The most expensive TaoBao Pu yet
 

You'd think if you were selling the pu from 1950 for 15 grand you could
come up a better hook than this:

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl...e28d6ebf.jhtml

If can buy a sample of aged puer it probably ain't. Like the cure for
the common cold would it make sense to anybody?

I was going to name this thread The Pu You Can't Afford. But then
there is always one in the crowd.

Jim

Read the description . . . tried to figure out who "happy friend" is . . .

so. . .if I were pregnant, the seller may negotiate the price? I could get
to work and see if I can get him to sell it in my $100 USD budget . . .


"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> You'd think if you were selling the pu from 1950 for 15 grand you could
> come up a better hook than this:
>
> http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl...e28d6ebf.jhtml
>
> If can buy a sample of aged puer it probably ain't. Like the cure for
> the common cold would it make sense to anybody?
>
> I was going to name this thread The Pu You Can't Afford. But then
> there is always one in the crowd.
>
> Jim
>

Temporarily does not have the buyer to purchase this treasure!

This thread should be named Fools Rushed In...
:")

....because this is not a pu'er brick, it is a red tea brick!

Lara, you still want to fork out a $100 for red tea dust?

Danny


"Space Cowboy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> You'd think if you were selling the pu from 1950 for 15 grand you could
> come up a better hook than this:
>
> http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl...e28d6ebf.jhtml
>
> If can buy a sample of aged puer it probably ain't. Like the cure for
> the common cold would it make sense to anybody?
>
> I was going to name this thread The Pu You Can't Afford. But then
> there is always one in the crowd.
>
> Jim
>

Check out the full beauty of the brick guys:

http://www.brick-tea.com/chinese/pro_hong.html

It is considered a compressed tea, not a pu'er becuase the ingredients used
is not pu'er leaves.

It is sad to see that even the vendors online do not understand the
definition of that pu'er is...

Danny

I should also add that this is more of a piece of art to display on the
shelve rather than actual drinking. I had a sample of it once, from the
70s, and it was still bitter like a strong cup of Qimen. Good for drinking
after a hearty meal of spicy and oily food, but not quite desirable for a
nice sit-down cuppa.

:")

Danny

Curious exactly how such an "excellent" brick ended up in Shandong
province. heh.

On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 20:07:08 +0800, "samarkand" >
wrote:

>This thread should be named Fools Rushed In...
>:")
>
>...because this is not a pu'er brick, it is a red tea brick!
>
>Lara, you still want to fork out a $100 for red tea dust?
>
>Danny

I concur Danny, this is a $15 decorative brick here in the US
(http://shopstashtea.com/111999.html) that they hang on teahouse
walls. Hehe, for $15k you don't even get the whole brick!

Hence my repeated warnings about NOT buying Puerh from TaoBoa or eBay
UNLESS you really know what you are doing. I would not even consider
buying aged tea this way unless I had a personal relationship with the
vendor.

Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net
"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed."
Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

"Mydnight" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Curious exactly how such an "excellent" brick ended up in Shandong
> province. heh.
>

I think the website does give a rather detailed explanation to the history
of this brick...Shandong is next door to Hebei province, Zhaoliqiao is in
Hebei.

Anyway, if the site doesn't provide the history to the making of this brick,
here it is:

The Place.
Zhaoliqiao town, though it sounds like someone's name, was formerly a small
vhamlet named after the bridge Zhaotianqiao. When the railroad works began
in 1906, the railroad was paved through the hamlet, and the northerners
named it Zhaoliqiao, and the town was placed on the map due to the railway
in 1917, a part of the railroad that connects north and south of China.

There wasn't a tea factory in this town until after 1953. Not far from
Zhaoliqiao town is another town called Yangloudong town, which was known for
tea production, it was one of the 6 ancient towns in the city of Puqi in
Hebei province, and the town believed to produce the once famous Songfeng
tea (as recorded in Luyu's Chajing - the Book of Tea), it is also known as
the town of Brick Teas.

After the Opium War Yangloudong town was a gathering place for the Russians,
Germans, British and Japanese, who erected factories in this town. However,
after the Sino-Japanese wars the town was badly damaged and in declined, and
in 1953, the one and only tea factory left moved to Zhaoliqiao town where
the economy was striving, and was renamed Zhaoliqiao Brick Tea Factory.

It is interesting to note that in the early days of production, the factory
purchased their red tea dust from several sources, including India and
Ceylon, and the Russians were the early investors in the factory, including
those in the former town of Yangluodong.

Danny

I thought the price of the brick reasonable but I couldn't afford the
shipping. If language and payment wasn't a problem with me I'd be
ordering everyday from TaoBao and Ebay. Hundreds and hundreds of items
you never see in the West for less than $10 each. I keep tabs and hope
to see it someday in Chinatown like the recent Xiaguan Iron Cake which
I first saw on TaoBao. While I'm here why does most puerh seem to have
some English somewhere in the packaging? Why isn't everything in pure
Chinese? I don't think it is just items for export or I'd see other
items on TaoBao or Ebay in other languages or Chinese only which seems
to be rare.

Jim

Mike Petro wrote:
> On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 20:07:08 +0800, "samarkand" >
> wrote:
>
> >This thread should be named Fools Rushed In...
> >:")
> >
> >...because this is not a pu'er brick, it is a red tea brick!
> >
> >Lara, you still want to fork out a $100 for red tea dust?
> >
> >Danny
>
> I concur Danny, this is a $15 decorative brick here in the US
> (http://shopstashtea.com/111999.html) that they hang on teahouse
> walls. Hehe, for $15k you don't even get the whole brick!
>
> Hence my repeated warnings about NOT buying Puerh from TaoBoa or eBay
> UNLESS you really know what you are doing. I would not even consider
> buying aged tea this way unless I had a personal relationship with the
> vendor.
>
> Mike Petro

>From what I've seen, I think most of the stuff on TaoBao is rubbish and
overpriced. I would think that ebay would be the same. Stick with tea
that you can put your hands on and have a look at if you can (taste as
well), I say.