56752 Thu Nov 06 15:15:37 -0800 2003 5 2 Los Angeles Area 0 295980 I bought a few teas at Wing Hop Fun. Last time I was their, I bought some of their Royal Shou Mei (usual translation: Old Man Precious Eyebrows), which was a nice near-white tea. They didn't have any this time, and when I asked her for Shou Mei she pulled out a jar labelled "White Peony". I don't think this is the same stuff, but it's fine tea anyway. Anyway, the stuff is exceedingly cheap, on sale at $35 a pound, if you have a membership.($7 bought me a LOT OF TEA). (If you're wondering, that probably means you could fill one of those Republic of Tea containers for about $4. This is a pretty light tea.) (membership costs a dollar). The stuff is a good, clean white tea, at about half the price that my usual Internet suppliers charges for decent white teas. It's actually pretty addictive. I've been drinking it every day. (If you haven't dealt with whites before, they brew at an even lower temperature than greens, say 60-70 C. Just when the smallest bubbles appear at the bottom of the tea kettle.) Wing Hop Fun is very variable with their teas - some have definitely been around for a while, but their current batch of White Peony is really fresh. And for Darjeelings - Chado Tea House's Jungpana Estate Darjeeling is kind of... whoah. It's the most intensely grape-y wine-y of their Darjeelings. Almost scary at first, but I've adapted and now really enjoy. Recommended to any who like that part of the darjeeling experience. $6.55/oz. -thi Thu Nov 06 15:15:37 -0800 2003 0 Thi N. 1 295985 Oh - if you become passionate about the white peony, you should try contacting Imperial Tea Court in SF and getting their High Mountain White Peony - I think it runs $11/oz, but it's perfect, and completely worthwhile. Note: if you haven't drunk white tea before: this is going to sound very odd, but this is the best I can do. When you're brewing it, what you're looking to produce is less a flavor then a *sensation of brightness and light*. That's too stylized/pseudo-poetic, but it's the closest I can come up with. There's certainly good flavors, but at the center there's a much more, er, physical experience? In much the same way that the numb/tingling effect in Sichuan is less a flavor and more a physical effect in the mouth, so are white teas - especially one like white peony - but in a gentler, sweeter way. Oh - try brewing one set of leaves for 1 minute the first time, 1 and a half minutes the second time, 2 min the third time, etc. 1 teaspon for a half a cup to a cup, depending on your desires. -thi Thu Nov 06 15:35:38 -0800 2003 295980 0 Thi N. 1 296030 Thi, Thanks for the info on the white tea. Very helpful. And it is nice to know it can be had for cheap! I've never tried it but have been curious. So I will follow your advice about where to get it, brewing, what to expect, etc. Where is Wing Hop Fun? I have drunk up my Oolongs, my Tie guanyin's, and my Puchongs (BTW, your article in the LA Times was a big help to me on that!)and am looking to buy more. I have a couple of questions - What is the tea store in Monterey Park you mentioned in your article? The small unassuming one with a chatty and friendly Taiwanese proprietess? I actually visited once with Samo and found some good Tie Guanyin. I'd like to go back and restock but don't remember the name or location. And you also recommended a couple of stores that sold gaiwans. One of them seemed to have reasonable prices. Another is, what do you think of Chado's Oolongs? I found them to be OK - TGY in particular was unexceptional. But I really like their Grand Fancy Oolong tea. It does not really taste like a Chinese Oolong to me but rather had more of a peachy, fermented taste. Thanks! Thu Nov 06 20:43:20 -0800 2003 295980 0 Cattus 2 296052 I find Chado's chinese teas in general, crappy. There's a certain trend in Chinese teas for non-chinese audience - towards flavor complexity and floweriness and without the weight and life and physicality and purity of most Chinese teas. But their nilgiri's, ceylon's, darjeelings are among the best I've had. Yes, the small shop with the nice proprietess - it's at the corner of Valley and Atlantic, northwest corner. The best gaiwan store is called Lifestyles, is on the first story of San Gabriel Square sort of underneath the Sam Woo, near the Ranch 99. Their bone china gaiwans are worthwhile. It's nice to hear the article did something for someone. Tip on the white tea: use very freshly filtered water or bottled water. The stuff is *quiet*. Very good oolongs from the website below. He basically lives in tea country in Taiwan and gets stuff a few weeks after harvest. Even the cheaper stuff is super. He's very friendly... I asked him about yi xing teapots and what I wanted and he hunted around the area for me. Wing Hop Fun is on Broadway in Chinatown, in one of those big malls. It's more of a mainland store - better greens and whites. The lady in the Valley store is more Taiwanese - better oolongs, poorer greens. I don't like her longjian. -thi Link: http://taiwantea.etoad.com/ Fri Nov 07 01:41:31 -0800 2003 296030 0 Thi N. 3 296111 Thi, Thanks for that info. Yes I really did find your article not just informative but an enjoyable read as well. I'm going to take a trek down to Chinatown hopefully this weekend and pick up some white peony. And I may order something from your Taiwan Oolong guy. Do you have any recommendations? Although I like good longjing tea, I prefer Japanese greens although know next to nothing about which ones to pick, etc. I notice a link to a company on your Taiwan guy's website. Ever tried this? Fri Nov 07 18:38:47 -0800 2003 296052 0 Cattus 2 296999 I have been searching the West LA area to purchase some good bulk white tea for my son who will be visiting for Thanksgiving. I saw the note that Wing Hop Fun sells this item but where are they and can you help me locate them. Joel Fri Nov 21 18:02:00 -0800 2003 296030 0 Joel