Verify fungus

[elf_man]

I picked up this pu recently. I realized that it appears to have fungus (or mold, or something) on it.

I'd just like to find out if this really is fungus, and if so, whether or not it's dangerous. The white stuff I've heard is okay, but I'm not sure about the this yellow-green.
First photo shows both.
The second photo is a close up of the yellow-green stuff.
The third photo is the brick. You can see the white speckles, and those yellowish "veins"..
I had to scale these down a lot more than intended, but they should be pretty clear.

Any information you can provide is appreciated.

[brandon]

Trash can awaits. Sorry bud.

[TIM]

Just really curious, since this is the third(?) post in recent months regarding yellow (toxic) mold growing.... How are you guys storing your collection? Seems something really wrong here.

[elf_man]

It came in the mail like this. It was in a small wooden box. The side with the mold was on the bottom, and is slightly concave; the "top" is flat and actually very, very tight against the lid. Although the seams on the box offer some air access.

Good news is, they're sending me a replacement, no questions asked.

[Maitre_Tea]

Every time I see this I immediately jump up and check through all my cakes...seriously though, if something like this happens and someone posts about it please state the storage conditions, and if it just came like that, mention that so the rest of us don't have to spend every night in fear of mold spores from Planet X attacking our stash.

[betta]

It came in the mail like this. It was in a small wooden box. The side with the mold was on the bottom, and is slightly concave; the "top" is flat and actually very, very tight against the lid. Although the seams on the box offer some air access.

Good news is, they're sending me a replacement, no questions asked.

This is also what I worry about: contamination from the packaging.

Puerh tongs are normally wrapped using bamboo (or dried banana trunk?) and come with "whitish frost" already on the wrapping. I don't know whether it's been on the wrapping even before being used to wrap puerh tea tongs.

Now I read somewhere that the tong is best stored with the wrapping bamboo on.
Do you guys here get any problem with your tongs if you leave those "white frost" on the tong wrapping?

[shogun89]

I have 2 tongs, both with that "white frost" you describe, this is just a natural oil from the bamboo that has seeped out. There is no harm storing in the tongs, in fact, it is preferred.

[betta]

Thanks, Shogun

[elf_man]

Okay. That confirms what I've heard about the white frost.

[beecrofter]

I have 2 tongs, both with that "white frost" you describe, this is just a natural oil from the bamboo that has seeped out. There is no harm storing in the tongs, in fact, it is preferred.

What you describe sounds like the substance on bamboo called "tabisheer"
which is a fine silica.

[teacast]

Disappointing, it's definitely some sort of fungus. Pitch it and ask for a refund or something. I gotta check my stuff now!

[MarshalN]

The yellow-green stuff in the 2nd and 3rd pics -- are those areas that you use a knife/pick or something else to open the brick up?

It looks like ground down leaves. Sometimes if you use too brute an instrument it can look like that.

The first pic -- the white stuff looks suspect.

[elf_man]

No, that's how it came. The area where I pried some off are on the side you can't see. Nothing else on the outside of the brick, or even on the little bit of the inside I've seen, looks like that. It is a pretty loose compression, so what I pried off came off easy.

There are some yellow leaves, and some possibly mildly broken bits of those inside. I can see how if they were really fractured or ground up, they might look like this. But yeah, the photos are exactly how it came.

[teacast]

Eh, I'd stay away from that stuff, just for your own safety haha

[gingkoseto]

I just saw this a moment ago (look at the second picture!)
http://teabbs.zjol.com.cn/viewthread.ph ... ra=&page=1

Growing "golden flowers" on tea bricks is a long time favored tradition. I am not interested in growing it at home. But if it's from a known source, like this one, I wouldn't mind drinking it.