What variety of oolong is this?

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Dec 16th, '10, 20:05
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What variety of oolong is this?

by bagua7 » Dec 16th, '10, 20:05

I can't read mandarin and I got this sample in a recent past. I was told is TGY but it can't be because the taste has a resemblance to milk and quite buttery.

Here's a pic (already posted in another thread):

Image

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Dec 17th, '10, 11:37
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by bryan_drinks_tea » Dec 17th, '10, 11:37

May we see a picture of the leaf? thx :D

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Dec 17th, '10, 13:52
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by bagua7 » Dec 17th, '10, 13:52

Sure:

Image

The funny thing is that the vendor is unable to identify the tea he sent me in a sample form. :shock:

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Dec 17th, '10, 20:44
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by TokyoB » Dec 17th, '10, 20:44

The package says "Tie Guan Yin" which is what it looks like.

You can view the characters here:
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.c ... e+guan+yin

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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by bagua7 » Dec 18th, '10, 09:37

Well this is what the vendor had to say about that supposedly TGY:

Dont look at the packing as these packing changes all the time! We pack the tea ourselves!

:lol:

To me is Taiwanese milk oolong, unless there is a mainland Chinese milk oolong which I am unaware of. That vendor doesn't even know what he's really selling. Just another folk in the tea business for the sake of the almighty dollar, yuck!

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Dec 18th, '10, 11:09
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by gingkoseto » Dec 18th, '10, 11:09

Sometimes those bags are just genetic and used for all kinds of teas. I guess that's what the vendor meant. I don't see why they wouldn't know what tea it is. It seems to me very likely a language problem instead of not knowing at all.

By looking at the dry tea, it's very hard to tell what it is. A lot of teas are made in this shape.
For example, this is a fo shou oolong
Image

This is a ben shan oolong
Image

This is a huang jin gui/golden osmanthus
Image

To name just a few...
By seeing a photo of dry tea, it's very hard, if possible at all, to tell.

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Dec 19th, '10, 00:43
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by Poohblah » Dec 19th, '10, 00:43

I love those Taiwanese milk oolongs. I have a tin of it sitting around, it's a huge smash at social events, but I rarely drink it by myself.

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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by bagua7 » Dec 19th, '10, 04:39

Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. That's the problem of buying tea online.

I am 100% sure it was a milk oolong because of the creaminess that was always present on every run. The problem is that it could have been a scented sample instead of the real one which isn't cheap.

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Dec 19th, '10, 14:42
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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by Chip » Dec 19th, '10, 14:42

mayayo wrote:Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. That's the problem of buying tea online.
Well, that is a problem with this vendor, not really with buying online in general. Clearly the seller should be able to tell you what sample they sent to you. :idea: :mrgreen:

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Re: What variety of oolong is this?

by bagua7 » Dec 20th, '10, 04:24

Unfortunately he doesn't have a clue because -according to the opinion of a teachatter in another thread- he doesn't pack the teas or supervises the process directly himself. He just told me that bag had Autumn-harvested TGY. Freaking hell this vendor is hilarious! :lol:

I have given up completely. Placed an order of Taiwanese milk oolong tea with a non-eBay-related vendor. Had enough.

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