Just a note: One of the things that I'm hoping to accomplish here is to prove to myself and you folks that this TaoBao thing can work for us. A proof-of-concept for the skeptic (myself for instance). Hopefully, after this group buy, we'll all be more comfortable trying to use these TaoBao middleman companies to get better and less costly tea.
If this group buy seems like a bad idea then speak up, please! I'll probably be placing an order for myself regardless. I don't want to pressure anyone into spending more than they'd like but I can't think of another way to do this that is better. Ideas are being accepted
Having bought from Tao Bao on a few occasions, there are good values to be had; however, as recent posts have shown, there are some risks. Also, our preferences for tea are highly subjective. In regards to the Ding Xing (I've only tried the Nada version), I personally thought it had good flavors but was a bit lacking in mouth feel and felt a bit thin. Might be good for somebody who wants to drink now, but may not have the oomph to age well (IMO).
If you don't mind spending a bit more money, but perhaps having greater peace of mind about the choices you make, you guys can do a group buy of single cakes and the cake can be split up. That way you can do an accurate vote on what you like about the tea, and not vote based on how pretty the colors on the label are.