Tea Trays, Yixing teapots, and Pu-erh tea help!
Hey everyone,
I’m new to the community and am just starting to get into Pu-erh teas. I’ve done some research about the tea and am completely fascinated by it! I’ve been looking around for a good Pu-erh tea to try but there are so many options. I’d like to ask the community for help. Does anyone have any suggestions for a starter Pu-erh I should try? Should I focus on raw or ripe first? I’ve also been looking into buying a tea tray and a Yixing teapot. Does anyone have any recommendations that are good quality but wont break the bank?
Thanks so much,
A broke college kid
An excellent ripe to try that’s not too expensive is the 2008 Song of Chi Tse by Berylleb King Tea on EBay. It is one of my favorite ripes and is an example of one that has cleared of it’s fermentation flavor. It is actually quite rare to come across on that has cleared and no longer tastes of fermentation. If you want to buy raw puerh tea I would say go with Yunnan Sourcing or White2Tea and order samples.
You can find tea trays on Yunnan Sourcing as well as yixing teapots at a reasonable price. If you want something cheaper in the way of yixing teapots there is an EBay vendor whom I like and sells some very inexpensive teapots.
http://stores.ebay.com/liwz88/Porcelain-and-Pottery-/i.html?fsub=2999043010&sid=1077450330&trksid=p4634.c0.m322
For tea trays an EBay seller called Shanghai Story is excellent too.
http://stores.ebay.com/ShanghaiStory/Serving-Tray-/i.html?fsub=4525801015&sid=150105705&trksid=p4634.c0.m322
You will be in good hands here. You also have some pu er drinking neighbors up your way.
Shou may be an easier start since sheng can be bitter. Try something from a major factory or one of the small quality vendors that we have on this site. Sheng, that is a different Dragon till you get used to it. That guy that posted above me is good at finding good shou and at good prices.
Correction both the guys above are good. Keep the cupboard updated along with the wishlist and you will have an easy time swapping with most of us. We all share on here with the pu er.
Follow people then you can get updates and private swap messages.
Ripe is usually the gateway to raw. Usually. Anyway, take up Liquid Proust on his starter set. He’s pretty much become the gatekeeper to that particular rabbit hole. I would also suggest getting in on the next Beginner’s Puerh Traveling Tea Box. Finally, White2Tea has some ripe and raw sets that are worth consideration, and a good value:
http://www.white2tea.com/tea-shop/product-category/tea-sample-sets/
As for teaware, get yourself a decent gaiwan and focus on the tea for now. All that other stuff comes later, particularly the yixing pots (though Amazon has some decent and inexpensive trays).
I use it a lot. was also used in the matrix, originally from alice in wonderland.
Firmly down the rabbit hole
Re the travelling tea box, there is a requirement to have a reasonable steepster history, so stay active, follow and be followed, write reviews, and keep your cupboard up to date. For more details see:
http://steepster.com/discuss/12545-puerh-beginners-ttb-on-its-way
As the others have said above, you’ve come to the right place.
If I was in your shoes I would buy this. It’s got everything and free shipping.
http://crimsonlotustea.com/collections/gongfu-tea-starter-sets/products/puerh-tea-gongfu-starter-set-free-shipping
As well , Crimson Lotus has some great teas. You could ask them about some samples.
That gongfu starter set from CTL is well worth the money! While you’re at CLT, they’ve also got a What is Puerh samples set: http://crimsonlotustea.com/collections/shou-ripe-puerh/products/what-is-puerh-three-tea-educational-tasting-set
You could do without a tea tray for now imo
My cheap drawers that I gongfu on now get stuck because of the amount of tea ive spilt on them has expanded the wood. For me at least, now is tea tray time :D
confession time. i dont even pour my tea around, i just have a plastic bag beneath a towel and a ziploc bowl on the side to pour sediment tea into hahaha! you would probably appreciate a tea tray nicely… even i would, but i dont see my self doing gongfu traditionally anytime soon.
You can manage gongfu tea preparation without investing in fancy teaware, just use any trays/plates and bowls/cups or whatever crockery you already have lying around as substitutes. Especially early in the tea journey, it is best to avoid expensive purchases you may regret later when your horizons widen.
A gaiwan and standard samples from reputable vendors is all one needs to start with.
This is good advice if you don’t want to invest a lot in teaware yet – and early on I think more and better teas should be. Even with a relatively large collection of teaware, I’ve found myself using a steak plate lately just because it looks good with my dry pour set up.
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