On Oct 7, 5:54*pm, george tasman > wrote:
> On Oct 7, 5:44*pm, "Dominic T." > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Oct 7, 4:44*pm, george tasman > wrote:
>
> > > On Oct 7, 4:15*pm, "Dominic T." > wrote:
>
> > > > On Oct 7, 1:02*pm, george tasman > wrote:
>
> > > > > On Oct 7, 10:34*am, Lewis Perin > wrote:
>
> > > > > > george tasman > writes:
> > > > > > > An earlier post asking how many teas you have (I typically have 12 or
> > > > > > > so) got me thinking about what I don't have. I'm pretty happy with my
> > > > > > > mix that fits my moods and time of day but I've got a big gap *in
> > > > > > > oolongs and would appreciate recommendations. Mine are all on the
> > > > > > > light side -- jade, wuyi -- and I'm missing the big oolongs -- rich
> > > > > > > taste, plenty of fragrance, smooth but with some bite. I've tended
> > > > > > > recently to stick with Taiwanese.
>
> > > > > > What Wuyi oolongs have been on the light side?
>
> > > > > > /Lew
> > > > > > ---
> > > > > > Lew Perin /
>
> > > > > Let's see,,,,,
>
> > > > > Two workhorse, lowish price generics -- Wegman's Wuyi (a good buy but
> > > > > indistinguishable from a green), Adagio Ensemble -- plus a Sparrow's
> > > > > Tongue, Zhong Shan and "organic" Water Sprite. I've used the published
> > > > > figures on oxidization percent in scanning and have looked for heavy
> > > > > oxidization as a guideline.
>
> > > > OK, well it seems like the issue may be more with the vendors than the
> > > > teas themselves. I'm a big Wegmans fan but their teas are highly
> > > > overpriced and lower quality, they are essentially just loose leaf
> > > > Republic of Tea. Not a real good measuring stick as far as tea goes..
> > > > (but their jasmine pearls, ginger peach black, and black raspberry
> > > > sage black, are all decent for flavored teas)
>
> > > > Adagio is basically the same story. Overpriced and underperforming.
> > > > Same with Teavanna except there you get deceptive service and terrible
> > > > people as a bonus.
>
> > > > Not trying to be overly critical but none of these would be any of our
> > > > recommendations around here. You can get much higher quality tea for
> > > > the same or less money from reputable vendors that will take the time
> > > > and effort to help and guide you.
>
> > > > All of those teas you mentioned are actually very good teas, just not
> > > > from the sources you chose, that's all. Shui Xian (also known as Shui
> > > > Hsien or "water sprite") can have many forms, try one that is medium
> > > > roasted and one heavily roasted. Teaspring.com, Houde Asian Art,
> > > > Imperial Tea court, and possibly Jing Teashop should all have this and
> > > > you should be able to find one or two in your price range. Same for Wu
> > > > Yi's or Dan Congs, which are both oolongs and should fit the bill all
> > > > from those same places. The sparrow or bird's tongue ("que she") can
> > > > be harder to find and is one of those teas that freshness and quality
> > > > is the main focus, I don't have a great source for this and just
> > > > happily stumble upon it every now and then. Upton Tea is another site
> > > > that will easily beat the prices you were paying and offer better tea
> > > > but it just isn't quite the quality available from the others I
> > > > mentioned. It is a great place to get your feet wet and experiment
> > > > though.
>
> > > > Hopefully that will help point you in the right direction and get you
> > > > some solid teas to try.
>
> > > > - Dominic
>
> > > Thanks for the comments. I agree with you about Adagio -- I got given
> > > it as a gift. The Wegman's I buy for the Wuyi and jasmine green only
> > > because it's the best I can find in a shop.
> > > The problem is locating a vendor -- there aren't any of quality near
> > > me. The few within driving distance are clearly buying from some
> > > wholesaler on the cheap and even where their teas have the names it's
> > > clear they re not top quality -- I've given up on Dragonwell as being
> > > anything from dyed paper towel torn up to flaccid if-you-try-hard-you-
> > > can taste-something-perhaps. (I've had "young" Hyson and Ceylons
> > > recently that were half the price of specialty vendors and overpriced
> > > at that.)
>
> > > The online vendors don't really offer much help. I should probably try
> > > more of Upton's offers, but I haven't been that impressed. Your sound
> > > advice of finding one that will be personally helpful is what I'd like
> > > but haven't found. I tried a good Australian supplier who specialized
> > > in oolongs and has a great catalog but viewed delivery as not really
> > > their responsibility -- four months for an incomplete shipment with
> > > substitutions. Which vendor(s) would you pick as superb specialized
> > > catalog/good service?
>
> > Many online vendors actually provide great service and help. It's hard
> > at first to figure out which do but fire off an email with some of
> > your questions to a couple and you will quickly find who are helpful.
> > Others here can probably add a few but my list of my go-tos a
>
> > Teaspring.com (daniel is very helpful, prices are great, Chinese teas
> > only)
> > Stephane Erler (a great guy and extremely knowledgable)
> > Houde Asian Art (can be pricey at times but always worth it)
> > Jing Tea Shop (not always a first pick for me just because of the teas
> > I drink but always excellent)
> > Hibiki-an/o-cha for Japanese greens (pricey but again mostly worth it)
> > Imperial tea court (some like them, some don't but generally the
> > reasoning is not the quality of the leaf itself)
> > Yunnan Sourcing LLC (an ebay shop but great teas and prices, good
> > place for Puer)
> > Upton Tea (Maybe if I were into black teas and darjeelings it would be
> > more of a choice, but I'm not really and they never wow me like the
> > places listed above)
>
> > Now, you have to realize my tea tastes dictate where I go for tea. I
> > drink mainly Japanese greens, a few non-green non-flowery oolongs,
> > yellow tea, jasmine green, chamomile, and not much else daily. I
> > occasionally dig into a new area of tea just to experience it but I
> > rarely find one or two that end up staying around.
>
> > I live near Pittsburgh which has essentially no places to go for
> > decent tea in person, so the Internet is one of my only sources except
> > for rare occasions. I do seek out tea when I travel though and it's
> > always great to actually go to really good tea shops.
>
> > - Dominic
>
> Many, many thanks -- this is exactly the type of information I need.
> Interesting difference *in our modes of preference -- I always want to
> explore and get something new, albeit with a trusty base store of
> reliables. I share your love of Japanese teas but, boy, are they
> difficult to find. Ironically, some of the worst buys I made were in
> Tokyo between shabu-shabus; if any types of tea have temperaments, its
> high end Senchas, while blacks are at least placid and stolid.
>
> From all the strands of discussion on this site, it seems to me that
> the weak link in the US tea market is the store and that choosing tea,
> learning about it and developing one's own tastes is the easy part.
> Teavana -- which has maybe three or so decent teas -- succeeds only
> because there's nothing any better around them.

Actually they "succeed" in misinformation and deceit, which is not
success in my book. I've brought up a few times my interest and desire
to open an actual tea shop/cafe and the numbers just never work. It is
almost impossible to honestly run a tea shop in brick and mortar form
in most cities in the U.S. There are a few exceptions and a few cities
that can make it work, but it's essentially a money sink without
giving in to either coffee, some additional revenue source, or deceit.

Japanese teas are a tricky lot and take a lot of patience and
unfortunately money to get right. I buy only a few specific ones a
couple times a year as treats. Gyokuro and two senchas (one fresh
during the initial harvests, and one a month or three later) If the
year seems to be particularly good I'll go back for more of the first
stuff. And I'll keep some matcha around. Otherwise it is just basic
bancha for daily drinking.

Believe me I was at an exploration point too for a long time (still am
to some extent) but there are certain areas I've explored pretty
heavily and know exactly what I like, that cuts back the need for more
than a couple of a certain type. When I range outside of it I rarely
come across something better and ultimately wish I had just stuck to
my standards.

- Dominic