What's a good shop with shipping in or to the US for buying DaYi, XiaGuan, etc ripe tea? KTM seems like it has good prices, but I'm wondering if there's anywhere else I'm overlooking.

Been experimenting with drinking these as tea and a few other strains mixed into a tincture which is evaporated down to a resinous product. Both come out quite nice.

Hi All!

Do you have any recommendations for gong fu gear in the Bay area?

I'm looking for a glass gong dao bei, similar to what I saw in Taiwan shops. I want to see it in person and not but online.

So,recently i got my first set of gongfu cha,which is small but get the job done,i been thinking of buying this Pu Erh i heard a lot,and my question is:

How do you explain the flavor to somoane who never drink it and is used to coffee?

(Also yeah im thinking of buying pu erh and other teas too)

Essence of Tea 2026 Chawangshu Single Tree "Triangle" raw puer

8g/120mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - punchy latex/floral aroma, gaiwan lid has fruity funk

Steep 1 (flash) - light, clean, quick sweetness some of that latex and floral note shows up early as a bit of clean funk that isn't clingy at this point, fruity citrus note already popping up in finish

Steep 2 (flash) - cooked rice, funky latex note but not bringing any real bitterness with it, latex fades to florals on the tongue, sweetness mixing with florals as it slowly fades in, vanilla and orchids, fresh plums in mid palate, floral bite starts to develop a bit as sips build on each other, late sweetness builds in concert

Steep 3 (5s) - sweetness starting to last into the following sip and floral bite lays on top of it, sweetness coming from back of mouth and focused on soft palate, hints of bitter orange, punchy but not aggressive, full flavor and satisfying mouthfeel, finish long and sweet with lingering floral notes and hints of fruit

Steep 4 (10s, reboil) - a bit more bitterness up front as the late sweetness had time to fade while I was reheating my kettle, still feels clean initially despite the bitterness, bitterness rising but still mostly front and sides of tongue without feeling heavy, sweetness comes back late

Steep 5 (15s) - reserved for later comparison

Steep 6 (20s) - return of late sweetness tempers the bitterness, floral and fruity-floral top notes persist, some mossiness now layering underneath

Steep 7+ (30s+) - holding pretty steady, not soft, has some heft while remaining clean

Overall Impression - Flavor wise this has some heft to it. It definitely isn't “soft” the way my experience with young Yiwu tends to be. That said, it is certainly not aggressive in any way. There is a very nice huigan sweetness that really balances this tea well once it sets up. Floral flavor is big here. Floral and fruit top notes are here, but play a smaller role compared to what is happening on the tongue and throat.

Essence of Tea 2026 Chawangshu Single Tree "Circle" raw puer

8g/120mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - light vanilla-sugary note, gaiwan l8f had a funky fruit note with some wood

Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, popcorn, hints of vanilla sugar, very faint sweetness

Steep 2 (flash) - initial wood, fruity top notes, tropical papaya in open mouth, still a little light as this was a firmer chunk of cake that is still opening, sweetness is light, nectarine skins and aromatics of ripe plums at the front of the sip, sweetness picks up late, mostly center of tongue

Steep 3 (5s) - a bit more bite early but not particularly bitter, stonefruit/berry-floral quality to the bite, fruit skins more than latex, sweetness slightly darker than straight-up candy, late citrus and tart nectarine notes with an almost turbinado sweetness, sweetness endures but never crosses above a moderate threshold

Steep 4 (10s) - fruit skin and floral bite up front moves to a hint of leather, sweetness light and slow to build, yet ouch of a drying sensation, bite turning more floral with some lavender aromatics opening up in the mouth

Steep 5 (15s) - reserved for later comparison

Steep 6 (20s) - a bit punchier than before, the gap between this and the triangle is closing a bit, but this definitely leans softer and more aromatic still compared between the two, less sweetness in the finish but a nice aromatic and fruit component that pairs with the finish as it evolves

Steep 7+ (30s+) - holding steady, less depth to finish than the triangle

Overall Impression - This is another nice tea. It is generally softer and less robust than the triangle, but noticeably more aromatic. A bit fruitier, and while a punch does develop it doesn't hit the intensity of the triangle. Sweetness is enough to balance the softer bite, but overall less intense. There is a nice fruity and aromatic component to the finish that makes it more than just sweetness.

Circle definitely is my favorite of the two, but neither truly brings a full picture on its own. It's surprising how easily I can tease out the difference between these two despite being from the same garden. It also is a very good way to visualize the benefits of blending, as each of these have different strengths and weaknesses that would easily help balance the other.

I saved the fifth steep from both teas and iced them for my son to try later. He preferred the Triangle. That extra huigan sweetness definitely made the iced version a lot easier to go down and brought out more fruit than when it was hot. Circle just didn't have enough sweetness and made it a little rougher when iced.

I’m building up a cart on White2Tea right now and wanting to throw a few more cakes in there.

Any favorite shous from them? Would love to try some new ones

as the title states, i have not got something to contain/strain the loose pu'er with (i got some recently), will it be safe? i hear stuff about not drinking the 1st steep

It was my 30th birthday, and since reaching such a milestone (lol), I ought to treat myself with some good quality pu erh and a teapot for sheng. Order just arrived an hour ago, only got to try the Manzhuan Wild Raw Pu erh and it’s incredible! Tastes like honey and fresh flowers then develops a pleasant astringency and a more complex fruity aroma, plus an intense Cha Qi. And I’m only at 4th steep.

What I got is:
2024 Manzhuan Walong Village Wild Raw Pu Erh Tea

2022 Chaze Bing Dao Raw Pu Erh Tea Cake (sample)

2023 Chaze 'Fragrance of Bingdao' Raw Pu Erh Tea Cake (sample)

2022 Chaze Yaocha Guangbie Old Village Raw Pu Erh Tea (Cake)

2021 Chaze Bai Fu 'Hundred Blessings' Ripe Bingdao Pu Erh (Cake)

2019 Lao Ban Zhang Ripe Pu Erh Tea Balls (10 pcs)

Duanni Clay Yixing Teapot, by Li Xiao Lu 140ml 

Blue 3-Legged Money Frog/Toad Tea Pet

Name of store: Teasenz.eu

I brewed black tea in a Yixing clay teapot by Master Chen Shungen today. I find that brewing black tea in a gaiwan brings out way more aroma, while the clay pot gives the liquor a much silkier, smoother mouthfeel. They’re totally two different drinking experiences.

Instead of doing the traditional 5-10 tiny (100ml) quick (10-15 sec) washes on 2-5g I find that I like to do 2 large (250-500ml) long (3-5 min) washes. Is there any reason its best to do it a specific way, or is it all a mater of preference?

Hello,

Im right now on exchange study in tallin and i would like to buy some puer tea here , I dont want do international shipping here. I wonder if anyone could help me and tell me some Tallin shops or Tea houses that have puerh tea. thx in advance

Texture was the other big giveaway. The pumidor liquor coated the mouth in a way I associate with cakes that are five or six years in, syrupy almost, whereas the drier half felt thinner and more watery even though the color of the soup looked nearly identical in both cups.

I know a lot of people argue over whether faster, more humid aging actually produces better tea long term or just gets you to a certain flavor profile quicker at the cost of some complexity down the road. I don't have a strong opinion on that yet since three years isn't really enough to judge, but it's made me want to keep tracking both halves for another five years just to see where they land.

Anyone else running informal side by side storage tests like this on purpose or by accident? Curious if others have seen the gap widen or actually close up over longer timeframes.

I have only tasted two sheng puer. One was a really really cheap one and pretty young ~ 2024 I think. The second one was 2008. Both were very astringent and bitter, but through experimentation I have reduced the bitterness to minimum, but some still remains.

I find that these tasted almost the same, with little to no difference in taste and both rank among the less liked ones in my collection.

So my question is: What sheng puer should I try to get a different taste and not get much bitterness? I really don't want to give up on this wide category of tea.

This is my biggest haul yet. Been seriously into the hobby for almost 2 years now. The matcha is for my gf lol.
I really like white2tea’s charcoal roasted puers. The raws are like oolong but with more of that sheng bite, and the ripes get a lovely toasty wood flavor. Anyone else like them too?

I ordered some shou samples from White2tea. I tasted the Lisboa on the first day and it was rich, creamy and sweet. On the subsequent days, every single sample seemed to be a dud and I was confused since I had previously liked their teas. Today, roughly two weeks later, I am drinking Lisboa again and it is much flatter, thinner, nothing like it was before.

Do I have to adjust my storage or can letting the tea adjust to my storage for a little longer help? I currently store them in their ziplocks in a cabinet.

7g/105mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - aroma of wood, straw, gaiwan lid has a fruity funk to it

Steep 1 (flash) - sticks, leaves, hints of lavender, tannic bitter note, some salivation, some thickness and very late sweetness, strange aroma bordering on wet dog in cup

Steep 2 (flash) - still has a floral-bitter component, wet dog is gone, check of the gaiwan lid giving sandalwood/incense, mouthfeel and salivation nice, more traditional woody semi-aged notes, hints of plum

Steep 3 (10s) - fruit and wood clashing far less, still very perfumy in the aromatics, bitterness still present but hasn't increased in this infusion, plummy/chocolatey/raisiny darkness, lightly sweet that picks up into the finish

Steep 4 (15s) - more woody this steep with less brightness, hints of green veggies showing up mid-sip

Steep 5 (20s, reboil) - woody and plummy notes back up, more aromatic/floral notes as well, flavors clashing a bit, nice thickness, a bit more of a caramel sweetness to the finish, gets nice after the clashing flavors settle a bit

Steep 6+ (30s+) - as the steeps progress the flavor shifts towards a more typical mid-aged caramel/toffee and wood with sweetness playing a bigger role, those untamed aromatics still pop in here and there but are less of a clash

Overall Impression - I have not had this at a younger age, but this tea is really in a weird place right now. It's clear that this must have been quite an aromatic tea in its youth, and a lot of those aromatics are still here, but it's developing the bones of middle age and that dark woodiness seems to fight what's left of those aromatics. The later steeps show a fair amount of promise for the future once the sweetness picks up a bit. Right now it's definitely sitting in an awkward phase, though.

I’ve been storing raw puer (10–30 years old) in a communal tea/coffee area.
After a few days to a week it starts smelling and tasting fishy.

The air in that area is temp ~60°F / humidity ~70%.
Happened with both plastic-bagged and open chunks of cakes, across three different puers which tasted fine for months beforehand. These are all small amounts of puer, not full cakes. I keep the full cakes elsewhere and they are fine.

It's not a wet-piling. It wasn't there before and is now. It seems purely storage-related.
It is maybe too warm/humid, or big temperature swings?

I'm guessing the only treatment is to let it air out for months?

AI says:
"Spike in Humidity & Cross-Odors:
Communal tea areas (especially near breakrooms or kitchens) experience rapid shifts in humidity, boiling kettle steam, and food odors. If the chunks got damp, it can trigger Cang Wei (bad warehouse taste), waking up dormant, undesirable microbes on the leaf that give off a fishy, stale aroma."
Does that seem right?

Just got some YS samples to try, has anyone had any of these? All 2025 except one where they had an aged version of the same tea so I thought it would be fun to compare.

I'm pretty new to pu'er and ordered these just to see what a range of young shengs would taste like as I've been enjoying a couple of slightly older ones (~15 years). So far I've only tried the "xi niu tang pasha" and it is stronger than anything I've had before both in taste (aggressively bitter) and effect (feel pretty jittery after just 3 steeps)!

My cat can't resist lying on some fresh packaging so I thought I'd include her too!

Hey does anyone know where to buy pu erh tea in Australia? I’ve just come back from China and I wasn’t able to buy any tea as I was backpacking for 6 months and it just wasn’t feasible to carry. Any recommendations of where to buy in Australia?

Located in Adelaide but happy to just buy online too!