Dominic T. > wrote:
>
>It's highly subjective when it comes to any "best" statements, but the
>best places to start are the tea auctions held each year for any
>respective variety. $3,000 a kilo for Darjeeling, $1,500+ for
>Tieguanyin, and I have seen Gyokuro's going for those ranges as well (~
>$2,000 per kilo). When a particular tea sparks a bidding war that
>lasts and lasts, there is normally a reason.

Right. Now, see, I don't like gyokuro. So, if I ran the tea grading
service, you'd see very low prices on the gyokuro. I really like the
Fujian black teas, most of which are very inexpensive, so you would
see much higher prices on those.

Aren't you glad I don't run the world's tea grading service?

>Just as with wine, there is no "best" but there are many super
>expensive ones, many amazing wines, and Arbor Mist.

But, there are outfits like Wine Spectator that make their money by
grading and evaluating wine. There's nothing like that for tea, which
is a good thing. It's a good thing, because I thing reviewing services
like Wine Spectator are too prone to jumping on the latest popular thing
and ignoring quality products that are currently unfashionable.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."