Friday, December 15, 2006

Tea Lust

Last spring, I bought a sample of WuYi Oolong tea from the Republic of Tea, the tagline of which is “Cup of Poetry”. I haven’t reviewed this tea yet for the blog, but simply put, it is sublime. For the last 8 months or so, I’ve been trying to talk myself into spending the $14.00 for 1.75 ounces of this fine leaf, but haven’t quite been able to do so. Meanwhile, I’ve been hoarding the last little bit I have of the sample, enough for one cup (or maybe one gongfu session, depending on how much is really there). Today, sipping a cup of Yunnan jig and enjoying the mellow sweetness, I found myself thinking of the WuYi, and thinking that perhaps I should buy some for my birthday in January, as a special treat. So I went to the ROT web site, to make sure it was still available, and…

No luck.

They won’t be shipping the WuYi Oolong again until after April 13, 2007. And the price has gone up as well, to $19.00 for 1.75 ounces. Ouch! I knew I should have bought some earlier! Sigh. So now I’ll have to order a sample right away in April next year, to make sure the 07 crop is just as good. But I have a plan. On payday, I’m taking a $20 bill and putting it in that empty WuYi sample bag in my tea cupboard, and there it will stay, just in case I decide I must have a tin of the new crop. It’s unbelievably expensive, but truly, it is a Cup of Poetry. I only wish I hadn’t waited to order my “almost two ounces” of this year’s crop. I'll drink my last bit of the sample sometime before the new year.

On a brighter note, my new triniTEA maker from Adagio is working brilliantly, and I intend to fully test it on all appropriate types of tea this weekend. Review (and pictures?) on Monday!

Is it weird that I lust after Tea?

Probably.

And that's okay.

3 comments:

  1. That's..... 19 USD for 50g....

    That will get you some very awesome tea here in China...

    How is the RoT Wuyi like? Heavy? Light?

    ReplyDelete
  2. ibIt's a bit on the heavier side, Marshal...a darker oolong that has a very nice honey-like undertone. I tend to like the darker oolongs rather than the lighter (greener).

    Some of the cost for RoT is artwork too...thier regular bagged flavored tea is $8.50, so still a bit expensive. But really good flavoring, and beautiful tins too. Sort of my "luxury" tea. :-)

    Hey, thanks for visiting - I love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just for my Wu Yi Oolong Tea from www.teacuppa.com

    i manage to get Rougui and dan cong from them. it was very delicious, gentle, delicate and smooth. they also provide me a sample of TGY.

    So far quite a good company offering Wu Yi Oolong compared to rest I have been getting low quality of highly priced off Oolong.

    ReplyDelete

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