b'reisheet barah- in the beginning

This guide is created in mind for people who are new to drinking puer and want to know where to get started when buying tea. This is also aimed at people who do not want to spend a lot of money or do not have a lot of money to spend. This blog is written by somebody who doesn’t have a lot of money and lives in Amerika. Just want to say that to show what influences my buying habits based on availability and shipping.

I first want to say that this can be an expensive hobby. Not only can certain teas be expensive but puer is also a high maintenance tea that requires certain storage and care if you really want to get the best out of it.

I will say this now to make sure it is said up front: Please, please, please, buy samples. The best way to learn about puer is by trying it. Tea is something you experience with your body and no matter how much you read about it, the only way to find what you like is to try a whole bunch of things. Yes, it can be expensive to try all this tea, but that is what we in the tea community are here for; to help make your ‘tea tuition’ more enjoyable. If you have money, it is best to use it to help bring good into the world, whether that be through sharing and helping others, or by buying and drinking some tea that makes you truly happy.

This guide is specifically for recommendations of where to buy puer online. If you live in a town with good local tea shops that sell puer, please start there. If you are looking for an introduction to what puer is, please check this out

Okay, onto the guide :)

Welcome to the wide and confusing world of puer buying. Before we dive into vendors I want to set up some expectations of what we will be looking at. Firstly, there are two kinds of puer: Sheng and Shou. Although they come from the same tree, they can be pretty different teas. If you are new to puer, I think Shou is a great place to start. Why? Because it is cheaper for the most part, yay! Additionally, it does not require intensive storage needs like aged Sheng (which can approach house plant neediness sometimes).

Where to buy some affordable shou? 

KingTeaMall.com: This website has a loooottttttt of tea. Start with some Dayi Shou. This is the most famous tea factory in China and was the first factory to start making Shou Puer. They have some very classic recipes which are all very affordable (look for: 0532, 8592, 7452, 7572). It is recommended to not get the most recent ones because this heavily fermented tea needs some time to mellow out and dissipate some of its funk. If the year is 2021, try buying a Dayi Shou from 2019 or earlier. Maybe even buy some from 2019, 2017, and 2015 to compare the difference. How is the taste different? How does it feel different on your body (mentally and physically)? This website, KTM, has a lot of options for samples. The samples might not taste the exact same as when you would buy a cake but it is a great place to start to see if you like something before committing to 357g. Also, email the owner, John. He is happy to give recommendations and I have found his advice very helpful.

YunnanSourcing.com (and their Amerikan store: YunnanSourcing.us): This is one of the most well known puer sellers to Westerners. The website has a lot of options, a lot of samples, and a good amount of detailed descriptions of their teas. If you are looking for a budget Shou, search the YS brand Shou and filter by price range. I recommend buying samples at different price ranges to see why a Shou puer might be more expensive than another (sometimes the reasons are: better longer aftertaste, thicker and richer mouth feel, more longevity for resteeping). For the YS brand Shou, you don’t need to be as worried about buying an older one that has had time to mellow like with the factory shou. Also, their website has lots of different sampling packages they curate which offer comparisons of different teas. Look for one that might compare different Shous to give you a nice variety. This company is also very good at responding to messages so reach out and ask for recommendations. 

White2Tea.com: This website can be challenging for some because they don’t always offer a lot of descriptions about their products. Despite this, W2T has a good reputation for carrying quality tea. W2T also has some different samplers and has sample portions available for almost all their teas. W2T is well known online and you should ask around on r/puer and discord for recommendations (popular W2T shou include: brown sugar, waffles,lumber slut, old reliable).

The next subsection of Puer we will cover is young Sheng Puer. Traditionally, sheng peur is only considered puer after it has been aged for 20+ years (opinions vary). With the growth of Western drinkers as well as overall changing tastes in the modern landscape, the popularity of young sheng puer has grown and developed. Although this tea is arguably vastly different from aged sheng puer, it is a good starting point for beginners. Why is that? Because it is familiar to the Western palet being similar to the familiar green tea and because storage and age are factors that you don’t need to worry about much when drinking young sheng. Plus, puer gets more expensive the older it is so, if you enjoy it while it’s young, you will save some money.

YS and W2T (discussed above) are the most popular sources for Westerners to buy young Sheng. YS has a loooottttt of offerings for young sheng. They have a yearly ‘Impressions’ cake which is a blend that is made to be affordable and is a good place to start. YS says it’s made for aging, but the recent years’ productions taste pretty ready to drink (the 2014 Impressions cake, which has a decent amount of acclaim, is a bit more punchy and I think is/will age very well. It is not new, but it is still reasonably young and I think it is a very solid tea). Either ask for recommendations or try one of their samplers that focus on young sheng.

W2T has less offerings and less detailed descriptions about their cakes. A lot of their sheng puer can be pretty pricey. Fear not, despite their lack of information and high price tags, they do have a lot of respect in the community for sourcing quality puer. They may not have the quantity, but they do have the quality. W2T has a lot of sample options and some good sample packs including one specifically for young sheng. This is a popular company so ask around on the internet and people will have a lot of suggestions.

KTM, also mentioned above, has some young sheng offerings listed under their own brand. They don’t have a large selection but these are pretty darn good for the price and are definitely worth throwing in a sample to your cart if you are already buying from them.

Crimson Lotus Tea is another popular vendor for young sheng. Similar to W2T, they have a more limited selection (ranging from medium pricey to quite expensive) but the common opinion is that they deliver on the quality.

So, you’ve tried young sheng, you’ve tried shou, but youl feel like there is still something missing in your life despite all the different therepists you’ve seen and dating apps you’ve tried. You crave magic, you crave mystery, you crave headaches caused by long hours on the internet searching websites that are written only in Chinese. Welcome! You have entered the world of Aged Sheng Puer. The tea, the myth the legend; sheng puer.

Sheng peur can be tricky for a handful of reasons. Although it is all aged tea from the same plant, much like wine, the flavor and variety can change depending on what region it is grown in, how old the tress are, how the trees are managed, how it is processed, and how it is stored, is it made by a large factory or by a smaller 'boutique' company. Tea from the same tree can be processed in multiple ways and come out differently. Tea that is from the same tree and processed the same can still come out vastly different if it is stored differently. Storage is a whole topic unto itself so please seek other resources for better understanding how storage can affect puer. Learning about storage can also give you some insight into your own tastes. Some people prefer the thicc and dank old school taste of puer stored in the traditional way in Hong Kong. Some people want something lighter that might carry more floral high notes like dry Taiwan storage. Some might want something in the middle like natural Guangdong storage. Fear not, we have some suggestions for you.

LiquidProust.com: Where to start... 

During the fall, LP traditionally puts together a package for beginners as a way of showing support for those who were like him when he first started getting into tea and puer. This costs an astounding $5 including shipping and, in my opinion, is a great thing that is what building community and sharing is all about. A lot of this tea is random tea that gets donated to LP so don’t expect anything astounding, but for $5 I am not going to complain.

During the late spring LP will put together the ‘Sheng Olympiad’ which is a large selection of sheng loosely organized around a specific theme. It is only $27 (plus shipping) but it will get you a butt load of tea and you will have the opportunity to talk about the selection with other people who bought the  same package thus offering lots of good insights and opportuniTEAs for making friends.

Year round there is the ‘LP Hook Up’ where you pay him $20 and he will give you a selection of stuff that you don’t get to choose but it will be more than $20 worth. When you order it, make sure to specify what kind of teas you want (ie: sheng, shou, oolong, etc). The other fun part about it is if you want more/better quality of tea you can always up the anti and do multiple increments of $20 when selecting the qty. Again, it might not all be super great stuff, it might be some leftover shake from a spent cake, but you will probably get a good amount of stuff to try and some of it will probably be okay if not great.

KingTeaMall.com: There is a lot to choose from here. Is it all good? No. Are there some good deals to be had? Yes. KTM offers a large variety of affordable factory teas (the big name companies that mass produce puer usually intended to be aged thoroughly before consumption) and is reliable in terms of authenticity and not selling fakes. My favorite part is that there are multiple sample options including small 8g sample sizes. I love this because it means they can be very cheap ($3-$5) and if I don’t like it, im not stuck with a chunk of tea I don’t like. Unlike with the Shou, the Dayi factory has a lot of hype for their sheng puer. Yes, this tea can be very good, but oftentimes the prices are very inflated. For Sheng on KTM, I would stick to either Changtai or Xiauguan. Factory tea can be affordable, delicious, and complex, but it is not so for every cake. Please seek out advice from people on r/puer or discord. (recs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

TeasWeLike.com: These people sell good tea. They do not sell cheap tea. They do not sell samples. They ship from Taiwan and they do not offer free shipping. This can be intimidating for new people, especially those who are price conscious. What these people are known for is for having a well curated reputable selection. The prices can be steep, but they are pretty fair for the quality and you can be certain it is a good quality tea with good quality storage (leaving room for differing tastes). TWL is concious of trying to have quality offerings available at lower prices (examples: '12 cent sheng,' xiaguan jinchas and tuochas)

YeeOnTea.com: This is for people who want that real old school style, HK Traditional Cellar stored puer. Their prices are very reasonable and they have a good selection of both sheng and shou ranging from cheap daily drinkers to more high end offering. This is another website that can be intimidating to beginners and would do well with asking around on the internet for recommendation before buying samples. (shou: best taste loose, menghai purple. sheng: mtf 04 8582, 2012 nanqiao 8582, 2010 mtf 7542, 2001 wild camphour clusters, 01 xg pine crane tuo)

Yunnansourcing.com: These people are popular for a reason. They have a lot of tea. Not all of if it is good, but there are definitely a lot of options. I would again advise checking out their sample packs. They have ones comparing storage styles and regions for aged sheng. They have ones that compare different terroirs and how different growing regions affect a tea. YS teas tend to be more on the dryer said for their storage so please keep that in mind when buying and drinking.

Crimson Lotus Tea and W2T: These companies are known more for their young sheng but they do still have a couple of good options for trying some semi aged stuff. W2T has a tea called ‘Old reliable’ which is a good place to start. They also have a terroir sampler that many speak highly of that does a good job showcasing some of the different flavor profiles from different regions. CLT has a package called ‘What is Puer’ that has a shou, a semi aged sheng, and an older sheng all to offer a good comparison on the variety of puer that is available. Many also speak highly of this package and commend the thoughtful samples that are included.

YangQingHao: to some, this may be an odd one to suggest for beginners. these teas are pricey, no doubt, but i believe they are a great option for people wishing to try quality puer that has quality 'qi.' additionally, i find that a lot of these teas are ready to drink and better quality than many others at the same price point from other, including the ones i mentioned above. Emmett, the person who acts as the 'middleman' to westerners for selling YQH, a company based in Taiwan, has started offering samples which makes trying these teas more accessible. good places to start: 99 cangmi, 07 jincha, 99 jintuo, 06 qixiang.

Randos on the internet: Ah yes, my favorite. I don’t like capitalism. I don’t like business. I do love random people who are passionate about tea and about building community and sharing their knowledge with others. On reddit and discord there are groups where people sell off teas they no longer want and this can lead to some great deals. Sometimes, if you ask around, you can even buy some samples or cakes from people who are happy to sell or trade. I like buying from these people the most because theyre usually not trying to make a profit off you, they are honest about what they are selling/trading (and not having to market it like a business), and they usually have some good experience and knowledge under their belt.

Whew, that’s a lot, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The world of puer can be a daunting one. It is not a hobby that I chose, rather, it chose me, and as of now, it looks like I might be stuck for good. I hope you find some things that are helpful and can guide you in the right direction. And most importantly, I hope you find some tea that makes you happy.

xoxo,

atzei besamim

Post Script:

Some additional blogger posts talking about vendors and where to begin:

Teadb

Cwyn 

MarshalN

There are soooooo many tea vendors out there that it isn’t worth giving an overview of all of them especially for beginners. I do want to shine a light on those that I neglected or those that do not get a lot of attention. Below is a list of online tea vendors I have come across in my long hours of puer research. Happy drinking ;)

Puerist

Tea Encounter

Essence of Tea

Adventure in Every Cup

King Tea Set

Far Wenwa

Puerh Junky

Tienxi

Awazon

Yunnancraft

Chawangshop

Tea Urchin

Bana Tea

TheTea.pl

Tea Masters

The Jade Leaf