You can widdle a cup from your Tuo by reaming the bird's nest with a
spoon edge. I do this for every cup till I break through the top and
peel the soft top edge for subsequent cups till you are left with a
hard ring which will need to be broken.

Jim

DPM wrote:
> Well, I took a pu plunge - got my first pu-erh tuo cha (Xiaguan Gold Tuo
> Cha) from Teaspring. Before I try it, I have a question: the one I got is
> from the 2004 harvest. If I whack off a chunk to taste it and then decide
> to age it for a few more years, does cutting/breaking the cake affect the
> aging, good or bad? Or is this tea not worth worrying about in this regard?
>
> Thanks,
> Dean