Got a bunch of teacakes from the 90s
The original owner was an avid tea drinker, teapot collector and historian. I guess he knew his stuff. He isn't around anymore and I got no one to ask.
Is this tea cake good?
When I checked last week, it was 7 sold in the last 20h. These things must be flying off the shelves!
Been extensively researching some chinese sources about the Tea market this year along and I've watched countless mardarin livestreams in China - wanted to summarize some of my findings for the community. So 2026 can be summarized as a bear market for the Tea markets in China - especially for the high end / ancient tree markets. This is a really good clean-up for the entire market as it was originally rife with fraud / deceptive livestreams that marketed terrace farmed teas as luxury high end gu shu teas. I feel like the entire industry is changing for the better
luxury markets are moving a lot slower - Chinese spending on luxury goods in general have dropped, so tea is no exception. I've been tracking taobao tea leaderboards for a while. Last year top leaders would be selling 300,000 RMB + in tea per night and now numbers have dropped significantly to ~ 30,000 for top sellers on some slow nights.
in June 2026 CCTV Financial Investigation 财经调查 exposed the widespread scams on livestreaming channels. The exposed livestream operations for lying about their revenue share with farmers and blatant tea fraud - where teas such as Bingdao Old Village would go up for as low as 733 RMB / KG when real prices are 16,000 RMB/kg. This has cause channels such as YiYao tea to completely change their business model and move away from "buying cheap from tea farmers" to producing their own teas. This has shaken a lot of consumers out of the buying tea online.
My personal contact in 勐海 stated that the streets are pretty much empty and the trading scene is pretty much decimated (I can provide photos if this community is interested). He's also taking about medium sized businesses dumping stock to stay afloat.
Overall this is actually really good for the average buyer as prices are going down.
Don't think I've ever tried Pu-erh. Is there a particularly good starter variety? Or maybe a sample pack you can recommend.
I'm getting a 375g cake for about 80$ which is around 7800 INR. That is a lot of money. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever tried this one. If yes then how was it? What's the flavours like and is this worth the $$$. From what my friend who I am buying this from has told me this is Qie Luo Xiang Aged Shu Pu-Erh.
7x Unassuming Local Guy 2019 (2026 press) - NEW
7x Malone 2024/2026 (2026 press) - NEW
7x Obstruction One 2025 (2026 press) - NEW
5x Anzac (or Afterclang) - same problem as last year
5x She Graduates 2023/2024 (2025 press)
5x Baby Cobra 2026 - NEW
3x Afterclang (or Anzac) - same problem as last year
3x Baratteuee 2022 (2025 press)
3x Sloop 2024 (2025 press)
3x Respect at the Buckhorn 2023 (2025 press)
3x 921 2023 (2025 press)
3x Slim Lake 2025
3x Veldt 2022 (2025 press)
3x Chasing Shadows 2024 (2025 press)
3x Pulchritude 2023 (2025 press)
3x Halo 2026 - NEW
66 minis, 16 different raw puers, 5 new after last year
Just ordered myself one of these oyster shuckers. I like that it's not ultra sharp and comfortable to hold. We shall see how it does when it gets here.
7g/105mL, just off boil
Wash (10s) - light cooked rice, floral funky notes on gaiwan lid
Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, floral notes reminiscent of unroasted oolong, almost- gritty thickness on the tongue, light sweetness opening up quickly, light oily bite
Steep 2 (flash) - thickness that turns sweet continues, oiliness intensifies and lingers, bit of a roughness to that oil, floral and fruity top notes becoming more prominent
Steep 3 (5s) - aromas remain prevalent, oiliness remains but becoming less sharp in flavor, sweetness steps back and starts to move into the finish
Steep 4 (10s, reboil) - thick mouthfeel continues to take the lead, florals then open up a few seconds after a swallow, sweetness getting pushed further and further back into the finish before it starts to bloom, each sip is a very prolonged development
Steep 5 (15s) - becoming more mouthwatering now, each sip requires patience for it to fully unfurl, retronasal opens up big floral notes, body feels very loose
Steep 6 (25s) - oiliness starting to lose some thickness but still giving some oomph behind the florals until the sweetness opens up, sweetness starting to move back up a bit as that oiliness fades, grittiness noticeable again under the oily viscosity
Steep 7+ (40s+) - becoming more crisp with time as the viscosity becomes more moderate, that grittiness seems to be an astringency that was coated over by the oiliness, that astringency not coming off as aggressive since salivation provides some lubrication
Overall Impression - The texture on this tea is massively thick right from the start. The florals are pretty intense at the start, but then everything seems to take a back seat to that textural component. Sweetness and aromatics are quite nice when they hit on each sip.
In the end this always brings me to the conundrum with young Yiwu for me. First of all, the premium microterroirs bring a significant premium on price. But beyond that, when young most Yiwu lacks the immediacy that Banzhang and other Menghai region teas have. There is less attack-and-release here, and even though the huigan sweetness here is significantly higher than many other young Yiwu, it just doesn't have the payoff for me to justify the price.
I mainly drink tea / puer for the energy it provides and the taste is just a secondary bonus. After today's heavenly cup of shou, I got curious if there are any teas out there that tastes like doo doo but provides a better energy than any of the best tasting cakes. Thanks!
I've been binge watching shorts made by The Green Tea House USA. Despite their name, what attracted me the most were their shorts about pu'erh tea! It looks so interesting, and I'd love to try it. Chinese medicine has also been sort of a special interest of mine, so I'm very interested to see the benefits of drinking it. Tea as medicine is not a strange thing in my house either, as my mother is British (Her mother is Irish and her father was Scottish) and she's basically always drinking tea. Mostly throat coat and sleepy time, though.
What are the most beginner friendly ways to get into drinking pu'erh tea? I was hoping that, much like my recent adventures with matcha, there were some instant powders I could try, but unfortunately, it seems not. The only one I could find on Amazon was around $21. Can you all help a girl out? Cheers!
I recently acquired a really beaten up tetsubin and after a couple of days of restorations it is in great shape. I have been drinking water from it for about a week now and it can really help some teas that lack body and/or are a bit too bitter and sour.
The 2003 Baba Brown is a very good example of this. The tea has quite a wispy body when brewed with water from a normal kettle, but it gets bolstered by the tetsubin water. The tea normally taste a bit like tart cherries, but the water also helps with this, it tones down the sour notes and lets the more subtle flavours shine.
I love the silver inlays inside the handle of the tetsubin. I believe this to be a Kyoto style tetsubin.
If someone is good with makers marks/stamps I can post some picks as google lens has not been of any use.
Haven't tasted yet but seems cool
I tried the 2018 Dayi Jin Zhen Bai Lian today. I gave it a 20 second rinse before the first steep. Unlike the 2008 7572, the taste of Jin Zhen Bai Lian is more of a subtle wood and floral note. I prefer the 7572 because I like that punchy woody taste, but my stomach is much more agreeable with Jin Zhen Bai Lian. It looks like I might buy more of it instead.
It really seems like the older the tea is with puerh, the better it tastes. My mystery 2003 ripe puer still beats them both.
On a side note, I still have 95% of that 2003 mystery cake waiting for a Brisbane Redditor to pick up. It looks like he changed his mind though, since he never set a time to pick up from me. 😂😅😅
7g/105mL, just off boil
Wash (10s) - aroma light straw/hay with hints of florals, touch of pungency on gaiwan lid
Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, crisp green note initially, slickness and sweetness on tongue starts quickly, paired with salivation,
Steep 2 (flash) - hint of leather, viscosity in soup, sweetness coming up a bit more, hint of melon on slurp, flavor subdued, warmth radiating from chest, light lemon candy setting up in finish, tea burps are straight up lemonade, big gulp brings cooked rice and straw notes and a thick viscosity
Steep 3 (5s) - a hint of early punchiness leads to lemon licorice rope, sweetness isn't quite blasting off yet but the mouthfeel remains substantial, lemon candy salivation starting to increase through the finish
Steep 4 (15s) - unctuous viscosity with some punchy leather notes that are rapidly overtaken by slick sweet citrus,
Steep 5 (20s, reboil) - that leathery pungency is up but practically no bitterness along with it, mouthfeel off the charts
Steep 6 (30s) - lemon has taken over from the beginning, mouthfeel still holding strong
Steep 7+ (45s+) - still keeps holding on for many more steeps
Overall Impression - Hekai Single Trees is a desert island tea for me, and this might be the best version I've had of it. There is a little less punch this year than I recall from last year, but otherwise all the intensity is there. This tea tastes great, but the mouthfeel and finish are what sets this one apart. Phenomenal release this year.
Curious the range of answers, vendors, regions. Can be shou/hei cha/Liu bao or any dark post fermented tea.
So as I start this tea adventure I will probably start small with a few cakes here and there so a mylar bag and a Boveda should be good. I learned my lesson from pipe tobacco where I bought too much of one blend and ended up with too many similar ones. I'm guessing tea is different but there seems to be a whole ton of options out there. I created this label so it's easy to identify what is in the bag. Seems like it'll work and it'll give me something to do while I wait for my order. Hahaha!
Sampled a 2008 Dayi 7572 today. The dry tea doesn’t have that bright, punchy fragrance you get from a raw cake like 2008 7542, but the liquor definitely made up for it.
First steep tasted great, with sweet timber notes and zero bitterness. The longer it steeped, the sweeter and more woody it got. The second steep was honestly perfect, as the flavor opened up into an even better sweet timber profile.
Compared to a mystery 2003 ripe puerh I’ve been drinking (unknown storage), the 7572 lacks that deep medicinal edge that the 2003 cake has. Still, I really liked the profile.
The only downside? It seems puerh isn’t something my stomach can process on a daily basis without getting upset, even with food in my system. Absolute bummer because the flavor is right where I want it to be!
Has anyone else loved the flavor of classic factory shou but found their digestive system just couldn't handle it as a daily drinker? Did switching to lighter, bud-heavy recipes help, or did you just have to reserve it for occasional sessions?
I've been trying alllllllll kinds of teas over the last few months. I've really enjoyed just about every Sheng and Shou I've tried, but I just had this 2012 Fengquin Ancient Tree Chun Jian and it feels like it opened my horizons. It doesn't taste like Scotch, but it has all the things that I love about scotch going for it. Deep complexity, tobacco notes, earthy sweet tones, incredibly pleasing astringency. It's wildly delicious to me.
Any suggestions for shengs that have the same kind of qualities this one does? Or ones that are completely different but have the kind of evolving complexity this one did?
Thank you!
Lao Cha Tou is actually a by-product of shou puerh. Heat and moisture soften the leaves. Microbial activity creates sticky materials, including pectin, while fungal threads and the weight of the pile help bind and press the leaves into hard lumps.
These tight lumps release flavor slowly. That is why lao cha tou often tastes sweet and smooth and lasts for many steeps compare with final product.
Clean aroma, sweet and smooth liquor, and no sour, moldy, or drying finish.