cheap/medium yancha

Semi-oxidized tea
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Brent D
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Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:56 pm

I go to EOT for good stuff.
Im sure im not the only person who doesnt want to pay $2-$3 a gram if I want to drink like a cow.
anyone here have any suggestions for cheap to mid price range?
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OldWaysTea
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Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:38 pm

I'll give my perspective on yancha pricing. Zhengyan teas, as you are aware start to become available around the $1 and go up from there. Decent specimens of famous locations in the $2 to $3 range.

Banyan (ie, grown outside the zhengyan area, but still grown inside the Wuyishan area) yancha generally can be found in the $0.2 and up. I would consider $0.2 to $0.35 to be a fair price for good banyan but would not expect to always get a spectacular tea. I would consider tea in the $0.35 to $0.60 or so to be fair for banyan tea that is particularly good. Teas in this price range usually come from farther up the mountains to the north of the entrance to Tongmu.

These are just my general view of the market, and applies only to spring tea. Of course if you check out my offerings they tend to fit in this range.

I think there is plenty of tea in the $0.1 to $0.2 range that can be good, but in my experience usually takes more luck to find something interesting, or it is not from the spring harvest. A good winter harvest tea can be had for quite low prices - limited most by the cost of processing the tea. A rule of thumb for winter harvests is that you should pay about half what you would pay for a production of the same standards that uses the spring harvest. There is no shortage of leaves in the winter harvest, many farmers do not even bother. Even more so for summer harvests; my family usually does not bother to process the tea. Instead it becomes natural white tea left in the fields.

My daily drinkers are generally teas that retail for around $0.25/g, though if I am relaxed I'll often pick a tea that is a bit more.
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Kale
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Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:09 pm

Brent D wrote:
Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:56 pm
I go to EOT for good stuff.
Im sure im not the only person who doesnt want to pay $2-$3 a gram if I want to drink like a cow.
anyone here have any suggestions for cheap to mid price range?
+1 for OldWaysTea.
On their price range they are really very good.
There are other generalists in this range, such as TeaTrekker and SevenCups (based in the US) or TeaSpring and Jing Tea Shop (based in china).
But I do prefer specialized vendors and vendors that seem more honest and less extravagant about their tea (as OldWaysTea's answer above shows)
(note that I have just posted a thread about SevenCups. Havn't tried them in a while).
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octopus
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am

OldWaysTea wrote:
Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:38 pm
I'll give my perspective on yancha pricing. Zhengyan teas, as you are aware start to become available around the $1 and go up from there. Decent specimens of famous locations in the $2 to $3 range.

Banyan (ie, grown outside the zhengyan area, but still grown inside the Wuyishan area) yancha generally can be found in the $0.2 and up. I would consider $0.2 to $0.35 to be a fair price for good banyan but would not expect to always get a spectacular tea. I would consider tea in the $0.35 to $0.60 or so to be fair for banyan tea that is particularly good. Teas in this price range usually come from farther up the mountains to the north of the entrance to Tongmu.

These are just my general view of the market, and applies only to spring tea. Of course if you check out my offerings they tend to fit in this range.

I think there is plenty of tea in the $0.1 to $0.2 range that can be good, but in my experience usually takes more luck to find something interesting, or it is not from the spring harvest. A good winter harvest tea can be had for quite low prices - limited most by the cost of processing the tea. A rule of thumb for winter harvests is that you should pay about half what you would pay for a production of the same standards that uses the spring harvest. There is no shortage of leaves in the winter harvest, many farmers do not even bother. Even more so for summer harvests; my family usually does not bother to process the tea. Instead it becomes natural white tea left in the fields.

My daily drinkers are generally teas that retail for around $0.25/g, though if I am relaxed I'll often pick a tea that is a bit more.
I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
.m.
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 4:44 am

octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am
In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
It's great isn't it? It's because most people in the west are relatively rich compared to many other. We are indeed privileged. :roll:
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tealifehk
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:35 am

octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am
OldWaysTea wrote:
Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:38 pm
I'll give my perspective on yancha pricing. Zhengyan teas, as you are aware start to become available around the $1 and go up from there. Decent specimens of famous locations in the $2 to $3 range.

Banyan (ie, grown outside the zhengyan area, but still grown inside the Wuyishan area) yancha generally can be found in the $0.2 and up. I would consider $0.2 to $0.35 to be a fair price for good banyan but would not expect to always get a spectacular tea. I would consider tea in the $0.35 to $0.60 or so to be fair for banyan tea that is particularly good. Teas in this price range usually come from farther up the mountains to the north of the entrance to Tongmu.

These are just my general view of the market, and applies only to spring tea. Of course if you check out my offerings they tend to fit in this range.

I think there is plenty of tea in the $0.1 to $0.2 range that can be good, but in my experience usually takes more luck to find something interesting, or it is not from the spring harvest. A good winter harvest tea can be had for quite low prices - limited most by the cost of processing the tea. A rule of thumb for winter harvests is that you should pay about half what you would pay for a production of the same standards that uses the spring harvest. There is no shortage of leaves in the winter harvest, many farmers do not even bother. Even more so for summer harvests; my family usually does not bother to process the tea. Instead it becomes natural white tea left in the fields.

My daily drinkers are generally teas that retail for around $0.25/g, though if I am relaxed I'll often pick a tea that is a bit more.
I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
Some Chinese aficionados would agree you aren't even starting to drink the good stuff until you're in the $10+ per gram range!
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Ragamuffin
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:50 am

In my opinion Wuyi Origin https://www.wuyiorigin.com/ has very good reasonably priced yancha
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octopus
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:38 am

tealifehk wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:35 am
octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am
OldWaysTea wrote:
Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:38 pm
I'll give my perspective on yancha pricing. Zhengyan teas, as you are aware start to become available around the $1 and go up from there. Decent specimens of famous locations in the $2 to $3 range.

Banyan (ie, grown outside the zhengyan area, but still grown inside the Wuyishan area) yancha generally can be found in the $0.2 and up. I would consider $0.2 to $0.35 to be a fair price for good banyan but would not expect to always get a spectacular tea. I would consider tea in the $0.35 to $0.60 or so to be fair for banyan tea that is particularly good. Teas in this price range usually come from farther up the mountains to the north of the entrance to Tongmu.

These are just my general view of the market, and applies only to spring tea. Of course if you check out my offerings they tend to fit in this range.

I think there is plenty of tea in the $0.1 to $0.2 range that can be good, but in my experience usually takes more luck to find something interesting, or it is not from the spring harvest. A good winter harvest tea can be had for quite low prices - limited most by the cost of processing the tea. A rule of thumb for winter harvests is that you should pay about half what you would pay for a production of the same standards that uses the spring harvest. There is no shortage of leaves in the winter harvest, many farmers do not even bother. Even more so for summer harvests; my family usually does not bother to process the tea. Instead it becomes natural white tea left in the fields.

My daily drinkers are generally teas that retail for around $0.25/g, though if I am relaxed I'll often pick a tea that is a bit more.
I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
Some Chinese aficionados would agree you aren't even starting to drink the good stuff until you're in the $10+ per gram range!
many people say many things, not necessarily true.

what i care about is the taste of the tea not how much someone paid for it. this is a common fallacy and it frankly just annoys me to hear this argument.
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Bok
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:51 am

octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am
I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
If you then take into account that the price someone in China or Taiwan pays for the same tea is at least half and think how much the farmer sold his tea wholesale, which is probably another half, then you can really ask why would anyone still farm tea... which is actually what is happening a lot in Taiwan: abandoned tea farms in favor of easier crops with better margins like Betelnut to give one example.

One’s luck is another man’s misery...
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octopus
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:07 am

Bok wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:51 am
octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am
I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
If you then take into account that the price someone in China or Taiwan pays for the same tea is at least half and think how much the farmer sold his tea wholesale, which is probably another half, then you can really ask why would anyone still farm tea... which is actually what is happening a lot in Taiwan: abandoned tea farms in favor of easier crops with better margins like Betelnut to give one example.

One’s luck is another man’s misery...
I don't know anything about taiwan but I don't see tea farming in wuyishan going out of business, especially in the zhengyan area my prediction is that prices will increase. Right now they are too low. Would be quite surprising to see zhengyan betelnut or whatever else.

By the way, when you talk about the average retail prices in china being "at least half" of those oldwaystea described are you just making it up or you know from experience? Because i think he is pretty accurate (for the level of tea he describes, of course you can get waishan whatever for whatever price). The wholesale price is naturally different and not relevant to this thread i think.
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Bok
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:21 am

Betelnut applies only for Taiwan, I don’t think it would even grow in Wuyishan, different climate soil etc.

As for prices, if you look in the country the product comes from it will naturally be a lot cheaper. Export-Import, taxes, transport, storage, marketing etc will all increase the cost until it reaches the Western audience. Plus from my experience as a foreigner you will always get a different price unless you “earn” the local price via longstanding relation and/or connections.

So far I have always been able to get any tea a lot cheaper if I search for it sur place.
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Bok
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:38 am

China is also quite a different market for tea. The top - let’s say 10% earners have a lot of buying power and appetite for premium things, be it tea, cars houses whatever. As demand outstrips supply, they will make sure that no maker of top grade tea will ever go bust :)

For them money is no issue and I doubt that many if any of us tea geeks here could match them...

In Taiwan the situation is different, there is a low tolerance for price increases, which makes it difficult for farmers. Anyway I’ll stop deviating from the topic. Apologies.
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octopus
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:24 am

Bok wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:21 am
Betelnut applies only for Taiwan, I don’t think it would even grow in Wuyishan, different climate soil etc.

As for prices, if you look in the country the product comes from it will naturally be a lot cheaper. Export-Import, taxes, transport, storage, marketing etc will all increase the cost until it reaches the Western audience. Plus from my experience as a foreigner you will always get a different price unless you “earn” the local price via longstanding relation and/or connections.

So far I have always been able to get any tea a lot cheaper if I search for it sur place.


China is also quite a different market for tea. The top - let’s say 10% earners have a lot of buying power and appetite for premium things, be it tea, cars houses whatever. As demand outstrips supply, they will make sure that no maker of top grade tea will ever go bust :)

For them money is no issue and I doubt that many if any of us tea geeks here could match them...
yes and if you think how many people 10% of china is there isnt enough of these teas, thats why i was saying we are lucky to still be able to afford this stuff.

about the rest, you are correct in general assumptions: the price should be cheaper in china compared to idk usa or europe. for these same teas (lets say zhengyan rougui) prices would be higher if you buy from shops based in foreign countries (lets say instead of $10-15 a session if you go to USA you should find the same tea for 30 or 45) or, more likely, you will see same or lower prices but will be a differnt tea. maybe is chencha or waishan or blend or badly processed etc. etc.

all this doesn't matter however if one doesn't recognizes the correct tea and the correct price. therefore what is important to focus about is not to make deals or think oh if I go to wuyishan to buy tea I will save blabla, but to understand what is the correct tea by drinking and get to a point where you can recognize it by blind tasting. trying to make deals and save money is a good way to overpay for stuff and drink bad tea.

the greatest tea in the world can come in a plastic box from a casual guy in switzerland and cost 10 cent a gram, who would recognize its value?

so in short, oldwaystea made good points, i reccomend his message.
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tealifehk
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Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:29 pm

octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 9:38 am
tealifehk wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 6:35 am
octopus wrote:
Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:33 am


I agree, pretty much correct. Banyan tea can cost more than 0.6 a gram however if has special qualities, the price of tea is always based on how rare tea with certain flavor is. only taste tells you if prices are correct. In general I am still amazed at how cheap tea is. 0.3 a gram is like what $2 for a session? and you can have one of the best teas in the world for $15 a session to share in like 3 people? we are lucky
Some Chinese aficionados would agree you aren't even starting to drink the good stuff until you're in the $10+ per gram range!
many people say many things, not necessarily true.

what i care about is the taste of the tea not how much someone paid for it. this is a common fallacy and it frankly just annoys me to hear this argument.
Agree, but you definitely do get what you pay for with Wuyicha! As long as you aren't getting hosed, or really well taken care of (both are possible, but one more than the other)!
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Bok
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Sun Feb 18, 2018 1:35 am

Of course the truth is in the cup! Price is but one indicator. And for sure buying tea in China is extremely difficult, at least good tea. So for most the safest option is still to go to someone who does the sourcing for them.
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