Friday TeaDay 3/5/10 Domestic or International vendors?

[Chip]

I think I'm going to try some greens from Den's Teas today. I hope I like it better than the Dragonwell I had. It is obviously an acquired taste.

... and some practice!

Don't forget about the TC contest! Some nice prizes to be had and some fun! http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=12429

Began the TD with Korean Green Gamnong from Hankook! I would call this the Korean equivelent of Japanese Guricha, incredibly similar! Served up in Noutomi Susumi Tebineri (pinch) Hagi. SweeTea was back to sipping while Gandalf and Lili just hung out at the TeaTable.

[Trey Winston]

If I had to rely on domestic vendor for whites, I would be high and dry in the worst imaginable sense. International it is.

White peony today, slightly too weakly brewed. Serves me right for being inattentive while steeping.

[Seeker]

Tea is where you find it.

Yo! So very true for me. Tho I tend to find it in the same places of late.

So, the quality, consistancy, and price needs to be in line with competition, international or domestic.
...I will deal with domestic vendors, but they must have the right origin contacts, hopefully dealing as directly as possible with the source/growers,...

I couldn't agree more.

No tea yet - but matcha is in my sights, and soon.
Then probably some organic magokoro after that.

[Victoria]

In my cup this morning - Silk Road Tea - Red Peach.
Beautiful clear day here today! More rain expected this
weekend though.

Next up some AliShan from Camellia Sinensis.

[Tea_Rex]

I'm fortunate in that I can get to Red Blossom Tea and Ten Ren Tea on foot. I've never bought from foreign vendors, though Yunnan Sourcing and Camellia Sinensis are looking interesting, as are others whose names I cannot recall at the moment. Chip's post makes me think I might be in for a nice big surprise when I do buy from abroad.

This morning began with my usual cup of Assam and after that I have been drinking a white from Red Blossom called Shou Mei. It's their least expensive white so far as I know, and I like it a lot. Good taste and it is very "generous". I get a lot of infusions using my 4 oz gaiwan filled half way with dry leaf, water at 185F. It has become one of my almost daily teas. Later today I will probably indulge in my Li Po Chun.

[Skippyandjif]

I wish I could buy more from international vendors (sometimes, for certain types of tea, I can only buy from international vendors), but the shipping prices are prohibitively high, so I only buy internationally if it's necessary or if I'm treating myself.

Fortunately, my father lives in NYC, so if I visit him on a break, I always end up in Chinatown. It's pretty easy to find tea there that is obviously from another country (yay for translated labels! ).

I started with some oolong/jasmine green tea blend, am now drinking some Chun Mee green tea, and will probably end the day with some chrysanthemum tea.

[Chip]

A little while ago, some organic fukamushi that seems more like chumushi ... in SO#6 Sansai Hagi. Tea and Hagi were bought direct from Japan and they have flown more miles than I have in my entire life! The new spokesperson is still hanging out here and helped me brew today.

[Victoria]

Nice shot Chip, that actually looks pretty tasty. Not vegetal?
Nice to see wee folk helping. Is that a protector on the kyusu
spout or is it painted that way?

[debunix]

No automatic preference for one or another yet. Have only ordered from two international vendors so far, primarily to expand my tea horizons beyond the handful of domestic vendors I've dealt with to date, and the international vendors were quite reliable with excellent quality.

Had a nice TeaDay: for a day trip by air, I couldn't bring a thermos full of tea with me, so I settled for a small container of some fall harvest Tie Guan Yin from norbu, and by careful balancing between the overhot water from the coffee machine and some cooler tap water, achieved a sweet, mellow delicious cup brewed grandpa style.

[LazyKat]

Domestic so far. It serves me well enough for what I like at the moment, but in the future, who knows?

Warming my hands on a mug of 'Cream' and Irish Breakfast from my samples

[Chip]

Nice shot Chip, that actually looks pretty tasty. Not vegetal?
Nice to see wee folk helping. Is that a protector on the kyusu
spout or is it painted that way?

Thanks. Wee folk? What wee folk?

This one is not too veggie, maybe a bit of sweet corn ...

The protector is silicone, molded. I remove all the "tubing" protectors, but this is a nice one and since I use this kyusu every day, I figure it is not really hurting anything.

Finishing the TD with some semi steamed Korean green served up in a Korean travel set.

[Geekgirl]

Mostly domestic for me, but I'm lucky enough to have a couple of really great tea-vendors here in Portland, and I also get up to Seattle a few times a year, and there are some really reputable teashops there too.

[brad4419]

Mostly international. Most of my chinese tea is internationally bought but most of my japanese teas are domestic. Im cutting back on Japanese greens this year so it will be about 100% international this year.

I wish I could buy more domestic but at the same time I want the most fresh and highest quality and so far thats been international teas.