I remember seeing Yunnan tuocha in the green/white box in the
eighties. I've still got one. As far as I can remember loose Puerh
in tins was always available. I've got a Chinese tea sample set from
the seventies with a tin of Puer. I don't remember seeing the cakes
till late nineties. I remember there was a limitation on TCM imports
but now anything is available. You hear the horror stories of lacing
with US pharmeceuticals. Every so often we have a crackdown on
illegal Chinese imports.

Jim

"Alex Chaihorsky" > wrote in message .com>...
> BTW, what is crack cocaine? Is it a synthetic substance or a processed
> cocaine? I hear this name everywhere but never an intellegent explanation
> what is it. I am, BTW for complete and total legalisation of all drugs,
> since I know, being a Russian that government cannot control this anyway. I
> do not know if this is a common knowledge but until (I think) 1996 the old
> tea laws in the US that were supposed to protect consumer from rotten tea,
> would not allow the bulk importation of Puerh, since it smelled "funny". It
> was repealed during Clinton administration.
>
> Sasha.