Recommendation for great everyday (budget) Formosa oolong

[TIM]

http://www.theteagallery.com/Iron_Bodhi ... of-cib.htm

Super for practicing Kung Fu Tea everyday after lunch.

[edkrueger]

That is not cheap.

[TIM]

[quote="edkrueger"]That is not cheap.[/quote

Hmmm... That's only 2 dollars for a 8g pot of tea.... For a whole day? So what kind of budget/standard are we talking about per day?

[wyardley]

That is not cheap.

Hmmm... That's only 2 dollars for a 8g pot of tea.... For a whole day? So what kind of budget/standard are we talking about per day?

The original poster specified under $100 a lb, and was asking for "formosa oolong" [not sure if they meant Oriental Beauty or Taiwanese teas in general]; the second was asking about yan cha in the same price range.

So if my math is right, the Tea Gallery roasted TGY is $150/lb, which is over the price range specified. It's also not either of the types people were asking about in this thread (it's from the mainland, no?).

[TIM]

That is not cheap.

Hmmm... That's only 2 dollars for a 8g pot of tea.... For a whole day? So what kind of budget/standard are we talking about per day?

The original poster specified under $100 a lb, and was asking for "formosa oolong" [not sure if they meant Oriental Beauty or Taiwanese teas in general]; the second was asking about yan cha in the same price range.

So if my math is right, the Tea Gallery roasted TGY is $150/lb, which is over the price range specified. It's also not either of the types people were asking about in this thread (it's from the mainland, no?).

My bad. You are right Wyardley.

[ABx]

You might see what you have locally. My local shop is Chinese, but they have one jade Tung Ting in 4 grades and it's the best of it's type that I've had from anywhere. The $98/lb one (2nd best, the top is $139/lb) is about the best everyday that I've had, with a solid taste and a satisfying enough aroma no matter how you brew it (as opposed to the highest grade which really needs to be brewed gongfu style to really appreciate).

[ABx]

Yay, I got my zen8tea order today after all! Apparently SAL arrives much faster from Taiwan than it does from China. This particular package, for some reason, made me feel like a little kid opening an xmas gift.

I actually really like their tea. The ones I got are the traditional Lugu Dong Ding, 50% roasted Shanlinxi, and an aged wulong that's not listed in her store yet - all 150g.

I don't have a lot of experience with light/mid roasted wulong, but these are some of the better ones I've had. The Dong Ding is better than the "Nostalgia Dong Ding" from Aura Teas that has gotten good reviews (and I like as well). This one is easier going, and even on this bad tea day (fragrant teas aren't coming out well) I am still getting a satisfying and round floral aroma. I can tell that it has the potential to be even nicer, just not today.

The Shanlinxi is pretty much the same, although the strange thing is that even though it's roasted more it has a somewhat more green flavor/aroma profile. It's almost like a jade in a lot of ways. The roast is there, but more in the background. The floral aroma is definitely easy to reach and satisfies everything I've been missing from gaoshan this year. The only down side is that it's a little touchy - a little easy to oversteep and get a slight bitterness. I've only tried this once so far, but I suspect that this will be even better on a better day and when I really figure out how to brew this one just right.

The aged wulong is great. It's very high fire, though, and almost doesn't taste aged. It was labeled as being around 10 years, and I kind of wonder if that's true - though I've never had aged wulong this high fired, so I wouldn't really know. It has an incredible "chewy" texture on a level that I've not experienced since I was new to gaoshan.

These came in what look like commercial vacuum packs with steeping instructions and all. The Dong Ding even came in a foil-lined cardboard canister as well (with the vacuum pack inside). I know that's a turn-off for some people, but these really are quite good. I don't know if the better teas typically come in these packs over in Taiwan or not, but these definitely make for fantastic everyday-drinking teas at a price that's a steal.

I'll definitely be buying more from her, and I plan on trying the roasted teas next.

She even gave me a free pair of aroma cups that I had mentioned that I liked The neat thing is that I already have a pair of tasting cups that have the exact same markings on the outside, but they're brown yixing instead of orange. That does mean that I'll have to get some orange yixing cups, though.

[gingkoseto]

Hey ABx I feel so inspired by your review (and amazed you tried them all within one day after receiving the package ). I would like to try zen8tea sometime! I was going to try teahome, but then hesitated after reading some recent posts about their quality.

I like the Taiwanese way of packing the tea. A more upscale way is to use 7gram vacuumed bag, 1 bag for 1 session. Nowadays the 7g bags seem to be seen more in Fujian than in Taiwan. I like the large vacuumed bags better because it allows flexibility of using amount for each session and at the same time uses vacuum to reduce oxygen. The plastic waste involved is actually less than using many small bags. And large vacuum bag is cheaper than many small ones, so I would feel I pay for my tea not the bags. I like the way they put a vacuumed bag in a tea can, so that the tea can be further protected in transportation. I store most of my personal tea in this way too, in its original plastic bag and then put it in a tea can (mostly made of paper board with foil lining). So the Taiwanese packing is very convenient for me.

I long for some good Dong Ding now. In 2007 I got some dong ding from Wu Yu Tai tea house of Beijing (who usually gets very good Dong Ding raw or processed tea from Taiwan but then mark up the price a lot) for just around $50 per pound and it was so good. After that, I haven't got any Dong Ding that matches that level yet and feel somewhat sad. But of course I didn't try hard to explore the very very expensive ones in market.

[ABx]

I like the Taiwanese way of packing the tea. A more upscale way is to use 7gram vacuumed bag, 1 bag for 1 session. Nowadays the 7g bags seem to be seen more in Fujian than in Taiwan. I like the large vacuumed bags better because it allows flexibility of using amount for each session and at the same time uses vacuum to reduce oxygen. The plastic waste involved is actually less than using many small bags. And large vacuum bag is cheaper than many small ones, so I would feel I pay for my tea not the bags. I like the way they put a vacuumed bag in a tea can, so that the tea can be further protected in transportation. I store most of my personal tea in this way too, in its original plastic bag and then put it in a tea can (mostly made of paper board with foil lining). So the Taiwanese packing is very convenient for me.

I know what you mean - I like getting vacuum sealed packs. I've got the little ones for some TGY and Huang Jin Gui that I got locally (some 1994 shu, too, strangely enough), and it is actually kind of nice to feel like I can use it at my own pace and know that the stuff at the bottom won't go stale if I don't drink it all in a timely fashion. But like you say, it is nice to have the big vacuum packs so that you know that it's fresh when you get it but you're not left with partially used tiny packs in between pots - a lot less waste.

I actually really like the canister that the Lugu Dong Ding came in - it's dark green and black (with a black plastic lid), with tea stuff in the center and Chinese calligraphy (which I also really like). My only qualm is that it's bigger than the double-lid tins that I usually put my teas in, so it takes up extra space in my cupboard. For now I like it enough that I'll just keep it in there, and then I can put it in a smaller tin later if I need the space. Besides, I'm a bit short on empty tins at the moment - something I'm hoping to remedy in the near future.

I long for some good Dong Ding now. In 2007 I got some dong ding from Wu Yu Tai tea house of Beijing (who usually gets very good Dong Ding raw or processed tea from Taiwan but then mark up the price a lot) for just around $50 per pound and it was so good. After that, I haven't got any Dong Ding that matches that level yet and feel somewhat sad. But of course I didn't try hard to explore the very very expensive ones in market.

Wow nice. I've always figured that we get things at a rather insane markup. I had a friend that taught English in China a while ago (it was not in a big city, and somewhere that Americans never really went), and he noted that they would try to sell you things at American prices until you learned better and how to haggle, at which point you could get things for literally pennies to the dollar.

Anyway I can't guarantee that this one is as good as what you had. It's the best I've had thus far, but that's not saying much. I can say, though, that with a lot of teas, if you don't brew them to their full potential then you get some of the qualities in a kind of hollow body, if that makes sense. With Dong Ding, when I don't brew it well enough to get that nice muscat note, I get kinda thin floral notes with no body. With this one, though, I get the floral notes with something hinting towards that nice muscat, and still get a satisfying enough body. I can't wait to have one of those days that tea really comes out well to see what it's really like

I tried it a second time last night, though, and found a bit of the same that I got with the Shanlinxi - which is that it's a *little* easy to oversteep. It doesn't turn horribly bitter or anything, but you do get a slight bit of it. So they're a bit harder to brew than typical gaoshan but I think probably worth it.

I should also note that I got the 150g Lugu Dong Ding, because they have a few of them. When I told her what I like in Dong Ding (the exotic wood/muscat) she recommended the one I got and the 300g 1st prize Dong Ding (also Lugu). It's only $36 for 300g, but I didn't want to start with 300g. She also has cheaper ones, but I don't know how they compare. Since they're all much cheaper than anywhere else, I'd say to go with the best of the quantity that you want. She seems to be honest about her teas, so I wouldn't hesitate to contact her. I think she also gives you a discount when you buy through contacting her rather than through eBay (probably because of eBay fees).

[towerofdabble]

Zen8Tea - I have bought several lots of Teaware from them, highly impressed with the free tea samples they sent.

They look pretty favourably priced

http://stores.ebay.com/zen8tea_W0QQcolZ ... idZ2QQtZkm

Thanks for the tip -- I hadn't browsed eBay for awhile except for the vendors I know (DTH, Yunnan, Teahome, etc.) so these guys had flown under my radar. Well, I have no less than 750g of Formosa high-mtn oolong headed my way, and the total bill with shipping was around $68. Too good to be true? We shall see!

[skywalker]

I have tried teas from Dayuling, Shanlinxi, Dong Ding, Alishan, Li Shan, etc. and I really li

Very supprizied about these teas you have tried, but Dong Ding is not a part of high mountain tea.
Dayuling is belong to Li Shan series, it is the highest altitude of Li Shan tea area. The yield is very very few, just like blue mountain coffee.
Except these teas you mentioned, there is one more producing area- May Shan.
This area also has high quality H.M.T., many champion teas come from this area. However, its average price is lower than the other areas. Try to ask your local veder if available, but I wounder they will make a better profit...

[PolyhymnianMuse]

I have tried teas from Dayuling, Shanlinxi, Dong Ding, Alishan, Li Shan, etc. and I really li

Very supprizied about these teas you have tried, but Dong Ding is not a part of high mountain tea.
Dayuling is belong to Li Shan series, it is the highest altitude of Li Shan tea area. The yield is very very few, just like blue mountain coffee.
Except these teas you mentioned, there is one more producing area- May Shan.
This area also has high quality H.M.T., many champion teas come from this area. However, its average price is lower than the other areas. Try to ask your local veder if available, but I wounder they will make a better profit...

I've always wondered about these "champion"/"competition"/"winner" teas that many of the ebay stores will carry, atleast a few of... They just don't seem like they are priced all that high as most of them are around 300g tins. What kind of standards do those teas have? How are the judged? and further what should I expect from them?

[towerofdabble]

I have tried teas from Dayuling, Shanlinxi, Dong Ding, Alishan, Li Shan, etc. and I really li

Very supprizied about these teas you have tried, but Dong Ding is not a part of high mountain tea.
Dayuling is belong to Li Shan series, it is the highest altitude of Li Shan tea area. The yield is very very few, just like blue mountain coffee.
Except these teas you mentioned, there is one more producing area- May Shan.
This area also has high quality H.M.T., many champion teas come from this area. However, its average price is lower than the other areas. Try to ask your local veder if available, but I wounder they will make a better profit...

Thanks for the correction on Dong Ding.

I have had teas from "Mei Shan" which I suspect is the same as what you spelled "May Shan" -- I thought this was more or less equivalent to "A Li Shan" -- do I have that right? As you can see, I'm basically an enthusiastic neophyte.

Cheers.

[wyardley]

I've always wondered about these "champion"/"competition"/"winner" teas that many of the ebay stores will carry, atleast a few of... They just don't seem like they are priced all that high as most of them are around 300g tins. What kind of standards do those teas have? How are the judged? and further what should I expect from them?

I think people should be very skeptical of this, especially without some background knowledge about the particular competition the tea has won, and without knowing how truthful the vendor is. There are some competitions that are pretty well regarded, but simply saying that a tea won "some" award doesn't necessarily mean that it's good, though it may make people willing to pay a little more for a particular tea.

I think it could also be argued that competition tea is typically created to look nice, and to brew well under the type of brewing conditions used in standard competition tastings (boiling water, long infusion, small amount of leaf). That doesn't necessarily mean the tea will be the best tasting when brewed other ways, though competition style tasting can be a very useful tool in comparing teas (if you have the practice and experience to know what you're looking for, which I certainly don't).

Because there are multiple judges, and because they are looking for certain factors, the tea with the best overall score may have the least negative characteristics when stress brewed, but might not be what any one judge would consider the "best" tea.

Josh at J-Tea (who does sell a lot of tea from one or two of the major competitions in Taiwan) claims that there are some competitions that are pretty well regarded. So maybe if a tea is from a reputable vendor and won a well-regarded competition, I think it's fair to say that it's going to be pretty good tea. Whether it will be the best tea, or whether it will be worth the premium you pay for buying a prize-winning tea is hard to say.

Josh also said that farmers have to submit a very large amount of tea (I forget how much, but it's a lot), and that you actually then buy the tea from the organization running the competition. So a lot of the small operations that might make the best tea don't actually have enough tea to enter the competition. He said that there are farmers who end up adding different tea, or even tea from the mainland or from other farmers, to make up the weight.

It's of course nice to have some sort of external validation (high price, competition winning status, etc.) that a tea you like is good tea, but I personally don't think it should be a major factor in deciding what tea to buy. That said, it certainly sounds nice when someone tells you their tea is a "competition gold medalist" or something, and if you know that in advance, it's hard not to let it slightly influence your perception of the tea.

[puerhking]

I just purchased and received a couple of oolongs from zen8tea. Both the baozhong and the alishan 30% roast are quite nice. The baozhong has an amazing fragrance.....and though the alishan does not have the orchid notes that I like in low roast oolongs, it did have a nice fruit and floral flavor which were a bit more complex with the 30% roast. For the price it is hard to beat.