My eyes were glazed over various vendor websites in an effort to find a decent aged sheng for purchase when I found this gem on ebay:
Semen Cassiae Seeds Mini Tuo cha Ripe Pu-erh Tea ...Relaxing Bowel
Is semen and relaxing bowel a cracking way to sell tea? I put it on my ebay watch list to find out. I definitely know many people who would benefit from relaxation of the bowel. Back to my original task at hand, I ended up in steepster.com which I am not familiar with. I noticed that verdanttea.com is one of the most commented vendors for pu-erh. Then I ran across this bit of crazy price inflation from their website for a YongMing 2006 Star of Bulang Cake:
(actually they mean cake here)
$156 for a 2006 cake from the low-end Yong Ming Factory of the double elephant trunk logo? My eyes popped because $156 for a 2006 cake means it is one of the most premium cakes in the world on the ranks of Yan Qing Hao and Xi Zhi Hao! However they do not show the front wrapper for the Star of Bulang. The fact that a Yong Ming Bulang Yinhao cake which sold for $9.50 by yuncha on Ebay recently makes me wonder how this supposed premium "Star of Bulang" blend from Yong Ming factory compares to the $9.50 version. Normally when a factory tries to introduce premium versions, they can charge only so much above their current offerings. (Update: I found the said premium tea for taobao for $17.)
The reason I even wrote this post to begin with is the fact that at a glance I found Verdant Teas to have some of the most expensive prices I have ever encountered on the internet. I have posted the explanation given by
vendor David Duckler of Verdant Tea for the hyper-inflated price of his Star of Bulang in the comments section of this post so you can decide for yourself. He says his cake is premium and "Our markup is extremely low." However MarshalN confirms for me that YongMing is a low-end vendor and their 2006 cakes don't go for more than 100RMB(~$15) in China. Regardless, $156 for a 2006 sheng would make it probably one of the most expensive in the world, esp. for a Bulang which does not have the market hype of Lao Banzhang or Yiwu coming from a factory which lacks any premium brand recognition. Is this $150 Yong Ming Star of Bulang really 10x times better than the $10 version? Just as a comparison, Essence of Tea is selling 1998 Heng Li Chang Bulang for ~$180.
Down memory lane, I almost bought a YongMing Bulang cake from tuochatea and I am embarrassed to say I went for the Wild Elephant Valley beeng instead because it had a way cooler looking elephant wrapper than Yong Ming. (Actually I had been looking for a Chun Ming cake because who doesn't love two x'es on an elephant butt but I had to settle in the end.)
So I am back to the conundrum of looking for aged sheng on the internet. I would buy from Guang of Hou De but his "Aged Puerh" section is a little thin with four entries right now so Essence of Tea is my next best bet. I do have a friend visiting San Francisco from Hong Kong so this would be a last resort.
Hi, I can not say I'd bee too happy with Skip4tea - they don't reply to e-mails, don't offer samples, etc. I made a small order and did a mistake there (added more of one tea than I wanted) and cancelled the order - they say that the money would come back to my card in 14 days. After 14 days, I got an automatically generated message it would be another 14 days. After 20 days, I started writing e-mails, without any response. I had to ask my bank to withdraw the money back and hope they will eventually return.
By the way, a possibility for a mid-aged tea would be http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Pu_Erh_Tea_s/5.htm - the owner seems to be a good man, they response quickly and without problems. A parcel with most of their 1980-2000 stuff is on its way to me, I'll write about the teas as soon as I get them. Jakub
I totally admire your bravery for ordering from Skip4tea- the website scares me a bit- all that blinking and sliding marquee text. I definitely would appreciate if you would let me know how your experience from the thechineseteashop.com goes. I almost want to take a weekend trip to vancouver to try their shop.
Thanks for coming out of the Tea Closet... Hahaha.. remember reading your blog activity back in 2006.
It is an interesting phenomena, the returning tea blogger.
Looking forward to reading more of your unique perspective on "the black hole of tea", Puerh. It seems we all get sucked in one way or another, some more than others. Hahahaa...
Matt- thank you for your warm welcome. I'll try not to flame out. Honestly I don't know how MarshalN and Hobbes manage to write such insightful posts all these years and manage to keep the topic so lively.
This is David Duckler of Verdant Tea, Someone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
First off, I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I feel that the world of sheng in America is still a wild west of tea, new and untamed territory. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er. Sincerely, David Founder, Verdant Tea david@verdanttea.com
Hey, I thought I had just posted a comment, but let me repost if it got lost:
This is David Duckler of Verdant Tea, Someone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er. Sincerely, David Founder, Verdant Tea david@verdanttea.com
This is David Duckler of Verdant Tea, Someone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
First off, I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I feel that the world of sheng in America is still a wild west of tea, new and untamed territory. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er. Sincerely, David Founder, Verdant Tea david@verdanttea.com
Not Internet, but I was in Oakland Chinatown a few weeks ago and stumbled onto a shop that seemed to have a surprising variety of bricks and bings. I can't say anything about the quality or value because oolong a much more my thing than pu-er, but it was unusual, given that even at the best physical tea shops in the USA, (ie red blossom) the puer selection is typically pathetic compared to what you can find online, or in person in Asia. However, if there's somewhere where it would be, that makes sense it'd be there..the dudes working there barely spoke English, and I'd be surprised if another gringo had ever been in the store. I pretty much spoke mandarin the entire time with them (our common 2nd language), and drank a cheaper came with them for awhile. They also had some organic high mtns oolongs from Taiwan, which was also unusual. I don't remember exactly where it was, but if you are interested in taking a look, I'd be happy to scout it out next time I'm around there, or if you like, translate for you, and then actually learn something about puer myself via someone who actually knows what they're looking for :)
@ Nick, Good health tea company? I think thats what its called. Its hidden inside some building on webster st. I went there awhile back but they didn't speak english. If i recall they had legit modern DaYi but it was priced 2-3x what it sells for online. Theres also Golden Tea Shop on Franklin that has a bunch of cakes, they sell new DaYi for $150-350. Its possible the prices they had were for tongs but i didn't bother asking.
SPUD, I couldn't say. I can tell you all about any street in SF, but the only places whose addresses I remember In Oakland are along the Macarthur-Telegraph corridor. In my mind, most of Oakland is a sprawling sea of streets with no particular attraction, and everyone once in awhile, something in particular worth noting is plopped down in a spot without any particular reason. I don't remember the signage if there was any in English. It was one of many shops you see in any Chinatown that sells largely herbal medicine and various products, but which also often sell tea--this one selling much more tea and much more pu-erh than I usually see in these places. I know very little about Pu-Er compared to you people. I'm an wulong man. I had to look up DaYi; just makes me think of wuyi or perhaps dahongpao.. Found Golden Tea Shop to be not really much better than any of those anonymous medicinal shops..mostly just stale greens and oolongs in glass containers. In any case, as a former denizen of Taiwan who spent many memorable hours improving my Chinese through sharing tea with merchants who pour all day, it's nice to run into places or locales that remind me of that, where there's not that much going on, and people really don't speak English, in contrast to the feeding frenzy of SF Chinatown.
seems like essence of tea is one of the more reliable sources for over 10 year old sheng. There are a few early 2000 shengs on yunnan sourcing. I tried one such tou cha and it had strong savory flavor.
everyman tea company has some decent deals. Their current 1999 meng hai 100g at 15 pounds is great tea.
I have not tried aged sheng from thechineseteashop.com, but I did try an aged oolong from them and it was good quality tea. their prices seem reasonable.
chawang shop seems like a good vendor and has some fairly aged sheng.
You could try http://www.skip4tea.com/
ReplyDeleteI have never ordered from this vendor, so I can not comment on anything. Just sharing the link.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI can not say I'd bee too happy with Skip4tea - they don't reply to e-mails, don't offer samples, etc. I made a small order and did a mistake there (added more of one tea than I wanted) and cancelled the order - they say that the money would come back to my card in 14 days. After 14 days, I got an automatically generated message it would be another 14 days. After 20 days, I started writing e-mails, without any response. I had to ask my bank to withdraw the money back and hope they will eventually return.
By the way, a possibility for a mid-aged tea would be http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Pu_Erh_Tea_s/5.htm
- the owner seems to be a good man, they response quickly and without problems. A parcel with most of their 1980-2000 stuff is on its way to me, I'll write about the teas as soon as I get them.
Jakub
Jakub,
DeleteI totally admire your bravery for ordering from Skip4tea- the website scares me a bit- all that blinking and sliding marquee text. I definitely would appreciate if you would let me know how your experience from the thechineseteashop.com goes. I almost want to take a weekend trip to vancouver to try their shop.
hster
hster,
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming out of the Tea Closet... Hahaha.. remember reading your blog activity back in 2006.
It is an interesting phenomena, the returning tea blogger.
Looking forward to reading more of your unique perspective on "the black hole of tea", Puerh. It seems we all get sucked in one way or another, some more than others. Hahahaa...
Peace
Matt- thank you for your warm welcome. I'll try not to flame out. Honestly I don't know how MarshalN and Hobbes manage to write such insightful posts all these years and manage to keep the topic so lively.
Deletehster
This is David Duckler of Verdant Tea,
ReplyDeleteSomeone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
First off, I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I feel that the world of sheng in America is still a wild west of tea, new and untamed territory. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er.
Sincerely,
David
Founder, Verdant Tea
david@verdanttea.com
Hey, I thought I had just posted a comment, but let me repost if it got lost:
ReplyDeleteThis is David Duckler of Verdant Tea,
Someone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er.
Sincerely,
David
Founder, Verdant Tea
david@verdanttea.com
From - David Duckler
ReplyDeleteThis is David Duckler of Verdant Tea,
Someone who reads my tea blog was kind enough to send me a link here so that I can sort out this misunderstanding about our product.
First off, I am pleased to see more people venturing into the world of sheng pu'er. It is truly my love and joy. I feel that the world of sheng in America is still a wild west of tea, new and untamed territory. I wrote an investors guide to sheng on the Verdant Tea blog if you are interested.
I learned all that I know about tea in China working with the farmers and collecting their folk stories on the origins of tea, training under a pu'er master, tasting 5-10 pu'ers a day for months, and training formally in Chinese gongfu tea ceremony. After publishing research on contemporary tea culture for a Fulbright grant in Chinese and English, I extended my research term with a residency at Qingdao University and worked closely with a few friends (all of whom I now do business with).
I started Verdant Tea after I realized that I needed to share the actual teas that had changed my life, not just write about them. I am sharing this to give you a bit of foundation to trust me when I say that Verdant Tea is an honest business whose sole purpose is to share tea culture.
The tea you cite and compare to ours is not the same. To start, that is a 250g brick and ours is a 357g brick. Second, that one is listed as 'yinhao' and ours is a 'bulangzhixin' or Start of Bulang. The package is totally different, as is the tea inside. You might be aware of larger companies like Mengku or Xiaguan selling entry level tea at $10-$40 per brick, but you might also notice that they sell teas at and above $1000. We can't compare the two dramatically different bricks from Xiaguan any more than from Yongming. Just like Dragonwell green comes in a $2 an ounce variety and a $50 an ounce variety, so too does pu'er from the same workshop. That is the case in this situation.
We carefully curate our selection to do all the footwork in tasting so that you don't have to buy dozens of bricks from ebay. Yongming is the biggest workshop we work with. Many are little family-run operations, and them parting with teas at this level is unprecedented. You can read more about our process and why our prices are actually really low for what we sell. No other businesses that I know of are able to import directly from such small operations.
Our markup is extremely low. We sell the tea at a price that allows us to pay the farmers or workshop very well for entrusting us with so precious a product, and have enough left over for me to pay my two employees a fair salary. If you ever found the same brick online (though you would have to try it to be sure) you might find it a bit cheaper, but there is also a value added to our price with free trackable shipping, free samples, a guarantee of satisfaction and a return policy in addition to the work we do curating the collection and increasing your odds of finding what you will love on the first try.
As for pictures, workshops like Yongming have used two wrappers for the same pressing of the same brick, or one wrapper for two really different teas. They don't number batches like Mengku, so I really want to be as honest as possible and show the leaves in detail so that you can judge the brick itself. There is no intent to deceive or be clever. We are just trying to show you the tea to the best of our ability. I hadn't even thought of it in the way you describe. We try to be as transparent as possible, and offer sample packs and one ounce quantities so that people can be sure they love a tea before committing to more.
I hope this clears things up for you. I would really appreciate it if you revised this post to reflect the situation I am describing. If you have any further questions on this, or tea in general, please do get in touch directly. I wish you all the best as you explore the world of sheng pu'er.
Sincerely,
David
Founder, Verdant Tea
david@verdanttea.com
Not Internet, but I was in Oakland Chinatown a few weeks ago and stumbled onto a shop that seemed to have a surprising variety of bricks and bings. I can't say anything about the quality or value because oolong a much more my thing than pu-er, but it was unusual, given that even at the best physical tea shops in the USA, (ie red blossom) the puer selection is typically pathetic compared to what you can find online, or in person in Asia. However, if there's somewhere where it would be, that makes sense it'd be there..the dudes working there barely spoke English, and I'd be surprised if another gringo had ever been in the store. I pretty much spoke mandarin the entire time with them (our common 2nd language), and drank a cheaper came with them for awhile. They also had some organic high mtns oolongs from Taiwan, which was also unusual. I don't remember exactly where it was, but if you are interested in taking a look, I'd be happy to scout it out next time I'm around there, or if you like, translate for you, and then actually learn something about puer myself via someone who actually knows what they're looking for :)
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Delete@ Nick, Good health tea company? I think thats what its called. Its hidden inside some building on webster st. I went there awhile back but they didn't speak english. If i recall they had legit modern DaYi but it was priced 2-3x what it sells for online. Theres also Golden Tea Shop on Franklin that has a bunch of cakes, they sell new DaYi for $150-350. Its possible the prices they had were for tongs but i didn't bother asking.
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DeleteSPUD,
DeleteI couldn't say. I can tell you all about any street in SF, but the only places whose addresses I remember In Oakland are along the Macarthur-Telegraph corridor. In my mind, most of Oakland is a sprawling sea of streets with no particular attraction, and everyone once in awhile, something in particular worth noting is plopped down in a spot without any particular reason.
I don't remember the signage if there was any in English. It was one of many shops you see in any Chinatown that sells largely herbal medicine and various products, but which also often sell tea--this one selling much more tea and much more pu-erh than I usually see in these places.
I know very little about Pu-Er compared to you people. I'm an wulong man. I had to look up DaYi; just makes me think of wuyi or perhaps dahongpao..
Found Golden Tea Shop to be not really much better than any of those anonymous medicinal shops..mostly just stale greens and oolongs in glass containers.
In any case, as a former denizen of Taiwan who spent many memorable hours improving my Chinese through sharing tea with merchants who pour all day, it's nice to run into places or locales that remind me of that, where there's not that much going on, and people really don't speak English, in contrast to the feeding frenzy of SF Chinatown.
seems like essence of tea is one of the more reliable sources for over 10 year old sheng.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few early 2000 shengs on yunnan sourcing. I tried one such tou cha and it had strong savory flavor.
everyman tea company has some decent deals.
Their current 1999 meng hai 100g at 15 pounds is great tea.
I have not tried aged sheng from thechineseteashop.com, but I did try an aged oolong from them and it was good quality tea.
their prices seem reasonable.
chawang shop seems like a good vendor and has some fairly aged sheng.