Pu-erh cakes suggestion

[khlara]

So my friend and I have fallen in love with pu-erh, but it's been at tea shops that aren't exactly using quality pu-erh. We've also had to make do with poor quality tea bags. We were at a Chinese tea ceremony/tasting years ago and had good quality pu-erh, so we know we love the stuff. However, getting back to that original shop is extremely

Comments

[flameturnedblue]

Try here: http://www.tuochatea.com/ though I have no clue how much shipping would cost...

Or here, where they offer samplers that aren't terribly expensive: http://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

I'd imagine you'd find something nice for less than 80 bucks...

Believe it or not, the tea wiki (wikicha) offers an excellent breakdown of how to assess the quality of pu-erh: http://www.wikicha.com/index.php/Puerh#Judging_quality
Although I do enjoy this tea occasionally, I can't claim to be an expert, but I hope this is somewhat helpful!

Good luck :)

[khlara]

Awesome! Thanks! ^_^

[bearsbearsbears]

Hi Khlara

[chorus_of_chaos]

I've had good results with Uptons teas, I got a few small cakes of good quality for a reasonable price a while back, and they sell samples as well. I was really suprised I liked it as much as I did, someone told me it was like lapsong souchang which I don't care for (like putting ashes in your tea imho) but the puerh is nothing like that, it's very rich in taste though.

Good luck with your quest!

[khlara]

Ooh, I've been wanting to order from Uptons for a while. I'll keep that into consideration.
(lapsong souchong is like a giant, bad BBQ. The only use for it was that it keeps ants out of cabinets)

[iguanahey]

I've ordered a lot of pu-erh from tuochatea.com and yunnansourcing.com

[iguanahey]

You know, I see there's not really an answer to your last question about buying tea in a shop and ensuring quality.

A couple of things to know:

First and most important: a tea is only worth as much as you think it is, based on how much you enjoy it. Taste every tea before you buy it, and if it doesn't appeal to you don't buy it no matter how cheap. If you love it, ask yourself if you love it enough for the price. If it meets that qualification, it's a good deal.

I've passed on $30 10-year cakes, and paid $120 for a first-year raw cake. I love bargains but I'm willing to pay for something that is so exceptional that it stands out to my semi-educated palate. If I can't tell if it's a good tea or not, it's NOT! You'll be able to tell the difference, believe me!

On a side note, don't trust a high-end tea shop that doesn't let you taste the tea first. They're hiding something. Good tea shops know their tea will sell themselves and will happily sample.

[khlara]

Awesome, thanks for the advice and the links. With all the information people have been giving me, I'm sure we'll definitely find something.