Oolong Vendor Topic

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oolongfan
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Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:35 pm

chofmann - Wow thanks for tossing in the sample of unroasted Ding Dong :)

I am limited to drinking several times a month due to health reasons so I am going for quality of quantity in terms of my teas ;)

I have lurked reading about Chen's teas. I am delighted that they are available locally. I am intrigued by his traditional methodology...look forward to seeing how that translates in the cup.

Thanks again chofmann :)
absence
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:27 am

Does anyone have experience with Taiwan Sourcing? How does it compare to other Taiwanese offerings?
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Victoria
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:44 am

absence wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:27 am
Does anyone have experience with Taiwan Sourcing? How does it compare to other Taiwanese offerings?
We have several excellent Taiwan oolong vendor members here, like; @Tillerman who just came back from sourcing in Taiwan, @Ethan Kurland who also sources directly, and @chofmann who represents in the USA a traditional farmer from Nantou that many of us admire, Hau Ying Chen. Apologies if I forgot someone. Another member has found a good fit with TeaMasters offerings. The three California guys who started Taiwan Oolong, aka Taiwan Sourcing, also own Yunnan sourcing. I haven’t tried their offerings though.

What type of oolong where you thinking of trying? Each vendor has a specialty.
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pedant
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:54 am

absence wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:27 am
Does anyone have experience with Taiwan Sourcing? How does it compare to other Taiwanese offerings?
yunnan-sourcing is its sister site. it's a reputable vendor, but they carry many teas, and it's hard to compare them overall to other tw tea vendors.
i know @Muadeeb has some experience with them.
swordofmytriumph
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:30 pm

So I haven’t bought from Taiwan sourcing yet, but I’ve gotten tea many times from Yunnan Sourcing, and it was all really good stuff, very high quality. In particular, the best white tea I have ever drink in my life came from them. Hope that helps.
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Muadeeb
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Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:51 am

I've ordered quite a few times from Taiwan Sourcing and they have great tea and service. I bounce between them and Taiwan Tea Crafts depending on what sales are running at the time.
swordofmytriumph
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Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:37 pm

Seconding Taiwan Tea Crafts. More than half my tea is from them, and almost all my faves are from them. Their customer service is also excellent.
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OldWaysTea
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Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:36 pm

When I want Taiwan oolong I go to Floating Leaves, Tillerman, and Leafy Green. I've yet to try @Ethan Kurland's products.
oolongfan
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Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:25 pm

I highly recommend Leafy Green. I just recieved my two orders. The packaging is elegant, with a lovely organic feel. One is imeidately in the mood for a tea ceramony. I received several samples, including Chne's unroasted oolong that I had mentioned wanting to try. The amount of tea is generous for the price.

I was originally going to wait until Sunday to try my teas....but after a diasterous coffee brew I decided it was time for some tea.

First tea up was Chen's Bug Bitten Oolong. Since it was getting late, I decided to brew in mybeautifully crafted thin walled 40 ml hong ni shu ping, from the Mandarins' Tea Room. Anethma pot pairing but this little pot seems to adore both heavy and lighter roasted teas. Leafy Green provided some good brewing guidelines...although I really just filled the pot about 3/4 or less full.

The tea was fabelous. A lovely balance between honey and lovely tannins. The body has surprising depth and there a slightly syrupy feel on the tongue but the palae is far more refined. The stronger brews were a wonderful play between honey and pleasingly astringent tannins. There were sligth suggestions of unsweetened fortune cookie, honey comb, and parchment. There was a nice minerality that came out espeically if you let the tea cool...very hard to do.

I am on the 8th infusion as I write. The tannins are starting to smooth a bit and intagrate with the honey, but the structure and depth is still there.

I really enjoyed this...might try in a slighly larger pot next time as the leaves were a little cramped. Having said that, this was a surprisingly good pot pairing ;)

Thank you Leafy Green! I can't wait to try more teas on Sunday.
oolongfan
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Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:02 pm

Norbu Tea. This is my 'desert island' vendor...as in if i was stuck on a desert island and could only choose one vendor. Well maybe it would be a tie between Norbu and Mandarin's Tea Room..with my recent discovery Leafy Green... but I digress.

Norbu has a mix of really hard to find stuff like Lao Cong Shan Cha Wild Tea (really interesting) alng with regular standbys like Ali Shan red oolong and roasted TGY.

Greg has an amazing very lightly roasted Ali Shan Dong Pian. The roasting is minimal so this feels almost like an unroasted oolong, lovely orchid and jasmine notes...but richer due to the roasting. Greg has a good relationship with the farmer who produced this lovely Dong Pian. Greg recently visited and helped out with the harvest....so this tea is a very personal tea to say the least.

I have yet to meet an oolong from Norbu that I did not like. The teas are all hvae an amazing depth of powerful flavor balanced by tannins...as opposed to say a more understated style. That is not to say the teas lack refinement...quite the opposite. For those who roast coffee I would say Greg's teas range from Kenya style powerful flavors to more delcae refined Geshas....in terms of flavors.

I am behind on posting my notes on the 'what oolong are you drinking' thread..but will do so. It will be an interesting mix of Norbu, Leafy Green..plus some lovely gifted teas from tingjunkie (Mandarin's Tea Room, Essence of Tea).
Ethan Kurland
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Sun Dec 23, 2018 10:04 pm

OldWaysTea wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:36 pm
I've yet to try @Ethan Kurland's products.
Few people
Few people have tried them. I offer teas here sometimes (look for late February for the Winter teas selected this year) and retail a few days year at Festivals in Boston, and have a couple of shops and customers that know me somehow
chofmann
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 12:17 am

What tea festivals are you thinking of attending this upcoming year in Boston?
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debunix
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Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:21 pm

oolongfan wrote:
Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:02 pm
an amazing very lightly roasted Ali Shan Dong Pian
Thanks for the heads-up on this one, wouldn't want to miss it.

My only frustration with Norbu is when I realize I really, really like a particularly unusual tea I'd not seen before anywhere else.....and I go back to the web site and it is sold out. So when something is good, I try to get plenty of it.
Ethan Kurland
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Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:38 pm

chofmann wrote:
Mon Dec 24, 2018 12:17 am
What tea festivals are you thinking of attending this upcoming year in Boston?
Not Tea events: International _________ Day. (I cannot remember____) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcestor, Mass. Also Psychi Faire in Wareham, MA for First Universalist Spiritual...........

These are small events where I have a few regular customers for tea and jade and where there are some vendors that I enjoy seeing once or twice a year.

Contemplating cutting out Xmas events except maybe another Psychic Faire in Onset.

I sometimes add some events if a vendor/friend wants to share space. Happy New Year
oolongfan
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Location: Indiana, USA

Sat Dec 29, 2018 3:11 pm

Debunix - I totally get where you are coming from....I have the same fustration at times. Greg will get something really unique and unusual..then poof - it is sold out.

On a happier note, Greg has a close relationship with the farmer/roaster who produced this lovely Dong Pian. Greg said he bought the entire crop, so there should be plenty to go around.

I also got a lovely sample of 2018 summer Dong Fang Mei Ren from Greg. I have not had a chance to ask him about this tea, but it has lovely peach tea notes.

The Ali Shan Red Oolong is fabelous - cinnamon winter squash notes that are fabelous. and unique to the cultiver. I love this..could drink it every day.

The aged Mei Zhan is incredible, aromatic wood notes over dried stone fruits. I had tasted this in 2011, nice then but fabelous in its current aged incarnation. This one blew me away.

The Medium Roast Dong Ding is incredible. Golden plum and other stone fruits, Very flavorfull. I drank this alongside Chen's high roast Dong Ding..not quite an exact comparison...but fun to compare the two styles.

If you have any recommendations of teas from Norbu that I have note tried..feel free to make suggestions. Nice to see another Norbu fan ;)
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