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
http://teasphere.wordpress.com

> 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.

Sounds like to me it's some kind of ShuXiang; between light and heavy
roasted. You can get some hints of honey if the tea has been cooked/
re-cooked well enough. Eight bucks ain't bad for what you describe!