Recommendations from Tea Hong Anyone?

[Rdeitz]

Thinking of placing an order, but it's tough since they don't offer samples. Does anyone have recommendations?

[BioHorn]

I found this tea to be very nice:

http://teahong.com/home/5116-oolong-pho ... preme.html

Their Red Cloak Grande 2012 was also good. It still needs a few more years to rest and develop.

[Tead Off]

I found this tea to be very nice:

http://teahong.com/home/5116-oolong-pho ... preme.html

I liked it, too.

[Rdeitz]

Thanks, that's a good rec. Anyone try the GABA orange? Sounds intriguing, but I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of it if it is not good.

[miig]

well, I may sound like a fanboy, but I've never been disappointed with a tea from TH, especially not with their oolongs

[Positivitea]

The 05 Double baked TGY is fantastic.

[Tead Off]

The 05 Double baked TGY is fantastic.

Did yours have an odd 'wet' storage smell? Sort of similar to wet stored Puerh?

[Positivitea]

The 05 Double baked TGY is fantastic.

Did yours have an odd 'wet' storage smell? Sort of similar to wet stored Puerh?

Eh, sort of, I brewed mine using Chaozhou methodology and that seemed to clear whatever that smell was. Did you notice that smell in your wet leaves as well?

[Tead Off]

The 05 Double baked TGY is fantastic.

Did yours have an odd 'wet' storage smell? Sort of similar to wet stored Puerh?

Eh, sort of, I brewed mine using Chaozhou methodology and that seemed to clear whatever that smell was. Did you notice that smell in your wet leaves as well?

I wrote to Tea Hong about this smell and the ensuing taste that it gave the tea. I think they thought I was nuts. I refused to drink it. This was quite awhile ago. I put the tea into a metal caddy and left it for many months. The smell is still there. Then I remembered to try refreshing this tea in my small ceramic roaster. I heated the tea on low/medium setting and the aroma magically disappeared without affecting anything else. When I brewed the tea, the musty flavor and aroma were gone and I could enjoy the tea as an aged TGY, finally. Would I buy it again? Probably not. Before refreshing, the tea was undrinkable to me. I couldn't get past the smell and taste of the 'wetness' and it wouldn't go away after several brews.

[miig]

Well, since my last post was maybe a bit to general, here's three TH teas I'm particularly fond of:

- Bai Mudan 2011
http://teahong.com/home/3001-white-tea- ... -year-2011

If you had white teas before, this one is not a big surprise. The 2011 vintage has settled, and the most fruity aromas have vanished. But it got a very balanced character with mineral notes and lots of endurance. Not a flashy tea, rather subtle. But it got a lot of things to tell. Its interesting to compare with the fresh one, and in general the tea is not too expensive.

- Black Leaf Special (Dan Cong Oolong)
http://teahong.com/home/5012-oolong-bla ... ecial.html

A very nice Dancong, also less flashy than much of the others, and also less likely to annoy, very balanced, complex, develops over many infusions without getting tired. Also much less difficult to prepare than most Dan Congs (which can be extremely sensitive). Great performance for the money, considering that Dan Congs are quite expensive.

- Song Cultivar Huganzhi Xiang (Dan Cong, but a different cultivar)
http://teahong.com/home/5010-oolong-son ... ncong.html

Extremely sophisticated, if you want to try something of truely hight quality, this is where you can try. Its prohibitively expensive, as one would imagine. I would not order this if I were new to Dan Cong and on a budget since it is so subtle and expensive.

- Golden Tip (Shu Puerh)
http://teahong.com/tea-selection/8004-p ... -2005.html

Nice quality Shu Puerh, not very expensive. Different than many above-average Shu, this one is not very creamy or fruity, but the aromas are quite rough, with noticable humidity. Not as easy-going as some of them, but with more character. Not too much stamina though.