best cheap loose leaf oolong?

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


Jun 22nd, '11, 12:00
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best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by jhole » Jun 22nd, '11, 12:00

I LOVE Oolong tea, but it tends to be more expensive (at least where I live). I'm wondering what you think is the best cheap Oolong (loose leaf). Right now, I'm drinking World Market's Organic Mountain Wulong from Hubei China. Its cheap and is suprisingly probably the best Oolong I've tasted and it holds up well to lots and lots of infusions. It has a very subtle fruityness that i love.

What other cheap Oolongs would you suggest I try? FYI I don't like the smoky Oolongs as much.

thanks for your help!

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Jun 22nd, '11, 15:38
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by teaisme » Jun 22nd, '11, 15:38

a price range?
cheap can be pretty subjective

Jun 22nd, '11, 16:05
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by jhole » Jun 22nd, '11, 16:05

I'm not looking for dirt cheap because I know you usually get what you pay for, and I've had some bad really cheap tea. Just looking for something affordable that is tasty and good enough quality to last through multiple infusions. The Oolong I'm drinking now was $9 and brews 50-55 cups (although I think I can get 60 or 70 cups out of it easily), so something along those lines...

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Jun 22nd, '11, 16:19
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by debunix » Jun 22nd, '11, 16:19

$9 for how many grams?

Jun 22nd, '11, 16:22
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by verus » Jun 22nd, '11, 16:22

Jing Tea Shop's "everyday teas" have some good prices.

Jun 22nd, '11, 16:53
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by jhole » Jun 22nd, '11, 16:53

debunix wrote:$9 for how many grams?
65g


Jun 22nd, '11, 19:39
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by whatsinaname » Jun 22nd, '11, 19:39

4-Seasons (Si Ji) from Floating Leaves or Houde is my favorite budget green oolong.

This, from above, is an excellent buy:
http://www.floatingleavestea.com/index. ... ucts_id=90

and the 2011 ain't too bad, either.

Jun 23rd, '11, 16:59
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by jhole » Jun 23rd, '11, 16:59

Thanks for the replies. This helps. I should probably clarify about my comment of not liking the "smoky" Oolongs. I actually enjoy some of the darker Oolongs, I just don't like the ones when they taste extra smoky (for lack of a better term). I'm thinking back to a time I ordered a cup of Oolong at a local shop. Before then I had never tried an Oolong I didn't like, but this one was gross. It was not bad quality, but it had a strong charcoal flavor- not for me. I think it was a Formosa.

What would type of Oolong would fall somewhere in the middle of the greener and heavily roasted ones? I’m fairly new to Oolong tea so I’m still learning.

Thanks!

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Jun 23rd, '11, 19:57
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by debunix » Jun 23rd, '11, 19:57

My favorite 'bargain' greener oolong is Huang Jin Gui from Norbu, priced very similarly to an offering listed above from Jing Tea Shop.

What I love about it is that unlike some lower priced green oolongs I've gotten from my local chinatown tea shop, the difference in quality vs the fancier TGY he sells is that the fantastic flavor doesn't last as long as with the TGY (in the last week I had some HJG that lasted about 5-6 infusions, but my TGY session last night went at least 12), but the full lush fantastic anxi oolong flavor is there at the beginning. Some similarly priced offerings from my teashop don't have that intensity or burst of floral sweetness at the beginning.

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Jun 24th, '11, 15:52
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by teaisme » Jun 24th, '11, 15:52

jhole wrote: What would type of Oolong would fall somewhere in the middle of the greener and heavily roasted ones? I’m fairly new to Oolong tea so I’m still learning.

Thanks!
I think this is a good one to try in price range to get idea of the taste of a taiwanese roasted oolong.

http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... a628ce436a

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Jul 4th, '11, 00:14
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by chrl42 » Jul 4th, '11, 00:14

Although I'd recommend Wuyi/Taiwan oolong over Anxi's for organical properties, but then price range won't match..

Looking for cheaper things in China? :roll:

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Jul 4th, '11, 01:54
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by tingjunkie » Jul 4th, '11, 01:54

The only commercial "cheap" tea I have found worth drinking is the high fire TGY from Sea Dyke in the red tin. Just remember, higher priced teas can still be a bargain. The high fire TGY from the Tea Gallery runs complete circles around Sea Dyke, and it's only $9/25g. It's like comparing sirloin to meatloaf.

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Jul 4th, '11, 18:42
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by ABx » Jul 4th, '11, 18:42

Melody at Zen8tea (on eBay) has some good commercial grade Taiwan wulong for good prices. If you email her directly then you can also get a small discount; you can say that I said to :)

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Jul 4th, '11, 19:03
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Re: best cheap loose leaf oolong?

by fire_snake » Jul 4th, '11, 19:03

I've found quite a few at Teamasters:

http://teamasters.blogspot.com/

The Spring 2011 price list (it might have changed, so confirm with Stephane.)

OOLONG from Taiwan & Fujian

- 2011 Spring Hung Shui Oolong from Shan Lin Shi (1500 m), 15.5 USD for 25 gr or 80 USD for 150 gr - 2011 Spring Luanze Oolong from Ali Shan (1600 m), 15.5 USD for 25 gr or 80 USD for 150 gr
- 2011 Spring Luanze Oolong from Ali Shan (1450 m), 11.5 USD for 25 gr or 57 USD for 150 gr
- 2011 Spring Jinxuan Oolong from Ali Shan (1400 m), 10 USD for 25 gr or 51 USD for 150 gr
- 2011 Spring Jade Oolong Oolong from Yi Guang Shan (800 m), 7 USD for 25 gr or 33 USD for 150 gr - 2011 Spring Jinxuan Oolong from Zhu Shan, 5 USD for 25 gr or 19.5 USD for 150 gr
- 2011 Spring Si Ji Chun Oolong from Zhu Shan, 5 USD for 25 gr or 19.5 USD for 150 gr
- 2011 January (Late Winter) Dong Pian from Zhu Shan, 7.5 USD for 25 gr or 35 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Winter ‘wild’ Concubine Oolong from Feng Huang, 13 USD for 25 gr or 65 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Winter Hung Shui Oolong from Feng Huang (1000m), 13 USD for 25 gr or 65 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Winter Luanze Oolong from Tsui Feng (1700 m), 15 USD for 25 gr or 79.5 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Winter Jinxuan Oolong from Lu Shan (1000 m), 8 USD for 25 gr or 39 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Winter Luanze Oolong ‘Honey’ roast from Zhu Shan, 6.5 USD for 25 gr or 15 USD for 75 gr
- 2010 Winter Gan Kou Oolong from Southern Taiwan, 6.5 USD for 25 gr or 30 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Fall Luanze Oolong from Bi Lu Shi (1700 m), 9 USD for 25 gr or 45 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Spring 2 Hung Shui Oolong from Shan Lin Shi (1550 m), 10 USD for 25 gr or 51 USD for 150 gr - 2010 Spring Luanze Oolong from Li Shan (2300 m), 19.5 USD for 25 gr or 98 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Spring Luanze Oolong from Shan Lin Shi (1550 m), 14.5 USD for 25 gr or 75 USD for 150 gr
- 2010 Spring Hung Shui Oolong from Shan Lin Shi (1550 m), 14.5 USD for 25 gr or 75 USD for 150 gr - 2009 Fall Hung Shui Oolong from Feng Huang (Dong Ding), 9.5 USD for 25 gr or 49.5 USD for 150 gr - 2009 Spring Hung Shui Oolong from from Ali Shan (1200 m), 14 USD for 25 gr or 72 USD for 150 gr - 2008 Spring Shan Lin Shi ‘light roast’ Luanze Oolong (1650 meters) 20 USD for 50 gr
- 2008 Spring Tie Guan Yin ‘high roast’ from Shi Ping, China. 7.5 USD for 25 gr or 25 USD for 100 gr

tingjunkie wrote:The only commercial "cheap" tea I have found worth drinking is the high fire TGY from Sea Dyke in the red tin. Just remember, higher priced teas can still be a bargain. The high fire TGY from the Tea Gallery runs complete circles around Sea Dyke, and it's only $9/25g. It's like comparing sirloin to meatloaf.
I've had this TGY. It's quite nice.

Christian

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