Ive been to enough puer tastings this year to say I dont think it
absolutely necessary to know the pedigree of the shu or sheng which
includes aging. The last time I was in SF Chinatown I got teas from
about ten different jars at an apothecary. I didnt bother noting the
labels. I was able to sort them out at home using my Chinese tea book
I got on the trip and my own stock. I also really dont need to know
the Darjeeling and Assam estates my local tea shoppe sells. However I
wouldnt be happy to see a vendor sell an expensive white tea that
turned out to be SowMee. Just be aware if you buy Oriental Beauty
from Taiwan it could be anybodys bug eaten crop and not the original
spittle Darjeeling like version favored by one Queen of England.

Jim

On Sep 22, 3:16 pm, Lewis Perin > wrote:
> Iggy > writes:
> > > >The vendor with the
> > > >highest quality tea I've ever tasted in fact refuses to name his teas
> > > >-- he'll just present us with a tasting of a half-dozen greener
> > > >oolongs, never saying if it's a ti kuan yin varietal or something
> > > >different. He wants the taste to speak for itself. I understand this
> > > >was a common approach to tea sales in China before Western customers
> > > >demanded fancy names and concrete classifications.
>
> > > I would not buy from this vendor. I find this arrogant. I have no
> > > problem with him offering this as an option, but when he gets to
> > > refusing information, he has forgotten who the customer is. ;-)
>
> > Actually, Stephen (the proprietor of Spring Cottage Tea House in
> > Richmond B.C.) is anything but arrogant.
>
> I completely agree!
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /