> wrote:
>On a recent visit to a tea shoppe which I now consider a standard for
>Chinese teas if you dont want to wait for China Post I looked at their
>Taiwan Oriental Beauty. Immediately I could see it was marble size
>rolled green tea stems similar to Dong Ding. My two versions of OB
>dont look anything like this. Mine is elongated twisted black leaf of
>protruding white hair which accounts for the alternate name of Bai Hao
>or White Fur. I didnt buy any but the store clerk assured me the
>leaves were eaten by the special bug and mine show no signs of that.
>I know OB was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth. I dont know why but if
>I didnt know better Id think by taste I was drinking an Indian tea.
>Im curious how your OB compares.

Open the can, stick your nose in and take a big whiff. If you get a
nose full of wintergreen, it's the right thing. If it tastes like
an Indian tea, something is probably wrong, but if it SMELLS like
an Indian tea, it's definitely wrong.

I actually recommend the Ten Ren Oriental Beauty tea. Buy the lowest
or second lowest grade... the price goes up faster than the quality as
you go up the scale and the lower grades are pretty good.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."