Song Tea & Ceramics (San Francisco)

Post Reply
User avatar
pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:57 am

i got to visit Song Tea in SF today. very nice shop. they specialize in white, green, oolong, and red teas. didn't see any puerh. lots of tw teas.

https://songtea.com/

they have some nice teaware as well. kind of on the expensive side however with many pieces in the 300-600 usd range.

songtea.jpg
songtea.jpg (210.34 KiB) Viewed 7219 times
songtea-teaware1.jpg
songtea-teaware1.jpg (139.59 KiB) Viewed 7219 times
songtea-teaware2.jpg
songtea-teaware2.jpg (223.63 KiB) Viewed 7219 times

here's their roaster in the back:
songtea-roaster.jpg
songtea-roaster.jpg (212.97 KiB) Viewed 7219 times

i bought a few teas while i was there:
  • purple rose -- a white tea made from a yancha cultivar i've never heard of
  • ruby -- a high-oxidized alishan oolong made from seed-propagated qingxin
  • 1994 formosa yancha -- grown in SLX
  • 1960s baozhong -- the bag says, "akin to a light and floral puerh"
i look forward to trying them when i return home. you in, @Muadeeb? :mrgreen:

anyone else been here?
User avatar
tjkdubya
Vendor
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:57 am
Location: Beijing
Contact:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:14 am

Purple rose yancha sounds like zimeigui. But they made white tea out of it??
User avatar
pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:20 am

you're right. it's zi meigui (紫玫瑰).
yea, they made it white tea: https://songtea.com/collections/white-t ... urple-rose

thanks for recommending this place to me, btw
User avatar
tjkdubya
Vendor
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:57 am
Location: Beijing
Contact:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 2:00 am

:mrgreen: I've never been there nor have I bought anything from them hahaha. You're welcome. I've been kinda skeptical tbh, so I'm looking forward to what you think of their tea. I've heard good things about a couple of their hongcha.
User avatar
d.manuk
Posts: 655
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:13 pm
Location: Dallas

Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:48 am

I've visited in person, and earlier on in my tea journey I purchased both teaware and tea from them (I've probably spent $2k total with them?). The thing about having to pay for a SF storefront really is reflected in their prices and their higher prices really do not denote higher quality in any way. Over time, I realized that although their aesthetic and feel is very premium and beautiful, the quality is rather average for both tea and teaware clay. Early on in my tea journey, some of their teas really popped on my palette because I hadn't encountered some of their teas before but I'd go back a year later and taste again hoping for that same magic but I wouldn't experience it again because I had acquired so much more tea knowledge during that time. They always have some interesting and unique \ kinds of teas though that are a bit different to try to justify their insane prices which are worth trying, and it seems like they have some new stuff that I didn't see 4 years ago.
User avatar
tjkdubya
Vendor
Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:57 am
Location: Beijing
Contact:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:10 pm

A lot of their teas seem to fall into the obscure indie band category: "you've probably never heard of this garden nor this cultivar, we're doing some interesting things in production, yada yada..."

When category standards and ideals don't apply, it's more difficult to point out potential faults, and very easy to say "well that's just what it tastes like."

It's not badly made green tea, it's green tea with oolong characteristics. So on and so forth.

Nothing wrong with experimental stuff though. I do find it a lot of fun. But if they were selling a line up of well established categories of teas it would be quickly obvious how good they are at sourcing, and venturing into their more adventurous (and pricey) selections would be less tainted with skepticism.
User avatar
Muadeeb
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 10:35 am
Location: Chicago

Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:24 pm

It's just as I remember it. And yes, I'm in for drinking whenever you are!
User avatar
TeaTotaling
Posts: 519
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 pm
Location: Ohio

Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:20 pm

I have been quite pleased with the first release of the Founder's Collection 2020. Two teas were included, a Gongmei White Tea and a Huang Jin Green Tea.

The Gongmei White Tea is said to be wildcrafted near Wuyishan, in China's Fujian Province. Upon opening the bag, the bold aromatics fill the room. The beautiful aroma is strong compared to other white teas I have had. The tea brews a rich and thick liquor with distinctive, heady, honey-floral notes. The flavor is bold, sweet, and flowery. Very enjoyable, and not your average white tea.

The Huang Jin Green Tea is said to be from Baojing County, in Northwestern Hunan. Smelling the leaves straight from the bag, I get sweet meadow grass, it's quite bold as well. The tea brews thicker than most greens I have had, an unexpected treat. The warm aroma reminds me of wildflowers and melons. The flavor is balanced, and matches the aroma. Sweet, sprouting green grass and honeydew melon. Almost like a High Mountain Oolong in some ways.

Looking forward to release 2/6 coming in September. I'll report back in good time.

-Peace
Ethan Kurland
Vendor
Posts: 1026
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:01 am
Location: Boston
Contact:

Wed Aug 26, 2020 5:47 pm

TeaTotaling wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:20 pm
I have been quite pleased with the first release of the Founder's Collection 2020. Two teas were included, a Gongmei White Tea and a Huang Jin Green Tea.
From what I read, you have good reasons to be quite pleased. You say that the teas are tasty, interesting, & unusual in good ways.

I am hesitant to get into any program that provides monthly selections of a vendor especially if long term commitment is necessary. It is not easy for anyone to find good teas every month. Congratulations on being rewarded for taking a chance.
User avatar
pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Wed Aug 26, 2020 6:35 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Wed Aug 26, 2020 5:47 pm
It is not easy for anyone to find good teas every month.
i agree, and that is a main reason why i haven't tried tea subscriptions
User avatar
TeaTotaling
Posts: 519
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 pm
Location: Ohio

Wed Aug 26, 2020 6:50 pm

@Ethan Kurland @pedant I certainly took a leap of faith. I'll be sure to give my sincere opinion as it progresses.

I have been pleased with the teas I have purchased from Song in the past, and I decided to give the subscription a shot. There are 6 offerings in total, spanning 1 year, so a new tea(s) delivered every two months. Peter only offered 45 openings for participants. Keeping the emphasis on a highly curated, limited offering, of unique tea.

Stay tuned...
Post Reply