> There does indeed seem to be a lot of (well, let's put it kindly)
> somewhat exaggerated claims of age and origin in the pu-erh world,
> even among otherwise reputable shops.

Some people are so uptight about the age thing with puer. Just assume
the puer is 40 years old, or even 20 years old before you buy it, how
do you know under what conditions that puer was stored? What about if
it came in contact with undesirable odors, etc.? Some things you can't
tell by looking or by smelling. And if you can't sample it, then how
will you know if it's good tea or not? And does the age justify the
price? So many people are going for aged puer recently the prices are
so crazy.

In Hong Kong tea shops, you see lots of old puer wrapped in Saran
wrap. Some of that stuff looks like it's been "fixed". The outer edges
are rough, and the surface is kind of rough too. At one time, it could
have had mold on the surface that someone scraped away before they
wrapped it in plastic wrap to nicely display on a store shelf. Some
moldy puer isn't going to taste as good as a non-moldy puer.

I personally only buy new, sheng puer (usually last year's harvest)
that's been sitting on store shelves. They will allow you to sample
it. And if I can sample it and I like drinking the tea right at that
moment, then, if I buy some and store it properly, it's got to be way
much better after 10 years (if I don't drink it up before then).
Rationale: If I like it now, I will like it later.