Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Just Arrived: Pu-erh Direct From Yunnan

My first order from Yunnan Sourcing LLC just came all the way from China the other day. All of them pu-erh, about 6 kg (~13 lbs) total. The package was securely boxed and everything arrived in good condition. When I opened the box, I thought this must be the dustiest package I've ever received in my life (is the dust from the tea, the box, or warehouse dust?). Glad I had enough time to cover my face when I sneezed violently, otherwise these pu-erh would have instantly become "wet-storage" pu-erh.

I wanted to try out the aromatic bamboo pu-erh, but I haven't got a clue how to get the tea out of the bamboo stick. The bamboo is thick, hard, and without any crack on its side. Should I use a sledgehammer or a pound of C-4 to crack the shell open in halves?

A - 2006 Menghai Factory Caravan Yunnan to Tibet, cooked ($15/beeng)

B - 2005 Chang Tai Hao Tea Factory, Yi Wu Mountain Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh tea cake, raw ($48/10x100gr beengs)
C - 2005 Six Famous Tea Mountain "Year of the Rooster" Tea Cake, raw ($21/beeng)
D - 3 pipe bombs. Just kidding. 2003 Aromatic Bamboo Species Raw Pu-erh Tea Xiang Zhu, raw ($5.99/100gr stick)
E - 2005 Menghai Factory, Early Spring Raw Pu-erh Tea Tuo, Ban Zhang, raw ($9/250gr tuo)


I reckon I have a lot of tastings and posting TNs into this blogspace to be done.

3 comments:

Jamie D. said...

Interesting stash you've got there, Phyll - I'll be interested to hear what you say about the rest of it. I haven't tried Pu-Erh tea yet, but it's on the list for my next "tea buying binge".

I will also be interested in how you get the tea out of those bamboo shoots! I saw some tea enclosed in bamboo at World Market the other day (I forget the brand name), and passed partially due to my overflowing tea stash, but also due to not being able to figure out how to open the container!

~ Phyll said...

Jamie, thanks for your comment. Pu-erh, for many, is an acquired taste, and I could say that I've acquired it. On your next tea buying binge, try at least one "cooked" pu-erh and one "raw" pu-erh. Don't spend too much yet on pu-erh. Try to see if you might like the taste profile. I suggest you try a few samples or ask for recco's before obtaining some from Ebay.

When I've tried the pu-erh I've just received, I'll be sure to post the TNs here. And also, I will let you know who I killed accidentally while in the process of getting the tea out of that !@#&^$# bamboos.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I have boxes from YS too, together for 450 USd :-)...I'm very very content with this shop, I heve from it: tea sea 60 x 40, 3 yixing teapots, 7 cakes, 4 glasses (two pot, two jug), one toucha, 60 mini tou cha, white porcelain set etc...