Good quality Yancha

[Oni]

Where can I buy great quality yancha for an affordable price, max 50$/100 grams. I would like to try some good quality, I prefer ordering the whole si da ming, 1 pack of da hong pao, shui jin gui, tie luo han, and bai ji guan or rou gui.
I have seen dragon teahouse selling high priced yancha, but I cannot afford that price range nor the prices at essence of tea, and I do not want to buy classic DHP from teaspring or jingteashop, or yunnansourcing, I want higher than basic quality, and from a trustworthy vendor.

[brandon]

Where can I buy great quality yancha for an affordable price, max 50$/100 grams. I would like to try some good quality, I prefer ordering the whole si da ming, 1 pack of da hong pao, shui jin gui, tie luo han, and bai ji guan or rou gui.
I have seen dragon teahouse selling high priced yancha, but I cannot afford that price range nor the prices at essence of tea, and I do not want to buy classic DHP from teaspring or jingteashop, or yunnansourcing, I want higher than basic quality, and from a trustworthy vendor.

You're dreaming. Yancha prices are up every year for the forseeable future.

Historically, yancha at DTH has been middling commercial grades, mostly undrinkable in their first one to two years.

IMO, the best shot at what you are asking for (quality for value price) is Jing Tea Shop, but I find it inconsistent.

[miginaustria]

Essence of Tea's Half Handmade RouGui is very nice -- about $45 per 100 gram with today's exchange rate.

[Herb_Master]

I have not found any 1 source that supplies all 4 of the famous 4 at decent quality.

When they come packaged as a set, I think they are all usually medium - low in quality.

As Brandon mentions the price for good quality DHP, TLH, BJG and SJG will continue ever upwards.

Perhaps you should attack them one by one, spending your money on each of them in turn as your funds allow.

In the UK Essence of Tea, and Jing have provided me with some very decent offerings of TLH and BJG.

DHP is always going to be harder, the top quality always goes for astronomical prices. An alternative is to try 1st Generation children of DHP such as bei dou yi hai (big dipper #1)and que shi (sparrows tongue).

[Oni]

My fears seem to be real, there is no shortcut, no middle way, like with other teas, like anxi and taiwanese oolongs, from those one can get a pretty decent quality for an affordable price, even with chinese greens, I can buy a good tea for 40$, but with Dancong and Yancha the higher quality only comes for around 100$/100 grams or even more. Tea drinking starts to become too expencieve.

[Herb_Master]

One advantage with well roasted yancha is that you do not need to drink it quickly

with a good storage system in place it will last for years

Tea drinking starts to become too expencieve.

If you find a decent compromise to use as an everyday tea, you can dip into your quality yan cha on special occasions.

Presumably when you purchase greens and greener oolongs you finish them in a fairly short time frame. When you finish one of these, treat yourself to a good yan cha.

[Bob_McBob]

How consistent is TTG for the price?

[David R.]

Essence of Tea's Half Handmade RouGui is very nice -- about $45 per 100 gram with today's exchange rate.

+1

I am also waiting for the new 2011 Half-handmade Zhu Lian Dan Cong Wuyi Yancha from EoT.

[Tead Off]

Where can I buy great quality yancha for an affordable price, max 50$/100 grams.

The only way you can get what you are looking for is to find a seller that has bought a lot of stock of an older harvest and nurtured it by re-roasting and storing it well. Those sellers are usually in Asia and don't sell online. If you do find one, it is sheer luck.

Using the word great is reserved for very special teas. However, you can get very good yancha if you want to dig deeper into your pocket. Postcard Teas in London had some very good yancha 2 years ago. I haven't tasted their latest offerings so can't comment. Last great DHP I had was in Seoul. 40g/$80. I can't find anything this good anymore.

[wyardley]

I guess it all depends on how you define "great", but I'd agree with most of the sentiment expressed in this thread. Great yancha is difficult to come by at any price, and the domestic demand (and price) will continue to go up.

[David R.]

Postcard Teas in London had some very good yancha 2 years ago. I haven't tasted their latest offerings so can't comment.

Tasted the whole selection a couple of weeks ago. Great teas but not in the OP's budget...

[teaisme]

I was wondering same question as OP.

IMO, the best shot at what you are asking for (quality for value price) is Jing Tea Shop, but I find it inconsistent.

how about houdes wuyi's?

I have only had small handful of so so dhp, shui xian and rou gui throughout my tea drinking days. So I was pretty blown away with what he had to offer last time I ordered. My first really decent yancha experiences. But how do his offerings compare to other vendors mentioned here like jings and nada?

Thanks!

[brandon]

Nada has added a lot recently, but I didn't get a good vibe from the first batch. I guess I've tried about half of those offered. I've gotten Yancha from Nada before he was a vendor in the field, and I think he has a good taste for it, so maybe a case of try again later?

When Hou De hits the mark I think it is really good, but it is only about 50/50. My personal take, Jing is 40/60 or worse.

To echo Will... great Yancha is hard to come by, at any price.

[Oni]

I got upset and I cheered myself up with buying a pack of Da Yu Ling and Fou Shou Shan Li Shan from Houdeasianart, at least this will satisfy me needs, and next year I will try to order some yancha from essence of tea and postcardteas, these vendors seem to sell some high quality tea.

[wh&yel-apprentice]

I got upset and I cheered myself up with buying a pack of Da Yu Ling and Fou Shou Shan Li Shan from Houdeasianart, at least this will satisfy me needs, and next year I will try to order some yancha from essence of tea and postcardteas, these vendors seem to sell some high quality tea.

Just one day after posting your orig. thread opener? ADHD much? I think you might want to find a 'calming' tea 1st

Where can I buy great quality yancha for an affordable price, max 50$/100 grams. I would like to try some good quality, I prefer ordering the whole si da ming, 1 pack of da hong pao, shui jin gui, tie luo han, and bai ji guan or rou gui.
I have seen dragon teahouse selling high priced yancha, but I cannot afford that price range nor the prices at essence of tea, and I do not want to buy classic DHP from teaspring or jingteashop, or yunnansourcing, I want higher than basic quality, andfrom a trustworthy vendor.

AS brandon said, "impossiblé" ...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

1. define "classic"
2. define "basic"
3. define "high quality"

,,, *your* own terms.

You cannot afford DTH, nor EoT, yet in your next post you say next year you will go for EoT & PC ???

http://news.yahoo.com/supercar-makers-c ... 08442.html

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Probably should just get a loan and buy all you can now, as in the future "basic" might be all you can afford when the prices go up.

So basically you want *us* to give you choices which you probably wont' like, so you can then blame us when you're dissatisfied. Instead of you doing the work yourself, spending the money to find out yourself, and blame yourself for any disappointments?

No thx, I'll take a pass on that 'responsibility', I'm not a professional tea consultant, nor seller

you still don't now, because they are different, btw Phoenix DC & Wuyi, what processing you prefer, what oxidation & roasting levels.

I've seen any number of negative reviews about, sevencups, less than 'classic' fired/roasted Wuyi...and yet this is a trend (less roasted).

https://www.sevencups.com/tea_shop/Feng ... -2011.html

No charcoal is used, so as to not cover up the natural aroma of the tea. This tea’s leaves can be infused many times, with less bitterness than other Dan Cong teas.

^fits your price range, but only *you* can decide "quality" level.

TC'er "Tim/Toki" sells traditional high roasted Wuyi @TheMandarinRoom/TeaGallery , and yet insinuates that 'real' experienced tea drinkers will want less high-roasted, which masks the true tea flavors. Implies that if you like higher roasted wuyi (which are very close in color/flavors to black/red teas with deep copper/orange/red color infusions) you are ignorant/inexperienced >>> I believe Herb_Master likes high roasted teas...eye of the beholder.

http://teaguardian.com/Tea_Varieties/oo ... assic.html
^Phoenix 'classic' (author w/more than a decade of tasting these teas prefers this style) vs 'bouquet'

read what Hojo says on the subject Phoenix vs Wuyi:
http://hojotea.com/article_e/phoenix_e.htm basically the older tree/bush has deeper roots, longer after-taste = higher quality...but even there, there are quality differences btw old tea tree/bushes.

Buy samples before buying 100g or more, then *you* decide.

http://www.norbutea.com/FujianTea?sort_ ... asc&page=2
^offers samples

https://www.imperialtea.com/2011-Editio ... -P58.htmlp
^Roy says this is a great BJG:

it's hard to find authentic Bai Ji Guan and even harder to procure a great one

... hey, there's another catch-all buzz word, Oni forgot to include "authentic" in the long list of selective requirements.

(but it's not from a mother tree like the high-roasted 'classic' BJG that Herb_Master gets in Malaysia)...buy a sample, then *you* decide, it's in your price range...oops, I didn't no we only had <24hrs to meet your reply requirements as it wasn't stated in the OP

For what it's worth, you can read that both local Wuyi & ChaoZhou drinkers will keep a roasted tea for a year or more to let the 'fire' of the charcoal roasting dissipate, allowing for a smoother tasting tea.

Maybe H_M & I like highly oaked wines more than most, and same for teas , but I did try early this summer (guessing that means the DHP was oven roasted as charcoal fired would have taken longer) ITR's 2011 DHP & 2010 Competition Wuyi.

https://www.imperialtea.com/2011-Editio ... -P56.htmlp

https://www.imperialtea.com/2010-Harves ... P571.htmlp

If you associate the great oolongs of Wu Yi Shan with the sooty charcoal taste of overfired standard-grade teas, our zheng yan Wild Tree Shui Xian will be a revelation. Carefully hand-harvested from large old trees that haven’t been cultivated on farms, the big, lightly rolled, “dragon” shaped leaves have indeed been charcoal-fired according to tradition, but only to the point of drying the leaves, concentrating their complex, powerful flavors, and slightly caramelizing their juice. The result is a fresh, crisp scent spiced with florals and balanced by undernotes of roasting that enhance but don’t overwhelm.

I bought 1oz (Roy split a 2oz size for me) of each as a "sample" because those <1oz samples are never enough to do enough multiple tea sessions you really need to workout your own brewing preferences. While the '10 Shiu-Xian surely did not taste much more roasted as a 'classic' Phoenix DC, it never the less was surely different < which is what they point out ^above, the environment & processing really makes a difference.

I preferred the stronger tea flavors of the DHP, but know *many* people would be put off by the overwhelming chocolate/caramel/high-roasting charcoal infused flavors...28g sample went pretty fast---though I know it's too expensive for me to re-order...I'll have to try some less expensive versions, didn't save any to let the 'fire' dissipate

To each his/her own...and one last thing> Oni left out the distinction btw "standard" grade & "basic" <to make a point about the futility of these requirements and point back to what teaguardian says about selecting 'quality' Phoenix DC's for fairer prices.