Special Offer: MYSTERY BOX (Age Tea)

Photo Set – 1990s Hong Kong Classic (Ripe)

Photo Set – 2003 Yiwu (Special Grade)

  

A composition of buds and tender top leaves

The Resting Period

Seasoned clay pitcher used for resting the brew.

 

"Good things come to those who wait"

Violet Fane (Mary M. Singleton) 1892

 

Commemoration of 10th Blog Anniversary - Special Listing

How time flies … 

 

I started blogging quite late but what sometimes feel like a blink of an eye I am now into my 10th year. Hitting the milestone puts me in a reflective mood, ironically more so than the 2 decades of being a puerh tea collector. I believe the reason being, blogging allows me to organize my thoughts and think more clearly and deeply about the issues that I encounter. Time and experience has reinforced my belief that the category of age puerh tea is one of the most challenging to get into and understand. In part the amazing breadth of diversity and constant changing nature of age puerh require considerable time to get to know and become familiar. The last decade has seen puerh tea as a product become increasingly more commercialize with new and modern productions going off on a tangent from traditional norms. Furthermore rising inflation, energy and labor costs makes for worrying times. With this in mind I wanted to commemorate the 10th Blog Anniversary by putting together a “Special Listing” aimed at making age tea more accessible to drink, learn and enjoy! The selection of age tea comes from a previous era in tea production (Pre-2004). It is a time period that remains my primary focus and one that is fast disappearing into what will only appear in the history of our memories.

 

Charting the Evolution of Age Puerh Tea

Have you ever considered how an age puerh tea evolves over time? What would constitute as a benchmark in the drinkability of puerh tea at different stages of its maturity? As a puerh tea enthusiast and collector, how you see this playing out will greatly influence how you approach the selection of puerh tea for enjoyment and storage.

The charts below capture 4 general scenarios in the most basic form. What is true, false … possible or unrealistic? These are some of the beliefs and perceptions from puerh enthusiasts that I have come across.

 

1990s Wild Brick

1990s Wild Brick raw puerh comprised of big leaves

Tea Beyond the Border – Yiwu Impression 2

  

An old style production