Heads Up. Sale at Bana Tea through end of August!

[tingjunkie]

Since there is no vendor topic for Bana Tea yet, I'll just give my approval here. Long story short, they are offering 15% off all orders through the end of August, with free shipping on orders over $100.

In an attempt to explore and improve my palette for young sheng, I've been on a sample tear lately. After remembering a recommendation for Bana Tea that I heard once upon a time, I went ahead and ordered their amazingly priced ($12 for 56g) 7 tea sampler. After lightning fast shipping, the package arrived with a surprise- four extra 8g samples of new teas they recently acquired! For those keeping up with the math at home, that's $12 for 88g of beautifully packaged tea samples. Huzzah!

Over the last two weeks, I've gone through all 11 samples. 1 aged sheng sample, 3 cooked pu samples, and 7 younger sheng samples. Although there were several major stand outs for me, let me say that all of the teas (with the exception of their two younger cooked puerh selections) were all worth the time to try. All of their teas were stored perfectly- not too wet or too dry. Also, with their youg sheng, not a single one had any of the gross mouth-drying, teeth-coating qualities found in a lot of green pu that I hate. When you read their descriptions of the teas, most are completely spot on. Considering the small but fantastic selection, value, packaging, fast shipping, and attention to detail, I think I've found my new go to young puerh vendor.

Now for the stand-outs:
- 2008 Purple Tip- I don't doubt that the leaves for these cakes comes from 400-500 year old trees. The qi is warm and intoxicating, the flavors are complex and develop very well over the course of the session, and there is just enough bitterness (the good kind which turns into sweetness) to make this a cake a good candidate for aging. Oh yeah, let's not forget the 12 infusions of staying power. For me, this is what a young sheng should be. I ordered two cakes, and may just order more in the future.

- 2010 Jingmai Special Select- If this tea came in cakes, I probably would have ordered at least one, even at $50-$60 for 357g. I think this tea may take the crown for best "drink-me-now" young sheng. It's so smooth, complex and sweet that I really couldn't believe it was from this year. Since it's loose, I have no idea how this would age over time, or if it would get less interesting, but for a ready to drink young sheng, I've never had better.

- 2007 Moonlight White- Maybe it's a gimmick. Maybe it's one of those teas you love or you hate, but all I know is that I had to order a cake of this. It's very hard to compare to other sheng because of the way this is processed. The maocha is left to sit out and oxidize at nighttime under the moonlight. The result is a very unique tea. It's far smoother than most sheng, and the flavors might resemble Chinese red tea as much as they do puerh. For me, I had strong notes of licorice and lavender- a very feminine but powerful tea. I brewed 8g in a 110 ml gaiwan for at least 8 infusions, and would have been happy to more. If you are expecting a classic sheng, then this tea is not for you, but if you are willing to broaden your taste horizons, this is a very unique and satisfying experience.

[laura99]

Thanks for the tip - looks like a great sampler.

[tingjunkie]

Ok, it's not often that I'll be a fanboy of a particular company like this, but I just got my order from Bana delivered, and I'm blown away. Check out this killer packaging- each cake has its own "hat box" and the mini cake even came wrapped in a silk drawstring pouch! Some people would pay $5 or more for this pouch without the tea. Also included were three more free samples, and a free puerh knife. Good prices, fast shipping, amazing packaging, free stuff... Bana has definitely won me over as a life-long customer now.

Wedding Cake? Nope, even better!


A puerh-nicopia...

[MarshalN]

Most things this site sells are from the Best Tea House in HK -- not a surprise given the declared affinity that this owner has to Vesper Chan.

It does mean, though, that prices are high.

[just mǐ]

Lovely pics - they really take care in their presentation!
Have you tried your purple tips yet? I am wondering your thoughts on it.

[tingjunkie]

Most things this site sells are from the Best Tea House in HK -- not a surprise given the declared affinity that this owner has to Vesper Chan.

It does mean, though, that prices are high.

I did notice most of the teas overlap with BTH's selection. The owner states that she goes on buying trips with Vesper. If you can share any info on where to buy these teas for less, I'd love to know. The teas are great.

[tingjunkie]

Lovely pics - they really take care in their presentation!
Have you tried your purple tips yet? I am wondering your thoughts on it.

Yes, the Purple Tip is fantastic. Please see my tiny review in the first post. I only had the one 8g sample so far, and am having trouble remembering particular flavor notes. I just remember it had a very strong qi, nice long finish, nice refreshing/coating mouthfeel, and bitterness that quickly tuned to sweetness. I liked it enough to buy two cakes anyway.

[just mǐ]

Yes, the Purple Tip is fantastic. Please see my tiny review in the first post.

Argh - how I totally missed that on first read I don't know. I got the content of the review - just didn't pay attention to the identification.

I liked it enough to buy two cakes anyway.

That is a VERY sound recommendation. Thanks.

[MarshalN]

Probably the only solution is to go to HK and compare prices. Too bad I just left.

[nicolas]

I did notice most of the teas overlap with BTH's selection. The owner states that she goes on buying trips with Vesper. If you can share any info on where to buy these teas for less, I'd love to know. The teas are great.

You can try contacting BTH by phone, email, facebook or twitter.
http://www.besttea.com.hk/noflash/contact.php
http://www.facebook.com/thebesttea
http://twitter.com/bestteahouse
http://www.teamasterchan.com

Or try their Canadian branch
http://www.besttea.com.hk/eng/branch.htm

[MarshalN]

As stores go, BTH is pretty unresponsive, from what others have told me.

[apache]

BTH seems setting up an online store, but don't know when it'll be ready.

I'm not surprise they are not very responsive, they probably have enough customers go through the door of their actually shops (or the owner has made enough money!), why bother with all the hassle dealing with small purchase online, packing, shipping ...

[brandon]

Canada Branch works just fine with me on the phone...