TeaChat

Hi all,

I was going to buy some Oolong teas off http://www.goldenteahouse.com but I was hoping to have some advice before I do so.

Could anyone afford me some information regarding the differences in taste between Guan Yin Wang and Da Hong Pao?

I'm only starting to get into tea-loving!

Thank you!

Have you tried Adagio's Oolong Teas?
They are high in flavor and very inexpensive.
Why would you want to pay 5 times
more with that other company?
I don't get it?

Like the old adage goes, you pay for what you receive.

Cheap price usually means cheap quality. You'll never be able to buy a Benz for a Honda price.

Too true SueLee, unfortunetly, some people try to sell the honda at the benz price, assuring us it's a benz.

I wish I could help but I've yet to try these Oolongs. I hope someone will answer your question regardless of where you buy the tea from. Personally I tend t buy it from the places that help me find out the answers to questions just like this.

It seems that Golden Tea House offers these two teas in sample (under 2oz) sizes. The only way to know if you'll enjoy these teas if to purchase and try them yourself.

As for the "you pay for what you receive" statement... Although I agree that this is true more often than not, what you need to consider in the world of tea is a number of factors that determines the price. Aside from quality, there are factors like the economies of scale, the number of middlemen the tea goes through before it reaches your cup, and the distribution channels. All these play a major role in determining the price and quality of the tea.

price != tea quality

Unless of course price = overpriced.

just got some adagio teas and realized was missing a thing or two on my order but hadn't the time to fix it. Friend suggested Golden teahouse (only by what she saw from the selection!) and she's a chinese tea nut so I figured I'd email them FIRST and see whats up. Anyhow, got in touch with someone obviously english native speaker and that told me that they are partnered with the farm in wuyi (sp?). Didnt quite understand what he had to say about tea prices and samples. He assured me that anything ordered from the specials was good stuff (though i hate lapsang souchong, one of them) and if i didn't, i would still receive a sample of another tea sent with the purchase. Interesting stuff no?
First time I've put my money where my mouth was about to go. For 15$ and two teas and a sample, not out much of a loss. I'll update here when free and teas have arrived. Same with adagio teas.. waiting on a rooibos - i've been drinking teas for years and never tried the stuff!

-reabis

oh, by 'got' i mean i placed an order a few days back. Adagio's rooibos should be here any moment. No more instacoffee /jk

himthatwas wrote:Unless of course price = overpriced.

price != quality

that means

price does not equal quality

I am also looking for a quality tea source. I have had access to the most exquisite teas. My businessman neighbor who traveled to southeast Asia would bring back gift boxes for watching his house. Alas, the family has moved away.

Family had tea overload and often I would get a box that been an obvious expensive gift. I learned to recognize excellent quality. There was no English on the boxes.

I have been searching the internet. The reviews read put Adagio teas at about 1/3 good, 1/3 average and 1/3 poor. So that puts at least 2/3 of Adagio teas at less than excellent. Since my palate knows excellence, I don’t want to experiment with poor teas. I want teas that have been highly recommended to try out. If there are any excellent teas here I want to know. Of course, de gustibus non est disputandum.

I clicked the two places on their website where customers give opinions. Most were satisfied. The ones that were dissatisfied all followed a pattern. They were mistakes made by Adagio of some sort (wrong tea, tea sent to wrong address, poor customer service, no response, etc.) but that the company would not rectify. Does anyone else find this peculiar?

Would those of you who drink green or oolong recommend the very best of Adagio?

Suz

I am fairly new to the "Tea" thing...only about a year.
However I have become somewhat a "freak" over tea .(as my husband puts it)I have purchased enough tea to serve 20 people for years, several cups a day....I have bought good tea and bad tea...from the internet and at local and distant stores.
I have also purchased tea directly from China, and have found my best source to be Adagio...I find Ican trust them completely, if there has been a mistake in my order it was corrected that day..I find Adagios tea to be fresh and exactly as described. I have started "hitting" tea shops in my travels, and have yet to find the consistant quality that I get with Adagio...I don't know where you are getting the 2/3 questionalble rating...but for my money, I have stopped shopping other sites. I am a truely satisfied customer...

Suzanne wrote:The reviews read put Adagio teas at about 1/3 good, 1/3 average and 1/3 poor. So that puts at least 2/3 of Adagio teas at less than excellent.

Are you talking about the ratings here? If so, I think you've grossly underestimated the quality of the teas according to customers' reviews. On a scale of 1-5, without 0 being allowed, you have a range of 4 meaning thirds are 1.333333... so 1.00-2.33 = bottom third (poor), 2.33-3.67 = middle third (average), 3.67-5.00 = top third (good). Counting up the number of teas with ratings of 3.6 or lower, I find 5 (banana, green mudan, rooibos jasmine, decaf tropics, decaf blueberry). I counted something like 143 teas in the tea list, sampler sets left out. Therefore, by my count, I get the following distribution:

96.5% good (138/143 in the top third, 3.67-5.00)
3.5% average (5/143 in the middle third, 2.33-3.67)
0.0% poor (0/143 in the bottom third, 1.00-2.33)

So to quote Lana Y, "I don't know where you are getting the 2/3 questionable rating."

As for customer service and such, I've had no problems with Adagio. Keep in mind that you can never satisfy all of the people all of the time, no company (or person) is perfect, and some customers are unreasonable. Many of the complaints I've seen on the web board were replied to by Adagio representatives and indicated an unwillingness of the consumer to work with Adagio, who was willing to make some compromise to satisfy the customer, even if he/she didn't really deserve it. Also remember that unsatisfied customers tend to be more vocal/outspoken than the satisfied ones -- complaints tend to outnumber praises. I dare say the number of satisfied customers, perfect orders, and such (e.g., Adagio giving returning customers free tea just because) far outweighs the number of unsatisfied customers. After all, a business can't prosper if the vast majority of its customers are unhappy with them and take their business elsewhere.

Thanks Lana and Dronak. You were a lot more patient than I would have been. My response to Suzanne is the following:
Hon, if you're going to assume adagio has bad service on a few bad reviews, AND you're going to assume adagio has less than excelent tea without trying them yourself, AND you're going to post that uninformend opinion on adagio's board, then maybe you should take your snooty little self somewhere else.
On the otherhand, if you are willing to humble yourself and give them a try, you might be pleasantly suprised and the wonderful teas and customer service offered by this company.
Marlene