Can't decide between tea vendors for oolong

[BW85]

I'd also mention teahong.com - they got a very nice selection of Oolongs and a quite unique way of classifying them.

And one more thought on the subject: I've tried my way through in the last months and am missing one thing quite a lot: Clear and abundant information about the production background on the teas I buy. That is for me the thing that might really tie me to a vendor: To get trustworthy information about:
- who produced the tea
- that they were paid appropriately
- how old the trees are
- that the production methods were ecologially sustainable (as far as I can see, its virtually impossible to find good quality Dan Cong which was produced without chemicals, since these teas easily sell on the chinese market anyways)
- and so on.. you get the idea

That kind of info is really hard to come by... and where it is present, the question arises how reliable it is. Just to give some examples:

I also adore Leo Kwans
Not so much info about the teas here, but I just believe that he's authentic and wants to sell really good tea, for example judging on the basis of the effort he puts in his free info page teaguardian.com

I hope that the more knowledgable tea drinkers around here add some info to put my very incomplete impressions into perspective.

Teahong is my go to for high end oolongs, and I too really love Leo Kwan and what he brings to the tea industry.
I've emailed tea Hong with many questions about their teas since I've been buying from them and one of Leo's apprentice, Sui, has always been happy to answer with all kinds of information that I feel confident I can trust in. Tea Hong is good people and in my humble opinion some of the best tea that leaves China commercially.

And as for chemicals on dancongs, any tea that is produced by a tea master who takes great pride in the tea they grow and produce, and are producing it for "connoisseurs," these people will tend to stick with traditional farming practices, and are also aware that someone with a highly sensitive palate would taste the pesticide. You just have to discern which vendors actually carry these teas and which only pretend to

[ABx]

Hard to beat http://teahabitat.com/ for dancong.

Buying individual types of tea from the vendors that specialize will often get you the best, though you do have to place multiple orders.

Really, they all specialize in one or two things. Most shops will have one or two types that are good, and the rest is lower quality. Other teas may also be judged (by the vendors) through the lens of the type of tea that they know and like.

[FlyedPiper]

I think mountain teas has really good entry level Taiwanese oolongs. Their TGY is quite good for the price too.

For mainland teas I've had good luck with Yunnan Sourcing- I pretty much only drink yancha from China proper (and puerh). Some of their selections are good affordable options. Shipping is painfully slow though.

[Poseidon]

I really enjoy Mountaintea.com's offerings but if you are wanting to try out lots of samples check out jkteashop.com. I ordered 10-15 samples sizes of tea for about 45 shipped to the US! Not bad really.

[FlyedPiper]

Just got some of their Lishan and "mountain oolong" to try. The Lishan is sooo good this year. A slam dunk for the price. Haven't tried the other one yet.

[Oni]

I just ordered from Yunnan Sourcing, you can`t beat price vs quality, I oreder their best grade TGY, and Tie Luo Han, and Pomelo Flower Dancong.
Good quality teas and good price, and great customer service from Scott, not to mention that YS is the puerh paradise.

[Tead Off]

I just ordered from Yunnan Sourcing, you can`t beat price vs quality, I oreder their best grade TGY, and Tie Luo Han, and Pomelo Flower Dancong.
Good quality teas and good price, and great customer service from Scott, not to mention that YS is the puerh paradise.

Try the TLH from JKteashop.

[bagua7]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

[Bef]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

[bagua7]

Thanks a bunch I'll check it out.

[sherubtse]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

My experience with TTC has been mixed. Next time I order oolong, I wil likely go with Teamasters:

http://www.tea-masters.com/

But I will order the "old-fashioned" way (via e-mail & PayPal), as Stephane's site is totally insecure.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[drinking_teas]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

My experience with TTC has been mixed.

I agree about TTC. Too hyped up. I personally prefer Floating Leaves, but I also dig Beautiful Taiwan Tea and Eco-Cha.

I haven't tried Teamasters yet, his prices are a bit too high for my current budget. Great looking selection though.

[Bef]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

My experience with TTC has been mixed.

I agree about TTC. Too hyped up. I personally prefer Floating Leaves, but I also dig Beautiful Taiwan Tea and Eco-Cha.

I haven't tried Teamasters yet, his prices are a bit too high for my current budget. Great looking selection though.

It would be interesting to know which products from these vendors you liked (or didn't).

My personal experience with TTC has been mostly positive. I liked almost everything I bought there, except maybe the last winter Ali Shan and their Taiwanese green tea. Ordered some of their teaware as well and was always very satisfied with what I received.

That being said, they have a lot of different grades for some of their products. So with the cheaper options, the quality might not be the best you can get. I tried 3 (or was it 2?) of their Li Shan from last winter, with prices very different for each one, and they did taste very different. Same with their black teas dong dings, etc. The quality also varies depending on the season and /mountain, buy that's true for every vendor... For instance, I find their spring Ali Shan very good, while I didn't like their winter Ali Shan...

[drinking_teas]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

My experience with TTC has been mixed.

I agree about TTC. Too hyped up. I personally prefer Floating Leaves, but I also dig Beautiful Taiwan Tea and Eco-Cha.

I haven't tried Teamasters yet, his prices are a bit too high for my current budget. Great looking selection though.

It would be interesting to know which products from these vendors you liked (or didn't).

My personal experience with TTC has been mostly positive. I liked almost everything I bought there, except maybe the last winter Ali Shan and their Taiwanese green tea. Ordered some of their teaware as well and was always very satisfied with what I received.

That being said, they have a lot of different grades for some of their products. So with the cheaper options, the quality might not be the best you can get. I tried 3 (or was it 2?) of their Li Shan from last winter, with prices very different for each one, and they did taste very different. Same with their black teas dong dings, etc. The quality also varies depending on the season and /mountain, buy that's true for every vendor... For instance, I find their spring Ali Shan very good, while I didn't like their winter Ali Shan...

I just feel like their teas are...lacking compared to others. Especially for the prices of some of these I expect more. The Ruby Red was very aromatic and not much else, while Ruby Reds from other vendors have great body and flavor but not as aromatic. Their high mountain oolongs are pretty expensive for what they are, but the place with the best prices (Origin) is shut down now. Their aged oolong from 1993 was super disappointing, I've since had tons of great ones with more age for similar prices. Their aged Oriental Beauty did not taste very aged to me either. The supreme private reserve OB isn't mindblowing either, I prefer one I get in NYC Chinatown for a third of the price.

I also had an issue with the packaging, where they threw my vacuum bags of tea into a box with no packing, so they rattled around in there and the leaves got crushed on some teas. I was assured that it was a one-off issue though.

As for their positives - They have excellent sales and an unbeatable selection. Their shipping policy is great, free over $50. They have a really interesting selection of teaware, although it is a bit expensive for what it is.

However, in my opinion, the quality isn't really there, even for the higher grade stuff. It's alright that you enjoy their teas, but I just wanted to put myself out there. For now Floating Leaves and Beautiful Taiwan Tea will remain my go-to vendors for Taiwanese tea.

[sherubtse]

Just found out Origin T. has closed down, pity because their Alishan was excellent.

Any other vendors for quality Alishan shipped directly from Taiwan?

Taiwan Tea Crafts. That's where I've been buying my oolongs for the last year.

My experience with TTC has been mixed.

I agree about TTC. Too hyped up. I personally prefer Floating Leaves, but I also dig Beautiful Taiwan Tea and Eco-Cha.

I haven't tried Teamasters yet, his prices are a bit too high for my current budget. Great looking selection though.

My reservations with TTC stem from problems with order processing and fulfillment, along with a couple of customer service issues. I have had some great teas from them, and some mediocre ones as well (which is to be expected from a store with as large a line-up as they have).

Best wishes,
sherubtse