Are we allowed to talk vendors?

[Teafortea]

Someone help me .

So I got these big orders from a vendor… the majority is tasteless, sometimes bitter, sometimes good but I pay the price with horrendous migraines.

This has never happened with other sources, I am someone that moves a lot, generally all over the map, so my tea stock supply is usually from different suppliers.

Help me understand what’s wrong with these teas? Is it me?
These are the teas. The ones with a star have made me get 800gr ibuprofen to get rid of migraines.

The ones I order from his Taiwan sister house I gave away after trying two. Not worth my time. I’m bitter of having spent so much so I guess I thought asking here would help me.

Classic "Mi Lan Xiang" Dan Cong Oolong Tea
*Yunnan "Black Gold Bi Luo Chun" Black Tea

Competition Grade Qimen Black Tea of Huangshan
Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong
Premium AA Da Hong Pao Wu Yi Shan Rock Oolong Tea
Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha Wild Tree Purple Black Tea
Wild Da Hong Pao Rock Oolong Tea from Wu Yi Shan
Wu Yi Shan "Hua Xiang" Da Hong Pao Rock Oolong Tea
*2019 Three Cranes "75117 High Mountain" Liu Bao Tea × 1
*Competition Grade Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea of Gande Village
*Honey Orchid "Mi Lan Xiang" Dan Cong Oolong Tea


Anyone has headaches after some certain teas? Is bitterness on second brew considered bad ? I’ve tried gong fu and classic.

[Andrew S]

I do not think there is any express rule here against naming vendors in a negative way; I think that it's a matter of what you are comfortable with (whether legally, as a matter of common sense or common courtesy, or otherwise).

I believe that the vendor in question has been mentioned here before quite a few times (often by their initials). I once had a cooked puer from them, over a decade ago, and that was the only time that I've ever had a delirious hallucination (lucid nightmare?) from a tea (or from anything else, for that matter).

That's the tea that I mentioned here: viewtopic.php?p=39439#p39439 (see also above in that thread).

I think that any tea which causes you to feel uncomfortable is not a tea that you should be drinking, regardless of the cost of having bought it.

Andrew

[Teafortea]

Ok I just wanted to know I’m not crazy…

Thank you for your input. I think I’m gonna stay clear of them now.

[Teafortea]

I do not think there is any express rule here against naming vendors in a negative way; I think that it's a matter of what you are comfortable with (whether legally, as a matter of common sense or common courtesy, or otherwise).

I believe that the vendor in question has been mentioned here before quite a few times (often by their initials). I once had a cooked puer from them, over a decade ago, and that was the only time that I've ever had a delirious hallucination (lucid nightmare?) from a tea (or from anything else, for that matter).

That's the tea that I mentioned here: viewtopic.php?p=39439#p39439 (see also above in that thread).

I think that any tea which causes you to feel uncomfortable is not a tea that you should be drinking, regardless of the cost of having bought it.

Andrew

Oh now that link you shared scared the crap out of me. I’ve got kid to take care of, sure not ready for them to see their mom hallucinate

[LeoFox]

Sounds like YS?

YS is garbage. I don't hesitate to trash them.

[Teafortea]

Sounds like YS?

YS is garbage. I don't hesitate to trash them.

Sounds like YS?

YS is garbage. I don't hesitate to trash them.

This is the only time that I regret buying tea over .
Done in the 🗑 !

Thank all, I wish I had signed in this forum before I did my orders. I’ve been a hermit tea drinker these past years, but glad I got your input.

[LeoFox]

Sounds like YS?

YS is garbage. I don't hesitate to trash them.

Sounds like YS?

YS is garbage. I don't hesitate to trash them.

This is the only time that I regret buying tea over .
Done in the 🗑 !

Thank all, I wish I had signed in this forum before I did my orders. I’ve been a hermit tea drinker these past years, but glad I got your input.

Ys is probably #3 on this list.
viewtopic.php?p=40206#p40206

Probably better to stick to #1 and #2

[.m.]

I've had the Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong a few times in the past (a few different vintages or roast levels), and it has been one of my favorite offerings from YS and very good value for the money.
I've also had the Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha Wild Tree Purple Black Tea and I've found it nasty, and tossed it away. I wrote a very negative review, but I've retracted it later out of a respect to Scott. He is a honest vendor, and I like to buy from YS once every couple of years, so I don't want to hurt his business. It is not easy to navigate the vast selection, it can be a hit or miss (and some departments might be better avoided altogether), but the width of the selection is also what makes YS interesting.
I've had teas that i found mediocre or not worth the price from most vendors, but I am grateful for what they do and respect them.

[Teafortea]

I've had the Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong a few times in the past (a few different vintages or roast levels), and it has been one of my favorite offerings from YS and very good value for the money.
I've also had the Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha Wild Tree Purple Black Tea and I've found it nasty, and tossed it away. I wrote a very negative review, but I've retracted it later out of a respect to Scott. He is a honest vendor, and I like to buy from YS once every couple of years, so I don't want to hurt his business. It is not easy to navigate the vast selection, it can be a hit or miss (and some departments might be better avoided altogether), but the width of the selection is also what makes YS interesting.
I've had teas that i found mediocre or not worth the price from most vendors, but I am grateful for what they do and respect them.

Ok thanks for your input. I found Scott to be very helpful over the emails too, and I have not written any reviews on his page nor do I intend to do. Hurting his business is not my goal. I think my doubts were answered here as a consumer and that was helpful to me.

[DailyTX]

I've had the Wild Tree Purple Varietal Black Tea of Dehong a few times in the past (a few different vintages or roast levels), and it has been one of my favorite offerings from YS and very good value for the money.
I've also had the Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha Wild Tree Purple Black Tea and I've found it nasty, and tossed it away. I wrote a very negative review, but I've retracted it later out of a respect to Scott. He is a honest vendor, and I like to buy from YS once every couple of years, so I don't want to hurt his business. It is not easy to navigate the vast selection, it can be a hit or miss (and some departments might be better avoided altogether), but the width of the selection is also what makes YS interesting.
I've had teas that i found mediocre or not worth the price from most vendors, but I am grateful for what they do and respect them.

That’s my experience with YS too. I haven’t purchased any tea this year, but from previous years of purchase, YS has mostly entry level tea. If you are new to loose tea, you have a limited budget, and you are in the West, YS is a decent starting point. A thought I keep in mind is if I compare Asian Market teas vs teas from YS, teas from Asian market are crap (most of them, I have had surprise finds). If I compares a boutique tea shop tea with YS, you can easily tell the difference in quality. When you look at cost per gram, the expectation makes a lot more sense.

[LeoFox]

Scott's horrendous reddit shenanigans aside- many of his teas are like poison. Is his teas cheap? Yes. But you are still throwing money away if those teas end up in the garbage.

[Pants404]

I did start out with teas from YS a few years ago. It was good because of range and accessibility.
The other brands they stock are decent, as well as some of their own offerings, but one large order I placed with them made me nearly stop drinking tea. Everything I bought tasted either bland or actually bad and would last for 2 or 3 steeps and fade to nothing. I have placed an order with them recently but mainly for other brands and some things I know I like.
Maybe he shoots himself in the foot by offering so many teas that are essentially the same rather than just drinkable stuff. Too many options is also overwhelming for a beginner.
Not a single tea from them has made me feel unwell though.

[debunix]

I have a number of shou puerhs that I have gotten from YS overtime, and enjoyed enough to purchase larger quantities for daily drinking and thermos brewing in bulk; and some of the inexpensive Yunnan versions of teas that are better known from other regions are very much a mixed bag…sometimes they were surprisingly delicious, sometimes just surprising. I’ve gotten a few nice Sheng as well, and some decent TGY, that got added in to various orders over time. But I certainly have not had teas that made me outright sick.

[Baisao]

“…like poison.” Not actually poison.

If you are sensitive to chaqi then you will know exactly what this feels like.

I haven’t knowingly had any YS teas, in part because he carries so many teas he cannot possibly QC all of them. I’d go to @aet for Yunnan teas if I was interested in Yunnan teas since he lives there (rather than the carpetbagger who moved to Texas) and can be more selective than YS.

[teatray]

Tried the Yunnan Black Gold Bi Luo Chun you've marked with a '*' (50g from Autumn 2020). It did not make me sick though it was not a pleasant tea. Doesn't mean it wasn't the reason you felt sick, ofc. Caffeine / other psychoactive substances (some stimulating, some calming, affecting everyone differently) could be causing or worsening a problem for you. Other teas might have a different balance of substances (a different 'qi') and not be a problem or even help.

I've had 20 teas from YS, which was enough to conclude for myself that I'd generally avoid them. As I found out recently, a look at yunnansourcing's reddit history is also helpful in forming an opinion of that vendor. An honest vendor probably wouldn't bash a competitor and praise their own teas from an alt account, then portray himself as the victim while minimizing the wrongdoing when caught.

Generally, negative comments, esp. towards a whole vendor, are more difficult to write. They seem to require justification and explanation. You're not spreading the 'good vibes' but are potentially hurting a business / offending fans / inviting conflict. You're in a bad mood after receiving a packet full of bad tea. Writing about it feels like needlessly extending that mood in time & space instead of just tossing the tea and forgetting about it. Unless you were wise enough to order just a few samples, it's admitting a mistake, which doesn't feel particularly great. If you do not consider yourself an expert, you also feel like giving the benefit of doubt (maybe it's the bad season, your brewing, your inability to select for your taste within that category of tea, etc.).

But writing about negative experiences (as long as you are not in the game) is a service to others and I think a sign of a healthy community with valuable recommendations to give.