Michael Plant wrote:
...I'm not entirely sure that I'm not harming my teas' potential by using
the particular pot I dedicated to Pu-erh. While the tea tastes good and
smells fine in cup, there is a "funky" smell from the pot itself sometimes
that disturbs me. This pot is about 8 ounces, and is made of what appears
to
be rather porous clay, probably at a lower firing, judging from the
"clunk"
as opposed to "clink" of the tapped surface. It's a factory production. I
had bought it new and used it for Pu-erhs most of its life. This is a bit
discouraging.

I certainly wouldn't discard a piece of pottery just because it smells. As
Sasha says, you can boil it for sterility, unless the relevant bugs crept in
from a Yellowstone hotsping or a deep-ocean thermal vent. If you want to
clean out the pores complete, just let it sit with warm, dilute bleach for
an hour. Then boil it in dilute tea solution to neutralize any residual
bleach, and start again.

If the bad smell isn't actually affecting the taste of tea, who cares
anyway? All true gastronomes know that the finest taste in the world is
durian, whose accompanying smell may be the worst: a living (though it
smells long-dead) embodiment of Taoist perfection.

-DM

Dog Ma /25/04
reply w/o spam

Michael Plant wrote:
...I'm not entirely sure that I'm not harming my teas' potential by using
the particular pot I dedicated to Pu-erh. While the tea tastes good and
smells fine in cup, there is a "funky" smell from the pot itself sometimes
that disturbs me. This pot is about 8 ounces, and is made of what appears
to
be rather porous clay, probably at a lower firing, judging from the
"clunk"
as opposed to "clink" of the tapped surface. It's a factory production. I
had bought it new and used it for Pu-erhs most of its life. This is a bit
discouraging.

I certainly wouldn't discard a piece of pottery just because it smells. As
Sasha says, you can boil it for sterility, unless the relevant bugs crept in
from a Yellowstone hotsping or a deep-ocean thermal vent. If you want to
clean out the pores complete, just let it sit with warm, dilute bleach for
an hour. Then boil it in dilute tea solution to neutralize any residual
bleach, and start again.

If the bad smell isn't actually affecting the taste of tea, who cares
anyway? All true gastronomes know that the finest taste in the world is
durian, whose accompanying smell may be the worst: a living (though it
smells long-dead) embodiment of Taoist perfection.

-DM


Here's the deal: Completely dry, the inside of the pot smells fresh and
fine. Leaves of most damp green Pu-erhs within it smell as they should;
however, the wet leaves of others smell strangely funky. Undoubtedly it's
the nature of the leaves. Call off the search. Crisis averted. Seriously, I
am/was (overly) concerned because some pretty extravagent (sp?) Pu-erhs are
being brewed therein, and it's the only Pu-erh pot I've got. At the moment.
And, as I said, it's a personal friend of mine.

I doubt very much that the true gastronomes you mention above would consider
the smell of durian in any way bad. Durian smells as durian is meant to
smell. Just god's way of separating the men from the boys. Obviously, bleach
is OK since you recommended it. Nonetheless something within me baulks.

Listening to Fischer-Dieskau sing Mahler's renditions of Ruekert and
drinking Tea Gallery's Espresso Oolong. There are times when both are
perfect, and this is the time.

Michael

Oh Falky you don't say! I broke the mammoth tusk the last time I used it on
a fossilized golden melon pu'er!

:")

Danny
"Falky foo" wrote in message
. com...
I hear yak horn reacts badly with all sorts of tea. Experts recommend
chunks of fossilized mammoth tusk.



"samarkand" wrote in message
...
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.

"Melinda" wrote in message
om...
OK, I bought a tuo cha (mini) from Upton awhile back and that was
fairly smooth, and right now what I have in the kitchen is a tuo cha
from my local Asian market that is...well, lemme just say that I'm
really not GETTING this whole Puer love thing. Could someone
(::cough:: Mike and Michael::cough: (or more than one someone) who
is knowledgeable recommend specifically to me a type (name, where to
get, specifics) that will be the best "introduction" to the world of
puer for me..I want to try again but I want to know that what I'm
drinking is representative of puer as a whole before I just bag it and
decide puer isn't for me. Something that's financially reasonable
would be nice (like under $10 or so? Under $15?) I really want to give
this a fair shake since I hear others' enjoyment of it. I'm not
positive what kind of puer I have from the Asia market...it was
inexpensive of course, and in a green and white box.

Oh BTW, I found that an oyster knife seems to work well to break
chunks off...I seem to remember reading that someone was looking for a
way to do that.

Thanks very much for helping out the puer newbie.

Melinda

"crymad" wrote in message
...
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

Oh yes, I wonder about that too, along with deep sea fishing - braving all
that harsh elements to get fish! & the tedious process a french chef has to
work through to get the stock just right! Or the number of laborious years
a sushi apprentice has to endure before he is allowed to wield the knife! Or
the untiring search for something one really enjoys! Hmm...to each his own
ambrosia or poison, isn't it?

"crymad" wrote in message
...
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

Oh yes, I wonder about that too, along with deep sea fishing - braving all
that harsh elements to get fish! & the tedious process a french chef has to
work through to get the stock just right! Or the number of laborious years
a sushi apprentice has to endure before he is allowed to wield the knife! Or
the untiring search for something one really enjoys! Hmm...to each his own
ambrosia or poison, isn't it?

If the bad smell isn't actually affecting the taste of tea, who cares
anyway? All true gastronomes know that the finest taste in the world is
durian, whose accompanying smell may be the worst: a living (though it
smells long-dead) embodiment of Taoist perfection.

-DM

Durian is my favourite fruit, but please qualify your statement about "All
true gastronomes know..." Is that a stated fact or is it your personal
opinion?

Sidetrack: Steam some fragrant rice with durian and you'll never want to
eat plain steam rice again! :") Yummy!

Danny

samarkand wrote:
Durian is my favourite fruit, but please qualify your statement about "All
true gastronomes know..." Is that a stated fact or is it your personal
opinion?

Neither - it's a flippant, nugatory and deliberately inflammatory
observation. Some people will do anything for attention. However, durian is
my favorite fruit. Too bad we can only get it frozen hereabouts, and then
usually the low-smell varieties. BTW, I've tried it with Pu-erh, thinking
they might ally. They didn't.

Sidetrack: Steam some fragrant rice with durian and you'll never want to
eat plain steam rice again! :") Yummy!

Agreed. Better, IMO: steam some white mochi (sweet rice), perhaps with a
little basmati or jasmine rice to open the texture. Then cream in fresh
durian, and (redundantly, perhaps) a little cinnamon, nutmeg and/or mace.
Heaven in a bowl; rice pudding in its platonic ideal form. Ambrosia. Whew.

-DM

/28/04

If the bad smell isn't actually affecting the taste of tea, who cares
anyway? All true gastronomes know that the finest taste in the world is
durian, whose accompanying smell may be the worst: a living (though it
smells long-dead) embodiment of Taoist perfection.

-DM

Durian is my favourite fruit, but please qualify your statement about "All
true gastronomes know..." Is that a stated fact or is it your personal
opinion?

Stated fact.

Sidetrack: Steam some fragrant rice with durian and you'll never want to
eat plain steam rice again! :") Yummy!

I'll try it. Thanks.

Michael

You forgot to ladle a generous helping of coconut milk to the pudding!
You'll hit nirvana!

"Dog Ma 1" (reply w/o spam) wrote in message
...
samarkand wrote:
Durian is my favourite fruit, but please qualify your statement about
"All
true gastronomes know..." Is that a stated fact or is it your personal
opinion?

Neither - it's a flippant, nugatory and deliberately inflammatory
observation. Some people will do anything for attention. However, durian
is
my favorite fruit. Too bad we can only get it frozen hereabouts, and then
usually the low-smell varieties. BTW, I've tried it with Pu-erh, thinking
they might ally. They didn't.

Sidetrack: Steam some fragrant rice with durian and you'll never want
to
eat plain steam rice again! :") Yummy!

Agreed. Better, IMO: steam some white mochi (sweet rice), perhaps with a
little basmati or jasmine rice to open the texture. Then cream in fresh
durian, and (redundantly, perhaps) a little cinnamon, nutmeg and/or mace.
Heaven in a bowl; rice pudding in its platonic ideal form. Ambrosia. Whew.

-DM

You forgot to ladle a generous helping of coconut milk to the pudding!
You'll hit nirvana!

"Dog Ma 1" (reply w/o spam) wrote in message
...
samarkand wrote:
Durian is my favourite fruit, but please qualify your statement about
"All
true gastronomes know..." Is that a stated fact or is it your personal
opinion?

Neither - it's a flippant, nugatory and deliberately inflammatory
observation. Some people will do anything for attention. However, durian
is
my favorite fruit. Too bad we can only get it frozen hereabouts, and then
usually the low-smell varieties. BTW, I've tried it with Pu-erh, thinking
they might ally. They didn't.

Sidetrack: Steam some fragrant rice with durian and you'll never want
to
eat plain steam rice again! :") Yummy!

Agreed. Better, IMO: steam some white mochi (sweet rice), perhaps with a
little basmati or jasmine rice to open the texture. Then cream in fresh
durian, and (redundantly, perhaps) a little cinnamon, nutmeg and/or mace.
Heaven in a bowl; rice pudding in its platonic ideal form. Ambrosia. Whew.

-DM