Serwus!

I am going to visit Beijing in mid-October and would like to purchase
some pu=B4er cakes there. Could anyone recommend by name any particular
and reliable tea shop that specializes in pu=B4er? There are some
400-500 tea shops along Maliandao (and even one tea department store)
but it would take three days to check them all.=20

Yugen.

>I am going to visit Beijing in mid-October and would like to purchase
>some pu=B4er cakes there.

Actually, I would personally advise against buying tea too far North.
I realize that you probably won't have time to venture south, but it's
said that you will hardly be able to find a reliable shop anywhere
further north than Fujian. Hell, even when I went to Hong Kong, which
is right across the water from where I am, I couldn't find a shop that
sold anything than the same cheap stuff here for much more expensive.
Contary to popular belief, not every Chinese knows everything there is
to know about tea. I had a Beijinger and her parents in my house a
month or so ago and none of them had even heard of pu'er before. They
said, and this is true, that it's not in style to drink so many
different styles of tea in the north other than green tea and some red
tea; mostly restaurant grade.

I just caution you before you buy any "aged" cakes to really do your
homework before even considering it. The further away from the source
you go from the pu'er, the more expensive the tea is likely to be;
including the new tea which is very, very cheap here in the south.

Thank you Mydnight for you advice. I was In Beijing also about a year
ago and found the prices for some beautifully packed tea cakes of
dubious origin and questionable age very expensive. And of course being
an illiterate and possibly rich laowai I was also an easy target.
It is certainly true that most Chinese know in fact very little about
tea not to mention tea culture and history of tea. Once I showed a tea
brick to one intelligent Chinese university student from Beijing.
"What=B4s that!" was her reaction.=20
Yugen.

I am not sure I know the best places, but Yao market (shopping center) next
to the Proletarian Stadium has wonderful teashop on the very last floor in
the far right corner.
You can also taste things there - they will prepare gungfu for you in quite
fast and professional manner, no charge. I usually spend 2-3 hours there and
come back 200-300 bucks lighter and the tea last me for a year plus.
They also have a good choice of regular quality yixing china, very well
priced.

Sasha.


> wrote in message
oups.com...
Serwus!

I am going to visit Beijing in mid-October and would like to purchase
some pu´er cakes there. Could anyone recommend by name any particular
and reliable tea shop that specializes in pu´er? There are some
400-500 tea shops along Maliandao (and even one tea department store)
but it would take three days to check them all.

Yugen.