Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.

Oh, my. I did NOT like it.

I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
Anyone like the tea the first time around?

Cathy Weeks

Cathy Weeks wrote:

> Anyone like the tea the first time around?

I did, when I tried it a few weeks ago. But then I was expecting it
to taste weird, after hearing about it for years. Plus it was some
good stuff.

With any acquired taste, like lapsang souchong, it depends on how
persistent you are, and how willing you are to be persistent about
something like tea. :-)

Ian
--
http://www.bookstacks.org/
http://www.sundry.ws/

Cathy Weeks wrote:
> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks

I liked Pu-Erh the first time I tried it, and if that specific type
tastes that bad to you I wouldn't try to acquire a taste for it! Before
giving up on it, though, maybe you should try other Pu-Erh's? Maybe you
just didn't care for that specific Pu-Erh, or maybe you'd hate them
all, who knows?

On 6 Dec 2004 17:29:19 -0800, Cathy Weeks wrote:

> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks

Tried it, didn't like it. Tried it repeatedly, and different
variations. Never developed a "taste" for it.

Every cup tasted the way my mouth did after spending a day mucking out
horse stables. Perhaps if I didn't have that memory, I could learn to
like it. As it is, the taste of stall dust is NOT a pleasing memory.
--
Derek

Your role may be thankless, but if you're willing to give it your all,
you just might bring success to those who outlast you.

Cathy Weeks wrote:
> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks
>

I did not like it the first or second time.. Some things to suggest:

1) Rinse the puerh for 30 seconds and throw away that initial steeping.
2) Try a Green pu-erh.

For me, a switch just clicked and I began to kindof like it.. Although
that initial SpecialTeas Tuo Cha still kinda tasted bad until the 2nd or
3rd steep.

On 6 Dec 2004 17:29:19 -0800, "Cathy Weeks"
> wrote:

>Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
>interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
>Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
>I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
>Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
>Cathy Weeks

I would say it depends on the quality of the stuff you got and the
type. Was it the sheng (green) or the shu (cooked/fried/whatever) and
how old was it? Some people prefer the taste of the cooked version
better than the green version.

Some of the newer stuff (less than 5 years) tastes horrid. Most
people recommended to me that you should try to score stuff that was
at least 5 years before even thinking about trying it.

There again, I did some gongfu cha with pu'er for my mom when she
visited and she hated it but my brother loved it. I say keep up with
it though. I didn't like it as well at first, but after I got some
good quality stuff and after someone showed me how to brew it
correctly, I found it to be one of the most rewarding tea experiences
I can recall. It can be really smooth like a fine coffee if you can
get some good stuff!



Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

Hi Cathy,

It may be that you won't ever like Puer. That's fine - after years of
trying, I've concluded I just don't like green teas, wherever they're from
(of course, they're also not nearly as good as good Puer...).

However....

Trying Puer in most USA tea rooms, probably especially non-Asian chain tea
rooms like Teavana is, let us say, probably not the best way to experience
the tea. Puer isn't like the black teas that tea rooms like this mostly
serve. I suspect the people working there never even heard of Puer before
they worked there, and if this is, as it appears to be, Teavana's only Puer,
their tea buyers probably would barely know a Puer if it came up and kicked
them in the head. Most tea rooms (and restaurants) I've been in can't steep
and serve English Breakfast correctly, much less something at all exotic.

I see only one Puer at Teavana: http://store.yahoo.com/teavana/18pureh.html;
it is, virtually for sure, a "black" or "cooked" or "ripe" Puer (those all
mean the same thing); it's also $9.00 a quarter lb., which for me put's it
in the "low-grade, too cheap to mess with" category (though others here will
disagree). If this is the one you had, that's another reason to go someplace
else (though if you're in Atlanta, there probably isn't anywhere better to
go); better: get a few samples from a good dealer and try making it
yourself. There are plenty of knowledgeable people on this group who would
be willing to advise you.

There are tea dealers who care about Puer, and there are dealers who don't.
A dealer or tea room that carries one or maybe two low-grade Puers doesn't
care about Puer. From the evidence I see, Teavana is in the "don't"
category.

A few months ago in a previous Puer thread, I posted this:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...b81903617a,767
c348a28308e0d,e7e3cf7e23bcd802,6a012b6cbb3f15bf,c2 367dc622128bbb,74f44d9caeb
27b43?thread_id=951d0408d3b080f1&mode=thread&nohea der=1&q=doug+hazen,+Jr.+gr
oup:rec.food.drink.tea#doc_123efdda21ee9998

which you may or may not find useful. I won't repeat what I said there, but
I still stand by it.


Doug


"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks
>

A couple of years ago I knew nothing about puerh and my first trials of it were
definitely not appealing. It was the cooked variety, but I realized that, in a
weaker version, I'd been served it from time to time in Chinese restaurants.

Through acquaintance with several members of this newsgroup, I was introduced
to better quality puerh, particularly the "green" puerh. which I find far more
intriguing and rewarding.

I'm in. I've bought a yixing pot specifically for puerh, and have several
varieties at hand. For me, a good green puerh (and both young and old can be
good) is a real pleasure.

Yes, it can be an acquired taste, but if you have the good stuff, it's not a
hard taste to acquire. For me, it's still not a tea I reach for on a daily
basis, but it's often "just the thing."

Joe K

"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message

> Anyone like the tea the first time around?

I immediatly hate the first horrid puer I have drunk (tasted like dirty
mud)and immediatly loved the first good one (aged leaves bought in
Hong-Kong).

> I assume it's an acquired taste?

For the horrid muddy version certainly. Well, you may never like puer, but
don't make the mistake of concluding after drinking only one.

Kuri

Steve Hay wrote:

> I did not like it the first or second time.. Some things to suggest:
>
> 1) Rinse the puerh for 30 seconds and throw away that initial steeping.
> 2) Try a Green pu-erh.

> For me, a switch just clicked and I began to kindof like it.. Although
> that initial SpecialTeas Tuo Cha still kinda tasted bad until the 2nd or
> 3rd steep.

Same here - I tried Pu Erh about 1 year ago, and didn't like it very
much. Back then we just put boiling water over the loose tea leaves.

Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it a 2nd
try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a local
imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5 cm in
diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small, though ^-^
Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes' read aout?

I rinsed it two times with boiling water, and then infused for only 30
seconds (also with boiling water). That way the infusion lost a lot of
the earthy taste that I didn't like on my first Pu Erh experience, but
there was still enough earthiness to make it interesting.

now I'll try to go for green Pu Erh, should be excitig.

ciao
Patrick

--
"But please remember: this is only a work of Fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 - A Space Odyssey

If a pu-erh made in any tearoom by any "master" from anything called "puerh"
would be immediately loved by everyone, it would not be a fine, elusive,
complex drink that we love so much (those of us who do).
The best way I know is to be introduced to puerh by a master who knows not
only puerh, but also a gentle way of introducing it. I highly recommend Roy
Fong from ITC. Call him in advance, tell him you want an introduction to
puerhs. I wish I would have done that myself.

There are thousands of different puerhs and ways of making it. Just do not
be quick to make conclusions.

Sasha.


"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks
>

Cathy 12/6/04


> Ok, from everything I've read, I thought Pu-er sounded like an
> interesting tea. I was near a Teavana so I had them make me a cup.
>
> Oh, my. I did NOT like it.
>
> I assume it's an acquired taste? The after taste lasted for HOURS.
> Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> Cathy Weeks

Cathy,

Yup, loved it the first time round. But, do not give up. Actually, Pu'erh is
many tastes, and it is still possible to find one just right for you. In the
most general sense, we have "cooked" Pu'erhs that taste of the loam of the
earth, young "uncooked" ones that often taste of flowers with a certain
delightful mustiness, and finally the old "uncooked" ones that cost an arm
and a leg, and some believe are worth every digit.

Michael
>

It's called Xiao Tuo Cha, small(mini) bowl tea. Puerh can come loose,
or compressed as Tuo ('birdsnest') or beeng('pancakes'). The mini
tuocha is about 10g, tuocha 100g, and beeng 300g+. The Xiao is good
for a pot. The other two you have to crumble.

Jim

Patrick Heinze wrote:
> Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it a
2nd
> try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a local

> imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5 cm
in
> diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small, though
^-^
> Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes' read aout?

Patrick Heinze > writes:

> [...]
>
> Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it a 2nd
> try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a local
> imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5 cm
> in diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small, though
> ^-^
> Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes' read aout?

No, cakes (bingcha/beengcha/beencha) are more or less flat discs,
though they're much thicker than e.g. a DVD. What you have is a
tuancha.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

"Space Cowboy" > writes:
>
> Patrick Heinze wrote:
> > Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it a
> > 2nd
> > try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a local
> >
> > imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5
> > cm in diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small,
> > though ^-^ Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes'
> > read aout?
>
> It's called Xiao Tuo Cha, small(mini) bowl tea. Puerh can come loose,
> or compressed as Tuo ('birdsnest') or beeng('pancakes'). The mini
> tuocha is about 10g, tuocha 100g, and beeng 300g+. The Xiao is good
> for a pot. The other two you have to crumble.

Tuochas are bowl-shaped, not ball-shaped. Can the original poster
clarify this?

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Lewis Perin wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > writes:
> >
> > Patrick Heinze wrote:
> > > Ater I read so much about Pu Erh in this NG I decided to give it
a
> > > 2nd
> > > try. I just stumbled over it, not in a teashop though, but in a
local
> > >
> > > imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5
> > > cm in diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small,
> > > though ^-^ Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes'
> > > read aout?
> >
> > It's called Xiao Tuo Cha, small(mini) bowl tea. Puerh can come
loose,
> > or compressed as Tuo ('birdsnest') or beeng('pancakes'). The mini
> > tuocha is about 10g, tuocha 100g, and beeng 300g+. The Xiao is
good
> > for a pot. The other two you have to crumble.
>
> Tuochas are bowl-shaped, not ball-shaped. Can the original poster
> clarify this?

The Puerh that I tried at Teavana was loose, and very black looking.
They said that it was aged for 15 years.

Cathy Weeks

Cheap Pu Erh tastes like horse ****. Or, in deference to accuracy and
proper English (I think), it tastes like horse **** smells.
Or is it "as"? Will any of you non-native English speakers, who seem to
be the only ones who know the rules of grammar these days, correct me if
necessary?

I will drink cheap tea of almost any variety as long as it is fresh, made
properly, and is real tea. But not pu erh. Right now I'm drinking "Fu
Fang Cha" sent me by a friend. It is pu erh and I think translates to
"lucky square tea". It's cuboid, more precisely.

Best,

Rick.

Derek > wrote:
> Every cup tasted the way my mouth did after spending a day mucking out
> horse stables. Perhaps if I didn't have that memory, I could learn to
> like it. As it is, the taste of stall dust is NOT a pleasing memory.

On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 17:06:32 +0000 (UTC), Rick Chappell wrote:

> Cheap Pu Erh tastes like horse ****. Or, in deference to accuracy and
> proper English (I think), it tastes like horse **** smells.

In my experience, the value of the Pu Erh has little to do with how it
prompts my memory. It's all varying degrees of the same thing.

--
Derek

Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.

>The Puerh that I tried at Teavana was loose, and very black looking.
>They said that it was aged for 15 years.
>
>Cathy Weeks

I'm not being critical of your merchant's honesty, but it's nearly
impossible to judge how old the tea is just by the looks. It could
possibly have been aged for 15 years, but that would make the price
decently high. The merchant was probably told it was 15 years old,
but how to verify?

There is also a process in which pu'er can be aged quicker by
moistening it and then letting it dry out over and over again to try
and make it appear older than it is. This usually damages the tea
quality and can make it taste horrible. This is why I am so ardently
against purchasing pu'er online; maybe that's a strong statement,
perhaps extremely cautious.

The only way I will buy a tea is if I can try it first or am advised
by someone that knows the particular tea well. I live in the middle
of no where without any access to any teashops, so I have bought
nothing new in a while. heh. Poor me.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 13:20:26 -0600, Derek > wrote:

>On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 17:06:32 +0000 (UTC), Rick Chappell wrote:
>
>> Cheap Pu Erh tastes like horse ****. Or, in deference to accuracy and
>> proper English (I think), it tastes like horse **** smells.
>
>In my experience, the value of the Pu Erh has little to do with how it
>prompts my memory. It's all varying degrees of the same thing.

I think he meant cheap quality and not cheap price. I do support his
assertion; the lower quality stuff for the most part tastes horrid.



Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

Rich, dear friend -

1. I never drunk any horse ****, so can't help you here. Now, about horse
**** smell. Having been around horses quite a lot during my Siberian geology
years I can tell you one thing - there are probably few substances in the
world that smell that diversified. And mainly dependant on the animal's
diet. None of which (the smells), I dare to say, are disgusting.
For your virtual collection of smells I will testify that a Cossack horse
that grazed upon fresh mountain grass on alpine meadows around Hangar
volcano on my beloved Kamchatka Peninsula leave a smell of its urine that is
unmistakably strong smell of a freshly cut just baked rye bread. So much so,
that the gentlemen who accompany these horses on their hard journeys across
the mountains for months, as I did, would stop their monotonous and
exhausting walk, lift their heads and inhale that smell with joy and hope of
reaching a hamlet someday where they can actually enjoy a normal hot meal
under a non-leaky roof.

2. Your passage about non-native English speakers is a bit alarming. Have we
been that annoying in our misuse of the language of Shakespeare and Chaucer
so that you felt compelled to hint us of our shortcomings?

Sasha.


"Rick Chappell" > wrote in message
...
> Cheap Pu Erh tastes like horse ****. Or, in deference to accuracy and
> proper English (I think), it tastes like horse **** smells.
> Or is it "as"? Will any of you non-native English speakers, who seem to
> be the only ones who know the rules of grammar these days, correct me if
> necessary?
>
> I will drink cheap tea of almost any variety as long as it is fresh, made
> properly, and is real tea. But not pu erh. Right now I'm drinking "Fu
> Fang Cha" sent me by a friend. It is pu erh and I think translates to
> "lucky square tea". It's cuboid, more precisely.
>
> Best,
>
> Rick.
>
> Derek > wrote:
>> Every cup tasted the way my mouth did after spending a day mucking out
>> horse stables. Perhaps if I didn't have that memory, I could learn to
>> like it. As it is, the taste of stall dust is NOT a pleasing memory.

On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:

> On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 13:20:26 -0600, Derek > wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 17:06:32 +0000 (UTC), Rick Chappell wrote:
>>
>>> Cheap Pu Erh tastes like horse ****. Or, in deference to accuracy and
>>> proper English (I think), it tastes like horse **** smells.
>>
>>In my experience, the value of the Pu Erh has little to do with how it
>>prompts my memory. It's all varying degrees of the same thing.
>
> I think he meant cheap quality and not cheap price. I do support his
> assertion; the lower quality stuff for the most part tastes horrid.

Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
not.

I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.

--
Derek

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:43:15 GMT, Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

> Rich, dear friend -
>
> 1. I never drunk any horse ****, so can't help you here. Now, about horse
> **** smell. Having been around horses quite a lot during my Siberian geology
> years I can tell you one thing - there are probably few substances in the
> world that smell that diversified. And mainly dependant on the animal's
> diet. None of which (the smells), I dare to say, are disgusting.

Now I know your senses are screwy.

> For your virtual collection of smells I will testify that a Cossack horse
> that grazed upon fresh mountain grass on alpine meadows around Hangar
> volcano on my beloved Kamchatka Peninsula leave a smell of its urine that is
> unmistakably strong smell of a freshly cut just baked rye bread. So much so,
> that the gentlemen who accompany these horses on their hard journeys across
> the mountains for months, as I did, would stop their monotonous and
> exhausting walk, lift their heads and inhale that smell with joy and hope of
> reaching a hamlet someday where they can actually enjoy a normal hot meal
> under a non-leaky roof.

Lucky you. The smell of stables where thoroughbred breeding mares have
been housed is quite the opposite. Especially when you're still
tasting it 3 hours AFTER getting home from work.

> 2. Your passage about non-native English speakers is a bit alarming. Have we
> been that annoying in our misuse of the language of Shakespeare and Chaucer
> so that you felt compelled to hint us of our shortcomings?

I think you've got your interpretation polarizers in backwards, Sasha.

Rick's comment, to me, reads like he's unsure of the grammar himself
and trusts non-native English speakers to know it better than those of
us who grew up "in" the language and take it for granted.

After all, we is the peoples who screws up the languages.

--
Derek

"If I couldn't laugh, I couldn't stand this job for 15 minutes." --
President Abraham Lincoln

Derek > writes:

> On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:
>
> > [...bad Puerh is bad...]
>
> Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
> stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
> someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
> not.
>
> I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
> my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.

You know there's more than one kind of eggplant, too, right? By the
way, in my opinion, eggplant, unlike most vegetables, is nearly
inedible unless cooked until it's mushy. I hope your wife's got that
covered.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Derek > wrote in :

> After all, we is the peoples who screws up the languages.

Didn't the USan Founding Fathers write that down somewhere?

--
fD
"God's not on our side 'cause he hates idiots also."
-- Clint Eastwood as Blondie (_The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly_)

Lewis Perin wrote:

>>>imported goods shop. I got a kind of pressed 'teaball', about 1,5
>>>cm in diameter...well...not really a ball, but pressed and small,
>>>though ^-^ Anyone knows what this is? Is that one of the 'cakes'
>>>read aout?

>>It's called Xiao Tuo Cha, small(mini) bowl tea. Puerh can come loose,
>>or compressed as Tuo ('birdsnest') or beeng('pancakes'). The mini
>>tuocha is about 10g, tuocha 100g, and beeng 300g+. The Xiao is good
>>for a pot. The other two you have to crumble.

> Tuochas are bowl-shaped, not ball-shaped. Can the original poster
> clarify this?

You call it a bowl? I wasn't sure how to describe it. It is sort of
hollow, with a hole on one side. Maybe best approximation is 'bell'
shaped, but that isn't to satisfactory, too ^-^

http://store1.yimg.com/I/teastores_1790_8100307
looks about the same...

I think we're talking about the same thing. Thanks everybody!

ciao
Patricl
--
"But please remember: this is only a work of Fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 - A Space Odyssey

On 07 Dec 2004 18:29:47 -0500, Lewis Perin wrote:

> Derek > writes:
>
>> On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:
>>
>>> [...bad Puerh is bad...]

"bad Puerh" is redundant.

>> Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
>> stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
>> someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
>> not.
>>
>> I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
>> my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.
>
> You know there's more than one kind of eggplant, too, right? By the
> way, in my opinion, eggplant, unlike most vegetables, is nearly
> inedible unless cooked until it's mushy. I hope your wife's got that
> covered.

Yes, I'm aware that there's more than one kind. I've tried many, liked
none.

The point being, not everybody is going to like the same things.

--
Derek

Scintillate, scintillate globule vivific
Fain would I fathom thy nature specific
Loftily perched in the ether capacious
Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous.

On 7 Dec 2004 23:35:56 GMT, fLameDogg wrote:

> Derek > wrote in :
>
>> After all, we is the peoples who screws up the languages.
>
> Didn't the USan Founding Fathers write that down somewhere?

I think it's in one of the amendments.

--
Derek

"Meddle not in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle, and will p!$$
on your cyberdeck." - Jeff Wilder

Alex Chaihorsky wrote:
....snip
> 1. I never drunk any horse ****, so can't help you here. Now, about horse
....snip
> volcano on my beloved Kamchatka Peninsula leave a smell of its urine that is
> unmistakably strong smell of a freshly cut just baked rye bread. So much so,
> that the gentlemen who accompany these horses on their hard journeys across
> the mountains for months, as I did, would stop their monotonous and
> exhausting walk, lift their heads and inhale that smell with joy and hope of

The disclaimer at the beginning almost ruins the suspenseful element of
this story...

might I add this thread must be entirely confusing the the original
poster...

Perhaps an executive summary of the points is in order: i.e.

1) Puerhs have a wide variety of flavors. Disliking one does not imply
disliking them all.
2) Some people hate Puerh.
3) Some people love Puerh.
4) Tasting multiple Puerhs can be expensive, especially since the good
ones are sold in relatively large quantities. But if one is interested,
seeking out samples of some good Puerhs is possible.



Steve Hay wrote:
> Alex Chaihorsky wrote:
> ...snip
>
>> 1. I never drunk any horse ****, so can't help you here. Now, about horse
>
> ...snip
>
>> volcano on my beloved Kamchatka Peninsula leave a smell of its urine
>> that is unmistakably strong smell of a freshly cut just baked rye
>> bread. So much so, that the gentlemen who accompany these horses on
>> their hard journeys across the mountains for months, as I did, would
>> stop their monotonous and exhausting walk, lift their heads and inhale
>> that smell with joy and hope of
>
>
> The disclaimer at the beginning almost ruins the suspenseful element of
> this story...

Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

> 2. Your passage about non-native English speakers is a bit alarming.
Have we
> been that annoying in our misuse of the language of Shakespeare and
Chaucer
> so that you felt compelled to hint us of our shortcomings?

Oh, no... he was suggesting that non-native English speakers know the
rules of English far better than native speakers, and in general, that
is true. That doesn't mean that non-native speakers actually speak
better English (although that is true on occasion, as well), but in
general they know the rules better. In other words, we know when
something *is* right, but not *why* it is right.

I have a Bachelor's degree in English writing and Literature, and
Master's degree in English Education (I'm trained to be an English
teacher), and do you know how many grammar classes I took at the
University? One. And 10 years later, my knowledge of English grammar
is still very native (ie., I *usually* know when something is right,
but not why). I'm more knowledgeable than most people, but that's
really not saying much.

Now, I believe I just opened myself up to scrutiny, and I'm sure the
above passage is full of mistakes. Sigh...

Cathy Weeks

Alex wrote:
> ... Now, about horse **** smell.
> ... our misuse of the language of Shakespeare

Having grown up without a barn, my first introduction to this particular
organoleptic distinction was in our seventh-grade production of "Midsummer
Night's Dream." Bottom has the relevant line: "I do smell all horse-****, at
which my nose is in great indignation." May we suppose that some wag slipped
a Pu-erh into the Bard's tea-caddy?

-DM

On 7 Dec 2004 18:19:02 -0800, "Cathy Weeks"
> wrote:

>Alex Chaihorsky wrote:
>
>> 2. Your passage about non-native English speakers is a bit alarming.
>Have we
>> been that annoying in our misuse of the language of Shakespeare and
>Chaucer
>> so that you felt compelled to hint us of our shortcomings?
>
>Oh, no... he was suggesting that non-native English speakers know the
>rules of English far better than native speakers, and in general, that
>is true. That doesn't mean that non-native speakers actually speak
>better English (although that is true on occasion, as well), but in
>general they know the rules better. In other words, we know when
>something *is* right, but not *why* it is right.
>

Depends on nationality, I think. The Europeans have a good handle on
the rules and everything, but I still think that a native speaker can
speak better than a non-native speaker. There are so many nuances
that you just don't get in a classroom setting or in books.

>I have a Bachelor's degree in English writing and Literature, and
>Master's degree in English Education (I'm trained to be an English
>teacher), and do you know how many grammar classes I took at the
>University? One. And 10 years later, my knowledge of English grammar
>is still very native (ie., I *usually* know when something is right,
>but not why). I'm more knowledgeable than most people, but that's
>really not saying much.

Ya, I got an English Lit degree with honors. I wrote a million
papers, and I think I got a pretty good handle on the rules and so
forth. I took many grammar/lingusitics classes. I taught a year in
China doing ESL and EFL.


>
>Now, I believe I just opened myself up to scrutiny, and I'm sure the
>above passage is full of mistakes. Sigh...
>
>Cathy Weeks



Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

On 7 Dec 2004 18:19:02 -0800, Cathy Weeks wrote:

> Now, I believe I just opened myself up to scrutiny, and I'm sure the
> above passage is full of mistakes. Sigh...

Nah, but I have a question...

In the course of a discussion, I came across a phrase like the
following:

... according to Ensign Pulver...

Now, someone responded while quoting just "Ensign Pulver" and making
it plural. That is, "Ensign Pulver"s.

This does not look correct to me. So, what is the proper way to make a
singular quotation into a plural?

Heh. You're the one who admitted to the English education.

--
Derek

Quitters never win. Winners never quit.
But those who never win and never quit are idiots.

>Now, someone responded while quoting just "Ensign Pulver" and making
>it plural. That is, "Ensign Pulver"s.
>
>This does not look correct to me. So, what is the proper way to make a
>singular quotation into a plural?
>
>Heh. You're the one who admitted to the English education.

Using the apostrophe doesn't make it plural, it denotes possession.
The pluralized form of it would be Ensign Pulvers', but I don't think
you can pluralize a person. heh.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

"Mydnight" > wrote in message
...
>
>>Now, someone responded while quoting just "Ensign Pulver" and making
>>it plural. That is, "Ensign Pulver"s.
>>
>>This does not look correct to me. So, what is the proper way to make a
>>singular quotation into a plural?
>>
>>Heh. You're the one who admitted to the English education.
>
> Using the apostrophe doesn't make it plural, it denotes possession.
> The pluralized form of it would be Ensign Pulvers', but I don't think
> you can pluralize a person. heh.
>

I thought the plural would be 'Ensigns Pulver'. No?

I never liked eggnog till this season. I've been drinking it like a
fish. I really like the Southern Comfort Traditional sold at Walmart.
It specifically says 'non alcoholic'. Interesting how brand names keep
selling themselves in non traditional retail.

Jim

Ian Rastall wrote:
> Cathy Weeks wrote:
>
> > Anyone like the tea the first time around?
>
> I did, when I tried it a few weeks ago. But then I was expecting it
> to taste weird, after hearing about it for years. Plus it was some
> good stuff.
>
> With any acquired taste, like lapsang souchong, it depends on how
> persistent you are, and how willing you are to be persistent about
> something like tea. :-)
>
> Ian
> --
> http://www.bookstacks.org/
> http://www.sundry.ws/

Lewis 12/7/04

> Derek > writes:
>
>> On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:
>>
>>> [...bad Puerh is bad...]
>>
>> Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
>> stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
>> someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
>> not.
>>
>> I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
>> my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.
>
> You know there's more than one kind of eggplant, too, right? By the
> way, in my opinion, eggplant, unlike most vegetables, is nearly
> inedible unless cooked until it's mushy. I hope your wife's got that
> covered.

Eggplant is delicious. I love eggplant. You can leach out the tanins with
salt. What's wrong with you people. Derek, eggplant everyday until you
change your mind. Reminds me of fresh meadow grasses. (Your eggplants need
to be grown on the steppes in proximity of fine Siberian horses.

I'm nursing a horrendous cold with Guangxi green tea today. Ugh.

Michael

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 14:40:39 GMT, Michael Plant wrote:

> Lewis 12/7/04
>
>> Derek > writes:
>>
>>> On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:
>>>
>>>> [...bad Puerh is bad...]
>>>
>>> Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
>>> stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
>>> someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
>>> not.
>>>
>>> I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
>>> my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.
>>
>> You know there's more than one kind of eggplant, too, right? By the
>> way, in my opinion, eggplant, unlike most vegetables, is nearly
>> inedible unless cooked until it's mushy. I hope your wife's got that
>> covered.
>
> Eggplant is delicious. I love eggplant. You can leach out the tanins with
> salt. What's wrong with you people. Derek, eggplant everyday until you
> change your mind. Reminds me of fresh meadow grasses. (Your eggplants need
> to be grown on the steppes in proximity of fine Siberian horses.

Blech. I'm past 30, and I've yet to find a recipe for eggplant that I
like. Brussel Sprouts, on the other hand, aren't half bad.

> I'm nursing a horrendous cold with Guangxi green tea today. Ugh.

Sorry to hear that. Stay warm and comfortable.


--
Derek

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are
men who want crops without plowing the ground. -- Frederick Douglass,
abolitionist, editor and orator (1817-1895)

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 14:40:39 GMT, Michael Plant wrote:

> Lewis 12/7/04
>
>> Derek > writes:
>>
>>> On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:46:20 GMT, Mydnight wrote:
>>>
>>>> [...bad Puerh is bad...]
>>>
>>> Oh, I fully support that assertion. But, in my opinion, higher quality
>>> stuff just tastes less horrid. This was, after all a thread started by
>>> someone who wondered if she was alone in *not* linking pu erh. She's
>>> not.
>>>
>>> I also can't stand the taste of eggplant. But that doesn't mean that
>>> my wife stops trying to feed it to me because she likes it.
>>
>> You know there's more than one kind of eggplant, too, right? By the
>> way, in my opinion, eggplant, unlike most vegetables, is nearly
>> inedible unless cooked until it's mushy. I hope your wife's got that
>> covered.
>
> Eggplant is delicious. I love eggplant. You can leach out the tanins with
> salt. What's wrong with you people. Derek, eggplant everyday until you
> change your mind. Reminds me of fresh meadow grasses. (Your eggplants need
> to be grown on the steppes in proximity of fine Siberian horses.

Blech. I'm past 30, and I've yet to find a recipe for eggplant that I
like. Brussel Sprouts, on the other hand, aren't half bad.

> I'm nursing a horrendous cold with Guangxi green tea today. Ugh.

Sorry to hear that. Stay warm and comfortable.


--
Derek

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are
men who want crops without plowing the ground. -- Frederick Douglass,
abolitionist, editor and orator (1817-1895)