I'm not trying to inundate the group with these posts, but things have been a bit slow here and I had promised to make all of my writings available here as well as the blog. If it is not appreciated I'll be happy to stop. If anything maybe this would be a good post to discuss any good Asian market finds anyone has stumbled upon lately:
This was an inexpensive Asian store buy the other day. I took a co- worker to get some lower priced teas since I've got him hooked, and I always buy at least three or four cheaper teas that are brands I've never seen or tried before. This was a bit of a stretch for me since I'm not a big TGY fan or flowery oolongs for that matter. It cost about $2.50 for 60g in a cardboard/tin canister.
It has a nice smell and look, but a bit overly dry/brown, very reminiscent of raisins in both regards. I've only had a few cups of it in my gaiwan but it is fairly enjoyable. The flowery notes are pretty tame, which suits me fine. It's not a favorite for sure, but it was a shot at breaking up my Shui Xian addiction of late. I can see a cup every now and then, but I'd imagine this one will go stale or be discarded long before 60g's is consumed. I will say that, in it's defense, it seems to be pretty decent quality leaf and not augmented with any colorings or flavorings to try to make it overly green or flowery. It's probably $5-8 tea for $2.50 based on other lower-to-mid quality TGY's I've had.
- Dominic