HOW and WHY to break up Tea cakes - Pt.1 MASTERCLASS

[@benjaminvanwey1385]

This answered alot of questions I didnt even know I had.

[@aidanm.5461]

Friend: You like tea? Omg. Me, too! I like iced blueberry roobios. What do you like? / Me: I like tea that smells like an elephant house and tastes like a library. / Friend: What? / Me: What...

[@robertmahiques6218]

To be fair iced blueberry rooibos sounds pretty good.

[@michaelcunliffe5517]

Tea ware collection video would be great.

[@Surviving65]

2nd this

[@NayNay-zm5ln]

Third this💕

[@joshuaburrows7363]

4th

[@TheAmorphousGamer]

These sorts of experiments are my favorite videos of yours. It's very important to apply the scientific method to a lot of this stuff we always hear about tea! Your video on storage was fantastic, and I'd love to see more of this stuff.

[@TerryPROorchids]

Hello Don - I've been waiting until you got around to this test. I've been storing pu-erh (both sheng & shou) for quite a few years and early on ran out of any Yixing clay containers & found most suppliers do not import any longer primarily because of breakage and freight costs. The alternative that I've been using probably for over 20 years is to use brand new terra cotta pots that I wash out (no soap - just good clean RO water) several times and let the pots (from 6" diameter up to 17" diameter) dry out in the direct south Florida sun. I use terra cotta saucers several sizes larger for a lid that would cover the opening of the pot. I place the paper wrapped bings directly inside the pots (I actually wrap the bings with an internal paper label explaining purchase date, source, price, and any additional info such as what you give in your sales pages along with a shortened descriptive label on the outside when I tie new mulberry artist paper around the original wrapping paper using butcher twine). If I'm storing pu-erh that I've either broken as your video shows or if I happen to have loose leaf pu-erh into these terra cotta pots (obviously for loose leaf only one particular pu-erh per pot) I add a double or triple layer of new copy/typing paper on the inside bottom of the pot (cut to the round shape of the pot's inside bottom) so the leaves do not fall out of the single drainage hole. The nice thing about the TC pots w/ the saucer lids it that I can stack the pots 3 or 4 layers on top of eachother. Sorry about the long explanation but I have had exceptional results storing my pu-erh this way. Hope you might be able to add TC pot storage to your test because TC pots (even the huge 14" & 17" pots) are a bunch cheaper that good Yixing storage jars.

[@marissahartshorn7049]

I really deeply need a longer and deeper explanation of this! I live in a high mountain state (think Wyoming, Colorado, Utah) and in order to keep the right humidity I have to store in mylar with a humidity pack, but this sounds really interesting.

[@finelooseleaftea]

The leaf ASMR is very satisfying. I learned so much watching this and it reminds me I have an unopened Mei Leaf cake in storage. I will try this method to compare the taste of inner and outer leaves. Looking forward to learning more throughout this series.

[@koltencraft5930]

Don, let's level with each other... How much for a cake of the boss? That was my first tea cake and it opened my mind! So fun to see it make another appearance. Much love!

[@chrisladouceur4093]

I’ve given this thought on numerous occasions but haven’t done any real experiments on it. Glad you’re covering this topic. Looking forward to part 2!

[@forteandblues]

I know I’m probably in the minority on this channel. But bing hole kept making me laugh.

[@aiwendilciunio]

I was just wondering how he can even say it with a straight face

[@bradhouston4734]

😂 no, I get it! Immature…but still. Especially with some of the combos! 😂 Not I am past these now (some maturing), but could make for a funny drinking game

[@captainrandom6858]

I’ve heard it all the time and it is still funny to hear 😅

[@AviSLeigh]

Captain bing hole! I can’t help but revert to my childhood mind hearing bing hole! Lmao

[@user70331]

Mr cornholio, is that you

[@WildBarfMan]

Very informative. Learned a lot watching you

[@dannyism3221]

Highly anticipating the next part in the series!

[@GilbertBarrierLaDanseduSilence]

I've kept some raw pu erh from different years and mountains in air tight zip bags, as a result 2-3 years later : the fruitiness is mostly gone, astringency is up (uncomfortable on the back of the throat). About the ripe cakes they lost the salivating and buttery taste. I'm now keeping it in a carton box in a more humid and breathable environment (I live in Laos) since last week to try to get them back. I also recently bought a yixing gaiwan and some cups to try to balance it, it's more drinkable but far from ideal. What I've learned is to never keep a cake in a air tight bag if it's for more than a few months.

[@horrudu4081]

There is also the matter of the age. It is sometimes said that Sheng Puerh have a "teenage" stage between maybe 2 and 7 years of age, where they are a bit wierd and uncomfortable. Just like teens. So maybe this was what you where experiencing?

[@GilbertBarrierLaDanseduSilence]

@@horrudu4081 yes I've heard about it and I've kept it in mind for the youngest one (2017), but the effect has been similar with a yiwu from 2010 and a "lao man e" 2014 where the strong taste of hay almost disappeared. I've also shared it with others in case it was coming from my palate, but same thing. Being in Laos (hot and humid) or France (dry and often cold), to keep it air tight didn't work well on these pu erh cakes from my experience

[@horrudu4081]

@@GilbertBarrierLaDanseduSilence Very interesting indeed, thank you for sharing!

[@teasilverbankster1932]

Dang you got really fast at breaking that tea cake up.... Lol On a serious note.... I'm genuinely enjoying these master class videos and how informative these really are. I'm going to start experimenting with a pu'erh cake from 1962 that I possess in breaking the entire cake up and different ways of storage... I'm a lover pu'erh tea.

[@killers31337]

OK this explains a lot. When I got my first aged (15+) sheng puer, in my first brew I got almost only outer leaf material. So the first brew was basically "damp earth in the forrest" then a lot of wood, only some hint of fruit in the end. So it was disappointing. When I dug deeper into it and got mixed inner and outer stuff, I got a mix of woody stuff with a fruity stuff.

[@stefanzweig171]

Great video! I look forward to the follow up tasting of the broken up cake. Let' see if the 23:30 "Elephant House funk" smell will still be there.

[@MrMerkelmatz]

Realy love your videos. It´s always calm me down watching you testing and it´s informative as well. Thanks for that

[@kreigindexzensur]

are you going to put some Monocle Boss cakes on the shop? please?

[@xSilverFernx]

I had set aside time this very weekend to break up a cake (Flower Crane, which I'm drinking down like it's ambrosia that's going to make me immortal), so this was very timely, thank you!

[@shannonmatheson1587]

"elephant house funk" - hahaha.. that is classic. I might use that term one day. lovely video by the way - thank you

[@Melissa-ol7qr]

How wonderful! I have the Jade Star 4 2010 that's still a cake. Gonna try to taste the difference.:-)

[@2deparrish]

Fascinating. I was not a fan of pu’er until I tried a Sheng. The complexity is much more interesting then Shus I’ve tried. Your conclusion regarding inner/outer leaves is going to cause me to do the same experiment....what fun!

[@Jerry_9997]

This is exactly the thing I thought about. Thank you for this series. And what if I use the compressed piece for tea without breaking it? I mean like part of the hard compressed middle. And what do you think about storing in metal plate container? There is some plastic thing to airtight it, but it can be taken out.

[@prechayaford4371]

I love THE BOSS!! So glad I still have one unbroken cake left. The sound of the leaves as you break the cake is so soothing! It should be in one of noise for sleep app. How did you determine on 1month for waiting period?

[@joev.8543]

The asmr of that cake crackling is intensely enjoyable lol

[@joev.8543]

I commented this before he said it himself and that's satisfying as well haha

[@Izuuun]

Ohhh the asmr though~

[@ottoman1755]

Yes, yes, “elephant funk, library notes…”

[@asjordan0yt]

What ever happened to the tea press I thought you said you purchased? Is Fractal Finder the only time it will be used? (I now have some diagonal pliers for kitchen use for obstinate articles like tightly-pressed tea cakes). Thanks. Keep up the good work and keep expanding my tea horizons. I find these videos to be time well spent. Thanks.

[@wildebeestwright]

This was really fun. Now I just need to find some good Yixing clay jars…

[@gediminaskontrimas7992]

Helpful and informative. Thanks.

[@lukasshrout583]

Hi Don, I’m curious as to whether the bing hole serves any functional purposes (ie. Structure?) or is just a result of the way the knot in the bag sits atop the cake when being pressed...if it is just a consequence of the pressing method and results in more broken leaves, why would tea processors not switch to a method that doesn’t result in an extremely tightly pressed bing hole?

[@Acc_Hugh]

that small gap allows for relative airflow vs fully flat shapes. helps with better tea transformation. That said designs like iron cakes which are fully flat and extremely tightly pressed by tonnes weight takes too long to age, alot longer than traditional stone pressed nested-hole designs.

[@20thcenturyboy85]

Thank you!

[@joetexas1546]

I have one of your clay jars- I realize that they are expensive to ship- However I would like several more! I have over a half of your (camphory- woodsy) Monocle Boss cake left.

[@pistolatime2515]

I found some very cheap one on Chinese online market (mine I bought are from Taobao). 3 big for ~25CAD (includes shipping)

[@SatyrBarbarossa_Eleusis]

Nothing funky .. funkier … elephant house funk! Hmmm .. quite the scale of notes, really ;o) On another note: thanks for this class, Don - lots of useful material here! 💚

[@wads80z]

I'm interested to hear the aged tea comparison. I had always assumed that the aged teas you sold were at optimal drinking...not for storing and revisiting years later? I would be worried about the taste dulling in my house over years...

[@bradhouston4734]

Hmmm, this gives me more hope. I’ve been so excited to get my first White tea, watching and listening to these descriptions of all the aromas…then, as I used just the outer leaves…. Mostly left with an ok, nice inner warming, mostly hay/horse tasting drop. If I’m just a newbie tragic with no pallet…is there hope? Also, my Wife and I love really bold flavours in food…. So should I expect to need to develop a taste for very delicate flavours…more patience…just need to uncover the inner leaves??

[@tonyskinner871]

Where would I find a clay jar like the one in this video?

[@BlakeP16]

Another masterclass?!?! Woooo

[@enchantedrockview]

So at a Chinese grocery store I saw several teas in the shape of bricks (rectangular) of not only Pu'er tea but others like black, green and jasmine. However, while looking for info on them, I've only found these round, exclusively Pu'er, cakes. Any info on the rectangular tea bricks?

[@Rawj3r]

I'm gonna need that blue Tea towel 👀

[@andreazardi8689]

Really wonderful video !!

[@chrisk4675]

Have you ever steamed the bing holes and then once they have come apart a little more let them dry out? I’ve seen someone say they steam their cakes to break them up. Just curious if you have heard of anything like that?

[@alfred1975]

Would lightly steaming the cake help? Or will this just promote mould growth?

[@NayNay-zm5ln]

Great video. I need the container to store the tea. Do you sell it?

[@shutupack5389]

Does wood make a good container for pu'erh? It IS porous. I store mine in a drawer, but would a big wooden box, not unlike the one which you used to break up tea in this video, work as a vessel? How would it rank up against yixing in terms of storing material?

[@Surviving65]

I've been under the impression that wood changes the scent. Primarily from the oils in the wood and the varnish if any. By extension I'd assume the exchange from oils can change flavor. But maybe someone else has a different opinion.

[@beth.7]

@@Surviving65 True. But what about bamboo? Shouldn’t that be relatively neutral or at least “vegetal” enough, for want of a better word?

[@xscale]

On the difference between inner and outer, Don, is it possible that the outer leaves are interacting with the paper wrapper on the cake? Paper has a lot of chemicals in it - some of which we might not actually benefit from - so I begin to wonder whether taking the unbroken cakes and kind of sanding the outer layer off before breaking it up might not be a good idea - ?

[@Surviving65]

I've heard that too much ink on the cake paper can have a negative effect on taste of the tea. Have you or anyone else tried aging the same cake, one in the ink soaked paper and one either bare or in a clean (ink free) paper?

[@prophtube]

Most of Mei Leaf's cakes are double wrapped. One with the print, and one tissue paper that actually touches the cake itself.

[@prophtube]

But, I'm interested to know the answer to this as well.

[@lars8523]

If the inner part of the tea aged better, wouldn't this mean that puerh ages better with less oxygen, for example in a closed jar?

[@lunes-1]

Great video,keep it up!⬜🟥⚫🔵

[@captainrandom6858]

I still have some of this tea left! (My first tea cake I ever bought!) Might break some out for this video … cheers! 🥂

[@kimberly9181]

So the first time I tried a sampler of Jade Star VII I was so blown away by the strawberry leather, but then when I bought a cake and was breaking into it as I go I wasn’t quite as impressed as time went on. Might be me getting used to the taste, but now i’m thinking it might have also been because the sampler had been broken up and stored in an airtight bag! I’ve since broken up my cake of Jade Star VII and hopefully a month later i’ll be as impressed as I was the first time. If not, I was probably just shook because that was my first time trying a Jade star.

[@extraslava1]

Please let us know the result. 😊

[@bbbrunella]

When he calls a tea "physical" is that code for bitter?

[@Username-xd3qx]

"Bing hole" 😅 I'm sorry I couldn't stop giggling.

[@LiamEserda]

Hello Don, on some teacakes is printed: "Gu Shu" and they are raw/Sheng. Can You tell me what it means? Something different than "Shou/ripe" it must be I guess.

[@MeiLeaf]

It means old trees

[@MeiLeaf]

You can check out our video about it by searching 'what is gushu tea'

[@LiamEserda]

@@MeiLeaf Ok clear, thank you Don!

[@LiamEserda]

@ MeiLeaf: I have not noticed that video. I will search for it. Thanks again!

[@schuleman603]

Did it mess up your fingers at all? I broke a cake down like that once. The leaves were kind of rough on my fingers.

[@hugh3712]

The Pasha Sheng cake looks incridibly dark for a 5 yrs old Sheng puerh, maybe tune up the camara lighting a bit paler would do the tea cake more justice? It's stone hand-pressed rather than machine pressed; the cake itself is fairly loose to start with already.Machine pressed cakes are a completely different story.

[@GeofreySanders]

If a mix of the outer and inner leaves is the best way to drink an aged cake, is the liquor from mixed leaves better than a blend of the liquors from inner and outer leaves? Now you have to make another video - for science! Edit: haha, I wrote this at the 29:00 minute mark, right before you said you'll be making the exact video I was asking about! More edit: And have you had a broken-up Monocle Boss cake in loose storage for the last five years to compare cake vs. loose-leaf aging??

[@GeofreySanders]

Would steaming help break up troublesome chunks?

[@wildebeestwright]

Instead of breaking up the most compressed bit in the middle, which mixes broken leaf throughout the rest, why not just throw that bit directly into a pot and brew it up?

[@jav3951]

Tea leaves flying. Tea leaves flying everywhere.

[@GeofreySanders]

Cake breaking really requires either (a) some sort of clean room setup or (b) an accounting writeoff of the lost bits.

[@666aron]

I don't think that I would notice any differences between broken up and compressed teas. Usually a teacake lasts at most a year from the opening in my case. And I don't have the discipline to keep tea cakes unopened, untouched for long. Nevertheless, I'm excited to follow this experiment.

[@abctaschenbuch3154]

Buy a Tong and you will have the discipline my friend

[@kreigindexzensur]

Monocle Boss, wow!

[@amandarhodes573]

How do you store your tea cakes thats still in packaging?

[@karmesindryade]

If you don't have a breathable clay container would it be maybe good to put in an airtight jar and let it breathe once every week by opening it for an hour or so?

[@hugh3712]

For a 5yrs old Sheng, I'd say not to over airing it. Upon the first time you break it, leave it in open air (clean air, dry enough) for a couple of hours and then put in the jar, let it sit for a week and it's good to drink. (what I also do personally, is to put in a jar with loose lid to let a bit of air in, which worked out okay ish). But for proper old pureh (e.g. since 1990s/early 2000s, I'd leave it out in half open air for 1 day and let it sit in breathable clay/jar for 1-4 wks)

[@kelvinyschun]

Some tea best stores refrigerated. Please discuss storage methods. In China, some top quality tea is stored refrigerated and cheaper quality outside viewing. I always want AAAAA quality when buying.

[@TheScotsalan]

Yes. I live in China, and local tea shops keep green tea in a fridge. Some shops have loose tea in glass jars that are sold by the ounce. Cakes in big clay jars, apart from the display cakes that are just on shelves. Its an inyeresting thought.. the fridge I mean. What is a chopped onion is also in the fridge 😂👍. I have bought many a can of beer in China where the smell of the shopowners lunch has stuck to the side of the can 😳

[@kelvinyschun]

@@TheScotsalan Thank you. I store my good tea in the refrigerator.

[@iamgnom4643]

Should raw puehr be broken up too?

[@GeofreySanders]

This was a raw puerh cake he demonstrated on. Did you mean ripe? If so...I'm curious to know, too!

[@margaretmccullough4457]

Dear Sir, I am 60 years old and a lifelong tea drinker. I have recently become diabetic and I am looking for a tea that is naturally sweet so that I might avoid using any sugar or artificial sweeteners. I’m wondering if you might suggest a few different brands as I live in America and may not be able to find the ones that you have in England. Any help would be great. Thank you so much in advance. Margaret PS I currently drink a lot of Twining teas.

[@allybruener5974]

I really like Mountain Nectar and High Mountain Sparrow from Whispering Pines (based in the US). Both have a very pleasant natural sweetness.

[@margaretmccullough4457]

Thank you very much for the reply Ally

[@GeofreySanders]

Rock oolongs are surprisingly sweet and fruity.

[@TheScotsalan]

In an earlier video, he said storing water with bamboo charcoal in it can help sweeten water.

[@X4XP11]

Stay away from tea bags and go for loose leaf and gongfu style brewing. The tea won’t taste bitter.

[@ishabol]

Toucha video please!

[@fusiondecor]

How about really tight, hard-pressed bricks?

[@mehdiz805]

Should water be heated slower for a better taste ?

[@mehdiz805]

Mei be

[@thefriar8883]

Reminds me of how someone would break up a wheel of good Parmesan

[@josephmunoz640]

I know this is old but true test is blind folded and someone hands you the cups if you can tell the difference then its better control

[@ryuukin178]

This could be classified as ASMR lol

[@HellGod67]

Puerh ASMR is a thing :D

[@asjordan0yt]

What happens when a tea cake is stored in 100% oxygen?

[@marshallblanton3690]

2 more weeks don!

[@arthurporter131]

That is the tightest bing hole I have ever seen.

[@jacob.g.l1592]

Puerh cake breaking asmr anyone?

[@asjordan0yt]

I think you need some butcher paper.

[@desertfox432]

🔮 2030, Monocle Boss wrappers become lucrative NFT's.

[@asdfqwer7925]

I think you are a income orianteted beeing ... on youtube

[@Alexander-bv4px]

Very interesting video Don! Do you take the difference between the inner layer and the outer layer into concideration when packaging the samples of your teas? My thinking is that if the difference between the layers makes you think they could be two different teas, the sample might be very misleading if you only would get outer layer leaves.

[@josephmunoz640]

I know this is old but true test is blind folded and someone hands you the cups if you can tell the difference then its better control