[Michael] And yesterday I saw pictures of several cakes over 150 years
old.

[Jing] Cakes? I thought that the cakes were started to be produced
during the very late of the Qing Dynasty to "Min Guo (started from
1912)", before that, puerh tea was a tribute tea that was consumed by
the royal familly only. And, the shape was the "Jin Gua (gold melon)"
like shape that were made by puerh tea buds. Those only two pieces of
Qing Dynasty tribute "Jin Gua" that are still avaiable in the museume
now are barely 120 year old...I wonder what are the cakes on the
pictures that you saw? Thanks!

About the Keemun, yes! You can keep it for a couple of years without
any problem. The liquor will become very smooth and its signature
fruity (mature apple flavor for me) flavor is still yielding...However,
if you want to store a red tea for aging, the Wuyi Zheng Shan Xiao
Zhong (lapsang souchong) would be a better choice. Just try one from
1994 today, it was still very tasty...even it is a "lower grading
(bigger leaves)" one. Slightly smoky hint with its typical dry fruit
flavor, yummie!

Jing


Michael Plant wrote:
> Hi Jennifer,
>
> It's important to say here that Keemun, unlike
> Pu'erh, can't be stashed away for years and
> years -- to my knowledge, that is; rather, a
> year or two of age seems to bring out its soft
> chocolate qualities. WuYi teas are also candidates
> for holding months before drinking, but
> only those that have been roasted well. I'm
> hearing that Dan Congs (Phoenix Mts) also
> take well to some age, but again, not at the
> Pu'erh level where 30 years is really good and
> 50 years is excellent. And yesterday I saw pictures
> of several cakes over 150 years old.
>
> Michael, rambling
>
>
> > Wow - I had no idea Keemun would improve with age. Are there other
> > teas, beside Puer, that improve with age? Everything I've read says to
> > consume tea within a couple of years.
> >
> > Jennifer
> >
> > Michael Plant wrote:
> >> Best news is that you can keep Keemun for a good long time, and
> >> it will only get better. So, when you find that special offering, you
> >> can stock up, and not worry about the tea going stale, provided you
> >> store it well.
> >>
> >> Michael
> >