Buy a tong and a tracer cake... then you only have to buy 8 instead of 14.Jeremy wrote:I also think it would be very cool to buy my teas by the tong. But Im so obsessive I would need 2, one to open and drink, and one to put away and look intact. I already do this with cakes, but its getting expensive.
Tracer cake, thats clever. I was half joking, I can barely afford a cakes.wyardley wrote:Buy a tong and a tracer cake... then you only have to buy 8 instead of 14.Jeremy wrote:I also think it would be very cool to buy my teas by the tong. But Im so obsessive I would need 2, one to open and drink, and one to put away and look intact. I already do this with cakes, but its getting expensive.
Nov 20th, '08, 16:07
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Nov 20th, '08, 22:27
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Nov 28th, '08, 01:33
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The cakes arrived and I am drinking the Yiwu Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake, Stone Mold Pressed, the inexpensive, small cake that Shogun was talking about getting a tong of. All the outside leaves look quite nice and I picked about 20 or 25 grams off the edge in one place and the inside looks pretty good too. I have brewed it 5.00 g in 120 ml pot, no rinse, infusions: 15 s, 20 s, 23 s, 1 m, 2 m. The liquor is tasty and mild. The 2 minute infusion has a touch of astringency, but not much. Maybe if I brewed it stronger it would should more personality, but so far it is rather undistinguished.Salsero wrote:I ordered one of each:
- 2008 Awazon "Jingmai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Brick 250g
2008 Yiwu Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake Spring Tea 250g PROMOTION (not the tong!)
2006 Jinggu Ancient Tea Tree Dabaihao Raw Pu-erh Cake
- Astringency virtually none
Smoke I don't notice any
Dryness virtually none
Mouthfeel no weight
Hui gan a little once in a while
Flavor pleasant
Overall value not much
Purchase again no
Nov 28th, '08, 09:57
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Trioxin wrote: What else did your order Sal?
[/size] I'll try to get to one of the others tonight.Salsero wrote:I ordered one of each:
- 2008 Awazon "Jingmai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Brick 250g
2008 Yiwu Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake Spring Tea 250g PROMOTION (not the tong!
2006 Jinggu Ancient Tea Tree Dabaihao Raw Pu-erh Cake
Nov 29th, '08, 15:00
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Cross-posted from the TeaDay thread, Outreach to the Pagans Program.
My Vice Grip came in extra handy on the incredibly tight compression.
I have used a hammer and chisel on a couple tuocha, but the brick shape is perfect for the Vice Grip.
The leaves do NOT look like the ones pictured on the vendor's ebay site. In fact, even my photo below makes them look a good deal prettier than they are. The inside includes a lot of what I call "dirt" ... because it looks like ... well, dirt. I suppose this is actually some level of fannings or dust, the stuff in most teabags.
(Click photo for bigger image. )
I broke off a 4-gr solid chunk and 1 gr of looser material. 1st infusion extremely pale and (surprisingly) clear yellow, and tasted pretty nice! It showed some texture in the mouth, and tasted woody, smoke, pleasantly acid. Lovely aftertaste as it cooled in the cup. Not astringent, a tad oily on the lips. I was excited after the first infusion.
Unfortunately, the nice first infusion was the best and the ghost faded away in each subsequent steep. Maybe if I brew it stronger I can get a better result.
Perhaps it is not fair to judge a tea after a single session, but I found it to be not a bad tea at all. The thing is, I am getting a little tired of teas that are "not bad" or "good for the price." I think this is probably another brick to add to the pile of mediocre puerh I bought on a whim. When will I learn?
- Awazon "Jingmai" Raw Puerh Tea Brick
Production Area: Xishuangbanna,Yunnan,China
Vintage: April 2008
My Vice Grip came in extra handy on the incredibly tight compression.
I have used a hammer and chisel on a couple tuocha, but the brick shape is perfect for the Vice Grip.The leaves do NOT look like the ones pictured on the vendor's ebay site. In fact, even my photo below makes them look a good deal prettier than they are. The inside includes a lot of what I call "dirt" ... because it looks like ... well, dirt. I suppose this is actually some level of fannings or dust, the stuff in most teabags.
(Click photo for bigger image. )
I broke off a 4-gr solid chunk and 1 gr of looser material. 1st infusion extremely pale and (surprisingly) clear yellow, and tasted pretty nice! It showed some texture in the mouth, and tasted woody, smoke, pleasantly acid. Lovely aftertaste as it cooled in the cup. Not astringent, a tad oily on the lips. I was excited after the first infusion.
Unfortunately, the nice first infusion was the best and the ghost faded away in each subsequent steep. Maybe if I brew it stronger I can get a better result.
Perhaps it is not fair to judge a tea after a single session, but I found it to be not a bad tea at all. The thing is, I am getting a little tired of teas that are "not bad" or "good for the price." I think this is probably another brick to add to the pile of mediocre puerh I bought on a whim. When will I learn?
