I have often bought the Oriental Beauty tea from the Ten Ren store in
Rockville, MD. Although their catalogue lists several grades available
as loose tea, the store only stocks one, and I like it. It's got a very
spicy sort of salicylate odor to it, and that comes out in the cup. Big
black, irregularly-shaped leaves.

BUT, this time rather than go to the Ten Ren store, I picked up some
pre-packaged Oriental Beauty tea at the nearby Maxim Market. It's in
a white can holding 30g, with a painting of some flowers on a rock and
the Ten Ren Logo on the front.

On the back it says "Oriental Beauty Tea is selected from off spring leaves
of tea plant and is made with two leaves one sprout to create the precarious
honey taste. The name 'Oriental Beauty' is concluded from the radiant shape
of tea leaves, the vibrant orange tea color, the mellow sweet taste, and
fruitiful fragrant." No mention of insects at all.

Anyway... this tea is marked "exp: 2020218" on the bottom so it seems to be
fresh, I would think. But it is totally, totally different than the regular
Ten Ren OB from the store. It's less tannic and it is totally without the
spicy odor. It's like drinking a mid-grade tikyanyin. It's not offensive,
and the leaves are the right shape, but this is not the OB that I have known
and loved. What is up?
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."