Sunday TeaDay 1/24/10 General or specialized vendors?

[Chip]

Another TeaDay is upon us. I hope it is a great one for you. Please drop in throughout the day to share what is in your cup.

Yesterday we discussed our personal TeaVendor satisfaction rating. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Also, last 6 months, were your vendors general all around vendors, or more specialty vendors (specializing in a particular type or tea region)? your thoughts on this subject. If specialized, how specialized ... if general, how general?

I am looking forward to sharing TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[Herb_Master]

Dragon Tea House for Wuyi Yan Cha (General )

Tea Habitat for Dan Cong (Specialised )

Wan Ling UK for Anxi TGY (Specialised - though general THIS is their specialty )

Victoria for Taiwan (Specialist !)

[brad4419]

I think their all specialized

Oolongs-jingteashop and floatingleavestea
Greens- teaspring and dens

Those are my big drinkers, my blacks and whites I just throw in orders from one of the above vendors.

I did buy some more long jing and rou gui from dragonteahouse but it wasn't the reason for my order. I bought a teapot and just added the long jing and rou gui. If I hadn't bought the pot I never would have order the rou gui or long jing at that time although they are both very very good. Might have to try there da hong pao next harvest.

ding gu da fang this morning

[debunix]

In the last six months, mostly repeat purchases from vendors that I have dealt with before:

tea habitat for dan cong (specialized)
norbutea for puerh, green tea, oolong
jing tea (first order) sampling a variety of teas
wing hop fung aka birdpick.com for a variety of teas
dens tea for Japanese green teas (specialized)

[olivierco]

Mostly specialized vendors. In fact, even if a vendor sells many types of tea, I usually buy only one type of tea from him.

Hon gyokuro (zencha) this afternoon.

[Victoria]

Well to be honest, surprisingly in the last six months I bought from more general vendors. Like large orders from Camellia Sinensis and Mariage Freres.

In my cup this morning again one of my top favorites; Mariage Freres Himalayan Saphir.

And a big thank you to Olivier who introduced me to this one, it is been a consistent favorite. I've drank a lot of it, and plan to drink a lot more!

[Seeker]

Good morning/day everyone.
Hmmm - I'd have to say both general and specialized.
Teance is the home shop - and is specialized in terms of almost exclusively chinese teas, but general in a wide variety of chinese teas (whites, greens, oolongs, puerhs).
Online then, let's see, Nada, specialized. Rishi, gen. O-cha, spec. Ippodo, spec. Yuuki, spec.
Those have been my mains this year.
Let's not forget one of THE most important - TC! Specialized - chat/contact/social.

TY to TC, & especially C!

[rhondabee]

Since right now I'm all about Taiwanese oolong, most of my purchases have been from vendors specializing in that type of tea. I did make a purchase from Adagio for some jasmine pearls.

[LauraW]

The last 6 months for me have been mostly exploring new teas at old vendors. The same place I've been going to when I go visit my parents (although I did get my usual from there), the tea store in our mall (not Teavana, just for the record), and found a new vendor in Adagio, but was very pleased with everything from there so far.

[brad4419]

After reading threw the posts again I realized Im much more specialized when it comes to my favorites which are green and oolong and not so much with the others

Victoria where do you get your Himalayan Saphir? I've heard about it many times on teachat, maybe I should give it a try

[Victoria]

It is from Mariage Freres in France. Here is the link to the web site, but it is very difficult to navigate. I just tried and having bought from them numerous times, I can't even get to the product page. Very frustrating!
http://www.mariagefreres.com/

But I'd be happy to send you a sample, just PM me your address!!

[LauraW]

It is from Mariage Freres in France. Here is the link to the web site, but it is very difficult to navigate. I just tried and having bought from them numerous times, I can't even get to the product page. Very frustrating!
http://www.mariagefreres.com/

I just checked and found it - on their site click on "Tea Counter," which pops you up a new window, select "Tea by Weight," then "Type of Tea," it's listed under "Blue Tea."

[Chip]

Mostly specialized vendors which is what is needed if you want great Japanese tea. I wish domestic and more general vendors understood japanese teas, but they generally do not.

Began the TD with a tasting of Zencha Fuga LE. SweeTea shared in the tasting while Lil Bit just paid a visit ...

Next a tasting of Warashina Supreme from O-Cha.

Currently home roast mugi/genmai.

[Victoria]

I just checked and found it - on their site click on "Tea Counter," which pops you up a new window, select "Tea by Weight," then "Type of Tea," it's listed under "Blue Tea."

Ahh yes, thanks Laura, I missed the "Tea Counter" button, or it did not register earlier. Their definition is quite enticing: "A precious tea This young, partially oxidised tea was conceived exclusively for Mariage Frères in an intimate garden in the mountains of Nepal. Its twisted leaves, endowed with silver tips, give off warm, peppery scents of banana flower. In the cup, it reveals a taste of honey with a hint of vanilla; the dawn-coloured liquor is highly fragrant and features woody, enveloping flavours with an undertone of gingerbread. Thoroughly refined.
A moment of eternity."

Ahhh we all want a moment of eternity, right??

[teashionista]

A mix of specialized and general vendors for me. Some Japanese teas from O-cha, a few orders from Jing Tea Shop (pu-erh, green and yellow) and Red Circle (oolongs).
Just received an order from TeaSource (general) and placed several orders with Lupicia (I'll put them in general category - most teas I bought from them weren't Japanese).
Had a pot of Glendale Handmade Nilgiri from TeaSource today. Got the tea based on the many recs from TC and couldn't be happier