graceatblb

I am so happy you enjoy this tea. I was enamored by it the first time I drank it while on my last buying trip. I also am intrigues by how many comment about this tea’s mood-lifting capabiliteas! It totally helped get me out of jet lag and just makes me feel so good. Already working on buying this years crop from the same place! Will have is in loose-leaf and will also press 250 gram cakes of it this year… thank you for taking the time to write up your tasting, my friend!

The Wild Monk deserves mindful tasting, but I’d add that it one of my favorite chuggable thermos teas when I am on the go. In fact, my wife and I make this in large mason jars before work sometimes. I love the way it seems to open up my chest and and lungs with a cooling sensation. And yes, by the third refill of the ol’ jar that enjoyable sweetness really does take over. The cakes are tightly compressed and we like to steam them apart – it is remarkable how this dense little cake makes such a huge pile of loose leaf.

Garret: This tea is definitely something special. It was one of my first (and best) experiences with sheng pu-er. The mood lift was definitely unexpected but very welcome. I will be buying a cake (or two) with my next order.

I do have a question about pu-er cake storage. Is it okay to store them in cardboard boxes? I’m fairly new to pu-er and I don’t want to destroy them.

Jamie: Any tea that I can stand up to a thermos is a tea for me. I carry my 16oz thermos everywhere. I still prefer my fancypants teacups :) I never thought of using mason jars to drink tea. Sounds kind of brilliant. I have a couple stored in my kitchen from my jam making escapade/tragedy.

Add one of these to the top of your mason jar and you’re in business! http://cuppow.com/

A jar without a handle will get pretty warm to the touch depending on water temp, though.

A cardboard box will do just fine for storing your cakes and they can be left in normal dry storage conditions (counter top or cupboard, etc), but there is more to consider if you are looking for long term storage and aging. Good discussion and a chime-in from Garret here: http://steepster.com/discuss/4608-puerh-storage-and-purchasing-advice?post_id=80109

A cake of Wild Monk never lasts more than a couple weeks at my house, so I just steam it, break it up, and put it in loosely sealed container on the counter.

Those Cuppow things look pretty awesome. Especially for iced tea which I really don’t drink much of but would if I could drink it out of a mason jar.

That thread is super helpful. I put them in cardboard boxes on a bookshelf. Tea doesn’t tend to last too long around me so I don’t think I’m planning on aging them unless I get really ambitious. I wish I had more cupboard space not in a kitchen to store them.

I could see myself becoming obsessed with Wild Monk and hoarding cakes of it. I will probably buy a cake when I finish at least one of the ones on my bookshelf.