I really enjoyed this tea:
http://tinyurl.com/4ee5bw
I have a couple of questions. First, exactly what is "jade"?
Secondly, do all jade teas taste alike?
Last but not least, since upton isn't the best of vendors...any other recommendations?
May 3rd, '08, 13:28
Posts: 5151
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Location: Gainesville, Florida
Since you have tried it and enjoyed it, that is meaningful, otherwise my take on jade:
My impresssion is that jade normally refers to a lightly oxidized, lightly roasted oolong. Seems I have seen it more often in association with Taiwanese tea, but since it is such a generic term, I guess it could be applied to teas of any region.
I've never seen it applied to a green tea before, but I suspect that for the greens as for the oolongs, it means a run-of-the-mill tea that the vendor picked up somewhere at a good price. I think it is like an Appellation Controlée of Vin Rouge or a Wal-Mart Generic brand: once in a while you might find a good deal, but generally not.
Unfortunately, the tea industry is full of names like this in English and Chinese both. It's a major factor in keeping consumers confused.
My impresssion is that jade normally refers to a lightly oxidized, lightly roasted oolong. Seems I have seen it more often in association with Taiwanese tea, but since it is such a generic term, I guess it could be applied to teas of any region.
I've never seen it applied to a green tea before, but I suspect that for the greens as for the oolongs, it means a run-of-the-mill tea that the vendor picked up somewhere at a good price. I think it is like an Appellation Controlée of Vin Rouge or a Wal-Mart Generic brand: once in a while you might find a good deal, but generally not.
Unfortunately, the tea industry is full of names like this in English and Chinese both. It's a major factor in keeping consumers confused.
Salsero wrote:Since you have tried it and enjoyed it, that is meaningful, otherwise my take on jade:
My impresssion is that jade normally refers to a lightly oxidized, lightly roasted oolong. Seems I have seen it more often in association with Taiwanese tea, but since it is such a generic term, I guess it could be applied to teas of any region.
I've never seen it applied to a green tea before, but I suspect that for the greens as for the oolongs, it means a run-of-the-mill tea that the vendor picked up somewhere at a good price. I think it is like an Appellation Controlée of Vin Rouge or a Wal-Mart Generic brand: once in a while you might find a good deal, but generally not.
Unfortunately, the tea industry is full of names like this in English and Chinese both. It's a major factor in keeping consumers confused.
Yes, you certainly make a good point that if I like it...just continue to drink it.
Confused is an understatement.
So where can I find a good list of lightly oxidized, lightly roasted oolongs/Taiwanese teas?
May 3rd, '08, 23:31
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Jade is simply a reference to leaf color and/or style..thus a jade oolong is green unroasted or very lightly roasted...and lightly oxidized.
The link you provided is for a green tea, Chinese. There are also greens with jade in their names and should not be confused with jade oolongs.
The most common jade oolong I have seen is Jade TKY. Ti Kuan Yin...many grades available. I see jade Taiwan oolongs as well.
The link you provided is for a green tea, Chinese. There are also greens with jade in their names and should not be confused with jade oolongs.
The most common jade oolong I have seen is Jade TKY. Ti Kuan Yin...many grades available. I see jade Taiwan oolongs as well.
Upton offers a very large selection of teas, and while they're not all "the best of the best" many of them are quite good. I've been ordering samples of different jasmine teas from a variety of tea vendors and my favorite is still one of the teas I ordered from Upton. It's difficult not to be curious about offerings from other vendors, but while you're looking around you may want to buy more of the tea you like while tea from the same harvest is available.