Are teas the same from vendor to vendor?
 

Hi all,
Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?

And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
Cathy Weeks

Cathy,

It's an excellent question. The answer is absolutely not. Teas vary in so
many ways, and teas under the same name can be different even from the same
vendor from month to month and year to year. "Monkey-picked," for our
purpose, merely means that the maker considers this his best, or one of his
best, teas. It comes out of a legend that some trees grew on cliffs
inacessible to humans and only approachable by monkeys. There are other
stories associated with monkey picked of tea.

Other examples of teas that vary radically from vendor to vendor in my
experience are a particular oolong from the WuYi mountains in Fujian called
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). The inconsistency for this tea is startling.
Second, many vendors sell White Peony (Bai Mu Dan), and seldom will it be
the same from one to the next.

Variation is the spice of life.

Michael




Cathy 12/15/04


> Hi all,
> Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
> various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
> the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?
>
> And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
> itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
> Cathy Weeks
>

Cathy,

It's an excellent question. The answer is absolutely not. Teas vary in so
many ways, and teas under the same name can be different even from the same
vendor from month to month and year to year. "Monkey-picked," for our
purpose, merely means that the maker considers this his best, or one of his
best, teas. It comes out of a legend that some trees grew on cliffs
inacessible to humans and only approachable by monkeys. There are other
stories associated with monkey picked of tea.

Other examples of teas that vary radically from vendor to vendor in my
experience are a particular oolong from the WuYi mountains in Fujian called
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). The inconsistency for this tea is startling.
Second, many vendors sell White Peony (Bai Mu Dan), and seldom will it be
the same from one to the next.

Variation is the spice of life.

Michael




Cathy 12/15/04


> Hi all,
> Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
> various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
> the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?
>
> And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
> itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
> Cathy Weeks
>

Yes, the tea itself can vary. Different companies buy from different
growers, and each tea plantation can have products that, while conforming
to a standard of type, might be very different in quality. Even within the
same plantation there can be differences. For insnatce, there can be
different grades of jasmine tea, depending on when the tes was picked and
which leaves were used. A Darjeeling first flush has a similar taste to a
Darjeeling second flush, but many people feel that the first flush has a
better taste.
The same is true of all organic drinks and foods. Coffee can differ from
vendor to vendor, and so can chocolate. What may be a tasty 60% chocolate
from one company might be dreck from another one.
"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi all,
> Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
> various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
> the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?
>
> And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
> itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
> Cathy Weeks
>

Yes, the tea itself can vary. Different companies buy from different
growers, and each tea plantation can have products that, while conforming
to a standard of type, might be very different in quality. Even within the
same plantation there can be differences. For insnatce, there can be
different grades of jasmine tea, depending on when the tes was picked and
which leaves were used. A Darjeeling first flush has a similar taste to a
Darjeeling second flush, but many people feel that the first flush has a
better taste.
The same is true of all organic drinks and foods. Coffee can differ from
vendor to vendor, and so can chocolate. What may be a tasty 60% chocolate
from one company might be dreck from another one.
"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi all,
> Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
> various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
> the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?
>
> And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
> itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
> Cathy Weeks
>