I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!

White tea:
Green Tea:
Chinese Oolong:
Taiwanese Oolong:
Pu-erh?

Thanks!

Lucky you !
I'll contact you later today when I get home - I have a few addresses in HK
that you may find useful. In the mean time I am sure our friends here will
have some suggestions too.

Cheers
Mal
Oz

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> White tea:
> Green Tea:
> Chinese Oolong:
> Taiwanese Oolong:
> Pu-erh?
>
> Thanks!
>

Tea Shops That I'd visit again in HK..

'Best Tea House', Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Very friendly, helpful and
lots of patience with newbies, great selection of tea and they insist you
sample before you buy. This was the first tea shop I had ever visited and I
basically had NFI what I was asking for or looking at. Staff however still
made me very welcome and taught me a lot. Plan to spend at least an hour per
visit. http://www.besttea.com.hk/ There's a restroom next door in the pub
if you need it !

"Lam Kie Yuen Tea" Co, G/F., 105-107 Bonham Strand E., Sheung Wan, Hong
Kong. Stephanie is again very helpful, doesn't see many tourists at all as
her store is a little off the tourist tracks. I found her prices very
reasonable. A '93 cake I bought from Stephanie was half of what Yue Hwa
wanted for the same cake.
Large selection of Pu'er. www.lkytea.com

Ki Chan Tea Co, 174 Johnston Road, Wanchai. Another little shop off the
regular tourist tracks. Appeared to have more green, oolong etc rather than
pu'er. But I didn't ask - so he may have some out the back.
www.kichantea.com

I also found the Shop in the Tea Museum in Hong Kong park to have a small
selection of good oolongs etc. A bit pricy I thought.

Yue Hwa department store at 301-309 Nathan Road, Kowloon (get off MTR at
Jordan) has a very big selection of teas and tea ware. Their prices ranged
from dirt cheap to 'oh my god!'. I don't speak Cantonese so I personally
found dealing with them difficult. However the store manager's English was a
little better and he did go out of his way to show me what he had to offer.

The most eye-boggling store for pu'er for me was 'Sunsing' on 32nd Floor of
Soundwill Plaza, Causeway Bay. Extensive vintage pu'er. I even saw one cake
in a glass case from 1900. The wife clubbed me with her handbag before I
had a chance to find out the price of that one. An observation on this shop
w.r.t yixing ware - lots of pots all looking identical - not cheap. Don't
let this put you off this store though. He also has a lot of tea at
affordable prices. I'd already spent my budget by then (and then some).

Hope this helps. I imagine others from this group will also have some
recommendations.


--
Cheers
Mal
Oz
http://maloz.bigblog.com.au/index.do
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> White tea:
> Green Tea:
> Chinese Oolong:
> Taiwanese Oolong:
> Pu-erh?
>
> Thanks!
>
>

Mal,

Thank you for all your advice!! These are beautiful shops. I will
definately be visiting the Ki Chan tea co, it looks amazing!

If anyone else also has more advice about other shops that might cater
to an intermediate or advanced audience as well, i'm going with a
friend who knows what she's looking for and speaks chinese, (but has
never been to HK.) I'd like to impress her.

We may also be taking a side trip to Taipei, to Wenshan. Have you
been?


Sina


On Apr 12, 4:41 am, "Mal from Oz" > wrote:
> Tea Shops That I'd visit again in HK..
>
> 'Best Tea House', Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Very friendly, helpful and
> lots of patience with newbies, great selection of tea and they insist you
> sample before you buy. This was the first tea shop I had ever visited and I
> basically had NFI what I was asking for or looking at. Staff however still
> made me very welcome and taught me a lot. Plan to spend at least an hour per
> visit.http://www.besttea.com.hk/ There's a restroom next door in the pub
> if you need it !
>
> "Lam Kie Yuen Tea" Co, G/F., 105-107 Bonham Strand E., Sheung Wan, Hong
> Kong. Stephanie is again very helpful, doesn't see many tourists at all as
> her store is a little off the tourist tracks. I found her prices very
> reasonable. A '93 cake I bought from Stephanie was half of what Yue Hwa
> wanted for the same cake.
> Large selection of Pu'er. www.lkytea.com
>
> Ki Chan Tea Co, 174 Johnston Road, Wanchai. Another little shop off the
> regular tourist tracks. Appeared to have more green, oolong etc rather than
> pu'er. But I didn't ask - so he may have some out the back.www.kichantea.com
>
> I also found the Shop in the Tea Museum in Hong Kong park to have a small
> selection of good oolongs etc. A bit pricy I thought.
>
> Yue Hwa department store at 301-309 Nathan Road, Kowloon (get off MTR at
> Jordan) has a very big selection of teas and tea ware. Their prices ranged
> from dirt cheap to 'oh my god!'. I don't speak Cantonese so I personally
> found dealing with them difficult. However the store manager's English was a
> little better and he did go out of his way to show me what he had to offer.
>
> The most eye-boggling store for pu'er for me was 'Sunsing' on 32nd Floor of
> Soundwill Plaza, Causeway Bay. Extensive vintage pu'er. I even saw one cake
> in a glass case from 1900. The wife clubbed me with her handbag before I
> had a chance to find out the price of that one. An observation on this shop
> w.r.t yixing ware - lots of pots all looking identical - not cheap. Don't
> let this put you off this store though. He also has a lot of tea at
> affordable prices. I'd already spent my budget by then (and then some).
>
> Hope this helps. I imagine others from this group will also have some
> recommendations.
>
> --
> Cheers
> Mal
> > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> > I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> > where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> > White tea:
> > Green Tea:
> > Chinese Oolong:
> > Taiwanese Oolong:
> > Pu-erh?
>
> > Thanks!

You are most welcome. Alas, I haven't been to Taipei, or Wenshan - so can't
help you there I am afraid.

Cheers
Mal
Oz


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Mal,
>
> Thank you for all your advice!! These are beautiful shops. I will
> definately be visiting the Ki Chan tea co, it looks amazing!
>
> If anyone else also has more advice about other shops that might cater
> to an intermediate or advanced audience as well, i'm going with a
> friend who knows what she's looking for and speaks chinese, (but has
> never been to HK.) I'd like to impress her.
>
> We may also be taking a side trip to Taipei, to Wenshan. Have you
> been?
>
>
> Sina
>
>
> On Apr 12, 4:41 am, "Mal from Oz" > wrote:
>> Tea Shops That I'd visit again in HK..
>>
>> 'Best Tea House', Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Very friendly, helpful and
>> lots of patience with newbies, great selection of tea and they insist you
>> sample before you buy. This was the first tea shop I had ever visited
>> and I
>> basically had NFI what I was asking for or looking at. Staff however
>> still
>> made me very welcome and taught me a lot. Plan to spend at least an hour
>> per
>> visit.http://www.besttea.com.hk/ There's a restroom next door in the pub
>> if you need it !
>>
>> "Lam Kie Yuen Tea" Co, G/F., 105-107 Bonham Strand E., Sheung Wan, Hong
>> Kong. Stephanie is again very helpful, doesn't see many tourists at all
>> as
>> her store is a little off the tourist tracks. I found her prices very
>> reasonable. A '93 cake I bought from Stephanie was half of what Yue Hwa
>> wanted for the same cake.
>> Large selection of Pu'er. www.lkytea.com
>>
>> Ki Chan Tea Co, 174 Johnston Road, Wanchai. Another little shop off the
>> regular tourist tracks. Appeared to have more green, oolong etc rather
>> than
>> pu'er. But I didn't ask - so he may have some out the
>> back.www.kichantea.com
>>
>> I also found the Shop in the Tea Museum in Hong Kong park to have a small
>> selection of good oolongs etc. A bit pricy I thought.
>>
>> Yue Hwa department store at 301-309 Nathan Road, Kowloon (get off MTR at
>> Jordan) has a very big selection of teas and tea ware. Their prices
>> ranged
>> from dirt cheap to 'oh my god!'. I don't speak Cantonese so I personally
>> found dealing with them difficult. However the store manager's English
>> was a
>> little better and he did go out of his way to show me what he had to
>> offer.
>>
>> The most eye-boggling store for pu'er for me was 'Sunsing' on 32nd Floor
>> of
>> Soundwill Plaza, Causeway Bay. Extensive vintage pu'er. I even saw one
>> cake
>> in a glass case from 1900. The wife clubbed me with her handbag before I
>> had a chance to find out the price of that one. An observation on this
>> shop
>> w.r.t yixing ware - lots of pots all looking identical - not cheap. Don't
>> let this put you off this store though. He also has a lot of tea at
>> affordable prices. I'd already spent my budget by then (and then some).
>>
>> Hope this helps. I imagine others from this group will also have some
>> recommendations.
>>
>> --
>> Cheers
>> Mal
>> > wrote in
>> message
>>
>> ups.com...
>>
>> > I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
>> > where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>>
>> > White tea:
>> > Green Tea:
>> > Chinese Oolong:
>> > Taiwanese Oolong:
>> > Pu-erh?
>>
>> > Thanks!
>
>

On Apr 12, 7:41 pm, "Mal from Oz" > wrote:
> Tea Shops That I'd visit again in HK..
>
> 'Best Tea House', Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Very friendly, helpful and
> lots of patience with newbies, great selection of tea and they insist you
> sample before you buy. This was the first tea shop I had ever visited and I
> basically had NFI what I was asking for or looking at. Staff however still
> made me very welcome and taught me a lot. Plan to spend at least an hour per
> visit.http://www.besttea.com.hk/ There's a restroom next door in the pub
> if you need it !
>
> "Lam Kie Yuen Tea" Co, G/F., 105-107 Bonham Strand E., Sheung Wan, Hong
> Kong. Stephanie is again very helpful, doesn't see many tourists at all as
> her store is a little off the tourist tracks. I found her prices very
> reasonable. A '93 cake I bought from Stephanie was half of what Yue Hwa
> wanted for the same cake.
> Large selection of Pu'er. www.lkytea.com
>
> Ki Chan Tea Co, 174 Johnston Road, Wanchai. Another little shop off the
> regular tourist tracks. Appeared to have more green, oolong etc rather than
> pu'er. But I didn't ask - so he may have some out the back.www.kichantea.com
>
> I also found the Shop in the Tea Museum in Hong Kong park to have a small
> selection of good oolongs etc. A bit pricy I thought.
>
> Yue Hwa department store at 301-309 Nathan Road, Kowloon (get off MTR at
> Jordan) has a very big selection of teas and tea ware. Their prices ranged
> from dirt cheap to 'oh my god!'. I don't speak Cantonese so I personally
> found dealing with them difficult. However the store manager's English was a
> little better and he did go out of his way to show me what he had to offer.
>
> The most eye-boggling store for pu'er for me was 'Sunsing' on 32nd Floor of
> Soundwill Plaza, Causeway Bay. Extensive vintage pu'er. I even saw one cake
> in a glass case from 1900. The wife clubbed me with her handbag before I
> had a chance to find out the price of that one. An observation on this shop
> w.r.t yixing ware - lots of pots all looking identical - not cheap. Don't
> let this put you off this store though. He also has a lot of tea at
> affordable prices. I'd already spent my budget by then (and then some).
>
> Hope this helps. I imagine others from this group will also have some
> recommendations.
>
> --
> Cheers
> Mal
> > wrote in message
>

Mal, I think you covered all the easy to get to places. There is one
or two hidden away spots, but those are a bit of a pain to find and
not really recommended for non-locals.

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

Hi MarshalN,

I checked out your blog, very well written and genuinely informative,
thank you. I have an auntie there who can get around HK really well,
she's willing to take me anywhere, i just have to call her up and
bribe her appropriately. So can you tell me more about those obsure
places.....?

And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?

thanks!

> > > wrote in message
>
> Mal, I think you covered all the easy to get to places. There is one
> or two hidden away spots, but those are a bit of a pain to find and
> not really recommended for non-locals.
>
> MarshalNhttp://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

On Apr 12, 8:41 am, wrote:
> I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> White tea:
> Green Tea:
> Chinese Oolong:
> Taiwanese Oolong:
> Pu-erh?
>
> Thanks!

I find teas in HK to be very expensive. I was attempting to buy some
wulong once maybe in Best Tea Shop that someone plugged below and I
had to bargain to get the price down to reasonable levels. I'm not
sure if that will work for you or not because I bargained in Chinese.

The famous Sun Yee Shun Lukon(LiuAn) brand from HK is available in US
Chinatown for about $6/500g/basket. I have a basket that is aged
about ten years from another vendor. Save your money. It is
generally agreed that LiuAn is a black fermented tea but not puer.

Jim

On Apr 14, 6:21 pm, wrote:
>
> And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?
>
> thanks!

I think i replied to your personal email. I meant to post it here.
Sorry. Time for more tea......

On Apr 16, 6:43 am, "Space Cowboy" > wrote:
> The famous Sun Yee Shun Lukon(LiuAn) brand from HK is available in US
> Chinatown for about $6/500g/basket. I have a basket that is aged
> about ten years from another vendor. Save your money. It is
> generally agreed that LiuAn is a black fermented tea but not puer.
>
> Jim
>
> On Apr 14, 6:21 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?
>
> > thanks!

On Apr 16, 9:10 pm, wrote:
> I think i replied to your personal email. I meant to post it here.
> Sorry. Time for more tea......
>
> On Apr 16, 6:43 am, "Space Cowboy" > wrote:
>
>
>
> > The famous Sun Yee Shun Lukon(LiuAn) brand from HK is available in US
> > Chinatown for about $6/500g/basket. I have a basket that is aged
> > about ten years from another vendor. Save your money. It is
> > generally agreed that LiuAn is a black fermented tea but not puer.
>
> > Jim
>
> > On Apr 14, 6:21 pm, wrote:
>
> > > And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?
>
> > > thanks!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

My email address is:
http://i16.tinypic.com/2cmpsw5.gif
I prefer public discussion over private discourse.

Jim

PS Don't blame me, blame Google

On Apr 17, 7:14 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> On Apr 16, 9:10 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > I think i replied to your personal email. I meant to post it here.
> > Sorry. Time for more tea......
>
> > On Apr 16, 6:43 am, "Space Cowboy" > wrote:

Ok. So I bought a Liu An basket from china town and my first instinct
was that I believed it to be an antique tea because I have only ever
known Liu An as a fresh seasonal green. I only thought it might be
fermented when I tasted it and it was clearly wet stored and tasted of
gym socks and seafood. Not a pleasant experience. So I wondered if you
bought this being told it was a pu-er, or thinking someone was selling
a pu er (they do advertise it with other bing chas and I dont
understand why). I also have another one from another vendor. It is
definately a green and it is dry stored and aged about 17 years. it's
incredible. The closest I can come to describing it is a wild, green,
say 2001, Yi Wu. A touch spicy, a touch like asparagus and cucumber,
and all Liu An.

Which china town did you get yours in and how much did you pay for
your ten year old Liu An, and do you drink it now, or have you
"gifted" it?.... or composted it?......

Thanks,
Sina





On Apr 16, 6:43 am, "Space Cowboy" > wrote:
> The famous Sun Yee Shun Lukon(LiuAn) brand from HK is available in US
> Chinatown for about $6/500g/basket. I have a basket that is aged
> about ten years from another vendor. Save your money. It is
> generally agreed that LiuAn is a black fermented tea but not puer.
>
> Jim
>
> On Apr 14, 6:21 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?
>
> > thanks!

You're probably thinking of the green tea from Liuan, Anhui called Gua
Pian or Mellon Seed. This is a fermented green tea turned black from
the same area. I doubt it is the same green tea. Jingteashop and
Besttea have their versions of this fermented Liuan or Lukon in
Cantonese. When you said puer basket I thought you meant the
fermented version like this one. There are a class of fermented black
teas which are not puer. I am not aware of any Liuan puer perse. My
aged basket was actually a substitute for out of stock Gua Pian I
ordered. I think the net value of the basket was $50 versus $25 for
the Gua Pian. When you drink as much shu puer as I do then any other
black fermented tea taste insipid.

Jim

On Apr 17, 11:48 am, wrote:
> Ok. So I bought a Liu An basket from china town and my first instinct
> was that I believed it to be an antique tea because I have only ever
> known Liu An as a fresh seasonal green. I only thought it might be
> fermented when I tasted it and it was clearly wet stored and tasted of
> gym socks and seafood. Not a pleasant experience. So I wondered if you
> bought this being told it was a pu-er, or thinking someone was selling
> a pu er (they do advertise it with other bing chas and I dont
> understand why). I also have another one from another vendor. It is
> definately a green and it is dry stored and aged about 17 years. it's
> incredible. The closest I can come to describing it is a wild, green,
> say 2001, Yi Wu. A touch spicy, a touch like asparagus and cucumber,
> and all Liu An.
>
> Which china town did you get yours in and how much did you pay for
> your ten year old Liu An, and do you drink it now, or have you
> "gifted" it?.... or composted it?......
>
> Thanks,
> Sina
>
> On Apr 16, 6:43 am, "Space Cowboy" > wrote:
>
>
>
> > The famous Sun Yee Shun Lukon(LiuAn) brand from HK is available in US
> > Chinatown for about $6/500g/basket. I have a basket that is aged
> > about ten years from another vendor. Save your money. It is
> > generally agreed that LiuAn is a black fermented tea but not puer.
>
> > Jim
>
> > On Apr 14, 6:21 pm, wrote:
>
> > > And does anyone know more about Liu An Basket "pu-erh" please?
>
> > > thanks!

On Apr 15, 11:33 am, "Mydnight" > wrote:
> On Apr 12, 8:41 am, wrote:
>
> > I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> > where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> > White tea:
> > Green Tea:
> > Chinese Oolong:
> > Taiwanese Oolong:
> > Pu-erh?
>
> > Thanks!
>
> I find teas in HK to be very expensive. I was attempting to buy some
> wulong once maybe in Best Tea Shop that someone plugged below and I
> had to bargain to get the price down to reasonable levels. I'm not
> sure if that will work for you or not because I bargained in Chinese.

Best Tea House only gives small discounts. Not all their teas are
worth it -- only some are good for the price. Others can be a
ripoff.

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

sinacarroll wrote:
> I'll be tea shopping in Hong Kong in early May. Recommendations for
> where to buy any (top grades) of teas welcome. Thanks!!
>
> White tea:
> Green Tea:
> Chinese Oolong:
> Taiwanese Oolong:
> Pu-erh?
>
> Thanks!

MingCha
http://www.mingcha.com.hk/MingCha_locations.html