OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here before,
it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website to
order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any kind
of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that they
shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.

I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's a
black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really bitter
about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a problem
with that. I have no idea...

When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order the
first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the end
of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads and
(doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS a
consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.

I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never ordered
from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.

Melinda

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"Mike Petro" > wrote in message
...
> Hmm dejavu all over again. reminiscent of another recent thread
> elsewhere.
>
> I agree, the only way to raise the bar on the customer service,
> quality, and prices, we receive is to share our negative experiences
> with each other and demand more for our hard earned dollars.
>
> A lot of blind faith is involved when ordering from Internet vendors
> in particular, many vendors take advantage of that, if we share our
> experiences they might be a little more careful with our faith.
>
> Mike
> http://www.pu-erh.net
>
>
>
> On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 12:03:06 GMT, Michael Plant >
> wrote:
>
groups.com4/1/05

>>
>>> Melinda:
>>>
>>> Do you mind to send me a off-line message about the foreign vendor who
>>> your are having awful experience. I am just curious. You can send the
>>> mail at Thanks.
>>>
>>> Ripon
>>> Maputo, Mozambique
>>>
>>
>>
>>I think TeaSpring service and TeaSpring offerings are both high quality. I
>>also think that we have a responsibility to relate whatever bad
>>experiences
>>we have and to name the vendors who perpetrate those experiences. After
>>all,
>>if you don't tell us who that vendor is, Melinda, we'll each of us fall
>>prey
>>to him eventually. In addition, maybe we know said vendor and can give you
>>advice on dealing with him.
>>
>>Ripon, thanks for your detailed reposting on LJ's.
>>
>>Michael
>

OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here before,
it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website to
order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any kind
of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that they
shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.

I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's a
black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really bitter
about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a problem
with that. I have no idea...

When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order the
first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the end
of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads and
(doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS a
consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.

I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never ordered
from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.

Melinda

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"Mike Petro" > wrote in message
...
> Hmm dejavu all over again. reminiscent of another recent thread
> elsewhere.
>
> I agree, the only way to raise the bar on the customer service,
> quality, and prices, we receive is to share our negative experiences
> with each other and demand more for our hard earned dollars.
>
> A lot of blind faith is involved when ordering from Internet vendors
> in particular, many vendors take advantage of that, if we share our
> experiences they might be a little more careful with our faith.
>
> Mike
> http://www.pu-erh.net
>
>
>
> On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 12:03:06 GMT, Michael Plant >
> wrote:
>
groups.com4/1/05

>>
>>> Melinda:
>>>
>>> Do you mind to send me a off-line message about the foreign vendor who
>>> your are having awful experience. I am just curious. You can send the
>>> mail at Thanks.
>>>
>>> Ripon
>>> Maputo, Mozambique
>>>
>>
>>
>>I think TeaSpring service and TeaSpring offerings are both high quality. I
>>also think that we have a responsibility to relate whatever bad
>>experiences
>>we have and to name the vendors who perpetrate those experiences. After
>>all,
>>if you don't tell us who that vendor is, Melinda, we'll each of us fall
>>prey
>>to him eventually. In addition, maybe we know said vendor and can give you
>>advice on dealing with him.
>>
>>Ripon, thanks for your detailed reposting on LJ's.
>>
>>Michael
>

[Michael Plant]
Well, this thread is quite different. It's a focused and reasonable
discussion among reasonable people. Also, as far as I see, no ill tempered
vendors involved. Dejavu all over again, eh?

I can well understand how somebody, especially somebody relatively new to
tea and tea groups, might be reluctant to say bad things about a bad vendor.
But, if we stick to the facts and report on the teas and the service we get
in an objective way, we help one another make intelligent choices. The
information that has been shared here and elsewhere about SpecialTeas and
about Mark T. Wendell has been very helpful to me.

On a related note, I often find that a vendor's reluctance to communicate
usually means one of two things: Their knowledge of the teas they sell is
sadly insufficient or they are trying to hide something.

Michael


[Mike Petro]
> Hmm dejavu all over again. reminiscent of another recent thread
> elsewhere.
>
> I agree, the only way to raise the bar on the customer service,
> quality, and prices, we receive is to share our negative experiences
> with each other and demand more for our hard earned dollars.
>
> A lot of blind faith is involved when ordering from Internet vendors
> in particular, many vendors take advantage of that, if we share our
> experiences they might be a little more careful with our faith.
>
> Mike
> http://www.pu-erh.net

snip

Melinda,

OK, well done. Their URL is <http://boh.com.my/pl/pubdoc/1912>. I think the
style of tea they sell can be gotten right here in the Unitied States
without hassle. Check vendors In this case, I would look at the Upton and
SpecialTeas sites since both have a wide variety including flavored teas,
etc. No need to put up with the kind of service you describe, especially for
teas that are not rare or difficult to get. That's my opinion.

Michael


4/1/05

> OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
> with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here before,
> it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website to
> order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any kind
> of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
> this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that they
> shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
> wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.
>
> I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's a
> black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really bitter
> about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
> maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
> suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a problem
> with that. I have no idea...
>
> When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
> multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order the
> first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the end
> of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
> finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads and
> (doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
> order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
> tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
> with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS a
> consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.
>
> I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
> suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
> service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
> contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
> really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never ordered
> from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.
>
> Melinda

Melinda,

OK, well done. Their URL is <http://boh.com.my/pl/pubdoc/1912>. I think the
style of tea they sell can be gotten right here in the Unitied States
without hassle. Check vendors In this case, I would look at the Upton and
SpecialTeas sites since both have a wide variety including flavored teas,
etc. No need to put up with the kind of service you describe, especially for
teas that are not rare or difficult to get. That's my opinion.

Michael


4/1/05

> OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
> with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here before,
> it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website to
> order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any kind
> of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
> this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that they
> shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
> wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.
>
> I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's a
> black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really bitter
> about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
> maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
> suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a problem
> with that. I have no idea...
>
> When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
> multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order the
> first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the end
> of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
> finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads and
> (doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
> order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
> tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
> with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS a
> consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.
>
> I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
> suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
> service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
> contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
> really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never ordered
> from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.
>
> Melinda

I can buy it from retailers in the US, but I was trying to save some money
by buying in bulk since the retailer I know of that carries it doesn't give
a discount for larger quantities. In any case I know someone who knows
someone in Malaysia so if need be I can just have that fellow pick me up
some and ship it.

I wish I could find a Malaysian ethnic foods store, I can imagine they'd
carry it since it's such a big tea in that country, but I don't find any
locally or online. I find that sort of odd, since I believe one can find the
Indian versions of Lipton (yellow label? Red label? whatever) in Indian
stores here, in other words they carry the staple teas of the home country.

I've tried various CTC assams and black BOP from Java and Vietnam and none
are quite the same. I really don't know why.

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
> Melinda,
>
> OK, well done. Their URL is <http://boh.com.my/pl/pubdoc/1912>. I think
> the
> style of tea they sell can be gotten right here in the Unitied States
> without hassle. Check vendors In this case, I would look at the Upton and
> SpecialTeas sites since both have a wide variety including flavored teas,
> etc. No need to put up with the kind of service you describe, especially
> for
> teas that are not rare or difficult to get. That's my opinion.
>
> Michael
>
>
> 4/1/05
>
>> OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
>> with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here
>> before,
>> it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website
>> to
>> order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any
>> kind
>> of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
>> this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that
>> they
>> shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
>> wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.
>>
>> I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's
>> a
>> black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really
>> bitter
>> about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
>> maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
>> suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a
>> problem
>> with that. I have no idea...
>>
>> When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
>> multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order
>> the
>> first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the
>> end
>> of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
>> finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads
>> and
>> (doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
>> order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
>> tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
>> with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS
>> a
>> consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.
>>
>> I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
>> suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
>> service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
>> contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
>> really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never
>> ordered
>> from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.
>>
>> Melinda
>

I can buy it from retailers in the US, but I was trying to save some money
by buying in bulk since the retailer I know of that carries it doesn't give
a discount for larger quantities. In any case I know someone who knows
someone in Malaysia so if need be I can just have that fellow pick me up
some and ship it.

I wish I could find a Malaysian ethnic foods store, I can imagine they'd
carry it since it's such a big tea in that country, but I don't find any
locally or online. I find that sort of odd, since I believe one can find the
Indian versions of Lipton (yellow label? Red label? whatever) in Indian
stores here, in other words they carry the staple teas of the home country.

I've tried various CTC assams and black BOP from Java and Vietnam and none
are quite the same. I really don't know why.

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
> Melinda,
>
> OK, well done. Their URL is <http://boh.com.my/pl/pubdoc/1912>. I think
> the
> style of tea they sell can be gotten right here in the Unitied States
> without hassle. Check vendors In this case, I would look at the Upton and
> SpecialTeas sites since both have a wide variety including flavored teas,
> etc. No need to put up with the kind of service you describe, especially
> for
> teas that are not rare or difficult to get. That's my opinion.
>
> Michael
>
>
> 4/1/05
>
>> OK, OK, I'll give..but it's not a normal Internet vendor it's a tea brand
>> with their own website and I've actually talked about them on here
>> before,
>> it's that Boh tea plantation company out of Malaysia. They have a website
>> to
>> order and everything but it's been worse than pulling teeth to get any
>> kind
>> of E-mail response from them. They have apparently actually sent my order
>> this time though I have gotten no e-mail receipt or confirmation that
>> they
>> shipped it...but they took the money out of my checking so...I guess I'll
>> wait and see if I get the tea in 8-10 weeks.
>>
>> I wouldn't go through this trouble if I didn't like the tea so much (it's
>> a
>> black fannings tea, basic but to my taste very good) but I'm really
>> bitter
>> about the way they've not communicated with me. It reeks of ineptness or
>> maybe they just don't care or maybe (and this has just been my secret
>> suspicion) it's because I'm from the United States and they have a
>> problem
>> with that. I have no idea...
>>
>> When I've tried to order before, they've taken several weeks at least and
>> multiple E-mail proddings from me to answer, and then they lost my order
>> the
>> first time. This time the person said they would get back to me by the
>> end
>> of the week and I waited almost three and never did get a response. I
>> finally put a letter in the mail to try to bypass the person who reads
>> and
>> (doesn't) respond to the information E-mail, I wonder if that is why my
>> order finally went through. And of course if they decided not to send the
>> tea I probably wouldn't have any recourse, other than to file a complaint
>> with my bank for non-delivery of goods or something. I doubt Malaysia HAS
>> a
>> consumer complaints department who would care about little ole me.
>>
>> I won't do business with these people again and if someone asked me, I'd
>> suggest they find some other tea they like because this company's lack of
>> service is really amazing. If I had been given a reason for the lack of
>> contact of course I can be patient but the no-communication thing really
>> really grates, especially when I'm ordering from a place I've never
>> ordered
>> from before and from overseas. This just is not worth it.
>>
>> Melinda
>

"Ripon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Blues Lyne:
>
> Interesting. I face the same problem but not anymore. I always travel
> and once in while my bank lock my credit card. This time when I came to
> Mozambique, I had to charge my credit card in Holland, South Africa
> then Mozambique with a week. Same thing happened when I went to
> Thailand and Indonesia in the same time. My bank came forward with a
> solution, I think you can do the same if you want. Every time I go in a
> foreign country, I just send them an email and let them know that I
> will be in this or that country. I also gave them Teaspring name and my
> bank know that I trust them so no problem anymore. Very simple solution
> and working pretty well.
>
> Ripon
> Maputo, Mozambique

Thanks for the info Ripon. I'll give that a try. It's not much of a
hassle. Usually I get a phone call from the credit card company and just
have to tell them the charges are fine. They have great customer service
and tea, so it's worth it.

Blues

Melinda,

In Zhejiang, the west lake Long Jing producing area is divided in 3
parts. One is "Shi (Shi Feng), the other is Mei (Mei Jia Wu), and the
last one is Long (West Lake, xi hu)". Inside these three places, the
tea trees that are growing in "Shi" and "Long" areas are mainly
aged trees, and the harvesting date starts after the third April. The
long jing that selling before is from a tree race called "long jing
#43". This tea tree was developed by the Chinese Agriculture
Technical Researching Center and it shoots up earlier than the original
aged trees. This tea tree race LJ #43 is also planted in the "shi"
and "long" area but because of the weather and location,the harvest
started around the 28th March.

In the "mei (plum)" area, the main plantation is the LJ #43. The
harvestg starts earlier than the other two areas. The first day of the
harvesting was on the 25th March. On the 28th March (so in 3 days),
there was only 4.6kg of high quality LJ produced; the price was 2800RMB
($340) for 500g.

Hope this helps.

http://www.zj.xinhuanet.com/newscent...nt_3953447.htm
The link brings to the news center of Zhejiang Province and it is a
report especially about the new LJ from the 2005 harvest. However, it
is in Chinese :-(


Jing

This is fascinating Jing...could you tell me, are the three areas different
in altitude? Or what distinguishes them from one another as far as physical
characteristics go, if anything..I realize it might just all be tradition.


Melinda


"SEb" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Melinda,
>
> In Zhejiang, the west lake Long Jing producing area is divided in 3
> parts. One is "Shi (Shi Feng), the other is Mei (Mei Jia Wu), and the
> last one is Long (West Lake, xi hu)". Inside these three places, the
> tea trees that are growing in "Shi" and "Long" areas are mainly
> aged trees, and the harvesting date starts after the third April. The
> long jing that selling before is from a tree race called "long jing
> #43". This tea tree was developed by the Chinese Agriculture
> Technical Researching Center and it shoots up earlier than the original
> aged trees. This tea tree race LJ #43 is also planted in the "shi"
> and "long" area but because of the weather and location,the harvest
> started around the 28th March.
>
> In the "mei (plum)" area, the main plantation is the LJ #43. The
> harvestg starts earlier than the other two areas. The first day of the
> harvesting was on the 25th March. On the 28th March (so in 3 days),
> there was only 4.6kg of high quality LJ produced; the price was 2800RMB
> ($340) for 500g.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> http://www.zj.xinhuanet.com/newscent...nt_3953447.htm
> The link brings to the news center of Zhejiang Province and it is a
> report especially about the new LJ from the 2005 harvest. However, it
> is in Chinese :-(
>
>
> Jing
>

Hi Melinda,

First of all, according to GB 18650-2002, a national standard, only Long
Jing that grown and produced in the 168 square km of Xi Hu (West Lake)
area can be called Xi Hu Long Jing. Traditionally, Xi Hu Long Jing is
further divided into 3 categories: Shi, Mei, and Long. Shi (Shi Feng) Long
Jing is the best in quality, followed by Mei then Long. It is its unique
geographic location that makes Shi Long Jing the best. It has the special
light yellow tender leave green color. For a picture of top grade Xi Hu
Long Jing, you may refer to our site at http://www.teahub.com/G2004101.htm


Secondly, even though you fly all the way to Xi Hu and watch the local tea
farmers make Long Jing on the spot, you are not necessarily get real Xi Hu
Long Jing. You may get a tea that is produced in the Long Jing way, but
is not necessarily with long Jing tea leaves from Xi Hu. One thing that I
want to point out is that chestnut aroma is NOT an aroma that associate
with Xi Hu Long Jing.

Our blog (http://teatalk101.blogspot.com) has some news related to Long
Jing. You may want to check them out.

Linda

Linda:

I found this similarity between Darjeeling and Long Jing. West Lake's
Xi Hu long jin has to come from that 168 square kilometers and pure
Darjeeling tea has to come from those 75 tea estates.

What are those grades: B & D means in your web site?

Ripon
Maputo, Mozambique

Hi Ripon,

The grading system used on our site is specially developed for our
customers. Grade D teas are generally for causal drinkers who do not care
too much about things like leave presentation etc. Grade C teas are for
experienced tea drinkers. Grade B teas are for very serious tea drinkers
who appreciate the subtle taste differences and wonderful leave
presentations. Many teas in this grade are not readily available to
general public even in China. Grade A teas are of the best quality in
their own types.

We are quite conservative in our grading system. Only top quality teas
that are exclusively produced by one source will be graded as Grade A. For
example, there is only one source for Purple Lady, and we are the
exclusive distributor. We then give the top grade of Purple Lady Grade A.
For teas that have multiple producers, we only give our top grade to Grade
B. For example, our Grade B West Lake Long Jing was provided by Ms. Luo,
president of Hangzhou Tea Research Academy and head of the The National
Supervising and Testing Center of Tea Quality,and was the best in last
year's Long Jing quality test. Even though we were assured that they were
the best West Lake Long Jing available in last year's West Lake Long Jing
production, we still took the conservative grading.


Linda
www.teahub.com

Hi Ripon,

The grading system used on our site is specially developed for our
customers. Grade D teas are generally for causal drinkers who do not care
too much about things like leave presentation etc. Grade C teas are for
experienced tea drinkers. Grade B teas are for very serious tea drinkers
who appreciate the subtle taste differences and wonderful leave
presentations. Many teas in this grade are not readily available to
general public even in China. Grade A teas are of the best quality in
their own types.

We are quite conservative in our grading system. Only top quality teas
that are exclusively produced by one source will be graded as Grade A. For
example, there is only one source for Purple Lady, and we are the
exclusive distributor. We then give the top grade of Purple Lady Grade A.
For teas that have multiple producers, we only give our top grade to Grade
B. For example, our Grade B West Lake Long Jing was provided by Ms. Luo,
president of Hangzhou Tea Research Academy and head of the The National
Supervising and Testing Center of Tea Quality,and was the best in last
year's Long Jing quality test. Even though we were assured that they were
the best West Lake Long Jing available in last year's West Lake Long Jing
production, we still took the conservative grading.


Linda
www.teahub.com

4/4/05


> Hi Melinda,
>
> First of all, according to GB 18650-2002, a national standard, only Long
> Jing that grown and produced in the 168 square km of Xi Hu (West Lake)
> area can be called Xi Hu Long Jing. Traditionally, Xi Hu Long Jing is
> further divided into 3 categories: Shi, Mei, and Long. Shi (Shi Feng) Long
> Jing is the best in quality, followed by Mei then Long. It is its unique
> geographic location that makes Shi Long Jing the best. It has the special
> light yellow tender leave green color. For a picture of top grade Xi Hu
> Long Jing, you may refer to our site at http://www.teahub.com/G2004101.htm
>
> Secondly, even though you fly all the way to Xi Hu and watch the local tea
> farmers make Long Jing on the spot, you are not necessarily get real Xi Hu
> Long Jing. You may get a tea that is produced in the Long Jing way, but
> is not necessarily with long Jing tea leaves from Xi Hu. One thing that I
> want to point out is that chestnut aroma is NOT an aroma that associate
> with Xi Hu Long Jing.

Hi,

Before I launch into my diatribe, Linda you indicate that not all tea grown
in Xi Hu is in fact Long Jing leaf. What exactly is Long Jing leaf and what
are the most notable imposters?

This is particularly interesting since all the finest LJ's I've drunk have
not hasd that chestnut aroma, but something far more complex, quiet, and
subtle. All the lesser breeds however have been repleat with chestnut to
various degrees. Come on everybody, why is Linda the only one who says this?
On the TeaSpring site, as one example, all the LJ's are described as having
a chestnut aroma to one degree or another. What's the deal, guys? Ripon --
forgive me if you didn't say it here -- also gets some chestnut out of LJ's
of the finest types. So, should I give up and switch to Lipton teabags?



Michael

4/4/05


> Hi Melinda,
>
> First of all, according to GB 18650-2002, a national standard, only Long
> Jing that grown and produced in the 168 square km of Xi Hu (West Lake)
> area can be called Xi Hu Long Jing. Traditionally, Xi Hu Long Jing is
> further divided into 3 categories: Shi, Mei, and Long. Shi (Shi Feng) Long
> Jing is the best in quality, followed by Mei then Long. It is its unique
> geographic location that makes Shi Long Jing the best. It has the special
> light yellow tender leave green color. For a picture of top grade Xi Hu
> Long Jing, you may refer to our site at http://www.teahub.com/G2004101.htm
>
> Secondly, even though you fly all the way to Xi Hu and watch the local tea
> farmers make Long Jing on the spot, you are not necessarily get real Xi Hu
> Long Jing. You may get a tea that is produced in the Long Jing way, but
> is not necessarily with long Jing tea leaves from Xi Hu. One thing that I
> want to point out is that chestnut aroma is NOT an aroma that associate
> with Xi Hu Long Jing.

Hi,

Before I launch into my diatribe, Linda you indicate that not all tea grown
in Xi Hu is in fact Long Jing leaf. What exactly is Long Jing leaf and what
are the most notable imposters?

This is particularly interesting since all the finest LJ's I've drunk have
not hasd that chestnut aroma, but something far more complex, quiet, and
subtle. All the lesser breeds however have been repleat with chestnut to
various degrees. Come on everybody, why is Linda the only one who says this?
On the TeaSpring site, as one example, all the LJ's are described as having
a chestnut aroma to one degree or another. What's the deal, guys? Ripon --
forgive me if you didn't say it here -- also gets some chestnut out of LJ's
of the finest types. So, should I give up and switch to Lipton teabags?



Michael

Hi Michael,

What I meant was that the tea leaves could be from other places. They can
be Long Jing leaves from outside of Xi Hu area, or the worst case, they
are not Long Jing leaves at all.

Linda

Hi Michael,

What I meant was that the tea leaves could be from other places. They can
be Long Jing leaves from outside of Xi Hu area, or the worst case, they
are not Long Jing leaves at all.

Linda