The (Western) Yixing market

swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:41 am

OCTO wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:33 am
They are often snapped up by local regulars who are on their SpeedDial .... 😂😂😂
Lol.

Edit: Out of curiosity, what are some websites that y'all know of that have the best quality stuff? It would be fun to compare...
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Bok
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:12 am

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:41 am
OCTO wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:33 am
They are often snapped up by local regulars who are on their SpeedDial .... 😂😂😂
Lol.

Edit: Out of curiosity, what are some websites that y'all know of that have the best quality stuff? It would be fun to compare...
Those things are not sold online... best quality is always bought in person only.
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:22 am

Yeah kinda figured. But a girl’s gotta try. ;) one day I’m gonna travel around Asia and bring an extra suitcase. Just for all the tea.
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debunix
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:58 am

>Previous to Chinese tea making it to the web, in the 90's and before, however, high quality chinese tea was simply unobtainable in the west. Nobody knew about it even.

My first tea buying lessons were from my Dad in the 1980s, who got his own lessons from a Chinese friend in the 70s. The story went that the better stuff, that was only available in a few of the Chinatown shops, was often kept behind the counters, and you had to know how to ask for it, and even then they might not sell it to you if you did not look Chinese. Fortunately, it came in a very memorable box, so I could always recognize it....

Image
Ti Guan Yin tasting by debunix, on Flickr

The treasured prize? That SeaDyke Ti Kuan Yin. It is still a staple everyday tea for me, because it is not too pricey, reliably pleasant, and it holds up well in a thermos when I'm all day away from my tea table.

That was the only real (C sinensis, not herbal or blended) tea I drank for 20+ years. I'd go without when I didn't see it on the shelves at the usual markets, but finally, when it had been many months without finding any, I bought a handful of other almost random loose-leaf teas in tins, and started to explore. I remembered Dad one time sharing some tea called puerh, that was also nice; and was startled by the quite distinctive Pouchong I encountered.....and while I was searching for knowledge online, I found some tea lists and tea forums, and I was well down the rabbit hole that led me to this place.
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:21 am

That’s an awesome story, thanks for sharing!
theredbaron
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:13 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 7:13 am
Interesting. So what about companies like Yunnan Sourcing, Taiwan Teacrafts, Leafy Green, or Hojo? Places that have direct relationships with the growers/source their product directly, actually go to the place and work with the people who are making the tea? For those of you who have had the enviable opporunity to compare the stuff available in Asia to the stuff you can find on sites like that compares with the stuff available on sites like that? For example, Taiwan teacrafts sources directly and processes a good amount of their stuff themselves.
While i very much appreciate what Yunnansourcing has done for the knowledge and spread of Chinese tea in the west, and I have often bought teas from Scott, and from shops such as Essence of Tea, and Chawangshop - you cannot expect to get top level teas from them. They have improved the quality of what is available for a western market significantly, and spent the time and effort to biuld these so important relationsships.

However, shops and tea people in Asia have not just spent 10 or 15 years on building those relationships, but decades, or even generations. Top level teas are also very limited for Asian lea lovers, and often cost more than shops like the ones which primarily sell to a western market can invest in, as not many westerners would be able or willing to pay those prices. Then - not many westerners would be able to appreciate those teas, especially without guidance, which in Asia is the way of learning and appreciating tea - a tea teacher/tea master guides you like an apprentice on how to appreciate tea. Even n Asia itself, special teas will often only be offered to customers who know how to appreciate them, and are not openly on sale.

I can only suggest to anyone who has more than a passing interest to spend some time in Asia's tea centers, such as KL, Taiwan, etc. to see the amazing (and often very confusing) world of tea :)
theredbaron
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:23 pm

debunix wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:58 am


The treasured prize? That SeaDyke Ti Kuan Yin. It is still a staple everyday tea for me, because it is not too pricey, reliably pleasant, and it holds up well in a thermos when I'm all day away from my tea table.



A few years ago i found one of those Sea Dyke Ti Kuan Yin tins which i bought around 25 years ago at the beginning of my tea journey. It still had unrolled old style Ti Kuan Yin. I think i still have a few pots full left :)
Just recently i found a Pi Lo Chun tin of a similar vintage, which i have long forgotten about. The tea is actually still drinkable, lost all its green freshness, but is very sweet, interesting taste.

Those were the only chinese teas available back then, more or less. The other stuff was imported teas from the whole salers, which was mostly undrinkable.
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:32 pm

theredbaron wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:13 pm
However, shops and tea people in Asia have not just spent 10 or 15 years on building those relationships, but decades, or even generations. Top level teas are also very limited for Asian lea lovers, and often cost more than shops like the ones which primarily sell to a western market can invest in, as not many westerners would be able or willing to pay those prices. Then - not many westerners would be able to appreciate those teas, especially without guidance, which in Asia is the way of learning and appreciating tea - a tea teacher/tea master guides you like an apprentice on how to appreciate tea. Even n Asia itself, special teas will often only be offered to customers who know how to appreciate them, and are not openly on sale.
That’s really cool info. So it seems that even if I did live in a place where higher quality was available, it would be a lot of money/effort to even be “allowed” to get the good stuff. Like, a cultural thing? It’s cool that tea is taken so serieously there.
Out of curiosity, for the stuff that isn’t openly on sale, do people who “meet the requirements” for tea excellence just build relationships with shops so the proprietor knows them and will sell to them, or what? I’m imagining someone going into a shop in another city and asking for the secret menu or something. ;)
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Bok
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:12 pm

theredbaron wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:13 pm
I can only suggest to anyone who has more than a passing interest to spend some time in Asia's tea centers, such as KL, Taiwan, etc. to see the amazing (and often very confusing) world of tea :)
ditto!
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Bok
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:20 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:32 pm

That’s really cool info. So it seems that even if I did live in a place where higher quality was available, it would be a lot of money/effort to even be “allowed” to get the good stuff. Like, a cultural thing? It’s cool that tea is taken so serieously there.
Out of curiosity, for the stuff that isn’t openly on sale, do people who “meet the requirements” for tea excellence just build relationships with shops so the proprietor knows them and will sell to them, or what? I’m imagining someone going into a shop in another city and asking for the secret menu or something. ;)
I had the same experience. I was told after 5 years buying tea, letting me taste their top quality gaoshan, that I can not buy it, that I still need another few years before I am ready :shock:

Basically, asking for it will not help. One can tell by how you drink, or comment on certain teas how much you know, or not. You have to bare in mind that in Asia you taste the tea before you buy. Leaves a lot to observe for the seller. If they care. Some just think foreigners can not appreciate it in any way, so they will never sell to you. Luckily not too many are like this.

Introductions can help as well. And little tokens of appreciations. Well, like any relationship really.
theredbaron
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 4:21 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:32 pm


That’s really cool info. So it seems that even if I did live in a place where higher quality was available, it would be a lot of money/effort to even be “allowed” to get the good stuff. Like, a cultural thing? It’s cool that tea is taken so serieously there.
Out of curiosity, for the stuff that isn’t openly on sale, do people who “meet the requirements” for tea excellence just build relationships with shops so the proprietor knows them and will sell to them, or what? I’m imagining someone going into a shop in another city and asking for the secret menu or something. ;)
As Bok said.

And in a sense, it is less about money than about the relationships you build with tea people. In Asia it is less about tea shops selling tea than people forming tea circles, where they meet drink tea, talk tea, and whatever other topic that needs taling about. Some people may have lots of money, so they spend more, pay for the expensive teas they then all drink together, etc.
How shall i explain it best? Life in Asia is generally much more outside than in the west. People meet much more casually than in the west. They meet after work, or go eating together, and so they also drink tea together.
It is how i met my tea teacher - Lim Ping Xiang (Paul Lim), in KL. I was introduced, and i felt simply comfortable with him, and he with me. It's not like that have to crouch or go through some initiation. It's just a normal human interaction, we share political views, views on many things, and he can teach a whole lot about tea, and many other things. Wheneer i managed to go to KL (i lived in Bangkok for around 23 years, which is not so far), we met and drank tea. And step by step you learn more and gain experience. But the most important part is that this isn't some sort of competition, but simply about enjoying and appreciating tea, tea culture and tea arts.
When you go to other places, people will know by how you drink tea, that you do know a bit about the subject, and one may have some common friends and acquintances even.

I often miss that life style...
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OCTO
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:06 pm

I agree with @Bok and @theredbaron .

Some of the more exotic teas are not even for sale. They are the shop owner’s personal tea stash and are sometimes offered to super regular customers as a treat.

Cheers!
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:23 pm

Bok wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:20 pm
swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:32 pm

That’s really cool info. So it seems that even if I did live in a place where higher quality was available, it would be a lot of money/effort to even be “allowed” to get the good stuff. Like, a cultural thing? It’s cool that tea is taken so serieously there.
Out of curiosity, for the stuff that isn’t openly on sale, do people who “meet the requirements” for tea excellence just build relationships with shops so the proprietor knows them and will sell to them, or what? I’m imagining someone going into a shop in another city and asking for the secret menu or something. ;)
I had the same experience. I was told after 5 years buying tea, letting me taste their top quality gaoshan, that I can not buy it, that I still need another few years before I am ready :shock:
:lol:
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:26 pm

theredbaron wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 4:21 pm
And in a sense, it is less about money than about the relationships you build with tea people. In Asia it is less about tea shops selling tea than people forming tea circles, where they meet drink tea, talk tea, and whatever other topic that needs taling about. Some people may have lots of money, so they spend more, pay for the expensive teas they then all drink together, etc.
How shall i explain it best? Life in Asia is generally much more outside than in the west. People meet much more casually than in the west. They meet after work, or go eating together, and so they also drink tea together.
That sounds like so much fun. Wish that was common here.
theredbaron
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Tue Jan 01, 2019 6:46 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:26 pm


That sounds like so much fun. Wish that was common here.
Life in Asia has its sark sides as well, but that microcosm of tea is very enjoyable :)
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