I've decided to join the tea movement. I mostly drink organic green tea and some Haitian teas that are for medicinal purposes. It's time to upgrade to the Asian variety. What are five must-have teas that I should get? While you're at it, if you can direct me to a beginner's set, I'd appreciate it. I don't have any of the equipment suited to make and enjoy quality tea. Thanks.
5 Must-Have Teas for the Beginner
- Thread starter TstebinsB
- Start date
Id strongly recommend starting with one of these.
http://www.adagio.com/misc/no_risk.html
There is also the same thing (more/less) from
http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Tea-Makers-Infusers/
For reference on quality I have had the same one at the office for about 16months. I cook it 4 times every day 5days a week, sometimes more. It is placed in the microwave every time. It is very noticeable stained from so much tea (so is the rim of my tea cup). It works great and Ive had no problems.
The tea cooker is great (Ive got 3 at 16oz and 1 at 32oz). I love them. I personally like the Teavana designed (black and clear with build in filter) better then the Adagio design (all clear with removable filter). I dont like the removable filter. But I have to recommend the Adagio one for beginners because it is the same price and comes with 4 samples of tea.
If you can make it to a Teavana store they have a huge selection (see Virtual Tea Wall link). Both places have a great selection and a very good quality product. There are defiantly better teas to be had, but for overall quality and selection I think both are hard to beat.
What Teas would I recommend to start with?
-Really its great to sample them all. I would simply get some samples and start from there. I wouldnt get too locked into specific brands, and Id say look into types.
Something Ive grown to love is the mixing of different teas to produce custom blends as I go. To do this you have to know and appreciate the different flavors.
My favorite tea is Pu-Erh, I drink about 45oz of it each day. This is a very strong flavored tea. It is very earthy some complain it tastes like dirt, but so does red wine.
http://www.adagio.com/misc/no_risk.html
There is also the same thing (more/less) from
http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Tea-Makers-Infusers/
For reference on quality I have had the same one at the office for about 16months. I cook it 4 times every day 5days a week, sometimes more. It is placed in the microwave every time. It is very noticeable stained from so much tea (so is the rim of my tea cup). It works great and Ive had no problems.
The tea cooker is great (Ive got 3 at 16oz and 1 at 32oz). I love them. I personally like the Teavana designed (black and clear with build in filter) better then the Adagio design (all clear with removable filter). I dont like the removable filter. But I have to recommend the Adagio one for beginners because it is the same price and comes with 4 samples of tea.
If you can make it to a Teavana store they have a huge selection (see Virtual Tea Wall link). Both places have a great selection and a very good quality product. There are defiantly better teas to be had, but for overall quality and selection I think both are hard to beat.
What Teas would I recommend to start with?
-Really its great to sample them all. I would simply get some samples and start from there. I wouldnt get too locked into specific brands, and Id say look into types.
Something Ive grown to love is the mixing of different teas to produce custom blends as I go. To do this you have to know and appreciate the different flavors.
My favorite tea is Pu-Erh, I drink about 45oz of it each day. This is a very strong flavored tea. It is very earthy some complain it tastes like dirt, but so does red wine.
I'd recommend getting one of each category: rooibos, green, white, pu'er, wu-long, and black/red, and then decide which ones you like (and can afford). I don't know a whole lot about teas, but I'd recommend Bai Mu Dan for a white tea because it's usually more affordable than Bai Hao Yinzhen but still good in its own way, Lung Ching for a green, and either Keemun or Assam for a black/red tea. Rooibos is made from a bush in Africa, so there aren't any sorts of 'varieties' of it, though it might be flavored. I have no clue about wu-longs and pu'ers, but you should be getting a LOT of information about pu'ers from the members here.
At the least, you'll probably want a mug infuser which will allow you to brew tea without letting it over steep, and it's pretty easy to clean up.
At the least, you'll probably want a mug infuser which will allow you to brew tea without letting it over steep, and it's pretty easy to clean up.
What the hell? Lipton isnt the only tea? For sweet tea? Blasphemy! Just kidding guys! Thanks for this thread b/c as I love quality tea's...I am very ignorant on the true quality teas and my sources for them. This is going to be a very useful thread for all us!
Five teas that's tough.
Green:
China - Long Jing
Japan - Sencha
Oolong:
China - Tie Guan Yin(usually light), Da Hong Pao(usually dark)
Taiwan - Oriental beauty or Li shan/Ali shan
Black/Red:
China - Yunnan gold, Kemmun/Qimen
India - Darjeeling, Assam
I'll leave pu-erh to the hardcore pu drinkers already on board. I personally wouldn't rate it as better than any other tea, good tea is good tea. Things could get scary if some of the hardcore online Japanese green drinkers appear here.
For beginners Adagio get a good name and have some nice modern teaware at reasonable prices, their forum Teachat is great resource and fantastic community. I prefer the traditional stuff and you can pick up a small gaiwan for a few dollars on ebay. Yunann Sourcing have a lot of fans around here and you can pick up a gaiwan for as little as $3 but the shipping might be painful, you can brew pretty much anything in one with great results apart from maybe Japanese green.
If you want to get a good selection of samples Tea Spring have really good quality tea and sell most in 25gr sample packs with dirt cheap shipping from China, the company is US based I believe, I've never been taken with their teawares.
wikiCha and Babelcarp are great resources for making sense of the confusion that is buying tea from the other side of the world.
Lochan Tea has provided me with some of the finest Indian tea I've ever tasted, I say some as a fellow tea addict from Florida just sent me the best Darjeeling I've ever tasted and it wasn't from here for a change.
Here's a fellow Teachatter showing his mad gong fu skillz.
Green:
China - Long Jing
Japan - Sencha
Oolong:
China - Tie Guan Yin(usually light), Da Hong Pao(usually dark)
Taiwan - Oriental beauty or Li shan/Ali shan
Black/Red:
China - Yunnan gold, Kemmun/Qimen
India - Darjeeling, Assam
I'll leave pu-erh to the hardcore pu drinkers already on board. I personally wouldn't rate it as better than any other tea, good tea is good tea. Things could get scary if some of the hardcore online Japanese green drinkers appear here.
For beginners Adagio get a good name and have some nice modern teaware at reasonable prices, their forum Teachat is great resource and fantastic community. I prefer the traditional stuff and you can pick up a small gaiwan for a few dollars on ebay. Yunann Sourcing have a lot of fans around here and you can pick up a gaiwan for as little as $3 but the shipping might be painful, you can brew pretty much anything in one with great results apart from maybe Japanese green.
If you want to get a good selection of samples Tea Spring have really good quality tea and sell most in 25gr sample packs with dirt cheap shipping from China, the company is US based I believe, I've never been taken with their teawares.
wikiCha and Babelcarp are great resources for making sense of the confusion that is buying tea from the other side of the world.
Lochan Tea has provided me with some of the finest Indian tea I've ever tasted, I say some as a fellow tea addict from Florida just sent me the best Darjeeling I've ever tasted and it wasn't from here for a change.
Here's a fellow Teachatter showing his mad gong fu skillz.
I think a top quality jasmine is a good one to add to the list.
I'm partial, but I believe Formosan (Taiwanese) Teas are the best.. amongst the Chinese I know, even they say the best tea comes from Taiwan.
Any of the High Mountain Teas - Gao Shan Ming Cha / Ali Shan - Oolongs are wonderful. My favorite is the Jin Xuan, but it's pretty pricey and you should get it in small, vacuum sealed bags, as it doesn't keep well.
For me, Tea isn't purely about the taste.. although it's important. The process of preparing and steeping the tea is just as important, so I believe if you are to truly enjoy tea you will need tools, just like with shaving. As efficient and quick as I can be when it comes to work and responsibility, I am surprisingly "inefficient" when I prefer to be. I don't mind taking three times longer to shave in the morning or ten minutes to prepare a pot of tea.. I feel everybody deserves the occasional luxury. Considering the audience here indulges in what many would consider slow shaving, I believe you and most here will understand what I mean.
I would recommend you not only get your sampler pack of Tea Leaves, but also consider the following:
Yi Xing Clay Teapot
- The clay absorbs fragrances from the tea that is steeped within it so the older and more used the teapot is, the better the tea
- Never use soap to clean it.. only hot water
- Be careful.. there are a zillion knockoffs on eBay.. you can even taste how they were manufactured
- Ten Ren is a store (with a website) that sells some top quality teapots. I'm sure many here can refer you to cheaper sources
Cha Hai :: "Tea Ocean" or "Tea Boat"
- This is a pitcher to pour the tea so it doesn't steep for too long and get Tannic
Wen Xiang Bei / Liu Xiang Bei :: Tall Tea Cup / Drinking Tea Cup
- The Wen Xiang Bei is tall and is where the tea is first poured
- The Liu Xiang Bei is shorter and wider and is placed on top of the Wen Xiang Bei
- The two cups are held together and then inverted.. vacuum pressure keeps the tea in the tall cup (like a cat water feeder) until the tall cup (Wen Xiang Bei) is removed.. the contents empty into the Liu Xiang Bei.. bring the warm Wen Xiang Bei to your nose and inhale the wonderful fragrance of the tea and sip the tea from the Liu Xiang Bei
..if you really have some time on your hands (and I mean HOURS) and want to immerse yourself completely in the carefree wonders of good tea, good friendship, and good conversation.. get a Wei Qi Set (also known as "Go") and play that while drinking tea.
Sorry if all you wanted were Tea Recommendations
-\Visdom
Any of the High Mountain Teas - Gao Shan Ming Cha / Ali Shan - Oolongs are wonderful. My favorite is the Jin Xuan, but it's pretty pricey and you should get it in small, vacuum sealed bags, as it doesn't keep well.
For me, Tea isn't purely about the taste.. although it's important. The process of preparing and steeping the tea is just as important, so I believe if you are to truly enjoy tea you will need tools, just like with shaving. As efficient and quick as I can be when it comes to work and responsibility, I am surprisingly "inefficient" when I prefer to be. I don't mind taking three times longer to shave in the morning or ten minutes to prepare a pot of tea.. I feel everybody deserves the occasional luxury. Considering the audience here indulges in what many would consider slow shaving, I believe you and most here will understand what I mean.
I would recommend you not only get your sampler pack of Tea Leaves, but also consider the following:
Yi Xing Clay Teapot
- The clay absorbs fragrances from the tea that is steeped within it so the older and more used the teapot is, the better the tea
- Never use soap to clean it.. only hot water
- Be careful.. there are a zillion knockoffs on eBay.. you can even taste how they were manufactured
- Ten Ren is a store (with a website) that sells some top quality teapots. I'm sure many here can refer you to cheaper sources
Cha Hai :: "Tea Ocean" or "Tea Boat"
- This is a pitcher to pour the tea so it doesn't steep for too long and get Tannic
Wen Xiang Bei / Liu Xiang Bei :: Tall Tea Cup / Drinking Tea Cup
- The Wen Xiang Bei is tall and is where the tea is first poured
- The Liu Xiang Bei is shorter and wider and is placed on top of the Wen Xiang Bei
- The two cups are held together and then inverted.. vacuum pressure keeps the tea in the tall cup (like a cat water feeder) until the tall cup (Wen Xiang Bei) is removed.. the contents empty into the Liu Xiang Bei.. bring the warm Wen Xiang Bei to your nose and inhale the wonderful fragrance of the tea and sip the tea from the Liu Xiang Bei
..if you really have some time on your hands (and I mean HOURS) and want to immerse yourself completely in the carefree wonders of good tea, good friendship, and good conversation.. get a Wei Qi Set (also known as "Go") and play that while drinking tea.
Sorry if all you wanted were Tea Recommendations
-\Visdom
Though it's not made from true tea leaves, Mate Vana (Teavana) or Yerba Mate Latte (Republic of Tea) has a very mild caffeine kick and tastes sort of coffee/chocolate like. It's very easy on the stomach. I prefer this over coffee and most teas. Very very tasty. I recommend it highly.
Yixing is great but I would vouch for a gaiwan first as it's much more versatile- you're not stuck to brewing one type of tea in it.
I thought the tea boat was basically a glorified drain for unwanted liquid, a pitcher or faircup is usually just a something like an English milk jug but used to decant tea into to prevent overbrewing and ensure everyone gets the same cuppa - I'll have to look into this as they both seem to have the same name online. If you're drinking alone a pitcher jug isn't really necessary.
hmm
Wisdom" said:
I thought the tea boat was basically a glorified drain for unwanted liquid, a pitcher or faircup is usually just a something like an English milk jug but used to decant tea into to prevent overbrewing and ensure everyone gets the same cuppa - I'll have to look into this as they both seem to have the same name online. If you're drinking alone a pitcher jug isn't really necessary.
hmm
My top five have changed considerably over the years. Currently, they are, in no particular order-
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
pu'er
I'm soooooo happy that I'm not starting out in Teas! It is a long journey to figure out what you want in a tea. The teas that I've ended up drinking (and enjoying) are:
1) Darjeeling Tea
2) Irish Tea (blended tea)
3) Gunpowder Tea
4) Ceylon Tea
5) Keemun Tea
1) Darjeeling Tea
2) Irish Tea (blended tea)
3) Gunpowder Tea
4) Ceylon Tea
5) Keemun Tea
I would say
Get a gaiwan £2.50
get 2 cups, 60p each
Email scott at yunnan sourcing as tell him your completely and utterly new at quality teas.
Enjoy the thought that you will never be able to drink teabag tea again without feeling sick!
Get a gaiwan £2.50
get 2 cups, 60p each
Email scott at yunnan sourcing as tell him your completely and utterly new at quality teas.
Enjoy the thought that you will never be able to drink teabag tea again without feeling sick!
I'm partial, but I believe Formosan (Taiwanese) Teas are the best.. amongst the Chinese I know, even they say the best tea comes from Taiwan.
Any of the High Mountain Teas - Gao Shan Ming Cha / Ali Shan - Oolongs are wonderful. My favorite is the Jin Xuan, but it's pretty pricey and you should get it in small, vacuum sealed bags, as it doesn't keep well.
For me, Tea isn't purely about the taste.. although it's important. The process of preparing and steeping the tea is just as important, so I believe if you are to truly enjoy tea you will need tools, just like with shaving. As efficient and quick as I can be when it comes to work and responsibility, I am surprisingly "inefficient" when I prefer to be. I don't mind taking three times longer to shave in the morning or ten minutes to prepare a pot of tea.. I feel everybody deserves the occasional luxury. Considering the audience here indulges in what many would consider slow shaving, I believe you and most here will understand what I mean.
I would recommend you not only get your sampler pack of Tea Leaves, but also consider the following:
Yi Xing Clay Teapot
- The clay absorbs fragrances from the tea that is steeped within it so the older and more used the teapot is, the better the tea
- Never use soap to clean it.. only hot water
- Be careful.. there are a zillion knockoffs on eBay.. you can even taste how they were manufactured
- Ten Ren is a store (with a website) that sells some top quality teapots. I'm sure many here can refer you to cheaper sources
I would say gaiwan first. A Yixing is all very well but one for wulong one for shengpu one for shoupu etc gets a bit expensive a bit too quickly. A gaiwan being glazed means you can use it for any type of tea and not worry about the flavour profiles being changed due to absorbed tea flavours...
Cha Hai :: "Tea Ocean" or "Tea Boat"
- This is a pitcher to pour the tea so it doesn't steep for too long and get Tannic
Wen Xiang Bei / Liu Xiang Bei :: Tall Tea Cup / Drinking Tea Cup
- The Wen Xiang Bei is tall and is where the tea is first poured
- The Liu Xiang Bei is shorter and wider and is placed on top of the Wen Xiang Bei
- The two cups are held together and then inverted.. vacuum pressure keeps the tea in the tall cup (like a cat water feeder) until the tall cup (Wen Xiang Bei) is removed.. the contents empty into the Liu Xiang Bei.. bring the warm Wen Xiang Bei to your nose and inhale the wonderful fragrance of the tea and sip the tea from the Liu Xiang Bei
Tea ritual is a good thing, but I think a Wen Xiang Bei is not nescessary when first taking on proper teas. I use 2 25ml cups I bought from nada which were cheap as chips, and I don't feel the need to get a nosing/scent cup until you understand flavour profiles through taste better, if you don't knwo exactly what you are tasting the smells in the Wen Xian Bei don't seem to me to make a world changing difference.
..if you really have some time on your hands (and I mean HOURS) and want to immerse yourself completely in the carefree wonders of good tea, good friendship, and good conversation.. get a Wei Qi Set (also known as "Go") and play that while drinking tea.
Sorry if all you wanted were Tea Recommendations
-\Visdom
Just my opinions folks, IMHO and all that jazz
I'll be the odd one out here - and suggest a different approach.
Find a local tea house that has decent quality teas.... doesn't need to be expensive, and they don't necessarily have to be anything special - or even particularly fresh. (Getting the "best" would be like buying a 30 year old scotch to drink on your 21st b-day). Unless it's really bad, you probably won't know the difference.
Once or twice a week - drop in and buy a cup of tea from them (or get a sampler if they have it) and get acquainted to the different types of teas out there, and get a general idea of what you like. As you can see from the above posts - most fellas who are serious into tea, have a specific type/style they stick to.... much like with booze or cigars (IE: not too many people have vast collections of bourbon, scotch, vodka, tequila, rum - etc, usually they have a favorite or two, and amass quantities in that genere)
When you pinpoint what you like, THEN start to scratch the surface, do a little research and start to get your feet wet on the nicer (which doesn't mean more expensive) stuff and fine tune your search for what pleases you.
To put things in perspective - about 10 years ago I worked for a very large coffee/tea company as a tea taster/specialist and i've tried hundreds upon hundreds of teas... hell - even now I have at least 80 in my tea cabinet - and most of them are Japanese Green teas, Matcha's (a superfine powder which is knock your socks off amazing) white teas, and my favorite - jasmine teas.
While some fellas here might call my greens/whites grassy and tasteless - i'd call them incredibly refined, elegant and a true connoisseurs drink. Others might call their pu'er the cats meow - but to me they taste like ground up stick juice in muddy water... some of them are decent, but most are very abrasive, brash and potent concoctions. Point is, this is very personal and tastes will radically vary from person to person.
Find what your favored sip is, let us know - and then we can help you nail down some great teas to give a whirl and if I have any I think you might like, i'll send you a few different ones to play around with. I'd initially worry less about the "equipment" and more about finding your "lovely" - and once you narrow down what you like - then start to look at Gaiwan's, teapots, etc.... that is of course, if you care. I have all of the fancy stuff, but I find myself drinking out of the simple, functional bodum teapot (assam model) and my bodum single glass cup with removable diffuser.
Find a local tea house that has decent quality teas.... doesn't need to be expensive, and they don't necessarily have to be anything special - or even particularly fresh. (Getting the "best" would be like buying a 30 year old scotch to drink on your 21st b-day). Unless it's really bad, you probably won't know the difference.
Once or twice a week - drop in and buy a cup of tea from them (or get a sampler if they have it) and get acquainted to the different types of teas out there, and get a general idea of what you like. As you can see from the above posts - most fellas who are serious into tea, have a specific type/style they stick to.... much like with booze or cigars (IE: not too many people have vast collections of bourbon, scotch, vodka, tequila, rum - etc, usually they have a favorite or two, and amass quantities in that genere)
When you pinpoint what you like, THEN start to scratch the surface, do a little research and start to get your feet wet on the nicer (which doesn't mean more expensive) stuff and fine tune your search for what pleases you.
To put things in perspective - about 10 years ago I worked for a very large coffee/tea company as a tea taster/specialist and i've tried hundreds upon hundreds of teas... hell - even now I have at least 80 in my tea cabinet - and most of them are Japanese Green teas, Matcha's (a superfine powder which is knock your socks off amazing) white teas, and my favorite - jasmine teas.
While some fellas here might call my greens/whites grassy and tasteless - i'd call them incredibly refined, elegant and a true connoisseurs drink. Others might call their pu'er the cats meow - but to me they taste like ground up stick juice in muddy water... some of them are decent, but most are very abrasive, brash and potent concoctions. Point is, this is very personal and tastes will radically vary from person to person.
Find what your favored sip is, let us know - and then we can help you nail down some great teas to give a whirl and if I have any I think you might like, i'll send you a few different ones to play around with. I'd initially worry less about the "equipment" and more about finding your "lovely" - and once you narrow down what you like - then start to look at Gaiwan's, teapots, etc.... that is of course, if you care. I have all of the fancy stuff, but I find myself drinking out of the simple, functional bodum teapot (assam model) and my bodum single glass cup with removable diffuser.
I began by getting some sampler packs from www.specialteas.com
It's a great a combination of quality and price.
It's a great a combination of quality and price.
Plenty of good recommendations up there.
If you're starting out, take the "shotgun" approach and grab a little of everything (emphasise: just a little), to see what you enjoy. Something like Adagio or Teaspring usually go a good job of giving you a bit of everything. The major boxes you'd probably want to tick include:
Chinese green (longjing or biluochun)
Chinese white (baimudan)
Chinese red (dianhong)
Chinese flavoured (jasmine / molihua)
Green wulong (tieguanyin or dongding)
Roasted wulong (dahongpao)
Fruity wulong (dancong)
Raw pu'er (shengpu)
Cooked pu'er (shupu)
Japanese green
Indian heavy (Assam)
Indian light (Darjeeling)
Ceylon
Roibus / redbush (not tea, but decent nonetheless)
Then you can see which side your bread is buttered.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
If you're starting out, take the "shotgun" approach and grab a little of everything (emphasise: just a little), to see what you enjoy. Something like Adagio or Teaspring usually go a good job of giving you a bit of everything. The major boxes you'd probably want to tick include:
Chinese green (longjing or biluochun)
Chinese white (baimudan)
Chinese red (dianhong)
Chinese flavoured (jasmine / molihua)
Green wulong (tieguanyin or dongding)
Roasted wulong (dahongpao)
Fruity wulong (dancong)
Raw pu'er (shengpu)
Cooked pu'er (shupu)
Japanese green
Indian heavy (Assam)
Indian light (Darjeeling)
Ceylon
Roibus / redbush (not tea, but decent nonetheless)
Then you can see which side your bread is buttered.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Yeah.. to be honest, I just assumed a Tea Boat was the "Cha Hai.."
"Tea Ocean" is the literal translation from Chinese to English.. I probably have the terminology mixed up.. so to avoid further confusion, I'll call it the Tea Pitcher as this implies the proper function.
By the way.. Worldwide Tea Culture is diverse and definitely worth exploring, so I apologize if I turned the thread too sharply toward the Chinese styles of Tea Drinking..
-\Visdom
It's my experience that the Chinese term "chahai" is also confused on this. Some Chinese refer to the tray as the chahai [tea sea] and the decanting pitchers as the gongdaobei [fairness cup]. Other Chinese refer to the decanting pitcher as the chahai, and might call the tray the chapan [tea board]. Still other Chinese use the word chahai to mean the deep bowl in which one might sit a teapot while water is being poured over it, which may also sit on top of a chapan [tea tray].
I just avoid using the word "chahai" because of its ambiguous meaning. Stick with chapan [tea tray] and gongdaobei [fairness cup], and (I think) there's no ambiguity.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
I just avoid using the word "chahai" because of its ambiguous meaning. Stick with chapan [tea tray] and gongdaobei [fairness cup], and (I think) there's no ambiguity.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
+1 Scott is very helpful - but he does specialize primarily in pu'erh (although he does have a modest selection of other quality Chinese teas).
I'm in the same camp - except for the odd cup of good jasmine, I'm exclusively pu'erh.
I'll be the odd one out here - and suggest a different approach.
Find a local tea house that has decent quality teas.... doesn't need to be expensive, and they don't necessarily have to be anything special - or even particularly fresh. (Getting the "best" would be like buying a 30 year old scotch to drink on your 21st b-day). Unless it's really bad, you probably won't know the difference.
While some fellas here might call my greens/whites grassy and tasteless - i'd call them incredibly refined, elegant and a true connoisseurs drink. Others might call their pu'er the cats meow - but to me they taste like ground up stick juice in muddy water... some of them are decent, but most are very abrasive, brash and potent concoctions. Point is, this is very personal and tastes will radically vary from person to person.
Find what your favored sip is, let us know - and then we can help you nail down some great teas to give a whirl and if I have any I think you might like, i'll send you a few different ones to play around with. I'd initially worry less about the "equipment" and more about finding your "lovely" - and once you narrow down what you like - then start to look at Gaiwan's, teapots, etc.... that is of course, if you care. I have all of the fancy stuff, but I find myself drinking out of the simple, functional bodum teapot (assam model) and my bodum single glass cup with removable diffuser.
The one thing about tea shops is that they have a lot of stale inventory - this is particulary important for greens and whites. Also, their staff may not be terribly knowledgeable - there are lots of differences between different grades of the same tea. For example, there are lots of differences between the various jasmine teas - quality of the tea, strenght of the jasmine flavour, etc...
As for the comment on pu'erh from tea shops - I've yet to find any good bulk pu'erh from even a high-end tea shop. They mostly sell a couple of grades of cooked pu'erh, bad versions of which can have all of the negative attributes listed by Joel. Raw pu'erh on the other hand is a remarkable tea in that it can range from light teas with herbal notes, to sweet, to smokey, to mushroomy/earthy.
The beauty of good tea (whatever you fancy) is that, with some knowlege, you can get great tea for very reasonable prices and even more expensive teas are still cheaper than a cup of crappy Starbucks.
As for brewing, all you need is a clean brewing vessel, decent water and a method to separate your tea from the water once its steeped for the required amount of time.
A final note is to make sure you understand how to brew various teas - there are considerable differences between teas as to the tea/water ratio, brewing time and water temperature (the first two variables being the most important IMHO).
Once you go to quality loose leaf, you'll likely never be able to drink bagged tea!
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