"Space Cowboy" > wrote:

>Is that the post when you <insert flame here>

Actually this is the post where I go back to talking about tea.

In the past 2 weeks I have received over 58kg worth of puerh from
several of our fine brethren in the East. Amongst them are 82
different kinds of puerh including 7 different types of Bamboo puerh,
15 different bingchas, 3 different types of brick puerh, some
mushroom, fangcha, 5 types of tuocha, 5 types of loose, some golden
melon, some pomelo, and an assortment of regular Chinese reds, blacks,
and greens.

I am now quite busy photographing, cataloging, brewing, and tasting
all of these fine specimens. Many of them will need some aging before
they are ready for prime time, however, there are also many that are
quite tasty right now and I have not even made it half way through
them yet.

Much of this is destined for friends and/or gifts, the rest is for my
collection. My personal style is to buy at least 2 of every cake I
intend to age. One is kept pristine and allowed to age for 20 years or
so, the other is sampled every year so that I can experience the cakes
as they mature. IMHO this is the best way to learn about puerh, you
can read all the books, read the newsgroups, talk to a bunch of Tea
Masters (which is sure to confuse you even further since no 2 of them
agree on anything), talk to all of the vendors, and even tour China,
but there is no better way to learn puerh than to develop your own
collection of "taste memories". Hehe, good notes help too.

BTW, I use about 6 different yixing pots that are each dedicated to a
different genre of puerh. Every one of them came from an online vendor
residing in China. (Just to get back on topic somewhat)


Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net
"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed."
Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.