pu-erh in the UK

[R-James]

Gents,

A good while back mr hobbes sent me some lovely tea samples and I have been kicking my heels as to whether I really want to go and buy me some more nice pu-erh tea. My question is , where in the UK can I easily get a hold of this stuff, and any other gear like teapots etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pig Cat]

Hi there,

I've never heard of Pu-erh tea, so when I read your post I assumed this was some kind of quality tea and immediately thought back to an article on Woman's Hour about silver tip tea. Having looked briefly on Wikipedia I am not so sure, but perhaps the following links may still be of interest:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2008_29_fri.shtml (can't get it to play!)

http://www.rareteacompany.com/

Good luck in your quest for pure Pu-erh!!

 

[ouch]

Keep rubbing it in. Between you and the guy that drinks Kona every morning, my head is going to 'asplode.

If I lived in England, I'd move across the street from Hobbes.

 

[R-James]

I most certainly wish! I'm sick to death of poor quality bagged brews, so its time to take it up a level. Plus, the fact that I am completely broke does not factor in. Shaving is a luxury. 'Groceries' are necessary!

 

[billybadger]

For a half decent cup of bagged tea, the only one I can stand now is Yorkshire Tea. They also make a hard water version: perfect for me in hard water London!

 

[Proinsias]

As far as I'm aware the easiest way to get pu-erh in the UK along with tea gear is to ship it from China, aside from mugging Hobbes obv.

You could try a local Chinese supermarket for a few cakes but the quality is doubtful.

 

[SepticTank]

Wing Hong's on Stowell St in Newcastle carries a limited selection of Chinese tableware - not a patch on the selection you can find in Chinatown in Manchester, but it's a lot closer to you...

 

[kongjie]

Never been to the UK. I find it hard to believe that there aren't any Chinese tea shops there that do mail order. Hope you can find some.

 

[Suzuki]

I just ordered a bunch of tea from Yunnan Sourcing (e-bay vendor recommended by Hobbes), great prices and great service. I got my shipment in less than 3 weeks.

He sells teas (including samples) and tea ware at very good prices, with reasonable shipping from China. If you send him a note, he'll offer very helpful suggestions.

 

[Proinsias]

Never been to the UK. I find it hard to believe that there aren't any Chinese tea shops there that do mail order. Hope you can find some.

There are some Chinese tea shops but finding one which sells decent pu-erh at decent prices is proving difficult, as far as I know most pu drinkers source theirs from China or even the US - some of the US vendors ship directly from China so the shipping doesn't make too much difference if you're in the UK.

If you want cheap low quality pu-erh it's rather easy to find, good quality pu-erh at decent prices is a minefield.

There's a tea shop in the centre of Newcastle named Sencha which has a fair selection of teas but the price and quality can be easily beaten on the intertron.

I've had some decent pu-erh from:

http://stores.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sourcing-LLC

http://www.houdeasianart.com/

http://www.teaspring.com/

http://www.jingteashop.com/

and

http://www.puerhshop.com/

If you're keen to go for UK based companies all I know of are

http://jingtea.com/

and

http://www.cantonteaco.com

but they both seem rather expensive.

If you're passing by London I recommend a visit to Tea Smith which is the only high end teashop I know of in the UK, I'm sure there are others somewhere. I was gutted when the Chinese tea shop here in Glasgow closed down.

Might not be much use for pu-erh but Adagio have just opened a European site and they seem to have a good reputation for starting people on the road to tea addiction.

 

[Suzuki]

My limited understanding is that pu erh is a specialty item and that many Chinese tea shops carry a limited (if any) stock.

My experience in Toronto (which has a very large Chinese community) is that even the high end shops carry a limited stock and charge very high prices (around double what I paid for the stuff I had sent from China - including shipping). I can get amazing green teas, oolongs, black teas, locally but not pu erh.

 

[ouch]

I'll add www.angelinasteas.com

I believe they get their products from YSLLC. I could be wrong, but they seem to use his pics and descriptions for their wares. It's a good place with a decent selection for folks (in the US) who are willing to pay a few bucks more to not have to wait for delivery from China.

 

[Hobbesoxon]

Just saw this thread!

Proinsias recommended some great ones there. Sadly, there are absolutely no shops at all where you can go and browse good pu'er in the UK. Jing tea is about it as far as buying, and they are WAY too overpriced for me to consider (though I do buy roibos/redbush "tea" from them).

I've not seen Angelina's teas before, but it's amusing that they have selected some of the more average cakes from the Yunnan Sourcing selection! I would (and do) just order directly from Scott, as it takes just a week China->UK with airmail.

(I'd recommend SAL postage for the majority of teas, but I do use airmail for obtaining samples rapidly so that I can then buy teas before they sell out. This is less of a problem these days, but teas used to last only a week or so before they entirely sold out!)

We should set up another UK tea drinkers sesh. Last year, we had a gathering at my place in Oxford, did some punting, that kind of thing. We've accumulated some more UK drinkers since last year (Warwick/Manchester, London, Cornwall, Leicester, N. Ireland, so far), and it's always great to drink zillions of rare teas in likeminded company.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

 

[R-James]

When I have tasted my samples ordered, Yunnan Sourcing is where I will most likely be going. If any of the samples really stand out however, I may get back in touch with nada and buy a cake off him.


A Uk tea session indeed sounds like a fun thing to do!

 

[ouch]

I've not seen Angelina's teas before, but it's amusing that they have selected some of the more average cakes from the Yunnan Sourcing selection!

As they say, any port in a storm, and any pu in the states is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Angelina's (and Puerhshop) can at the very least supply me with some stock for the cellar, and we do have Hou De for more upscale selections. AT does carry a Mengyang Guoyan LBZ, perhaps their best offering.

 

[Hobbesoxon]

When I have tasted my samples ordered, Yunnan Sourcing is where I will most likely be going. If any of the samples really stand out however, I may get back in touch with nada and buy a cake off him.
A Uk tea session indeed sounds like a fun thing to do!

The 12 Gentlemen teas are really rather hard to come by, and unusually good - made by collectors, rather than by factories. The only other outlet for them is Andao, where they're much more expensive - if you're careful with the tight compression and don't break the leaves, they can be really excellent teas.

As they say, any port in a storm, and any pu in the states is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Angelina's (and Puerhshop) can at the very least supply me with some stock for the cellar, and we do have Hou De for more upscale selections. AT does carry a Mengyang Guoyan LBZ, perhaps their best offering.

I'm never too loyal when it comes to localised national shops. I can see why having next-day delivery would be handy, though.

Mengyang Guoyan - did you enjoy the 2008 Laobanzhang? I tried the 2005 version and found it pleasant, but a bit lacking in complexity - and certainly not worth the $48 asking price. The latest I have tried from this factory was only last year's - they're fun, but maybe a touch overpriced for what seems to be plantation tea. I did like the pressing of 8582 they did with Xizihao in 2007, though, and grabbed a tong of that one.

I know the factory has some loyal fans, which is a good thing! The ever-excellent Bill (of Old Tea-Horse Road fame - Hopgoblin?) is firmly in love with this factory, and I respect his preference, but they don't really tickle my own particular taste-buds. I remain to be convinced! (Speaking of which, I bought an entire Dragon of Bulang on his advice from Gordon of DTH and have yet to try it...)

For the same money, there are some really fine Menghai and Xiaguan offerings from the 2007-08 seasons that I've been loving on a regular basis - but again, it's all down to personal preference. I've got some notes to come on my current pick of the year, which has to be the Menghai single-mountain "wu cai kongque bingcha" [5 coloured peacock bingcha]. Incredible stuff for the money. Have you tried them?


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

 

[Scotto]

I recently tried the 12 Gentlemen tea. I found it pleasant enough, but "processed" in a similar way to the Xi Zhi Hao offerings to make it easier to drink early. The color is solid orange which is odd for such a young tea. It is nice enough, but not worth the price, IMO.

Contrast that with the 2005 Dayi 7542 I have been drinking, which is honestly bitter, and almost austere in its character, giving up its charms slowly over a session.

 

[Hobbesoxon]

I recently tried the 12 Gentlemen tea. I found it pleasant enough, but "processed" in a similar way to the Xi Zhi Hao offerings to make it easier to drink early. The color is solid orange which is odd for such a young tea. It is nice enough, but not worth the price, IMO.

Contrast that with the 2005 Dayi 7542 I have been drinking, which is honestly bitter, and almost austere in its character, giving up its charms slowly over a session.

Scott, that's very interesting - which 12G tea did you have? The 2007 Weizhongwei Menghai was dazzling yellow to me - moreso than almost any tea in my collection. It was completely unprocessed as far as I recall, quite delightful.

I wonder if you mean the 2007 Weizhongwei Yiwu? I had a bad experience with that, the first time round (as mentioned in my notes), but changing my preparation brought out its character. I noted that this one was more orange, in the "Taiwanese" style, so perhaps this is the variety you've mentioned. If so, do try the Menghai!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

 

[ouch]

I've not seen Angelina's teas before, but it's amusing that they have selected some of the more average cakes from the Yunnan Sourcing selection!

Toodlepip,

Hobbes

I've been perplexed by this. How much more difficult is it to offer an ecletic selection than a pedestrian one? I understand that a business has to be able to move their products, but considering the limited and specific nature of puerh collecting I'd think that anyone who makes it so far as to even find their site would be looking for more in the way of "keepers". Either they simply don't know, or their customers don't know, or both. It's a shame that a local concern that already sells this stuff can't supply a more desirable portfolio.

Oh, and your use of the exclaimation mark above is either a subconscious, Pavlovian response or a brilliantly played bit of sarcasm. Touche!

Mengyang Guoyan - did you enjoy the 2008 Laobanzhang? I tried the 2005 version and found it pleasant, but a bit lacking in complexity - and certainly not worth the $48 asking price. The latest I have tried from this factory was only last year's - they're fun, but maybe a touch overpriced for what seems to be plantation tea. I did like the pressing of 8582 they did with Xizihao in 2007, though, and grabbed a tong of that one.

I haven't tried their LBZ, and AT's $70 asking price strikes me as usurious. I see Yunnan Sourcing is also selling a Mengku LBZ (100g bricks as well as a cake). Have you tried that one?

I did try a sample of the XZH 8582, thanks to Scotto, and thought it was better than their Dragon and Phoenix. Quite decent, if a bit pricey for a basic recipe.

For the same money, there are some really fine Menghai and Xiaguan offerings from the 2007-08 seasons that I've been loving on a regular basis - but again, it's all down to personal preference. I've got some notes to come on my current pick of the year, which has to be the Menghai single-mountain "wu cai kongque bingcha" [5 coloured peacock bingcha]. Incredible stuff for the money. Have you tried them?

Great news- any others to recommend? I was under the impression that you were less than thrilled with the recent production of Xiaguan.

 

[Hobbesoxon]

I haven't tried their LBZ, and AT's $70 asking price strikes me as usurious. I see Yunnan Sourcing is also selling a Mengku LBZ (100g bricks as well as a cake). Have you tried that one?

Great news- any others to recommend? I was under the impression that you were less than thrilled with the recent production of Xiaguan.

If you mean the Mengku Laobanzhang that the Shuangjiang Mengku distributors occassionally make for fun (sold in a basket this year), I did recently try that one - I thought I ought to, given the attention it has been receiving! It was pleasant, but not really sufficiently interesting to warrant buying any, I think. I remember that session well - I was fully ready to buy an entire basket if it turned out to be good, and during the tea session I could feel myself cutting back to 1-2 cakes, and then finishing on a decision not to get any. It is one of the samples I want to revisit, just to make sure, but my first impressions were none too thrilled. After a few infusions, it tasted of bog-standard plantation tea - that may just have been my session, though, and I'll duly give it another go.

Of the Xiaguan output for 2007-8, I've really been enjoying them! I never used to give Xiaguan much notice, but this year and last year, they have been working hard on their FT brand and other quality output, and the results do their efforts justice, I think. Everything from the sweet little "Xizi" tuocha (blatantly aimed at Xizihao, of course!), through a curiously decent Honglouleng tuocha, up to the bigger FT bingcha have been getting quite a bit of attention from me. The FT#4 was a bing I was particularly pleased with, but it's very "young". I have the mushroom and FT "Exquisite Elegance" as yet untried, which will be coming up soon. The FT Nanzhao bing was really solid, too - I've got quite a few on them. The Nanzhao tuocha was very good. In fact, the only one I've really not found worth buying was the Dali tuocha - a bit rough around the edges.

Haiwan, 6FTM, Mengyang Guoyan always fail to impress me (with a few exceptions), and this year looks fairly similar, unfortunately.

I've been buying plenty of the new Shuangjiang Mengku - like Xiaguan, they have really reinvented themselves in the 2007-8 era, after the pu'er speculation boom. I do like their new site located in Yongde, and the Muyechun cakes are lovely. I know many people have been impressed by these little fellows. Even their Bingdao teas actually taste like real mushu Bingdao, with that cooling sensation - at least, they've included a notable amount of real leaf in their blend, which is a rarity! The Wild Arbor King was OK, but not really worth the attention it received, as far as my tastes go, at least.

I've been quietly impressed by the Yongde Tea Factory, too - fresh, unassuming, but decent. Not the kind of thing I'm buying by the tong, but certainly there are some good cakes to be buying in singles there - Yongde Mangfeishan and a few others did the trick!

The Yongpinhao brand is a new one on me, and I was impressed by their Lanxiang [orchid scent], which was unsurprisingly floral but lovely.

I think the Menghai single-mountain peacocks are a league above all of the above, pretty much, though. Just based on first tasting, that is, but I loved them. So cheap, too!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes