[netsurfr]

I have ordered a quantity of Pu-erh and White tea that will be arriving in about 5 weeks. I am offering samples for the prices as indicated below.

These prices do not include postage/handling but do include a slight markup to cover paypal costs. Let me know if you are interested.

1998 Lincang "CNNP Green Wrapper" Raw Pu-erh tea - $3.20/25g

2000 Long Yuan Hao Yi Wu Mountain Raw - $3.50/25g

1999 Gu Pu-er Simao Raw Pu-erh "Fang Cha" - $1.30/25g

2002 Bu Lang Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea brick - $2.30/25g

2002 Hai Lang Hao * Mengku Wild Arbor cake - $2.15/25g

2003 Jing Mai Round Cake * Tai Lian Tea Factory - $2.90/25g

2002 Jingmai Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Bricks - $2.30/25g

Early Spring Yunnan Silver Needles White Tea (will sell in quantity desired) - $1.50/25g

As noted above, shipping/handling would be additional and depend on your location. Naturally, this is a better buy for USA members due to the shipping costs.

[netsurfr]

For those that have not tried raw puerh tea before, the infusion process is somewhat different than other teas. Here is a method that I have borrowed from Yunnan Sourcing site that works well for me:

"Pu-erh tea brewing is not so different from oolong teas. You want the water as hot as possible when you pour it into the pot. If you are going to use yixing, I would dedicate one pot for ripe pu-erh and another for raw. Up to you.

With pu-erhs I typically wash the leaves twice for period of about 20 seconds each time. The third infusion is to be drank. The first two infusions wash the leaves and prime them, use the tea water to wash the cups. The third and fourth infusions don't require long infusions times at all (20 seconds or less).

Pay attention to the taste and the infused liquor of the tea through succesive infusions, as the leaves "give it up" you will want to extend infusion times to get more out of the leaves. Most Pu-erhs can be infused anywhere between 10 and 20 times.

When prying leaves from a cake or brick, try to remove layer by layer and avoid breaking the tea leaves too much, broken up leaves when brewed will become bitter.

Another factor worth mentioning that will affect the outcome of your brew is how much tea you decide to use. Although many people measure weight (tea) versus volume (water), I prefer an intuitive approach, filling the the tea pot to about a quarter of its volume with leaves. Notice how tightly compressed Pu-erhs will expand more when infused than those that are less tightly compressed. Pay attention to the gradual expansion of the leaves and the flavor that comes out of them.

Try “tweaking” the different variables I’ve mentioned and pay attention to the result, this is part of the enjoyment of discovering Pu-erh!"

Enjoy,

[netsurfr]

Here is a link to a video for those that may be new to Pu-erh tea.
07/07/10 What is Puer Tea

[netsurfr]

Well, I was reviewing my spreadsheet and noticed that I had performed at least one serious miscalculation so I checked everything. Some of the prices have changed but in all but one case not terribly significantly. The one tea that changed significantly was because I performed the original calculation based on a 250g unit vice the actual weight of 100 grams.

1998 Lincang "CNNP Green Wrapper" Raw Pu-erh tea - $3.20/25g (remains the same)

2000 Long Yuan Hao Yi Wu Mountain Raw - $3.50/25g - increase to $4.10/25g

1999 Gu Pu-er Simao Raw Pu-erh "Fang Cha" - $1.30/25g - major mistake: $4.75/25g

2002 Bu Lang Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea brick - $2.30/25g - slight increase to $2.40/25g

2002 Hai Lang Hao * Mengku Wild Arbor cake - $2.15/25g - slight increase to $2.20/25g

2003 Jing Mai Round Cake * Tai Lian Tea Factory - $2.90/25g - slight increase to $2.95/25g

2002 Jingmai Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Bricks - $2.30/25g - slight increase to $2.50/25g

Early Spring Yunnan Silver Needles White Tea (will sell in quantity desired) - $1.50/25g (no change)

As noted previously, shipping/handling would be additional and depend on your location. Naturally, this is a better buy for USA members due to the shipping costs.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

[netsurfr]

UPDATE: The following tea is sold out:
2002 Hai Lang Hao Mengku Wild Arbor cake

Hurry and get your samples of the remaining teas!

[nerobot]

I would, but I think I have enough samples to last me quite a while :

[netsurfr]

Here is a link to a site that has great information on teas including Pu-erh that I recently discovered: The Leaf

Enjoy,

[netsurfr]

If you are interested in information about Pu-erh tea, I think you will find this article interesting. It explores the differences between plantation tea and that which comes from trees, focusing on issues that relate to ecologically friendly farming, vending and purchasing.
http://the-leaf.org/Issue1/wp-conten...ron-fisher.pdf

Enjoy!

[Quick Orange]

All I want to know is: how do you pronounce pu-erh? It's been bugging the hell out of me since you posted it

[netsurfr]

Pronunciation (at least the Americanized version I am aware of) is very phonetic. The accent is on the second syllable.

[netsurfr]

Xiaguan tea-growing region

This tea growing region includes Simao, Baoshan, and northern Lincang areas that covered Mengku, Changning, Yunxian, Jingdon, Jinggu, Mejiang, Zhenyuan, and other places. High altitude and high temperature with less rainfall, tea grown with fresh spring water tends to be of more fragrance, slightly bitter, yet with faintly acidic flavor.

Menghai tea-growing region

Menghai tea-growing region covers Xishuangbanna area, south of Lancang River (the name changed to Mekong River in Vietnam), including Jinghong, Bada, Bulang, Banzhang, Nannuo, Menglong, Mengsong, and Mengzhe areas. Lower altitude, but higher temperature with more rainfall, tea in this region features strong aroma, higher bitterness, and great fragrance.

Six Famous Tea Mountains
Throughout Yunnan's tea producing history there have been references to six famous mountains renowned for producing the best tea in the region. Historically, the Six Famous Tea Mountains were located north of the Lincang River and were named after six items left behind by Zhugeliang, then Prime Minister of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period. According to legend, Zhegeliang taught the people of southern Yunnan the art of harvesting and making tea. The names of these historic mountains were Youle (copper gong), Mangzhi (copper boa), Manzhuan (iron brick), Yi Bang (wooden clapper), Gedeng (leather stirrup), and Mansa (seed-sowing bag).

For various reasons, the names and locations of these six mountains shifted gradually through time. Perhaps the same name was used by different groups for different mountains. Some confusion may have resulted from the fact that the names recorded were Chinese translations or phonetic approximations of native languages used in the area.

We do know that of the mountains considered to be the famous Six by the mid-twentieth century, many had fallen into extreme disrepair due to large fires, over-picking, or neglect. As a result, in 1962 a new group of Famous Six Tea Mountains were named based on the best tea producing mountains at the time - Yiwu, Jingmai, Menghai, Nannuo, Bulang, and Youle. All of these mountains had been famous for many years, one of which, Youle, was a member of the original Six.

Throughout the years, another Famous Six were designated from south of the Lincang River and include some of the mountains from the 1962 list. These are Mengsong, Nannuo, Menghai, Bada, Nanqiao, and Jingmai.

Of course, southern Yunnan is full of tea and mountains and there are several others that, though not included in the Six, are renowned in and of themselves for their tea forests. Banzhang, Bangwei, and Ailao are three such mountains whose teas are as distinct and flavorful as any of the Six, yet are not as well known.

[Quick Orange]

As in poo-err?

[JMS]

You can be honest Netsurfer, you're among friends...you only created this thread to boost your post count, didn't you?

[netsurfr]

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

As in poo-err?

yup, with the accent on the second "sy LA ble"

[netsurfr]

Originally Posted by JMS

You can be honest Netsurfer, you're among friends...you only created this thread to boost your post count, didn't you?

Now that you mentioned it... yeah, it seemed like a good idea. However, this takes a lot more work than saying "Welcome to SRP!" to the new folks on the board.

[netsurfr]

Here is a blog with some great information on Pu-erh tea and lots of reviews. Ancient Tea Horse Road

[netsurfr]

Here is some information on Pu-erh tea that I borrowed from Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas - Green Tea, Wulong (Oolong), Tea, Puer Tea, White Tea, Jasmine Tea, Black Tea, Yixing Pots. Hope you find it interesting:

"People enjoy and collect puer tea for three main reasons including enjoyment of the tea, overall health benefits and the investment potential. It became popular outside of the traditional markets of Tibet and Mongolia, where for many years it was exchanged for horses, when it became sought after in Hong Kong for its health benefits, and for its mysterious quality of slow, natural fermentation, that causes it to improve with age. During the Cultural Revolution a lot of the old cakes were destroyed increasing the rareness of aged puer. In 1973, a process was invented to create fermented puer from 40 to 60 days.

Now puer has spread from Hong Kong and Guangzhou, to Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai and within China. The popularity of puer has even started to spread to the US and Europe. All puer starts out the same. The basic ingredient is called mao cha. Mao cha is harvested and allowed to dry in the sun. Yunnan is the only province that grows tea that has a lot of sunshine and blue skies in China. One of the side affects of all this sunshine is some very large leaf tea plants. All tea originated in Yunnan, but you might be surprised to know that the tea plants are called Camellia Sinesis Assamica. The reason is that when the British found the variety of tea growing in India they named it Assamica and believed that it was wild, but it had actually been planted along the old Silk Road that ran from Yunnan and Burma into Assam. Even though the origin issue has been cleared up, the ancient tea trees in Yunnan have kept the inaccurate name.

A lot of puer produced is said to be made from wild tea trees, but this is not the case. Wild tea trees are known to make people pretty sick sometimes, and what is called wild by puer makers is in fact old tea trees that have been cultivated, and are usually over a hundred years old. The age of the tree can be determined by measuring the trunk.

Of course the quality of the mao cha is an important factor in puer. The ideal mao cha is not oxidized and is two leaves and one bud. Farmers typically bring their mao cha to towns and villages where is purchased by local buyers and sorted and then purchased by puer producers. Although relatively large areas may be favorite places for certain producers to buy their mao cha, the cultivation is done by small farmers. Since puer has become more popular, many farmers are cutting their old trees to create bushes which have a better yield, so the number of old trees is decreasing every year. Most commercial puer is a blend of mao cha from different areas and there are some producers that will reveal the areas in Yunnan where the mao cha originated. These kinds of details enhance the value of the tea over time, and we try to supply this information whenever we can.

There are two general types of puer, cooked and raw. The raw or shen (green) puer is made from mao cha and steamed and pressed into cakes. It is the shen puer that demonstrates the miracle of puer. It slowly changes over time through a natural fermentation process. The microbes present in the mao cha that are not destroyed during sun drying work their magic and over 8 to 10 year raw is transformed to cooked, green to black. It is the shen that is most valuable over time and starts to reach is full maturity after around thirty years. Puer teas are elemental and mysteriously dark, fermented teas which are robust, earthy, rich and grounding. Puer is often a favorite tea of the truly dedicated tea drinker. This aged tea usually begins with a variety of leaf from exceptionally broad-leaved tea trees. The more mature leaves are used to make a crude dark oolong tea. This tea either left loose or punched into cakes is then permitted to retain barely enough moisture content that the tea continues to ferment slowly over time. For this reason, puer is best stored open so that oxygen can continue to refine the tea. In understanding about grades, it is wrong to assume that the 1st grade is the best grade for puer. There is only an incidental correlation between the grade of the puer and the quality of an individual cake. For example, some of the most sought after tea is made from mao cha that is larger still than tenth grade tea. It is always a question of taste. Of course if a lot of expensive buds are used in a cake, it will drive the price up, even if it is not considered a good candidate for aging. So don’t be strictly guided by the grade, think also about the uniformity and tightness of compression and intelligent thinking about mao cha blends."

There has been such a positive response to this offering that I plan to expand the offering in the future. Look for future updates!

Enjoy!

[netsurfr]

Here is a podcast on Pu-erh tea that I found on the Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas - Green Tea, Wulong (Oolong), Tea, Puer Tea, White Tea, Jasmine Tea, Black Tea, Yixing Pots site:

http://www.sevencups.com/2007/12/07/...video-podcast/

Enjoy!