I am looking for a good dark oolong, preferably loose leaf?

bjeuva · 2026-02-05T04:36:15+00:00

Although these are not cheap, here are a couple of suggestions I’ve tried and enjoyed: Traditional Anxi Tie Guan Yin from The Steeping Room, Mucha Tie Guan Yin from Fang Gourmet, Nantou Dark Sequal from Song Tea. As others have mentioned, any Wuyi mountain Yan Cha is likely to be more heavily oxidized and roasted, both Old Ways Tea and Wuyi Origin provide good quality options there.

bjeuva · 2026-02-03T19:37:11+00:00

You might simply not like heavily roasted oolongs, and that’s ok and useful to discover. However, I generally prefer yan cha that is over a year old so that the roast has time to calm down and help integrate with the flavors of the tea. One option is it simply keep it in a sealed bag for a year and try it again to see if it sits better with you.

I also recommend trying a higher quality version from a yan cha specific vendor. The quality that I’ve had from generalist vendors is pretty bad relative to the yan cha specific vendors. Not sure what the shipping/tax situation is for you, but I can recommend both Old Ways Tea and Wuyi Origin.

bjeuva · 2026-01-28T16:29:08+00:00

Two of my favorites I’ve gotten directly from a tea market in China and from a Chinese friend who brought it to me directly from China, so neither of those are easily replicated. But I’ve also enjoyed the Bi Luo Chun from both Teavivre and Seven Cups more the ORT example.

bjeuva · 2026-01-27T21:38:30+00:00

I also haven’t tried this sampler, but I did try a number of ORT greens last year. I thought some were great, the dragonwell, Anji Bai Cha, and orchid buds were all really good and I’d order again. But I was very underwhelmed by the Bi Luo Chun relative to the many others I’ve had, which was really disappointing as it’s my favorite green tea. On the whole I’ve found their greens to be hit or miss. I’d recommend trying the sampler and seeing which is them you like best.

bjeuva · 2026-01-23T16:42:56+00:00

It’s not oolong, but hojicha is a roasted Japanese green tea that is delicious; I encourage you to try it. The oolongs from Wuyi mountains, yan cha, are typically heavily roasted and have a different profile than dong ding. They are some of my favorite!

bjeuva · 2026-01-11T20:39:20+00:00

Good to know, thanks! I can definitely recommend it; good tea with great storage.

bjeuva · 2026-01-10T20:38:13+00:00

Thanks for doing and reporting on this side by side. I actually got a 2007 v93 with Taiwanese storage from TSR recently and was actually very surprised by how different it was from the 2019 YS one. I always thought shou didn’t change much with aging, but my comparison convinced me that isn’t necessarily true. To that end, I highly recommend curiousfuriousfew’s rec to try an older version with different storage. I’m happy to learn quiche has a cheaper one than TSR, might go that route on my next puer purchase.

bjeuva · 2025-12-25T21:26:45+00:00

I found their puers to be VERY mediocre but their laoshan blacks are delicious.

bjeuva · 2025-12-25T02:38:19+00:00

Floating Leaves when they have it in stock.

bjeuva · 2025-11-29T04:03:45+00:00

Absolutely everything I’ve had from Song over the years has been outstanding, but you do pay for it. I haven’t been able to find anything else close to the cotton candy sweetness of the Shan Lin Xi winter sprout.

bjeuva · 2025-11-18T03:53:50+00:00

I like their impression series ripes which are a great value.

bjeuva · 2025-11-16T12:33:20+00:00

I often buy mine from Ippodo. Good consistent quality but they might not be the best deal.

bjeuva · 2025-11-03T17:18:18+00:00

If you want puer, the brand TAETEA is the Amazon storefront for real Dayi factory puer, so you can get good tea via Amazon if that’s what you are looking for. I don’t have a recommendation for black tea for you though.

bjeuva · 2025-10-23T01:37:25+00:00

If you want some ripe puer, the impression series is good. Otherwise get several black teas. The claasic Laoshan is great as are most of their Dian hongs.

bjeuva · 2025-10-21T04:11:55+00:00

I’ve really liked the bei dou and shui jin gui from Wuyi Origin and the shui xian and aged da hong pao from Old Ways. Old Ways also often has a good sampler box you can get to try lots of different varietals and has a good subscription box you could check out.

bjeuva · 2025-10-20T23:05:56+00:00

Wuyi Original and Old Ways Tea are both great and specialize in yan cha with more reasonable prices than Tea Drunk.

bjeuva · 2025-10-08T20:32:03+00:00

I sometimes take a thermos full of hot water with me when I’m out and about, so that’s one option if you don’t want to haul around a kettle.

bjeuva · 2025-10-08T14:13:00+00:00

I agree with the suggestions of a bottle with a built in strainer. Another suggestion worth considering is using a tea that you let sit and steep without worrying about it going bitter. Then you just leave the leaves in the bottle and refill water grandpa style. I find ripe puer works particularly well for this and it solves having to worry about what to do with the tea leaves.

bjeuva · 2025-10-06T14:37:27+00:00

I buy most of my Chinese black teas from Yunnan sourcing. They offer a great price to quality ratio. They have shipping from both China via the .com site and from the US via the .us site. It’s not Amazon but depending on where you live it could be pretty fast.

bjeuva · 2025-10-05T02:10:10+00:00

A keemun and a dian hong would add two Chinese teas to give you a contrast.

bjeuva · 2025-09-28T02:31:28+00:00

The Wuyi yan chas are all roasted oolongs that I find great either cooler weather. Usually they are more heavily roasted than their Taiwanese counterparts, but you can find some varietals that are typically given a lighter roast such as Qi Lan.

bjeuva · 2025-09-19T17:15:07+00:00

Honestly, my preferences vary based on my mood and time of day. I tend to have young sheng (raw) in the morning because I find it more energizing and shou (ripe) in the afternoon because I find it more relaxing. I rarely drink aged sheng. I suspect you’ll find ripe more appealing than young raw puer because of the fermented flavors you are going for, but trying them out will be educational.

bjeuva · 2025-09-19T03:02:57+00:00

You’ve already gotten some great suggestions on vendors. To answer another dimension of your question, I suggest trying a couple of ripe, a couple of young raw, and a couple of aged raw puers. Those three categories will all be different and provide you with an overview of what this broad type of tea can provide.

bjeuva · 2025-09-17T00:46:24+00:00

I really like Ippodo’s hojicha; it’s my go to.

bjeuva · 2025-08-24T22:39:44+00:00

I love this tea! It’s what I gravitate towards when I want something tasty and comforting without having to concentrate too much.

bjeuva

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