Tea8HK?

[Acupuncturist]

Has anyone purchased from Tea8HK before?

I was going to pick up a fuzhuan from these folks http://www.tea8hk.com/store/index.php?r ... uct_id=135

as well as a few cakes, but I can't find any background on the vendor. Has anyone purchased from them before, or does anyone have any back story or recommendations?

Much thanks!

[Cwyn]

Has anyone purchased from Tea8HK before?

I was going to pick up a fuzhuan from these folks http://www.tea8hk.com/store/index.php?r ... uct_id=135

as well as a few cakes, but I can't find any background on the vendor. Has anyone purchased from them before, or does anyone have any back story or recommendations?

Much thanks!

This same guy sells on EBay. If you are going to buy from him, probably a good idea to do it there rather than the website. Also, this $69/1kg seems on the pricey side for a Fu brick, 250g can be had for $9.99 and free shipping from a lot of vendors, four of these is under $40. Unless you want that particular brick.

[.m.]

Has anyone purchased from Tea8HK before?

I was going to pick up a fuzhuan from these folks http://www.tea8hk.com/store/index.php?r ... uct_id=135

as well as a few cakes, but I can't find any background on the vendor. Has anyone purchased from them before, or does anyone have any back story or recommendations?

Much thanks!

This same guy sells on EBay. If you are going to buy from him, probably a good idea to do it there rather than the website. Also, this $69/1kg seems on the pricey side for a Fu brick, 250g can be had for $9.99 and free shipping from a lot of vendors, four of these is under $40. Unless you want that particular brick.

Chawangshop sells that particular brick for $42 (+shipping)

[Cwyn]

At 1 kg in weight before boxing, the shipping cost will be well over $20. Chawangshop doesn't ship free. Fu brick is just so easy to find at a lower cost. But whatever, I certainly understand wanting a particular tea. eBay sellers tend to run sales so might find it on sale at some point.

[jayinhk]

That is a CNNP brick--MUCH better quality than standard fu tea. Check Taobao pricing for comparison. Price doesnt seem unfair to me given the cost of shipping.

Also Anhua dark tea is not fu zhuan. No golden flowers! Other than that difference, quite similar.

[Cwyn]

I didn't check Chawangshop to see if they sell the same brick, but 1 kg of any teas from there is going to be $20 and up to ship. Taobao isn't an option for price comparison if an agent has to be used to buy the tea and shipping paid twice over. If the guy has the same tea in his EBay store though, at least you have some buyer protection,

[jayinhk]

I didn't check Chawangshop to see if they sell the same brick, but 1 kg of any teas from there is going to be $20 and up to ship. Taobao isn't an option for price comparison if an agent has to be used to buy the tea and shipping paid twice over. If the guy has the same tea in his EBay store though, at least you have some buyer protection,

Do Taobao agents charge for the initial shipping within China? That's usually free...

Taobao still gives you a general idea of a store's margins, which is why I suggested it. I haven't tried any of the Anhua dark tea yet, but I'd like to see how it compares to fu zhuan.

[Cwyn]

I didn't check Chawangshop to see if they sell the same brick, but 1 kg of any teas from there is going to be $20 and up to ship. Taobao isn't an option for price comparison if an agent has to be used to buy the tea and shipping paid twice over. If the guy has the same tea in his EBay store though, at least you have some buyer protection,

Do Taobao agents charge for the initial shipping within China? That's usually free...

Taobao still gives you a general idea of a store's margins, which is why I suggested it. I haven't tried any of the Anhua dark tea yet, but I'd like to see how it compares to fu zhuan.

You have to ask up front. They charge you if the seller charges shipping. Many also tack on a repackaging fee, if they don't then they will put the shipped tea, exterior box and all, into another box for overseas. It really depends on the agent. And the agents vary a lot in the premium, the lowest I've seen is 6%. More typical is 8-10%. A $20 tea can cost up to $50 in shipping and fees by the time you're done.

I've seen Anhua made teas with golden flowers, but I'm sure they are all cultured. You can always buy the germ yourself if you've got humid enough conditions.

[jayinhk]

I didn't check Chawangshop to see if they sell the same brick, but 1 kg of any teas from there is going to be $20 and up to ship. Taobao isn't an option for price comparison if an agent has to be used to buy the tea and shipping paid twice over. If the guy has the same tea in his EBay store though, at least you have some buyer protection,

Do Taobao agents charge for the initial shipping within China? That's usually free...

Taobao still gives you a general idea of a store's margins, which is why I suggested it. I haven't tried any of the Anhua dark tea yet, but I'd like to see how it compares to fu zhuan.

You have to ask up front. They charge you if the seller charges shipping. Many also tack on a repackaging fee, if they don't then they will put the shipped tea, exterior box and all, into another box for overseas. It really depends on the agent. And the agents vary a lot in the premium, the lowest I've seen is 6%. More typical is 8-10%. A $20 tea can cost up to $50 in shipping and fees by the time you're done.

I've seen Anhua made teas with golden flowers, but I'm sure they are all cultured. You can always buy the germ yourself if you've got humid enough conditions.

A vendor in Shaanxi recently told me she had Anhua dark tea and mentioned it didn't have golden flowers. Maybe just the stuff she had then!

I can buy directly from Taobao now, but I had to use an agent 4-5 years ago. Things are a lot cheaper buying directly, but tea is hit and miss; some branches of courier companies won't ship to Hong Kong and others are happy to. Major PITA!

Certain items can be consolidated and shipped to my local post office for almost nothing. I just got two heavy bicycle chain locks for about $12 shipped!

[Cwyn]

I have Anhua dark tea and it doesn't either. But you can find fungi teas made with leaf from there, it is all how it is processed. Fu brick has germ sometimes grown from wheat-base sources so people with wheat allergies have to be careful.

I can't say I'm done buying on Taobao because more and more sellers are willing to ship overseas. I just saw a listing today that included overseas shipping, no agent needed. There is buyer protection but I don't know if it covers foreign buyers. Agents cover it if the package doesn't arrive, and because of this they use a more premium shipping service so they can see the tracking.

Fu Zhuan and other golden flower teas are tricky if you don't have a humid climate or plans to store it. The flowers will disappear if it gets too dry, and sometimes the teas arrive with no flowers and you have to get them going. I've managed to get my Guangxi brick full. But I'm still working on Fu brick. A friend sent me a sample of his which was stored in a more humid climate and it was packed full of flowers and very tasty. Until I'm sure I can get the same results I don't want to risk buying a really big brick.

[jayinhk]

Gotcha, Hong Kong is super humid, so every spring my fu brick is covered in flowers! Even pu erh can get golden flowery in the humidity. I have one of the fancy CNNP bricks of fu zhuan. The cheaper stuff is full of stems I hear.

I'm looking to age liu bao now...gonna pick some up!

[Cwyn]

Hey that is really great! I've been working on several Liu Bao experiments. I hope you will share your findings.

[jayinhk]

Hey that is really great! I've been working on several Liu Bao experiments. I hope you will share your findings.

The only liu bao I've really liked so far spent 25 years in Malaysia...I think I'll have to sit on the liu bao for a few decades to get something I actually wanna drink! I should jet (or train) over to Guangxi sometime to see if I can find some decent aged stuff. The aged Malaysian stuff is relatively affordable (in Malaysia) but apparently prices are much higher nowadays than they used to be since the local market is buying up the aged stuff. That and it's often sold as older than it is.

[Cwyn]

I have some Malaysian stored Liu Bao and agree that the old book taste is pleasant. I like Liu Bao as long as it doesn't taste like dirt.

You mentioned picking up some aged, are you interested in buying younger tea and seeing what you can do yourself?

I just picked up some smaller quantities of young Liu Bao and Liu An, not much though because I don't have access to more than 100g. I've been looking for 500g, two years old at most, without any prior bamboo storage. This last bit is important so I can track changes, I don't want the tea affected by bamboo.

[jayinhk]

The liu bao I picked up from a merchant in Kota Kinabalu doesn't taste/smell like old books to me; it's been a while since I've had it, but that's not a note I recall. Sounds like that'd be interesting though! Perhaps the tea I bought wasn't stored quite as wet.

I've bought liu bao locally in HK, too, and found that grade to be much less appealing. Got a sample from EoT and felt the storage was too wet for my tastes, but storage aromas often dissipate with airing out for a few months (or years, sometimes)!

I am indeed interested in picking up some 2005 baskets. I tried to pick up the best Three Cranes basket I could find directly from Three Cranes on Taobao. They refunded me after their local branch of SF Express (a Chinese courier company) refused to accept the tea for shipment to Hong Kong. I offered to pay for EMS, and they said they couldn't do that. I'm going to look for some at the tea market in Kunming in a week's time, and if I can't get any there, I'll have it shipped to my hotel (free) and then fly (or mail) it back to Hong Kong. Surface mail from Kunming to here only takes two or three weeks, but the boxes arrive pretty battered, so maybe I'll pony up the extra couple of bucks for airmail or SAL.

Now, liu an is something that is commonly sold at older tea stores in Hong Kong, and it is sold at quite a reasonable price, too. For whatever reason, liu bao isn't traditionally consumed here, so there isn't much around. The liu an is aged and doesn't taste like bamboo (to me) so I don't know how they're storing it. I've had almost 600g sitting on a shelf at my office by the waterfront for three or four years. It's mellowed out considerably (VERY humid down there), but still needs more time to really shine, I feel.

Liu bao is commonly warehoused underground for three years before it hits the market; I don't know if liu an baskets are similarly aged before sale. I just buy it aged (and then forget about it and let it age, apparently)!