Tuesday TeaDay 8/04/09 TeaZone TEA purchasing power?

[shah82]

I wish my batch of hongcha + the gopaldhara oolong from CS was already here.

I'd have to say I haven't really been in the zone. The newer teas I have gotten do not always match the pleasure of some of the teas I got when I really just got started. Houde's Ban Tian Yao is really great once you get the hang of it (Overbrewing it results in elephant dancing muddiness rather than bitterness like a Dancong), but it in no way matches the Rou Gui I got earlier in that kind of sheer pleasure. The last teas I have been blissfully happy with were from Teamasters, in May. Teaspring's best lapsang souchong was very nice, though.

East Teas of London obviously doesn't show all the tea they sell on the website, eh?

[kymidwife]

I'm mostly in the zone, making primarily smart tea purchases these days... a much different scenario than my pre-TeaChat days. My only recent exception would be some green tea I bought in the Japan section of Epcot Center. It wasn't expensive, so I figured "why not?" The fukamushi was decent and drinkable... the konacha was blahhh and I threw it out... and the gyokuro was pretty subpar, not awful, but didn't have the gyo wow-factor.

I got my first shipment from Yuuki-cha today, so I'm looking forward to trying out some of their stuff. I got a kyusu which seems very nice but looks significantly different than the pic, which was somewhat disappointing. It seems a quality piece, but just not the aesthetic joy I was hoping for. The tea has yet to be opened... but I got the new Japanese black and oolongs recently getting press here, and some kabusecha and gyokuro. The black tea is labeled in English, and I can sort out which is the oolong by the texture of the leaf inside the bag... but I can't tell which is gyo and which is kabusecha from packaging.

Drinking the last of my Sae Midori today... sigh.

Sarah

[Dreamer]

Hi All,

I've been doing pretty good with buying lately.
I am going to check out the Japanese black and I am in "need" of some more Kebusecha, so I'm going to check out yuuki-cha.com.
In fact I was just there figuring out a potential order.

... but I got the new Japanese black and oolongs recently getting press here, and some kabusecha and gyokuro. The black tea is labeled in English, and I can sort out which is the oolong by the texture of the leaf inside the bag... but I can't tell which is gyo and which is kabusecha from packaging.

Hey Sarah, if the packaging looks like what is pictured on the website that might help you.

Today, Adagio's Ceylon Sonata to start the day. Tea buddy made some loose leaf "Russian Tea" from a Russian Tea House in Chicago (boss bought it for us). This afternoon I'm drinking some o-cha Kabusecha that I'd forgotten about...I love kabusecha!

Happy sipping,
Dreamer

[leiche2]

I tend to buy a mix of what I know I like and what I think sounds interesting. As you can imagine, my tea purchases can be hit or miss. It's mostly good, but when it's bad, it's awful.

I've been enjoying some medium roast Anxi TGY from Red Blossom today.

[DoctorD]

I've been pretty satisfied with recent purchases--but I may have less exacting standards (or a broader capacity for enjoyment?) than some of y'all who have gotten farther up the mountain of enlightenment. Like others, I waffle some between buying what I know I'll like from vendors I know I'll like and experimenting with new stuff from new sources. I've leaned a bit toward the latter over the past year and haven't had any great disappointments, though not all those first dates will likely turn into lasting relationships. I've got my eye on a few other places I haven't tried yet but seem to make many hearts on this forum go pitter-patter. We'll see.

A pretty normal day, teawise: Longjing mid-morning, an eyebrow tea mid-afternoon, and just finished some evening Bi Lo Chun, done more or less gongfu style. This one has been playing a bit hard to get, and I've let it languish in the back of the cupboard, but I think I got it right for a change; feeling very mellow at the moment...

[Victoria]

Busy day today, just checking in! Started the day with a black tea from Imperial Teas in UK. It was very interesting, slight medicinal note.

Then Magnolia Oolong this afternoon, followed by more of the Imperial Tea on Ice.

Hope tomorrow is better and moar tea!

[brlarson]

I'm very happy with my current stocks and with my recent and upcoming purchases. My tea stocks consist of every day teas, very good teas and great teas, and I'm very happy with the quality of all.

Enjoyed a Bai Hao this morning and Takumi this afternoon.

[silvermage2000]

I dont believe I have in what I have bought.