outer layer VS inner layer

[GrandmasPuerhCakes]

which leafs do you prefer, outer layer that are exposed or inner layer that does not see the light of day. Some say inner layer has better aroma and it ages faster.

[shogun89]

outer layer will age faster due to a higher exposure to humidity and oxygen. The outer layer will usually be made of a better quality leaf for the purpose of decoration. This is one reason why when a cake reaches maturity it is completely broken and mixed in a yixing jar. This serves to mix the different qualities of the various layers of the cake/brick. When I brew from a cake I always try to get a mix of outside and interior leaves for a more consistent brew.

[GrandmasPuerhCakes]

The outer layer will usually be made of a better quality leaf for the purpose of decoration.

I hope that only applies to mediocre cakes.

[TIM]

The outer layer will usually be made of a better quality leaf for the purpose of decoration.

I hope that only applies to mediocre cakes.

What are you talking about!

[legend]

Any cake with such a difference from outside to inside is a false production, and is absolutely mediocre at best. No cake which is of true production would be this way, regardless of the price point. This difference is indicitive of a situation where the product is being sold as something it is not- an all too common occurence.
This is a good lesson on observing the quality of cakes- if the leaves are widely inconsistent in the interior or around the indentation than you are looking at a false production and you should consider its authenticity very carefully.

[TIM]

Any cake with such a difference from outside to inside is a false production, and is absolutely mediocre at best. No cake which is of true production would be this way, regardless of the price point. This difference is indicitive of a situation where the product is being sold as something it is not- an all too common occurence.
This is a good lesson on observing the quality of cakes- if the leaves are widely inconsistent in the interior or around the indentation than you are looking at a false production and you should consider its authenticity very carefully.

http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... -2008.html
IMHO, most of my experiences with 50s to 80s recipe Labels do have different layouts/structure in a cake. This was how they combine (blends) different regions to form a blend in the past.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rNl5VRNLz_s/S ... abel_2.jpg
If you are acquiring a Menghai 50's Red label without outer cosmetic and smaller leaves inside , I would advice otherwise before shelling out US$25K.

What are your experiences?

[MarshalN]

Any cake with such a difference from outside to inside is a false production, and is absolutely mediocre at best. No cake which is of true production would be this way, regardless of the price point. This difference is indicitive of a situation where the product is being sold as something it is not- an all too common occurence.
This is a good lesson on observing the quality of cakes- if the leaves are widely inconsistent in the interior or around the indentation than you are looking at a false production and you should consider its authenticity very carefully.

Absolutely not true. Covering the surface of cakes with nicer looking leaves is an age-honoured practice going back to at least the 19th century -- British observers who visited Yunnan mentioned this practice as being common. You mean to tell me that those 19th century cakes are all false production too?

[TIM]

Any cake with such a difference from outside to inside is a false production, and is absolutely mediocre at best. No cake which is of true production would be this way, regardless of the price point. This difference is indicitive of a situation where the product is being sold as something it is not- an all too common occurence.
This is a good lesson on observing the quality of cakes- if the leaves are widely inconsistent in the interior or around the indentation than you are looking at a false production and you should consider its authenticity very carefully.

Absolutely not true. Covering the surface of cakes with nicer looking leaves is an age-honoured practice going back to at least the 19th century -- British observers who visited Yunnan mentioned this practice as being common. You mean to tell me that those 19th century cakes are all false production too?

+1
http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/2008/08/vincer.html

[legend]

All of the above comments are exactly correct and in no way disagree. What I was saying is going to be useful for the mainstream market of Puer where consumers are just trying to make sure they are getting a true cake or not. I dont mean to generalize about all vintage tea-those of such value would surely be judged according to individual detail. I am referring to the sort of cakes which are flooding the market where there is an outer layer of leaf basically hiding the real contents of the cake-which is some awful replacement for what should be there.
In this case I needed to be more specific as to the detail of what I was saying,
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[bearsbearsbears]

Any cake with such a difference from outside to inside is a false production, and is absolutely mediocre at best. No cake which is of true production would be this way, regardless of the price point. This difference is indicitive of a situation where the product is being sold as something it is not- an all too common occurence.
This is a good lesson on observing the quality of cakes- if the leaves are widely inconsistent in the interior or around the indentation than you are looking at a false production and you should consider its authenticity very carefully.

Absolutely not true. Covering the surface of cakes with nicer looking leaves is an age-honoured practice going back to at least the 19th century -- British observers who visited Yunnan mentioned this practice as being common. You mean to tell me that those 19th century cakes are all false production too?

+1

Judge each cake individually. A Naka cake covered in big yiwu leaves sounds good to me.

[shah82]

Recipe cakes also do this, and you have to break up a whole cake to get a representative cup.

Virtually nothing in the West has that kind of abusive practice. Darwinian weeding of underperformers is fairly fast.

In China, there are many such teas of a certain age that will do this. However, China isn't that much slower than we are to punish that stuff. By and large, it's only poorer people than the average Western customer or the equivalent in E. Asia that are going to have to worry about cakes like that.

Generally, the bigger problem for unsuspecting customers are big pretty leaves that are hallow in flavor.

In all cases, sample before buying takes care of that. It *is* a problem in samples because you might get something that's unrepresentative of the cake as a whole.

[bearsbearsbears]

Virtually nothing in the West has that kind of abusive practice. Darwinian weeding of underperformers is fairly fast.

There are a few examples of this type of practice in the West where Darwinian weeding doesn't happen, mostly involving food. Packaged meat, for example, will be positioned so the least attractive parts of the meat, showing bones and strips of fat, are hidden. Buying good bacon can be a hassle because it's packaged so a consumer cannot see how meaty the bacon is.

But aside from the exceptions, I agree. Manufacturers and vendors in the West are expected to be honest and price their goods accordingly. If they don't, they're sued and go out of business, or perhaps survive to correct the problem.

Bonded leather furniture is cheaper than whole leather, blends with younger whiskey are cheaper than blends with older whiskey, etc. Consumers do not reject these "lesser" products; they only want them cheaper. I wonder how 7542 would be priced if we knew what was in the blend in terms of how much was from what region, from what season, from what year, etc.

~j

[gingkoseto]

Virtually nothing in the West has that kind of abusive practice. Darwinian weeding of underperformers is fairly fast.

If they don't, they're sued and go out of business, or perhaps survive to correct the problem.
~j

Really? I think I am just more cynical than you guys on this I think there is more illegal fast poisoning in Chinese food industry, and more legitimatized slow poisoning in US food industry. I don't think Darwin's theory works in human society.

[gingkoseto]

Absolutely not true. Covering the surface of cakes with nicer looking leaves is an age-honoured practice going back to at least the 19th century -- British observers who visited Yunnan mentioned this practice as being common. You mean to tell me that those 19th century cakes are all false production too?

I agree that covering technique is not only in the tradition, but also honored.
But nowadays it seems inside-out consistent cakes/tuos are preferred by most people. Every era has its own trend. Maybe in the old times, the tribute cakes/tuos to the emperor were inside-out consistent too, I am guessing

[the_economist]

Virtually nothing in the West has that kind of abusive practice. Darwinian weeding of underperformers is fairly fast.

Nonsense. underperforming leather shoes manufactured by branded names are entirely overpriced by several factors i only know this trivia because i recently hunted for a pair of formal shoes for graduation and stumbled on a whole boatload of info regarding leather shoe make. Its the old "make something seem nicer than it really is" trick. Although admittedly it might be less rampant.