With very few exceptions (three, actually), all of my Puerh experience has been
black or cooked or whatever you want to call it. That's one reason that it was
great to continue my education in green, uncooked Puerhs with Michael Ryan at
mandjs.com.

He was friendly, returned emails quickly and his suggestions were actually
helpful without trying to upsell me as some of the local shops do. His
selection was varied and he worked with me on the shipping. In fact, since my
order put me between shipping weight classes, he just threw samples in the box
until I got the most bang for my shipping buck.

Opening a big, intercontinental, box of varying shaped Puerh straight from
China is a cool experience all by itself. Including samples, I'm looking at 11
Puerhs, 8 of them green. I've started sampling them in Yixing pots, using ½ as
many grams as ounces of water (boiled at sea level for those interested). I
have been brewing them for 30 sec., 1 minute, and 2 minutes with additional
steepings optional. While this method is helping me to get through them with
enough uniformity and quickly enough to compare them, some of them really
benefit from real gung fu preparation (more leaf & shorter steeps).

I'll try to post some reviews as soon as I can get my palate and vocabulary to
a level that might make them useful.

I have no connection to mandjs.com except as described herein and reading
Michael on the internet.
--Tom
-oo-
""\o~
------------------------------------
"Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto."
Terrance

2/2/04



Opening a big, intercontinental, box of varying shaped Puerh straight from
China is a cool experience all by itself.

Yes, I love getting those packages.

Including samples, I'm looking at
11 Puerhs, 8 of them green. I've started sampling them in Yixing pots, using
as many grams as ounces of water (boiled at sea level for those interested).
I have been brewing them for 30 sec., 1 minute, and 2 minutes with
additional
steepings optional. While this method is helping me to get through them with
enough uniformity and quickly enough to compare them, some of them really
benefit from real gung fu preparation (more leaf & shorter steeps).

I'm happy just hearing about it. Hope you are enjoy them. I gungfu pu-erh,
but some Chinese acquaintances don't. When you finish your samples, you'll
be well enough "educated" to pretty much know what you like.

I'll try to post some reviews as soon as I can get my palate and vocabulary to
a level that might make them useful.

Palates never stop changing, IMHO. As for vocabulary, please *don't* give
that too much thought; analogy and ideosyncratic description are best, much
better than the "official" word list, again IMHO.

I have no connection to mandjs.com except as described herein and reading
Michael on the internet.

I have samples of Michael's six Don Cong teas, drinking Wu Dong Bai Yie at
the moment, which is a an experience of note. Anyway, I'm happy.

Michael

"Tom" wrote in message
...

.....it was great to continue my education in green, uncooked Puerhs with
Michael Ryan at
mandjs.com.

He was friendly, returned emails quickly and his suggestions were actually
helpful without trying to upsell me as some of the local shops do.

I can only second this. His goods are of high quality, and he gives friendly
and good advice.
I got a package from him a few days ago with some absolutely lovely yixing
teapots,
He (or his wife ;-) ) had put in a very nice selection of pu'erh samples
which I
have saved for a tasting session this weekend, something I'm really looking
forward to.

I have no connection to mandjs.com except as described herein and reading
Michael on the internet.

Neither do I.

Lars

Lars /5/04



"Tom" wrote in message
...

.....it was great to continue my education in green, uncooked Puerhs with
Michael Ryan at
mandjs.com.

He was friendly, returned emails quickly and his suggestions were actually
helpful without trying to upsell me as some of the local shops do.

I can only second this. His goods are of high quality, and he gives friendly
and good advice.
I got a package from him a few days ago with some absolutely lovely yixing
teapots,
He (or his wife ;-) ) had put in a very nice selection of pu'erh samples
which I
have saved for a tasting session this weekend, something I'm really looking
forward to.

I have no connection to mandjs.com except as described herein and reading
Michael on the internet.

Neither do I.

Lars




Lars,

Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them. I'm looking at a couple of dem der (that is,
"those") teapots for myself.

Michael

"Michael Plant" wrote in message
...
Lars,

Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them. I'm looking at a couple of dem der (that is,
"those") teapots for myself.

If you go to www.mandjs.com and have a look at productsteapotsyixing
teapotsnature, I bought the first two, called 'artisans green zi sha' and
'top grade mixed zhu ni'. While I'm certainly no expert on yixing teapots my
impression of these pots a
1. They are beautiful!
2. The clay and the handywork seems very good
3. They pour perfectly
4. The price is at the same level or maybe a bit higher than other yixing
teapots I've seen or bought earlier that seem to be of lesser quality.

The shipping cost from China isn't much higher than the shipping cost from
the US for me, but that may of course be a consideration for some on this
list.

Lykke til med tekannene!
(Good luck with the teapots!)

Lars

They look beautiful.
Congrats.


Subject: Puerh Tasting and Vendor Praise
From: "Lars Mehlum"
Date: 2/7/2004 2:54 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:


"Michael Plant" wrote in message
...
Lars,

Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them. I'm looking at a couple of dem der (that is,
"those") teapots for myself.

If you go to www.mandjs.com and have a look at productsteapotsyixing
teapotsnature, I bought the first two, called 'artisans green zi sha' and
'top grade mixed zhu ni'. While I'm certainly no expert on yixing teapots my
impression of these pots a
1. They are beautiful!
2. The clay and the handywork seems very good
3. They pour perfectly
4. The price is at the same level or maybe a bit higher than other yixing
teapots I've seen or bought earlier that seem to be of lesser quality.

The shipping cost from China isn't much higher than the shipping cost from
the US for me, but that may of course be a consideration for some on this
list.

Lykke til med tekannene!
(Good luck with the teapots!)

Lars










--Tom
-oo-
""\o~
------------------------------------
"Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto."
Terrance

Michael Plant wrote in message ...
Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them.

Michael,

I've recently got "Laughing Arrow" by Wang Chin Ming from M&J's and
it's absolutely striking work of art. The workmanship and clay are
superb and teapot is full of spirit. Well worth the money. I've been a
patron of Michael Ryan's business for a while now and ALL teapots and
Puerh I've got from him have been great. In case you wonder, my
favorite for now is Xia Guan Tuo Cha Supreme Grade Uncooked 2003 (just
order another 10 kg). If you have any questions please feel free to
contact me here (in forum) or off line (yuri_pragin#comcast.net).

Thanks!

Michael Plant wrote in message ...
Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them.

Michael,

I've recently got "Laughing Arrow" by Wang Chin Ming from M&J's and
it's absolutely striking work of art. The workmanship and clay are
superb and teapot is full of spirit. Well worth the money. I've been a
patron of Michael Ryan's business for a while now and ALL teapots and
Puerh I've got from him have been great. In case you wonder, my
favorite for now is Xia Guan Tuo Cha Supreme Grade Uncooked 2003 (just
order another 10 kg). If you have any questions please feel free to
contact me here (in forum or off line yuri_pragin#comcast.net).

Thanks!

Lars /7/04



"Michael Plant" wrote in message
...
Lars,

Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them. I'm looking at a couple of dem der (that is,
"those") teapots for myself.

If you go to www.mandjs.com and have a look at productsteapotsyixing
teapotsnature, I bought the first two, called 'artisans green zi sha' and
'top grade mixed zhu ni'. While I'm certainly no expert on yixing teapots my
impression of these pots a
1. They are beautiful!
2. The clay and the handywork seems very good
3. They pour perfectly
4. The price is at the same level or maybe a bit higher than other yixing
teapots I've seen or bought earlier that seem to be of lesser quality.

The shipping cost from China isn't much higher than the shipping cost from
the US for me, but that may of course be a consideration for some on this
list.

Lykke til med tekannene!
(Good luck with the teapots!)

Mange tak sku' du have.

The ones you got are really nice: clean, bright, and good quality, it seems.
Hope you enjoy them. Are you going to dedicate them to any particular type
of tea or will they be generalists? (I'm struggling with this issue now.)

Michael

Yuriy 2/8/04


Michael Plant wrote in message
...
Wow. Which of the teapots did you get, may I ask? I'm very interested to
know how you like them.

Michael,

I've recently got "Laughing Arrow" by Wang Chin Ming from M&J's and
it's absolutely striking work of art. The workmanship and clay are
superb and teapot is full of spirit. Well worth the money. I've been a
patron of Michael Ryan's business for a while now and ALL teapots and
Puerh I've got from him have been great. In case you wonder, my
favorite for now is Xia Guan Tuo Cha Supreme Grade Uncooked 2003 (just
order another 10 kg). If you have any questions please feel free to
contact me here (in forum) or off line (yuri_pragin#comcast.net).

Thanks!


So Yuri,

Do you use the 10 kg for one cup, or do you distribute this one over time
and tea? Hee hee. I've seldom thought much of Tuo Chas, although they are
wonderfully convenient, so I'd be askanse (sp?) about this one. Maybe they
are bigger than tuo chas, which are usually truly cup sized?)

I'm on my way to the M&J site to have a look at the WCM LA you mentioned.
I'll talk more with you about this off-group.

Thanks.
Michael

Thanks.

Michael

"Yuriy Pragin" wrote in message

Well worth the money. I've been a
patron of *******'s business for a while now and ALL teapots and
Puerh I've got from him have been great. In case you wonder, my
favorite for now is Xia Guan Tuo Cha Supreme Grade Uncooked 2003 (just
order another 10 kg). If you have any questions please feel free to
contact me here (in forum)

You've drunk 10 kg of tea ? Or you work as a retailer for ******* ? What
did they say at the custom ?

Kuri

All I can say about personal testimonials in this ng is caveat emptor.
You don't have to be smart to drive a Mercedes just rich. So enjoy
what everybody else is buying and drinking. When I serve tea you'll
never know how much it cost. If you prefer Puerh over Vintage Oolong
you won't be back.

Jim

Space 2/9/04


All I can say about personal testimonials in this ng is caveat emptor.
You don't have to be smart to drive a Mercedes just rich. So enjoy
what everybody else is buying and drinking. When I serve tea you'll
never know how much it cost. If you prefer Puerh over Vintage Oolong
you won't be back.

Jim

While I appreciate your comment, I don't necessarily understand your last
line. What's this about Puerh and Vintage Oolong? Was that a reference to
cost of one or the other?

Michael

Yuriy 2/9/04


(Space Cowboy) wrote in message
. com...
You don't have to be smart to drive a Mercedes just rich. So enjoy
what everybody else is buying and drinking.

I've been asked for my opinion, so I gave it. You are right, you don't
have to be smart to drive a Mercedes, but hey, I enjoy it none the
less. The point is not in brand, but in quality. Unfortunately quality
goods are expensive, so I prefer have less but better quality. I'm
enjoying what I can afford, do you have a problem with that?


Generally, I want what *for me* is the best, and I'm willing to drink less
and pay more for whatever quantity I can afford, if that is what it takes.
Yuri, I think you hit the nail on the head. Besides, I am personally quite
comfortable with my wealth.

Michael

If you guys don't shutup I'm going to start talking about my Yugo.
Here's a riddle for the Mercedes crowd. I just came back from
visiting a local tea merchant and he pointed out a reputable tea book
no longer in print where the English author said to brew Yinzhen 15
minutes while others would assume the conventional wisdom is multiple
short infusions gongfu method. I think I know why there is some merit
to that statement by the English author. What is your opinion?

Jim

Michael Plant wrote in message ...
Yuriy 2/9/04


(Space Cowboy) wrote in message
. com...
You don't have to be smart to drive a Mercedes just rich. So enjoy
what everybody else is buying and drinking.

I've been asked for my opinion, so I gave it. You are right, you don't
have to be smart to drive a Mercedes, but hey, I enjoy it none the
less. The point is not in brand, but in quality. Unfortunately quality
goods are expensive, so I prefer have less but better quality. I'm
enjoying what I can afford, do you have a problem with that?


Generally, I want what *for me* is the best, and I'm willing to drink less
and pay more for whatever quantity I can afford, if that is what it takes.
Yuri, I think you hit the nail on the head. Besides, I am personally quite
comfortable with my wealth.

Michael