Thoughts from a new Hong Kong bo lei drinker

[jayinhk]

lol I didn't eat all of it, don't worry--still have quite a few of the dumplings left. I'm a pretty large guy by HK standards at 6'1 210 and I spend all day running around the neighborhood, so I need to eat.

Getting a lot more infusions out of this Longjing than I ever expected, and I've been brewing the sheng repeatedly for two days!

[TwoDog2]

As someone else already said - further down the rabbit hole you go

He was forewarned, he chose red.

[jayinhk]

There's really no turning back is there?

[TwoDog2]

There's really no turning back is there?

Well, if memory serves you have to team up with Morpheus to defeat a robot race that has enslaved mankind, or something to that effect.

You should have taken the blue pill.

[ChengduCha]

You can also buy samples from Yunnan Sourcing.

While usually double the price compared to the full cake per gram pricing it's still reasonable and the shipping is cheap (3-4 USD), at least within mainland China.

I have a really hard time finding reasonably priced cakes in the local tea shops here and yunnan sourcing's pricing for cakes is roughly on taobao level.

[apache]

There's really no turning back is there?

Well, if memory serves you have to team up with Morpheus to defeat a robot race that has enslaved mankind, or something to that effect.

You should have taken the blue pill.

Too late now ...

You better learn everything about tea quickly or you wouldn't able to fight with Agent Smith (unscrupulour tea traders) and I can see he is multiplying since the pu bubble.

[jayinhk]

Twodogs you're hilarious

I checked with Morpheus. He told me to pick him up some pu.

Apache, I'm training hard and learning everything I can!

Drinking shu tonight: need a break from sheng. My cakes arrived today and the '07 cake is actually pretty decent. Dry stored in Kunming, so it tastes more floral without any wet funkiness. I don't have a pu knife, so I had to use a large fork to flake some off.

I quite like it actually. Astringent and bitter, but definitely not as intense as the cheap cake I tried at the little store up the street that Marshal warned me not to go to.

The new Dayi 2012 201 smells smoky and I'm scared to try it. lol. For 39 RMB though it was a steal. Let's see what it tastes like with a year of HK living room storage.

[debunix]

I've quite enjoyed the smoky aspects of some young sheng on chilly gray winter days, and even if you don't like that, the smoky usually fades after a few infusions.

[jayinhk]

ChengduCha, I have been in touch with the YS folks, since they have a gaiwan I want. They haven't gotten back to me with a shipping quote though. I'm also looking to pick up some of their liu bao, and they asked me what kind of tea I like as I think they're up for throwing in some sheng samples. Some of their tea appears to cost much more than on Taobao, and other items cost less, so it pays to compare IMO.

Debunix, thanks, I'll give it a whirl tomorrow!

[ChengduCha]

ChengduCha, I have been in touch with the YS folks, since they have a gaiwan I want. They haven't gotten back to me with a shipping quote though.

Scott sometimes takes a day or two to respond, you can also see the shipping costs upon checkout when you choose HK as your shipping country.

It'll change from the standard international shipping rate of $20 or so to the real one that'll apply to you.

Some of their tea appears to cost much more than on Taobao, and other items cost less, so it pays to compare IMO.

If you want lots of samples to broaden your taste they're the best imo, especially when you want to see what cakes that are way out of your price range actually taste like in comparison to what you already know.

I have big trust issues when it comes to anything consumable from Taobao , but I'll probably try a manufacturer tmall store or two in the near future.

[jayinhk]

Oops, I mixed up YS with Chawang...silly me. Thanks Chengdu, I might just try some YS offerings soon.

As far as trust issues on TB...I have trust issues with ANY food products coming out of China, but I don't really have much of a choice. I guess to some degree I'm a Chinese consumer and have to deal with some of the scandals. At least our milk comes from Australia here and we don't have sewer cooking oil worries!

[shah82]

But the bosses of HK make out like bandits importing that milk and selling it to smugglers--while the average person look at empty shelves, high prices, and public transport really crowded with cargo traffic pedaled by foot!

[apache]

But the bosses of HK make out like bandits importing that milk and selling it to smugglers--while the average person look at empty shelves, high prices, and public transport really crowded with cargo traffic pedaled by foot!

It was only weeks ago, so real life is really stranger than fiction.
http://www.hkteaforum.com/forum.php?mod ... a=page%3D2

[jayinhk]

The amount of foot traffic over the border every day is staggering. Once upon a time, I used to bring products back from China that way to make some extra bucks. I need to make a trip up to Guangzhou later this year!

[jayinhk]

Well, young sheng is definitely not something I want to drink everyday. Bitter, astringent and smoky, and it hits hard! I seem to get a little lightheaded from the stuff, and it makes me sweat. Won't be touching the 201 for another couple of years I think.

The older cake (05) is much more pleasant drinking. I like that it still has clean sheng flavor. Nice break from the wet stored pu for sure. I am definitely going to pick up a dry stored shu to compare to the wet too!

Teachat's helped me realize just how good we have it here in HK, and what a plethora of goods from all over the world we have access to. I didn't buy any tea today, but I bought a small stainless steel vacuum flask for taking my tea on the road and a stainless kettle for my out of town jaunts. Had a really excellent Vietnamese sandwich from my favorite place across town, and then wandered past a concert in a park: classical Chinese music. Found a little Indonesian/Filipino store and picked up a really amazing sarung from Eastern Borneo and some deep fried tempe, banana and vegetable fritters with big red chillies to bite into while you eat the fritters.

Got home, and had amazing creme caramel from the dessert place downstairs, and a Taiwanese dark plum slurpee.

HK's definitely not a bad place to be if you have some cash to spend. On that note...back to work!