Bad caddy, bad!

I had gotten one of these tea caddies from EnjoyingTea some time ago. It seemed perfect - double lid, airtight, nice and large, decorative; what a mistake. I filled it nearly all the way with some Xing Yang Mao Jian from Serenity Art, and not only did the tea go stale, it almost entirely replaced the aroma with an overwhelming metallic smell and taste. Drinking the tea was a bit like sucking on a coin. Luckily the tea didn't cost me much.

It looks nice but if you're ever thinking about getting one to keep tea in, STAY AWAY!!

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid...

So I decided I wanted my very own gaiwan. I went online and found the cheapest one I could find, which was a small white one with bamboo painted on the outside from taooftea.com for $15. I got it in the mail yesterday, then later the same day I went to Serenity Art to get some of the silver tip pu-erh he gave me as a sample the last time I was in there.

What's the first thing I see when I walk in the door? You guessed it: the very same gaiwan I got in the mail just hours previously, but for $2.99.

In fact they had a whole big lot of different gaiwans, all for $2.99.

So, feeling cheated, I grabbed another one that's a little different and will brew a little different. When I got home I looked online and found the same one going for $24 on up to $35. Astounded, I've decided I'm not buying anymore teaware online.

For the record, they also have a lot of other teaware there that I've seen sold online for ten times as much. I've seen sites sell the little yixing tasting cups for $11.50 for 3, while Serenity Art sells even fancier ones for $0.85 each! At that price, we even bought some as art supplies. So the moral of the story is that if you have a local Asian market in town, particularly one that sells tea and teaware, check there before you buy teaware online. And take your time looking around, I had been in this store numerous times, and for some reason never saw these gaiwans.

Oh well, lesson learned. At least he gave me about $10-$15 of one of the best jade oolongs (it was a Tie Guan Yin) I have ever had. That kinda makes up for it, even though I'm sucker enough to go buy some more today...

Wu Ling (Wulong/Oolong)

This is one that I wanted to review more to make a point than anything else.

Wu Ling is a high-mountain Taiwan oolong, which speaks volumes in and of itself. The land it's grown on was previously an apple and pear orchard that was converted to a tea plantation. The farm is at an altitude of over 2000 meters high, giving it that renowned Taiwan high-mountain flavor. It's a lightly oxidized Tung-Ting style jade oolong that is rolled into pellets that are slightly smaller than others. Once infused you see that each is a small stem with three small leaves, an indication that it was most likely hand-picked.

The tea is really quite good. It is said that the previous fruit orchards gives this tea a fruity quality that is indeed evident in the aroma. It has a very good smooth mouth feel, with a taste that starts sweet and slightly fruity and quickly changes to a slight green bitter quality that accentuates the taste without being a major identifying factor as it can be with green teas. It finishes off with a light and clean astringency that is felt more than tasted, but leaves you with a clean "green" taste - a good malt (hopefully I'm using that right) that comes to a bit of a point , although not as much as a green tea. This tea definitely has it's own unique character that is light and slightly elusive.

So what's the point I want to make? This is a great tea that I would be quite happy to drink at any time, but the caveat is that it's not worth the price. Unfortunately it costs $23 for just 75 grams (2.6 oz), and it's quite dense so that much only fills a small can that is about 1.5" x 2". This tea is quite good, but I've had quite a few other Taiwan high-mountain jade oolongs that I actually like better, and cost quite a bit less. This does make a superior cup, just not that far superior. I can't say that I regret getting it, but I doubt I will get any more of it.

So the moral of this story is that just because a tea is expensive, doesn't mean it's going to be that ever elusive "perfect" cup of tea that blows you away, and also to pay attention to the quantity you're getting! Although the more expensive teas do tend to be exceptional and much better than the cheaper ones, I've been finding that once you get into that price range (around $20 or so for around a quarter pound) you're not necessarily going to be that much more impressed by something that costs twice as much. I've encountered this with quite a number of Taiwan high mountain and formosa oolongs, but this was the most I had spent for so little. Perhaps it's worth it if you've really got the money and/or your tastes are really that discerning, but otherwise there are still plenty to knock your socks off without being too highly priced.


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