Puerh Shop "Official" Pu-erh Tea Topic

[BreatheEasy]

Has anybody ever ordered any yixings from PS? I was looking at them today, and the pots look almost too good to be true.

Especially the "Zhuni." I have ordered teas from Jim, and I know he has great quality stuff, but hits pots concern me a tad bit

[tenuki]

Eh, I recommend starting with samples and judge for yourself. In my experience, Jim does a pretty good job at pricing the tea based on taste or quality (except for the ones that are wacky expensive because of the name/region).

I would generally agree with this assessment (having bought from Puerhshop on many occasions). However, I would add that you should probably ignore the vendor descriptions on that site as they seem to have nothing to do with the tea. I would highly recommend you get a sample first before buying anything but standard recipes. There are gems to be found in that catalog, but it's risky to find them by just outright purchase. Just MHO

[Drax]

Eh, I recommend starting with samples and judge for yourself. In my experience, Jim does a pretty good job at pricing the tea based on taste or quality (except for the ones that are wacky expensive because of the name/region).

I would generally agree with this assessment (having bought from Puerhshop on many occasions). However, I would add that you should probably ignore the vendor descriptions on that site as they seem to have nothing to do with the tea. I would highly recommend you get a sample first before buying anything but standard recipes. There are gems to be found in that catalog, but it's risky to find them by just outright purchase. Just MHO

Agreed! I would add that it's usually (?) clear from the descriptions there whether the focus is on the taste of the tea, or whether it's on the tea's pedigree. Then plan accordingly

I think Janaka's experience matches what many of us have learned over the years (well, other than the poor interaction on the tea pot). I'm sure I've taken that learning experience for granted, or at least, never verbalized it before; but then again, there's only a handful of pu'erh vendors that I trust implicitly.

[Chip]

I had to remove janaka's posts due to rules violation for TeaVendor Guide.

[Spoonvonstup]

I had to remove janaka's posts due to rules violation for TeaVendor Guide.

Don't you think he was still following the spirit of the rules (ie: being fair and even-handed in fully describing what happened, as opposed to mindless bashing?). It's clear Janaka put a lot of time and effort into writing those extremely long and detailed posts. It's a shame he'll have to just re-type them after a couple of months of building up credit around the forum.

I definitely understand that it broke the rules. I also understand that, as a moderator, you must enforce the rules. Just wanted you to know that it seemed like a shame that the letter of the law rather than the spirit and intent was used for the ruling.

And if this breaks another rule, feel free to remove.

[Chip]

I definitely understand that it broke the rules. I also understand that, as a moderator, you must enforce the rules. Just wanted you to know that it seemed like a shame that the letter of the law rather than the spirit and intent was used for the ruling.

And if this breaks another rule, feel free to remove.

As your duly elected moderator I have to find a balance in fairness. Therefore I often bend the rules when I feel it is justified. Perhaps if the member was active on the forum and we "knew him/her" ...

The "spirit of the rule" is that it is considered a privilege to post a review in the TeaVendor guide of TeaChat.

It is also to prevent new members from coming in and posting either false testimonials (I have seen more than my share of false testimonials on TeaChat and on other public venues) or negative reviews.

We feel that this actually enhances the overall credibility of the reviews if the reviewers are well known on the forum versus a completely new person posting a seemingly truthful review that could be completely made up with an ax to grind ... or perhaps has some connection to the vendor and posts a lovely but completely false testimonial.

I also feel that we have a responsibility to not only members and readers, but also to the vendors as well! Therefore there are some protections built in.

On the other hand, a vendor cannot just rush in and post a rebuttal. There are guidelines for this as well.

Please note, I removed the member's review of this vendor as well as the vendor's rebuttal. Both members were contacted of this action.

I feel the rule is very fair and balanced in this regard, though no rule is perfect ... and I therefore welcome comments.

It is also a shame that the newer member did not read the guidelines that are posted at the top of the TeaVendor Guide. However, if the member wants the posts, I have saved them in an administrative area of TeaChat.

Thank you for your comments and have a great TeaDay,
Chip
Immoderate TeaDrinker who happens to Moderate

[dnick]

The prices on most of the pu erh at Pu erh Shop is relatively very low. I'm thinking "you get what you pay for", is this the case?

edit: Yes. I am simply asking, generally what is the quality of their tea, because I'm just surprised at how affordably priced the teas are for being a US based operation..

[Chip]

When asking on an open forum about a tea vendor with whom you have no experience, I think it is only fair to the vendor to ask in a non-leading and non-negative manner.

Vendors are relying on their reputations to sell tea. Implying that their tea is cheap for a reason when you have never tried a single tea is simply not fair to the vendor. (BTW, I have not tried any of their teas either)

Asking "how is their tea in relation to price" would be a fair way to ask. Fairness runs both ways.

Thanks.

[whatsinaname]

http://teacloset.blogspot.com/2012/06/p ... mment-form

No more Puerh Shop for me.

[tenuki]

http://teacloset.blogspot.com/2012/06/p ... mment-form

No more Puerh Shop for me.

Interesting blog post. I don't disagree with anything you say really, except the conclusion you draw.

My experience with buying things from china (Yes, I know Jim is in chicago, but he gets his puer from china and passes on this special quirk to us ) is that 'same thing' means something very different there. There seems to be an almost allergic reaction to standardization of any kind, so 'same thing' is more like 'kinda similar'.

Example: I tried to buy a chinese go set and found something very interesting. All the sets are different sizes, there is really no way to get stones from one place and a board from another - you have to get a set and apparently every set is different dimensions. Compare this to Japan and Korea - it's quite possible to buy stones and boards separately from anyone and have them interoperate - those cultures thrive on standardization.

I find it kind of charming, a little annoying, but really just one of the costs of doing business with china.

[whatsinaname]

Hi Tenuki,
I've always appreciated your perspective on tea matters.

This blog is by a person that goes by the name hster. She has been around the online tea world far longer than I. I very much enjoy her writing.

I don't think the problem is substituting similar items, which may be a reasonable practice.

The problem is obviously fake tea. I am not the only person who was taken on this one. I'm just glad to see someone address this specific instance directly. I always suspected that I was fooled on this cake, but did not have the depth to determine so conclusively. I will, however, take the word of MarshalN, Scott of YS, GN?, and others as high-valence feedback that resonates with my experience.

I broke out my bing of this tea yesterday again for a test drive. It is drinkable to my protohominid palate. But, it ain't no 1998 tea and it ain't no $70 tea. The guys at B&B tried to warn me. Oh well, tuition paid.

I don't fault others who choose to deal with Jim, but myself and my dollars will be going elsewhere from now on. To each their own.

On a positive note, my personal dealings with Jim have all been amicable and he has provided me with good customer service.

I'm reminded of the line from Casino:
"Listen, if you didn't know you're bein' scammed, you're too effin' dumb to keep this job. If you did know, you were in on it. Either way, you're out. Get out! Go on. Let's go."

[Istari]

Well this is unfortunate...I bought this cake just about a month ago.

I don't blame puerhshop just yet though. It could be an honest mistake, and although disappointing I hope to hear from the vendor about what his take on it is. Although it pains me to admit, the evidence from the blog is quite conclusive. I don't want a refund...just the truth.

So before everyone rushes to make assumptions lets just wait a minute. I hope puerhshop will take this opportunity to settle any doubts. (Whether they be good or bad)

[Chip]

Voice of reason! I am all for direct communication between vendor and buyer to resolve problems with vendors.

A good vendor will take this opportunity to improve product lines, relationships ...

[Istari]

Thank you puerhshop for providing a response. I appreciated it, and I am sure others did as well.

I for one have not tried anywhere near enough puerh to be able to say with any level of confidence whether it is fake or not. In fact if you say it is an authentic 1998 7542 then I believe you, because up until now people have thrown in their own tasting opinions without being able to back it up with any real evidence.

In any case, I would be perfectly satisfied with your answer, but one thing still bothers me a lot. The wrappers pictured in the blog seem to be some pretty conclusive evidence. One cannot deny the fact that we are looking at two very different wrappers both claiming to be 1998 CNNP 7542. This is the most concerning part of the whole issue.

Thanks again Chip for allowing these kind of customer/vendor conversations, and thank you puerhshop for providing good interaction with your customers.

[iovetea]

please no matter who is right don't say you have to pay astronomic prices for a good real pu erh. you only support cutthroat price pushers and only people with moon prices will survive.
I'm sure there are places were you can get a pu for a reasonable price without making greedy people rich.
Also i wouldn't use Taobao as reference point, maybe good pu erh traders don't even use taobao who knows. Maybe people know westerners use taobao and the prices are inflated to begin with and people who sell pu erhs in the west realistically would be crazy to tell you the prices are inflated.