So I'm a college student with a ripe addiction...recommendations?
Hi Steepsterites! So I think the title really says it all—I’m a college student who probably shouldn’t be spending nearly the money I spend on tea. The only problem is, I have a pretty bad ripe pu’erh addiction.
What I’m wondering is does anyone have recommendations on really good, moderately-priced ripe teas I should try? I’ve been trying to try as many as I can but haven’t hit on any I really love. Thanks!
I was just thinking the same lines, and going to start a thread on it, so awesome, I can join in the fun.
im buying a cake of the 2014 golden lily white lotus, its really good.
Also the 2008 song of chi tse is another that has been recommended by AllanK among others, its cheaper I think.
Yes, the 2008 Song of Chi Tse from Berylleb King Tea is among the best and is not expensive. It has basically cleared of fermentation taste completely, at least the one I had did.
ive actually bought one recently based on your recommendation, just waiting for it to arrive
I’ve recently bought the Yunnan Sourcing one that they sell under a different name. Don’t know if that one has cleared yet though. It is actually quite unusual for a 2008 tea to have cleared. But there was virtually no fermentation taste in the Song of Chi Tse. It is the only ripe that young in my experience that has cleared. It also had no wet storage taste either.
The Menghai Lao Cha bricks hit hard for a pretty cheap price. Usually 2 to 3 years of nuggets pressed into bricks. They have some decent sweetness to them.
I third the Cha Tou nuggets suggestion. Especially for budget wise – the gram / steeping ratio is very high with these! (Edited because I saw AS / OO already mentioned this as well!)
Yep, Song of Chi Tse http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-Yunnan-Menghai-Dayi-Song-of-Chi-Tse-Ripe-Pu-er-Tea-Free-Shipping-/221826038916?var=&hash=item33a5dcbc84:m:m73dvRd5SBiGMicyllRn8Mg Highly recommend.
Puerh-shop doesn’t always have the best rep, but some of their ZenPuer label are really nice for the money.
Lao Cha Tou nuggets are often cheap. Yunnan Sourcing, Mandala Tea and White2Tea have them, my favorite being the latter. But what makes LCT a great deal is they resteep like MAD (I always get around 20) then you can go in and boil them on the stove for the final steeping. I always have a stash around as they are pretty durable tea.
Menghai V93 cakes are cheap too (YS has a whole sleeve of 2015 for $17 / 500g), especially if you get the youngest one and stash it to drink later. However they are a lower ferment, so the profile is a little different, so snag an older one to check it out first.
White2Tea’s Old reliable is pretty solid but also great priced http://www.white2tea.com/tea-shop/2015-old-reliable-ripe-puer-house-blend/ Is it also in the Basics2 set, which is a deal too as you get the free shipping.
Thanks for the recommendations! How do the different Lao Cha Tous you’ve tried compare?
I also really like the 2005 bo wen, its cheap, and was my turning point for liking shou. Its got a nice body and reminded me enough of coffee for me to start craving it. $28, another I will be ordering from YS, along with the 2014 GLWL.
Happy Lucky’s tea house has a loose leaf shou that not too expensive. Still one of my favorites!
http://www.happyluckys.com/china-velour-leaf-pu-er/
Some of my favorite cheap ripe’s right now from yunnansourcing.com are the 2011 Mu Ye Chun “gong ting ripe cake” 400g cake for $15. In fact I’m brewing that one up as I type. Also good value are 2012 Haiwan “Recipe 908” for $7.20 per 200g cake and as previously mentioned Menghai V93 is always a good value. You may look at pu-erhtea.com as they have really low prices. The tea is good, but not spectacular but the prices are about the lowest I’ve seen. I just got an order from them and it needs to air out (packaged poorly for the trip overseas) but the tea is good.
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