I received a sample of an oolong tea (my first) a High Mountain Oolong (not sure if this is a type or a brand name). I like it very much, and would like to branch out and try other oolongs.
Does anybody care to suggest an online vendor that has nice oolongs?
Thank you to those who recommended green teas to me; I am greatly enjoying sencha green tea at work : -)
Until someone can give you a real answer (I don't buy oolongs on the Web, I live near five tea stores), you could search the list maintained by Chris Roberson :
"HeatherInSwampscott" wrote in news:FbxVa.10825$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrdny01.gnilink.net:
I have been dabbling with oolongs over the past year or so, and have especially enjoyed some teas I have gotten from a number of sources:
- SpecialTeas (number 618 Ting Tung or Jade oolong - yum!!! very lightly oxidized, incredible aroma, sweet aftertaste) Beware though that there has been significant variation from batch to batch when I have ordered. All have been good, but they are not always bulls-eye good.
- In Pursuit of Tea (especially their Crooked Peach oolong - strange name, but delicious)
In addition to the above two sources, you might want to try some of the oolongs from Rishi Tea. The quality of their teas is very fine; I have tried a few of their oolongs and thought them well-made, but the two called out above are my absolute favorites.
Oolong tea covers a lot of ground. You may find that you like toasty oolongs, greener oolongs, etc. Be prepared to order samples and experiment to find what style(s) you enjoy best.
Heather should also be aware that there are some oolongs that are roasted apparently almost to the point of carbonation, with tastes to match. I've never been able to stomach those styles.
"WNW" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
Same here. I've found that oolongs advertised as toasty are just not to my taste, no matter which website lauds them. :-) However it is clear that some people like them.
Thank you for your advice on oolongs, I have placed an order for samples of oolong from In Persuit of Tea.
I never knew teas could taste this good (was raised on Salada black tea bags then switched to coffee in college); this morning I have tried a Keemum (sp?) sample that is wonderful. That makes 3 good new teas out of the 3 teas I have tried (sencha, keemum and oolong)! Perhaps my palate will become more descriminating, but right now the old taste buds are going "woo hoo"!
If you feel so inclined, you might also try a gyokuro, which is often even more refined than a sencha... and often costs more. But it's really heavenly, if you happen to enjoy sencha very much. Be sure to use only gently warm water when you brew gyokuro.
Gray & Seddon and their offshoot Sencha.com are sources of some very fine Japanese green teas indeed. The teas are shipped directly from Japan. G&S also sell Chinese greens and oolong teas as well. Over the past season, everything I've ordered from G&S has been shipped from Japan, and it seems to arrive more quickly than it did in the "old days" when everything was shipped from Australia (where G&S is based). The teas from Sencha.com range from the very pricey to the quite reasonable, but I've never gotten a Japanese green tea from them that I did not enjoy. My current reasonably-priced favorite is their Tokujo sencha, which can be had at US$35.00 for 200 grams.
Thanks for the tip, I hadn't planned my next order yet; I have all these samples to try out first! :D I actually have started a list, for which vendor to try for such and such type of tea. But right now I have enough to keep me busy for a bit. I am finding that I like the sencha at work; so as soon as I am out of green tea I will try some sort of gyokuro, and I will definitely look at Gray & Seddon, thanks! It is very easy to order many many types of tea samples right now; I am trying to restrain myself as I don't want to end up with more than I can drink and keep fresh.
You can try out the oolong tea from Halmari. It was recommended to me by a friend and I have to tell you it?s really nice. The price is also reasonable. The tea is hand rolled and sourced from Assam, India which is world renowned for its tea quality, so I hope you will like it. You can buy both tea bags and loose tea.
The Indian and Ceylon oolongs are definitely strange things. Not all all like the traditional oolongs. Interesting in themselves but not much like the Chinese teas.
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