Another look at value for $; & use of quality tea

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Ethan Kurland
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Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:24 pm

It took me a few days to make a decision about purchasing some excellent tea at a very good price. The temptation is simple: being able to obtain a tea that is one of the best & is not always available at a discount; moreover, I could have the tea re-packaged, taken out of 75-gram packs & tins & put into 50-gram packs. Hesitation was due to a tea costing about 4 x more than very good (medium priced) tea that is very similar. I don't buy meat or fish that cost $10 a pound even if usual prices are double that. Why break my way of living for tea?

I did make the purchase of that tea because of recent satisfaction when flash-brewing. I hoped that the top-quality would provide a multitude of infusions that would give value for $ as good or better than the medium-priced tea. I gambled.

I was lucky. Flash-brewing this expensive tea provides a few infusions that have a delicacy & lightness that I desire & don't get from my other teas. After those infusion the leaves provide another 6 or so infusions that are about the same as medium-priced green tea & lightly oxidized oolong that was in my mind when trying to decide what to do. I have a tea that gives me a few infusions that are special to me & unique in my stash of teas & then many more infusions that are more common but uncommon in the quantity. I am getting about 4 x the amount of infusions & some are special.

For this tea I was lucky to find good use of the quality. I wonder how many times in the past I did not find an ideal way for me to use leaves. Cheers
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debunix
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Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:41 pm

The very best teas so often seem to give more choice in how to use them, like the fantastic FouShouShan from the TC special order 2 years ago, that was so fine with just a few leaves grandpa style that that I got many, many sessions out of just a little tea.
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Brent D
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Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:26 pm

Interesting.
I hope I get to try some tea like that some time;)
Ethan Kurland
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Mon May 21, 2018 11:38 am

Today I enjoyed an extended tea session with friends, Vee & Lita, at Tea-Village in Pattaya. In late January and early February this year, they worked very hard traveling in Northern Thailand looking for the very best of Thailand's teas. They had done a lot of research and reaching out to farmers and vendors before hitting the road. Now the Spring teas from them are arriving at their shop.

I sampled some of the teas that they found and we discussed how and why they were special and their value, not only in relation to $ but also in connecting one to land, people, & history. However, I never get far from my basic concern (taste) for too long. Overall, teas from the higher and highest altitudes of Taiwan taste so much better to me; moreover, they are cheaper than the very rare teas my friends work so hard to find in Thailand and can only get in small quantities when they do find them. Perhaps a couple of more sessions that allow me to sample the teas that I did not get today will have me ready to pay almost any price for one or two of them.

It is such a pleasure to see my freinds' dedication. They found a superior chrysanthenum tea which is so much cleaner and purer in all ways than what one usually gets (from China). Herbals are not of so much interest to me; yet, I could appreciate.......

Current comments by Octopus in Oolong thread connect to some of my experience today. Can I really taste all that is there? Does it matter? Drinking some Father's Love by myself just before going to the computer, I enjoy an excellent, special carefully aged & roasted organic, high-altitude oolong, but it is ultimately a smooth experience of roasted.... Probably would be just as happy with a slightly rougher & much cheaper roasted oolong. Cheers
TeaZero
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Mon May 21, 2018 1:18 pm

After drinking tea for so many years, I feel that I'm not really just looking for a good quality tea. I seek tea that can still surprise me. This isn't always a tea made from the best raw materials of the highest grade, but sometimes just a medium priced tea that was just very good processed and have very interesting notes. I value companies such as Teabox and Teasenz that do really good job at curating such teas.
Ethan Kurland
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Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:51 pm

TeaZero wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 1:18 pm
After drinking tea for so many years, I feel that I'm not really just looking for a good quality tea. I seek tea that can still surprise me. This isn't always a tea made from the best raw materials of the highest grade, but sometimes just a medium priced tea that was just very good processed and have very interesting notes. I value companies such as Teabox and Teasenz that do really good job at curating such teas.
Today, I drank an oolong of Assam leaves that fits what is said above. Surprising tartness that is very pleasant in this light-bodied tea. This is not fantastic tea but quite drinkable & affordable with nothing unpleasant about it. Good to be able to bring some tea back from this trip to Thailand! Cheers
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Bok
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Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:54 am

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 11:38 am
Current comments by Octopus in Oolong thread connect to some of my experience today. Can I really taste all that is there? Does it matter?
An anecdote from a recent visit to a shop which we both know and treasure: I have been going there and buying tea for over 5 years now. When I was almost done I was treated to a cup of high mountain which was been sampled by other customers at the adjacent table, the boss saying "this tea I will only sell to you after at least another 5 years, when you understand and earn enough"... :shock: :(

Am I sad or mad about it? A little, but not really. As it indeed protects my savings and I am perfectly happy with what I am buying at the moment. Of course that cup had a little extra in it (or am I really not ready to taste everything there was?), but not that much that it justifies a 3-fold increase in price. I do get those end of the line teas sometimes as a gift. Which is enough to keep things in perspective and the longing for unknown heights in check.
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Bok
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Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:57 am

Also speaks for the shop to just plainly tell you that you will not get a certain quality until a certain time or skill is achieved. Not everything should be sold to anyone at any price. Some people just pride themselves to be able to buy the best, no matter if they understand and appreciate it for what it is.
TeaZero
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Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:27 pm

What is quality tea for one is not necessarily the case for another. I love tea, but I've to say it's quite challenging to find a tea that I really like. That's why once I do, I stock up, especially when it comes to pu erh.
Ethan Kurland
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Mon Jul 02, 2018 5:49 am

TeaZero wrote:
Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:27 pm
What is quality tea for one is not necessarily the case for another. I love tea, but I've to say it's quite challenging to find a tea that I really like. That's why once I do, I stock up, especially when it comes to pu erh.
I regret the times I did not buy a lot of a great find. For me, that would be special, priced fairly, and a tea that I can drink often. I have some special teas that I would not want often.
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