Oolong Help

Hello,

This is my first post, I have been lurking for the last year or so, but the recent messages about monkeys picking tea has prompted me to write.

I used to live in Chicago and still visit there often. On my last trip, I found a tea store in Lincoln Park area (not exactly sure of the neighborhood )called My Place For Tea on Sheffield. I bought a nice Oolong, bag labeled as "Monkey-Picked Oolong"

formatting link
@ about $16 / 50 gms. I am not sure what particular type of Oolong it was.

I have about 1 teaspoon of TieGuanYin Gold left, but I don't like it as much as the "Monkey Picked Oolong" from Chicago. I taste more bitterness or acid flavors, maybe it is the age. The Chicago Oolong has more subtle flavors and they seem to change as the temperature of the tea changes.

formatting link

More recently I have been looking at the Oolongs on Teaspring and I was wondering what others would recommend as their favorite Oolong. The one thing that I notice with the Oolong from Generation is that if I brew a second cup from the same leaves, there is more bitterness or off taste (not a real good description) than if I brew multiple cups from the "Monkey-Picked Oolong" from Chicago.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have been on a buying or sampling binge recently, and don't want to invest a lot more money in another Oolong that I might not enjoy.

Recent Purchases:

Adagio Genmai cha Jasmine #12 pearls

Upton Darjeeling FTGFOP1 TD01S Makaibari FTGFOP1S TD46S Lyerpadi TN68S Dunsandale TGFOP TN96S Tippy Congou TP61S Jun Shan Yin Zhen ZG59S Black Gunpowder ZK31S Wu-Yi Golden Monkey ZP80S

Regards,

Alton

Reply to
Alton B. Wilson
Loading thread data ...

de-generation tea is not a nice vendor, how you describe their oolong sounds like a crappy cheap one.

monkey picked oolong in my experience is something like flowery/ pungent/orchid + nutty/buttery + very low green astringency

an alternative that tastes similar(imho) is high mountain (gao shan) oolong

it all depends how you like the flavor balance - flowery/ nutty/ green

(i've had too much green oolongs, haven't tried any in a while).

Reply to
SN

Teavana has a "Monkey Picked Oolong"

also, do you have any suggestions of tea places to visit in Chicago, I currently live there. Whereabouts on Sheffield is the store you got your oolong. I sometimes buy things online but am pretty impulsive, so if i need some new tea I usually don't like to wait for an order to ship.

Reply to
Maxwell

While in Chicago - Tea Gschwendner - Good German vendor (2 locations) Best shop IMHO - I Dream of Tea in Evanston Shen

Reply to
Shen

Thank you very much. Will check them out. I have gone to Tea Gschwender before, i fact went there today to get a new tea pot as I dropped mine and it shattered, however i found out abruptly that they closed their store on Halstead, which was the one I always went to. Will check out I Dream of Tea for sure, thank you dearly.

Reply to
Maxwell

Maxwell,

My Place For Tea is at 3120 N. Sheffield, parking may be difficult, depending on the time of day. It is just south of Belmont, on the west side of the street. The person there that I have talked to is named Enrico. There is also a good Thai restaurant around the corner from the store.

There is a place in Evanston (1011 Davis St.)called Dream About Tea. I normally stay in Evanston when I visit Chicago, so I am familiar with it. I suppose I am going to start visiting more stores, sampling the tea before I invest in buying.

Enjoy,

Alt> Teavana has a "Monkey Picked Oolong"

Reply to
Alton B. Wilson

Shen,

Thanks for the tip about I Dream Of Tea. I always stay in Evanston when I visit Chicago, just had gotten in the habit of ordering from the internet, but I will visit there the next time I go.

Approximately how long can you keep an Oolong or a Jasmine before you start to notice a change in taste?

What do you think about the freshness of buying tea from an internet site like Upton or Adagio or Teaspring compared with buying at a store like "I Dream Of Tea" or "Tea Gschwender"?

Thanks,

Alt> >> Teavana has a "Monkey Picked Oolong"

Reply to
Alton B. Wilson

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.