from Yunnansourcing when ordering some yunnan black. This is the gaiwan I picked:

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... roduct=558

I wish I had got one of the easy ones, or at least a 100ml one. Its a bit harder to master than I imagined. But I have only had one try so far so I guess I need to give myself I bit more time.

[debunix]

What I can't quite tell from that photo is whether this one is the same style as the glass gaiwan I first bought. I discovered that mine had a little bit of a raised rim inside--rather like those 'easy gaiwans' but much subtler--that gave the lid a preferred place to rest.

That also gave the lid more resistance to being titled at a handy angle to make that little gap between lid and bowl to strain the tea as you pour, and made the glass gaiwan the most difficult of the ones I bought to use.

So it was the first of the group to be retired, as the traditional design quickly got easier to use.

[Proinsias]

I am just starting to experiment with Pu Erh myself. I added a few samples from Yunnansourcing when ordering some yunnan black. This is the gaiwan I picked:

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... roduct=558

I wish I had got one of the easy ones, or at least a 100ml one. Its a bit harder to master than I imagined. But I have only had one try so far so I guess I need to give myself I bit more time.

I does take a bit of getting used to but is worth it. I recently switched my main gaiwan from my 60ml back to my older 100ml one. It's taken me about two weeks to adjust and that's going back to a gaiwan I've loved for years.