Yancha

[kyarazen]

I like the picture that pops up when you visit that site Hot girl sitting on a car and drinking from a gaiwan? They've already caught my attention.
.

lol. that image is awesome.

haha!! extremely effective marketing!

just like some of my friends.. when they saw this picture they are like.. ah!.. i would love to visit this tea salon!



oops.. sorry for the o/t.. :X

[pedant]

oolong link for convenience:
http://www.fookmingtong.com/eng/tool03.asp

it seems like these are their shipping rates to USA:
first 500g: 75hkd / 10usd
first 1000g: 115 hkd / 15usd
each additional 500g: 38hkd / 5usd

their ordering process seems to go like this: you fill your cart, check out, put in your personal info, and then they contact you with a shipping quote and try to arrange payment.

So far I've only tried the Anxi Super Oolong and I was blown away by how good it was for the money. They run a very tight ship and control their tea production very carefully. I want to try their Mt Phoenix Mono Species.

MarshalN was skeptical about them too until he was gifted some of their tea, and then was rather impressed himself.

I would think any of their oolongs would knock your socks off! ...

thanks for the recommendation! i will be making a small order soon.
so you tried Anxi Super Oolong 安溪特級烏龍 ?
not bad at all, 88hkd/75g

edit: hey what can you tell me about Mt Phoenix Mono Species
i have no idea what that is
edit2: after looking at it, common sense kicked in. i'm guessing it's phoenix dancong

[john.b]

The main concerns about buying better quality tea relate to both overall cost and value. Some very high end Wuyi Yancha really could be worth $1 a gram, or around $50 for two ounces, but it would be a shame on a couple of different levels to buy a tea for that if it really should cost around $20 for that tea quality level instead. The value wouldn't be good, and one would miss out on experiencing a really exceptional tea, although they'd still be drinking a good one.

For someone new to tea the difference between a good quality tea that should cost $20 for 50 grams and a great tea that should be $50 might be harder to identify, although in a side by side comparison it would still be noticeable. Since personal preference also factors in some abstract and objective quality level isn't the only concern, and in a sense it sort of doesn't work that way; one might like different tea / cultivar types more than others, or prefer a certain level of roast, etc. Age even gets to be a factor related to more roasted teas, but that gets complicated.

For a reference, the last really decent wuyi yancha version I bought cost about $30 for 100 grams, supposedly a Bei Dou cultivar subset of Da Hong Pao (which really isn't actually a cultivar, in a limited sense, but all that gets complicated). It was supposedly from the nature preserve area in Wuyishan that yancha's are supposed to be from, per the normal convention. But who knows, really. That vendor, in a Bangkok Chinatown, has family living and making tea in the Wuyishan area, supposedly, and showed pictures that seemed to back that up, but it's hard to evaluate such claims, or place them even if they are accurate. Not every tea maker in the Wuyishan area is making great tea, but of course some are. Other teas I've tried of a similar quality level cost exactly double that (kind of coincidence how that worked out), two very different preparations of other tea types, but still Wuyi Yancha.

[jayinhk]

I don't remember what the Mt Phoenix mono species is, but they had an article up about it before. It could be dancong. They don't really let you try teas either, which is why I went with their cheapest tea. I immediately realized it was well worth the price paid. Been meaning to buy some fancier teas from them, but I just bought a lot of pu erh!

[thirst]

Yep, the Chinese text above says Chao’an Fenghuang Dancong

[jayinhk]

Thanks for solving that mystery! I think I'll try their shuixian instead!

[Rui]

Thanks for solving that mystery! I think I'll try their shuixian instead!

I have been sipping a Lao Cong Shui Xian for the past few hours. Incredibly yummy.

[Frisbeehead]

Thanks for solving that mystery! I think I'll try their shuixian instead!

Hey are you talking about the "SHU XIAN" that they have? I believe that this the Phoenix dancong shuixian variety instead of the wuyi yancha variety. It mentions chaoan, the county that Chaozhou is in, and says Phoenix as well.

I'm going to be placing an order from them soon (splitting w/ Pedant) and we'll be getting the:

Traditional Anxi Super Tieguanyin
Chaoan Mt. Phoenix Mono Species (mono species=dancong)
Wuyi da hong pao (not the select one, but the regular one)

[jayinhk]

Interesting, I'll ask them if it's just dancong when I get over there. Let me know what you guys think after you try their teas!

It appears the shuixian varietal is used to produce dancong (according to Hojo).

TIL Mt Phoenix has older shuixian bushes than Mt Wuyi. Sharing with TeaChatters always teaches me something!

[jayinhk]

Revisiting the super oolong after 3-4 years. Nice aged taste now with good huigan. Really quite pleasant! IMO that is an indicator of good base material and good initial processing. It is still lovely even after all this time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCdLjVHyCkI/

[john.b]

for some reason I had thought the shui xian tea plant type used to make wuyi yanchas and dan cong teas was completely different, rather than the two being closely related. of course dan cong comes from the Guangdong province instead of Fujian, in the Phoenix mountains, but apparently there are a number of separate mountains and ranges with that name, so it doesn't work well as a description.

here is a Hojo vendor reference about that (partially cited, and could be clearer, but the rest of the reference is interesting, taken for what it is):

The oldest Shui Xian tree in Phoenix Mountain is about 900 years old. Somehow, all kinds of Phoenix tea belongs to the Shui Xian family. Phoenix Shui Xian does not have as striking flavor as compared to the rest of phoenix Dan Cong. Instead, its flavor is slightly woody with hint of dried fruit note. This is the reason that its price is not too high even though tea is made from 500 years old tree. Many enjoy this tea as a daily drinking tea because of its subtle flavor.... For tea enthusiasts who enjoy a delicate flavor yet strong aftertaste, Lao Cong Shui Xian is a great choice.... Shui Xian is also famous in Wuyi Shan and highly priced in tea market. However, you are not able to find Shui Xian tea tree the age is more than 500 years old in Wuyi Shan.

http://www.hojotea.com/item_e/phoenix_e.htm

[benm3]

It is my understanding that the varietal used to make Wuyi Shui Xian and Fenghuang Shui Xian Dan Cong are actually totally different. There is also, I think, a Mt. Shui Xian in the Fenghuang region, and the teas there are sometimes less expensive than the teas from the neighboring Wudong mountain. But in any event, Shui Xian Dancong and Shui Xian Yan Cha are not the same tea at all-- I think.

[jayinhk]

Too lazy to look it up and post a link, but Hojo suggested the Shui Xian in Wuyi may have come from Mt Phoenix!

[benm3]

Yes, and some people say that Fenghuang Shui Xian came from the Wu Yi region. A lot of the information really isn't all that clear. Obviously the terroir and processing is quite different, so the two teas taste and look different, but I think phoenix shui xian and Wu Yi shui xian might be more like distant cousins than close siblings. Imen had an EXCELLENT shui xian on her website a year ago, but it seems to be gone now. It was phoenix in character, but darker and spicier than many phoenix teas. I remember a delicious rock sugar and musty sandalwood flavor as well as a very warming energy. I have also tasted horrible, gag-inducing phoenix shui xian.

[kyarazen]

i think it would be farer and more correct to acknowledge the presence of 2 shuixian cultivars, one known as Min Bei Shuixian, which is the fujian type, grown in wuyi and drives wuyi shuixian teas, and the other as Chao-An Shuixian, which is found in Chaozhou, driving the fenghuang shuixian,dancong line~