> The tea was *very* dark green in color,
>
> I assume you're speaking of the leaves, not the liquor, here.
I meant the liquor, but I have poor color vision. More accurately, the liquor was very dark; but that was only on a poor assumption that the tea was green tea (which is why I said it looked green). The liquor was pretty average in darkness assuming it's an oolong. I've only ever had Formosa oolongs before, and not a very wide variety so it never entered my mind that I was drinking an oolong (presumably Chinese oolongs taste different).
This sounds like an oolong. There are many varieties you could try
> but one that I've heard is commonly used by Chinese restaurants is
> Shui Xian or Shui Hsien (depending on transliteration.) Lots of
> online merchants have this and I've never seen a Chinese supermarket > that didn't.
Great, thanks. It will be interesting exploring Chinese oolongs. When I first got into tea/loose tea, my "mentor" told me that the oolongs from Formosa were the best; I never considered trying others since I liked them so much.
Do you have any experience with these types of oolongs? Could you point me to a merchant that has those varieties in sample sizes (via email: snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com if you are uncomfortable promoting merchants in a post)?
Here's another thought. If the tea is made from bags, why not snip
> the tag from a teabag, scan it and post it at a URL that people here > can examine?
Unfortuneately, the bags were the sealed rectangular type with no string or label. Great idea, though.
Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Perin.
Regards, AM
snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Me) writes:
>
> > [...reposted under new Subject header...]
> >
> > I have been drinking almost exclusively loose-leaf tea for about 4
> > years now. I enjoy it very much, but the other day, I had a pot of tea
> > at a Chinese restaurant, and I liked it very much. It was made with a
> > tea bag, and I was hoping that the variety was also available is > > loose-leaf form.
> >
> > I tried asking what kind of tea it is, but the language barrier
> > makes even ordering at this place a challenge. I was hoping that I
> > could try to describe the tea, and perhaps people could help me in
> > identifying it and further let me know if and where it can be obtained
> > in loose-leaf form.
> >
> > The tea was *very* dark green in color,
>
> I assume you're speaking of the leaves, not the liquor, here.
>
> > full-flavored and refreshing, without any hint of smokiness or
> > bitterness whatsoever. I think it's fairly common in Chinese
> > restaurants and bagged tea in general, and perhaps my dinner
> > enhanced my enjoyment, but I'm not exactly sure. It wasn't the most
> > interesting or complex tea I've ever tried, but it was nice and
> > refreshing with the salty/spicy dish I had.
> >
> > I know this is a long shot, but I'd appreciate any help anyone can > > offer.
>
> This sounds like an oolong. There are many varieties you could try
> but one that I've heard is commonly used by Chinese restaurants is
> Shui Xian or Shui Hsien (depending on transliteration.) Lots of
> online merchants have this and I've never seen a Chinese supermarket > that didn't.
>
> Here's another thought. If the tea is made from bags, why not snip
> the tag from a teabag, scan it and post it at a URL that people here > can examine?
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin / snipped-for-privacy@acm.org
>
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