Lewis Perin wrote:

"samarkand" writes:

Hi Melinda,

I'm not sure how others feel about using an oyster knife on pu'er, but I
personally refrain from using steel or metal object to break open my pu'er.
I use a yak's horn to crack open the pu'er into larger pieces, and a
japanese chopstick (wooden, unlacquered) to wriggle loose the leaves.

I don't own a yak horn, but somehow I coubt that any horn could crack
open some of the tightly compressed Puerhs I've had. Lately I've been
thinking about dedicating a saw to this purpose. Seriously.

Would a Japanese box lathe for dried bonito work? The blades on some
can be adjusted, so you're not limited to producing only paper thin
shavings. A drawer under the blade collects the shavings and slides out
for easy retrieval. A lovely artifact for all object fetishists.

I'm compelled to ask, though: If drinking Puerh demands brute strength
and hand tools, is it really something to be exalted? Seriously.

--crymad