For you Gaiwan Users Out There

Since some you tea lovers had found interest in the YiXing videos, I thought it would be nice to post a gaiwan video showing A Chinese minority woman making mao cha. Notice the traditional dress. Enjoy!

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I remembered sometime ago, a comment was made asking - " how do you break up the pu-erh for brewing"? Well, luckily while meandering through the net searching for unrelated pu-erh information I had came across these great informative pics! Hope you enjoy them!

Breaking up a Beeng



Gently insert the point of the knife with care.



Continue adding pressure carefully



Lift the separated layer gently to weaken the the leaves further




Continue finding and dislogding the weakened leaves



Nice pieces for brewing




Breaking Up Tuocha



Insert the pick inside the bowl as it is the weakest part



Continue to gently dislodge the leaves



When you feel that you have weakened a segment of the toucha from the inside, now do the same from the outide in order to further weaken a segment of the toucha.



Perfect



Breaking up Zhuancha "Brick Tea"

Start from a the short-side corner



Further insert the knife until you have separated a piece suitable for brewing



Lift gently until the piece breaks off



Finished!




Image Source: forum.taobao.com

The Woes of Collecting Pu-erh

When I first started collecting pu-erh, the possibility of someone selling me a counterfeited product never had crossed my mind! After all its just TEA! Right? Luckily, the teas I have purchased thus far are all genuine. (Big sigh) But how is it that a food product, tea of all things, has become the target of fraud? Well, after pondering on this for a while I have come up with a few possible reason why. First, the demand for quality pu-erh products in the western market has continued to rise. This alone gives ample opportunities for crooks to sell counterfeited teas to an uneducated market. Secondly, it is relatively easy to get low quality leaves and print a few nei feis, description tickets and wrappers, and present them as genuine. Third, which I personally feel is the biggest motivation behind counterfeiting - when people pay on the upwards of $600 USD for a tong of (7 Beeng Cakes) 2004 Yan Ching Hao it is definitely worth the risk. These factors coupled with the ever-growing tea business which is now speculated to reach $10 BILLLION USD by 2010, it is easy to see why. IT'S BIG BUCKS!!!

But how can collectors positively know they are paying for a genuine product? Well, honestly, you can't. This is just the reality that most collectors of Pu-erh have to endure; especially if you live in the U.S. or Europe. (Of course unless you have the luxury of having a tea shop in your area that sells a wide variety of teas including pu-erhs that allow you to inspect and taste the teas before you buy them. But trust me in Minnesota where jasmine is considered an “exotic” tea this is not going to happen.)

In response to the evergrowing counterfeit problem, tea producing countries are currently taking measures to safeguard their tea economies. For instance, the Taiwanese Government has adopted DNA encryption technology as part of their strategy to combat fraud and counterfeit operations. This DNA Anti-Counterfeit label is designed to make it cost prohibitive, if not impossible for counterfeiters to duplicate. And according to the Taiwan government, the technology has made it easier to quickly differentiate genuine products from counterfeited ones. Of course I understand that pu-erh does not come from Taiwan, however this example underscores the extent of the problem which exists. What is not known is if China will follow. In researching for this topic I have found no evidence that China is making any strides of implementing this practice. However, there are a few reasons to breath a sigh of relief. The Meng Hai and Xia Guan factories have taken matters into their own hands having developed micro print labels that are hard to reproduce.

The new Meng Hai Anti-counterfeit label





Here are a few tips I use to safeguard my investment. Maybe they will help you.

1. Research – I can not stress the importance of researching the products that you are thinking of buying. Read blogs, websites, publications, magazines; this alone will take you a long way. You should know how a particular product should smell, taste, and look like etc. Obtain samples of aged pu-erh and ripe pu-erh so you can get your palate accustomed to what both taste like.

2.Find a reputable vendor and become friends - Be loyal. (Of course only if they have great service) Vendors make their money on the comeback and will be more conscience when they sell to someone who loyal as they want to retain your business.

3. Ask questions - Trust me they won’t be offended if you do. They are there to sell you tea! If you are bargaining with a vendor and even remotely sound like you know what you are talking about, vendors are less likely to sell or send you a fake!

4. Take advantage of vendors that are located in the U.S. - Albeit, this alone will not be a guarantee but at least you can have comfort in knowing that it will be easier to resolve the problem in the event that a counterfeit product was sold to you.

5. Be critical of overseas vendors - I know that many of us buy teas online from overseas vendors for the convenience and price. In fact, I buy a great numbers of teas online directly from China. However, as the old Latin adage goes Caveat emptor – Buyer Beware! This is not to suggest that that there aren’t any great overseas vendors out there, but if you come across a website that doesn’t have computer based shopping with encryption and/or will only allow funds to be mailed or transferred through bank wire. These types of transactions should be taken as red flags . Try to find vendors that have a physical address and telephone numbers email etc. Email them and see if they email you back. Ask to talk to them on the telephone. Do they have customers rating? Use your common sense. How long have they been in business? When is the last time the website was updated? JUST USE YOUR GOOD JUDGMENT! Here are a few overseas vendors that I have delt with and have recieved nothing but great service: Jing Tea Shop, Dragon House (Ebay vendor), Yunnan Sourcing (Ebay vendor), TeaSpring

6. Buy samples - If you have the opportunity of buying samples from the dealers, DO SO! This is not only a learning tool, it’s also a great way to let vendors know you are a serious buyer.

Reference
http://www.adnas.com

Tools of the Trade

As some of you have experien-ced, breaking-up pu-erh bricks, beengs, touchas or what have you into manageable pieces can be quite pesky. When pu-erh is compressed into various shapes, the results can truly be impenetrable - Ok, well I embellished it a bit, but nonetheless, they can be HARD

When I first started drinking pu-erh, my first pu-erh breaking efforts had involved a flat-head screwdriver. Albeit this proved to be somewhat effective, I was always unable to maintain the proper leverage needed to break up the pu-erh into nicely defined and even portions for proper storage. For instance, if I buy 3 beengs, I will decide which two of the three are the most pristine and place them in storage and divide the other. In dividing the beeng into two parts I will have 1/2 a beeng for drinking now, and another to be stored for at least 1-2 years which I would then periodically taste in order to evaluate as to whether or not it is worth a time investment.

1 - beeng for (Potiential) Market Speculation
1 - beeng to try in 3 or 4 years or longer
1/2 - beeng to try in 1-2 years
1/2 - beeng to drink now.
Total of 3 beengs.

As Cloud had stated in his mini-clip, a letter envelope opener is the perfect accouterment for this job. (View “Clouds Tips” in sidebar for elaboration.) Of course some tea shops will attempt to sell you a “pu-erh knife”, - but trust me it is a letter opener. The one shown is mine. It has a nice weight with nice sharp edges for easy handling, but most of all it comes with a knife blade. This has become extremely useful for cutting into boxes, ribbons, plastic packages, and for trimming leaves which look unpalatable.

Gongfu Brewing Method

I'm certain that a few of you have no understanding to what is meant when I make reference to the Gongfu Method in my pu-erh reviews. Here are a couple of short videos that will elucidate the process for brewing ripe pu-erh

As you will see, the person washes the leaves twice which is common for ripe pu-erh. However, if she were making sheng, a single wash would have been sufficient. I use the Gongfu brewing method exclusively for pu-erh teas. I am sorry for the abrupt cut off after the second wash - the part which was omitted would have shown the person cycling through the cup washing once more and subequently dumping the "second wash" over the Yixing teapot.

The following clip show the person refilling the aroma cups and then inverting them in order to enjoy the fragrant nuances that will imanate from the cups as they cool. Listen closely to how she aerates the tea in her mouth. This technique really helps to separate the delicate flavors!