A Thousand MOLDY cakes! What can we do?!

[@NayNay-zm5ln]

Thank you for your honesty!!!! I am so sorry you had to go through all of that but you were very diplomatic. This is why I order from you. I know I can trust you and the tea you sell. Thank you Don.💕

[@motorcityjudy]

Me too!

[@AmazinFireMan]

What a journey that you let us into, the ups & downs of the tea business. Your expertise & passion is so much appreciated. Hooked!

[@charlesperez9976]

This might be your most important video,and here’s why: You could have told us that you were ‘experiencing supplier issues’ or something,and we never would have known about the mold debacle,a tea-pocalypse,as it were! But you didn’t do that. You were honest and forthcoming,and shared with us,this unfortunate situation. I respect that very much,Don. Yes,you are a business owner,a salesperson,but this showing of honesty and integrity is proof that you have a genuine passion for the potion known as TEA! I salute your integrity and passion. I’ll be in London from September 18-26,and you can be sure that I will be visiting MeiLeaf while I am there. See you in a few months!😊

[@stormraven4183]

I agree with the idea of rewrapping and selling at a discount. Thank you for your open and frank discussion.

[@ongoingmartin]

The breathable bags for tongs look like a fab idea!

[@norabellerose8560]

Despite the mistakes you’ve proven to be a trust worthy tea guy for your honesty and owning up to your mistakes and fixing it.

[@chi_bot8648]

I would gladly buy a thong of the none-moldy cakes that are getting opened for inspection, I dont mind them getting rewrapped In anyway, you could lower the price on them!

[@UnubtaniumTheCyborg]

100% same here :D

[@cmrd_hdcrb]

Yeah totally agree.

[@sydneyw9407]

While that is a great thought, I wonder if part of the worry is there might be mold INSIDE the tea cake and not present on the outside of the cake? Then they would have to deal with returns if not more trouble :( I would hate to see anyone get sick or sued

[@cmrd_hdcrb]

@@sydneyw9407 My best guess is that the tangerine peel is the problem because it most likely absorbs more moisture than the tea itself. So I'd guess that the tea cake will not get moldy now if it has not already. Also, a bit of mold is not all that bad. Ripe puerh has sometimes Black mold in it and you just rinse that away anyway.

[@samivayajd]

Too much of a risk as a business owner. If this were held up to standard health codes this would not be legally sellable.

[@ciganyweaverandherperiwink6293]

You deserve to have five times as many subscribers. You're THE tea authority. No peers. Head and shoulders above. I wish you had a slightly aggressive PR agent who could get you on terrestrial TV or a Netflix contract. You hide your light under a bushel, that's for sure. I'm feeling evangelical and wish everybody had access to your charm and knowledge. Fantastic channel and wonderful store. Off to place an order after pressing 'comment'. ;D

[@BlakeP16]

Behind the scenes was amazing!

[@luisguhong]

What an intense episode. Thank you for sharing the good and not so good times with us.

[@Will-wn1fz]

I’m so glad you take these risks to provide people with quality tea. You embody what tea is all about! Excited to try Find Your Sunshine :-)

[@sydneyw9407]

What a bad situation! You guys sure turned it around though, that solution you & your suppliers came up with looks adorable. I'm glad you didn't up the price for customers as well to compensate, very up front. Looking forward to more videos and tea

[@luziboys]

You are amazing! Thank you for sharing. We hope all gets sorted out. 🙏🍵🍃

[@myque890]

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It shows how much dedication, sweat and tears go into sourcing teas - and how incredibly complex and incomprehensible the global supply chain has become. To me, your videos are about so much more than just tea, they provide us with deep insights into what goes into the production of goods. The first step to a more sustainable supply chain is showing what it means to grow, produce, process, transport and sell those goods. I'd love to see more of this! I'm happy it all ended on a good note. You're amazing!

[@NoelleLocke]

Oh my word, Mr. Don! The IRONY of "finding your sunshine" in this situation!!! My heart is so grateful for you and the Mei Leaf team; I'm so glad you guys were able to sell this, despite the heartbreaking dilemma!

[@Choco37Raspbry]

When I saw that title, my heart dropped for you guys (and for me too😢). But then I saw the length of the video and I crossed my fingers. Glad everything's sorted out! Love the new gaiwan and also the tong bags. Please, can you make it possible to have the option of leaving the tong in the bamboo wrap or this new bag (if you're switching to this) at the checkout? I was a little sad to receive my tongs in individual packs. Alternatively, could you please add the tong bags as part of your merch? Because I will definitely buy them❤️ Thank you for always giving TeaJoy every Saturday.

[@MeiLeaf]

We are looking at ways to provide the tongs and understand that some people want the original bamboo. We have had an issue or two in the past where the wrong tong was sent and so the dispatch team like to confirm that there aren't any mistakes which is why they open the bamboo unless specifically requested. We may move to these bags or offer them for sale once we have tested them more thoroughly.

[@Choco37Raspbry]

@@MeiLeaf Perfect! I'd be happy with either choice😊

[@UnubtaniumTheCyborg]

@@MeiLeaf Keep us posted

[@kindchennn]

I literally started watching and didn’t realize a) how long the video was + b) that you mentioned that date in the beginning when you were first recording. I literally ran into our bedroom and told my boyfriend the sad news. Then I came back in and watched the rest of the video, feeling better and better for you guys every minute. I’m so happy Sunshine II is gonna be okay. I gotta say, I would LOVE to purchase samples of original, moldy cakes. (Obviously pieces without the mold LOL). Also love the new tong wraps. I am no stranger to understanding the love of the authentic, traditional nature of using bamboo for wrapping the tongs, but I honestly love the idea of these moisture/aerated bags to hold your tea. I’ve been falling down the ML rabbit hole watching videos that I missed throughout the years. In one you mentioned storage methods, for example, Malaysian style storage, Hong Kong storage, etc. I would love a video on storage styles, (and if you already have one, I’m actually gonna go on a hunt now), because I’ve been speaking to some people in China and they don’t really get too geeky.. but I’d like to dive into the geekdom and know more. Thanks guys!

[@Mr.Lukas333]

Can’t wait to to try the tea myself. I am going to wait with my order until the cups are released. They are absolutely beautiful. I might have to get the new gaiwan as well

[@TheSmatislav]

The slow mic drop is actually pretty comedic, especially when you fast forward through the video... 😄

[@puritan745]

Agreed, I was only watching out of the corner of my eye on my second monitor while listening so I had to go back after he mentioned it .. Made me laugh, I have never seen a Mic photo bomb like that before :D

[@johnb7337]

Interesting story! It makes perfect sense that there would be risk in creating a new tea form like that. Good that you could get it resolved.

[@sierraplares9607]

perfect tea. Just ordered a tong

[@edanpepega7579]

please check the parameters of the warehouse that you store the tea in. If you have other tea stored in that same area, its probably also susceptible to mold! You can also maybe ask the factory to really take their time with the process to allow the moisture to evaporate better.

[@DuduTheDoraAmon]

Pretty gaiwan, is it Ru Yao ? I could see that classic crackling. Gonna age beautifully!

[@clairesstitchingcorner8910]

Bit of a nail bitter to start with so glad it got resolved might have to nab a cake as I missed out on find your sunshine 1

[@conaldunn1570]

Thanks for sharing trials and tribulations. Puts my annoyance at discovering that a 2000 Yi Wu Huang Pian raw tea cake I have been keeping and trying from time to time has become utterly tasteless into proper perspective. I’m glad this disaster seems to have resolved reasonably well for you Don. I always think of you as the James Brown of tea business i.e. the hardest working man. I’ve bought the stunning gaiwan.

[@cctvmanbob]

Don't throw it . Here is an idea , how about opening each cake before sending , make this very clear to the customer. Sell it at a reduced rate ( because it has been opened). So, you won't lose it all ,but you will not make the money from it you would expect... Surly better than a larger loss ?

[@sydneyw9407]

The mold might not be present on the outside of the cake but still be on the inside, so they could sell moldy cakes without meaning to. That might be bad for business reputation etc, an awful situation :(

[@killers31337]

@@sydneyw9407 Ripe puer fermentation process involves fungi. It is created through "wet piling" process: piles of wet tea leaves are left on floor to be consumed by bacteria and fungi. Traditional puer aging process in HK also involves leaving tea cakes in humid environment with ~70% humidity for years. So if you don't want fungi in your tea you shouldn't drink puer. (And it's hard for me to believe that fungi which grow on wet tea leafs are fundamentally different from fungi which grow on wet tea leafs.)

[@honestpuck23]

@@killers31337 excellent for compost. perhaps compost tea.

[@shanividal8885]

Omg I am so sad fir you;;;; It made me stressed out too and I went to open up my cake from 2014 that I have never opened till now just to ease my worries

[@WheediesManchild]

During the sampling part of the video is I think the most manic we've seen you, you really felt anxious and all over the place like you just wanted to get the video done. Which is of course completely understandable given everything! It's also good that they where able to remake it for you. Lets hope this doesn't sour your experience with the tea when you drink it, it would be easy to get hung up on your personal history and hardships with it.

[@Junyzhu]

Hopefully the supplier will have a reasonable resolve solution for you ! Totally understand how frustrating it is can be .

[@darrensucksatgames]

The thing I’ve found most informative with both you and Unytea is you do not shy away from sharing the many hurdles that go into getting us our tea. It’s an important part of tea education and I can’t imagine it’s a great feeling, nor does it feel better sharing this information to the customers, but it’s actually because you do this that you remain on the top of your game.

[@angelgalindo5740]

I've had moldy shrooms before and here I stand! 😅 I truly wouldn't mind buying some of these moldy cakes lol I've eaten around moldy fruit too, and I'm fine

[@techorix]

It's fine for a while when you are young but the mold is not good and certainly is not acceptable in highest priced goods

[@randyclere7756]

I’d still drink it!!

[@YrjoPuska777]

Call it blue tea and increase the price? They did that with cheese also :P

[@YushangChen]

The moldy tea may kill people, I know you are just simply joking, but I am serious, 🙂

[@sarahhicks9651]

Any recommendations for good books on tea blending or other things about tea?

[@OldTeaHead]

Well damn, I should of finished the video before leaping like I did in previous comments. You really should have started by telling us it was already resolved. I was having a panick attack for you. 🤣🤣

[@kilgoretrout413]

Spoilers! 😡😉

[@WWIIbooksAndMetal]

Hello,I havent commented on your videos in a long long time.. but am wondering where this tea came from? Lately been trying to be more aware of where the tea is coming from, the elevation, humidity.. etc..

[@codysmith4513]

You could always market the affected cakes as m-old growth pu'er. 😅 But in all honesty I hope it wasn't too costly for the remakes. Maybe use the tea for watercolor art?

[@techorix]

Yeah you have to send it back. Usually businesses are insured against this stuff

[@Cruz0e]

You can re-wrap them in your using a new "labeled: re-wrapped" wrapping paper and it they are okay, you can try sell at discount price, explained why it was opened, to reduce your damage. I would buy one like that if I see it on your website. Amazon does that all the time, sell "opened box" on discount price.

[@OldTeaHead]

With time of year and humidity high I would guess it shipment sat somewhere in overly humid area waiting somewhere along covid restricted route. As long as it is only surface and not deep in cake yet it should be salvageable.

[@mattlm64]

If you watch the video, the producer owned up to it and resent a batch. You don't want to risk mould in tea, the mycotoxins are not healthy.

[@OldTeaHead]

@@mattlm64 Unfortunately the article I linked to wasn't posted. The fellow that rehabbed cakes said yellow or green mold is bad but not white like he had. I don't know about it myself though.

[@mattlm64]

@@OldTeaHead I wouldn't take the risk. Mycotoxins are already a concern in tea without there needing to be visible mould. If there is visible mould then that would be a major red flag.

[@Mandragara]

@@mattlm64 Agreed. I don't think I trust Chinese traditional mould lore enough to drink mould. I reckon it'd also contaminate my Shu Puer Duanni pot

[@OldTeaHead]

@@Mandragara You can not have shou puerh without mold (fungal) growth. That is part of the fermentation process. "The common fungi isolated during the fermentation process of Pu-erh tea mainly belongs to Aspergillus, yeasts, Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Mucor." The very thing that gives that earthy, mushrooms flavor is mold/fungus. Is there bad mold? Absolutely yes. Is there good mold? Absolutely yes. Fu brick tea (golden flowers) is inoculated purposely with a particular mold. Penicillin is another beneficial mold. The general consensus in the shou puerh drinking community is that white surface mold is fine and even can be beneficial to the flavor of shou puerh. I am no expert but it appears we could all use some additional research in the area.

[@Hungry_Ham]

Could it be the white stuff is just crystallised sugar or something like that if its just on the chenpi? I heard it’s kind of common

[@MeiLeaf]

We explored this possibility as we know that the chen pi can have that frosting but alas this was not what we were witnessing. We actually shot a lot more video of the testing and macro investigation but it would have made the video an hour long!

[@YushangChen]

@@MeiLeaf You can simply send it to a lab to do the test, if really is the sugar, then it's another story, it looks like problem comes from the Chen pi.

[@OldTeaHead]

@@MeiLeaf I am seeing a lot of knee-jerk negative reactions to the mold issue. I would really love to see you do a deep dive into molds and shou puerh. People don't seem to understand that mold is an integral part of the fermentation process and that you can't have shou puerh without the presence of molds in its creation. Mold/fungus/mycelium are inherently present naturally in this style of tea and are the cause of many of both its flavor notes and beneficial health attributes. I think there is a large opportunity here for education and study.

[@edanlikesmovies8896]

@@OldTeaHead the kind of mold shown in the video is abnormal and isn't present to that degree even in 50 year old puerh.

[@OldTeaHead]

@@edanlikesmovies8896 Understood, by no means was I trying to imply that it was an OK situation. Just that the topic of mold is much more complex than, mold is evil. Even to the point that what is called mold isn't "true mold" on occasions but rather bacteria growth that looks like mold. Some mold and bacteria can be even deadly in high amounts. Some like penicillin or golden flowers (actually a bacteria) are beneficial. Some people rehabilitate moldy cakes. Some enjoy certain molds in cases blue cheese. I think it's a topic worth gaining some knowledge and understanding in. That was really all I meant to imply.

[@TonberryV]

For the molded batch, you should have the cakes that aren't moldy be an in shop brew only. Might not move fast, but it would be a way to dampen the hit you take on them (assuming you're comfortable with that.)

[@nickdesanto6119]

My only concern is if the whole batch was contaminated then they all were not safe to brew.

[@OldTeaHead]

I wouldn't be overly alarmed. I will have to find the article about a man who rehabs moldy shou. Mainly air drying and some sun I believe. I will look now and post when I find it.

[@chrisladouceur4093]

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. The problem is the toxins they leave behind.

[@rustyholt6619]

the composting process would certainly contain some mold , is it not a part of the process is it realty a huge problem ,,, you said it tasted fine

[@MrAqr2598]

Ouch!! So much damage to the stock!! Very sorry that the whole first batch was tainted. On the other hand, glad that they had enough tea and _chén pí_ (陳皮) to make another batch.

[@davidleonhardt7290]

I would suggest, that the tea was packed on a relatively humid day and the moisture was trapped by the plastic wrapper around the boxes, so it began to mold.

[@gitmoholliday5764]

there will be many other tea sellers suffering the same problem

[@Bigislandchef]

As a business owner myself, I know all too well the stress of such debacles. I’m sure you had to take a hit on this, but it looks like you found your sunshine.

[@DavidLee-ln6gn]

Build the shrink into your margin. When you look back at your total sales over the years...how much "shrink" or loss have you experienced? Maybe the loss isn't so bad as a % of total sales but still hurts. Scrap off the mold, shock blanch and repurpose into a blend? Don't know if that's possible...sometimes in the food/drink biz....these are the moments when a new product is created! Hahaha.....

[@emmalouie1663]

product of nature, needs more sunlight & ironically it's named.... "****"

[@smashexentertainment676]

The store where I get my Pu Erh labels products as 'damaged package' and drops like 3-5% from the price. But if the whole batch is dodgy, if you sell a 'good looking' cake to someone and he gets food poisoning, coz god knows what's on the inside of the cake, mold is not always visible, you'll have huge problems. Better be safe than sorry.

[@miccorockstar1]

test the mould, might be consumable if so then pass it off as a ray of sunshine

[@qhodave]

Glad your business isn't ruined. So when/where can we get the Chinese matcha?

[@motorcityjudy]

Oh no, every time you opened something I held my breath. I hope a good resolution occurs.

[@lemonZzzzs]

oooof. the first part of this was stressful to watch! glad it worked out in the end! I am yet to find a puerh i understand, but this does sound tempting. that new gaiwan tho... may have to get that with my next batch of teas.

[@maryannromero4333]

Honesty is the best policy and this too shall come to pass and will be figured out….

[@knyghtryder3599]

Microwave them?

[@Snugslug]

i would buy a opened up cake

[@Apollo440]

For those of us who don't get the whole tea market mechanics: Why does unpacking a tea to check it for mold make it "unsellable"? Wouldn't it be an option to repackage the good cakes after checking?

[@YushangChen]

1/10 cake for your loss, thanks for your honesty share, please relax, will be fine.

[@MeiLeaf]

huge thanks for your generosity

[@k.k.9571]

50% off and they’ll disappear in a week 😂

[@FrankDBoyce]

Just make it an NFT! 😂

[@WalkVideos4K]

That gaiwan is amazing

[@lrkfam]

break it all down & sell it by the gram?

[@kjell159]

This sounds like a worst cake scenario.

[@mirarami1055]

Just ask help from the Chinese tea master, what to do with the tea : Is it acceptable condition or not? Could you re-fermenting & re-ovening them once again, so the taste could be improved, hopefully? Sometimes some incident could be a blessing in disguise.... It's Pu'er tea after all... Not green tea 🍃🍵🤗 Calm down, ask the expert, solve the problem while enjoy your tea 🍵🤗 WUATB 🙏

[@jameswilliamson5307]

I will buy some opened ones so you can at least work towards a ROI.

[@Skirmitch]

This is not just problem solving. You could have yelled your ass out in the video against the producer or other ppl. You didn't. You could have taken the other route and not even speak. You didn't. This is temperance and diplomacy at its best.

[@joyalways1179]

Maybe you should insure everything? A thought.

[@YouBrewKombucha]

So glad things turned out alright, all things considered! Thanks for taking us along with you on this journey. I just placed an order but now I’m thinking i need to place another one for this temple gaiwan and to find some sunshine 👀☀️

[@nova0241]

This has no doubt been a stressful 5 months for you and the company, but I'm glad everything has worked out. A real shame to say goodbye to all of that excellent material and chen pi. If the moldy stuff isn't safe to sell, then I think you and your employees/family might have a great evening making a large (and VERY aromatic) bonfire; I think it would be safe to roast some marshmallows over it haha!

[@chinesetealover9092]

Pu'er tea in China

[@lucazanotta7349]

FIRST, better verify if is really mold in a analisys laboratory, i think. And if it is, if is dangerous. If not dangerours, maybe try to sell in a loose way

[@OCteahead]

Find all the cakes with no visible mold, break them up, and use it for the next ten years making kombucha! 🌱🥃🌱

[@maryannromero4333]

Take off the mold and sell it loose?

[@Allthesmallteas]

I get you're on camera and want to be professional, but I would have had way more expletives when opening the tongs.

[@neilharrison2110]

I really value your honesty and transparency. ever thought about politics?

[@dogewow8999]

F