Dec 3rd, '09, 16:45
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 3rd, '09, 16:45
xogget wrote:gingko wrote:
Are you talking about pre-1970s tea wraps?
No, I'm looking at cakes from the mid 90s to the mid 00s. I don't see any recipe number on the labels and many times the Taobao seller has no recipe listed--just the year of production. How do you figure out what the recipe is of a cake from that period? Is it the color combination of interior and exterior labels?
I think that sometimes cakes from pre-modern era don't use recipes, but are only labeled as "yellow mark," "green mark," etc. But even this isn't helpful, because sometimes a "yellow mark" can be ripe or raw. I don't think labels don't necessarily help, unless you're trying to find something specific (like tracking down a cake you've had before but aren't able to find anymore). You can google translate the product description, which could help a bit.
Sometimes you just have to look at the cake itself and see if it's of good quality. Buying older stuff, even if it's not "old" can be harder, because storage conditions play such a huge role in how a cake tastes, even if it's a famous cake (BGT, YYX, etc.). What you've tasted from a cake previously may not be the same as what you're ordering from Tao Bao.
Dec 3rd, '09, 19:01
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by AdamMY » Dec 3rd, '09, 19:01
Translate the page with google translate and hope it includes some sort of name for the cake, otherwise its sort of order at your own risk. Though mind you basically everything before a certain year not that long ago was in a wrapper of that style. And not every cake has a recipe number, which just goes to confuse stuff even more.
Though if there is a recipe number it should be listed somewhere on the page.
Dec 3rd, '09, 20:05
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by gingkoseto » Dec 3rd, '09, 20:05
Oh I see what you mean. But I guess it's no simpler than pre-1970 teas. The formula numbers started in mid-1970. So those 90s teas did have them in the "tong" (only 1 label for a tong of 7 bings) so there isn't label very every bing. I saw some sources describing how to recognize and a series of features to recognize for each brand. But I was too lazy to learn about all that
Since I don't drink much puerh, I only stick to new tea, in case I need to drink a lot in the future
Knowing the features in theory can't save people from being cheated. Trickier than the formula is the year of production. So I guess the safest is to buy new tea (and patiently wait
) or buy from reliable sellers. For example, whatever houde says, I would trust it. But don't give the same trust to unknown taobao sellers.
Dec 3rd, '09, 21:11
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by gingkoseto » Dec 3rd, '09, 21:11
Another option shopping at taobao is going for sellers with "taobao mall" logo:
This means the seller has one more layer of quality approval is relatively more reliable. Sometimes such sellers have higher prices because they do have to pay taobao for this program. But compared to the international postage, the slight lift of price here is ignorable. There may be limited choices though, because some of the best sellers aren't willing to pay the program fee and don't participate.
Dec 3rd, '09, 22:29
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by odarwin » Dec 3rd, '09, 22:29
be careful of fake's in taobao, a friend told me that he has a friend that ordered a few stacks of 08 MH cakes and all were fake upon careful inspection.
thou i have bought a few items (yi xing pots) i still dare not buy cakes from taobao. i must say on the other hand that variety is simply irresistible to try, but everyone should proceed with caution.
-darwin
Dec 8th, '09, 18:56
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 8th, '09, 18:56
Order update...
I put in my order about two weeks ago, and from the looks of it the agent is still waiting on a few items from the vendor. I'm currently awaiting a reply on a status update, but for those who are impatient (me), the time from buying to having it in front of your door could be a while.
Dec 10th, '09, 15:39
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 10th, '09, 15:39
So my order is ready for shipment, and should be leaving soon. Hopefully I'll have a big box of pu-erh for Christmas
Shipping for 2.368 k EMS was $51.19, and I believe their rates are 40% off the official EMS rates.
Dec 11th, '09, 02:30
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by thanks » Dec 11th, '09, 02:30
Maitre_Tea wrote:So my order is ready for shipment, and should be leaving soon. Hopefully I'll have a big box of pu-erh for Christmas
Shipping for 2.368 k EMS was $51.19, and I believe their rates are 40% off the official EMS rates.
Don't you have to use EMS through them? I'd much rather use surface as it takes just as long as any other shipping option I've tried for where I live for some reason.
Dec 11th, '09, 02:52
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 11th, '09, 02:52
yeah, I believe you have to use EMS through them...and they've mentioned on their site that because of Christmas orders might take longer, since things even at the shipment point are backed up and Chinese customs can be more stringent at this point. We'll see how long it takes to get here....*fingers crossed*
Dec 11th, '09, 16:33
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by puerhking » Dec 11th, '09, 16:33
Maitre_Tea wrote:Order update...
I put in my order about two weeks ago, and from the looks of it the agent is still waiting on a few items from the vendor. I'm currently awaiting a reply on a status update, but for those who are impatient (me), the time from buying to having it in front of your door could be a while.
Were any of your purchases auctions that you had to wait on? Or were they buy it now purchases?
Dec 11th, '09, 16:37
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 11th, '09, 16:37
I think they were "buy it now" purchases, I'm not so sure how auctioning works in Tao Bao. The reason why it took so long to get everything together was because one of the vendors didn't send everything. With the prices I'm paying on some of these items, I'm not complaining too much...but hopefully everything will be in good condition *fingers crossed*
Dec 11th, '09, 16:39
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by puerhking » Dec 11th, '09, 16:39
Maitre_Tea wrote:I think they were "buy it now" purchases, I'm not so sure how auctioning works in Tao Bao. The reason why it took so long to get everything together was because one of the vendors didn't send everything. With the prices I'm paying on some of these items, I'm not complaining too much...but hopefully everything will be in good condition *fingers crossed*
Okay...thanks. I am bidding on a couple of auctions. It seems that communication is on the light side. I have no idea what is going on...lol.
Dec 16th, '09, 17:05
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 16th, '09, 17:05
So in a little over three weeks my order has finally arrived...but 45 minutes lie between me and my pu-erh. Shipping took a grand total of 4 days door-to-door from China to my doorstep. Man I love living on the side of the country closest to China. Will update later on my bounty...
Dec 16th, '09, 19:30
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by Maitre_Tea » Dec 16th, '09, 19:30
See the Show-Off thread for pictures of my haul. Fast service, and excellent packing skills, which is always important with tea. When ordering though, make sure to ask them to mark what comes from where, if you're ordering the same thing from different places.
