Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

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Sep 20th, '13, 16:39
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Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Sep 20th, '13, 16:39

I imagine others here may want to take advantage of this. Everything I've ordered from them has been quality. As well, their customer service, email confirmations, etc. have all been quality. The processing and shipping have been fast and each order I've ordered has included a little something extra. My email discussions with Mr. Brook have also been rich discussions and not merely quick/flippant responses but rather in depth, thoughtful responses to any query I've posted to him.

Taiwan Tea Crafts:
"Get up to 32% OFF all our fresh TAIWANESE TEAS (50 g or more) and 20% OFF all our TEA WARE (excluding Yixing pots) until Sunday the 29th incl. All orders of $75 or more ship out FREE OF CHARGE (as well as bulk tea only orders of $50 or more). Don't delay, many lots are very low in stock! http://www.taiwanteacrafts.com"

Their other free shipping promotion is still available for non-sale tea purchases: (http://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/2013/06/ ... -doorstep/)

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Sep 20th, '13, 19:56
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by NPE » Sep 20th, '13, 19:56

My bank account does not look too happy about this... but I do :lol: I was having a lovely tea time earlier today, thinking that I could stock up again on some of their lovely tea. Thanks for letting us know!

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Sep 20th, '13, 20:49
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by sherubtse » Sep 20th, '13, 20:49

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:I imagine others here may want to take advantage of this. Everything I've ordered from them has been quality. As well, their customer service, email confirmations, etc. have all been quality. The processing and shipping have been fast and each order I've ordered has included a little something extra. My email discussions with Mr. Brook have also been rich discussions and not merely quick/flippant responses but rather in depth, thoughtful responses to any query I've posted to him.
Are there any teas from this vendor that you would recommend, TeaArt08?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

Sep 21st, '13, 21:17
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by PurplePotato » Sep 21st, '13, 21:17

sherubtse wrote: Are there any teas from this vendor that you would recommend, TeaArt08?
I'm not TeaArt08, but i did order some samples from Taiwan Tea Crafts recently and can give some thoughts:

My favorite so far has been the Taiwanese stye green, which had an intense aroma that I could never quite place, has a tasty fruitiness, and lasts a long time for a green. Also there was no grassiness to be found (not that this is necessarily a bad thing). I don't rink many greens, but this one really lives up to its status of having a lot of Taiwanese oolong character, which I always like.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Four Seasons Black. I'm a sucker for black teas from Taiwan, and this one didn't disappoint. The main taste I got reminded me of sour cream and onion chips with a bit of chive (In a good way). I know this has to be a bad explanation, as I haven't eaten these in years, but thats where my mind went. The background of the tea was fruity with a nice bit of acidy to round things out. The leaves were rather long, and I had a hard time fitting them in my little 50ml yixing to my desired potency:
1.jpg
1.jpg (31.61 KiB) Viewed 6109 times
I've also tried the finest formosa, which was good too. Dark, Mineraly in taste and smell, and maybe a bit of chocolate thickness.

I still have the following to try:
Shui Xian
Fancy Formosa
30 years aged black
Red Jade Gaba
Fu Shou Shan (this they threw in as a sample :D)

If you want some of my (poor :P) thoughts one one of these, I can stick one in my cup tomorrow or the next day and let you know what I think.

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Sep 24th, '13, 17:48
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Sep 24th, '13, 17:48

sherubtse wrote:
茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:I imagine others here may want to take advantage of this. Everything I've ordered from them has been quality. As well, their customer service, email confirmations, etc. have all been quality. The processing and shipping have been fast and each order I've ordered has included a little something extra. My email discussions with Mr. Brook have also been rich discussions and not merely quick/flippant responses but rather in depth, thoughtful responses to any query I've posted to him.
Are there any teas from this vendor that you would recommend, TeaArt08?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
sherubtse
Sherubtse,

Sorry to respond late. From Taiwan Tea Crafts I have ordered the Competition Spring Baozhong tea, the Competition Winter Baozhong tea (both from the same farm, same maker, but different season). I've ordered the Comp. Baozhong Spring tea twice, once in a 150g and once in 50g size because they were formerly out. But they recently found some more and so, last I checked, the Spring Baozhong is available in the 150g size. I really enjoyed, deeply, this baozhong tea and brewed it repeatedly with stellar results. I brewed in comparisons against other boazhong tea that I had and the other tea didn't come close to comparing. It is a very good baozhong.

From them I also have the 30 Years Aged Black Tea, Lot 220 as well as the 20 Year Aged Wulong, Lot 119, and the 10 Year Aged Wulong, Lot 135.
Also, I have their Long Feng Xia, Lot214, the Lishan Spirit tea, Lot 230, and Baked Jin Xuan, Lot 203. I haven't opened these yet but can do so and give them a go if any of these are potentially interesting to you. They're all interesting to me. :D Lately I have been brewing a newly opened tin of very good Ming Gang Lishan tea and a newly opened tin of SDIQ High Mt. Wulong tea (qing xin cultivar).

I ordered my most recent order right before TTC's sale :( and it took about 8 days from ordering to receiving. Which, to me, is not bad. As is often the case with an order from TTC, the order came with a bonus tea.

I've enjoyed my correspondence with Mr. Brook on Facebook and through email and his responses are always sincere. I'm curious myself what he'd recommend for you if you emailed him and gave him an inkling of your tea preferences. I'm preparing to order tea from him to have shipped to two of my teachers in Taiwan (one for my tea teacher and one for my guqin teacher; this is how much I trust their quality) and will send him an email to ask what tea he believes is currently the most special or appropriate from their offerings.

Let me know if I can brew one of the teas I presently have for you.

Blessings!

Scott

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Sep 24th, '13, 21:51
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by sherubtse » Sep 24th, '13, 21:51

PurplePotato wrote:
sherubtse wrote: Are there any teas from this vendor that you would recommend, TeaArt08?
I'm not TeaArt08, but i did order some samples from Taiwan Tea Crafts recently and can give some thoughts:

My favorite so far has been the Taiwanese stye green, which had an intense aroma that I could never quite place, has a tasty fruitiness, and lasts a long time for a green. Also there was no grassiness to be found (not that this is necessarily a bad thing). I don't rink many greens, but this one really lives up to its status of having a lot of Taiwanese oolong character, which I always like.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Four Seasons Black. I'm a sucker for black teas from Taiwan, and this one didn't disappoint. The main taste I got reminded me of sour cream and onion chips with a bit of chive (In a good way). I know this has to be a bad explanation, as I haven't eaten these in years, but thats where my mind went. The background of the tea was fruity with a nice bit of acidy to round things out. The leaves were rather long, and I had a hard time fitting them in my little 50ml yixing to my desired potency:
1.jpg
I've also tried the finest formosa, which was good too. Dark, Mineraly in taste and smell, and maybe a bit of chocolate thickness.

I still have the following to try:
Shui Xian
Fancy Formosa
30 years aged black
Red Jade Gaba
Fu Shou Shan (this they threw in as a sample :D)

If you want some of my (poor :P) thoughts one one of these, I can stick one in my cup tomorrow or the next day and let you know what I think.
Thanks for the commets, PurplePotato.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the TTC teas you have yet to taste.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Sep 24th, '13, 22:00
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by sherubtse » Sep 24th, '13, 22:00

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote: Sherubtse,

Sorry to respond late. From Taiwan Tea Crafts I have ordered the Competition Spring Baozhong tea, the Competition Winter Baozhong tea (both from the same farm, same maker, but different season). I've ordered the Comp. Baozhong Spring tea twice, once in a 150g and once in 50g size because they were formerly out. But they recently found some more and so, last I checked, the Spring Baozhong is available in the 150g size. I really enjoyed, deeply, this baozhong tea and brewed it repeatedly with stellar results. I brewed in comparisons against other boazhong tea that I had and the other tea didn't come close to comparing. It is a very good baozhong.

From them I also have the 30 Years Aged Black Tea, Lot 220 as well as the 20 Year Aged Wulong, Lot 119, and the 10 Year Aged Wulong, Lot 135.
Also, I have their Long Feng Xia, Lot214, the Lishan Spirit tea, Lot 230, and Baked Jin Xuan, Lot 203. I haven't opened these yet but can do so and give them a go if any of these are potentially interesting to you. They're all interesting to me. :D Lately I have been brewing a newly opened tin of very good Ming Gang Lishan tea and a newly opened tin of SDIQ High Mt. Wulong tea (qing xin cultivar).

I ordered my most recent order right before TTC's sale :( and it took about 8 days from ordering to receiving. Which, to me, is not bad. As is often the case with an order from TTC, the order came with a bonus tea.

I've enjoyed my correspondence with Mr. Brook on Facebook and through email and his responses are always sincere. I'm curious myself what he'd recommend for you if you emailed him and gave him an inkling of your tea preferences. I'm preparing to order tea from him to have shipped to two of my teachers in Taiwan (one for my tea teacher and one for my guqin teacher; this is how much I trust their quality) and will send him an email to ask what tea he believes is currently the most special or appropriate from their offerings.

Let me know if I can brew one of the teas I presently have for you.

Blessings!

Scott
Many thanks for the feedback, Scott.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the Lishan, when you have a chance to brew it.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Sep 26th, '13, 01:46
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Sep 26th, '13, 01:46

Sherubtse,

It is a rich, early Autumn day here. Beyond the window intermittent breezes shift wind chimes before sliding cool and fresh into the tea room. The house is quiet, the room still. It's a perfect time to sit with the Lishan Spirit tea from TTC.

Thanks for the impetus to sit with this tea. As I mentioned, I've been drinking a newly opened tin of Ming Gang Lishan (明岡梨山) tea, Winter harvest, 2012, bought in Taiwan last year during Chinese New Year. It is a quality high mt. tea that I enjoy very much. However, sitting to pour the TTC Lishan Spirit tea, I realize the two teas differ greatly from one another. The TTC Lishan Spirit tea is unique.

It is unlike the Ming Gang tea I have been pouring and unlike the Lishan tea we drank during Origin's OTTI 19. Many of Origin's teas were savory, umami, mouth watering, not brilliant on the front of the mouth flavor with a light perfume in the throat for the "huigan."

The TTC Lishan Spirit tea has a pleasant aroma, subtle, not overpowering immediately upon opening the foil bag. The leaves are in more or less evenly clustered blue green nuggets with the occasional bright, lime-green cluster. It's pretty. I weigh out 10g of leaf to pour in a Petr Novak 150ml, glazed (inside and out), medium-thick walled teapot. 10g is more than I would normally pour for this pot. Generally I pour 7.5 to 9.15 grams in the pot. I pour more grams to really get a sense of the tea.

I preheat my teapot, scent cups, and pourer. Immediately upon emptying the teapot of water I leave the lid on and open it only enough to allow me to empty the dry leaf clusters from the scoop into the pot, careful not to lose any heat. I replace the lid and allow the tea to "bake" for a minute. Opening the lid I am greeted with such a sweet, balsam, heady warm scent that genuinely, and curiously, reminds me of the quality TTC baozhong I have been drinking.

Next I do a quick (4 seconds) wash/opening of the leaves with 95deg C purified water, brewed in a Bonavita stainless tea kettle. After emptying the water I allow the leaves about 50 seconds to slowly open in the pot until all unfurl their grasp, softening slightly. Smelling the the now moist leaves I am greeted with a truly wonderful floral sweet scent. I leave my nose in the pot for some time...just taking it in.

I pour the tea, more or less, along the parameters of Ming Gang Lishan I've been drinking (same times, water/temp., and teaware) to give a clear comparison. I pour the first round with 95 deg. C water for 2 min. In the scent cup I am greeted with a wonderful profile. The attack in the scent cup is a lightly creamy, pillowy base followed by a subtle vegetal, then light fruit and floral, leading to a lasting sweet that lingers and lingers, even once the scent cup has gone cold.

The first sip is rich. The tea has no bitterness, a full mouth feel (飽滿bao3man3), is mouth watering, light fruit, floral, hits the top of my palate and moves straight to my throat with an instant and lingering huigan...entirely pleasant, lingering, fresh, and pleasing. The tea is rich in the throat but also in the mouth.

For my second round I pour slightly cooler (93 deg. C) at 1:45 sec. Third round I pour at 2:30, then 3:15, then 4:15, then 5:30, then 7:15, etc. The tea changes subtly throughout the pour but it has good durability, really wonderful throat/huigan and mouthfeel/taste. By the third and forth rounds the tea exhibits some more dry quality in the mouth but keeps its balance. In the scent cup and in the mouth the tea is very "fresh," distinctly clean. I really enjoy this tea. I've just gotten a bunch of tea in the last month, but now I'm going to have order more. :)

After the pour I clean the tea table to neutral and inspect the leaves; they are not as pretty/intact as some other teas I pour but they are noticeably thick and maintain their shape and consistency even after the many rounds poured.

All in all, the tea is sweet, floral, distinctly clean and fresh, with a wonderful huigan that lingers and lingers. It's bright and durable through rounds, with a subtle "dry" that emerges in later rounds. Even when the tea is moving toward sweet water it is still very enjoyable, flavorful. Usually with a tea, the huigan drops off with the later rounds. With this tea, it was still there, diminished but still present. I will definitely buy this tea again. Extremely pleasurable pour! I hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions about the tea. After I pour the tea again, I'll have some senses about it further clarified and will report back.

Blessings!!

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Sep 26th, '13, 07:45
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by sherubtse » Sep 26th, '13, 07:45

Many thanks indeed for the great review of the LiShan, as well as for the beautiful pictures, TeaArt08! :D

I have taken your (implied) suggestion and ordered the Spring Competition Baozhong. A few others were added to the order, one of those "extras" being their Longjing. I would have preferred the Taiwanese-style green that PurplePotato suggested, but they are sold out.

I look forward to more tea reviews, TeaArt08.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by NPE » Sep 26th, '13, 08:42

sherubtse wrote:Many thanks indeed for the great review of the LiShan, as well as for the beautiful pictures, TeaArt08! :D
+1
The only unfortunate thing is that I would love some lovely TTC oolong myself now... but I am stuck at work with less than high-end quality teas :(

Sep 27th, '13, 19:35
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by PurplePotato » Sep 27th, '13, 19:35

Drinking my way through some 30yrs aged black right now.

Upon opening the sample, my first thought at the smell was shupu. Like the flavor, it might be better described as likened to age sheng or other dark tea, but I haven't had either, so good shu is what I smelled. I would have put the tea into my shu pot, but it's a bit to big for the job, so into my little 50ml black pot it went. My tea intuition told me that this tea was rather strong, but that I could brew it pretty heavily with good results, so I packed the pot to around 80-90% dry leaves and started flash infusing.

Thanks in part to some dregs, the first brews were close to pitch black, but with a nice umber edge. Upon tasting, the first thing to hit me was the tea's qi. It's hard to explain, and I'm relatively qi-sensative so I'm not sure if others would feel it immediately like I did. It's like the moment when you notice something in your environment for the first time, and you go "woah." Except I hadn't consciously noticed anything about the taste yet, just "woah."

In that space you're allowed to sit with that "woah" state for awhile and just enjoy the tea for awhile, or you can let your conscious mind come in and label the experience. It's like in the opening chapter of the Dao De Jing:
  • Empty of desire, perceive mystery.
    Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.
    -Trans Addiss and Lombardo
This tea gave me the chance to choose: mystery or manifestations? (Well actually, as soon as you 'choose,' you're back in the manifestations - this stuff is hard to talk about :P) I found myself going back and forth throughout the session.

The taste was nice and clean, highlights were some roasted beets, some jam, and another flavor I really liked but cannot place, though I can say I've noticed it in shu before.

To some up, warm and comforting and tasty, just like an excellent shu, at least from my experience, anyways.

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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by Muadeeb » Sep 28th, '13, 14:28

I took advantage of this sale after seeing this thread last weekend, and my shipment just arrived! On my second steep of the Mei Shan Jin Xuan, and it's very sweet and floral. This was my "budget" selection to use as a baseline for comaprison with the other goodies, like the Cui Fong, Shan Lin Xi, and 1999 TGK. I don't know how many I'll be able to try this weekend, but I might just have to place another order before the sale expires! :D

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Sep 28th, '13, 17:47
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by kikula » Sep 28th, '13, 17:47

I just placed a hefty sample order with TTC. I like the way the site is organized and 25 gram samples are nice, just enough to fool around a little with brewing parameters w/o overstocking the wrong tea. Free shipping on moderately sized orders is also appreciated. So, we'll see soon - I ordered almost entirely oolongs (and almost all of them, for fun - I tend to do that...) as that's my current focus. Tnks for interesting reviews and comments.

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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by NPE » Sep 29th, '13, 07:22

I got my order yesterday - exactly a week after ordering. The teapot is lovely and I trust the oolongs are great as usual. I am currently sipping the long jing that I ordered as well and it is really, really good! Indeed as described a lovely sweet, creamy and nutty flavour all through my mouth without any bitterness at all. Just a pure and intense delight. Easily the best long jing I have ever had. :D

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Sep 29th, '13, 15:17
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Re: Taiwan Tea Crafts Middle Autumn Festival Sale

by sherubtse » Sep 29th, '13, 15:17

NPE wrote:I got my order yesterday - exactly a week after ordering. The teapot is lovely and I trust the oolongs are great as usual. I am currently sipping the long jing that I ordered as well and it is really, really good! Indeed as described a lovely sweet, creamy and nutty flavour all through my mouth without any bitterness at all. Just a pure and intense delight. Easily the best long jing I have ever had. :D
Glad to hear those favourable comments about the Longjing, as I have ordered some as well.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

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