Joseph,

I've tended to lean to the green side of Oolong, although I admit I also
liked the Bai Mu Dan I tried. Good point about the percolator.. I will
run a test tomorrow on it. People use it for tea (cheap tea) at work
though, so there is hope for it. Then again the work coffee machine is
a wreck.

My goal with this purchase of tea is to try something maybe a bit better
than the special teas I've been drinking, and focus in on some areas I
liked, namely Oolongs and Whites.. The samplers looked like they would
be a nice way for me to get some tea without the danger of making too
terrible of a mistake. (The only one I've made so far is SpecialTea's
Pu Erh Tuo Cha. It tasted somewhere between a tire and dirt.) I'm also
thinking of asking the owners if I could somehow sample their $80 White
Pu Erh brick. Might throw in some Chai too.

Steve

Joseph Kubera wrote:
Steve,

I'd be careful about that old percolator for heating water. That is, if you
can smell any coffee residue in it. Wouldn't work well for tea.

As for the samplers, as Michael said, I think they'd all be good. Depends on
what individual tastes you're looking for.

What kinds of oolong do you drink?
On the IPOT website, the oolong sampler lists Nantou, Phoenix and Bai Hao.

For the Whites, there's Yinzhen Silver Needles and Drum Mountain.

If you're not familiar with these, I could post something about their
characteristics.

Most of the above are pretty distinctive in their flavor profiles. Note that
there's not a typical dark oolong or a Bai Mu Dan white in the list.

Joe Kubera