A few Tea Questions

Well, my journey has begun. And as usual, I have jumped with both feet. I have read many posts online and quite a few articles. I have leaned on Scotto for advice and was quickly pointed in the direction of the Puerh Shop with a couple of bits of common sense.

Product is arriving at my door and I have ventured to a few shops. This is what I have ordered / bought so far:
I started off online ordering a Small Artistic Double Wall Yixing Clay Teapot, a Yixing Clay Aroma Cup, a Black Teapot with Infuser and a Variety Tea Sampler from enjoyingtea.com. I found a coupon online by googling them prior to placing the order and saved a few bucks.
I then ordered a Tuocha Pick, a 2008 Yiwu Hongqing Arbor Pu-erh Tea Cake, a Premium Mengku Arbor Pu-erh Tea Brick, a 2006 Manzhuan Arbor Tree Pu-erh Tea Brick, and a Yixing Clay Teapot from the Puerh Shop

Because I lean towards immediate gratification and don't like waiting, I went to a local Middle Eastern Market and bought a 150 gram can of Pu-erh. I assume it is a blend but really have no clue. The only English on the can says Golden Dragon - Choicest Tea. I haven't opened it yet. I also bought a 300 gram can of Temple Du Ciel Special Gunpowder. I have tried this twice and it is not bad. I realize that I have much to learn.
After seeing I was not straining the tea correctly I went to a local mall that has a Teavana store. I poked around and bought a small bamboo strainer and allowed myself to be talked into buying a tin and a few ounces of Tung Ting Jade Oolong. This tea tastes very nice but I have no doubt I overpaid for it.

When I returned home, there on my step was the package from the Puerh Shop. All I can say is DAMN, that is one tiny teapot. I will post a few pics early in the week.

Question time -
- Is Teavana the Charbucks of Tea?
- Is there a typical amount of tea consumed in a day or it is truly a subjective volume based on preference?
- Is Teachat the B & B of the Tea World?

-Scott

sphughes said:

...Question time -
- Is Teavana the Charbucks of Tea?
- Is there a typical amount of tea consumed in a day or it is truly a subjective volume based on preference?
- Is Teachat the B & B of the Tea World?

-Scott

Click to expand...

Dunno. Never been. But I'd wager 'probably'.

Subjective. But do read up on caffeine's effects. Tho' tea has less caffeine than coffee.

B&B, IMHO, has a higher signal to noise ratio. Tho' teachat does have worthwhile contributors (like, say, ouch ).

sphughes said:

I also bought a 300 gram can of Temple Du Ciel Special Gunpowder. I have tried this twice and it is not bad. I realize that I have much to learn.

Question time -
- Is Teavana the Charbucks of Tea?
- Is there a typical amount of tea consumed in a day or it is truly a subjective volume based on preference?
- Is Teachat the B & B of the Tea World?

-Scott

Click to expand...

That can of Gunpower is going to last you a long time. I have a 250 gram box of the same brand and it has quite a caffeine boost in it. The amount of caffeine varies from tea to tea.

And I don't think anybody is the equivalent of Starbucks.

sphughes said:

- Is Teachat the B & B of the Tea World?

-Scott

Click to expand...

I'd like to think that some day in the not too distant future B&B will be regarded as the B&B of the tea world. My attempts to enlist members of tea chat here have been met with little success. They're a great group with a terrific bunch of members whose only fault is their inability to recognize the significance of our site. Hard to blame them, as the typical response to hearing about a shaving site is "Huh?"

I recommend them highly, and you'll find them to be a knowledgeable, friendly, and generous bunch. They have a pu'er box pass going (oolong, too, I believe) and have lots of great information regarding tea.

I'm fairly sure TeaChat is the best tea forum online, even the dedicated sites to pu-erh or Japanese green seem to have fallen by the wayside as people defect to TeaChat pretty much exclusively.

If you're going for young sheng you're fine around these parts but if you want to be conned into all manner of tea AD's then TeaChat is a pretty good bet.

ouch - I'm not sure anyone outside of the pu-erh forum has noticed your presence.

It's also worth dropping buy the TeaDay thread just to be awed by Salsero's daily pics of his never ending tea, teaware and flowers. I swear the man must have built an extension to accommodate the stuff.

I've only bought from Teavana once. Their keemun was ok, but their lung ching tasted like cheap sencha and was absolutely overpriced. Hopefully you'll enjoy their tea more than I did.

Proinsias said:

ouch - I'm not sure anyone outside of the pu-erh forum has noticed your presence.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure anyone inside the pu-erh forum has noticed my presence.

I frequent teachat myself. Thats where I learned all about teas. My favorite teas are oolongs. I really want to try pu-erh tea but I find it quite expensive. Maybe I will try some tea samples before I bite the bullet and of course I am going to need a new pot! My kysu is for my oolongs only.

I frequently buy my tea from these places:

Seven Cups Tea
Dens Tea I haven't bought here yet but is highly regarded. I haven't made the jump to Japanese green teas yet.

OmegaEdge said:

I frequent teachat myself. Thats where I learned all about teas. My favorite teas are oolongs. I really want to try pu-erh tea but I find it quite expensive. Maybe I will try some tea samples before I bite the bullet and of course I am going to need a new pot! My kysu is for my oolongs only.

Click to expand...

There are so many great, totally inexpensive pu'er cakes out there! It's probably cheaper per session than supermarket coffee...


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

OmegaEdge said:

I haven't made the jump to Japanese green teas yet.

Click to expand...

I did, & then quickly jumped back.
My stock consists of various black teas, pu-erh, Chinese green & white, Chinese & Taiwanese oolong, and even some Rooibos.

But I shun Japanese green. Too vegetal for my palate.

I find that Teavana is a bit pricey for what they have. OK, a lot pricey.

Daily consumption of tea is a personal thing. I probably drink in excess of 100 oz of tea every day.

I have bought outstanding black teas from Adagio and purchased assorted bricks and cakes of Puer twice from Puer Shop and also from Scott in China. I can't comment on Scott's products because shipments are still inbound and I have much to learn about technique etc.

I plan to dial in my likes and dislikes in the Puer world over time and build an aging stock and continue to enjoy the loose teas from Adagio. Their Yunnan Noir and Keemun Rhapsody have addicted me to tea.

-Scott

netsurfr said:

... Daily consumption of tea is a personal thing. I probably drink in excess of 100 oz of tea every day.

Click to expand...

Hmmm. Do we need an intervention here?

sphughes said:

I have bought outstanding black teas from Adagio and purchased assorted bricks and cakes of Puer twice from Puer Shop and also from Scott in China. I can't comment on Scott's products because shipments are still inbound and I have much to learn about technique etc.

I plan to dial in my likes and dislikes in the Puer world over time and build an aging stock and continue to enjoy the loose teas from Adagio. Their Yunnan Noir and Keemun Rhapsody have addicted me to tea.

-Scott

Click to expand...

After hanging around TeaChat for quite some time I eventually tried Adagio's tea this week. The Yunnan Noir and Keemun Rhapsody were quite good but the one that really stood out for me was the Fujian Baroque; thick, warming and full on chocolate - the kind of chocolate I hope to get from Keemun but never do. Having said that I'd still pick a top notch Keemun over this.

expatCanuck said:

Hmmm. Do we need an intervention here?

Click to expand...

He, he, he... probably more than I am willing to admit!