Tea in Shanghai

Hello Sophie,

There's a shop that sells quite good pu'er. Let me find out their address and post it to you later.

Samar

Sophie,

The shop's name is Yuan Ming Yuan, and it's in the Tea wholesale market. the address is:

Yuan Ming Yuan No. 1255 (it's immediately after the entrance) Tian Shan Cha Cheng (Tian Shan Tea Market) No. 520, Zhong Shan Xi Road, Shanghai City

If your email client reads Chinese characters, let me know. I can send you the chinese addess, that might be easier for you?

Samar

samarkand prit sa lyre et chanta :

Thanks a million!

Yes, please do.

Sophie :-)

I didn't know this tea market, thanks. I'll check it out next time I'm in town. Is it the near the north (Zhongshan Park) end or south (Shanghai Stadium etc) end of Zhong Shan Xi Lu? Do you know which metro/train stop is nearest?

There's another tea market apparently (another I haven't been to) by Shanghai Train Station. Metro to 'Shanghai Zhan' and attempt to follow signs to the North (main) Entrance. From in front of the station, walk east (right), until you get to Da Tong Lu (Da Tong Road) just after East China Hotel. There is a tea market somewhere along Da Tong Lu I'm told.

Aside from both non-central tea markets, there are plenty of teashops within the city centre. There's a couple - Ten Fu and another - a stone's throw from the famous Yuyuan (Yu Garden) tea pavilion in the middle of the old town.

Huangshan Tea Co and Ten Fu both have branches on Huai Hai Zhong Lu (the former beside the cinema just outside 'ShanXi NanLu Zhan' metro stop). Walk south from here down Maoming Lu and there's an OK shop on the right (before you get to the crossroads and all the bars). Also nearby, walking north up Ruijin (Yi) Lu, there's a pleasant tea shop with a teapot/ tea things shop beside it, on the left side.

Approximately half way along the Nanjing Dong Lu pedestrianised area, where the road (with cars) crosses, there's a teashop at the left hand side of the (cars) road heading north. Mind you don't get knocked down by the tourist train trying to follow my instructions. I picked up some unusual and very cheap greens here.

Saying all that, I can't think of anywhere in town in Shanghai particularly good for puer. (Kunming and Guangzhou are the real cities to shop for puer cakes). Even finding WuYi oolong in town eluded me last summer. So I reckon the taxi/ metro ride out to the tea market in the west may be essential for you. Good luck and have fun in Shanghai.

(...)

Thank you for this bounty of precise information.

I am aware that Shanghai is not the ultimate place for tea in China but that's where I start from... Doubtless it will make me eager to know more and go back another time.

I'll let you know about my ventures.

Immoral Mr Teas,

I'm not sure which end it's on, I get there by cab! I tried taking the bus once and ended somewhere on Fuzhou Road, so from then on, cabbing is how I get there...

:"P

I've yet to explore the other tea markets, I heard from the cab drivers that they are not very exciting though...

Samar

I just got back from Shanghai and didn't get a chance to go to the Yuan Ming Yuan tea shop mentioned by Samarkand. There is so much to do there and it's not very easy to get around for a total neophyte like me... All the same I found some pretty amazing teas, mostly oolongs and greens (long jing is the most common in this region). There is quite a good quantity of "tea flowers" (long thin leaves tied around some dried flowers, tied and shaped in a ball). I bought some, they're nice as gifts, but not everything is made of good quality tea. I had a better impression of some long jing teas and oolongs I found there.

I found this tea market: very interesting and quite beautiful. Greens (bi luo chun and long jing) make up most of the bulk, oolongs coming next and "tea flowers" reaching a considerable degree of refinement (some containing whole sprigs of jasmine plus other flowers). I noticed, also, that flower teas and herbal teas seem to be highly appreciated, especially chrysanthemum, which is sold in huge bags and as "cakes", pressed in a round shape the size of a large pie. Boxes of dried flowers look very beautiful indeed when placed side to side. Small rosebuds are intensely colored.

There is also a lot of kuding cha for sale ; I had never seen any before. I bought 200 grams just in case. It looked like large dark green leaves rolled into long, sharp needle shapes. Later I discovered that kuding cha is produced in Guangxi, not from a Camellia species but from a local type of Ilex (holly) tree. It is a medicinal, bitter, refreshing drink. I am drinking some now, it is extremely bitter with a sweet aftertaste. As is usually the case with that sort of tea it is supposed to do wonderful things to your system.

Amongst the dozens of tea shops in the market, I counted only two or three that actually had black tea (pu-erhs). One of them was clearly specialized (with boxes of tiny tuochas outside and plenty of tuochas, bricks, etc. stacked inside on the shelves). The vendors inside were not really inviting (quite the contrary of other tea vendors who practically drag you into their shops and smother you with freshly-brewed tea) but the place felt almost like a shrine. I didn't buy anything there partly because the owners looked very busy and also because I had bought lots of antique tuochas and bricks a couple of days before, in the Yuyuan area. Also, I had purchased some delicious oolong tea at a food market a few days before, and some greens and whites (silver needles, jasmine beads) somewhere else in the tea market.

In the Yuyuan area, there's a lane (Jiu Xiao Chang Lu) not far from the main square where several tea shops may be found. I chose one for the beauty of its teas, the enticing smell coming from it and the good choice of aged pu-erhs I could see there. I spent quite a bit on three aged tuochas, one large "Tibetan" tuocha conditioned in a hexagonal plain wooden box stamped with a phoenix, and a couple of very aged pu-erh bricks. I also bought some great tie guanyin and they gave me a small package of a wonderful loose pu-erh without charge. Maybe I could have found a better shop if I had searched longer, but this one suited me perfectly. The address is 125, Jiu Xiao Chang Lu, in Yuyuan, and the owner of the shop's name is Lin Jin Huo. I suppose I would go crazy if I ever visited Yunnan, as I'd like to do.

Thanks, I had a lot of fun as you may read. I'm keeping your other information safe for another trip, for I didn't have much time to do everything I planned to do. Now back home I am quite delighted with the teas I've bought, especially this very green oolong that I found in a modest, unconspicuous little shop in the main food market. And ku ding cha is a real discovery. You are right, clearly the Shanghai region is not at the top for pu-erh. It seems that pu-erh is more common in South and Southwest China, for obvious reasons.

What a wonderful report, Sophie....thanks for taking the time to write it..................p*

You are only like 2 hours away from Hangzhou by bus. If you like longjing, I really recommend you going there in the spring and trying to get some of the first harvest stuff in longjing village. I was able to get some top grade for not too expensive this year, and it's probably the best longjing that I've ever tasted. And, the West Lake area in HZ is nice too....sorta. I just went for the tea, though. heh.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.