For those following the Local Real Estate market, stories of escalating prices, rampant speculation and the talk of bubbles bursting is common.?
? However, the news here is in the Pu-Erh (puer) Markets.? ? Pu-Erh is a fermented tea from China often sold in “cakes” with a key property being that they improve with age like wine.? The prices for these cakes are spiking and fluctuating.? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal tells of cakes costing upwards of $13,000.?
? As one speculator put it “even if I cannot sell it, I’ll drink it.”?
I’ve actually heard of pu-erh cakes costing more than that. The Chinese will (or have in the past) pass them down to their children as inheritance or as part of a dowry. As with anything the value of the cake is related to many factors: the grade when it was picked, where it was picked, how it was fermented, how long it was fermented… Many of the really old cakes were composted and fermented in the ground, thus the “earthy” taste. I don’t believe that method is allowed any longer. Regardless, the $13k figure from WSJ article sounds pretty reasonable for the much older and more exotic cakes.
Comment by john — November 6, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Agreed! The Higher End of Pu-erh is somewhat boundless. Thanks for the comment
Comment by Administrator — November 8, 2007 @ 7:22 pm