On 18 Dec 2004 07:11:03 -0800, "Josh" > cast
caution to the wind and posted:

>Hello everyone, I'm a new poster but have read many of the threads here
>because you guys just have so much good information. I figured you guys
>would be the ones to ask for pu erh recommendations as I have very
>little experience with it. I've tasted a couple black and one green pu
>erh which I liked a lot. I'd really like to start aging some green
>cakes and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about where to
>get them from online, as there are no tea shops around here. I'd like
>to taste the differences in ages but I'm not looking for 30 year old
>stuff. Is a 5 year old cake much different than a new one? Would it be
>worth paying more for the few extra years, or should I just get it
>fresh and enjoy it as it ages? I AM willing to pay a little more for pu
>erh because it feels more like an investment to me, just gets better
>and better. That being said, if you know any cheap good ones let me
>know! Any help/comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks.


Hi Josh,

To find online vendors check out my site at http://www.pu-erh.net/ if
you navigate the menus to "Puerh Links > Puerh Vendors" and then
choose USA or International. I have listed every site that I know of
that sells more than 2-3 varieties. A good place to start looking for
puerh is www.jingteashop.com or www.teaspring.com , there is also
www.mandjs.com but watch their shipping prices as they are high, all
of these three vendors are located in China but they cater directly to
the US market.

You will find that authentic aged puerh is quite expensive, as much as
a thousand dollars a pound for 30 year old cakes in good condition.

Yes it is worth a little extra to get a 5 year old cake versus a new
one, but it is also interesting to age it yourself and taste it every
year.

However I would caution you to learn a bit more before spending any
serious money. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about
puerh and often very honest vendors are misled by their distributors
and don't know enough to know it. I have seen more fake aged puerh for
sale in the USA than real aged puerh. It is similar to the antique
furniture market in that there is a tremendous amount of fakes out
there and you really have to KNOW what your doing or else you will
definitely get deceived.

Hope this helped,


Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net
remove the "filter" in my email address to reply