If you're drinking Dong Ding and I guess Ali Shan from Taiwan you can't
be on much of a budget. Okay you can find cheap Tung Ting but not Ali
Shan. Puerh is still a good deal even from the websites compared to
the everyday shelf prices of my local tea shoppe. The best bargain are
the loose teas in ethnic markets. You can have your choice around
penny/gram and find something you like everyday. Black puer is
excellent on an empty stomach. It is low caffeine and will soothe the
hunger pains even though I drink it after a meal to abate the I'm not
full anxiety. I think you're making the green to strong. It will be
about a third of any Taiwan oolong. I use half as much green as any
black puer. I think any new tea taste can throw the stomach for a
loop. I can still barely tolerate WuYi Old Tree Rock tea.
Chrysanthemum is the Jasmine of Puerh. It's not needed.

Jim

Nico wrote:
> >Semi-fermented as Oolong tea it is, it still excites the stomach ache
> >if nothing in your stomach.
>
> I tried a raw pu-erh recently, which I really liked. It was definately
> a mistake to have it on an empty stomach, though. I just felt vaguely
> queezy, but my girlfriend had to lie down for a bit. This was a 1999.
> For those of you looking to try relatively young pu-erh, I certainly
> would encourage you both to try it AND to eat something beforehand.
>
> As to my favorite teas, that's still a work in progress for me. It's a
> lot harder to consistently get good tea in the US, especially if you're
> on a budget like I am.
>
> Aside from pu-ehr, I have really enjoyed oolong from Taiwan,
> specifically dong ding and wen shan puchong (sp?). And for every day
> drinking, I do enjoy some cooked pu-erh from the Vietnamese grocer,
> suplemented with some chrysanthemum. Very refreshing.
>
> Nico