Pu erh Cakes?
Which Pu Erh Cakes do I want to try?
Where do I get a good one?
I saw these that Madametj posted and I found a few more after:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261407569237?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xin-Yi-Hao-Menghai-Tuo-Cha-Puer-Tea-100g-Ripe-New-Arrival-B94U/261407569291?trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23769%26meid%3D7758160563605854438%26pid%3D100009%26prg%3D10163%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D221413803314
Would anything like that be worth trying or is it probably crazy?
haha
What are some good ones and where to buy them?
They way I see it, the $1 ones look super cute, and are practically free so there isn’t much risk involved. I’m going to order some, and I don’t even know if I like puerh, haha
Mandala is one of my favorite places for pu’ers. My favorite one is not a cake – it’s loose and it is sublime: Special Dark. MMM for cakes, I like these:
Ripe:
Phatty Cake
Phatty Cake II
Noble Mark
Raw:
Wild Monk
Dealing with Garret is a pleasure and tea is amazing
Third… (but I personally like Noble Mark better than either of the phatty cakes – but that’s just my personal preference…)
MZ Priss said that Special Dark was her favorite:
http://shopmandalatea.com/ripe-pu-er/loose/special-dark.html
Noble Mark is my favorite: the cake and the loose are equally good.
http://shopmandalatea.com/ripe-pu-er/loose/noble-mark-ripe-pu-er-blend-2011.html
http://shopmandalatea.com/ripe-pu-er/cakes-bricks/250-gram-mandala-noble-mark-ripe-cake.html
(I’m sure others have their favorites….)
One of these days I’ll take the plunge and order some of the Mandala pu’ers sicne they seem to be the most recommended. It’s just kinda intimidating to me still (and expensive). XD;
So far, just like MzPriss, my favourites have been Special Dark for Shou, Wild Monk for Sheng. But there isn’t one of their pu’erh I’ve tried that I didn’t like!
No and No on those. They are the left overs from bigger cakes and bricks.
If you want real quality samples try Mandala, Verdant, Yunnan Sourcing, White2Tea, TeaUrchin, Berylleb King Tea (on Ebay) and Royal Tea Bay also from Ebay. No order of preference as they are all pretty good. If you are looking for something specific just message me as I know where to get about anything in the puerh field.
^^Listen to this guy. Will save you a lot of money, time, and from drinking bad tea.
I’m just getting into Puer myself. It’s definitely a whole new world.
the good news is that you can get really good ones for relatively cheap. But you don’t want to do it by trial and error buying whole cakes or just picking random stuff from different vendors. Get some samples, read the descriptions and people’s ratings.
Yunnan Sourcing is great, but it’s overwhelming. The other boutique ones are better as far as narrowing down, but little pricier.
In general, anything Menghai is going to be considered good to great so long as you buy from credible vendor. And they are very affordable. But the flavors vary from woody, to fishy, to funky, to leathery, to sweet, to complex. So you kind of have to dive in, but do so in limited quantity.
To be honest right now I just want to sample some good stuff so I know good stuff from bad. :)
I don’t have a lot of money tho so really expensive stuff with no cheap sample size will put me off. :c If I can sample it first, then I can always consider pricier stuff. It is, after all, cheaper than most other drinks AND hobbies! But samples are a must.
If you know this stuff mrmopar, maybe if you have some good ones you’d recommend, a swap for samples would be possible?
You can check my cupboard and see if anything interests you. Word of warning be prepared to see a lot! LOL!
Wowza Yowza mrmopar. I had never checked out your cupboard but had to take a quick look. How do you decide what tea to have in the morning??!!
Arshness, I am a beginner to pu’erh and I’m so glad I was steered to the right places. There hasn’t been a one at Mandala I don’t like and Garret is wonderful. I did get curious and try some of those little cakes on Ebay but was not impressed.
Ubacat I just grab something that sounds interesting or brew a sample up from the sample box. Some are investments for the future and some are coming of age to drink now.
I agree with Mrmopar. If you want to sample different puerhs without investing in full cakes, then yunnan sourcing or the puerh shop may be your best options. Both offer several samples.
Arshness – I just looked over your list of tea ratings. Just a thought…….Given that so much of what you drink falls into the category of flavored teas, it might be good to work on flavored puerh for awhile to see how your palate develops. Many Steepster members have been introduced to the world of puerh in this way. For most of us, the straight up puerh cakes take awhile to grow into. MrMopar can tell you that I’m now quite heavily into puerh but I certainly did not start out this way.
I’ve listed a few flavored puerhs found to be enjoyable by many Steepster members and you can order these in smaller quantities to try out and enjoy some variety. You may have already tried some of these but if not, could be worth a try……
Zen Tea’s Vanilla Mint Puerh
Steap Shoppe’s Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Lupicia’s Chocolate & Strawberry Puerh
Tealux’s Maple Chai Puerh
Angelina’s Teas Scottish Caramel
Each of these has several Steepster tasting notes and I believe each company has others to try if you decide to place an order. Also Adagio has several interesting Puerhs and it looks like you might have just enjoyed trying one of them. Good luck and enjoy the exploration!
Only downfall is some of the pu’er base in blends is they are not that great and they tend to be all ripe and not raw. More commonly, you get that fermented flavor that’ll turn someone off quick from pu’er. Since they are also blends, the western steeping style often makes the pu’er really strong.
Though – best pu’er blend I’ve had is Lupicia’s Chocolate Strawberry (sadly not available in sample sizes). That one is a must try!
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