If I could go back in time, right around 2012 and 2013 when I started buying puer, I would tell myself a few nuggets of tea wisdom that I know now. There were a few things I did wrong, somethings that dragged my puer journey on, stuff I wasted money on, but also things I missed out on.
Let Puer Cakes Rest After Getting Them in the Mail
I used to have my kettle already on as I watch the mail person walk through my street. Once my tea package was here with shiny new puer cakes, I’d crack them open, start drinking, and making judgments.
Not doing a shipping resting is a common issue when someone doesn’t like their puer new cake. During transit, the tea will get sweaty or cold from temperature changes, or pick up surrounding scents from shipping. It is totally fine if one cannot wait to try a tea, but be sure to drink it for fun and not to be too disappointed when it tastes not as good as expected or changes. Rest the tea as long as it was in shipping for, at least.
Don’t Just Buy the Cheapest Puer Tea
I was incredibly cautious (and cheap) when buying puer at first, often buying from the inexpensive end of the price range. I see quite a number of new tea drinkers fall into the same trap – they ordered a selection of low price point, $5-$30 puer cakes, and posted their haul photo on social media.
At this point in my puer journey, the cheap end daily drinker tea is very samey, so I see that new puer drinker’s haul of having little variety of quality and regions. I understand new drinkers don’t want to invest, but throw in a sample of a higher priced tea as a special treat, or split the cost with a friend. You also don’t have to sample the $300 puer cake but don’t be scared of trying a sample of the $50 cake. There is “I missed out” regret here too, there were more expensive puers I wished I tried but I was too busy penny pinching.
I say all this assuming you are buying from a reliable puer seller. I also wasted my time buying cheap garbage puer on amazon, aliexpress, and ebay. Do not waste your money!
“Hitting It With a Hammer” Does Not Apply
As a new puer drinker, I read a lot of blogs to learn the mystique of this amazing puer tea that ages like wine. Immediately I learned puer can sell out and be gone forever. There’s a phrase by Mr. Marshaln of “Hitting It WIth a Hammer” to go hard and buy a lot when you find that amazing puer, as it’ll be gone one day.
Yes, there are teas I own(ed) that I cannot get again. The flip side is would I actually buy some of those teas again? I am honestly unsure as I am happy with the memory that it was a good tea. However, there are puers I regret buying so much early on of as my tastes changed.
Hitting with a hammer does not apply to a new drinker – just keep sampling and trying new teas. You are learning. Your tastes will change and evolve as you discover more. If something goes away, there is always next season or a new tea seller that will take its place.
If You Like How A Puer Tastes Now, Drink It!
There are teas I loved at a certain stage that I should have drunk more to enjoy, as with now I don’t go to them much as they hit some nasty awkward phase, or I outgrew it. By all means, keep some tea around for aging experiments, but if you love it, drink it!
Aging and Reselling Puer for Profit is a Bust!
Of my tea hoarding large collection, I can think of only a couple of my puers I can probably scam a few people to pay maybe double price on (and likely get called out for it).
The reality is quite a few times I’ve sniped cheaper or the same price from people destashing popular boutique puer cakes. If I sold all my teas and teaware right now, I would likely not make back the initial investment.
Not to mention, as a hobbyist tea collector, most serious buyers would be questioning your storage and assume it is trash vs. an established tea vendor. Also, tea tuition I paid was asking non-vendor sellers about their storage as I’ve purchased some ruined teas.
Storage is as Complicated as You Want It to Be
If you read up on forums and chat rooms, people really take storage to the next level, making it intimidating to start buying puer cakes. Puer is certainly one tea hobby that the min-maxing vocal nerds post about their stats, water/salt concoctions, and expensive hygrometer set up.
Starting out, puer storage can be as simple as placing your cakes into ziplocks/mylar bags. If you start getting a lot of cakes, get a larger container and maybe shove a 65%-69% boveda pack in (assuming you have room temperatures over 65F/ 18c). Storage doesn’t matter until you need to keep a large collection of tea for a year.
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