In a discord channel some people did reverse image searches for the pots and found the exact matches. Same stamps and everything. It is not a bad thing per se, a lot of Etsy shops and other smaller operations have been doing it for years. Buying yourself from Taobao involves quite a lot of effort, payment, proxy service etc., import taxes and so fourth. Up to the individual what their preference is.Victoria wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 11:59 pmHow do you know they are from Taobao? I know Imen sources her teas every year in person directly. Don’t know about her teaware but it would make sense for teaware as well. I can ask her, but am curious as to your source of reference. Thanks.
What Oolong Are You Drinking
Thanks for info. Background chatter has a way of spreading fast.Bok wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:16 amIn a discord channel some people did reverse image searches for the pots and found the exact matches. Same stamps and everything. It is not a bad thing per se, a lot of Etsy shops and other smaller operations have been doing it for years. Buying yourself from Taobao involves quite a lot of effort, payment, proxy service etc., import taxes and so fourth. Up to the individual what their preference is.
Yes it does... also to clarify Taobao is not a bad thing per se. I do think there is very little Western accessible teaware that can not be also found on Taobao. I did source a modern Chaozhou pot made by Zhijian(or one of their apprentices) via Taobao and it is a very nice pot! High quality artists do sell all the same among the mass produced stuff. It is hard to navigate though and a curation also has its fee. Everyone then needs to decide if they can live with the markup for saving them time and hassle.Victoria wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:21 amThanks for info. Background chatter has a way of spreading fast.Bok wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:16 amIn a discord channel some people did reverse image searches for the pots and found the exact matches. Same stamps and everything. It is not a bad thing per se, a lot of Etsy shops and other smaller operations have been doing it for years. Buying yourself from Taobao involves quite a lot of effort, payment, proxy service etc., import taxes and so fourth. Up to the individual what their preference is.
There is a lot of wrong item/item does not look as pictures issues when dealing with Taobao, reclamation almost impossible. Some other Western vendor just recently got caught up in exactly that...
Can second that I've found the same pots on there myself. I realize there is always taxes, shipping, the things @Bok mentions, but the price difference was quite large on some of them which made me a bit suspicious of the quality of clay used on certain pieces. There were also some 'antique ROC yixing' cups being sold on there for a while too which are most def nixing cups factory production most likely from the 70s or 80s 
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Stevelaughs
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Drank a couple cliff teas recently and thought I would mention here since they both delivered and were relatively affordable. They’re from Kong Mountain Tea. I haven’t seen that vendor getting much love on here. Not sure if people have heard of them. But worth checking out.
I drank a Shui Xian from Shui Lian Dong, Spring 2021 & Jin Mu Dan (not sure from where but Zheng Yan) Spring 2021.
Not super big on tasting notes, but I will say that I enjoyed them both. The Shui Xian was a little bolder and the Jin Mu Dan a little more floral. Both scratched that itch for Yan Cha.
I drank a Shui Xian from Shui Lian Dong, Spring 2021 & Jin Mu Dan (not sure from where but Zheng Yan) Spring 2021.
Not super big on tasting notes, but I will say that I enjoyed them both. The Shui Xian was a little bolder and the Jin Mu Dan a little more floral. Both scratched that itch for Yan Cha.
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2022 Winter Nigiri oolong from Ketlee has a lovely strong floral scent in the dry leaf on opening the bag for the first time, along with a potent herbal note. Very interesting.
The dry leaves appear small, thin, dark and twisted.
First trial grandpa style in the Flower of Forgetfulness: water just off the boil, poured in and forgot for a few minutes, and enjoyed when cool enough to just drink easily. It is as anticipated from the dry leaves: a little floral, a little herbaceous, but there is none of the bitterness I was anticipating from that herbal note in the dry leaves. Towards the end I notice some cooked pea notes like I find in many green teas, but it is not unpleasant.
The wetted leaves are pale green, some medium-large and intact, some broken.
The second infusion was also very fine, with only the floral and lovely notes.
The third infusion is losing potency but still delicious, still the floral and fruity notes are at the top, and there is a hint of bitterness at the end. I'll stop here, but this is a quite lovely tea.
The dry leaves appear small, thin, dark and twisted.
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The wetted leaves are pale green, some medium-large and intact, some broken.
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The third infusion is losing potency but still delicious, still the floral and fruity notes are at the top, and there is a hint of bitterness at the end. I'll stop here, but this is a quite lovely tea.
I think that yancha is difficult to get into; the bad ones have little in common with the good ones. It's good to hear that you've found ones that you like.
I've finally got some spare time after a few busy weeks, so I've broken out some baozhong to try. I've been waiting for a cool, crisp, dry day for it, and today's the day. This one's had a very interesting evolution of flavours and characters; savoury, saline, herbs, tropical fruits...
Andrew
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And now I get a partial answer, as I ordered a fresh batch and it was a fresh batch.mbanu wrote: ↑Tue Oct 11, 2022 2:45 amStill working my way through a batch of Mark T. Wendell's Royal Red Robe -- it was already starting to have those slightly tired old oolong notes when I got it, but is still in OK shape. Really agreeable. I'm not sure how they do their oolong blends, so I don't know if eventually someone will order a batch and get smacked by a fresh version, or if they bulk their new oolong with their remaining old oolong before packaging. I would kind of be interested in a fresh version so I could understand how much is their storage conditions and how much is the tea when they receive it.
It looks like storage conditions are the biggest influence, although foolishly I didn't save any of the last batch before ordering the new batch. I wish I had, as I almost suspect that they swapped out which teas they were using in this blend, as even removing the winey notes from the previous version, I'm not sure I'm tasting the same base tea.In the past, ordering mainly from YS (which I no longer recommend) and some Aussie sites (also mostly can't recommend), I was rarely ever drawn back to finish the yancha samples I had, and ended up just drinking them when I fancied a change or made an effort to go through teas I gravitate less towards on a daily basis just to finish them, but then I came across a few intriguing high grade examples and soon a few more sensibly priced daily drinkers that I then just naturally wanted to brew day after day.
So at the moment I am scouting for such good daily drinking yancha to stock up on, with many samples coming from EoT because I liked a lot of their offerings, and their yancha so far have been sweet, lingering, and very easy to brew nicely, and interestingly enough, I just enjoyed a session of their 2017 Old Tree Mei Zhan and went online to look at their description again - sure enough it looks like a certain Andrew S reviewed it favourably a couple of years ago
Ha, I'm 'internet famous' now...Baiyun wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 8:54 pmSo at the moment I am scouting for such good daily drinking yancha to stock up on, with many samples from EoT, and interestingly enough, I just enjoyed a session of their 2017 Old Tree Mei Zhan and went online to look at their description again - sure enough it looks like a certain Andrew S reviewed it favourably a couple of years ago
I like EoT for yancha - their choices match my preferences in terms of overall character and 'feeling'.
I've tried Lazy Cat - their overall character is quite different to what I'm used to, but their teas are done in a style which would probably suit someone who enjoys well-defined aromas and flavours.
I liked brewing the EoT MeiZhan in all sorts of ways, and it always gave me a pleasant experience. It was quite 'easy', in a good way.
The EoT 'daily rougui' was something that I drank every day for a while during lockdown, and I learnt how to brew it very well. I often got excellent results from it, even though it is not an excellent tea. I sometimes got terrible results, but the excellent results ones make you forget about the terrible ones...
By way of contrast, you could try Daxue Jiadao one day - I'm sure that there are plenty of posts from me and others around here about them. I began today by brewing some of their fully-roasted rougui in a little CZ pot.
One of the things that I've found in yancha is that there are many different interpretations of the style (putting aside any kind of objective quality). Some like them more green, some like them more roasted. There are different cultivars, different regions, different ages and growing conditions for the tea trees, different oxidation styles, different roast styles, different aged teas... Fun.
Andrew
@Andrew S Thank you, I will be sure to give LC and DJ a try, and also have Wuyi Origin and Old Ways on the list. The oolong rabbit holes have extra twists and side tunnels, that much is clear. From EoT, I also have the 18 House Rou Gui and Shui Xian, and the 16 Bai Yan on hand, enjoying them all.
Some Floating Leaves here too this morning, Dec 21 Charcoal Dong Ding.
It used to be my favourite among their roasted options I tried but I feel like it has lost a bit since first opening it. Still enjoyable, I usually just do a few extended infusions with this one.
I found most teas from FL to prefer long and hot brews.
It used to be my favourite among their roasted options I tried but I feel like it has lost a bit since first opening it. Still enjoyable, I usually just do a few extended infusions with this one.
I found most teas from FL to prefer long and hot brews.
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