Hi Mike,

Well, see, I'm not exactly sure and yeah I've looked at your
page...I'm still pretty confused about the green/cooked thing, as far
as how to tell just by looking at it. It IS a darker brown color if
that helps, and the texture is somewhat course (i.e. it's not like a
pressed powder).When I wrote to the import export corp that was on the
box they sent me two pictures, and from them I am guessing that it's a
cooked puer. The smell of barn is kind of overwhelming though..is this
normal? (And I do mean barn, not new mown hay or anything like
that...)

Mike Petro > wrote in message >. ..
> Hi Melinda,
>
> Is this Asian Market tea a green or black puerh? It almost sounds like
> it may be a green which is a totally different beast. Next time you
> go to the market ask for "shu" puer (black/ripe/cooked) which is what
> your Upton sample most certainly was. If you print my Rosetta page and
> take it with you can point to the Chinese character that represents
> "shu" or the characters for "Xiao-Tuocha" which is the mini tuocha but
> make sure you ask for "shu" as Xiao-Tuocha is available in both green
> and black. http://www.pu-erh.net/rosetta.html
>
> Look at the other thread going on right now about Silk Road Teas and
> give David Hoffman a call. 415-488-9017 I highly recommend the Bamboo
> puer. You may also want to try a ripe golden melon.
>
> A few other good shu/ripe/black teas a
> http://www.teaspring.com/Superior-Yunnan-Pu-erh.asp
> http://www.sevencups.com/proddetail.php?prod=PT-PalPue
> http://www.sevencups.com/proddetail.php?prod=PT-AgePref
> http://store.yahoo.com/teastores/blbrpu.html
>
>
> Yes, oyster knives, letter openers, and special puer knives all work
> well. I also keep a clean set of channel-lock pliers in my tea drawer
> for the really hard cakes.
>
> Hope this helped,
>
>
> Mike Petro
> http://www.pu-erh.net
> remove the "filter" in my email address to reply