Energy Set

We call this an energy set, as these teas are identical physically—from the same region, with same processing and storage conditions—but they have completely different Qi (energy), so they are the perfect teas to use to learn about energy variations in tea. Most aged loose-leaf sheng are blends. This is why we often put the dates of such teas in quotes on our website. This is also the reason that such teas are so much cheaper than their cake cousins: they lack provenance and vintage. Loose-leaf teas from the “1960s” may cost hundreds or thousands for a jin (600 grams), but a cake from that time would be several tens of thousands of dollars and only be around 300 grams (traditional cakes are 357 grams at pressing, but always suffer attrition at the edges over time). Cakes have a vintage—they have a wrapper, an inner trademark ticket (nei fei) and other identifiable features that allow us to date them. Loose-leaf teas do not. Loose-leaf puerh often starts out blended but then is also ad