Are CAKE pressed Teas REALLY better for ageing? 

Haha Martin. Love it

What is oud

Agreed, Simple Dreams is one of the best white teas I've had in ages. Incredible flavour!

Anything you do with your tea is your business and if you like it go for it! 😊

mini real life example over here. I live in Asia, some of my friends and i are pu'er drinkers. I keep my stash in stack of 10 cakes, 20 cakes in a cardbox. My friend keeps them single cakes isolated in Mylar bags some in a cardbox, some just laying around the shelf. Over 13 yrs of our pu'er journey, we have come to agree larger quantity kept together has better fragrance and transform better. Explanation from most pu'er producers is that the microbials from batch quantity of cakes benefits pu'er transformation. This is why over a long period of time the top and bottom cakes of a stack will always taste less desirable than the ones cooped up inside. Despite being wrapped by bamboo layer, plus a thick outer layer of brown paper, in a huge cardbox, bungled up into huge rattan containers.

I hope that at least some of the following is helpful: Oud oils are very potent medicinal substances and should be used with great caution. Ensar Oud uses Ambergris and Musk, both of which require extreme animal cruelty to produce, although Ambergris can, very rarely, be found in small quantities, naturally vomitted by animals and washed up on beaches. I remember finding a lump on the beach after a storm when I was about 5. My Dad made throw it away because it stank like poo. As a zoologist he knew what it was but didn't know it was worth more than its weight in gold, otherwise he would have sealed it in an airtight bag and put it in his bank deposit box! The fragrant components of both, Oud oils and animal sex gland extracts, are highly penetrating and persistent. I'm not suggesting that Mei Leaf would indulge in using animal sex gland extracts in your teas, but I'm not certain that Ensar Oud, or anyone, can guarantee absolute non-cross-contamination of the oud oils by the animal sex gland extract aromas. Any teas that contain oud oils, and any animal sex gland cross contamination, could, especially during long ageing, cross contaminate other teas in the warehouse and shop. Personally, I would regret grievously that, if Mei Leaf were to even simply go into production collaboration with any company that uses animal sex gland extracts, I would stop buying from Mei Leaf. I say grievously because I know that it would not be possible to obtain teas as good as Mei Leaf's; I buy them not only for flavour but also because I have found some of their teas help me to manage some long term chronic medical issues. Mei Leaf would also have to consider that all vegan, and many vegetarian, customers worldwide would stop buying Mei Leaf teas if they knew of collaboration with a company that supports such massive animal cruelty. It is very clear from the video referenced above that Ensar Oud is a true Oud Master, and I respect deeply his awesome perfumery knowledge (over 50 years ago I owned a business selling essential oils for aromatherapy, and manufacturing incense using tree resins, essential oils and other plant substances): Don and Celine could learn a vast amount about Oud from Ensar Oud. But including the medicinally extremely potent Oud oils in Mei Leaf products could pose medical risks for Mei Leaf customers - even just smelling some Oud oils and resins can have potent body effects; that's why they have been so revered and valued for perfumery for at least many centuries if not millenia. Rather than blending Mei Leaf teas with Oud oils, it might be wiser to consider blending the teas with Oud leaves; they also can be very potent with regards to body effects; for example, when I use Oud leaves, either alone, or with certain Chinese teas, I use only about three leaves depending on leaf size. So that would be a blend of about 3 Oud leaves to 5g - 7.5g of tea. I also manually sort the leaves into three bags depending on how much Oud resin there is in the leaves - so I have what I call strong medium and average which I can select from for a brew, depending on the desired effect. Also, there are certain teas I would not mix with Oud, if the tea's body effects contraindicate the use of Oud. Sourcing Oud leaves could be more challenging than sourcing Oud oils because there are less artisanal leaf suppliers than artisanal Oud oil suppliers; the leaves are popular in some south-east Asian countries, but mainly supplied as tea bags. I would suggest that any proposition to use Oud in tea should be approached with caution; to sell such products to the public for internal use would require in-depth medical knowledge, but then Mei Leaf is very well positioned to evaluate the medicinal effects of Oud, and its profound effects on the flow of Qi through the subtle energy channels and therefore its potential profound effects on state of mind. Oud wood and resin are important and powerful ingredients. It is known as Agar Wood in a Tibetan incense known as Tara Incense which is used to modify Qi flow through subtle energy channels to relieve a variety of psychological and emotional conditions. Oud is also used in Ayurvedic Medicine and, known as Eagle Wood, in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I'm not familiar with the use of Oud in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Here's the "Meeting with Ensar Oud" video, which is very interesting and highly informative: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ozViFdfsAxY.html I hope there is something useful or interesting in the above.

Correct

I was thinking the same. Would be a nice video

There ist Japanese stem tea, Kukicha, where the stems are on purpose blended with the tea. The amount of stems is carefully chosen by the tea masters. The stems add some sweetness to the tea. The higher the amount of stems in the tea the lower the caffeine content depending on the ratio .. If your tea tastes well, there is no need to remove the stems. It will not harm you. Enjoy! ❤

You may store in a paper bag and make sure there is a smell-free place.

Some people take the unbroken leafes and on purpose crush some extra to add to the teapot when brewing. This way the crushed ones give more flavour on the earlier infusions while the others take more time to wake up. Give it a try and see if this is for you.

@@aeonwindsoeur Sounds a bit like Chaozhou style. Thanks! I'll give it a try.

I might be wrong, but I always thought that they skip the Sharing Cup and instead of quickly alternating between the Drinking Cups while pouring to give every guest the same taste of the tea. And chazou would offer the tea according to the guests preferences, when you pour out the tea, the lighter brew from the beginning goes into the first cup while the leafes still give more flavour to the remaining water in the pot and then you pour out the slightly stronger brew and serve your guests. But I'm sure you'll find your personal preference and enjoy your tea YOUR style. All the best!

Having watched that earlier video about breaking up whole cakes, I leave my cakes whole but ensure I take leaf from both the outside and inside.

agreed Beth Todays video contradicts the earlier one you mention???

1. breaking up a well aged cake in your home climate helps to release fragrance, preparing them for immediate consumption in the near future, does not make them transform better. 3. direct from a GuShu factory producer: different yrs, different regions, as long as they are sun dried produced, they can be stacked together for exceptional aging. Microbials from aged pu'er bounce off each other, even helping newer teas in their aging process. Risks are not to introduce mouldy cakes or ripe pu'er in the pile.

@@Acc_HughThank you, for both your answers. I obviously remembered the video about breaking cakes wrongly. Good reason for watching it again. 😀 There’s no fear of mouldy or mildewed cakes in my place; it goes super dry in winter. Even some of the Boveda packs dry out in a matter of days. I’ll get me some larger containers, now that I know I can store them together. 👍

@@colinmalsingh2667@acchugh5008 explained this: I remembered the previous video wrongly. The aim was for keeping the taste fresh, but for immediate consumption and not for further aging. And the cakes could already be considered aged. But I obviously need to watch that video again. 😉

Always wondered how tricky it is to age pu'er in a very dry climate. What's your area RH? Does constant use of Bov packs make the process pricey?

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Must be very expensive now.

It’s remarkable!

Confetti, in English, are those small, thin, colorful pieces of paper, plastic, etc. that are thrown in celebratory situations. They were originally grains and sweets like the Italian confetti, but switched to paper, plastic, etc. as time went by.

@@MrAqr2598 oh yeah right, thanks!

Tea Guru also sells Oud leaves, which I use for tea, either alone or with some of my Mei Leaf teas. His leaves are a better deal than a lot of other Oud leaf suppliers out there.