Dragonwell online source recommendations?

[fire_snake]

I'd like to build my daily tea drinking around Dragonwell. It's fresh, light, easy to make, and has all the health benefits that loose-leaf greens can have (unless I'm missing something.)

I had planned originally to build my daily tea intake around Matcha, but its preparation and cost is rather uneconomical compared to loose-leaf, especially when one can use the leaves multiple times in a sitting via more infusions.

Alas, I doubt there are any decent Dragonwell sellers in the Toronto area - save for perhaps House of Tea, so online ordering seems to be the best way to go.

I need two sources for Dragonwell:

1) A good-quality source I can buy a great deal from at reasonable cost, for everyday drinking. Perhaps not "authentic" West Lake Dragonwell (but maybe I can get it at reasonable cost, too?), but something quite a bit better than the broken leaves, sticks and stems of Teaopia's low-to-average grade Dragonwell.

2) A source that offers the finest Dragonwell available online - hopefully West Lake quality. That is, if you had a good bit more money to spend for special occasions and you were looking for a real treat. Short of going to China in person and or/paying someone off.

For example, someone has mentioned the Imperial Tea Court is quite good. I've also heard mention of Yunnan Sourcing (are they on eBay or do they have a website?)

If this sort of information has already been posted, I apologize, but I'm quite new at this and would appreciate some direction and education - especially in terms of which sources to avoid. Online ordering is still a risky proposition, especially when it comes to food items.

[Chip]

TeaSpring was my primary source for all grades of Long Jing. I was quite pleased with their wide selection.

They even had an unusual one called Bai Long Jing that was from a "white" strain of Long Jing. Fun stuff!

I would not buy too much at this time since 2011 harvests are just a few months away.

[Drax]

For example, someone has mentioned the Imperial Tea Court is quite good. I've also heard mention of Yunnan Sourcing (are they on eBay or do they have a website?)

You can find Yunnan Sourcing right here. I have not ordered any Dragonwell from him, only pu'erh, but I've always had great service there.

You can also find links and discussions about vendors on TeaChat over at this forum.

Beyond that, I don't have any particular recommendations for Dragonwell sources...

[puerhking]

You might try Dragon Tea House. I have really enjoyed their superfine Long Jing. They have a good selection too.

http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House ... 34.c0.m322

[Proinsias]

Another vote for TeaSpring

Postcard Teas long jing is one of the best I've tasted

[NOESIS]

In addition to Tea Spring, you can try Jing Tea Shop. Very reliable.

http://www.jingteashop.com/cat-jing-tea ... en-tea.cfm

[fire_snake]

What informative replies! Thank you!

Looks like Tea Spring is popular around here. I've seen the name mentioned elsewhere, and usually in positive terms.

How do you usually buy your tea? Do you buy several months' supply at once? Do you order monthly? I assume this is as important a consideration as any, not just in terms of economy but timing as well, since you want to catch the better-quality greens closer to the harvest period, I assume.

[Chip]

If you are ordering greens from China, I would order several month's supply at this point. Enough to get you through April +/-.

[brlarson]

The best `bang for the buck'' LJ that I tasted this year is Jing's Weng Jia Shan Long Jing AAA http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-jing-tea- ... sljaaa.cfm.

The best-of-the-best LJs that I tasted this year are

• Postcard Tea's LJ http://www.postcardteas.com/tea/green?product_id=350,
  
  Hojo Tea's Shi Feng http://hojotea.com/item_e/g06e.htm,
  
  Red Circle Tea's First Flush 2010 Shi Feng http://www.redcircletea.com/redcirclete ... green.html.

All three are excellent, but Red Circle's Shi Feng is high art.

[fire_snake]

So many options. Thank you all for the recommendations.

It looks lis Jing's and Teaspring tend to be safe bets. Red Circle appears to have access to specific harvests, and they charge accordingly (then again, so does Imperial Tea Court.) But good tea is good tea. I know people who spend a fortune on cigarettes per month. Enough said.

At the end of the day, my palate must decide. So I've got some experimenting to do. I just wanted to make sure I get some names for my list so I know which vendors I can gravitate toward - so I can avoid others! After my experience with Teaopia - which seems like a perfectly fine establishment at the outset (though hardly "traditional" or knowledgable as such) - ordering online seems even more risky. But at least these shops offering wares for sale online actually describe where their tea comes from and when it was picked, and based on your kind recommendations, I can probably rest assured that the tea comes from where they say it does and not from some factory floor in Shanghai.

Bleh . . . even Teaopia's allegedly premium Matcha Pinnacle tastes bland, and it's expensive stuff. And really, aside from getting the water temperature and serving size right, it's rather hard to screw up Matcha, no?

Anyone know of a good Matcha source? I'm just learning about food-grade and ceremonial-grade Matcha. I thought it was all supposed to be premium grade stuff, given the claim the leaves are grown in the shade and most of it is gyokuro. Oh well.

Question about shipping:

How long does it typically take for your order to arrive? Does it come from China usually, or a distributor in the US? Any problems at customs when ordering from overseas? I live in Canada. I'm just wondering if any of you have had difficulty with getting your order once it enters the US (if you're not already ordering from a US source.)

[bagua7]

Has anyone tried the following DTS's (or from any other vendors for that matter) greens?

1. Meng Ding Gan Lu
2. Liu An Gua Pian/Melon Slice
3. Qing Cheng Xue Ya/Snowy Sprout (never heard of it).

I am exploring Chinese greens I've never had before.

Thanks in advance.