The Pros & Cons of Tea Samples
Tea Samples – It’s a common component in the life of a tea enthusiast.
Is it even possible to get into tea without coming across tea samples?
Thought I would share some considerations on the pros and cons to tea samples.
http://theguidetopuerhtea.blogspot.com/2015/10/its-good-to-sample.html
http://theguidetopuerhtea.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-word-of-caution-tea-samples.html
Best, Varat
Im having lots of samples. some of them good and fresh, some stale and dont represent the true face of the tea. but i cannot imagine not having them around. too many choices and i cannot sample everything by cake, especially expensive one.
I think you have just described the tea reality for the majority of us. To like them one day, dislike them on another but you just can’t live without them … or at least you really wouldn’t want to )
With pu’er and any teas in the pricey or large size category I need to try before I buy.
Maybe if my wallet didn’t care, I’d just buy a cake. Sometimes I do buy a cake instead of a sample when the price is cheap and I know the seller is good/trust worthy.
From a tea seller, I haven’t had a bad sample that’s gone off with bugs and cigarette butts sent to me like the blog posts have mentioned (but who knows, you find all kinds of things in cakes!)
I find more of the poor quality samples are from other tea drinkers from swaps or traveling tea boxes. Or my own failures of taking forever to drink the sample.
cigarette butts in samples? nice!
I’ve never seen those. I had rocks,corn, floss, and mostly hair. Hair is the most common thing you can find. Honestly I don’t care. I pick them out and hit with boil water ;p
I am more envious of those who haven’t received a cigarette butt :) Nevertheless your hardy constitutions are befitting of puerh enthusiasts willing to explore new frontiers.
I’m still new to the game, so far I’ve only added one single long strand of hair to my puerh freebies collection.
Yeah, just pick out any foreign bits and brew. The most common thing I have found is the plastic strips from the bags they transport them in.
Yikes! Luckily I’ve never had any strands of hair or anything else that didn’t belong in my tea samples…
The worst part about samples: trying too many good teas and wishing you could buy them all.
I have a “save the last cup” mentality so samples are sort of my enemy. I have a hard time using them, even when I don’t know what they taste like.
I do prefer a sample to be at least 2 or 3 sessions though because I nearly always like a tea slightly less on second or third try than I did at first. Many times, I have bought a one cup sample, tried and loved it then stocked up to find that was a mistake. I really need to ruminate on a tea before adding it to the collection now.
Yeah I also prefer samples that last 3-4 sessions. I go through my samples one-by-one in order and later samples may change my opinions of earlier ones, hence multiple sessions are needed to make a final decision.
For me, samples are only to decide on whether to place a larger order or not, hence I do not care to save the last bit of a sample, but instead I make my decision after having the last of the sample and then save the wrappings of those I wish to buy again and discard the rest.
I make orders very infrequently and rarely try new suppliers. Between the ever falling Canadian dollar and terrible shipping rates, it’s just not worth it for me to order from somewhere unless I’m sure I like the tea, and I can get some sort of deal (free shipping or sale). So this really affects the way I approach samples, and even purchases.
Sadly the saving mentality is a bit of a personal issue. I have it with many things, unless I don’t like them. I guess I have it with things I really enjoy.
why do samples not keep as well as the cakes, i wonder? will the result be the same even if stored in breathable paper like the cakes are?
Good questions.
Allow me to offer the perspective of size in association with the sustainability of a diverse ecosystem. I would direct your attention to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and known for its incredible biodiversity. Now if the Amazon was to shrink down to the size of the average home garden, how much of that incredible biodiversity would remain? Puerh is a living tea and I suspect contains quite a diverse ecology of microorganisms in its own right. The limitations brought on by the confines of space/size are perhaps no different.
The perspective is a point of view and meant to provide a direction for thought and consideration. I have encountered very little scientific study on puerh tea so it is through forums and the gathering of like minded people that allows for discussions and ideas to flow that can help develop critical thinking.
I prefer tea samples to large quantities of tea. And by tea sample I mean 25g or less. Teas lose freshness and buying in small quantities keeps them from going stale. Personally, I’ve found that no matter how much I like a particular tea I will eventually get bored of it if there’s too much. Rotating teas keeps things interesting.
I’m the type of person who likes to try tea several ways before I settle on a steeping time and water temperature, or even a brew method. I like the idea of trying 25g at most, because it allows for minor experimentation.
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