Greetings Tea friends, new here. Quick question, anyone know where I can purchase good quality Puerh Tea (organic, mold free) in East Bay California that is affordable? Most cakes and bricks are 100$ and I'm not sure sometimes if they are really worth it as I have had some that were cheaper and were just as good. Are good quality Shou Puerh's usually this price, what is the usual price range?
Also, there is a Tea shop here in Oakland called Golden Tea Shop but the owner does not speak English and it's hard to get any information from her about the Tea's. If anyone has ever shopped there would they recommend any of their Tea's there?
p.s. I am also open to purchasing online. Any recommendations help, thank you.
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
Hey there! Your search for affordable Shou is near and dear to my heart.Sunyatea wrote: Greetings Tea friends, new here. Quick question, anyone know where I can purchase good quality Puerh Tea (organic, mold free) in East Bay California that is affordable? Most cakes and bricks are 100$ and I'm not sure sometimes if they are really worth it as I have had some that were cheaper and were just as good. Are good quality Shou Puerh's usually this price, what is the usual price range?
Also, there is a Tea shop here in Oakland called Golden Tea Shop but the owner does not speak English and it's hard to get any information from her about the Tea's. If anyone has ever shopped there would they recommend any of their Tea's there?
p.s. I am also open to purchasing online. Any recommendations help, thank you.
If recommend you go online (I'll provide you with some online businesses and list of tea merchants who I love and trust).
Also when buying shou/shu/ripe/cooked Puerh I'd recommend mend stuff that is relatively new. Shou does not age as well as sheng and I find their it's very likely it wasn't stored right and gets "fishy".
Also don't be afraid to spend money of quality sho Puerh though it is the more affordable sister between sheng and Shou the quality of Shou Puerh is very evident when you're drinking it and a little goes along way. Also if you like Shou you should check out a tea called Fu zhan. It's basically Shou but technically not. It's very affordable and it's tastes amazing ! I always have fun zhan stocked in my repertoire and very forgiving when using different water sources.
My favorite Shou supplier who is trust worthy and has always surprised me with how amazing their shous are is white2tea I'd recommend brown sugar and pretty girls though you could buy literally ANY Shou there and like it would be good. Check out BeTeas aswell I have never been disappointed by their teas as they are finely curated and I can attest to proper storage.
If you're still looking yunaan sourcing isn't bad but I haven't had much experience in terms of Shou Puerh.
Best of luck with your search for Shou!
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
I visited Golden Tea shop a few times. I have never tried their shu pu erh, but they have some affordable Sheng Pu erh. If I remember correctly, I purchased some bulang Sheng Pu cakes from them 1-2 years ago for under $50 per cake. It’s not top quality tea, not sure about organic since it’s from China but a good daily tea if you have a habit of consuming tea everyday.
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
Hey there, thanks for your response to my question. Yes, I find most of their Teas "taste" good (speaking of Golden Tea Shop) but usually have a price to pay by upset stomach or other side effects, which show the marks of a low quality Tea...DailyTX wrote: I visited Golden Tea shop a few times. I have never tried their shu pu erh, but they have some affordable Sheng Pu erh. If I remember correctly, I purchased some bulang Sheng Pu cakes from them 1-2 years ago for under $50 per cake. It’s not top quality tea, not sure about organic since it’s from China but a good daily tea if you have a habit of consuming tea everyday.
For any Teahead it's very important and good to know the sourcing season, methods and growers as it brings a calm to both the mind and heart knowing the Tea's you are drinking were sourced by happy people. Tea, takes on A LOT of energy from it's environment down to the final pour of the person who is pouring it into your cup, if this is you, better to be EXTRA careful with your intentions.
Thank's again and have a nice day!!
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
Hey brother, thank you so very much for your hearty and thought through response, you are very much appreciated!!..
Just right off the bat I am going to admit that I have been EXTREMELY spoiled with some of the highest quality Teas from China (namely Puerh's) when I worked at the Hidden Peak Teahouse in Santa Cruz. Here is their website if you are interested/curious to checking them out@ hiddenpeakteahouse.com
So, with this said, I have become quite accustomed to the flavors and energy of their Teas. There is a blog on there which desrcibes how the Teas were sourced and found. Very very inspirational read for any teahead who love's Puerh Teas.
"Also when buying shou/shu/ripe/cooked Puerh I'd recommend mend stuff that is relatively new. Shou does not age as well as sheng and I find their it's very likely it wasn't stored right and gets "fishy"."
I would have to both agree and disagree on this. Out of the dozen Shou Puerh's I have tried at the Teahouse only one of them tasted fishy. My favorite actually, called "Mang Fei Shan" which is a Puerh from 1990 is a Shou with one of the most complex and exceptional flavors I have yet to try. When brewed in a yixing sisha clay pot it starts out with a dark, malty nectar which after 5 of fewer steeps turns into a very mellow and milky sweet broth that puts out qi and flavor until the very last pot. I swear I have sat once all day with only 10g in a pot and was able to extract its essence at sunset until only water and water alone remained. Nothing, I repeat no other Tea has even come close to matching the body and energy of this Tea for me. It has become a companion of mine from the first cup I drank back in 2018.. The thing is though, a brick (300g) goes for 100$ and well, how else can I put this without emberassing myself... I don't make much money right now.. lol Getting hooked on this Tea has obviously cost me, thus why I posted this question here reaching out for support to see if there were other sources of high quality Tea that were reasonably affordable.. I feel like Tea culture is STILL fairly new to the West and I'm sure by the time if BLOWS up hopefully the pricing will be more reasonable.. ?? Doesn't hurt to dream big right
So back to the story.. The Tea's chosen at the Hidden Peak Teahouse were picked by two VERY special people. David, and Master Wang (who was a Daoist Monk and a spiritual Healer). These Teas have a VERY mystical quality to them, but it may just take a special type of person to recognize them in such a manner.. Hmmm.. (eerie flute or violin sound plays in the background)...
Well, now that you might know my Tea history a little better you may think that I might be a Tea snob lol Perhaps so haha I really don't know much else except what I like. I am by far a Tea novice. I prefer NOT to get into all the descriptions and history of it because I feel it pulls away from the magic sometimes. Bastardizing anything is never good for me.
Anyways, I am meditating in approaching this in a manner of abundance and not lack thereof. I know that I can find other good Tea's out there and well you could say this could be the start to a journey of exploration which may lead me to other unimaginable places.
P.s. The prices on white2tea.com are quite reasonable. Will probably order myself a brick or two to try
Also, I favor Shou Puerhs more over Shengs because of one main reason, Shous tend to be more grounding for me, whereas Shengs are very heady with ascending type energy. And, you're totally right, a good quality Puerh stands firm to the line "a little goes a long way" or "less is more".
Thanks again for all of your help brother, I couldn't have gotten a better help and response!! And I'll definitely take you up on your suggestions and give you my honest and thorough response after trying them. Btw, I was not able to find Fu Zhan Puerh, where is this being sold right now? I am curious to try it.
Take care and all the best!
Just right off the bat I am going to admit that I have been EXTREMELY spoiled with some of the highest quality Teas from China (namely Puerh's) when I worked at the Hidden Peak Teahouse in Santa Cruz. Here is their website if you are interested/curious to checking them out@ hiddenpeakteahouse.com
So, with this said, I have become quite accustomed to the flavors and energy of their Teas. There is a blog on there which desrcibes how the Teas were sourced and found. Very very inspirational read for any teahead who love's Puerh Teas.
"Also when buying shou/shu/ripe/cooked Puerh I'd recommend mend stuff that is relatively new. Shou does not age as well as sheng and I find their it's very likely it wasn't stored right and gets "fishy"."
I would have to both agree and disagree on this. Out of the dozen Shou Puerh's I have tried at the Teahouse only one of them tasted fishy. My favorite actually, called "Mang Fei Shan" which is a Puerh from 1990 is a Shou with one of the most complex and exceptional flavors I have yet to try. When brewed in a yixing sisha clay pot it starts out with a dark, malty nectar which after 5 of fewer steeps turns into a very mellow and milky sweet broth that puts out qi and flavor until the very last pot. I swear I have sat once all day with only 10g in a pot and was able to extract its essence at sunset until only water and water alone remained. Nothing, I repeat no other Tea has even come close to matching the body and energy of this Tea for me. It has become a companion of mine from the first cup I drank back in 2018.. The thing is though, a brick (300g) goes for 100$ and well, how else can I put this without emberassing myself... I don't make much money right now.. lol Getting hooked on this Tea has obviously cost me, thus why I posted this question here reaching out for support to see if there were other sources of high quality Tea that were reasonably affordable.. I feel like Tea culture is STILL fairly new to the West and I'm sure by the time if BLOWS up hopefully the pricing will be more reasonable.. ?? Doesn't hurt to dream big right
So back to the story.. The Tea's chosen at the Hidden Peak Teahouse were picked by two VERY special people. David, and Master Wang (who was a Daoist Monk and a spiritual Healer). These Teas have a VERY mystical quality to them, but it may just take a special type of person to recognize them in such a manner.. Hmmm.. (eerie flute or violin sound plays in the background)...
Well, now that you might know my Tea history a little better you may think that I might be a Tea snob lol Perhaps so haha I really don't know much else except what I like. I am by far a Tea novice. I prefer NOT to get into all the descriptions and history of it because I feel it pulls away from the magic sometimes. Bastardizing anything is never good for me.
Anyways, I am meditating in approaching this in a manner of abundance and not lack thereof. I know that I can find other good Tea's out there and well you could say this could be the start to a journey of exploration which may lead me to other unimaginable places.
P.s. The prices on white2tea.com are quite reasonable. Will probably order myself a brick or two to try
Also, I favor Shou Puerhs more over Shengs because of one main reason, Shous tend to be more grounding for me, whereas Shengs are very heady with ascending type energy. And, you're totally right, a good quality Puerh stands firm to the line "a little goes a long way" or "less is more".
Thanks again for all of your help brother, I couldn't have gotten a better help and response!! And I'll definitely take you up on your suggestions and give you my honest and thorough response after trying them. Btw, I was not able to find Fu Zhan Puerh, where is this being sold right now? I am curious to try it.
Take care and all the best!
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
+1 on white2tea
You can also explore essence of tea
This tea from yunnan sourcing was clean when I tried last year
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/a ... -tea-brick
If you don’t want to risk shou puerh having fishy taste, try to get some dry storage shou such as stored at Guangdong province.
If you like single origin puerh, it’s best to stick with western shops. Chinese shops typically carry mainstream puerh from Dayi/meng hai tea factory, Xiaguan tea factory, and smaller factories that use a blended recipe.
As for highest quality tea...most Chinese teas that’s considered highest quality don’t typically leave Asia. When I walk into a Chinese tea shop in the west, I am content if they carry mid range tea, or new pu erh that may have potential of aging at a reasonable price.
Good luck shopping
You can also explore essence of tea
This tea from yunnan sourcing was clean when I tried last year
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/a ... -tea-brick
If you don’t want to risk shou puerh having fishy taste, try to get some dry storage shou such as stored at Guangdong province.
If you like single origin puerh, it’s best to stick with western shops. Chinese shops typically carry mainstream puerh from Dayi/meng hai tea factory, Xiaguan tea factory, and smaller factories that use a blended recipe.
As for highest quality tea...most Chinese teas that’s considered highest quality don’t typically leave Asia. When I walk into a Chinese tea shop in the west, I am content if they carry mid range tea, or new pu erh that may have potential of aging at a reasonable price.
Good luck shopping
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
Hey brother, huuge thanks for the links and advice. Yunnan sourcing seems to be a very legit company and have some super decently priced ripe puerhs. I'm gonna get a couple bricks off there, and they even have mang fei shan touchas on there which is incredible.
Btw, there most certainly are few people in norcal with some super rare vintage puerhs but I won't mention their names. One of them own's a Teahouse in Santa Cruz and the other one passed away last year.
Thanks again!
Btw, there most certainly are few people in norcal with some super rare vintage puerhs but I won't mention their names. One of them own's a Teahouse in Santa Cruz and the other one passed away last year.
Thanks again!
Re: Affordable Shou Puerh Tea in East Bay?
If you are looking for older factory teas try King Tea. They have good product and good storage. Although with the shipping backup it is taking a while to get stuff.Sunyatea wrote: Hey brother, huuge thanks for the links and advice. Yunnan sourcing seems to be a very legit company and have some super decently priced ripe puerhs. I'm gonna get a couple bricks off there, and they even have mang fei shan touchas on there which is incredible.
Btw, there most certainly are few people in norcal with some super rare vintage puerhs but I won't mention their names. One of them own's a Teahouse in Santa Cruz and the other one passed away last year.
Thanks again!
This shop is a bit of a secret but they are US based in LA CA if I recall correctly.
https://www.puerhjunky.com/