Thread: New Tea Samples on order

Quick update: Partial second order has arrived. I will inventory it this weekend and let you know what has arrived. The rest of the order should arrive within the next couple of days. Make your reservations for samples from this order now. If you want to purchase a full cake/brick, PM me for prices.

Best regards,

Here are the teas that arrived on Friday. Others should be arrive in the next couple of days:

2000 Fu Hai "7536" Green Mark Raw Aged Pu-erh tea cake
2000 Long Yuan Hao - Yi Wu Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea
2003 CNNP "Yi Wu High Mountain Wild Arbor" Raw Pu-erh
2006 Fu Cha Ju * Ai Lao Mountain * Raw Pu-erh Tea
2007 Xi-Zhi Hao * Classic 8582 * Raw Pu-erh Cake

Premium Tie Guan Yin of Anxi Oolong Tea

For members that orders a more extensive set of these samples, I will provide a complete shipment once I have the entire order available.

Best regards,

OK, all of the new teas have now arrived!
After doing a final round of calculations, due to the good pricing that I received from Scott at YSLLC, I am reducing prices from the original post by approximately 10%. See below:

Green Pu-erh teas in 25 gram samples:
2000 Fu Hai "7536" Green Mark Raw Aged Pu-erh tea cake - $4.75
2000 Long Yuan Hao - Yi Wu Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea - $5.30
2003 CNNP "Yi Wu High Mountain Wild Arbor" Raw Pu-erh - $3.00
2003 Jing Mai Round Cake * Tai Lian Tea Factory - $4.50
2005 Xiaguan Ancient Wild Tree Raw Pu-erh tea - $3.60
2005 Lincang Tea Co "Gu Shu Zhen Pin" Pu-erh tea - $2.35
2006 Mengku Certified Organic Single-Estate Pu-erh Tea - $2.75
2006 Fu Cha Ju * Ai Lao Mountain * Raw Pu-erh Tea - $3.10
2007 Xi-Zhi Hao * Classic 8582 * Raw Pu-erh Cake - $2.75
2008 Lao Ban Zhang Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea cake - $3.15
2008 Hai Lang Hao * Lao Ban Zhang & Man'E Ancient Arbor cake - $4.55

Ripe Pu-erh teas in 25 gram samples:
1997 Xiaguan Aged Ripe Pu-erh Tea Brick - $7.70
2000 Langhe Tea Factory * Aged Ripe tea of Menghai - $4.50
2000 Zhong Cha * Simao Gu Pu-er Ripe Pu-erh tea cake - $3.55
2001 White Dragon of Jinggu Ripe Pu-erh tea - $3.55

Oolong teas in 25 gram samples:
Big Red Robe Wu Yi Rock Tea Fujian Oolong - $2.25
Premium Tie Guan Yin of Anxi Oolong Tea - $3.85

OK, you all have to promise NOT to laugh if one or two of these pictures is upside down or sideways (I don't read Chinese) but here are the recent acquisitions that are available as sample or cakes/brick purchases. Thought you might enjoy some good ol' tea porn!

These teas are now shipping. Get yours while they last!

I have sampled two of the green pu-erh so far and they were both very nice. I think you will enjoy the selection.

I enjoyed a really fine tea from this group this morning, 2000 Long Yuan Hao - Yi Wu Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea. This is one really nice tea. I think I will save some of this for additional aging.

For the Oolong tea lovers, I can personally vouch for the Big Red Robe Wu Yi Rock Tea Fujian Oolong. I've been sampling some all day, and it is great, if I do say so myself.

Can't let Stephen have all the fun. I thought I'd let you all know that I ordered some samples. What held me back so long? Not knowing anything about the leaves and how to use them. I've had some before, probably the ripened, at Chinese restaurants, but it's nothing like the raw leaves I bought at my local tea shop last week. She aged it herself. Cup after cup, it produces a great flavour. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to comparing what I have with the samples I've ordered.

As an addendum:
I've learned that "washing" your tea, that is brewing for up to one minute then dumping that off before brewing your drink will eliminate 80-90% of the caffeine in the wash!

X

2008 Lao Ban Zhang Wild Arbor Pu-erh tea cake. Here is the description from Scott's site: "Members of the Mengku Tea Factory made an expedition to remote area near Banzhang mountain to obtain the leaves for these cakes. The leaves are from trees 400 to 500 years old that were heavily cut during the Cultural Revolution. The trunk is still intact and in the 35 years since the trees have continued to grow and produce excellent quality Pu-erh with that special Banzhang taste and penetrating perfume-like aroma. When brewed is golden yellow and takes 15 or more infusions, each infusion with it's own taste and gradually less bitter and ineffably sweet.

The cakes are made from the highest grade Ban Zhang raw material and are entirely spring 2008 production. The price of premium Ban Zhang raw material has surpassed other tea mountains, because it is the most sought after. Many producers use just 10% to 20% Ban Zhang material to give their blended cakes enough "oomph" to make them taste good.
A little more background. I have known these sellers since 2005. They were one of the earliest distributors of Shuangjiang Mengku tea in Kunming and were my suppliers for Mengku products in 2005 and 2006. The Lao Ban Zhang teas were something that they did themselves as a side-project. Since they did not identify their teas, I just started calling the teas "Mengku Lao Ban Zhang". They started sourcing teas from this area of Ban Zhang in 2003, again in 2005. In 2007, they produced a Lao Ban Zhang tea of spring material and used the "Chun Jian" style wrapper of Shuangjiang Mengku but instead of "chun jian" written on the wrapper, it was written "Lao Ban Zhang". This wrapper was produced in very limited quantities and was sold entirely to "Bank of China - Yunnan Branch" for gifting purposes.
2008 Update!!!
This year's wrapper is simple in design with the 禅 symbol in the middle.禅 meaning is: [chán] meditation, Zen, Dhyana. It is often used in tandem with the character 坐 [zuò] sit;（坐禅), the two of which together mean "sitting in meditation" or Zen Buddhism.You might want to have a sit down after drinking a round of this "cha qi" rich tea!
This cake is 100% Ban Zhang Wild Ancient Arbor material!
Product Name: Lao Ban Zhang Brick
Harvest time: Spring 2008
Ingredients: Sun-dried Pu-erh from centuries old trees at Lao Ban Zhang
Produced by Members of Mengku Shuangjiang Tea Factory"

I like this tea a lot. I will try and provide more of a description later when I have experienced a few more infusions.