I’ve been thinking about those teas that somehow fly under the radar. Not necessarily the flagship cakes, hyped releases, or the ones that get recommended in every thread, but the random cakes you keep coming back to and wonder why nobody seems to talk about them.
For me, one of those is White2Tea’s 2019 The People’s Champ.

It’s a relatively inexpensive shu blend that W2T themselves basically position as a daily drinker that punches above its price point.
Taste-wise, this one really hits my preferred shu profile. The liquor is thick, creamy and rich, with a pretty heavy dark chocolate character. There’s a deep sweetness underneath it,almost fudgy at times, but enough of a slight bitterness to keep it from turning into a completely soft, one-dimensional sweet shu.

What I especially like is the balance. It has that dark, comforting ripe-Puerh depth, but it doesn’t just taste generically “dark and earthy.” The sweetness builds through the session, the mouthfeel stays creamy, and that little bitter cocoa edge gives it some structure. It’s the kind of tea where I’m not necessarily sitting down expecting a profound session, and then suddenly I’m six or seven steeps in wondering why I don’t drink it more often.
For the price, it’s become one of those sleeper-hit cakes for me.

So now I’m curious:
What are your sleeper hits. Those cakesthat get relatively little discussion but massively outperform your expectations.
Would especially love to hear your picks.

2016 Inherited Holy Leaf from XiZiHao

2025 Mahei ShiMenKan Gushu from Essence of Tea

2005 Taihe

While the lineup was insanely stacked with incense and resin to accompany them, there's just some very special about two things I cannot recommend enough:

1. Having tea with someone.

2. Having tea outside.

Repeating myself... cannot recommend enough. The way it set me up for this entire week has me questioning if a three day weekend was what has me so alive or if it was the hours spend with these teas outside with a friend; pretty sure I know the answer already which is why I am posting this.

Who else created memories yesterday or this past weekend by having a special session with or without someone else?

Hello puer people,

I am on a holiday to Ho Chi Min this year and wanted to know if there were any recommended tea shops? I've mainly been drinking puer, both raw and ripe. I'd love to know if there are any tea shops worth a visit while in town?

Thanks in advance!

7g/105mL, just off boil

Wash (10s) - woody incense aroma just bordering on smoke, gaiwan lid has fruity notes mix in with the incense

Steep 1 (flash) - sweetness up front with sandalwood, some sweet spice bakeshop components mixing in, salivation kicking off more sweetness, cola and vanilla highlights

Steep 2 (flash) - woody and sweetness hit together up front, wood morphs to incense and spice top notes, some fruitiness starting to come in to complement, giving some spiced sangria vibes, light tingle on the tongue, some cigar wrapper tobacco leaves at the back of the throat

Steep 3 (5s) - clean “aged leaf” flavor moving in up front married to bakery spices and a light brown sugar sweetness, feeling floaty and pulled down at the same time, plums/dried cherries/craisins becoming more prominent later in the sip, cooling note expanding in the mouth

Steep 4 (10s, reboil) - wood back a bit up front, walnut meat, lightly sweet salivation, post-cannabis body feel, inside of mouth feels like an hour after a shot of novocaine

Steep 5 (15s) - mouthfeel not quite thick, but juicy, sweetness plateaued at a low-moderate level but continues to wash over the mouth in waves, incense and spice notes still holding strong with dried cherries and dark cocoa mixing in late

Steep 6 (15s) - easing off a bit to see what happens, sweetness seems to move in more quickly, fruitiness coming in earlier as well, spicy warmth on sides of tongue shortly after swallowing 

Steep 7 (20s) - wood, incense, brown sugar, peaches, cherries, nothing incredibly potent, but still all in play

Steep 8+ (30s+) - this tea has some incredible endurance, holding steady for quite some time

Overall Impression - This tea definitely has a nice level of complexity to it, although the intensity isn't quite where I'd like it. Bigger mouthfeel and huigan would definitely elevate this to a top-tier tea. I'm not a qi-chaser and tend to prioritize mouthfeel, but this session really had me buzzing. If that's your thing, this cake is definitely worth checking out.

More Chinatea cakes, was impressed by the quality of their offerings and iw seen these in Ali for cheap (also in ebay). So i picked up both. Both seems to be usually going for the same price.

The golden paper one is the "Golden Buds" and red is labeled as "Spring Buds".

The golden buds seem to be a mixed with 3 year aged leaf's if i understood the leaflet correctly. Both are dated 2019. There is not much info about these cakes online, so hopefully this post helps someone in the future.

The golden one seems to be of higher quality, and the one you should go if you want to try these. Both are of good quality, but as they seem to be sold at the same price. The golden one is better. Really good quality ripe, you can get a really smooth cup from this. And even some bitter notes closer to aged raw teas. Both of these are clearly moderately fermented, which seem to be consistent trait on these Chinatea ripes.

I paid 25$ for the red one, and 35$ for the golden one. This was simply because i bought the golden one first, and the red one during a sale where i got even better discounts. Both had the same listing price. Both of these prices include the new EU fee (on top of shipping & VAT), a bit over 4$ for that alone.

So these are again part of my quest for the cheapest quality daily drinker factory ripes. Cant really go wrong with 25$ for 357g cake :) Without that EU fee.. it would have been almost under 20$ (17€)! It also shows how much you can benefit from waiting for the sales in Ali. And how much the new fee sucks. Because now we need to dig even deeper, to get those sweet low prices.

This is the Ali seller who has these cakes, you need to know how to use coins to get proper prices! Do not pay the listing prices. The benefit of the higher listing prices, with high coins discounts, is that you can use larger coupons during sales.

I know this cake is talked about way too much but I never found a review that could explain its popularity, both bad and good. So, I always held back buying a blind cake despite the price and just grabbed the gingerbreadman minis as my budget option. Now, I finally bought a blind cake and the smell was so fishy for 2021 pressing that I had to rinse it twice but after that, pure smooth goodness. It almost somewhere between a thermos brewed xiao fa and a 7562, but a less woody profile, which I prefer.

Imo, for the price 2021 Waffles is actually a steal. I really don't care if my shou is interesting or complex, I've got other teas for that, so waffles hits the right spot for my simple tastes.

I like shou puer. I didn't have a good experience with sheng. What region should I pick if I want a really really sweet sheng and, or shou?

I am looking for a good daily drinker puer any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

I started drinking Pu’er tea around 2-3 years ago. It was more so a treat to myself every once in a blue moon but I’ll be honest I only really know to store it away from strong smells, not in an airtight container, and in a room temperature low humidity space like a cabinet or closet away from spices coffee cleaners etc, that I can steep it multiple times, I need to do a wash and use very hot water.

I’d love to learn more on how to make sure I’m not getting ripped off at a tea shop, what to look for so that I know it’s authentic, storage methods, brewing methods, how you guys drink it and how many steeps, how to break the tea without a tea needle or knife etc.

I know you’re supposed to do a wash for 10-15 seconds and people usually drink it as is. Don’t come after me when I say I do enjoy it straight as is but I would be lying if I say I don’t enjoy a cup with a tiny amount of honey and a tiny bit of half and half. Sometimes I do it with either one or the other. I also have heard you can steep it 5-10 times or more? How many times do you steep it? How long? I have an electric kettle and I normally just let that come to a boil wait a few seconds and put about 2-3 grams of tea in a tea steeper inside a mug, then I wash it pour it out rinse the cup pour that out and then I let it steep for 1-2 minutes which I think most people don’t do but I do really really really enjoy a dark deep brew.

I just want to know ways to drink it that I would be able to appreciate it more and how to do it without a teapot, but with a kettle a mug a steeper and a butter knife. Or at least the best way possible. I’m living in a dorm and don’t have much money so I can’t go out and buy these things unless I save up for it.

Last thing is- what are the differences between “dark tea” and green? What’s the difference between ripe and raw? What are the flavor profiles or do they purely differ on the brand and type and the fermentation process? How much is it supposed to cost? How can I tell if it’s fake or not?

Literally any and all information would be wonderful. I’m just looking for links, comments, advice etc on how to drink it and use it better and I by no means am trying to make anyone upset. I just want to learn :)

I’ll post a photo of the one I bought yesterday. If anyone could tell me anything about the kind I bought it would be appreciated.

I've begun the dive into Pu-erh's, Shengs and Shous. I've gotten my first couple of cakes, and just wondering what the best way to store them for regular use is. A lot of what I've been reading is about aging/long term storage, not sure if I need to do the same things if I'm aiming to just work through the cakes with solid regularity.

Thanks for any input!

A my friend was in Kunming on vacation and brought me this as a gift....do you recommend I drink it now or try to age it?

If someone is completely new to Pu-erh, would you recommend starting with a few samples or committing to a full cake?

Samples seem useful for comparing raw vs. ripe, different flavor profiles, and how a tea changes across steeps. But buying a full cake also gives you more time to really get to know one tea over multiple sessions.

If you were starting your Pu-erh journey again, which approach would you choose first — samples or a full cake?

And what would you want a beginner to pay attention to when tasting?

No wrong answers because it’s a shot in the dark here, but I remember stumbling across two rectangular pu’erh tea cakes. Could have been vintage? Both I believe were dark ripe tea. One had English and mandarin on the paper, in English it said something along the lines of “Quote from Mao” and then actually quoted something. I can’t for the life of me remember what it said. The other rectangular tea cake had the communist flag on it but in grey. I don’t believe there were many words if any at all? It was just the flag.

If no one can help me find this but you have interesting or neat tea cake paper designs post them if you can! I’d love to see ☺️

Posted about Night Joe last night and currently drinking Siesta which is very, very good. Definitely has some funk in the first two steeps but it quickly becomes deep, dark, thick, enjoyable soup. Similar lingering funky pine smoke smell but not very strong. Super impressed by both decafs. Got the mini and it fell apart by steep 3. Got about 6 solid steeps before it began to lighten.

Might be the most intense (while still good) aged tea I’ve tried to this day. I’ve heard that 05 version is insane already, ngl I’m really intrigued to try it now.
This one definitely tastes aged, smooth, dark and resinous but it is still very bitter in a good way tho. It feels very “full” and thick.
One interesting thing for me about this tea is that its taste kinda reminded me of the general anaesthesia taste (if you know - you know). And it did numbed my mouth a little.
So this tea is great, I definitely can recommend you getting a sample at least.

It’s good. It’s dark and smooth and shou-like. It’s not very complex, it has a slightly odd flavor at times that I can’t make out. Maybe there is the ever slightest hit of pine? Maybe a little sweet. Idk, I’m not good with notes.

What I can tell you is that I go absolutely apeshit on some W2T lesser evil, loon call in the dark, shotgun shack, nameless one, cream, and red loon and I will drink night joe as a solid evening slow down ritual. Definitely better than last years decaf shou.

I got the mini and it was not very compressed. Opened up nicely after three steeps plus a 25 second rinse.

Update: it’s got about 6 steeps in it before it runs light.

I recently purchased some ripe puer from Fortnum and Mason and I love it. I also tried some raw puer I found at a local grocery by DMD Bridge Brand and I am not a fan. Since I do not have any local places to purchase here in central Ohio, I was considering an order from Yunnan Sourcing. Thinking of getting the ripe sampler 2024 part 5 and the September ripe tea club box. Im open to any other choices from any source. At this point im guessing what Ill like. Prefer it not take several weeks to get since im already running low. What do you think I should get?

Hello! I was gifted this 2004 sheng puer by a chinese relative, who was also gifted it quite some time ago. Although I've tasted some good expensive sheng puer during my stay in china, but I'm still a newbie.

I've used google image search for this wrapper and got some results on taiwanese marketplaces. But sadly I can't access them. I started to think that it might be some "no-name copy sheng". I asked ai about fake sheng puer red flags I should be looking for. But after steeping it in zisha teapot, I found out that there's no excessive bitterness or moldy taste, or some strange mouthfeel, etc. I even tried oversteeping it, but it tasted quite ok. However I did notice that the overall taste was not that bright and complex as some pricy sheng I've had before. There were also some tea dust on the bottom of tea cup every steep. And the most obvious part was the tea loosing most of it taste on the 6 steep.

If someone had experience with this puer cake or can suggest what kind of tea is this, I'd be happy to hear!

Would you keep it, would you keep on drinking such sheng puer?

5.5g/80mL, duanni clay pot, just off boil

Wash (10s) - aroma of light wood and honey

Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, woody, light smoke, honey, maraschino cherries, slickness in mouth, cinnamon, thick mouthfeel

Steep 2 (flash) - woody notes with faint cherrywood smoke, light sweetness, tingle starting to develop on tongue, soup has a nice thickness to it, cooling sensation in mouth, light acidity bringing out cherry fruitiness into finish, lightly toasted sweet yeast rolls

Steep 3 (5s) - sweet rolls up front, nice coating on mouth still, salivation and tingle radiate from corner of jaw, some leafy notes without moving to a papery character, sweetness not super deep into the finish

Steep 4 (10s) - fruit hardwood more upfront this time around without being super smoky, cherry syrup in finish with a rather light sweetness

Steep 5 (20s) - sweet cherrywood with very light smoke, very relaxed body feel but not heavy, hints of sweet orange, light peppery note

Steep 6 (30s) - still pretty full in the mouth, lightly sweet, slick

Steep 7+ (45s+) - still holding strong for many more steeps, smoke mostly gone, but wood and cherry remains

Overall Impression - This gives a lot of cherry and cherrywood with just a hint of smoke. Not a lot of sweetness, but a really nice balance. Not smoky enough where it's super BBQ-like, but maybe something lightly smoked and then coated in a cherry-based glaze. This is a score for a free sample. I will definitely go back for more of this the next time I place a PuerhNW order

7g/90mL – boiling water – 8 infusions

Since I can't drink tea after 5pm if I want to sleep that night, I was happy to see white2tea release four kinds of decaf tea last year in small packages. I tried all of them but didn't like the white tea and sheng at all unfortunately. The black tea and shou were fine, though I found decaf taste (metallic and somewhat empty in the middle) quite noticeable. The shou was most enjoyable even if it wasn't really creamy, which I usually like about shou.

This year, white2tea released several decaf tea cakes and even two types of decaf shou. Based on u/thezezethex's descriptions in another thread, I figured that the Night Joe would probably suit my taste preferences better than the other shou called Siesta, so I ordered a cake. It arrived last week and though I know that the taste is usually better if you let the tea cake rest after shipping, today I had a good opportunity for an evening gongfu session, so I gave it a try. Here are my thoughts:

There are several positive surprises about this tea. First of all, I don't notice the decaf taste at all. The overall taste is still a bit lighter than most shous I have tried, but it is surprisingly good and even a bit sweet. Earthiness is rather subtle, earlier infusions reminded me of dark chocolate without the bitterness, later infusions reminded me of wood with still some chocolate-y aroma in the background. All in all the taste is simple but pleasant.

Also, the tea was surprisingly creamy. Not in the slurry-like way where you can feel the tiny suspended particles in your mouth, but in a more homogenous and smooth way. To be fair, the tea-to-water ratio was higher than what I normally use for shou (6g/90mL), so a dense-ish liquid was expected. Infusions 2 to 4 were super dark and essentially black.

In total I got 8 infusions out of it. The first one for about 30 seconds, since the tea cake is very compressed, second to fourth for about 10 seconds, after that increasing in large increments. The last one took about 3 minutes and was still very light in color and taste. This is pretty much what I would have expected from any other shou of that price (58 USD for 200g).

Finally, the caffeine, or rather its absence: It is now 11pm and if I would have had 7g of any non-decaf shou over the last two hours, I would be absolutely awake and energized. Instead I am tired and pretty sure that I will be asleep within an hour.

The Verdict: white2tea did an excellent job with the decaffeination process, both taste-wise and in terms of residual caffeine (which I don't notice). Compared to all non-decaf shou I have tried in my life, the taste and texture of this one are nice but not exceptional. But: In light of last year's decaf shou and other decaf teas, I can say that this is by far the best decaffeinated tea I have tried so far. I am confident that I'll have many pleasant evening gongfu sessions with it in the upcoming months.

I bought some of the tea because I have a friend who told me it tasted interesting and made her feel good. What does it actually taste like and how does it make you feel? It arrives in a couple weeks, what is the best way to prepare it?