Recommend an Oolong

[Tea4Todd]

Ok, so I asked a few of you for some advice and got pointed to read the "What Oolong are you drinking now?" and the "Oolong tea vendor" threads.

I am still pretty new to this and there was so many different types thrown out in those threads that I still can't really make an informed decision.

I'll post some specifications, then perhaps some of you could recommend me a FEW oolongs. Also, I would like to know what vendor you all think would be best for someone new like me...who is also on a budget. I've just shopped with Ishopo.com and should be getting my shipment shortly.

This is what is to arrive:
SP10 Lishan Cui Feng Oolong Tea, 9 g Sample
SU10 Beipu Oriental Beauty Oolong, 9 g Sample
SP10 Nantou Milk Oolong(Light Roasted), 150 g / 5.26 oz
SP10 Shanlinxi Long Feng Xia Oolong Tea, 9 g Sample
SP09 Awarded Arishan Oolong Tea (3rd Grade), 19 g Sample
SP10 Dayuling (104K) Oolong Tea, 9 g Sample

My specifications are:
1. Good quality/value ratio (more tea in g/oz for the money, that is still of good quality)
2. Something that is good, time and time again, and not easy to mess up (I'm still new to brewing, and have tried a few brewing methods, I'm not that experienced yet so a resilient tea would be good)
3. Can be roasted, green, light roasted
4. Something that isn't too common, but also not ultra rare either.


Hope you all can help me out on this, I know a lot of you have a ton more knowledge and experience purchasing and tasting than I do.

[Tea4Todd]

Also, forgot to mention...I will be getting some different teawares soon. A gaiwan, and a small chao zhou. I'd like to know a round-about estimate of brewing times, and tea/water quantities and temperatures. This seems to still be a grey area for me, and no matter how much I experiment, I can't find the ultimate safe bet to brew. So, if it's not too much trouble, when you recommend a tea, if you could recommend how'd I'd go about brewing it, that'd be really helpful too.

[Sydney]

Since this is an exploratory experience for you, and you have a gaiwan on the way, how about an opportunity to explore a different side of something you already like?

http://www.theteagallery.com/Iron_Boddh ... p/s-ib.htm

Brew? Gong fu style in a gaiwan. Doesn't get much simpler, and extracts the full value from your tea drinking session.

[Tea4Todd]

Ok, I have looked at that sampler before. Are any of those teas similar to any of the teas I have on the way? I like the color spectrum on that sampler by the way. So, what would my infusions be like....

Water temp? =
Infusion/Sub-sequent infusion times? =
Leaf/gaiwan ratio? (my gaiwan is a 100ml 3.4oz gaiwan)
Water to gaiwan ratio? =

That's been the hardest for me to decipher. I don't have a tea scale..I just have various measuring spoons

[brandon]

All the teas you bought are from Taiwan.
All the teas in the sampler are from Anxi.

[Tea4Todd]

All the teas you bought are from Taiwan.
All the teas in the sampler are from Anxi.

Ok, I am still unfamiliar with the regions. Would you recommend this Anxi sampler as well?

[iannon]

All the teas you bought are from Taiwan.
All the teas in the sampler are from Anxi.

Ok, I am still unfamiliar with the regions. Would you recommend this Anxi sampler as well?

it would be a nice contrasting sampler

[Tea4Todd]

it would be a nice contrasting sampler

Most likely going to try that sampler but I'm still looking for more recommendations so please feel free to recommend per my guidelines.

I liked your previous ishopo recommendations

[AdamMY]

Personally I am not incredibly experienced with Taiwanese oolongs or Dan Cong. But my personal opinion is better deals can be found on the Wuyi side of things compared to TGY, which is most of what is found in Anxi.

While I do not doubt that there may be decent budget friendly TGY's the only ones I have ever liked I could never buy much of due to the price.

Every member has their different preferences, but if you are still searching for a lot of samples. The Chinese Jing Tea Shop offers sample sizes (I think 25 grams), if you browse their site enough you can stumble upon the list of their samples by type. I highly recommend picking a few of each type that they offer just to explore.

Personally I've liked most everything I've gotten from them.

[Tea4Todd]

Adammy, if you could recommend perhaps 2 or 3 specific types, that would be the most help. If I leave it up to myself, I end up getting too overwhelmed. I've had no experience with WuYi, so if you could recommend something that is value priced, but still delicious that you've tried, I'd really appreciate it.