Found a Tuocha in East Portland, OR

Just think of "Lipton" as synonymous with "shit" and you'll be fine.

stePH enjoying a 2nd infusion of Sencha Midori from The Tao of Tea

-- GoogleGroups licks balls.

When I was in Calcutta half a year ago, the so-called Darjeeling available in a grocery store in a very prosperous neighborhood was pretty tasteless, and there was no information regarding year and flush. There was, though, at least one shop in the city with lots of different Darjeelings attributed to any number of gardens and times of year. That place, though, didn't store its tea well.

/Lew

Well, the Red Label is drinkable. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but it's sold to the Indian market that isn't willing to put up with the stuff Americans will buy. And as I pointed out, they do own Brooke-Bond now.

--scott

Lipton makes good products for other countries. The parent company is Unilever which is one of the largest food congolmerates in the world which also owns Brooke Bond. The two most common are Green label (Darjeeling) and Yellow label (Indian blend). You can find them in most ethnic stores. I like the Canadian version of Yellow label. Lipton US, aka Red label, formulates a ice tea blend especially popular in the South. You won't see that in the ethnic stores which prefer hot tea. In most countries it is still easier to boil than refrigerate. That's what I grew up on. That's probably what you drink at the restaurant anywhere or from a fountain. It beats pop anyday of the week. My minimum requirement for any restaurant, tea with large glasses, plenty of ice and refills. Lemon or lime is a nice touch. I just spent some time in the South recently and the new angle sweetened or unsweetened. When I grew up it was always sweetened. The sugar was added to the hot tea so it would dissolve completely.

Jim

PS: The Brown Palace in Denver has been serving afternoon tea everday for over a hundred years. Tea on the road doesn't taste like tea at home. Even boiling water seems to be beyond most restaurants.

Scott Dorsey wrote:

Okay, so it's been identified as the Xia Guan exported tuocha.

I lack adequate puerh experience -- I've had the loose stuff at Teavana (that they call "15-year aged") and both the green and cooked mini-tuochas at Tao of Tea; also sampled some of the "2004 green brick" from Tao of Tea. All of the cooked puerh has tasted the same to me (at first I didn't like it and took to pouring the first couple infusions down the drain, but it grew on me), while the raw stuff puts me in mind of the "gunpowder" green tea I've had from a couple of different sources.

In your professional opinion, what is the quality of this Xia Guan cooked tuocha? Excellent, mediocre, or shit?

stePH

Hi stePH,

Hmmm a tea "professional" I am not. In all honesty I like the Six Famous Tea Mountain brand cooked teas the best. That being said the Xiaguan cooked is mediocre IMHO. Try the Baoyan brand of cooked tea from XG, it is the better brand of cooked tea that Xiaguan offers in my opinion.

Mike Petro

Well, you know your stuff anyway.

I'll look for it, but if it's more expensive, truly I don't know if it's worth it for me. As an example, I've tried and liked the Sencha Midori from Tao of Tea here in Portland, and I've tried the more expensive and supposedly better Gyokuro and Sencha Shinrikyu but don't notice any difference from the Sencha Midori. So it's probably better for me to stick with the good *cheap* tea if I can't appreciate the pricier stuff. Right?

stePH

-- GoogleGroups licks balls.

Baoyan is one of my favorite XG products. On Ebay you can buy the beeng form for around $8/600g or the sexy mushroom form $18/750g both less s/h/i from China which would be a minimum of $15. The first thing I noticed about Baoyan is the black and green spent leaf. It is sold as cooked but I can definitely taste the green along with the black. Given the possible combination I've been experimenting combining the greens and blacks I don't like perse. The rancid blacks seem to get canceled by the bitter greens making for a good overtone not present in either. It's not Baoyan but could be a kissing cousin. I think a little sweetner would add to the sum of the parts. So find the XG green box in Chinatown and for $2/200g for both you got a taste worth drinking. It is also interesting the physical leaf characteristics color, size and shape match almost exactly between the Baoyan and the combination of XG export green and black tuocha boxes.

Jim

stePH wrote:

...

Using Tao of Tea's Japanese offerings as a benchmark for qualitative differences would be rash, in my opinion. I've only been in once, but they store their teas in big metal canisters, not in pre-packed bags. Japanese tea is very perishable, and so it's quite possible that none of their Sencha and Gyokuro are at peak freshness. Maybe you should take the trip to Uwajimaya and try some of the pricier bagged stuff before questioning your powers of discrimination.

--crymad