Tag: YangQing Hao

  • Non Mainland Pu’erh Vendor Guide

    Non Mainland Pu’erh Vendor Guide

    This post was original planned as an update to the Pu’erh Vendor Guide which was published over a decade ago and is now hopelessly out of date. However, politics, tariffs and the back and forth trade war made me give that more all-encompassing article a (hopefully temporary) delay. If the tariffs do continue, importing from mainland Chinese sources will be more expensive and likely more difficult. It will also have trickle down effects felt further down the line, specifically with vendors who are based outside of the mainland but source their pu’erh directly from China. This should impact almost every pu’erh vendor to some degree, but not equally. In particular vendors who commission and press their own pu’erh and sell a lot to the US will be hit the hardest, places like White2Tea, Essence of Tea, and Yunnan Sourcing.

    Which types of pu’erh should I buy?

    Asian, Non Mainland Chinese Based Pu’erh Vendors

    TeasWeLike (link)

    Taiwan based hobbyist vendor. Teaswelike has a very high level of curation and a strong track record and high batting average. They source from everywhere, but have a strong Taiwan and Malaysia focus. Good for mostly semi-aged and aged pu’erh with a variety of boutique and factory tea.. Also a very good Liubao vendor. Their selection has drifted mid to higher-end over the years but you can definitely still find well priced budget tea. The downside is no samples and they frequently run out of stock. Their restocks are mini-events with teaware and some teas selling out quickly. TeasWeLike has had a large influence on the niche tea scene, many of the previously unknown to the west brands they sold are now regularly sold by other vendors.

    TWL is also one of the few vendors I’d trust with sourcing more aged teas (pu’erh, Liubao), which can be a bit of a trap for less savvy vendors.

    Quiche Teas (link)

    A new merchant dropshipping Taishunhe (a Taizhong based pu’erh merchant) and some boutique teas. The markups are low so the prices are quite good if you know what you want. Taishunhe is good for mostly Taiwanese stored factory tea and there’s now a portion of the site that has more boutique teas, primarily Chenyuan Hao. In general Quiche Teas cover the whole spectrum of budget friendly tea to more expensive offerings. Like TWL, no samples.

    The Jade Leaf (link)

    Ran by Taipei based potter, Emilio Del Pozo. The Jade Leaf was originally more of a teaware and Taiwanese oolong hub but has gradually ventured out into selling a wide variety of pu’erh. Sells a lot of Taiwanese boutiques (BYH, CYH, YYT) as well as factory tea with Taiwanese storage. One big advantage over TWL or Quiche is The Jade Leaf sells samples.

    Teapals (link)

    Malaysia based vendor who sells mostly semi-aged Chenyuan Hao but also some other semi-aged pu’erh. No samples and a relatively small selection.

    Xizi Hao (link)

    Tainan based boutique vendor, that has always been somewhat popular in the west. XZH was originally brought to the west by Houde about two decades ago and have started selling online. XZH is usually on the pricier side of pu’erh.

    The Guide to Puerh Tea (link)

    Thai based collector who sells mostly older, expensive pu’erh and heicha.

    North America Based Vendors

    Since pu’erh is not grown in North America, these vendors will be hit unevenly by tariffs depending on how their supply chain is setup. A place like Yunnan Sourcing who sources directly from the mainland is far more likely to be impacted than someone like Yangqing Hao, a Taiwanese boutique.

    Yunnan Sourcing US (link)

    Remains one of the largest, widest selections of pu’erh. Fortunately their US site makes them a viable option. These tariffs unfortunately are likely to have a big impact on their ability to restock tea. YS teas are well priced and their selection is huge. They also have several years of producing their own line of raw and ripe pu’erh. For these YS products, the best value is almost always something made in the last couple years. They do annual price hikes around March which can add up after a few years.

    Liquid Proust (link)

    Ohio based vendor who sells a variety of tea, but usually has a very healthy selection of semi-aged pu’erh stored in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. LP has historically sourced from a pretty wide ranges of places, and the selection rotates regularly. He’s a good vendor to subscribe to for his monthly drops, in case there’s something that piques your interest. Because LP’s sources are diverse and not mainland dominant, I’d anticipate small shifts rather than drastic changes.

    Bana Tea (link)

    A curated, often underrated, long running California vendor. Similar to TWL, a very high batting average. There’s a wide range of pu’erh from younger teas to much older ones. Generally their teas are on the higher-end. A handful of their teas offer experiences that are very difficult to find in the west (Evening Fragrant Jade, Kunlu). Bana does sell samples which helps to make some of their higher-end stock accessible. They have close ties to Hong Kong, specifically Best Tea House, so I’m not sure how well they’ll be able to restock.

    Yangqing Hao USA (link)

    US based Yangqing Hao store run by Emmett Guzman. Yangqing Hao is a Tainan based boutique pu’erh label that’s been pressing pu’erh since 2004. Emmett originally started coordinating group buys about a decade ago and his operation eventually grew into being Yang’s distribution partner in the US. Like XZH, YQH generally sells higher-end products and while they initially focused on Yiwu tea in the mid 2000s, YQH has pressed tea from all over Yunnan. Unlike YS or Bana their connections are entirely Taiwan-based, so they should have less issues restocking.

    The Steeping Room (link)

    A Texas based reseller of a variety of popular Asian based vendors. They source regularly from Taishunhe and Yee On. The Steeping Room sells samples and their markups are generally reasonable making them a good, accessible choice to try and sample teas. Their ability to restock from Hong Kong, might be restricted.

    Chensheng Hao (link)

    A well known mainland pu’erh producer that lies somewhere between factory and boutique. CSH was created in 2008 and most of their tea is sourced from Menghai area, with a lot of Banzhang productions. They famously signed a contract to monopolize LBZ tea in 2008. CSH does also press some Yiwu tea and make a number of regular blends (Bawang/Emperor, Yihao). While they are mostly mainland focused they do have an outlet in Canada. CSH regularly raise prices on older stock so most of their better value tea are younger.

    Crimson Lotus Tea (link)

    Washington-state based vendor who presses their own tea. Although they have their footprints in the mainland, they keep a good sized stock state-side so they should be able to sell for a while before running out.

    Hou De Fine Tea (link)

    Long running Houston based vendor with Taiwanese ties. They sell a variety of mostly US stored factory teas and Taiwanese boutiques (XZH, YQH, CGHT) from the 2000s. They don’t restock their shelves often, but because they’re old players in the game they have teas that are not commonly available when they do.

    NWPuerh (link)

    Idaho-based collector who ended up with nearly 5,000 cakes of pu’erh!

    Yunnan Sourcing Xiangming

    European Based Vendors

    Tea Encounter (link)

    UK-Based pu’erh vendor selling mostly tea from the 2010s and 2020s, with a focus on Zhensilong productions as well as Tea Encounter’s own commissions. Both ZSL and Tea Encounter productions tend to be Yiwu focused and have drier storage.

    Pu-Erh.sk (link)

    Long running Slovakian vendor that sometimes presses their own tea, but also carries a decent stock of tea from the 2000s and 2010s.

    Puerh Guy (link)

    Newish UK based vendor who sources tea from a wide range of sources from Taiwan, Malaysia and mainland China. Puerh Guy sells a lot of boutique as well as some factory tea. Boutiques include CYH, BYH, XZH, YQH, YYT, BHYJ, etc. A lot of overlap with Teaswelike, Liquid Proust, and Puerh.uk. Most of the tea is semi-aged, ranging from 2000s to 2010s.

    Puerh.uk (link)

    Sells a range of younger boutiques to older more anonymous aged pu’erh. Mostly Taiwan and Malaysian stored tea. A particular emphasis on CYH. They also run the official Chenyuan Hao distribution for the west.

    Moychay (link)

    Russian/Dutch vendor that used to be compared regularly with Yunnan Sourcing. Their selection isn’t as big as YS anymore, but they do still sell some pu’erh.

    My Top Picks

    It is very difficult to go wrong with Teas We Like. The other two Taiwanese based vendors (Quiche and The Jade Leaf) also would be amongst my top recommendations. Not to be mercenary, but many vendors sell a lot of the same boutiques, so you can shop around if you want something specific. A place like Yunnan Sourcing remains good for stocking a variety of teas while LP is definitely amongst the most interesting domestic US vendors. For the tea type that will probably become somewhat harder to find (young pu’erh) you can still go to places like Yunnan Sourcing US, Crimson Lotus Tea, and Tea Encounter.

  • 2020 Tea Progress Report

    I’ve stored tea for around six years now in Seattle and while I’ve fussed a bit over a few small things, the methodology has been overall consistent. The pu’erh has been stored in an enclosed container with Boveda packs to ramp up the humidity to around 65RH. Airflow is low. Most people would call this a pumidor. Every year I look at my spreadsheet and decide on pulling a few teas to retry.

    (more…)
  • 2012 Yangqing Hao Yegu Wild Raw Pu’erh [Episode 337]

    This is about as strong a tea as you will encounter. I think this episode is enjoyable, when it becomes obvious that Denny and I are completely taken aback from the power of the tea. This was the 3rd episode of the day filmed consecutively and in TeaDB vs. the 2012 YQH Yegu, we easily lost.

    The tea itself is strong, potent, bitter, and substantive.

    http://yangqinghao.com/

  • Shop Like It’s 2012. One Way to Think About and Find Value.

    I got into tea in 2012. One of the first things I did was read everything I could in the western tea scene. This included old forum posts, new forum posts, blogs like Marshaln, Half-Dipper and the Chadao Blogspot. One constant I found was the constant bemoaning the ever-rising price of pu’erh, as long as there’s been dialogue about it on the internet. It didn’t matter if the post was written in 2008 or 2012… Since 2012, the situation hasn’t exactly improved. The most dramatic rises have been in maocha and current year productions. The majority of the highest-priced tea being peddled from popular online sources definitely isn’t old vintage tea, it’s something made in 2018 (OK, maybe 2017)!! Notably not everything has gone up equally. Things like YQH Qizhong, while never cheap in the first place have been fairly stable in price even since my initial foray into pu’erh. For the value-minded, this has made some of these semi-aged teas the target for people like myself. (more…)

  • 2006 Yangqing Hao Chawangshu [Episode 300]

    For episode 300, Denny and I bring on one of my favorite teas that I own, the 2006 Yangqing Hao Chawangshu. This is an especially thick and potent Yiwu tea. Thank you all for following us for 300 episodes!

  • Storage Deep Dive featuring 2007 YQH Lingya [Inbetweenisode 183]

    This episode is my second deep dive into looking at the storage . I recently acquired a cake of Lingya from a non-Yang source in Taiwan and decided to compare it with the tea I’ve been storing. The first cake is a cake I’ve kept in my own pumidor storage (an unplugged wine cooler) for three years and was previously acquired from Yang. The second cake is one that I’ve stored in a pumidor for a year in a half and then on my shelf in a ziploc for another year in a half. This is the cake I’ve consumed out of and I’ve drank up around half of it. The final cake is the aforementioned cake acquired from Taiwan.

    The tea featured is the 2007 YQH Lingya Yiwu. In my opinion this is a very decent Yiwu and I enjoy drinking it quite often.

    The episode is set around a mix of visual examination/narration and direct comparison. I begin by taking a look at dry leaves and the humidity generated by them. I then compare the three teas with each other, before concluding with a wet leaf examination and some overall thoughts/takeaways,

    If you are are pu’erh nerd or at all interested in storing pu’erh I think you will enjoy this episode. If you want to learn more about storage conditions, please check out some of our other storage related content.

    Feedback for this episode is highly appreciated!

    From Yang/Fridge/Shelf Rating: 7.5.
    From Yang/Wine Cooler Rating: 7.7.
    From TW/Non-Yang Rating: 6.1.

    If you missed it, please check out the deep dive on the storage of the 2006 Chenguanghetang Yiwu Yecha .

  • YQH Retrospective & The YQH Value Spot

    In our small little westerm tea community, there was quite a stir over YQH in 2015 and 2016. I’ll personally admit to being caught up in both the dialog and purchasing of these teas. YQH remains available via Emmett, the most important figure in making these teas accessible). And while YQH as a conversation piece in the tea community has faded, I thought I’d share some thoughts on YQH, looking back with some perspective. (more…)

  • 2006 Yangqing Hao Qixiang Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 172]

    This episode, I drink another Yangqing Hao raw pu’erh. This one is purportedly a spring only blend of the six famous mountains. It is softer and quite different than the 2007s with deceptive strength.

    6.5 Rating.

    http://yangqinghao.com/

  • 2007 Yangqing Hao Lingya Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 170]

    This episode, I bring on the well-balanced, semi-aged, dark Yiwu, the Yangqing Hao Lingya. This is a cake that I own quite a few cakes of and enjoy drinking regularly.

    7.5 Rating.

    http://yangqinghao.com/

  • 2007 Yangqing Hao Jincha Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 166]

    This episode, James brings on a repeat, the 2007 Yangqing Hao Jincha. One of James’ favorite daily drinkers, it is a semi-aged Yiwu that strikes a good balance between strength and drinkability.

    6.9 Rating.

    http://yangqinghao.com/