Green Tea Forum

Monk · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

I'm am so impresed with O-Cha.com and use it exclusively for Japanese green tea.

Can anyone offer a similar online store for Chinese tea? One that is equally concerned with quality and authenticity? I am looking for a reliable source of jamine tea.

Thanks!

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 926 Location: Japan

Look for any earlier post by Ryan and send him a privage mail, I think he has some good sources there.

Photiou · Posted: Apr 25, 2007 6:54 am Post subject:

I have liked some teas by www.(edited).com, though they are quite expensive with added shipping costs to Finland. Their imperial jasmine pearls were ok. (I have not tried their green teas much)

(The site was a dead link.)

RichardThrower · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 10

Hmmm, I took a look at this site and it ended sending me to a porn site. Just to let all here know.

Photiou · Posted: Apr 25, 2007 5:56 pm Post subject:

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 926 Location: Japan

The basic rule here on posting links is as follows:

Karen · Black Belt Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 123

My first post, so "hello" to everyone.
Rishi's quality for almost anything non-Japanese is, I've found, top-notch including their Jasmine Pearls; they're also available from Whole Foods and Amazon.

Maggie45 · Posted: Apr 27, 2007 8:25 am Post subject:

I can personally vouch for this site. They are located in Tucson and the co-owner is a registered Tea Master with the Chinese government. I used to buy tea there in person until I found Kevin's site, and his teas have ruined me for anything else. Wink

I only drink green tea and the Chinese green just doesn't do it for me any more, even though back in the day I thought it was fantastic. They do have a great selection of other teas.

http://sevencups.com/

Karen · Black Belt Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 123

Thank you for the heads-up. I'd bookmarked their site but wasn't sure of their quality. I love many kinds of tea and have no preferences among Chinese and Japanese greens--they're very different and hence difficult for me to compare.

Maggie45 · Posted: Apr 27, 2007 12:08 pm Post subject:

Karen, Zhuping is the Tea Master and she is totally delightful and very willing to spend a lot of time with everyone who comes in. They are very focused on educating everyone about Chinese teas. She is fascinating to talk with, and the ambience is very conducive to wanting to sit right down and try all that wonderful tea right then. I kinda miss going there, but like I said I just prefer the taste of Japanese green tea, and I don't don't drink anything but green. My body doesn't seem to like other kinds.

Karen · Black Belt Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 123

Ah, I wish I had easy access to Tucson (I'm in NYC); I'd SO love to have to the opportunity to pick the brains of a tea master! There's so much to learn. I'm glad that there's at least one type of tea that agrees with you. Do you have one Japanese green you prefer over all others or are there several?

Maggie45 · Posted: Apr 27, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject:

So far from O-Cha I've tried

Shizuoka Green Tea Daily Sencha

Deep Steamed Green Tea Fukamushi Sencha

Kagoshima Sencha Yutaka Midori

Uji Sencha Miyabi

Uji Sencha Otsuusan

Shizuoka Sencha Hatsumi - Monthly Delivery Service

The last one was not the monthly delivery service.

By far my favorite is the Yutaka Midori, followed by the Hatsumi and the Miyabi, and the Fukumushi. I've also tried the Kabeuscha(sp?) but I didn't see it on the drop down menu. I don't buy from other places because O-Cha is a sure thing for me, and I don't have a whole lot of disposable income to throw away on a "maybe" site. I used to buy from some of the Oriental stores in Tucson(which is a 220 mile round trip for me), and in Sierra Vista, the home of Ft Huachuca, which is about 30 miles from here, but there is absolutely NO comparison with what Kevin supplies, so I don't waste money there anymore either.

I'm sitting here in happy anticipation of receiving my Shincha. Very Happy

Maggie45 · Posted: Apr 27, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject:

Oh, and Karen, there's gotta be a Tea Master in NYC. EVERYTHING is in NYC. Wink

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 926 Location: Japan

The Kabusecha doesn't show up on the list because we're out of it at the moment. We're just about out of everything right now as we expect shincha to arrive today or tomorrow.

Karen · Black Belt Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 123

Well, we've got a LOT of stuff here and I've HEARD that everything's here, but it seems that sometimes it just isn't. We have Ten Ren here but that's about it...and they're really snotty there. To top it off, I'm not sure that what they're selling as "top grade" really is. I trust Rishi more than I do them but I must say that I was impressed by your endorsement of Seven Cups. At this point, I'm trying to use up some of the stuff I have; I try to buy small amounts of teas with which I'm unfamiliar in case I don't like them.
There IS an Urasenke branch here, but tea lessons aren't in the budget at present. Maybe someday... Smile