My friend said that when storing Pu-erh tea, they worry about it expiring; I replied: “Read my writings first.”
History is always so fair; regardless of status or wealth, no one has privilege before it. History is always so precise, using the abace of time to verify every minute detail, ensuring nothing escapes its laws. And history is also so beautiful, recording the footsteps of development in detail through the traces of passing years.
Antiques you can drink
In the 1960s, when the Palace Museum was organizing its warehouses, top-quality Longjing, Biluochun, and other teas that were once tributes had all turned to ash; only Pu-erh tea was not only perfectly preserved—firm but not dense, loose but not sparse—but could also be brewed.
With the hand of history, Pu-erh tea once again demonstrates the incomparable quality of being “antiques you can drink,” a trait that other teas cannot match.
The characteristics of Pu-erh tea—that it becomes more fragrant with age and more valuable with storage—are becoming increasingly evident. We are not seeking high connections, nor are we flattering others; let us simply look at the recent auctions held in Pu’er City, the “World Tea Source, China’s Tea City, and the Capital of Pu-erh Tea.”
The Pu’er Tea Product Auction of the 13th China Yunnan Pu-erh Tea International Expo, organized by the Pu’er Tea Association, undertaken by Pu’er Auction Co., Ltd., and assisted by Yunnan Yinding Auction Co., Ltd., successfully concluded after two auction sessions held on the morning of August 26 and the afternoon of August 27.
A total of 46 items were up for auction, with 44 items sold, reaching a total transaction amount of 2.1585 million yuan.
The sources of the products in this auction were diverse, including excellent items for collection and investment, works by masters and celebrities, as well as products from renowned enterprises and agricultural cooperatives, along with tea harvesting rights. The variety of auction items was rich and diverse, providing bidders with more choices and a better experience.
Based on the results of the on-site auction, here is a brief summary:
Three cakes of 88 Qing Bing provided by Mr. Bai Shuiqing were sold for 420,000 yuan.
88 Qing Bing.
The highest transaction price for a product from a renowned enterprise was for 3.8 kg of Jinlong Xianrui raw Pu-erh cake provided by Pu’er Tea Investment Group Co., Ltd., which sold for 380,000 yuan.
Other typical auction results are as follows:
1. 1 kg of Fenghuangshan single-tree ancient tree tea, sold for 116,000 yuan;
2. 1 kg of Jingfu No. 1 thousand-year-old ancient tree loose tea, sold for 124,000 yuan;
3. 1 kg of Junlinhao thousand-year-old ancient tree loose tea, sold for 168,000 yuan;
4. 5-year harvesting rights for Zhenyuan ancient tree tea, sold for 301,000 yuan.
Perhaps those of us storing tea now truly do not know how we will thank our present selves in the future, because history is polished through the traces of passing years; it does not emerge from mere babbling.
My friend, do you now clearly understand why you should be storing tea today?
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
ZENTEA MANOR
Alliance Supply Chain Services Limited
Unit 902-3, 9/F, Mini Cube, 10 Sam Chuk Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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