Cheap tea?

[Shihali]

I am afraid this question is forbidden on the forum, but I could use some advice on cheap green tea. I know you can get more steeps out of good tea, but I'm a college student (read: poor) and can't afford to spend a lot on tea.

Do you know any teas worth drinking that come to under US$0.20 a cup using reasonable brewing parameters? Under US$0.10 a cup would be ideal if such a thing exists. (US$0.20/cup is equal to specialty coffee in my area, and isn't something I should drink daily. Under US$0.10/cup is something I can afford.)

Edit: By "cup" I mean a standard American 8-oz cup, so <US$0.025 or <US$0.0125 per fluid ounce, or <US$0.085 to US$0.042 per 100 mL.

[AdamMY]

I don't think the question is forbidden but instead of cup say a measurement of liqud, because there are some teas that I'm probably paying 5 cents a cup, though mind you a cup is a half ounce, so getting three steepings out of 5 grams and 5 cups a steeping all that really amounts to is paying 7.50 for 50 grams. But mind you all that put together is probably 15 ounces of actual tea.

Part of it is just looking around, but I think our Gracious Host Adagio has some good quality less expensive teas, including green teas.

[iannon]

When i want some Japanese Green that I actually enjoy at a lower price point I have gone for the "Sencha Moe" from Zencha.net its a Yame green and, to me anyway, quite tasty for the price. Its 12.90 for 100g's (shipping free) thats probably close to your per "cup" price point if you use 5g of tea per "cup" and do 3 or 4 steeps

[brlarson]

When i want some Japanese Green that I actually enjoy at a lower price point I have gone for the "Sencha Moe" from Zencha.net its a Yame green and, to me anyway, quite tasty for the price. Its 12.90 for 100g's (shipping free) thats probably close to your per "cup" price point if you use 5g of tea per "cup" and do 3 or 4 steeps

And Chip has said good things about Zencha's Fuga Limited Edition from Shizuoka for $12.95/100grams. I'll let you know after mine arrives:-)

B

[Chip]

And Chip has said good things about Zencha's Fuga Limited Edition from Shizuoka for $12.95/100grams. I'll let you know after mine arrives:-)

Hard to beat it for a first flush at this price. It is a bit of an unusual tea.

[Shihali]

What is the price/quality ratio for Itoen's low-end "Oi Ocha" leaf offerings?
I tried one of their teabags (sencha-matcha mix) distributed through Costco and it was much better than the bancha I was drinking. Now a local Asian market with a habit of ignoring expiration dates has a batch of Oi Ocha "wakame-wakakuki-iri" (若芽若茎入り) on sale at $7/100g. Has anyone tried this or even heard of it?

[Proinsias]

If you want cheap green tea I'd opt for China over Japan.

I've had very cheap green tea from Tea Spring, Jing Tea Shop and Fun Alliance which has been lovely. I've bought the everyday mao jian from Jing for the past few years and for $2.99, or maybe $3.99/100g, it really is great. Unfortunately I don't think they've got any of that left now but I get the feeling what they have is more than just drinkable.

[ummaya]

I am also looking for a cheap daily green tea. I enjoy very much some relatively expensive tea like O-Cha Yutaka Midori, Kame Gyokuro and lately the Hon Yama Hebizuka from Hojo but I came to realize that without paying attention, slowly and gradually my tea budget has increased a lot more than I can afford and I am looking for a way to reduce it without drinking less tea and what is more important, without reducing too much the quality of what I drink.

I also drink some cheap teas like the Top Leaf from Mellow Monk , Uchiyama Standard from Uchiyama but I was thinking that maybe drinking Genmaicha maybe a good way to reduce my tea budget and still enjoy my favorite expensive ones.

Genmaicha's price is around $16 for 200g (except the Genmai-cha Superior from Zencha) which is twice cheaper than my already cheap green tea and in fact it is so cheap that it sounds a bit suspicious. Is Genmaicha so cheap because it is made from low grade Sencha ?

[Chip]

Of course, cheap tea that is undrinkable is actually very expensive if it goes unused.

So, cheap does not always = value.

But yeah, a way the Japanese and Koreans have reduced the cost of tea is to add roasted/toasted grains to their tea. I have grown rather fond of adding my own home roasted grains such as genmai (rice), Mugi (barley), corn to name a few.

If roasting on your own is not feasible, they are usually available in Korean and other Asian markets.

[skilfautdire]

On the subject of cheap teas, how would the Maeda-en offerings compare to the low end of several online vendors ?

[Jack_teachat]

How about some of the green offerings from Yunnan in China? They seem very good value, and from what I have read can make very decent 'everyday' teas.

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/cat ... category=4

[Chip]

On the subject of cheap teas, how would the Maeda-en offerings compare to the low end of several online vendors ?

I only had one of their "cheap teas" ... matcha blended with kukicha. Very good actually and an excellent value as well.

[ummaya]

I received my "Sencha Moe" from Zencha but there are no brewing instructions and on the "Brewing Tea" section of Zencha.com the instructions for Middle grade Sencha ( their lowest) are the following: 8g - 200F(90C) - 7fl.oz(210cc) - 30sec

8g seems a lot of leaves ,90C quite a high temperature and 30sec very short steeping time. Are these really the right brewing instructions for this tea ?

[JBaymore]

If it really takes 8 g of tea for a decent steep..... then the "price per steep" went up even though the original price per gram of the packaging was "cheap".

best,

..............john

[iannon]

I've used 5g for 6-8oz for 60 sec first steep and had good results. I would guess if you actually used the 8g for 30 sec first steep and went from there you would stretch the steeps out a bit more? *shrug*