Tea in Shenzhen or Shanghai

Hello.

A student of mine is visiting family in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and
offered to buy me some tea. But she doesn't know much about tea, and
would have to trust the dealer. Do you recommend any trustworthy
shops in Shenzhen especially, but also in Shanghai? She will come in
May, so my second question is whether the Spring harvest, for example
of long jin, begins to appear in stores? Thank you for any advice.

Please e-mail to me as well as post. I will summarize any responses.

Best,

Rick.

"Rick Chappell" <chappell@becrux.biostat.wisc.edu> wrote in message
news:c5p58b$7gn$1@news.doit.wisc.edu...
> Hello.
>
> A student of mine is visiting family in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and
> offered to buy me some tea. But she doesn't know much about tea, and
> would have to trust the dealer. Do you recommend any trustworthy
> shops in Shenzhen especially, but also in Shanghai? She will come in
> May, so my second question is whether the Spring harvest, for example
> of long jin, begins to appear in stores? Thank you for any advice.
>

If you know enough about tea to know about spring harvest, you shouldn't
entrust your student to buy tea for you. As you know some of the higher end
tea can be upwards to hundreds of dollars per oz. Besides, you can get
equal or maybe even better quality tea in specialty shops in the US.


>
> Please e-mail to me as well as post. I will summarize any responses.
>
> Best,
>
> Rick.

Peter L <peterl68@m> wrote, in response to my request for advice:

> If you know enough about tea to know about spring harvest, you shouldn't
> entrust your student to buy tea for you. As you know some of the higher end
> tea can be upwards to hundreds of dollars per oz. Besides, you can get
> equal or maybe even better quality tea in specialty shops in the US.

Peter, I am partly in reluctant agreement with you. SpecialTeas,
Upton's, etc. are pretty good. But on the other hand sometimes one
can get surprisingly good luck. For example, if she were going to
Hong Kong I would know where to send her.

And "hundreds of (U.S.) dollars per oz.", in China? Maybe possible,
but not very common, is it?

Once, perhaps 10 years ago, a student brought back some absolutely
beautiful longjin. It was "spear point" (one leaf and a bud), very
fresh, and tasted just swell. But he didn't know what he was doing.
I didn't either, at the time, or else I would have saved the package.
It was produced by the "Ti Kuan Yin" tea company, which confused me
for a time. It was too cheap for me to reimburse him so he said. He
may have been polite, but I'm sure he didn't spend hundreds of dollars
per ounce, and would be surprised if he even spent dollars per ounce.
Another student just last year brought back some great oolong. I did
save that box. On the other hand, some other presents have been mulch.
It's a crapshoot.

I'll let you know what happens,

Rick.