Happy nose.

Truth be told, I love sniffing my cakes of pu-erh before going to sleep more than drinking them. The better Xiaguans are the perfect lullaby to my sleepy nose.

Vessels of Tea

As it is wiser to spend money on tea than on tea wares, I have not gone crazy with yixing follies and have vowed to make do with what was already in my china cabinet.

I never liked the gaiwan- white porcelain is too clinical for me. I feel too burdened by using a yixing pot as my style is too much wrongfu. I love my rustic Korean teapots best.

This little wee teapot on the left from Insadong is perfect for brewing tiny amounts so I can have several sessions of pu-erh. The giant teapot on the right is made in the traditional Korean way with firewood and potter's wheel.

M&J's a dud vendor?

If you remember M&J(now Royal Tea Garden) sent me a Canger tuocha with a bite taken out of it, I was upset but Peter e-mailed me an apology and said they would give me a new next time I ordered.

I also see on pu-erh.net that Mike doesn't do business with them anymore due to bad experiences.

Health effects of young pu-erh

Should young shengs should be drunk regularly? I've read on LJ of older drinkers(ahem) not taking kindly -stomach wise- to too much young sheng. Vendors keep pushing new cakes as "excellent to drink now".

Raw pu-erh is reputed to have a cooling effect. However I've had young shengs with so much qi that my hands and head would heat up after a few cups.

I can't imagine the cigarette tasting smoky brews could be too good for you...

Shipment Disaster

After waiting a month for my teas to arrive from the slow boat from China, I was crestfallen to receive a box full of dreadfully moldy teas. The original box must have gotten wet and exploded. USPS threw the wet cakes into a black trash bag giving rise to a fantastic growth of green mold.

Scott(YSLLC) says he doesn't pack beengs in airtight plastic as they can also mold inside them in the month of transport. Even if I received a refund, it's always sad to see good tea gone to compost.