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May 20th, '15, 11:58
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Math » May 20th, '15, 11:58

Drinking 2015 Maharani Hills First Flush - a very pleasurable and comforting darjeeling :)

May 20th, '15, 14:43
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » May 20th, '15, 14:43

Hello Math,

I heard that first flush darjeelings this year are tasting somewhat like green tea. Some grassy flavors etc.

Is that tea tasting much different than first flush from past years?

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Jun 12th, '15, 04:51
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by jayinhk » Jun 12th, '15, 04:51

Wuyishan Jin Jun Mei...free sample from a Taobao vendor. First time I've had this stuff and I like it! Much less astringent than regular black tea, which makes me nauseous. Good color and flavor; like an oriental beauty, but sweeter and less delicate. No bitterness, even when brewed gongfu style with a full gaiwan.

EDIT: Wild honey flavors now. This stuff seems like it'll go for days!

Jun 12th, '15, 20:48
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Alucard » Jun 12th, '15, 20:48

jayinhk wrote:Wuyishan Jin Jun Mei...free sample from a Taobao vendor. First time I've had this stuff and I like it! Much less astringent than regular black tea, which makes me nauseous. Good color and flavor; like an oriental beauty, but sweeter and less delicate. No bitterness, even when brewed gongfu style with a full gaiwan.

EDIT: Wild honey flavors now. This stuff seems like it'll go for days!
Black tea is my fav. What type of black tea is so astringent that it makes you nauseous? Perhaps low quality Assam? I do prefer Chinese black tea over others, very smooth little astringency. And what do you know Jin Jun Mei is Chinese (Fujian), the tea you like. Just saying. :D

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by jayinhk » Jun 12th, '15, 21:18

Alucard, low grade black teabags and loose tea (that my mother drinks). I have to have a meal before I drink those teas!

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by bonescwa » Jun 13th, '15, 09:44

The variability of Fujian reds is interesting... the non-JinJunMei ones I get are similarly shaped and usually taste like rose+cosmetic powder or chocolate. The sample from Verdant I got when they first opened was actually the strongest chocolate tasting one... been trying to find a similar source if it because I'd prefer not to support their business!

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by jayinhk » Jun 13th, '15, 10:21

I think I'll take a tea trip to Fujian at some point...it's only a couple of hours away!

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Jun 15th, '15, 00:44
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Tead Off » Jun 15th, '15, 00:44

I was given a gift of TWG teas. The one that really shines is the Darjeeling Soom tea. Of course, TWG gives no info on the tea and when it was harvested, but to my palette, I believe this one is a First Flush with all the lovely high notes of floral flavors and aromatics. This is very good tea that really shines in the mouth and nose.

Jun 18th, '15, 08:20

Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by JaceBass » Jun 18th, '15, 08:20

Drinking "Te Chirrepeco". One of my Guatemalan friends brought me this loose leaf tea with a funny name, and I fell in love with it. It isn't bitter, but still has notes of spice and sweetness, with earthy undertones. I ran out but finally found someone in the USA selling it. Happy day for me! Enjoying a hot cuppa right now.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Jun 18th, '15, 11:45

Glad you posted about this tea from Guatemala. Research did not tell me much about the taste but much about the business side which may also be interesting:

Where that tea is grown seems fairly ideal; yet, cost of production is reportedly 3 x that of major areas such as Sri Lanka, India, & Africa. Yet, a small box of this tea in Guatemala sells for only about 25 USA cents. In the USA I found a 4-ounce box for sale for $12. (yes, that is 48 x 25)

Outside the specifics of Guatemalan tea statistics, I begin to wonder about tea business in general. The difference between cost of tea for major buyers seems to be $4 - 8 per kilogram, that is < a few pennies per ounce; so, retail prices show multiples of 10s: 20, 30, 40 ... x price of the tea off the farms. Seems like ungodly profit is to be had.

Before we all start booking trips to tea-growing areas w/ empty suitcases & a pocket full of cash to buy tea, I'll remind myself & others that one does not easily get the lowest wholesale price; moreover, moving up in quality is not easy or even possible sometimes.

Several years ago in Thailand I was able to buy a great tea. It is not for sale in Thailand now. (Probably is being packaged as grown in Taiwan & being sold out of Thailand as Taiwanese). It took me a few years to find another Thai tea that I like, but I did not find it (a milk oolong) at the tea-growing farms nor in their offices etc. I bought some in a retail shop in a city hundreds of miles away from its source.

Likewise, the Himalayan Orange black tea that I have been offering for sale on TeaChat (closing out this at the end of today), cannot be found for sale in Nepal where it is grown. All of Jun Chiyabari's tea is exported, & the company is not interested in "small" wholesales.

Getting back to Guatemala. An article said that though the country had an area ideal for growing tea, coffee was the preferred crop since it is more profitable. I don't see a multiple a retail price of Guatemalan coffee that is 40 x a farmer's price. So, shouldn't tea be a good crop to grow?

Perhaps the answer is this simple: 50 grams of tea may be used for 20 tea sessions which may have multiple infusions, while 50 grams of coffee may make 2 cups. Coffee-drinkers often buy a pound or two twice a month or so; tea-drinkers buy < half a pound a few times a year.




Perhaps the shop that sold me that would discount by half, if I bought a few kilograms

Jun 19th, '15, 18:16

Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by JaceBass » Jun 19th, '15, 18:16

I found it on http://theradicalway.ecwid.com for much less. They have an 8 oz package for $14, and they are a US company that has already done the job of importing it.

Really friendly guy who runs it, and he's all about FairTrade and saving the environment and all that...but... the tea is amazing!

Jun 20th, '15, 07:47

Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by JaceBass » Jun 20th, '15, 07:47

Ethan, why are you trying to calculate how to wholesale this tea? I thought this was a board about the flavor of tea, not how to buy and sell and compete.

This was my first post here, trying to get into tea culture. If this is what this board is about... I dunno if I really want to be here.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Chip » Jun 20th, '15, 15:56

... we discuss all aspects of tea, production, business.

Tea aficionados are an inquisitive bunch.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Chip » Jun 20th, '15, 16:01

Speaking of inquisitive. It is interesting that you registered with "theradicalway" email address.

Sooo, you must be "the really friendly guy who runs it" ...

:roll:

Adios.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Chip » Jun 20th, '15, 16:11

And so ends ... theradicalway.

And now back to tea after that brief interlude.

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