Sheng and Shou TTB?
There have been a few questions about flavored puerh. I was planning to poll people shortly before sending the box out, but if people want to discuss it now, it’s fine with me. Between shu and smoky sheng, we already have a lot of strong aromas in the box, so that isn’t a deal-breaker.
I myself would prefer just straight Shengs and shous. Get to appreciate the complexity of them both instead of having to worry about fighting through the flavors to appreciate the actual puerh. That’s just me. If a poll is taken and flavored wins, I’ll roll with it.
Unflavored definitely gets my vote. If people do decide to go with flavored I’ll withdraw from consideration. Just not for me :)
Ditto what Tea Junkie said. I don’t want to sample flavored teas, but would have no objection to others sharing them.
I agree with Tea Junkie and AnnaEA. I’d prefer unflavored, but if others want to share flavored, I have no objection, as long as they are wrapped properly so as not to contaminate the unflavored ones in the box.
Doesn’t matter to me. There really isn’t that many flavored pu’ers (ie, pu’er mixed with strawberry/citrus/whatever) out there, I seem to always buy them for fun.
But yeah, I can understand peeps not wanting crazy choco strawberry pu’er, but what about pu’er like this? 2013 Yunnan Sourcing Ripe Pu-erh and Snow Chrysanthemum tea mini cake http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_product=434&controller=product what that be a no if we went all unflavored? Or those pu’ers stuffed in oranges? (I’m just trying to define everything really well, if that makes sense)
Doesn’t matter much to me. I may have some extra flavored puerhs. We did quite a few flavored puerhs with our 1989 blended puerh as the base, which I’m sure borders on heresy. I could always add those but wouldn’t want to add something that would make someone else want to leave the box. I do have the Yunnan Sourcing tea that Awkward Soul mentioned above and could share it but again I wouldn’t want to add something that would make someone else lose interest in the box.
Blended/scented with flowers is fine with me. Flavored just opens up allergen issues that would force me to withdraw. Please don’t feel bad if you all decide on flavored, it’s not a big deal at all.
I have no problem with just adding unflavored puerh.
cookies-Are your allergies serious enough that cross contamination could be an issue? Just checking, considering that these puerhs are coming from people’s homes, where there is potential for contamination from surfaces, hands that aren’t thoroughly sanitized & gloved, and storage areas.
No, I’m fine with that. I do swaps all the time. I’d just be overly cautious with the possibility of them being in the same box. But, again, don’t feel bad at all if you guys want to do flavored!
It wouldn’t matter to me, but since the idea is objected by multiple people, I choose their side.
The consensus seems to be to stay unflavored. Awkward Soul / Oolong Owl made a good point that the line can be a bit blurred. I’d say use your judgement WRT semi-traditional flavorings like tangerine pu-erh etc. If the non-tea flavor seems very strong, please leave it out.
To be honest, I’m a sheng drinker who’s a bit concerned about all the shou in the box. We all need to be careful about doing a good job of sealing the bags.
Maybe it would be a good idea to use some good heavy duty freezer ziplock bags for sheng and shou to keep them separate for travel?
I would prefer unflavored myself.
Dr Jim – I am putting the following pu in the mail today (on my way to the PO right now):
2011 Yunnan Sourcing “Hui Run” Ripe
2014 Dayi Recipe 7582 Raw (Mandala Tea)
2014 Jing Mai Shan Raw (Mandala)
Rolled Sheng Balls (Misty Peak Tea)
2012 Heart of the Old Tree Sheng (Mandala)
Mandala Temple Stairs Ripe Mini Tuos
2013 Ontario 1357 Shou (Whisepring Pines)
Status Update:
I’m starting to think it will be March before I see any of my (late) November tea order from China. I keep reading about the dock slowdown, and thinking about my tea slowly rocking on a ship moored outside Long Beach harbor. Sigh. Next time I’ll pay for air shipment.
So, alternate plan: I placed an order with PuerhShop, which arrived this week. This is mostly samples, so there may be smaller amounts of more tea. I’ve also taken a second look at my pile of samples to see what I am willing to part with.
I’ve also received significant amounts of tea from MzPriss, AnnaEA, and Stacy (Butiki). So the inventory looks something like this: About 22 teas with 20 grams or more, and about 20 samples: a couple with only a few grams but mostly on the order of 10-15 grams. I haven’t done a careful sort, but it looks like it is pretty evenly divided between shu and sheng.
I’m currently waiting for an order of sample bags to arrive. Also, MzPriss said she might want to add something to what she’s already sent. When these items arrive, I’ll be ready to send out the box, hopefully late next week.
When we actually start mailing the box, I intend to start a new thread, so keep an eye open (I’ll also paste a note here). That thread will have a shipping order. At the moment, the following people have said they want to participate and are following me:
Awkward Soul / Oolong Owl, madametj, Tea junkie, AnnaEA, cookies, MzPriss, Tealizzy, Dr Jim, Butiki Teas (Stacy), KiwiDelight, Cwyn, Cheri, boychik.
Dexter posted on the initial thread but didn’t follow me and hasn’t posted on the thread for 2 weeks. DEXTER: If you are interested please let me know ASAP.
Actually, I am the one who started this discussion. So obviously, I want it. We even pm ed each other.
Ah, good luck everyone! Don’t forget to post your reviews so we know which ones were good :)
OK. I just got the last (very generous) package from MzPriss, and am finally ready to mail the box. It will go out tomorrow!
Please watch for my post in a new topic. This is necessary because only the person who starts the thread is permitted to change the initial post, and if experience is any guide, we will probably have a number of changes.
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