Chinatown and Pu Erh?

[lebowitz]

I have gone three times this year to Chinatown in NYC, and have yet to find a good tea store. I found this one tea shop on Mott Street that had a decent variety of quality tea, I forget the name, but was way overpriced and the girl (Chinese) basically knew nothing about tea. They had 6 grades of loose Pu Erh, somewhat reasonable in price, when I asked her if they had any Pu Erh in brick, beeng, or any other type of compressed form, she said she did not know it came like that! they had none, and they also have yixing tea sets for $150 that are on ebay for $40.

Does anyone know of a good source of Pu Erh in New York City? Some small markets in Chinatown had some lower grade tea, and I found one type of beeng (cooked) for $6, in a box sealed with plastic.

I got a what looks like yixing pot for $3.50, most likely low grade but hey it was $3.50.

I was expecting to find a decent pu erh shop, is there such a thing anywhere on the east coast? I live near Pittsburgh, PA.

they made this odd tea called bubble tea at the tea house next door, really sweet, kinda disgusting, in my opinion, quite a busy place.

[sjschen]

Don't know about NY chinatown, but here in Toronto, I can get pu-erh at many of the Chinese herbalists. In fact, I'm pretty sure there will be one or two shops there that stock at least some Xiaguan tuochas. They are sold to be "good for digestion" and for "weight loss". Extra quotes on the latter.

These tuos are not great by anymeans. but they're not horrid. Plus they smell funky in that Chinese medicine way, if you do like the smell

[bearsbearsbears]

there's a place called Tea Gallery in NYC, I think in Chinatown.

I don't have the exact info, but Mike Petro of pu-erh.net, Marshaln, and quite a few others should be able to give you the address and a phone number.

searching for it on google will probably lead you to a news article with the info, too. as i recall they got some press.

[MarshalN]

Just go to google map, type in "tea gallery new york", it's the one that shows up on Allen Street.

You need to call them ahead of time to book an appointment, otherwise they might not be there. It should be either Michael or Winnie taking the call

[Pierce]

ok so the store you went to on Mott Street is called Ten Ren (http://www.tenrenusa.com/) It's based out of taiwan and offers some really great teas. I take my friends down there for a chinese tea ceremony to introduce them to tea. The woman who owns it is nice, but only if you speak chinese. It's a pretty good place for about anything but pu-erh. They do have it in the cake form, but it's really expensive and a there is a small selection. I like generationtea.com (posted on pu-erh.net), they have good quality stuff and a large variety. Keep on Enjoying!

[jashnew]

Lebowitz- That's shocking I thought good pu-erh tea shops would be all over the place. If I were you I would just order some from the net. Don't mess with Chinatown. Not to mention the price off the net has got to be the best.

[divintea]

Any suggestions for Washington? Our Chinatown is pretty small, but maybe there's some pu-erh hiding out there...somewhere.

[joelbct]

Ten Ren has good Oolongs. I stopped by Tea Gallery, but did not stick around for the tasting.

Best place I have found in NYC is Ito En at 69th and Madison. It is Japanese owned, but they have an excellent selection of high-end Chinese tea as well. Usually they have special off-menu, in-store-only seasonal selections. The staff is SUPER knowledgeable and very dedicated, and the atmosphere is very nice.

That's my 2 cents on NYC Tea shops...

[azts664]

In my opinion, all tea shops sell pretty poor quality puerhs at outrageous prices. I went to this huge chinese market downtown and they were selling looseleaf puerhs at about $170 and $250 per pound. At the time, i didnt know anything about the tea so i bought it and did more research afterwards. I found a few tea shops online and bought some of their puerhs at much lower prices. I thought id do this just to compare.

Anyhow, i found that the tea i purchased online was far better in quality and CHEAPER than the tea i bought in the tea shop downtown. I can definitely reccommend RichPUER Teas (richpuer.com or richpuer.com/teashop). They even ship samples of other teas when u place an order with them. If ur not sure, try the sample pack first.

[hop_goblin]

Most loose puerh that I have tasted is crap with the exception of one that was mailed to me not too long ago

[azts664]

Most loose puerh that I have tasted is crap with the exception of one that was mailed to me not too long ago

You cant generalize on that. i've had pressed cakes that tasted like crap as well. I think its a misconception that loose puerhs = poor quality, although it is the case for a lot of store bought teas. Ive lived in yunnan for 6 months and have had the best AND worst of both types of tea. it really depends on who produces it.

[hop_goblin]

Most loose puerh that I have tasted is crap with the exception of one that was mailed to me not too long ago

You cant generalize on that. i've had pressed cakes that tasted like crap as well. I think its a misconception that loose puerhs = poor quality, although it is the case for a lot of store bought teas. Ive lived in yunnan for 6 months and have had the best AND worst of both types of tea. it really depends on who produces it.

I am not generalizing, I am just merely suggesting that the loose puerh that I have tasted has been crap. I don't trust "no name" puerh to begin with. With a manufacturer or factory at least you have a fighting chance tracing it's material and production methods. The site that you just gave sells loose stuff with no added information. Most of the loose puerh that I have been exposed to has been purposely processed loose and wet stored to get it out the door for a return.

[azts664]

Most loose puerh that I have tasted is crap with the exception of one that was mailed to me not too long ago

I don't trust "no name" puerh to begin with. With a manufacturer or factory at least you have a fighting chance tracing it's material and production methods. The site that you just gave sells loose stuff with no added information. Most of the loose puerh that I have been exposed to has been purposely processed loose and wet stored to get it out the door for a return.

The puerh that adagio sells has no factory or mfg listed and i see that its got pretty good reviews. I have no idea where its from or how to trace it but i guess u just gotta try it. The company i listed is actually the mfg and producer of this tea in yunnan. I came across them when i was there so i know they produce good teas and not just to get it out the door.

[hop_goblin]

I don't drink Adagio's puerh either. I spare my judgment on this particular company's puerh as I have never tried theirs. Again, I am just suggesting that loose puerh that I have tasted has unfortunately been insipid. This is not to say that I have never tasted loose puerh that I have enjoyed, but for the most part, I rank loose puerh up their with mini tuos. I am very familiar with puerh and I am also a very discriminative drinker/buyer. I just don't buy loose puerh. Ever! I am quite partial only to compressed pu. It is my on bias.

[Salsero]

Hop,
I would have to guess that azts664 is one of those dim witted vendors that pose as consumers and recommend that we all rush out to buy whatever floor sweepings they are selling at their new website.