Chinatown and Pu Erh?

[azts664]

Hop,
I would have to guess that azts664 is one of those dim witted vendors that pose as consumers and recommend that we all rush out to buy whatever floor sweepings they are selling at their new website.

hey, im just answering a question to the main poster regarding teas in chinatown. I just figured id give a recommendation because other members did so as well...ie. tenrenusa.com. I NEVER said for all you to go out and by their "floor sweepings." And if i was a vendor, i wouldnt advertise here. THATS FOR SURE! I just thought id join the puerh community to gain some more insight on it....Gheesh! tough crowd here.

[azts664]

Hop,
I would have to guess that azts664 is one of those dim witted vendors that pose as consumers and recommend that we all rush out to buy whatever floor sweepings they are selling at their new website.

Just cause i give a recommendation and u call me a dim witted vendor. You are very ignorant. I have seen many other topics on other company's teas...ie tenren, mightleaf, etc. and i dont see u or even others accusing them of being dim witted vendors. just cuz i speak of a good looseleaf i am condemned by you? I thought this was a discussion forum where we discuss teas...the good, the bad, and where we can share our resources and information.

[Salsero]

just cuz i speak of a good looseleaf i am condemned by you?

Sorry, azts64, it's just that we've seen this lame-brained scam so many times before it's no longer even funny. Are you not able to see how transparent you are? Just compare your idiotic defense of a nobody tea store with Hop's sincere and informed discussion of the issues related to mao cha and sheng puerh.

You are the worst kind of vendor because you don't even understand your product. Do you realize how many excellent sources of tea exist on line? Well, you probably don't, but I can assure you that many of the regulars at this site probably know more about tea than you ever will.

Additionally, I find it personally offensive that you would use a website generously provide by Adagio Teas in order the sling your own product. Get a market plan ... and when you have one, get a life!

[Wesli]

Scruff, pass the popcorn.

[scruffmcgruff]

We really do need that popcorn-eating emoticon from o-cha on teachat.

[hop_goblin]

Hop,
I would have to guess that azts664 is one of those dim witted vendors that pose as consumers and recommend that we all rush out to buy whatever floor sweepings they are selling at their new website.

Well, azts664 somewhat defensive when I conveyed my own opinions about the store. I am not throughly convienced that azts664 is vendor poser, but to tell you the truth, I did recieve that impression when I first read his post. Thanks Sal for watching my back!

[zellie]

In answer to the OP's question, I've happened across some descent quality puehrs by searching the mom & pop grocery stores along Mott St. I discovered there what has become my favorite everyday shu tuocha, as well as some nice smoky sheng. The tea is inexpensive and DELICIOUS, but I wouldn't expect the vendors to be of much help, I'm afraid.

[heavydoom]

bubble tea. ha. that stuff is so full of additives and god knows what else, oh yeah, food colouring, starchy tapioca which are called the " pearls " or " bubbles " in the bubble tea. it's expensive to boot. might as well drink a can of duff.

just order teas online if you are having trouble buying tea where you live.

[tony shlongini]

I find it hard to believe that I can't find good puerh in my beloved Chinatown. I seem to be able to find anything I want there- bags of beautiful shallots for a buck, good quality cheap cleavers for a song, amazing Teknor-Apex cutting boards, and a variety of seafood and produce that boggles the mind. Why can't I get puerh?

Ten Tea at 75 Mott is a very nice store. The help is a bit pushy, but once they get to know you, the experience is much more pleasant. They're best for oolongs and teapots, and they're honest enough to tell you that although their pots are beautiful, they're not authentic yixing. Puerh is another story though- zip, zilch, nada.

You'd think Chinatown would be replete with stores selling $10 yixing pots and huge selections of puerhs.

[heavydoom]

china towns are for tourists. just order pu online if you can't find anyone in new york.

[Salsero]

The Tea Gallery is in NYC at 131 Allen Street, New York, NY. I don't know if it is in Chinatown or not, but it is frequented by some internet luminaries of the tea world, like MarshalN and The Mandarin's Tea ... also I think by several of the Cha Dao and RFDT heavies. They recently set up an on line store

http://www.theteagallery.com/

Very costy stuff, but I imagine it is the best of the best.

[orguz]

I'm not familiar with NYC, but do you have other chinatowns, smaller ones that are situated in the suburbs outside of downtown NY, where chinese communities settle like Queens Flushing? or newer ones. It's here where the chinese shops set up and cater to the local chinese and here you must find GOOD tea shops. The same situation is what i have in Toronto, the suburbs have the better tea stores and better prices. I recently paid 34CAD for a lb of really good TGY heavy roast, sweet, caramel like, and chocolatty.

I googled this store situated in NY by accident. it looks pretty good:

Luh Yu Tea Emporium
137-03 Northern Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11354
Tel: (718) 353-5632
services@luhyutea.com

http://shop.luhyutea.com/main.sc

not coy anymore about mentioning business names.

[chamekke]

I recently paid 34CAD for a lb of really good TGY heavy roast, sweet, caramel like, and chocolatty.

Mmmm, sounds tasty. Where is it from?

[orguz]

Mmmm, sounds tasty. Where is it from?

It's from Anxi but roasted quite heavily, but still retains the sweet taste. I have a pricier one that last 2 or more infusions but this will suffice for the price. The store's name is LAU SUN MOU TEA CO, tel 416-321-8618. Just checked the label he calls it BAO SHAN TIKUANYIN TEA. His son runs their Hong Kong store. It was kept in thick walled stainless steel caddy

[tony shlongini]

It's easy to poo-poo Manhatten's Chinatown as being touristy, but it also caters to the city's enormous Asian population. I can't believe they don't have a source of puerh for themselves, perhaps in the endless herbal shops.
Queens and Brooklyn also have very serviceable "chinatowns", and serve up some of the best dim sum in the city.

The Tea Gallery, at first glance, strikes me as yet another of the snooty boutiques that crop up for every imaginable field in the city. Their selection is rather paltry.

One good thing about puerh is that as difficult, indecipherable, and incomprehensible as it can appear to the newbie, it is far more structured than other types of tea. At the very least, you can trace the history and quality of a particular factory. Contrast that with, say, oolong, where it seems the shop owners make up the name on the spot. Even saying "it comes from Ali Shan" is meaningless. Who produced it? Puerh at least offers recognizable factory names, even if they haven't delineated the provenance of the various growing areas to the extent the French have with wine.