Yunnan Black Tea Cakes

[Jack_teachat]

*I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Black or Pu Erh Forum, I really wanted the Pu Erh drinkers opinions on these. Mods please feel free to move if appropriate...

I've just noticed that Scott from YS has added some beeng style cakes made up of Yunnan Black or 'red' tea leaf...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Gold-Tea-ca ... 4a9bbf63e2

I am quite curious about these and was wondering if anyone on here had any experience with such a type of tea?

Jack

[Maitre_Tea]

Haven't had much experience with this kind of stuff, except for yancha cakes, which I feel like is kind of a gimmick to piggyback on the success of pu'er. This seems like kind of the same thing, but who knows, it might taste delicious. I wonder what the advantages of pressing anything besides pu'er into cakes might be, how it affects the tea's aging

[aKnightWhoSaysNi]

It's only a matter of time before all teas will also be available in compressed form.

[odarwin]

It's only a matter of time before all teas will also be available in compressed form.

+1+1+1

[Tea and coffee]

I've actually seen pu erh in small 1 use blocks.

Also on ebay the mini pu erh cakes that are in 18 different flavors in a set that someone has been selling.
Rice something flavored pu erh, chrysanthemum, rose and who knows what else...

I have also seen pu erh coins, "candy" or tiny blocks wrapped in fancy plastic, "instant" pu erh gel...kinda curious about that but just seems weird also.

You can get kind of compressed tea.
I have seen some crazy looking yunnan teas that are like small black cones and they are supposed to be a blooming tea, but black tea and w no fancy flowers.
have also seen similar green ones.

[thanks]

*I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Black or Pu Erh Forum, I really wanted the Pu Erh drinkers opinions on these. Mods please feel free to move if appropriate...

I've just noticed that Scott from YS has added some beeng style cakes made up of Yunnan Black or 'red' tea leaf...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Gold-Tea-ca ... 4a9bbf63e2

I am quite curious about these and was wondering if anyone on here had any experience with such a type of tea?

Jack

I've had several Dianhong's that had a few years on them, and they were the best hongcha I'd ever had. I'd imagine that pressing them into cakes makes aging an even easier process, as I don't know how to correctly, and purposefully age hongcha. Go for it as it's super cheap, and I've never had a Yunnan gold/black that I didn't love.

[Drax]

Hou De sells an aged oolong (1970s) pressed into tuo form, so yet another example. . .

So, stupid question here -- do you age this in the same environment like pu'erh? Or do you keep it in a tight-dry place as is usually done for blacks and oolongs?

[thanks]

Hou De sells an aged oolong (1970s) pressed into tuo form, so yet another example. . .

So, stupid question here -- do you age this in the same environment like pu'erh? Or do you keep it in a tight-dry place as is usually done for blacks and oolongs?

I believe you age all teas compressed like this the same, but I have very limited knowledge on the subject. Just always expect a little sourness after a handful of years, I guess. Scott mentioned that his beengs that reached four years tasted like "earthy honey with a special heavy cha qi" which I believe is probably very accurate. Probably sour as well. The oldest hongcha I've had was a little over three years, and there wasn't really too much of an earthiness, or rather if it was there it was very slight. It just became extremely smooth, thick, and the cha qi was very special.

[tony shlongini]

I would think that just because it's in a different shape doesn't mean you should treat it any differently, and I've always been under the impression that oolongs should be stored in a dark and airtight environment.

[thanks]

I would think that just because it's in a different shape doesn't mean you should treat it any differently, and I've always been under the impression that oolongs should be stored in a dark and airtight environment.

Well what about maocha, cakes, tuocha, and iron cakes? They're all different shapes, and they all affect the aging of the tea a great deal. I would assume that compression provides a means of controlling moisture and oxygen penetration to the leaves thus dramatically changing the aging of whatever tea it is.

[Janine]

I've had several Dianhong's that had a few years on them, and they were the best hongcha I'd ever had. I'd imagine that pressing them into cakes makes aging an even easier process, as I don't know how to correctly, and purposefully age hongcha. Go for it as it's super cheap, and I've never had a Yunnan gold/black that I didn't love.

These sound great - but aging is slower where there is less air between the leaves. There might be trade offs though.

Just as a tangential bit of info, Imperial Tea Court has an interesting Old Bush Shui Xian Tea Cake

[wyardley]

I don't think it's true that you'd want the same aging conditions for oolong or black tea cakes that you would want for pu'er.

Since you're not looking for that fermentation to happen, I think drier and cooler (but still dark) is probably better. Just my $0.02.

[tony shlongini]

I would think that just because it's in a different shape doesn't mean you should treat it any differently, and I've always been under the impression that oolongs should be stored in a dark and airtight environment.

Well what about maocha, cakes, tuocha, and iron cakes? They're all different shapes, and they all affect the aging of the tea a great deal. I would assume that compression provides a means of controlling moisture and oxygen penetration to the leaves thus dramatically changing the aging of whatever tea it is.

True, but they're all pu'er. Crush a dragon well into a tie bing or whatever you choose, and it's not going to age.

[gingkoseto]

True, but they're all pu'er. Crush a dragon well into a tie bing or whatever you choose, and it's not going to age.

That's an important point to consider. A common feature of pu'er and red tea is, neither has high-temperature kill green process, hence enzymes in tea leaves can survive. On the other hand, green tea and oolong both have their enzymes killed in processing.
I believe red tea generally has long shelf life. As for whether it can get better or different through aging, I have no idea.
Oolong cake is nothing new. It was exported to southern Asia in the past, because it's easier to transport and store (and therefore serve as a low-cost and convenient option). That was before puerh and "cake" idea got trendy. But I guess with the influence of puerh, the oolong cake idea has got more trendy in recent years.

[thanks]

I would think that just because it's in a different shape doesn't mean you should treat it any differently, and I've always been under the impression that oolongs should be stored in a dark and airtight environment.

Well what about maocha, cakes, tuocha, and iron cakes? They're all different shapes, and they all affect the aging of the tea a great deal. I would assume that compression provides a means of controlling moisture and oxygen penetration to the leaves thus dramatically changing the aging of whatever tea it is.

True, but they're all pu'er. Crush a dragon well into a tie bing or whatever you choose, and it's not going to age.

Very true and insightful, I was focusing too much on the compression method.

Hmm, I think I might pick up one of these cakes regardless, and keep it stored airtight away from my pu'er to see how it turns out for a few years.