Opening A Pu-erh Tea Cake

[@huntergreen99]

Hello I have a question. By the way, that was a great video that you did and it’s very helpful to a lot of people I’m sure. Anyway, my question is this. I have some Pu-erh’ cake that someone broke or Pride off for me. Anyway, it came in small hunks about the size of a 50 Cent piece or a silver dollar. Well, it is so tight that it’s almost impossible to get it apart and I know you’re not supposed to cut it. my question is this I was wanting to know if I put the whole hunt in a Gaiwan or should I continue working to get it apart? Thank you so much.

[@random424vid]

You can either use a pu-erh pick (see accessories on www.BanaTeaCompany.com) or you can brew following instructions on brewing for any pu-erh on that same website or KZbin.com: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX_RappubriMg7c. Hot water will coax the cake to open up but you want to be sure you do not use too much tea in ratio to hot water. Most gaiwans are fairly small and although they vary in size. Good luck and hope you enjoy your tea.

[@mnunezhk]

Tibetan Pu Erh

[@polemius01]

Thank you! I recently received a cake as a gift, and ma looking forward to drinking good pu-er.

[@waynethebarber1095]

Why is it made into a cake?

[@Rozdraws]

I think it's mostly for storage reasons, but also aging. The cake is made by wilting the leaves with steam, thus there's some moisture locked inside the cake. That helps it age, if I recall correctly.

[@MsJavaWolf]

@@Rozdraws You are right about storage and aging. It also has historical reasons, nowadays it's pretty easy to transport loose leaf tea by ship but in the past puer cakes were a popular trade good and it was much more convenient to have them pressed into dense cakes when you transported them by horse over hundreds of miles.