Does it make a different: 5 years in Guangdong VS Kunming

[toby]

I am looking into getting some recent 8582 or 2009 Xiaguan FT Fang Cha
Vendors in Guangdong sell them for much more pricier than Kunming

Fang Cha $16 vs $6
2009 8582 $42 vs $25

Considering that both are legit and both are "dry storage", how much different would it make?

Buy both and A/B it for science ?

I can get 2008 8582 (not sure the batch number) from tuocha tea for really cheap but people from Hong Kong said the 2008 8582 are made of rubbish.

[jayinhk]

Depends how dry the GD storage was! I say buy one and try it! Or A/B, even better! Also storage and 'house flavor' will differ between companies and dealers, even those based on the same street sometimes!

[BW85]

I'm pretty sure Kunming is drier than guangdong. I've talked to people who feel Kunming is too dry, but I guess it's up to your tastes.

[chrl42]

I am sure Kunming needs a pumidor..it's pretty dry place. You won't really find ageness from Kunming.

Yet Guangdong has many foul storages...but given honest storage for both, I'd go with Guangdong.

[toby]

But does 5 years of aging in Guangdong makes much different?
I will need to age the cake (in Melbourne , Australia) anyway.

[jayinhk]

I live in Hong Kong, so much the same conditions as GD. If the tea was stored in an air conditioned store, it's gonna be pretty similar to Kunming storage. Also there's no guarantee the cakes have been in GD the entire five years--they could have been bought a few weeks ago for all you know!

[Catfur]

They don't call it Kunming Cryostasis for nothing.

Though Kunming is a steam room compared to here.

[honza]

Again...Kunming is big city with big Dian lake where near the lake I live. My storage house have 65% wet and some months 80% and need suck wet out from the room... But also many people in Kunming storage tea in super dry places, like 3 floor in teamarkets. Thats really dry storage and kind tea like classic iron Xiaguan cakes taste from this storage like wooden box after 10+ years.
In Guangzhou also have a lot of types storage. People who care about their puerh, will have tasty tea, but a lot of puerh after 2 years there get some terrible pee smell on wrapper and taste not really pleasant.
This can not say generally. You just try what these sellers have and be carefull , just buy from official shops, 8582 have so many new rubbish fakes

[toby]

I think i can consider Yunnan Sourcing and Tuocha Tea "official".

The official TMall of Dayi has a VERY small selection. They even "bundle"2012 203 7542 witha small cake of 7572.

Here in Melbourne, Australia, Puerh is hard to get. There are some Taobao store with a physical store in GD (I was born in Hong Kong and able to read Chinese) but you dunno how to trust. Also, getting a parcel forwarding company, it is hard to say that they don't swap my bings.

[toby]

So I ended up getting a XG 2005 FT8653 iron, XG 2011 FT White Gold Times tuo, XG 2006 FT Little Iron and XG 2004 (Nov) White Brick from a GD vendor on Taobao.

The 2004-6 tea, even it is iron cakes/brick aged much better than the Kunming storage stuff of the same year or older!

They only use EMS for sending stuff overseas so I used a parcel forwarding company. They told me, after my parcels are there, they only do EMS for puerh as well. But their EMS rate is discounted (55% of the normal rate) and they charge extra $18 handleing fee plus.

I am saving up for a tong 2005 FT8653 iron (USD$79/ea) now.