trà (chè) móc câu

[skilfautdire]

I was given by a colleague a good amount of recently harvested chè móc câu from North Vietnam. This is a green tea called 'hook tea' because of the way the leaves are taking shape when rolled. It is a tea with a lot of presence and character. For the aroma, it could be like a tiequanyin on steroids, although this is not a wulong tea. Steeping time must be short so the aroma is not overpowering. I find it quite nice, but would like to find a place where to order this tea from.

Vietnam uses both Chinese roots for the word 'tea', eg. 'trà' and 'chè', although 'chè' is the official word.

Has anyone got experience with the chè móc câu tea ? Impressions ? Anyone know a place where it could be ordered from ?

Cheers.

[aKnightWhoSaysNi]

I think Vietnamese teas are difficult to come by. I don't think I would even buy one if I did find a vendor who was selling it; just because I'm a bit weary of buying food products from this newer member of the industrialized world. I've heard horror stories of growers using truck exhaust to dry out the leaves.

[skilfautdire]

That's a concern. Which is valid IMHO with some Chinese teas also. On the other hand, as with China, Vietnam has long history of tea, more than 2000 years old, and tea is held in high esteem, being offered even today to settle disputes and to bring friends and family together. I certainly would not categorize in one sweep any tea coming from Vietnam. There's enough people in Vietnam that cares about good tea. This being said, the concern is valid and, if one is found, the vendor should be giving an impression of high quality. As with any other vendor for that matter, when no reference is given. We all come by more or less dubious web sites offering teas from which we'd never buy. Same applies here. But maybe under a different light, one that does not take into account yet global tea markets and a way of doing business that we're accustomed to.

Anyhow, if anyone knows where to buy some of this móc câu tea, I'd appreciate to know. For the time being I would not be interested in any other Vietnamese tea.

[Intuit]

.

[gingkoseto]

What a coincidence
I just got some of this tea from an Asian grocery in Toronto. I never had this tea and am very curious about it. Will try it later when I fill my tummy with food.
The tea I got is labeled as "green tea", but in the brewing instruction, it's referred to as "oolong". The tea leaves does look like some Taiwanese oolong raw tea (unroasted light-or-none fermented oolong) I saw before.

[skilfautdire]

Hi, would you care to specifically tell where the grocery is in Toronto ? Name and intersection would be fine. - Thanks.

Cheers.

[gingkoseto]

Hi, would you care to specifically tell where the grocery is in Toronto ? Name and intersection would be fine. - Thanks.

Cheers.

The market is in a building called "golden bull city" on Dundas street, several minutes' walk east of Spadina (between Spadina and Art Gallery of Ontario), on the south side of Dundas street. It's a new grocery market with tea products along the very back wall.

The green tea I got, though, is very generic. It tastes very much like green tea, but I can't name any feature taste that it has. But at a price of $1.29 per 100g, it can't be an outstanding representative of its kind I can only say it doesn't taste anything bad and could be an option of cheap daily tea.

[rdl]

i drink vietnamese thai nguyen tea that my wife's mother sends us. i have not had tra moc cau from the thai nguyen region but i will put it on my list. there is a tea farm selling tra moc cau over the internet, but i cannot say more since i never ordered from them. the web site is in vietnamese but the contact person communicates in english.
i don't worry about the quality of these teas since the japanese and taiwanese have tea plants all over vietnam for export to their domestic markets.
i have seen tra thai nguyen for sale at several tea shops in the usa. if it's good quality it should be similar to tra moc cau.
good luck

[skilfautdire]

rdl, that might be the same vendor I've seen, from the thai nguyen region. At first I thought that the pricing in USD meant that they shipped worldwide but since then I was told that USD are used in Vietnam even for the local markets. I'll ask them if they ship to North America and, if they've ever actually did it. It looks like, from original vietnamese articles from last month that I read (using the funny Google translation !) that currently Vietnam is looking to actually develop local tea products and be known for it, as opposed to mainly selling bulk tea for out-of-country processing. Vietnam is fifth tea producer in the world. The móc câu I had, freshly received from Vietnam by means of a colleague's brother was quite good.

Cheers.

[rdl]

sk, this tea farm does ship to the usa. i was told canada is a popular destination for their tea. (..il faut dire are you french/canadian?) they accept payment through paypal. but again, i never have ordered.
i have many vietnamese supermarkets by me and not only has the tea selection improved over the last decade, i now see there are higher quality teas from vietnam sold that i never saw before. these are still supermarket teas but like you say, they are trying to enter the market with better teas owing to the quality and quantity produced in vietnam these days. it is an important tea (and coffee) producer.
however, their brewing method is something else. but that's why being in tea drinking countries is so interesting; to experience not only local teas but the local attitudes towards tea and tea drinking.
maybe you'll continue having good luck with your colleague giving you more tra moc cau in the future.
all the best.