In Episode 47, Denny and James review another Yancha. This one comes from old, reliable Jing Tea Shop.
Category: Oolong
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Three Chinese Yancha Brands, Supermarket Yancha, Feat. Sea Dyke, Wuyi Star, Huiyuan
The Chinese tea industry is largely composed of big businesses, large factories and corporate brands. While this frequently results in inexpensive, mediocre tea for the casual tea consumer, some of these factories also dabble in higher-end commercially available tea. A few bigger brands can be purchased in North America, usually in a Chinese or Southeast Asian supermarket. These inexpensive teas are often the ideal way to begin your journey into Yancha (Wuyi Oolongs). Long and cumbersome shipping is avoided and supermarket Yancha is cheap. Often very, very cheap. For more seasoned drinkers, Chinese supermarket Yancha no longer serves as a gateway but a great daily drinker or grandpa style sipper. It is also not always a low-budget affair and brands like Wuyi Star and Huiyuan sell some pretty expensive tea (although these are more difficult to find in the US). (more…)
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2000 Shui Xian Life in a Teacup Wuyi Oolong [Episode 45]
Episode 45 completes their two-episode series on Life in a Teacup‘s Yancha. Up next it is their excellent 2000 Shui Xian.
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Medium-Roast Da Hong Pao Life in a Teacup Wuyi Oolong [Episode 44]
Episode 44 begins a two-part series on Life in a Teacup‘s Yancha. This episode Denny and James drink their medium-roast Da Hong Pao.
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Wuyi Special Regions Feat. Zhengyan, Lao Cong, Huiyuan, Niulan Keng, Tianxin Yan
Wuyishan (Wuyi Mountain) is located in Northwest Fujian and is a naturally beautiful area with a great deal of nature and wildlife. This includes an impressive amount of biodiversity, due to the area’s naturally warm climate and a nutrient rich environment. In 1999 the Chinese government designated part of the Wuyishan area as Wuyi World Heritage Reserve (Zhengyan). Tea is well-represented in the world reserve, the Zhengyan region being the original home to countless tea cultivars. Despite having a somewhat low elevation (~300-700 m.) this terroir and Yancha’s complex processing make Yancha a unique and excellent tea. (more…)
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Shan Li Xi Gui Fei Mei Ren Eco-Cha Taiwanese Oolong [Episode 43]
Episode 42 begins a two-part series on some the Taiwanese Oolongs from Eco-Cha. This episodes focuses on a relatively rare offering, a high-mountain (Shan Li Xi) Gui Fei Mei Ren (Concubine Oolong). This tea is a very interesting intersection between high-mountain tea and Oriental Beauty. Read more about Shan Li Xi Gui Fei Mei Ren and Eco-Cha.
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Wuyi Oolong Tea Vendors
In line with the trends of the rest of the tea industry online, the amount of roasted oolongs and Yancha (Wuyi Oolongs) being sold online has grown significantly. With increased choices and wild price variations even within the same vendor and tea (1,2) shopping for Yancha is confusing and difficult. The online shoppers reliance on photos (easily faked) make the consumers purchasing decision more about vendor trust and reliability. There is a huge price disparity between daily-drinking and premium Yancha, making it extremely important to look at one’s motivations for buying tea. This can prevent the undesirable situation of spending over a $/gram when all you want is a daily drinker or vice versa! The Wuyi Vendor Guide (modeled after our Taiwanese Vendor Guide) is intended to aid in the search for good-quality Yancha on the internet. This guide disregards any offline options (i.e. Chinese supermarkets). (more…)
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The Price of Yancha
Good yancha is difficult to shop for. There are no distinctly yancha-specialized vendors and no obvious filters to quickly eliminate debris (eliminating non-specialized vendors works very well for Taiwanese oolongs + pu’erh). One other obstacle are forgeries designed to satiate the public’s demand for Da Hong Pao (usually Rou Gui + Shui Xian). This article will attempt to clarify and simplify the process of shopping for yancha by examining the prices of the four famous bushes (Si Da Ming Cong) and two of the most commonly sold Yancha (Rou Gui, Shui Xian). Please note that this article should not be taken as a statement of cheaper is better. Different buyers should shop for different types and grades of yancha. Depending on your individual purchasing goals it is often worth spending more for quality. (more…)
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Rou Gui Yunnan Sourcing Wuyi Oolong [Episode 38]
Episode 38 features the great daily drinking Rou Gui from Yunnan Sourcing (one of our favorite vendors). This Rou Gui is low-medium fired and is a spicy, aromatic tea with high notes.