... funny thing is, I don't ever look for the best of the best of any tea. Anything sold as such is going to cost more than I am willing to pay.
There is a point of diminishing returns, what that is for each tea drinker will vary greatly. 90% of the teas I buy are in the 20-35 USD per 100 gram range, so I obviously rarely venture in to stratosphere of so called best of the best of anything.
I will go higher for a Long Jing, but I will often simply do w/o instead.
Oct 17th, '10, 14:50
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Re: Dragon Well
Right, If I am going to spend the kind of dough on "the best of the best" I want to see it in person, smell it, and taste it before I shell out that much money. When buying online I never expect it to be the "best", although there are some high quality LJ's that can be bought online, I doubt even in China it is easily aquired.Chip wrote:... funny thing is, I don't ever look for the best of the best of any tea. Anything sold as such is going to cost more than I am willing to pay.
There is a point of diminishing returns, what that is for each tea drinker will vary greatly. 90% of the teas I buy are in the 20-35 USD per 100 gram range, so I obviously rarely venture in to stratosphere of so called best of the best of anything.
I will go higher for a Long Jing, but I will often simply do w/o instead.
Re: Dragon Well
as Ginko pointed, "best" and "expensive" are different notions (whatever the product anyway); they may coincide, or may not (particularly knowing that high prices are easily associated with high end, so lots of mediocre or mainstream products with a big price tag are automatically perceived "top notch" by consumers who don't know what's what).
I have no information about the "the best teas do not leave china" thing, but as it is so much repeated, I would personally tend not to swallow that one. my 2 cents:
> the finest products may tend to go (at least part of them) where capacity of appreciation is and where the connections are. logical: you are a pro, you have experience and tasting capacity, so you put your hands on what your experience&testing capacity indicate "best" in as much as you can afford it.
> the most expensive teas likely simply go where big money is. whatever the location and depending on opportunities. and just like nearly any product. On luxury market, highest end is the most easily exportable, and export increases financial value (even sometimes in the country of origin). so the more the expensive meets big money, all the more the price may tend to increase. my guess is, if some teas really never left China, their names would not trigger such high prices on global markets.
I have no information about the "the best teas do not leave china" thing, but as it is so much repeated, I would personally tend not to swallow that one. my 2 cents:
> the finest products may tend to go (at least part of them) where capacity of appreciation is and where the connections are. logical: you are a pro, you have experience and tasting capacity, so you put your hands on what your experience&testing capacity indicate "best" in as much as you can afford it.
> the most expensive teas likely simply go where big money is. whatever the location and depending on opportunities. and just like nearly any product. On luxury market, highest end is the most easily exportable, and export increases financial value (even sometimes in the country of origin). so the more the expensive meets big money, all the more the price may tend to increase. my guess is, if some teas really never left China, their names would not trigger such high prices on global markets.
Re: Dragon Well
Generalizations about the 'best' of anything are never completely accurate. In the case of LJ, Shi Feng is considered the best and if I am correct, the government reserves all? or %? of the crop. If Shi Feng is a collective effort of many farms in a certain area, the crop will be composed of many teas and various tea makers will be processing them. Does this mean that the best crops and best tea makers are government owned? I don't think so. It's a competitive market and there are farmers who don't sell their teas to the collective. Vendors who establish relationships with farmers and tea makers can get premium LJ's if their knowledge is good enough, but, in the case of LJ, these teas will be expensive. So best and expensive usually go together in this area. That doesn't mean a lesser priced LJ won't be enjoyable or not worth buying. There is usually a limit on any buyer's part as to how much $$=Enjoyment. Drink on!
Re: Dragon Well
Wow I really woke up this thread... I have no idea what real Long Jing is like, but I hope the sample I ordered off Teaspring is good. With all this discussion I am certain it's nothing that would really impress a drinker of premium LJ, but as long as I got my money's worth I will be pleased.
Re: Dragon Well
All this talk of the high end LJ's is a bit elitist. I am guilty. But, LJ in general, is good tea and enjoyable. It's not necessary to pay a lot to enjoy it. I think it's my #1 green tea. The aroma/flavor profile is lovely as well as the beauty of the leaves, whole, yellow/green and flat and strong looking. There is elegance to this tea.Leo_Blue wrote:Wow I really woke up this thread... I have no idea what real Long Jing is like, but I hope the sample I ordered off Teaspring is good. With all this discussion I am certain it's nothing that would really impress a drinker of premium LJ, but as long as I got my money's worth I will be pleased.
Oct 18th, '10, 17:13
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Re: Dragon Well
No argument on lots of levels of "Long Jing" being quite good.
Leo, as I mentioned I have tried every level offering from TeaSpring and have never been disappointed (however have not had 2010 harvest). They may be from alternate sources/origins, but that is OK. At keast they tell you where each tea is from for the most part. And harvest year info.
I personally would not load up on 2010 LJ since it was a challenging year? March, April, May are not too far away either.
Leo, as I mentioned I have tried every level offering from TeaSpring and have never been disappointed (however have not had 2010 harvest). They may be from alternate sources/origins, but that is OK. At keast they tell you where each tea is from for the most part. And harvest year info.
I personally would not load up on 2010 LJ since it was a challenging year? March, April, May are not too far away either.
Re: Dragon Well
Well I just ordered a 25g sample. So I can learn something about LJ before the harvest next year. I have had a couple different LJs like I said before, but I am hoping this one will be the best yet as it isn't coming off a supermarket shelf.Chip wrote:I personally would not load up on 2010 LJ since it was a challenging year? March, April, May are not too far away either.
The 25g sample won't last me too long, and I have a feeling I'm gonna be itching to buy more when the 2011 harvest comes to market.
Oct 18th, '10, 17:36
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Re: Dragon Well
Good deal! I am sure you will like it indeed! Dragon Well can be addicting.Leo_Blue wrote:Well I just ordered a 25g sample. So I can learn something about LJ before the harvest next year. I have had a couple different LJs like I said before, but I am hoping this one will be the best yet as it isn't coming off a supermarket shelf.Chip wrote:I personally would not load up on 2010 LJ since it was a challenging year? March, April, May are not too far away either.
The 25g sample won't last me too long, and I have a feeling I'm gonna be itching to buy more when the 2011 harvest comes to market.
And the leaf sets are so very cool. I always love spooning it out. If you preheat your brewing vessel, be sure to smell the aromatic dry leaves as the warm! Breathtaking!
Re: Dragon Well
I just had a Teasmart moment with the dragon well I purchased from Teaspring. I was just fiddling around with different ways to prepare dragon well and I stumbled across an article on The Tea Gallery's blog about dragon well preparation.
It recommended doing a quick rinse with hotter water (180F) and setting it aside for after the session then preparing the steeps with cooler water (155F). The session wasn't fantastic (unsurprising as there is a great deal of negative things being said about Teaspring's harvest this year...) and I thought I had flopped again at getting some decent flavor out of this tea.
Then I remembered the rinse I had set aside. Oh MY was that good! I almost started gulping it since it wasn't very hot, but before refilling my cup the aftertaste hit... A very delicious sweet rice type of taste with a very subtle velvety feel and that enticing nuttiness under all of it.
Has anyone else tried making dragon well this way? I still feel that I am missing something to truly bring the flavor out of this tea (maybe I just need to try another vendor), but this has definitely encouraged me. Sorry about the long post, but this was one of my better tea-related moments lately and I just had to share it.
It recommended doing a quick rinse with hotter water (180F) and setting it aside for after the session then preparing the steeps with cooler water (155F). The session wasn't fantastic (unsurprising as there is a great deal of negative things being said about Teaspring's harvest this year...) and I thought I had flopped again at getting some decent flavor out of this tea.
Then I remembered the rinse I had set aside. Oh MY was that good! I almost started gulping it since it wasn't very hot, but before refilling my cup the aftertaste hit... A very delicious sweet rice type of taste with a very subtle velvety feel and that enticing nuttiness under all of it.
Has anyone else tried making dragon well this way? I still feel that I am missing something to truly bring the flavor out of this tea (maybe I just need to try another vendor), but this has definitely encouraged me. Sorry about the long post, but this was one of my better tea-related moments lately and I just had to share it.
Nov 8th, '10, 21:33
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Re: Dragon Well
I am enjoying increasing temps with my dragon well--starting cooler, 160 as usual, but moving up 5-10 degrees every other infusion, to 180 or even 190 by the end of 8-10 steepings.
Nov 11th, '10, 10:40
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Re: Dragon Well
sod it, can't wait till spring.
20g of Master Luo's long jing is in the post, along with a few other goodies from Postcard Teas.
20g of Master Luo's long jing is in the post, along with a few other goodies from Postcard Teas.
Re: Dragon Well
2012 is the year of top quality green tea. Be patient until then. Water generates wood. 
Nov 13th, '10, 17:47
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Re: Dragon Well
Just had my first go with Master Luo's long jing from Postcard Teas.
I'm a happy chappy.
I first got serious about tea around 5 or 6 years ago when I stumbled into a newly opened tea shop. The owner had a passion for long jing, 20 odd different kinds on sale. I tried a few of the high grades, which at the time I assumed was being marked up hugely, >£1/g. Forward on 5 years or so and a good deal of far cheaper long jing later. Now I realise the stuff she had back then was the good stuff, and the price was probably pretty fair, considering I always got a little extra.
This stuff is excellent.
Not as lively, fruity or crisp as many of the long jings I've tried over the past few years but.....much better. Can't quite put my finger on it but from the first sip I was transported back to that little teashop years ago.
Thanks for the Postcard Teas tip off, this won't be the last time I use them, next delivery was also a pleasant surprise.
I'm a happy chappy.
I first got serious about tea around 5 or 6 years ago when I stumbled into a newly opened tea shop. The owner had a passion for long jing, 20 odd different kinds on sale. I tried a few of the high grades, which at the time I assumed was being marked up hugely, >£1/g. Forward on 5 years or so and a good deal of far cheaper long jing later. Now I realise the stuff she had back then was the good stuff, and the price was probably pretty fair, considering I always got a little extra.
This stuff is excellent.
Not as lively, fruity or crisp as many of the long jings I've tried over the past few years but.....much better. Can't quite put my finger on it but from the first sip I was transported back to that little teashop years ago.
Thanks for the Postcard Teas tip off, this won't be the last time I use them, next delivery was also a pleasant surprise.
Re: Dragon Well
Keep in mind that 2010 was not considered to be a good year for LJ and many other teas. Climactic conditions wreaked havoc in many parts of Asia. Everywhere I went this year, tea people told me the same thing, a bad year for teas.