On 2006-01-23 23:48:39 -0800, "Melinda" said:

Part of the problem with Pilochun is that it is one of the famous teas
of China, (like Lung Jing etc.) and thus is in high demand, thus the
price gets driven up. There has been some rumor of people passing off
a tea that is not pilochun as pilochun at various times, and there was
a discussion on here ( I think?) about that a while back. $15 a pound
is not expensive, really it's not, not for that tea . Heck, not for any
tea... Er...Danny can you comment on grades of Pilochun and their
relative prices that one might expect? S., do a search in this group
for pilochun (or Bi lo Chun) and see what comes up. It seems there is
more discussion of the greens in the spring since that's when they are
coming available fresh.
When you're unsure about whether you want to spend x amount of money on
a tea, try to get a sample first (most tea sites will sell samples) and
that will give you a better idea before you buy a lot. But do realize
that every new tea you get (and even new batches of a type of tea
you've had before) will more than likely be subtly different from each
other. Whole leaf tea isn't as standardized in taste as a black blended
tea (like Tetley's for instance) and can vary quite a bit. It's a great
deal of the lure of tea for me...to try a new type and discover it's
taste. Wonderful.

Melinda

Fifteen dollars a pound wasn't really the problem, but that all the Bi
Luo Chun (or Pi Lo Chun) I've found from online vendors is around
between 30-60 dollars a pound. I'm not sure what the difference is.
I'm a newb to tea, so I can't really justify the expense for a tea I
can't taste the difference of. It seems most online vendors only claim
to sell super top grade tea.

Also, I fully agree about the differences in taste in green tea. I
think it's quite interesting to try them all. Albeit, I am ending up
purchasing more different kinds of tea faster than I can drink them!

-S.