Pu'er- why a cake is a sample

[ouch]

I've taken a lot of heat for my "a cake is a sample" stance, and have been accused of giving newbies bad information that will cost them a lot of money.

Rather than argue the minutiae, I'll just have to put it in a form that no man will be able to challenge.

Spoiler:

When the wife says "where did you get this one?", you can simply say "it's just a sample" and pass a polygraph.

I hope that this has helped to clarify my position.

[_JP_]

And here I was thinking that it was because the cakes often need to be mixed to blend them better after breaking them apart. But I have to admit that your reasoning is more practical.

[sol92258]

wow, I think that logic just transcended tea, and has just became a standard description for all of our ADs...

Yeah, that 400mL bottle of Proraso splash? Just a sample...

[Sp1key]

I've taken a lot of heat for my "a cake is a sample" stance, and have been accused of giving newbies bad information that will cost them a lot of money.

Rather than argue the minutiae, I'll just have to put it in a form that no man will be able to challenge.

Spoiler:

When the wife says "where did you get this one?", you can simply say "it's just a sample" and pass a polygraph.

I hope that this has helped to clarify my position.

Unless one is rather new to pu, small samples sounds reasonable for one to figure out what's what.

Eventually, 'a cake is a sample' is the way to go! Not a bad idea to go through almost half a bing through numberous sessions before deciding if something is worth going for.
We want the outlier out!

[arghblech]

I like ounce samples since my tea budget is pretty limited. I can start to cull potential buys in three sessions. If I can't see anything positive in a tea after 3 sessions then I'm not paying for a bing.

Now, if you know the factory and have had previous years of the same blend then a bing is a sample.

[Erik]

Does this mean a Tong a just a convenient way to ship and store samples?

[ouch]

Does this mean a Tong a just a convenient way to ship and store samples?

See? Erik gets it!

[Sp1key]

Another advantage of having a cake, you can revisit it in a years time to see how it has developed

[netsurfr]

Does this mean a Tong a just a convenient way to ship and store samples?

I have to use that line with the better half and see how it goes over.

[Hobbesoxon]

My limited storage space is just too valuable to keep a cake of absolutely everything - plus, I feel a bit silly for giving vendors my business when I buy mediocre cakes (e.g., the Bulangshanyun from Puerh Shop was a regrettable purchase). If I just buy samples, find them horrible and then don't buy the cake, it's a good feedback mechanism for the vendor to improve their selections. If they stop selling cakes because customers decide that the cakes are rubbish, the vendors will (hopefully) improve their selections! If we continue to buy mediocre cakes as samples, the vendors have no motivation to improve.

I like to make 'em work for my money. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[ouch]

My limited storage space is just too valuable to keep a cake of absolutely everything - plus, I feel a bit silly for giving vendors my business when I buy mediocre cakes (e.g., the Bulangshanyun from Puerh Shop was a regrettable purchase). If I just buy samples, find them horrible and then don't buy the cake, it's a good feedback mechanism for the vendor to improve their selections. If they stop selling cakes because customers decide that the cakes are rubbish, the vendors will (hopefully) improve their selections! If we continue to buy mediocre cakes as samples, the vendors have no motivation to improve.

I like to make 'em work for my money. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

Ah, the bulangshanyun. Who was it that was plugging Douji again?

Spoiler:

I definitely agree that we should be all over the vendors to insure that they provide us with a proper selection. Tastes may vary, but some products are just crap, plain and simple. I feel that if I purchase a dud, but spread it around to fellow hapless saps fans of pu'er, I may help offset the damage I've done to the balance of nature. I'm also not an early adopter, usually waiting for the go ahead from respected members whose opinion means a lot more than any vendor's blurb.

[Hobbesoxon]

Haha!

As MarshalN pointed out, that Bulangshan cake doesn't actually have the "Douji" brand on it at all - just the name of the factory ("Yiwu Zhengshan"), as if they were too afraid to attribute it to their flagship brand, and rightly so!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes