Love the down to earth approach to vendors. I think a lot of your recommendations can be derived from the content you guys upload but it's always nice to see how your taste and preference in vendors changes over the years as you gain more experience and competitors appear on 'the scene'. For me White2Tea is my go-to for daily drinking shou and some raw as well as interesting heicha. Am looking to place an order with FarmerLeaf for raw when the new spring tea comes out. Cheers guys.
Nice episode! really nice having a compilation of your current list of vendors of note. I have actually only tried YS, CLT and Yee On tea so far. I have been eyeing TWL, however, due to my inability to keep up with daily drinking I haven't really had the stash to justify the slightly more premium products they offer. Yee on to me seemed quite nice with the cakes I had their 2016 purple bud tea, 2008 taste of hong kong and 2008 brick Jiang Cheng. To be they were nice and really competitively priced, but at least for those productions I was missing a bit more power. Maybe I would have to opt for bulang material when going for HK storage, because I noticed that the brews were fairly bland (they were drunk at work, brewing with water from a thermos). They were just a little too mild for such an suboptimal brewing style, while Hai lang hao productions usually keep up with that setup. Thank you for the episode. I was almost expecting other companies to be mentioned for some of your bulk orders, but I guess most of those orders were taobao orders back in the day?
Yeah the Yee On teas benefits from high leaf to water ratios IMO. I don't order tea often very much anymore. I'll tag along to someone else's taobao order every other year or so, but mostly not be the driving force.
@@TeaDBGood shout with the ratio! Because I actually think they are pleasant drinkers. Are there any you have tried that you would recommend to a guy who enjoys slightly more bitter and powerful teas? I am considering placing an order with about 4 cakes for daily drinking. I wish I knew anyone placing order on Taobao around me, even my friends within the chinese community doesn't deal with taobao here, maybe shipping is just too complicated to some EU-countries.
@@TeaDBFor sure, But I did have the 2007 Pin Xiang Bu Lang Shan Tuo from YS, seems like that one is guandong stored (not the same storage), But I found that one has a bit more character for me. But for sure I will have a look to see if they explicitly say that any of their productions are stronger. I do love the value their lower end teas offer. I feel it's difficult to find aged teas that aren't 50+ dollars in the west. I am currently airing the idea to go HK again for a trip, so I better get some more training with traditional storage for when I will be searching tea houses.
Other than the fact that the internet transmits a lot of hate, I can't see how someone could hate YS. Like James suggests, Scott does way more curation than he gets credit for. I've had several of his heicha sampler sets and they were illuminating and, overall, excellent. I also got a 2002 sheng that was, for me, an excellent value, though I am not a very seasoned puer drinker.
Yeah, he's obviously not as curated as TWL, but if you want to try a bunch of reasonable teas for a reasonable price he's probably the best place for the last 15 years.
great episode! I recently got 'The Journey is the Destination Pu-erh Tea Sampler Set' from YS and found it to be very helpful in terms of providing a range of pu-erh from young to aged, raw and ripe.
Could I ask for help in resolving something about storage? I don't think I've ever had trad storage or I'm not sure, but the aged puer I enjoy has a candy sweetness to it or dried fruit character to it that I have no doubt can only come from age, the tea is pretty dark, clearly it's been "stewing" in humidity, but there is no sign of any rotting basement wood. You know that basement bathroom that smells like mildew? That smell. I've encountered that smell countless times in tea. Is that what trad storage is? At worst(and I don't even find it bad), the best teas I have can sometimes have a "pond that has been sitting around too long in the wilderness and now smells a bit like water that's been left to sit around" kinda taste to it, and this always goes away after the first steep. There's never any hint of mold, just stale water at worst. I'd love to know if anyone has any insights about what these storage notes would be classified as.
Unfortunately hard to say from just the notes. I think it probably depends on some combination of the base material and storage. There's definitely kind of a longan or lychee fruit taste that can develop in more humidly stored raw pu'erh.
Thank you for this. At 3.43 you refer to some earlier videos you made about which raw and rip pu'erhs to try. Could you maybe put links in the description?
Sure, good idea. Here you go. I'll add the links to description as well. th-cam.com/video/dsjr-kzfbxw/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TeaDB th-cam.com/video/5D33MZsp2Q8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TeaDB
Have you tried the Snoozefest cake in the thumbnail? Kind of interesting just to try the lowest end raw of these boutique Western vendors. Can't say I love the marketing for this cake, but I did get one so I guess it works lol.
Here you go. You can google for sites. Recommended: Yunnan Sourcing, White2Tea, Teas We Like, Yee On. Stateside: Yunnan Sourcing US, Bana Tea, Crimson Lotus Tea.
Hey James, found your introduction words so humble and interesting. How come you do not order tea in the quantity as you did 5-10 years ago? It seems to be like a profound change in your whole way of approaching tea. Would be very interested if you share some (personal) insights of your recent path - cha dao! :-)
![Introduction to Xiaguan, All About, Basics, Teas to Try [Inbetweenisode 336]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o6fUbet4MuI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Introduction to Xiaguan, All About, Basics, Teas to Try [Inbetweenisode 336]](/img/tr.png)
![What Makes A Tea Stand Out & 2023 Yunnan Sourcing Bawang Ripe Pu'erh [Inbetweenisode 361]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pfDEpToBR6Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Great information for newbies like me! thanks a lot!!
Love the down to earth approach to vendors. I think a lot of your recommendations can be derived from the content you guys upload but it's always nice to see how your taste and preference in vendors changes over the years as you gain more experience and competitors appear on 'the scene'.
For me White2Tea is my go-to for daily drinking shou and some raw as well as interesting heicha. Am looking to place an order with FarmerLeaf for raw when the new spring tea comes out.
Cheers guys.
FarmerLeaf is a great site for young raws. They've released a number of new ripes last year too, could be fun to try.
Thanks for the comment and sharing. Cheers!
could you write the vendirs into the description? I couldnt catch one name (bana tea?)
Sure!
Recommended:
Yunnan Sourcing, White2Tea, Teas We Like, Yee On.
Stateside:
Yunnan Sourcing US, Bana Tea, Crimson Lotus Tea.
Nice episode! really nice having a compilation of your current list of vendors of note.
I have actually only tried YS, CLT and Yee On tea so far. I have been eyeing TWL, however, due to my inability to keep up with daily drinking I haven't really had the stash to justify the slightly more premium products they offer. Yee on to me seemed quite nice with the cakes I had their 2016 purple bud tea, 2008 taste of hong kong and 2008 brick Jiang Cheng. To be they were nice and really competitively priced, but at least for those productions I was missing a bit more power. Maybe I would have to opt for bulang material when going for HK storage, because I noticed that the brews were fairly bland (they were drunk at work, brewing with water from a thermos). They were just a little too mild for such an suboptimal brewing style, while Hai lang hao productions usually keep up with that setup.
Thank you for the episode. I was almost expecting other companies to be mentioned for some of your bulk orders, but I guess most of those orders were taobao orders back in the day?
Yeah the Yee On teas benefits from high leaf to water ratios IMO.
I don't order tea often very much anymore. I'll tag along to someone else's taobao order every other year or so, but mostly not be the driving force.
@@TeaDBGood shout with the ratio! Because I actually think they are pleasant drinkers. Are there any you have tried that you would recommend to a guy who enjoys slightly more bitter and powerful teas? I am considering placing an order with about 4 cakes for daily drinking.
I wish I knew anyone placing order on Taobao around me, even my friends within the chinese community doesn't deal with taobao here, maybe shipping is just too complicated to some EU-countries.
@@SalaaranMaybe some of the stronger raws, but it is kind of the point of trad storage to mellow the tea in a certain way.
@@TeaDBFor sure, But I did have the 2007 Pin Xiang Bu Lang Shan Tuo from YS, seems like that one is guandong stored (not the same storage), But I found that one has a bit more character for me.
But for sure I will have a look to see if they explicitly say that any of their productions are stronger. I do love the value their lower end teas offer. I feel it's difficult to find aged teas that aren't 50+ dollars in the west.
I am currently airing the idea to go HK again for a trip, so I better get some more training with traditional storage for when I will be searching tea houses.
Can you do a video on where you purchased your teaware and gongfucha tray? Thank you in advance!
I got most of my teaware from Yunnan Sourcing and Teaware House. Nothing too special. Hope that helps.
Other than the fact that the internet transmits a lot of hate, I can't see how someone could hate YS. Like James suggests, Scott does way more curation than he gets credit for. I've had several of his heicha sampler sets and they were illuminating and, overall, excellent. I also got a 2002 sheng that was, for me, an excellent value, though I am not a very seasoned puer drinker.
Yeah, he's obviously not as curated as TWL, but if you want to try a bunch of reasonable teas for a reasonable price he's probably the best place for the last 15 years.
Young raw... buy now, drink in 10-20 years
Liquid Proust for US too
great episode! I recently got 'The Journey is the Destination Pu-erh Tea Sampler Set' from YS and found it to be very helpful in terms of providing a range of pu-erh from young to aged, raw and ripe.
Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Thank you!
Thanks! Hope the list is helpful.
Could I ask for help in resolving something about storage? I don't think I've ever had trad storage or I'm not sure, but the aged puer I enjoy has a candy sweetness to it or dried fruit character to it that I have no doubt can only come from age, the tea is pretty dark, clearly it's been "stewing" in humidity, but there is no sign of any rotting basement wood. You know that basement bathroom that smells like mildew? That smell. I've encountered that smell countless times in tea. Is that what trad storage is? At worst(and I don't even find it bad), the best teas I have can sometimes have a "pond that has been sitting around too long in the wilderness and now smells a bit like water that's been left to sit around" kinda taste to it, and this always goes away after the first steep. There's never any hint of mold, just stale water at worst. I'd love to know if anyone has any insights about what these storage notes would be classified as.
Unfortunately hard to say from just the notes. I think it probably depends on some combination of the base material and storage. There's definitely kind of a longan or lychee fruit taste that can develop in more humidly stored raw pu'erh.
@@TeaDB I see, thank you. Does that mean Trad storage is rarely/sometimes/often free of that mold/mildew/fungal/earthy note I described?
Thank you for this. At 3.43 you refer to some earlier videos you made about which raw and rip pu'erhs to try. Could you maybe put links in the description?
Sure, good idea. Here you go. I'll add the links to description as well.
th-cam.com/video/dsjr-kzfbxw/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TeaDB
th-cam.com/video/5D33MZsp2Q8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TeaDB
@@TeaDB Thanks!
Have you tried the Snoozefest cake in the thumbnail? Kind of interesting just to try the lowest end raw of these boutique Western vendors. Can't say I love the marketing for this cake, but I did get one so I guess it works lol.
Yeah ages ago the initial one. I remember it being a good value but also pretty anonymous.
Anyone have links to the tea vendors websites?
Here you go. You can google for sites.
Recommended:
Yunnan Sourcing, White2Tea, Teas We Like, Yee On.
Stateside:
Yunnan Sourcing US, Bana Tea, Crimson Lotus Tea.
My favorite Puerhs (mostly ripe) have been from YunnanSourcing, Silk Road Teas, Crimson Lotus and Whispering Pines Tea.
Thanks for sharing! Cheers!
Could we get the list in desription or comments?
Sure. Here you go!
Recommended:
Yunnan Sourcing, White2Tea, Teas We Like, Yee On.
Stateside:
Yunnan Sourcing US, Bana Tea, Crimson Lotus Tea.
Hey James, found your introduction words so humble and interesting. How come you do not order tea in the quantity as you did 5-10 years ago? It seems to be like a profound change in your whole way of approaching tea. Would be very interested if you share some (personal) insights of your recent path - cha dao! :-)
Main difference is I already own a lot compared with 10 years ago so there isn’t much reason to buy larger amounts.
Thanks for this list.
My pleasure! Cheers!
Thanks 👌
No problem 👍
Never heard of Bana Tea. Will check them out
Right on. Let me know what you think!