Hi folks. Had some excellent Chinese green tea at Wok & Roast and realized the type I'm purchasing is sub-standard. So I wanted to ask to see what I should be buying for that Jasmine aromatics.
I'm expecting a loose leaf tea answer, but bagged is fine as well. Just looking for the best brand name/location. I'm downtown near T&T Cherry Street.
I'd love to get your opinion.
Cheers
It is a little distance from you - but I really like Ten Ren up in Thornhill. They have a beautiful store not just for loose tea, but also tea wares and Taiwanese snacks. good luck!
Any product recommendations? I'm thinking I'm chasing the wrong type of tea. I might just ask my restaurant owner, actually.
I'm not being snarky, but the way you phrased your questions prompts to ask if you realize that "jasmine tea" is literally scented with jasmine flowers? It's not an inherent characteristic of a particular variety of tea, or a processing method. I have no idea were you might find it locally, but it's available in black and green varieties, though most often the latter, but always labeled as "jasmine tea", or some minor variation of that.
Yes, but I don't eat jasmine, so my association with the flavour at my regular restaurant and what I'm buying, has no correlation. I've been buying Jasmine green tea for ages and it doesn't come close to what I'm getting at the restaurant. I thought there might be various brands that are different, and I was off base with the type of tea to begin with. So I've had plenty of Jasmine but it's not Jasmine I'm looking for. So it's now standing that I need to get some Oolong and see how that works. I did a bit of reading and it sounds like Chinese restaurants for the most part don't serve Jasmine, but Oolong. I had no clue.
While I've rarely been served jasmine tea at Chinese restaurants without specifically asking for it, it has happened, so since you since you specifically mentioned "jasmine aromatics", I assumed you were referring to a specifically "jasmine tea". (And fwiw, black jasmine teas do taste rather different than the green ones, but assuming your restaurateur wasn't being "coy", he would presumably have mentioned if his is affirmatively jasmine-scented...)
That's what I thought I was asking about, since my assumption was that the restaurant version was indeed Jasmine. It is not. I've bought plenty of Jasmines, and blacks. Only recently have I really noticed this restaurant version, and I assumed it was a type of Jasmine I wasn't aware of, or had missed. It's actually Oolong. I asked him if there was any brand or anything specific I should chase. He said no. So I'm going with that. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a tea-inventory builder.
I just ran to my Asian restauranteur. Asked him and he said he serves Oolong. So I'll be chasing that soon. Cheers
There's also a Ten Ren shop on Dundas near Huron St.
Ever since I first bought high quality tea from a specialised shop, I can't go back to supermarket bags.
For Chinese green tea I can recommend Jasmine Chung Hao: http://www.uptontea.com/jasmine-tea/c... I shop online in the Netherlands and we don't have this extensive assortment as uptontea.com so I can't say anything about the other styles of Jasmine. But this one also seems good: http://www.uptontea.com/chinese-oolon...
Another green Chinese tea I like is Lung Ching. http://www.uptontea.com/chinese-green...
Also note the preferred water temperature: 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
For shopping online, nobody beats Fortnum & Mason. There are some (used to be, haven't checked) local diverse tea shops around here, and I've been through the monthly deals, and they're great. I was quite off on the spec of the tea I needed. The problem is that I keep getting more tea of the wrong type. Heh. Cheers.
you can get ok tea at t&t. I think inventory might vary, but they have some high mountain oolongs that are ok. its usually the less cheap ones from Taiwan. They sometimes have the tenren brand loose leafs at t&t you can look for the Ti Kuan Yin type (iron goddess) oolong tea.
Hmm I am by no means a connoisseur of tea but have been on blends of green tea. I would go ahead and recommend Kusmi teas as there is blends are spectacular and worth the price they charge. Lots of places to get them in downtown Pusateri, Balzac etc. My fav blends are Imperial, Mint and if you can source it from Montreal tsaverna.
For pure version I recommend the Kirkland branded Itto sold at Costco an unbelievable value IMO.
I would say most teas under a "brand" would not be as good as those found in artisan loose leaf tea shops. The former would be mass produced and would have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, while the latter would have probably been made by someone who cares about the flavour and aroma of teas and be fresher. And you can ask to smell the before you buy which is a big plus.
Unfortunately sometimes a flavour you enjoyed would be discontinued. Or even the store itself goes away. One place I liked was Tealish on Queen/Bellwoods, but they are gone from that location. Also Teavana which was from the US and had locations here but they all closed.
From 2016 but may still be useful
https://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_be...
The BEST three Chinese green tea IMO are:
- Long Jing ( Dragon Well ) from Xi-Hu ( West Lake )
- Bi Luo Chun ( Spring Snail ) from Tai Hu in Jiangsu
- Mao Feng from Huang Shan ( Yellow Mountain )
Most major Chinese mall up north all have Chinese tea shops in them>
However, if you are really serious about getting some of the best. Take a look at this site and order from them direct from Hong Kong!
https://www.teavivre.com/
Personally I am a fan of ' Pu-Erh ', a part fermented tea. Love to drink it strong. The really good, aged ones have great aroma and smooth tannin.
Apparently the Oolong tea at my local Chinese place, comes in a huge box, and the guy didn't know the name nor brand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong...
In any case, still haven't found it.
PS: Jennifer is a friend of mine and is super knowledgeable. May be you can give her a call. She might be able to help you out?
During our Giant Lobster chowmeet at 'O Mei' a few months back, Jennifer brought along some really rare and amazingly tasty tea for us to try!
https://www.facebook.com/PluckTeas/?t...
Hello BeeRich,
I picked up this card from PeachTree Plaza whilst having lunch there. Thought it might be of use to you. Damen is a nice, friendly fellow. Hope he can help?
ETA image.
If you're looking for Chinese tea, try Seven Cups: https://sevencups.com/ . They source direct from producers and have excellent stuff. I've been buying from them for a good 10 years now. If you want to order direct from China, you might try TeaSpring: http://www.teaspring.com/ . I'm sure both vendors ship to Canada.
If you're looking for tea from a specific area (China, Taiwan, Japan, . . . ) it's best to buy from a vendor that specializes in that specific area.
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