Ordering online teas suggestions (oolong and green tea)

[JPX]

i didnt know where to put this thread because its about 2 type of tea so pardon me if i didnt post it in the right place.

Im ''new'' to tea (about a year under my belt so far).
if you wanted to make an online order that would be green teas (mostly japanese) and oolong only, that you had a budget of 50-60$ USD (and if possible all order on the same website so i save on shipping (being from canada up your shipping prices ) and that the idea would be as gettin as many QUALITY teas as possible, what you would order?

Basicly, if you guys could list what you would order and where you would order and why/tips/coolinfos i think it would be a nice thread so we see everybody take on different teas for starter (btw, only teas you would list decent at least !)

Thanks. Ill see if i can come up with a list too and may be when its time to order ill influence my decisions on some of the nice teas you guys will list!

P.S I did order a lot of aigo samples

[Victoria]

I can't vouch for the sencha (although it is 2009 and looks quite good), but the 2009 Oolongs have been off the charts. And it's in Canada.


http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/teas/

[JPX]

yea camelia sinensis is 20 mins away from my house

im just looking for another source

and out of curiosity, what oolong did you get?

[Salsero]

yea camelia sinensis is 20 mins away from my house

So tell us something about what it's like in the store.

[Maitre_Tea]

hmm, I can't really think of any vendors that carry both oolong and japanese green teas. For oolong I would recommend Hou De, TeaCuppa, Jing Tea Shop, and Seven Cups.
Even though some of the things on Hou De can be expensive, you can pay for samples (just email him about it). Also, I think the selections on Hou De are very nice and descriptive. Guang has tasted most of the teas he's put on there, so the descriptions he writes is pretty accurate.
TeaCuppa has a few Japanese greens, but once again their selection is geared towards Chinese teas. I really liked their prices, and their tea has good bang-for-buck.
Jing Tea Shop and Seven Cups, once again, only carry Chinese teas, and I like them because their Wuyi (my favorite tea type) is really awesome. A little on the pricey side though.
I've just started Japanese teas, so I can't speak much into which vendor is better. I've heard good things about Den's Ten, O-Cha (they have a sale on organic teas), and Yuuki-Cha (all organic teas and 10% off everything for this month).

Hope this helps!

[JPX]

yea camelia sinensis is 20 mins away from my house

So tell us something about what it's like in the store.

it is nice. You can see some pictures on the website.

Its simple. 1 wall of tea accessories and teapots and 1 wall containing all the Big metal pot they store tea in. When you arrive they make you taste a tea (most of the time its a darjeling or a green tea of some sort and all have been good so far).When you order, you open up their little menu you pick some tea and they get the metal pot for you and open it in front of you to make you see the leaves and make you smell the tea.

Its a really good tea place.

[orguz]

http://aromateahouse.com/engorderform.php

http://www.besttea.com.hk/eng/eindex.htm

Both have branches in B.C try Aroma House's monkey picked TGY, and from BTH try their espresso oolong, or St. Monkey both are TGY teas.



http://www.teahouse.com.hk/main.htm

Another H.K based store they too have excellent high fired TGY, Email the owner because their english web version doesn't list any tea prices and product descriptions.

[Victoria]

yea camelia sinensis is 20 mins away from my house

im just looking for another source

and out of curiosity, what oolong did you get?

All of them have been outstanding:

Ali Shan M.Chen 2009
Dayulin 2009
Li Shan 2009
Pinglin Bao Zhong 2009
Shan Lin Shi 2009
Wu He 2009
Wulong Fleur de Pomelo 2009
Mayuan Shan Mme. Nian 2009

And this Darjeeling Oolong is the bomb:

Darjeeling Gopaldhara Wt-1 1st flush 2009

I really think their Sencha looks good. With oolong this good, I don't see the need to venture far.

[Oni]

We have something in common, I too like japanese teas and oolongs, but these cannot be mixed up, most japan based japanese vendors only exclusively sell japanese tea and so is with all the teashops that sell good oolong, they do not have sencha, for japanese green tea check out the shincha ordering topic 2009, and for oolongs, depending on what type you like there are a lot of vendors, but houdeasianart, teafromtaiwan, teahabitat, jingteashop, Dragon teahouse (they have original packaging for taiwanese oolong) are the ones I would suggest, try to order systematically so you can build up some experience.

[chamekke]

Thanks for the tip on Camellia-sinensis, Victoria... I'm going to give them a try. Nice to support a Canadian business too

[sriracha]

And this Darjeeling Oolong is the bomb:

Darjeeling Gopaldhara Wt-1 1st flush 2009

That tea really is insanely good.

I'm curious as to how it relates to a tea from a Swedish vendor they call 'Gopaldhara (FTGFOP-1-clonal classic), lot no. DJ-3/09 - Darjeeling First Flush 2009'. A side by side comparison would be cool.

[tea fish]

To add to the list of great teas from Camellia Sinensis: a Zhi Lan Xiang Wudong. I've never tasted anything like it. It looks like a wuyi but has a light, buttery, plummy quality. And a floral aroma. Pretty amazing. Unfortunately it's sold out...I wanted to buy some more.

If you're in Montreal and interested in tea houses: have you visited Esprithe' on Laurier near St Urbain? They have some good stuff, some of it a bit pricey, but the people who work there are way nice. The guy especially. He knows a lot about tea and likes talking about tea, but not in a pushy way.

[JPX]

ill go take a look thx!

[JPX]

yea camelia sinensis is 20 mins away from my house

im just looking for another source

and out of curiosity, what oolong did you get?

All of them have been outstanding:

Ali Shan M.Chen 2009
Dayulin 2009
Li Shan 2009
Pinglin Bao Zhong 2009
Shan Lin Shi 2009
Wu He 2009
Wulong Fleur de Pomelo 2009
Mayuan Shan Mme. Nian 2009

And this Darjeeling Oolong is the bomb:

Darjeeling Gopaldhara Wt-1 1st flush 2009

I really think their Sencha looks good. With oolong this good, I don't see the need to venture far.

i stopped by camelia sinensis today i got that darjeelin too!

and i also bought a sencha isagawa, sin juan and a si ju chun (this one smell like caramel!!!)

And i went to our chinatown and found a nice ''yixing'' looking teapot (and, somehow it seems of quality). it got 200ml and i paid it 9$ !!!!!!!!
I made sin juan in it and it tasted so good. The pot seems to let more flavor come out of the tea. oh well, its nothing like all those fancy pot some of you have, but its an awesome deal i got lol.

I have a matcha and a guyokuro coming up from ocha too

EDIT : it looks like oni picture. 100% same (may be the quality of it is different, but looking wise 100% accurate!).