Really, Really Big Whole Foods to Open in Austin

[foodie52]

I second that...

[cdh]

I've called and spoken with David Hoffman, and got a catalog sent from him, but never got around to placing an order. At the time, I was getting the 1/4 lb a month of interesting and varied tea from the Adagio Teas program that they've since discontinued. So with minimum 1/4 lb order increments, I just couldn't imagine myself going through the Silk Road order while it was still fresh. (As a matter of fact, I still have a few of the 1 oz tea samples from Adagio sitting around that I've yet to finish off... and they arrived at least a year ago).

That was the great thing about having WF right down the street... I could pick up a 1oz sample of lots of the Silk Road teas, and try them out without committing to a whole 1/4 lb. For example, I turned out to not so much a fan of the SR sencha, though the Fenghuang Dancong oolong really made me happy... and WF had them both in bulk so I could find that out with the princely investment of about $3.

Now that I can stop by the NYC Ten Ren, I'm set for my Pouchongs... and I've gotten quite enamored of some of the tea that Gray & Seddon Teas in Australia send to me. They seem to be on the same page as David Hoffman, in that they go exploring the tea growers in China, hunting for special crops and unusual styles of tea. Gray and Seddon's website is here. If you're into him, you should give them a try too.

I never ever found the Wheatsville inventory all that great... much more "crunchy granola" stuff there that at WF... What is wheatsville's draw for you... what was I missing?

Edited June 12, 2003 by cdh (log)

[memesuze]

Wheatsville is more of a political statement for me. [And they have upgraded their look and offerings in the last couple of years] Back in my hippie [as opposed to my current hippy] days, I just felt more comfortable owning my store. And today, I'd rather shop at the unabashedly corporate Central Market than the speak-out-of-both-sides-of-our-mouth Whole Foods. I'm not crazy about how they have treated their employees and their unionizing efforts through the years.

Now, the rest of you can just shut yo mouths about that tea class - I'm barely comfortable enough meeting strangers for a dinner - I don't do standup well....one of the things I've noticed through the years when I've HAD to give a talk, like for work, is that I condense it so much that everyone's going on an hour break 45 minutes early!

cdh, I know what you're saying about not going through the tea fast enough - I've recently cut down on my consumption to the point of imbibing only about 18-20 ounces a day. So when I'm reading Teamail and drooling over all the possibilities for my next order, I have to control my urges. I did consider soliciting help in consuming an order, but that requires agreeing on the vendor and type....

However, I'm not sure that, in terms of freshness, that your very own Silk Roads order wouldn't remain fresher longer than necessary to finish it off, at least vis a vis the freshness of whatever you could find at Whole Foods. Who knows how long they have been sitting there. Confession time: I have a small bit of a Phoenix Oolong, an Anxhi Oolong, and a Dragonwell in my work desk stash that I picked up just last week in a close-my-eyes visit to WF for the specific purpose of some oolongs and greens for work. But the aroma ain't the same as what David would send. What's the Fenghuang Dancong like? I'm ever in pursuit of a peachy oolong [Formosan, not Chinese] that introduced me to oolongs - florals are farther down my preference list, even after TieGuanYins. Have you ordered samples from Special Teas? or Capital Teas?

Edited June 12, 2003 by memesuze (log)

[cdh]

Fenghuang Dancong is tough to describe. It is in the same flavor profile as some Jade Oolongs I've had, though not as floral. It has a little of the spiciness of a Bai Hao, but not so intense. It has a lasting aftertaste that is kinda metallic, but in a nice way. Definitely worth a try if they've got it at WF. I kind of miss it now that you've brought it to my attention again.

You're a better person than I for your capacity to keep reading Teamail for its tea content. I was subscribed for 6 months or so, and the signal to noise ratio was way too high for me. Too much finger-sandwich, lace-doily, sunset-with-my-cats talk, not enough interesting tea talk to keep me subscribed.

[BigboyDan]

Whole Foods: nothing more irritating than being snobbed at by a drugged-out, chain-in-the-nose, I-hate-my-parents-and-my-drummer-boyfriend, loser; and paying out the whazzoo for it.

Central Market started in San Antonio (Broadway) ten years before they opened the 40th St. store in Austin. The San Antonio store is a direct copy of a store in Atlanta.

I would much rather support a privately owned HEB store of any type - name any large retail venture that serves its customers better - than a publicly traded company bent on world domination.

[foodie52]

Hey BigBoyDan...

I've been working at Central Market for 7 years. The 40th and Lamar store was the original CM! It opened in 1994. It was the brainchild of a long-time HEB accountant, John Campbell.

The San Antonio store opened a few years after the North Lamar: I helped open it: went down there for a few days. The San Antonio location was an HEB for years. Lots of people were upset when it opened, because they "lost" their regular HEB. Alamo Heights had been shopping there forever, and the newCM format confused a lot of the old folks who were still looking for their Kraft Mac and Cheese and Frito Lay products. I spent most of my three days there consoling old people.

[BigboyDan]

foodie52,

I'm not talking about the Alamo Heights store, there was a prototype of the modern Central Market closer to downtown on Broadway from around 1982-83, or so. That store may not have been owned by HEB. The Atlanta store that was the model, I think, was Harry's Farmer's Market. The first store of its type was a store in Cincinnati, I'll do a little research.

http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/harrys.html

By the way, does the name Bert Holland mean anythihg to you?

Edited June 13, 2003 by BigboyDan (log)

[foodie52]

Nope

[BigboyDan]

Bert Holland open the N. Lamar CM as produce manager, I went to school with him. Speaking of which, Hookem!