TeaForum.org

If so, how was it? I’m looking for more sources of Chinese greens, wanted to know how their quality was.

Edit: while I’m at it, does anyone know how to actually buy this year’s green tea from Life in a Teacup? Their page says that it’s in stock but there’s nowhere to order.

I think there tea is very good. I enjoy their chinese, greens and oolong. Also their Darjeeling is good.
I’d love to know what others think, as it has been my go to source for a while.
Except Japanese, I always go direct from Japan. Although they’ve some 50g packs that have caught my eye...

While I have not tried their greens I have had some of their Nepali black teas and I found the quality to be good.

I’ve bought and enjoyed Chinese greens from both Tea Trekker and Seven Cups. I tend to shop more frequently at Tea Trekker because they’re so close to me that I often receive my package the next business day. I used to really enjoy buying from Jing Tea Shop but no matter how quickly they sent the package there always seem to be inordinate delays at the post office.

I’m currently enjoying TPHK. I’ll probably open the An Ji Bai Cha today.

Awesome thanks everyone! I guess I’ll add them to the list.

I had a nice Da Fo Longjing from Seven Cups, although it was nearly six years ago. Never ordered from Tea Trekker.

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

LuckyMe wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:21 am

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

@LuckyMe, I don't mean to be deliberately contrarian, however, Seven Cups is one of the finest vendors of Chinese teas in America (or anywhere for that matter.) Their tea is very carefully sourced and it is artisanal. And I don't really think that the 8 cents per gram difference between their price and your suggestion of $1 per gram amounts to a hill of beans. As to the quality of Bi Luo Chun generally, I have tasted many examples that far surpass "ordinary green tea." If you haven't purchased from Seven Cups, I urge you to give them a try. (p.s. - I have not now, nor have ever had, any affiliation whatsoever with Seven Cups.)

Tillerman wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 11:14 am

LuckyMe wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:21 am

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

LuckyMe, I don't mean to be deliberately contrarian, however, Seven Cups is one of the finest vendors of Chinese teas in America (or anywhere for that matter.) Their tea is very carefully sourced and it is artisanal. And I don't really think that the 8 cents per gram difference between their price and your suggestion of $1 per gram amounts to a hill of beans. As to the quality of Bi Luo Chun generally, I have tasted many examples that far surpass "ordinary green tea." If you haven't purchased from Seven Cups, I urge you to give them a try. (p.s. - I have not now, nor have ever had, any affiliation whatsoever with Seven Cups.)

Well, if that isn’t a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is. I’ll head on over there. Thanks for the tip tillerman!

Tillerman wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 11:14 am

LuckyMe wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:21 am

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

LuckyMe, I don't mean to be deliberately contrarian, however, Seven Cups is one of the finest vendors of Chinese teas in America (or anywhere for that matter.) Their tea is very carefully sourced and it is artisanal. And I don't really think that the 8 cents per gram difference between their price and your suggestion of $1 per gram amounts to a hill of beans. As to the quality of Bi Luo Chun generally, I have tasted many examples that far surpass "ordinary green tea." If you haven't purchased from Seven Cups, I urge you to give them a try. (p.s. - I have not now, nor have ever had, any affiliation whatsoever with Seven Cups.)

Yes, highest quality pesticide free first flush green can be very expensive. I paid 80$ for 2oz of TeaHabitat’s special Crystal White Long Jing a few years ago, was definitely high quality. Had not heard of Seven Cups, interesting that they are in Phoenix. I have a bunch of DanCong from someone in Phoenix whose family has a farm in Fenghuang shan, the quality though is okay but not top top. Seven Cups web site has many descriptions but few tasting notes. What are the characteristics of Bi Luo Chun?

swordofmytriumph wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 12:14 pm

Well, if that isn’t a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is. I’ll head on over there. Thanks for the tip tillerman!

Be sure to sign up for a free ‘membership’ and you’ll be offered a discount code each month.

Victoria wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:01 pm

What are the characteristics of Bi Luo Chun?

I don't think I am the best person to report on the characteristics of Bi Luo Chun (碧螺春) [and I haven't tasted the current Seven Cups offering] but I shall try.

Authentic Bi Luo Chu comes from the Dong Ting (洞庭) area beside Lake Tai in Jiangsu Province (not to be confused with the Dong Ding [凍頂] area of Taiwan. ) To my knowledge this is the most northerly grown fine tea in China. Bi Luo Chun is extremely delicate and fragile; it needs to brew in hot but not scalding water (about 70°C or 160°F) and it is one of the very few (only?) teas where the leaf should be added to the water, not the water to the leaf. Bi Luo Chun brews slowly; about two minutes (while you get to watch the curled leaves sink to the bottom of the brewing vessel.). The initial aroma is very fresh and rich with notes of flowers and fruit. In the mouth the tea has a natural sweetness. The flavour is not bold and forward; Bi Luo Chun is a subtle and nuanced tea. A good example, however, will linger in the mouth for a long while.

Someone more knowledgeable of Chinese tea certainly will be able fill in more detail.

Personally, I find a well brewed Bi Luo Chun to be one the best green teas anywhere. Badly brewed Bi Luo Chun is, well, not so good.

LuckyMe wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:21 am

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

1000y old tree will set you back much more $ and will not even be available to the Western customer...
Green tea is very popular in China, I dare to say more popular in general than other varieties, so it makes sense that a lot of the best of that is sold in the country. Also freshness is a concern.

Each category of tea has their premium segment, question is, if it is attainable/affordable – no tea per se is ordinary, only the sample one personally tasted.

Tillerman wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 11:14 am

LuckyMe wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 2:21 am

Seven Cups seems way overpriced to me. Seriously, $27 for 25g for Bi Luo Chun? Unless this is some rare, artisanal tea from thousand year old trees there's no reason to charge more than a $1 per gram for what is an otherwise ordinary green tea.

LuckyMe, I don't mean to be deliberately contrarian, however, Seven Cups is one of the finest vendors of Chinese teas in America (or anywhere for that matter.) Their tea is very carefully sourced and it is artisanal. And I don't really think that the 8 cents per gram difference between their price and your suggestion of $1 per gram amounts to a hill of beans. As to the quality of Bi Luo Chun generally, I have tasted many examples that far surpass "ordinary green tea." If you haven't purchased from Seven Cups, I urge you to give them a try. (p.s. - I have not now, nor have ever had, any affiliation whatsoever with Seven Cups.)

Tillerman, thanks for the background on Seven Cups. I appreciate you sharing your experience as I'm not personally familiar with them and they didn't stand out based on Steepster reviews and online profile.

I would like to clarify one thing from my last post. I meant to say their price of over $1 per gram seemed excessive, not that bi luo chun shouldn't be a penny over $1 a gram...the poor wording was my fault. The reason it jumped out is because the price is considerably higher than the market price for Bi Luo Chun. Here's a quick sampling of prices from online shops selling this tea:

Teavivre: $18.90/100g (0.19 cents per gram)
Yunnan Sourcing (Imperial Grade): $8/50g (0.16 cents per gram)
Teasenz: $10.95/70g (0.15 cents per gram)
Silk Road Teas: $21.50/4oz (0.19 cents per gram)
Silk Road Teas (First Grade): $54/4oz (0.48 cents per gram)
The Tea Farm (Competition Grade): $16.55/2oz (0.29 cents per gram)

Seven Cups: $27.27/25g ($1.09 per gram)

As you can see, Seven Cups is as much as 5x the price of many vendors and 2-3 times that of competition grade tea. I'm sure they source good quality tea, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around what they charge for it. Does their Bi Luo Chun taste 5 times better than Teavivre's which is also sourced from the same region and grown sustainably? Even super premium teas like Dayuling and Anji Bai Cha can be had for less than $1/gram.

What that means is that the other vendors might likely not get the premium segment of that tea...

Most Western facing vendors won’t get access to the premium tea segment or do not bother offering it because the average Western customer won’t pay that kind of prices.

As Dayuling has been mentioned, Taiwanese premium teas are nowhere near Chinese premium teas in terms of pricing... and most Dayuling sold is not Dayuling.