Category Archives: Article

Correcting Your Storage & Preventing Mold. What are Safe Parameters?

Posted on September 8, 2018 by

So you got mold? This is a real risk for anyone aging pu’erh, especially those with setups designed to add some form of humidity. After you deal with the immediate outbreak, you essentially have two options. Scrap your setup and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh | 11 Comments

How Much Does Ripe Pu’erh Cost from Western Vendors?

Posted on August 25, 2018 by

Since I’ve crunched a bunch of numbers for other pu’erh categories, I figured I should do the same for ripe pu’erh. Ripe pu’erh is not exactly the most talked about tea, but it is generally considered to be affordable and … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Ripe Pu'erh | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

YQH Retrospective & The YQH Value Spot

Posted on August 11, 2018 by

In our small little westerm tea community, there was quite a stir over YQH in 2015 and 2016. I’ll personally admit to being caught up in both the dialog and purchasing of these teas. YQH remains available via Emmett, the most important … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Drinking Report, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged | 18 Comments

Tea-Side, Vendor Profile & Interview

Posted on July 28, 2018 by

I had the pleasure of meeting tea vendors and Russian expats Valerii and Jane when I went to Chiang Mai. I had not been planning on any tea meetups on this trip, but Valerii happened to see I was traveling … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Anxi Oolong, Article, Long-form Article, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh, Taiwanese Oolong, Wuyi Oolong | Tagged | Leave a comment

Some Reasons You Should Consider Aging More Oolong & Less Pu’erh

Posted on July 14, 2018 by

Sometimes when I’m sipping a particularly delicious aged oolong, I’ll glance over at my tea fridge and then to my wine cooler and get some major self doubt. I enjoy drinking pu’erh and happen to own enough that I’ll be … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, High-Mountain Oolong, Low-Elevation Oolong, Oolong, Raw Pu'erh, Ripe Pu'erh, Taiwanese Oolong | 24 Comments

Rare Tea: Dry-Stored 1980s/1990s Zhongcha 7542

Posted on June 30, 2018 by

It wouldn’t be without the generosity of experienced tea hands that I’d be able to do posts like these. A sample was provided by Peter from a cake from Su’s collcetion. Thank you to both of you! About the Tea This … Continue reading →

Posted in Article, Drinking Report | Tagged | 5 Comments

Datapost: The Dearth of Aged Pu’erh Available From Western Facing Vendors

Posted on June 16, 2018 by

It’s no secret that aged pu’erh is scarce out west. The western vendor scene is dominated by vendors traveling to Yunnan bringing back predominantly young tea to sell. For this exercise, I added all of the older teas from western vendors … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Raw Pu'erh | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Five (+1) More Things I Like & Dislike. People Complaining About Price Hikes, Community Group Buys…

Posted on June 2, 2018 by

Five more things I like & dislike..

Posted in Article | 7 Comments

Missteps & Regrets on TeaDB

Posted on May 19, 2018 by

In the five years of TeaDB, we’ve made plenty of mistakes and said countless of dumb things in our hours of airtime on TeaDB. This is a list of areas where in retrospect I feel like I would’ve done stuff differently.

Posted in Article, Tea Learning, Tea Musings | 20 Comments

Some Thoughts & Problems With Traditionally Stored Pu’erh

Posted on May 5, 2018 by

85-90% of the tea being sold is young pu’erh, and the remainder is almost exclusively ripe or 5-10 year old semi-pu’erh. Old-school, traditionally stored pu’erh is an afterthought or an afterthought of an afterthought… This sort of tea can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Aged Pu'erh, Article, Raw Pu'erh | 14 Comments