Space Cowboy wrote:
> A vendor on Ebay is listing some Puer in taels and not grams. One of
> the conversion sites gave 1.2oz or 37.5g for a tael. So is tael a
> Chinese, British or IM unit? If Chinese how common is it? Or is it
> some trading unit which I've never seen. It seems odd it isn't a
> multiple of oz or gram like a catty which is 500g.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim

When used in reference to puerh logs, or logs of other Black (not red)
teas, it is referring to an old form of Chinese money that was ~37.4 g
of silver. A 1000 tael log was called that because it weighed the same
amount as a 1000 tael bar of silver. These large logs were somewhat of
a standard in their day. In modern times it is just a nickname
corresponding to the size of the log although just roughly. You will
notice that Scott's 100 teal log is not twice as heavy as his (2kg)50
tael log. He also has one 100 tael log that weighs 5kg and another that
weighs 8kg. It has developed into little more than a marketing term,
kind of like a cord of wood, how many people actually measure off a
cord anymore? Yet a lot of people will call their dumptruck load a
"cord".

The best one I have ever had was from a 1000 tael log and was actually
a black tea not a puerh, the taste was very buttery and indeed was one
of the best teas I have ever drank.

http://www.charm.ru/library/shanghaiforeign.htm

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net