Wednesday TeaDay 4/20/11 Fave tea/worst example?

[Chip]

Hello, welcome all TeaFriends to TeaDay! Please stop in to TeaDay and share what is in your cup throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed whether or not tea has changed what we eat or how much. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Is there a specific example of your favorite tea that you found out too late that it was hands down, "the worst example?" Of course, please share!

We are all looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with ... everyone? Bottoms up.

[tortoise]

This is a very funny topic. I can't think of one off the top of my head, but maybe...

Bold assam this a.m.

[Chimpie]

I'm a maybe, due mainly that years ago before the palette was more educated and I was learning more, you wouldn't know it wasn't the best only now if I was to revisit some of those early brews could I judge.

And my answer has confused me more than the question

[brlarson]

I don't think so. The least impressive rock teas I have had came from organic food markets, and they were good food, just not good rock tea.

Well, I did buy a cheap Rou Gui in an Asian market once that scared the beans out of me. I binned that pretty fast.

The only tea that actually ticked me off was one of the Shi Feng that I tasted last year which will remain nameless. It cost $1/gram, had no concentration of flavor and no acidity. The first weak infusion was its flavor peak and it yielded only two more infusions before it faded completely.

Thanks mainly to TeaChat almost all of the that I drink is quality tea.

Bei Dou No 1 with my breakfast today.

[Chip]

All one has to do is generally attempt to pick up a selection of your fave type of tea from a Chinatown market or similar and you will likely have your answer.

For sencha, this is too easy, several Chinatown selections of sencha sold in washi style canisters. Pretty packaging, lousy tea! So bad, they are of the very very few sencha I could not finish.

A close second, and possible a dead heat ... sencha that was actually "Chinese sencha" picked up at our local farmers' market ... stored in huge glass jars with loose fitting lids. Really foul stuff, and again I could not finish it.

About to begin the TD with a sencha, and a much better selection!!!

[jaderabbit]

The only time I've been disappointed with a tea purchase is when I bought this "peach white" tea. Had a bunch of artificial fragrance and flavor, had to throw it out!
Occasionally I'll use teabags when I'm desperate but at least I know what I'm getting there.

[iannon]

I said maybe,..cause it wasnt my FAVORITE type of tea..but still the worsdt example of that type of tea that i do enjoy..
and yes Chip..I am talking about the "Deer Jerky" Dragonwell

[Chip]

I said maybe,..cause it wasnt my FAVORITE type of tea..but still the worsdt example of that type of tea that i do enjoy..
and yes Chip..I am talking about the "Deer Jerky" Dragonwell

yezzzz, there are likely many LJ horror stories, most of it coming out of a can.

TD continued with Kame Jirushi Gyokuro from the O-C, crazy good! And just had a first tasting of Benifuki from Den's. I expected the worst and was ready to hold my nose. But it just was NOT bad at all.

[debunix]

My worst Dragon Well experiences were actually with a very high grade tea, before I had enough experience to know what to do with that lovely stuff.

Today, started with the Tai Ping Hou Kui, moved on to Wuliang Shan 2009 loose mao cha, then finished off a package of Ya Bao wild tea buds, and ended up with some AliShan oolong, summer 2009. A very nice tea day, only lacking some deep roasted oolong to complete the cycle....

[tortoise]

Well, after thinking on it some, I recall drinking a certain light roast Anxi oolong from Tenren for a couple years while living in NYC. I thought it was awesome. It's been nearly a decade now since I've purchased that tea, so I don't know for a fact that it is actually "the worst" example of Anxi production, but I have certainly discovered several that are much better.