Caroline's booty

Caroline brought me back a hefty box of tea from Beijing Chado and Meliandao, more than 16 beengs of which I have only been slowly and pleasurably trying out the cakes.

These are douji cakes she rightly chose along with a obligatory stack of Yinji 6 FTM which is a regret. But gifts of pu-erh are always accepted with gratitude.

2004 Bad Year for Menghai

"A good example is Meng Hai Tea Factory’s 2004 production. The company was struggled with funding problem and could not afford good raw materials. As a result of that, most of the company’s 2004 productions were of poor quality. Many Pu-erh collectors shunned away from those products." from teatalk101.blogspot.com

It is very difficult to get any information on vintages.  Can anyone even make a generalization that 2007 was not a good year because of the hyper-inflation in maocha?

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.