Internet Tea Merchants: What do you like/dislike?

[mbhank]

Hi,

Here's another one with a large selection. It's new to me and I haven't had a chance to look at it much yet: www.TeaTrekker.com

I just got an e-mail from www.JingTea.com The main thrust this month is on Wuyi Oolongs. They are in Great Britain.

[Seitch]

Thanks Hank, please I'll check out anything you have. Are there any local teashops you'd recommend? I work in El Segundo.

[andiesenji]

Check the listings of tea shops listed at Cat-Tea Corner's Tea Guide

I don't see one listed in El Segundo but I have been to one of the tea shops in Culver City, can't recall which one.

I've also been to Teforia in Torrance and Elise's in Long Beach.

I visited Tudor House in Santa Monica a few years ago and Ye Olde Kings Head a couple of years ago. Great Cornish pasties! Also excellent teas.

I've also visited several tea shops in Orange County, when visiting my friend who lives in Yorba Linda.

She checked out Fairy Tea Cottage in Seal Beach and wants to take me there the next time I visit. She thinks I will like it.

[mbhank]

Hey, we're neighbors. I live in Torrance. Where do you work? Tea Habitat had a store in Palos Verdes but they closed it for lack of business. There are no local tea shops per say except that Whole Foods in the El Segundo Marketplace has a large selection of teas. If you want to backchannel me your e-mail address I'll send you a list of on line tea sources. Mine is UCLAHank(at)gmail(dot)com

Hank

[mbhank]

Hi,

Where is Treforia in Torrance? Thanks in advance.

Hank

[andiesenji]

Hi,

Where is Treforia in Torrance? Thanks in advance.

Hank

When I visited it, the address was 25308 Crenshaw Boulevard. That was three years ago.

Check to see if Hojas Tea House is still in business. They are in Wilmington

on PCH at Island Ave.

310-518-9454

[Wholemeal Crank]

Here's a related thread that may be of interest: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/125273-internet-tea-merchants-what-do-you-likedislike/

My favorite oolongs come from Greg at norbutea.com, his 'Diamond Tie Guan Yin' and 'Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong'. I've had an equally wonderful Tie Guan Yin from Jing Tea Shop, and have dabbled in some Mao Xie and Huang Jin Gui from one or both of these shops, but the TGY and Ali Shan are the staples, and the others are occasional treats.

I've also enjoyed some greener oolongs from Wing Hop Fung, not that far way from you in Chinatown, but haven't really explored their full selection, because I am a bit wary of the very large jars the tea is stored in before purchase.

[mbhank]

Looks like teaforia has closed, phone is no longer in service.

[Richard Kilgore]

You may also find the Oolong topic in this forum of interest. In addition there are several Tea Tasting & Discussions here that featured Oolongs that you can find with a siomple search or by just scrolling down the Coffee & Tea forum page.

[Seitch]

Thanks Richard, that other thread is interesting. Glad that others enjoy the green oolongs as well. I definitely prefer the green ones to the more traditional ones.

[Seitch]

Here's a related thread that may be of interest: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/125273-internet-tea-merchants-what-do-you-likedislike/

My favorite oolongs come from Greg at norbutea.com, his 'Diamond Tie Guan Yin' and 'Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong'. I've had an equally wonderful Tie Guan Yin from Jing Tea Shop, and have dabbled in some Mao Xie and Huang Jin Gui from one or both of these shops, but the TGY and Ali Shan are the staples, and the others are occasional treats.

I've also enjoyed some greener oolongs from Wing Hop Fung, not that far way from you in Chinatown, but haven't really explored their full selection, because I am a bit wary of the very large jars the tea is stored in before purchase.

Thanks for the suggestions, the Norbu selections look interesting. How are the brewed tea leaves like for the 2 teas above? Are they really young and tender or more fully developed and substantial? Also do you prefer the Spring or Fall tea?

I'll probably end up trying your 2 suggestions from there.

Edited October 13, 2010 by Seitch (log)

[Wholemeal Crank]

I think both of these teas--at least the 2009 spring versions, which I looked at most carefully--were well-developed leaves, nothing like like silver needle or long jing buds.

I've not seen a premium spring oolong with unusually small leaves before, but I'm still pretty new to this type of tea. Still, I've not read of anyone classifying them by such a leaf-size standard. Most of the descriptions I've read refer to intactness or brokenness of the leaves.

[Seitch]

I think both of these teas--at least the 2009 spring versions, which I looked at most carefully--were well-developed leaves, nothing like like silver needle or long jing buds.

I've not seen a premium spring oolong with unusually small leaves before, but I'm still pretty new to this type of tea. Still, I've not read of anyone classifying them by such a leaf-size standard. Most of the descriptions I've read refer to intactness or brokenness of the leaves.

That batch I bought in Beijing had really young tender leaves, similar to really good long jing. But in terms of the actual brew, I'm more interested in low astringency, that subtle sweet aftertaste on the back of the tongue and a strong floral aroma.

[Wholemeal Crank]

That batch I bought in Beijing had really young tender leaves, similar to really good long jing.

Since I don't eat the leaves, I've never been concerned with their actual tenderness, but I can easily imagine such young leaves being very tender. Just haven't seen any oolong leaves unrolling or untwisting to such a tiny size. Wonder if that was a special private offering or one of those teas that is so good it never makes it past the producer and a handful of powerful officials?

But in terms of the actual brew, I'm more interested in low astringency, that subtle sweet aftertaste on the back of the tongue and a strong floral aroma.

I can vouch for this in the teas I suggested, definitely.

[jpr54_]

my favorites for oolongs r www.shanshuiteas.com and www.houdeasianart.com-

i also like upton tea in orderto try different teas-

[DanM]

Check out rishi-tea.com. They are a small company out of Milwaukee that sells high quality teas that are often organic and/or fair trade.

Dan

[mbhank]

My two favorite greens are Rishi Tea's "Jade Cloud" and In Pursuit of Tea's "Buddha Tea"

[cdh]

I continue to be a fan of the green oolongs from http://www.gray-seddon-tea.com They have a great selection of the lesser oxidized oolongs, and it is a relief to see they're got their online store back in a functioning state again.

[ScoopKW]

My tea merchant of choice is John Harney and Sons -- http://www.harney.com/

I'd be interested to know what the certified tea-geeks here think of them.

[mbhank]

My tea merchant of choice is John Harney and Sons -- http://www.harney.com/

I'd be interested to know what the certified tea-geeks here think of them.

I have bought a lot of tea from Harney and Sons as I mentioned earlier in this post. One of my favorites is their Palm Court Blend.

Hank Field

[Wholemeal Crank]

Looking behind me to see if there are any real tea-geeks nearby.....no one there.....

Uh oh. Have I become a real tea geek?

[Will]

Tea Habitat had a store in Palos Verdes but they closed it for lack of business.

[full disclosure: I am friends with the owner] She's still selling stuff online. My memory is that the closing had a lot to do with the lease ending and / or change in the terms. It's definitely a hard business to be in, but hopefully she will re-open a brick and mortar shop in the LA area (preferably somewhere more convenient than RPV) down the road. Especially as far as dancong is concerned, I would definitely recommend her shop, so definitely check it out online if you want.

FWIW, Tian Ren / Tian Fu does have branches in the LA area. I don't know if you'll get exactly the same thing as at the Beijing one (and to be honest, I'm not that wild about their mainland TGY), but you could check out the Tian Fu branch on Valley in San Gabriel if you want. There is also Valley Coffee and Tea on Valley in Alhambra; their prices are pretty good, but I think the tea is only so-so. Even so, the boss is nice and the prices are fair; I'd probably buy tea from there before Tian Ren / Tian Fu.

For the greener rolled oolongs you're talking about, I am not always a big fan (I like stuff with a little more roast and / or oxidation), but I tend to prefer Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs if I'm going to drink something in that genre. Sources I'd especially recommend for this style of tea would be http://floatingleavestea.com/, http://houdeasianart.com/ (mentioned above), and http://teamasters.blogspot.com/ (French guy living in Taiwan who sells tea off of his site). In particular, Shiuwen at Floating Leaves (in Seattle) is generally really nice about suggesting something based on what you like, and if you make a small order, she'll probably include some samples of other similar stuff that you might like.

For that style of tea, I'd be tempted to wait for the fall teas to start showing up, since the spring stuff might be a little stale by now, though you can probably find some discounts on spring harvest stuff, and that should still be good if you go through it quickly. None of these places are cheap, but I think the price to quality ratio is fairly good, at least as far as vendors that are easily accessible from the west are concerned.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Will (log)

[12BottleBar]

chadotea.com Chado is a small chain of great tearooms in Los Angeles. They're owned and run by the Shahs, and Indian couple who are very serious about tea. This isn't a twee Martha Stewart place.

[Wholemeal Crank]

I haven't tried any greener-style oolong from Chado, but have enjoyed their online order service at times when even the pasadena store seemed to hard to get to, for reasons of limited shop hours and difficult parking.

But as for spring vs fall teas, all of Norbu's green Tie Guan Yins and Ali Shan high mountain oolongs have been in small vacuum sealed pouches, and I've been quite pleased with recently opened packages from last spring's harvest. No worries about ordering spring vs fall from his site. Also, the spring oolongs I ordered as samples from Jing Tea Shop in the fall, though not vacuum packed, were very fresh when newly opened.