One of our Chinese knick knack shops carries a good selection of teas. They are those ubiquitous Chinese only large cardboard cylinders like the TenRen numbered series. These are the expensive ones in the $75/300g range. Too much for me to take a chance. On my last visit the store now offers 25g/$4 samplers of the various boxes. That is cheaper than the retail price. They said people wouldnt buy expensive samplers. I could only buy one sample of each tea box. I bought a King TGY and three others. There is coding on the sampler if I want to buy the box on the next visit. What stuck me immediately was the consistency in leaf grade size and color. I would expect the Golden oolong to be different than the TGY. They are all light nugget leaf and take a while to infuse while floating on the surface. The infused leaf across the samplers has a disappointing ragged look. When leads me too my point. I think they are coated with a 'new leaf' smell. Once I get through the new leaf smell which fades quickly I can taste the underlying tea taste differences. This could be a preservative but initially noticeable. Nothing in the samplers I bought made me think it was worth a pricey purchase . Ill enjoy the samplers but gone when gone.
Jim