Sep 9th, '09, 23:44
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by tenuki » Sep 9th, '09, 23:44
Thought I would post my general thoughts on three teas I just sampled from them.
Sun Moon Lake T-18 Qte : 1 x 25g @ 11.25$
got this on teachat recommend, really worth it what a nice suprise! My new favorite black tea. 
ps. check out FLT black spiral for something in the general ballpark quality/taste wise but almost half the price.
Pinglin Bao Zhong 1983 Qte : 1 x 50g @ 15.75$
I couldn't resist when I saw this on the menu. A really nice example of everything an aged tea is. I wouldn't call this 'special', but I grin when I drink it, maybe I'm just spoiled with some other aged baozhongs I've had lately. Worth it if you are curious about aged teas and have the money.
Tung Ting M.Nen Yu (cuit) Qte : 1 x 50g @ 14$
Good solid dong ding and a decent price. Nothing special, but good. I've had a lot of good dong dings in this style this year, and this stands up well to them.
Sep 10th, '09, 00:19
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by Victoria » Sep 10th, '09, 00:19
I hope you ordered some Spring Oolongs too. As you have probably read I am very impressed with this vendor's offerings and have moved them into my top five.
Sep 10th, '09, 00:46
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by shah82 » Sep 10th, '09, 00:46
The comparable tea on CS to Floating Leaves Black Spiral is Hualein Fengmi. Ruby tea is another beast alltogether, which is why it costs so much per ounce at CS
Sep 10th, '09, 08:27
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by tenuki » Sep 10th, '09, 08:27
shah82 wrote:The comparable tea on CS to Floating Leaves Black Spiral is Hualein Fengmi. Ruby tea is another beast alltogether, which is why it costs so much per ounce at CS
FLT Black spiral is a chinese red tea made from the Bi Luo Chung varietal so I'm not sure how you are comparing? Seems there might be other chinese red teas on CS's menu that would be a closer comparison? Having drunk both I was comparing based on flavor profile.
anyway, yes, the CS t-18 sun moon lake is most wonderful.
Sep 10th, '09, 10:53
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by shah82 » Sep 10th, '09, 10:53
The names of most teas of this type are different, with various trade names like HouDe's Hao Xian. So I just use Hualein Fengmi, which is the most commonly used name, as a catchall phrase for red teas made from green (especially bilochun) tea leaves.
It's easy to confuse Taiwan's black teas as they aren't different because of height, or terroir, but because they are from fairly different tea cultivars, and you can find them all from the same plantation or area name. CS's Sun-Moon Lake tea isn't going to taste very much like Black Spiral, and is certainly not going to taste like teatrekker's (assam) Sun-Moon Lake tea. CS's Hualein Fengmi is much more likely to taste comparable since it's probably the same tea cultivar and the same processes...
Sep 10th, '09, 11:32
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by JPX » Sep 10th, '09, 11:32
Victoria wrote:I hope you ordered some Spring Oolongs too. As you have probably read I am very impressed with this vendor's offerings and have moved them into my top five.
List your top 5 !!
and what were the best oolongs you got from CS.
Sep 10th, '09, 12:39
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by Victoria » Sep 10th, '09, 12:39
My Favorite oolong from CS this "spring" was the '09 Ali Shan. Just outstanding. The Li Shan and their Dayulin were also good, as was their Bao Zhong. And of course you may have read me raving about their Darjeeling Gopaldhara Wt-1 1st flush, which is processed like an oolong. Definitely my fave FF of 2009, in fact it shows I bought 825g of it. I know I sent a ton of samples, it is great.
So, since you asked -
My Top 5 Oolong Vendors:
(not really in order - it depends on the harvest)
Floating Leaves Tea
Tea Masters
Hou De
Jing Tea Shop
Camellia Sinensis
CS replaced TeaCuppa as my fifth vendor this year. I was quite a loyal fan of TeaCuppa, but their shipping and customer service went downhill starting in 2008. I still think they have an excellent selection of darker oolongs and one of my favorite white teas, but in my head I came up with this magic number of 5 vendors being enough. So not to say I won't buy oolongs elsewhere, but these 5 are where I concentrate my search and routinely buy from.
Sep 10th, '09, 16:16
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by tenuki » Sep 10th, '09, 16:16
Victoria wrote:I hope you ordered some Spring Oolongs too.
Nope, I usually don't buy spring oolong unless I've tasted it or have some other compelling reason.
Sep 10th, '09, 17:56
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by tenuki » Sep 10th, '09, 17:56
shah82 wrote: CS's Sun-Moon Lake tea isn't going to taste very much like Black Spiral
I made the observation while drinking both. Your results may vary. I understand you have extensive knowledge on this topic and undoubtedly a far more refined palette, but I was merely reporting what I had just directly experienced, nothing more nothing less.
Peace.
Sep 10th, '09, 19:25
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by shah82 » Sep 10th, '09, 19:25
Ah, no problem. I'm not so expert-y myself. I based my opinions on how distinctive Ruby teas are to me. One of Upton's ruby teas, the cheaper one, I could compare to other teas, but every other Ruby tea I've ever has a very distinctive wintergreen note mixed in. I've never had Black Spiral, so I couldn't claim to know better than you.
Sorry.
Sep 10th, '09, 22:24
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by TokyoB » Sep 10th, '09, 22:24
shah82 wrote:The names of most teas of this type are different, with various trade names like HouDe's Hao Xian. So I just use Hualein Fengmi, which is the most commonly used name, as a catchall phrase for red teas made from green (especially bilochun) tea leaves.
It's easy to confuse Taiwan's black teas as they aren't different because of height, or terroir, but because they are from fairly different tea cultivars, and you can find them all from the same plantation or area name. CS's Sun-Moon Lake tea isn't going to taste very much like Black Spiral, and is certainly not going to taste like teatrekker's (assam) Sun-Moon Lake tea. CS's Hualein Fengmi is much more likely to taste comparable since it's probably the same tea cultivar and the same processes...
shah82 - have you tried the teatrekker's Sun-Moon Lake tea? Are you sure it is an Assam? I know Assam is grown there but I also belive there is a wild tea plant that has a very mild taste. From the description I thought this is what it might be.
Sep 10th, '09, 23:41
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by tenuki » Sep 10th, '09, 23:41
btw, another observation - the CS taiwanese tea buyer seems to like his/her teas a bit on the sweet side, which is fine by me. Anyone else notice this?
Sep 11th, '09, 00:15
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by Victoria » Sep 11th, '09, 00:15
Probably why I'm so smitten.
Oct 8th, '09, 01:20
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by tenuki » Oct 8th, '09, 01:20
tenuki wrote:
Pinglin Bao Zhong 1983 Qte : 1 x 50g @ 15.75$
I couldn't resist when I saw this on the menu. A really nice example of everything an aged tea is. I wouldn't call this 'special', but I grin when I drink it, maybe I'm just spoiled with some other aged baozhongs I've had lately. Worth it if you are curious about aged teas and have the money.
I'm elevating this to 'favored oolong' status. I've really really enjoyed all my sessions with this tea so far. yum. what a bargain!
Oct 13th, '09, 21:13
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by TokyoB » Oct 13th, '09, 21:13
tenuki wrote:tenuki wrote:
Pinglin Bao Zhong 1983 Qte : 1 x 50g @ 15.75$
I couldn't resist when I saw this on the menu. A really nice example of everything an aged tea is. I wouldn't call this 'special', but I grin when I drink it, maybe I'm just spoiled with some other aged baozhongs I've had lately. Worth it if you are curious about aged teas and have the money.
I'm elevating this to 'favored oolong' status. I've really really enjoyed all my sessions with this tea so far. yum. what a bargain!
Actually CS seems to have very good prices in general but especially for aged teas.
