Placing different kinds of tea vendors in relation to types

 

Over and over people ask online about others' favorite vendors, and one part that gets lost is that there are different kinds of vendors, with different focuses.  Value can vary a lot, and quality level of tea.  Range of what is available from each varies.  

I'm going to try to place different kinds of vendors by category, mostly through the lens of trying teas from a few sources in the past half a year.  I'll need to extend that, to get to other main types and source examples, because I've only bought tea from four sources this year, that come to mind (online; I keep buying tea from a favorite local Chinatown shop, mostly to give away, but also for myself).  That's a lot compared to last year; more than for the whole year.  Of course these aren't intended to represent optimum sources; they just match my own preferences.

Related to the Reddit tea vendors list capture, the image at the beginning, it's strange that there is only three categories there, for beginners, US sources, and teaware.  That leaves out most applicable range, for the rest of the world, and for everyone who isn't a beginner (although it still probably works for 90% of that sub / group).  It's interesting that one cited source, for beginners, mentions curated tea selling for 10 to 30 cents per gram.  That's something of a contradiction, for reasons this further content will describe.

I'll start with a couple main types of sources I didn't get to, and then move on to examples of what I've tried, and how I see those mapping to categories and other comparable source options.  There are pros and cons of using different kinds of sources, that relate to what someone is looking for, in terms of type / style, and value, which I'm describing as cost in relation to quality level.  

A relatively low quality version of tea can still be a great value, if selling for a very low and fair price.  Of course that's only if someone is ok with drinking that tea.  A really costly tea can still be a great value, if quality level, rarity, and market demand all support that it's worth it.  

To put a rough price range to that anything under 10 cents a gram is selling at the low end, for specialty tea.  Under 5 typically relates to a different quality range entirely, for mass-produced, pretty limited in quality tea versions.  You can generally buy really good quality, in-demand versions for 60 or 70 cents per gram, and it all levels off quite a bit around $1 / gram (which is the first reference to why "curated" tea selling for 30 cents a gram or less makes no sense; you can only curate the medium quality level range for that pricing, which is still pretty good tea, but "curation" implies that it's better than that).

This won't mostly be about evaluating value for different kinds of sources, but as I see it that's one main running theme, along with how good the teas actually are, and how unique the teas being offered are.  You can buy above average Anxi Tie Guan Yin from lots of places, or Jin Xuan rolled oolong in Thailand; this is mostly about teas that are more unique, and harder to find.

Places I don't shop

Online market outlets:  in the past Chawang Shop was sort of an exception to this, and I had great experiences buying tea from them.  Yunnan Sourcing is really the main example (and I've had positive experiences buying tea from them too).  King Tea Mall is a well-known and typically favorably regarded source, but according to some Yunnan Sourcing products may be a little more consistent.  King Tea Mall is probably buying and selling more online, and Yunnan Sourcing would use pretty well established upstream sources at this point, since they were already around 20 years ago, operating out of Kunming.

These kinds of vendors offer everything under the sun.  That's less true of Chawang Shop, but I'm using this categorization in a positive sense for them, claiming that they offer a broad range of tea types across a range of quality levels at decent value.  Here's an interesting in-house Jinggu shou pu'er I bought from Chawang Shop 4 years ago, probably not typical of what they sell, but then I'm claiming here that they sell different things, varying grades of sheng and shou, and hei cha, so in a sense it is.  That tea was unusually inexpensive ($15 for 400 gram brick), because they were selling it before it was settled (from fermentation funkiness) as a special offering, and you really need to hold onto it for a couple of years to get good results out of it.

Filtering related to what you want to find is a requirement, and there would be hits and misses, related to quality level and value.  Getting input from others through online group discussion could be helpful.  In the past text blogs or sites like Steepster filled this role, but now Discord discussion is probably more helpful.  Facebook is more or less dying, in relation to tea discussion, and Reddit tea subs tend to be stuck on people repeating the exact same beginner questions every single day. 

Especially related to Yunnan Sourcing the option to buy at sample quantity is a main benefit of using such a source type.  You can buy a couple of dozen samples for the same price as buying a lot of just a few kinds of tea, which you may not like.  Per gram value isn't as good, but it's not a great value buying a tea you don't want to drink.

It would sound as if I've moved on to narrow down sources that work even better for me, and I guess that's fair.

Higher end producer direct sites:  there aren't many of these.  Wuyi Origin is a main example, ran by a family member--as a frontperson--by Cindy Chen, selling great quality Wuyi Yancha, Fujian black tea, and Dan Cong, Chaozhou oolong.  Usually a source selling a broad range is a bad sign, because then they're typically just reselling wholesale outlet sourced teas, or else Taobao sourced versions, but that vendor has family in both places (Wuyishan, Fujian and Chaozhou, Guangdong).

I would buy tea from them, but I've drifted into preference for sheng pu'er.  It happens to people.  They're a fantastic source for really good quality oolong and black teas, which are great ranges for almost everyone.  But tea that good is on the costly side, typically above 30 or 40 cents per gram, with many at 60 or so.  That's still a great value, given that other "curator" sources would sell the same quality level versions for around $1 / gram instead.  

I did just buy tea from a Thai producer, which is another example of a different form of producer-direct sourcing, but I'll list that in the next section.

Gopaldhara is a good example of a Darjeeling garden that sells directly, both within India and outside it (through two different pages).  Their teas are exceptional; they fit the "higher end" description in this category heading.  There are other resale outlets that buy and distribute Indian teas, like Vahdam and Golden Tips, and those are ok too, but buying directly is generally better.  You can find better tea and better values.

really good first and second flush versions from Gopaldhara, reviewed in 2020

Curator sources:  there are a few different variations of these, and they kind of run together with ordinary broad type online sources.  A favorite I recommend is Trident Bookseller and Cafe, in Boulder.  They evolved to source award winning and otherwise amazing versions over time, to sell in-house, and eventually expanded that to limited online sales.  They don't push to expand volume, to contend with other larger outlets; it supplements their other business themes and income streams.

Value is great through them; for what they sell the pricing is really low.  That's only possible because they're a lot more producer direct than almost any other sources.  In a sense they're doing what Tealet had set out to do more than a decade ago, but left off at becoming just another wholesale vendor instead (which is fine; that's the model that ended up working).   I suppose their business model might be problematic, for ramping up volume and earnings.  Trying to sell the best teas at a good value would cut into your potential profit margin, and it might be hard to really ramp up volume.

Why do you never hear of a source like Trident then?  In part due to gatekeeping; people wouldn't mention it to help prevent ruining their own source.  In part because their existing consumer base is probably limited.  And then they don't use a lot of standard broad-form advertising to help with exposure, as a larger volume oriented source like Rishi does.

Other curator or specialty themed vendors are out there, but I can't mention any related to using them as a source.  Floating Leaves for Taiwanese oolongs gets mentioned as an example, but again I've not purchased anything from them.  A good quality curator source in the US would need to sell at high market value just to profit, so their teas would end up all being priced around $1 / gram, which I can't afford.  In terms of old-school, established outlets Tea Habitat has been a known Dan Cong vendor for a long time, since US tea enthusiast circles first came to be back in the early 2000s.  

An example of an established online vendor who blurs this line, with that of an ordinary mixed-types source, might be Seven Cups.  They started as a Wuyishan area main source, and probably retain that focus, but as I recall they were positioned in between the range of curator (selling the best versions at high cost) and an ordinary source (more average quality, selling for less to emphasize value).  This really could be the sweet spot for a lot of people.

Why would you buy tea from them, if you could get better versions for less through Wuyi Origin?  I suppose you wouldn't, if that were true, and you knew about it.  But they would carry more range, and at some point people find sources they like and stop looking.  They don't always want to make it their life's mission to buy the best teas for the best value; they just want to be able to order good tea for good value.  

Most people also aren't going to read 2000 or so word blog post about the subject, which is fine, very understandable.

Where I buy tea (mostly this year, as an example)

I'll use where I've been buying tea as an example, starting with kind of an anomaly.

Rishi / larger outlets:  I only bought two versions from them this year, Thai and Lao sheng versions (pu'er, if that was from Yunnan, but lacking any type name if from South East Asia).  I kept wondering what their versions were like, so finally just ordered some to see (even though they don't represent where I usually buy tea).  They were ok.  They don't hold up well in competition from producer direct sources, but then that's kind of a main running theme here, that you get the best value buying as directly as possible, or from specialized vendors, when possible from sources outside the US.

They would still be fine for buying decent value, higher volume, broad type range, surely better than the average mall outlet that might be nearby.  There aren't that many mall outlets nearby now, since many malls failed in the US, and Teavana folded (was bought by Starbucks, then largely shelved).  

Some of Rishi's other sheng could be better than what I tried; it probably is.  You can't judge a source or a producer from one or two tea versions.  Or a tea type; you see that happen a lot in online discussion, and it just doesn't work.

Wawee Tea / direct Thai sourcing:  oddly I'm not mentioning this as a good option for most readers; they typically wouldn't sell directly outside of Thailand.  But I've just bought really exceptional Thai sheng and black tea from them, and reviewed both here.  

That's a normal, running theme in South East Asian countries; you can buy local versions from very small outlets, or even good sized producers, that wouldn't be readily available / Western facing, through Facebook pages and such.  

Thailand has two online shopping platforms, variations of Amazon or Ebay, in Shopee and Lazada.  Existing small vendors would often sell their teas through there.  There would be even more such sources in Vietnam, another favorite broad origin for me, so let's move on to a Western facing outlet from there next.  I should mention first that 101 Plantation is an example of a main, high volume producer in Thailand, for buying rolled oolong and such, and my favorite Chinatown shop is Jip Eu.  You could buy their teas through Shopee, I think (both of them), but not from abroad.

Viet Sun:  I've bought the most tea from Viet Sun over the past 3 or 4 years, of any source.  They're "Western facing," meaning set up for international shipping, and in the past for credit card payment use, although they mentioned preferring other payment options when I last ordered from them, just a month and a half ago.  Their teas are great.  

Y Ty (Lao Cai) indigenous village produced Viet Sun sheng (reviewed here)

these are so complex that they seem a little different every time I try them

There's a common theme among new, great value, new format vendors that they tend to sell range that's hard to find at great pricing, then later as demand catches up it's more in a normal Western market range.  Their sheng cakes might be priced from $80 to $120 now, or 200 gram versions for half of that; just normal price range, for lots of outlet types.  That would've been $60 to 80 3 or 4 years ago.  Part of that is inflation, and a lot is demand for that supplied tea bumping up.  I doubt that any of it is them increasing their mark-up rate, although that's at least possible.  People find out about types ranges and sources, then demand increases, and costs, starting at producers demanding more.  Usually quality becomes a little more consistent too, so better value is filled in a little on the other end, maybe just not enough to offset higher pricing.

Hatvala had been the earlier more market oriented source I used from Vietnam, and they're still there, and would still be a good source.  That change related in part to me switching to pu'er preference.  They sell some Vietnamese sheng, as maocha (loose versions), but Viet Sun specializes in it, and seeks out a broader range of perhaps more novel offerings.

Back to Thai themes:  Tea Side would be "our" equivalent source.  Their pricing is probably higher than either of these two Vietnamese sources, perhaps related to them leaning into the mark-up a bit more than is the case for those two Vietnamese sources.  As a unique source option whatever they set is the standard market price, because there aren't alternatives.  You have to by sheng for 40 or 50 cents a gram instead of 25 or 30 if there aren't any other options, or just don't buy it.  Maybe it's that limited production at the quality range they sell pushes that same theme "up" a level, and those few higher quality option producers can keep demanding more, as I said was probably now occurring in Vietnam.

Let's check on that, by reference to their pages and offerings.

These are Viet Sun's brand new cake offerings, selling for $45 to 53 for 200 gram versions, so for between just under $90 per standard 357 gram size--which they don't sell--and around $100 on the higher side.  That's actually not bad; that tea is better than just about any Western source version for $100 per standard cake size.

Tea Side's 200 gram cakes are selling for $65 to 85, based on the first four listings, for 32 cents to 42 cents per 100 grams, or $115 to $150 per 357 gram cake quantity.  Is it better than Viet Sun's versions?  I really don't know; it has been awhile since I tried it.  Maybe only equivalent, based on what I last tried however long ago, maybe 5 years back or more.

For someone less concerned about value, about price per gram, and for whom spending a few hundred dollars on tea isn't that much of an expense, then buying a good bit of both teas would make sense, and comparing the two.  It's not like when you order too much fresh green tea, and then a half a year later it's not as good.  Oolongs hold up well to even a couple of years of storage, and sheng changes in ways that are often seen as improvements, as hei cha do.

To me these types of teas evolve well over the first two years, even for styles that aren't favorable for even middle time frame aging, transitioning some over 6 to 8 years.  You can't really buy a 200 gram cake and plan to drink some and then keep some for 20 years, to see a full transition, or at least if you did there wouldn't be much for either consumption purpose.  

I personally wouldn't age these styles of teas anyway (SE Asian sheng, in general).  I tend to only ever experience such teas as 10 or so year old versions, and we can't be sure that the styles from 20 years ago were identical.

Here are some examples of how that has went in practice; reviewing a 2014 Wawee Tea Thai sheng version, and a 2017 version, in 2023, so 6 and 9 year old versions.  Those teas were good, and not really through a more complete 20 to 25 year transition cycle just yet, so it was early to judge them.  This review covers two 2006 Hong Tai Chang versions, reviewed in 2018, with one from Tea Side, so those two were a dozen years old then, just a little further along.  One of those I own a cake of, unless I've got the version wrong, and it's a similar one.  Not so much of it is left now, but I have some I could try as a 20 year old tea.  It's fine, but it would be better if I was more into aged sheng.

I think I'm really referencing three different styles of tea.  The old HTC versions were made by a foreign (Thai) based Chinese producer back then, and Wawee Tea was making their own versions, without direct outside input, back in 2014 to 2017.  The plant material may be the same today, the same exact plants, but we can't be sure that the style is exactly the same.  Presumably they would've only improved processing over time, but there could've been some style shift, to being just different, versus better.  For "better" we need to include "better how," better to drink as new tea or more suitable for 20+ year aging.

Even if someone tries all of these teas just mentioned, as I have, it's difficult to say exactly what you are experiencing is better, worse, or different in style a decade later.  In this writing in 2015 I'm reviewing 2004 Thai "pu'er-style" versions, again from Tea Side, but I can't place how much my own perspective on the same teas has varied in 11 years.  So we make of it what we can.

Unconventional but standard vendor sources:  Tea Mania is the main source that comes to mind related to this (based in Switzerland; that's different).  

That vendor has shared samples with me a couple of times over the last few years, and I've bought more tea from them than from almost any source over the past decade, probably more in total than from Viet Sun.  Not so much recently, because I've been focusing on South East Asian versions and sources.  The styles coming out of Thailand, Vietnam, and Lao have become personal favorites.  Myanmar teas are great too; I've tried a good bit of those, and still own some, some of which has been aging at home for around a decade.

Tea Mania is one of the best sources online, per my judgment, even if only based on their Lucky Bee value oriented Yiwu cakes line.  Their other gushu range versions are more exceptional, of course, but not in terms of value, of quality and pleasantness in relation to prices.  You just can't buy decent Yiwu at low prices.

Tea Mania 2021 Jing Mai and 2022 Yiwu sheng pu'er

Since the main theme here is where I've been buying tea recently I might mention some tea that's in-transit.  I bought a couple of value oriented cakes from Chen Sheng Hao, after reviewing a cool sample set of mini cakes from them a couple of years ago.  Those were higher end, more exceptional teas, but I can't really be buying 50 to 80 cent per gram versions, so this order was about following up on someone commenting online that their lower cost blends are really good.  We'll see; I'll be writing about that a couple of times over the next few weeks.

Some other vendors have been sending me tea that fall into this range.  By "unconventional" I mean outside the normal Yunnan Sourcing / Crimson Lotus / etc., etc. paradigm.  You don't tend to see Chen Sheng Hao mentioned in places like the Reddit r/tea recommended vendors list.  Oriental Leaf, a vendor based in China, sent some exceptional hei cha versions over the past couple of years, novel variations of Fu zhuan or Fu brick teas; they work as another example.  Or Legend of Tea, a Malaysia based vendor, sent some Liu Bao and sheng to review, and they're probably as good a source as any for aged Liu Bao.

Oriental Leaf Fu zhuan hei cha (based on white tea)

     

Atypical naming stands out about one of those sources; the term "oriental" fell out of favor in "the West" about 15 years ago, regarded as pejorative (as negative).  Here in Bangkok they don't keep up with that kind of political correctness; businesses still use that term in business names, and the average person wouldn't be aware of that change.  But then people mostly only use English as a second language, which changes things.

It could seem odd to buy tea from abroad, in other countries than where it is from, from vendors who aren't producer sources.  But it would make sense to, if they could source better tea than standard US or European vendors are selling, and sell it for less than those places.  You would be "getting in on" lower local pricing in other markets, in this case in China and Malaysia.  Shipping would add extra cost, but it costs money to ship within one country, so it's only adding the difference between that and international shipping.  If it's $20 more then buying at volume could offset that, by a lot.

Let's add a reviewed example of that, from one of those sources, from Legend of Tea (out of Malaysia) to make that point clearer:

Legend of Tea 2024 Mengsong sheng pu'er (reviewed in this blog here in 2025)

This tea sells for 118 RM (Malaysian Ringgit), which is equivalent to $29, for a 200 gram cake.  That price looks like a citation mistake, doesn't it?  3 or 4 years ago it would've been more normal.  Their description:

This year's Xiao Ba Wang is sourced from ecological tea trees in the high mountains of Mengsong Da Man Lü, this sheng Pu-erh boasts a fresh, sweet aroma complemented by the distinctive alpine forest fragrance. Its naturally refreshing profile is soft, sweet, and intricately layered, offering a gentle yet rich tea-drinking experience. Each sip reveals a long-lasting sweetness with a refreshing, full-bodied aroma that lingers delightfully.

That's $50-some for a 357 gram amount that sounds like Yunnan Sourcing's higher end $110-120 or so current Impression cakes.  My review notes adds my impression:

#2:  depth and complexity pick up.  Bitterness starts, but that's still moderate.  Mineral undertone is pronounced, of course in a light mineral range, nothing like in Wuyi Yancha or other roasted oolongs.  Flavor seems to include floral tones, and a creamy sort of feel is adjoined by a touch of creamy flavor.  Sounds like oolong range, doesn't it?  But the feel structure of this is sheng, and the included bitterness, even if it's not challenging...

#4:  more of the same; it isn't changing quickly.  Aftertaste and bitterness may both dial up slightly.  Intensity is definitely good, and again the balance and overall effect is nice, the lack of flaws.  Flavor range doesn't extend to anything so interesting, but it comes across as good tea, pleasant and intense.  

I think I'm feeling the effects already... 

So it was pretty good, which I was characterizing as on the basic side, because I'd been drinking a good bit of distinctive, high quality, kind of expensive gushu around then, teas more in the 80 cents a gram range, $150+ for 200 gram cakes instead of $30.  

I've tried that since, and it's pretty good tea, relatively speaking.  It's much, much better than any standard factory tea; maybe two full levels above that.  I mean in relation to Dayi 7542, and also to many others that don't have the external image of being benchmark versions.  For $50-some for a standard size cake it's underpriced by a lot; from just about any other sources it would cost closer to $100, or maybe over that.

What are standard vendor sources then?

This last category description raises a question:  if those are unconventional exceptions, as sources go, what are the most conventional options?

Yunnan Sourcing comes to mind, but that's only a conventional, standard option related to a category, to what I'm calling a market style vendor, one who sells many produce categories and product versions (thousands, in their China based site, and still a lot in their US site).

For pu'er other main vendors are Farmerleaf, White 2 Tea, Crimson Lotus, and Bitterleaf (beyond King Tea Mall and Chawang Shop being good options, again what I'm calling market style vendors).  They would "only" sell a few dozen versions at any given time, a good selection, but limited enough that you could page through it.  

Rishi, which I mentioned, and Adagio are examples of older form, generalist, medium quality, higher volume outlets.  There's nothing wrong with preferring some relatively conventional rolled oolong, or whatever else might seem a bit standard.  People often like some teas as a comfort tea, or to drink with food, and preferences change over time.

To me Teasenz is a good example of a generalist vendor, based out of China, one who sells a little of different things, that is well-regarded and a good value.  Why them, when there are probably 100 relatively similar outlets online?  It's just an example I'm familiar with, and they've put the time in to be somewhat established as a known brand.  I've bought tea from them at least a couple of times, and it was good, nothing too amazing, but good for what it was represented as.  Actually a shai hong pressed cake I bought in 2017 was well beyond that, this tea; they could also find versions that stand out.

Really there aren't standard generalist vendors, typically.  One builds up an image related to a main theme and type range, if at all (like Yunomi for Japanese teas, or those other pu'er vendors already mentioned).  In some cases they grow to be well-regarded standard options, but more often their businesses just succeed, and they do a little better year to year.

Vendor use of social media for tea marketing

first published in TChing here 

I was just talking to a vendor friend about this topic, mainly from the perspective of a moderator for a large Facebook tea group, International Tea Talk.  This isn't a rant about people joining a tea group to post ads that violate group policy, I want to discuss the rationale for such rules, and how it works out to filter those in relation to Facebook feed filtering (what gets shown).  Then I can extend that on to how to optimize use of social media posting for exposure, to do better than just posting a typical ad.  

It's not just about working around group rules to counter their intended limitation, instead about engaging potential customers in discussion by providing informational content versus ads.

Let's start with what an ad is.  It's this:

used with permission from vendor, credit source

That's from that group's post filtering folder; that was never shown in the group feed, that part or the catchy supporting background information and contact.  It's not offensive, or badly done, in fact to me that's a pretty good effort, a good example of showing a product using good graphic context.  It just violates the group rules.

So as I define it an ad is a product image and description, with some selling points, contact information, and maybe sales details, like something about a discount.  But other types of promotion isn't as clearly an ad, but can overlap in scope and function.  Here I'll talk about the two extremes, one of which makes filtering an issue, when a post isn't clearly an ad (like that one), but it's still pretty obvious.  Then the rest is about the other extreme, how to "create content" instead, which can be interacted with as a fundamentally different type of thing, which will allow the Facebook algorithm to promote it (show it to people).

High Quality Low Price Green Tea 8810 and 8008.  Crop from Spring tea material with highest quality. Special taste to make it unique style. Talk to us for more details at...

I will often put profiles that show products, but that aren't clearly ads, on pre-review status, because such content is slightly less ad-like in appearance.  I tend to let first posts like that show in the feed as a new member self-introduction, then restrict approving them to group feed distribution a lot more, especially if they are posted frequently, versus once in awhile.  

It's inconsistencies like that which make it hard for group members to keep up with judgment, but without putting every post on automatic pre-review--which I've avoided doing--ad posts or those just showing product photos are posted every day.  It's easy to imagine how that range sorts into a grey area; if a vendor doesn't mention contact detail and price, and only shows a tea product image, that's only implying that they sell it, not explicit advertising.  Let's leave off the definition issue and get on with why groups tend to exclude ads, even though it probably seems obvious enough.

Why the ad prohibition?

A lot of tea groups on Facebook, maybe most of them, consist of feeds that are streams of the exact same ads shown in other tea groups.  Many tea vendors post ads daily, or every other day, and in a group with 25,000 members it's normal for 100 of them to post ads regularly, multiple times a week.  So that's the feed; the group is then just an ad board.  If you are in 20 or 30 tea groups you would never see any of that in your personal feed, because rock bottom level interaction with ads--who is going to comment on one, or "like" it?--relates to those being shown to almost no one.

So that's it; ads defeat the designed purpose of many tea groups, to promote discussion, tea enthusiast or vendor interaction, spreading information (about events, courses, tea background, whatever), or providing a place to ask questions.  And they shut down group activity, because almost no one will interact with advertising content, and it won't be shown in individual feeds by the FB algorithm, generally.  If you can restrict such content, which really takes some doing, that clears up space for information content, event notices, etc., which is more likely to be interacted with.  This brings your tea group back to life, in relation to Facebook algorithm perception and activity (showing posts to people).

Promoting a social media group as a place for discussion isn't as simple as that filtering step, only separating the chaff from the wheat.  The other range of positive input depends on active participation by interested parties, and your group more or less needs to develop a social shared-interest feel to support that.  The one I moderate doesn't exactly have that, at this point.  There was a core group of people active in discussion and posting at one point, but as can happen natural turnover led most of them to become less active there over time.  Even me, to some extent; I monitor the group daily but I'm not as consistent now about sharing interesting things I see on there.  I add blog post links there but that's sort of something else, a different form  of self-promotion (not that I benefit from my blog financially, so I guess being heard is the point, perhaps related to helping others).

Creating content instead

A recent post by a vendor friend, the manager of Gopaldhara, serves as an example of how someone with the right background or awareness of tea themes can express ideas and include informative media content that is a totally different thing than an ad.  That content (a partial citation):

used with permission from Gopaldhara; original source

It has been widely marketed by big Tea Companies that they buy different varieties of tea to create a unique blend. However our view is very different. Each cultivar depending on season produces a unique flavour and aroma.

For eg Yabukita is very Umami in Spring and has complex notes of Plum and Spice in Summer

AV2 has very sweet nectar like notes in Spring and a well made AV2 in Summer will be richly sweet and the best ones will have rich plum and earl grey finish.

The third one I like is B157. Very herbaceous in Spring and Sweet and Woody in Summer.

Another wild cultivar has Spicy notes.

If you mix all these teas the delicate notes are all lost and you will get the flavour of the most common texture. It could be flowery or mineral or stony but without the complexity...

As a tea blogger I can see plenty of room for development of these ideas, and the connection back to the image content (it's not clear which cultivar is being shown, but they know that information).  The subject of character of blends versus more narrow material type inclusion goes on and on, although saying a little about it is still interesting, as this did.  That's basically already it in summary; if you blend a lot of tea plant type inputs together you can balance out flaws or limitations, but the distinct flavors that make a tea version seem the most complex, interesting, and pleasant get blended out, too combined together to appreciate as individual experienced aspects.

The extra effort to express more was there in that post, and responses by people seeing it caused the FB algorithm to show it to more people, so it reached over 3000 views, versus most posts not getting far.

And that's basically it; pretty simple.  The same issue comes up in my company, related to IT services, how Marketing staff write ad content and it doesn't reflect the same depth of understanding and perspective as technical staff.  It's equivalent to tea plantation marketing staff not understanding cultivar differences, or having access to a broad range of photos.  Which is crazy, right?

Let's look at this from a tea blogger perspective:  which steps would help staff who don't understand tea on that deeper level create better content, which might engage potential viewers better?

-get input from other staff who actually make tea, or acquire the same information in whatever ways it is available (eg. read references, or follow tea groups).

-understand what is interesting to social media participants by following group discussions (seems pretty obvious, but then a lot of these points will).

-go easy on overused themes like health benefits and sustainability.  If there is a novel, developed, and well-grounded point to be made that's fine, but otherwise leaving those topics alone is better.  

-reference to older, developed tea cultures is fine, but that takes a lot more development than one might expect, and citing a Wikipedia summary level tea origin myth isn't close to enough.  I suppose it could be sufficient if that's the goal, using a few words of ancient tea wisdom input as a set of short phrases, but it won't add interesting perspective framing or new idea content for tea enthusiasts.

-use local or online events to participate in a form of discussion, for example attending or mentioning seminars, conventions, etc.  Learning and networking are useful outcomes, but it also relates to having something to say, beyond "buy this particular product." 

-related to producer promotion, creating an event could help provide something to talk about.  There's nothing wrong with on-location services including a tour theme, which could be very interesting, but adding distinct events (eg. a hands-on tea production workshop) could add depth to that, which could work better to support online discussion.

-think way outside the box.  A Thai wild origin tea producer once gave a local TedX talk on sustainability.  This is obviously an extreme case for developing theme and a new communication channel, but limiting exposure to purchased ads, FB and Insta posts stops short of exploring a range of other options.  Developing a Discord server might work, or really any such steps would depend on how a producer or sales vendor fits into a niche, which channel or form would make sense for them.  

-standard resale vendors would need to put work into developing a theme just to fit anywhere, to be distinguishable.  Writing a half dozen blog-level researched short articles is a good start, and visiting a tea area is great, but that week's vacation worth of exposure is still going to relate to sightseeing level input.  Meeting a producer and telling part of their story that's better; there would be real depth to that.  It's for the best if the story has a hook to it, some reason that it should be interesting, which could take lots of forms.

 

How do you maximize quality of text or graphic content, given that the ideas are already developed?

-don't write a first draft and final version quickly; produce the content in stages instead.  This gives you time to think of other ideas to include, or to re-consider how ideas are framed, or to trim back redundancy or fluff in the writing.  It might trigger thinking through variations that could work for other posts, and help you better arrange which peice to put extra ideas.

-if you are cross-referencing other resources, events, organizations, or subject experts include an attribution, and where applicable a link reference.  This absolutely never happens in marketing oriented content, because it's about directing traffic to you, not elsewhere, and it's too quickly developed to reach that depth.  But this kind of content context identifier changes what is presented from self-promotion to information, because the form is different.

-use appropriate photo or other media adjoining content.  It's all too easy to over-rely on a set of in-house produced stock photos, or worse yet, online sourced standard stock photos, which would be created to a high quality standard, but with minimal editing lower quality content could also serve in this role.  The average cell phone image will still not be ok for a lot of context use; the idea is to pair development of media content along with development of ideas and supporting text.  Obviously this is necessary if Instagram is to be used to support some external awareness.

back to the ad theme, simple sale promotion content with a product photograph works well

In conclusion if a vendor doesn't put more work into creating online marketing content than the average personal Instagram account it's going to show, and ads will not attract attention.  Shifting from creating ads to creating content with greater depth can help, including opening up new channels that allow that to be shared, but not ads.  It's important to be sensitive to individual group rules, since even personal blog posts are prohibited in many groups, and then informational post content blurring the line between an ad and sharing information probably also would be.

It takes time and effort, and of course that's a problem, given all the other business function, sourcing, logistics, sales related, packaging, and other aspects to running any business.  But if it grows directly out of personal interest, versus working backwards from creating standard advertising content, that could result in greater external appeal in relation to any level of work input.  

If you can share an idea that a consumer is not already aware of that can create a point of interest for your tea product beyond the potential consumption experience itself, which can't be fully communicated images or text, or even video content.  Using a video medium can show expression of reactions, but for other types of content other information or ideas will need to fill in what can be conveyed, with product descriptions a limited form of that.

Gopaldhara second flush honey oolong

 

I suppose it's odd that this isn't a Spring tea / first flush review given that it's that season again, time for ordering fresh new versions, as Darjeeling goes.  I was supposed to receive some samples very recently but the local post office seems to have lost them, maybe delivered to the wrong house.  Odd that doesn't come up more often, given how inconsistent many things can be where I live, in Thailand.

In going back to try older samples I recently experienced how storage can affect teas like these, in a case of a 2021 first flush version.  Flavors mute a bit over time, and a heavy mineral aspect picks up.  It would depend on storage temperature, I think, with it as a given that complete isolation from air contact is in place.  It's hot here in Bangkok, and green tea freshness fades faster, or related character of first flush teas, whether those are grouped as lightly oxidized black teas or white versions.  I don't think that would've been as much a factor for a tea made later in last year, if it was a more oxidized version, but it's at least conceivable that this tea could've been better half a year ago.  

I think even a green or white first flush version, at their best drank freshest, would still be fine if stored isolated from air for a year, just not if room temperature made it into the mid-30's C / 90s F.  A bit of the fresh edge would wear off, which would be a shame.  Some teas actually improve with age, and oolongs can fall under that category, but how all that maps out can be complicated.  As I see it either well roasted oolongs benefit from rest or people can value a transition in rolled (ball-shaped) versions that takes many years, so although this kind of tea wouldn't degrade or change quickly I'd expect it would be better fresh than aged, for almost any amount of time.  Then the topic of aged Oriental Beauty does come up as a second kind of concern, so it might not be quite that simple.

Something interesting came up in checking a site listing for this:

Rohini Summer Honey Oolong – Bug Bitten Tea 2021 – Royal Series

This is one of the finest summer teas produced from high-quality AV2 bushes at Rohini Tea Estate. There is a reason behind the name ‘bug bitten tea’. During June, when the second flush teas are harvested, the rise in temperature also causes a rise in the insect population. The Tea Jassids also called green flies in Darjeeling feed on the tea leaves for a couple of weeks. During this time they suck out the moisture causing the leaves to shrivel downwards. The loss of moisture does not kill the leaf but rather stunts its growth leading to a concentration of flavors... 

This summer oolong consists of brownish-black leaves and a few silver tips. It brews into an aromatic bright amber cup with a very smooth flavor and no astringency. The tea has a mouthful of sweet and fruity muscatel character with a finish of honey and mango flavors. A compelling make and a true delight, it is definitely one of the best teas produced by Rohini Tea Estate.

I don't know if this really was a 2021 version, or if they made this in 2022, but it's not up on their site now.   The leaves look a bit darker than in that product sales page:

I could ask them but it's possible that it's not clear which tea version had been sent last year; little details like that can slip away over time.  Rishi does sometimes share versions sold only as small batches with me, since one main idea is to let me try them, and to hear feedback, more than for a marketing function.

It's odd not touching on the category naming of this being presented as oolong, which I'll mostly set aside.  This could be like an Oriental Beauty version, if the bug-bitten effect is similar, and the oxidation level also matches, as it seems to from dry leaf appearance.  It goes without saying but if this does seem a lot like a standard Taiwanese OB oolong version (which it isn't; tea plant type, terroir, and processing must all be different) citrus, spice range (towards cinnamon), and other fruit would stand out.

Review:

First infusion:  nice!  It does taste a bit like honey, with plenty of muscatel range too (or citrus / grape / liqueur), and other warm fruit tones.  It's probably going to pack slightly more punch after the first infusion but it expresses a lot of depth and complexity already.  I will hold off on a more detailed flavor list though.  Feel is nice already; it has a lot of rich structure, and pleasant trailing aftertaste that will probably pick up.  As a Chinese black tea drinker most into fruit and warmer tones in black tea this is a good style match for me.

Second infusion:  edge really picked up.  It's not a challenging astringency, always a concern with more chopped leaf versions, but it's significant, and will relate to using fast infusion times to moderate that character input.  At this high proportion that's normal enough, and doesn't relate to drinking weak tea.  Warm mineral base stands out more for that, but there is plenty of citrus still, and a base of warm fruit tone, that's still hard to break down further.  

One warm fruit tone is especially catchy, along the line of teaberry, mixing berry, mint, and an edgier range.  Mint is not really typical in Darjeeling, per my past experience.  Next one would consider what the mint range is like, wintergreen versus spearmint and such; maybe I'll get back to that if it gets stronger.

Third infusion:  nicely balanced for brewing that fast, maybe just seconds too fast.  Orange flavor increases this round, like the zest, the oil from the peel.  Mint is still there if you look for it but I wouldn't notice it at this proportion, without having it in mind.  The balance of intense and complex flavors, sweetness, warm base tones, limited astringency, and pleasant aftertaste work out really well.  Never mind the tea not expressing flaws, the rest really comes together.  There is other fruit range to consider, but it seems mixed in with the rest, not as distinct.  Maybe a red raspberry note stands out as much as any.

Fourth infusion:  brewed slightly stronger mint stands out more, and the balance of warm depth and astringency structure ramps up.  It's cool how brewing an extra few seconds changes the experience.  That mint tone is catchy, nicely complementing the rest.  I only remember pronounced mint in one tea, beyond Ruby / Red Jade, which typically seems more like eucalyptus or menthol to me, in a test batch version from Laos that my friend Anna shared.  I've heard it comes up in some Russian teas but I've not noticed it in any, that I remember.  

Fruit is a good balancing input for that aspect, and warm tones, a little towards cocoa / cacao.  Citrus is still present in this round but more as a part of the rest, on an even balance, where it stood out as primary in the last round.  I think that was probably due to the slight change in infusion strength more than a one-round aspect transition cycle variation (but who knows, really).

Fifth infusion:  fairly similar to last round.  I'll skip the notes and add if it transitions more next round.

Sixth infusion:  intensity is definitely fading, and some of the brighter fruit flavor dropping out faster than the rest, especially the bright citrus and berry.  Warmer and deeper tones will hang in there more from here, most likely, moving on towards a woody effect.  It's far from spent though; the remaining fruit still gives it a nice balance, and mint is still present.  

Later infusions:  it kept going, trailing off to similar character range, with fruit progressively getting swapped out for more woody tones.

Conclusion:

One of the better Darjeeling versions I've ever tried.  I've commented before how that expectation context can throw off normal range of judgment for Gopaldhara's teas.  If one isn't among the best I've ever tried, at least at a 99% sort of level, it seems a little disappointing.  Then even if a version is that good without a novel new aspect experience included it can fall short of other versions experience.

Not all of their teas are absolutely fantastic; some are just quite good.  It's a good track record, one that can shift balance of interpretation.  The same is true for the versions being more whole leaf, with concerns over astringency generally dropping out; that's just part of the normal baseline.

Then style preference factors in, or relation to individual aspects.  I really do love Dian Hong, Yunnan black teas, for how those heavy, rich, complex flavors balance, range like cacao, roasted yam and sweet potato, depth from spice, and varying fruit tones.  I suppose that's part of why these Gopaldhara Darjeeling versions work so well for me, even though that heavy flavor range isn't the same, with the fruit tones and flavor context are all lighter.  First flush Spring versions are nice too, just in a different way.  That bright, fresh, intense lighter range compares more to what I like most in Nepal white teas, strong lighter citrus, brighter floral tones, supported by a lighter mineral range.

Gopaldhara Red Thunder ruby and black autumn Darjeeling

Red Thunder Ruby left, black right

About winter / fall teas from Gopaldhara, not versions I've kept around for as long as some other recent "lost sample" posts, but definitely running one season behind since it's onto spring already, maybe just not time for Darjeeling first flush releases yet.  This is one of my overall favorite teas from Gopaldhara, and to me one of the best Darjeeling versions I've tried.  The review description sheds light on why, it just isn't really filled with subjective take input like that, more about aspects, so it really wouldn't come across. 

I think the other version is a black tea variation that may be experimental, or something they made for limited batch sales.  I didn't see it on their website.  Either one, since their original India version has been joined by one set up for foreign sales, listing Red Thunder here (assuming there is one main version that this is, which the "Ruby" designation potentially may not relate to):

Gopaldhara Red Thunder Oolong – Winter Frosted 2021

Gopaldhara Red Thunder is a limited edition Darjeeling Autumn Flush made from frosted leaves. This fine tea is made from clonal bushes and appears blackish red with abundant tips. The tea is made during the last week of October where the temperature starts approaching zero degrees at night, leading to the leaves getting frosted. Extreme cold weather conditions at high elevation induce a special and complex flavor into the tea. It is well oxidized while still retaining a prominent fruity flavor.

I'm usually a bit skeptical of teas being marketed as Indian oolong, since the versions never remind me of the rest of the range of teas presented that way, from lots of other countries, but this has a distinctive and different character.  Or I suppose autumn flush might tend to be like this, since I've not tried so many of those?  Anyway, it's really good and novel in type, and oxidized to a medium level, so oolong it is.

That tea lists for $10 for 100 grams; that seems really low to me.  I just mentioned a couple of teas from Nepal selling for $15 for 50 grams last post (the second used to benchmark value for the first), and for teas as good as Jun Chiyabari usually makes that seems fair.  I can't imagine those could be better than this though, just different in style, and it's listing for one third that rate.  Direct sales has the potential to relate to much better value than teas sold by a middleman or two in between, but often all kinds of vendors will build up demand and customer base by starting out with a low markup, and correct that later on.  I'm not necessarily saying that I expect this price to double over the next few years but that wouldn't be unusual. 

Review:

Red Thunder Ruby:  fantastic, of course, but the point here is to pin down in what sense.  Even for being slightly light due to being a quick first infusion this is great, complex, well-balanced, and pleasant.  Warm tones complement nice warm fruit range, complex enough that it's not just one thing.  Interpretations of dried black cherry and tamarind might make sense.  There's a bit of citrus edge but not so much, at least not yet.  The warm tones aren't as clearly defined and distinct, but it's pretty much in lighter black tea range, even though I think this gets described as an oolong.  

More oxidized oolong range always overlaps with less oxidized black tea range anyway, often accompanied by percentage amounts, like 80% oxidized, but it's hard to be sure that specific designation is meaningful.  A tea being just off fully oxidized does mean something specific, just maybe not narrowing that down to a percentage.

Black Red Thunder:  an early sourness throws off this coming across as positively, but it seems like the kind of flavor input that will "burn off" over the first round or two.  Warmth and sweetness matches the other for this, and there's probably some fruit range to it too, but for being light mostly that sour note comes across.  It seems a little like sour cherry for combining those ranges, maybe just pulled a little towards cocoa, as the other also was.  In going back and trying the other that warm range could be lots of different things, spice, or aromatic wood, but it's not as clearly centered on cocoa.  It will be interesting to see how both shift once they're really along the main infusion cycle next round.

Ruby Red Thunder, second infusion:  a little tartness picks up in this, giving it more of a berry character.  It's not sour cherry, but not so far off that.  It's nice how complex this is, how it packs in a lot of fruit range, with warmth complementing that.  I'm not sure the tartness is really an improvement, and trying to brew this on the lighter side may lighten the balance of that.  I was using about a 10-15 second infusion time, more towards 15, which doesn't sound like long but as usual I've maxed out the proportion.  

The warm tone is moving in an interesting direction, now heavier into spice, between cinnamon and warm tree bark range.  Cinnamon kind of is bark; I mean like a typical thick barked hardwood, but related to cured bark, a version that's been stored somewhat humid for awhile, perhaps laying in the woods.

Black:  the sourness did mostly drop out in this, with an unusual mineral range filling in.  It tastes a little like salt; it's odd that doesn't come up more.  It gives it an interesting sweet versus savory divide, like sweet and sour pork, or crispy pork (kind of Chinese / general Asian thing).  A rich fruit range develops, more like cherry than anything else.  It's cool that these have expressed so much range around the cherry theme so far, with the other venturing into other berry just now.  

The feel of this has a dry edge to it.  That's not really good or bad, a positive supporting input or something that detracts, just how it is.  If it was stronger it would be negative, and I suppose rich and full without dryness might be slightly better, but it's fine, it's nice.  

Red Thunder Ruby, third infusion:  a little extra light, but it's nice "seeing it" from different infusion strength perspectives to get a feel for how the experienced aspects range can vary.  That one catchy set of fruit and warm tones still stands out, with feel relatively positive, with some richness and fullness but no real edge of any kind.  There is no sourness or tartness in it prepared this way.  Complexity stands out most, how there's a lot going on.  The fruit and warm tone ranges aren't just one thing, as I've described, both really coming across as a set of flavors.  That spice / bark tone starts to transition more to aromatic, warm wood tone, or that could just be an effect from shifting infusion strength.

Red Thunder Black:  the best this has been, even though this is a little light (how it's prepared).  That unusual mineral range is cool.  It doesn't come across as much as salt this round, but it's definitely a main part of the experience.  It leans a little towards that inky mineral effect that can be present in roasted Wuyi Yancha versions, which really does taste a bit like ink smells.  A more conventional interpretation would discuss wood tones or fruit more, since those are easier to notice, but the mineral range stands out (to me) for being novel, and contributing a lot to the overall effect.  Fruit range never did dial up quite as much as in the other version.

I'll be traveling today so I'll probably do one more round with note taking and then drop this, probably not getting back to adding more about the later rounds.  Both will keep shifting and developing, and both are pretty far from finished, as I've prepared them.  Drinking two teas worth of 8 or 9 rounds in a hurry is too much; made this way it's too much for someone to drink straight through.  

I never really factor in context like that when starting, in part due to not being all that clear-minded in the morning to factor in anything.  It's 9:30 AM now and already hot out, and I started this back more towards 9, a more proper time for getting out of bed on a Saturday.  A single Tim Horton's maple cream filled donut is offsetting the impact of all this tannin in my stomach; so far so good, but it's at its limit.

Ruby Red Thunder:  really nice, very well balanced, but I don't have much to add about changes.  If anything it all just evened out nicely, with fruit and warm tones, and rich feel, all coming together in their proper places.  I would accept this as a nice black tea version, the feel is just a bit softer, rich instead of having any astringency edge at all.  It can be considered an oolong then, it's just not like any form of Chinese oolong, as close as any to a Taiwanese rolled ball form "red oolong," kind of an unusual sub-category.  

The richness in this is a bit like that warm tone in a cinnamon roll, not just the cinnamon part, which is present, but also that nice cooked sugar range, and warm pastry effect.  Don Mei would go crazy listing flavors for this; it would contain 20.  It comes across as complex but integrated, and in a unique sense as simple.  It's good.

Red Thunder Black:  a lot of that general commentary applies to this too; it's integrating nicely.  The warm tones definitely include a bit of a cured wood effect now, which works with the rest.  Mineral has backed off a little, letting that part and fruit show through.  Either of these could be interpreted as more into citrus range than I've described, maybe with a hint of sweet red grapefruit in this overall effect.  Both are complex enough that a lot of different interpretations could make sense.  These reviews are more about describing an overall effect built up through describing how details add up, but not as one objectively correct interpretation.  Seeing these flavors as being something else would be natural, and not necessarily less accurate.  

All in all this is pretty good too.  I liked the other better, for really nailing a unique balance, more the version I expect from past experiences (not that I can memorize a tea so well from one year to the next, or across two).  I thought this would contain more edge for being identified as a black but it really didn't include much more for astringency / structure than the other, with that early dryness dropping out a round ago.  The oxidation level difference is almost clearer in the wet leaf color than the character, since they're just different, not necessarily with this just like conventional black tea and the other not.

Conclusions:

Not much to add really; both were nice, but to me the Ruby version really stood out.  Expectation could've factored in, it being more what I thought I would experience, or what I had learned to appreciate in the past.

I often find myself saying that I like teas or that they're good in posts, since I wouldn't usually review a tea that I don't like, which is a less interesting story to tell.  It's hard to put that on a scale.  Gopaldhara tea range is really novel, up there with the absolute best I've tried from India, and this version is one of my favorites from them.  It's on the exceptional side of "good."  

I like their lighter intense fruit and floral range teas too, when versions really click, but this one also has consistency on its side, that it's always this good, and seemingly always in a similar character range.  That impressive, given that they need to work around how much the weather cooperates in making teas.

back from that travel I mentioned, which included snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand

there were no other people or boats anywhere near us that day, kind of crazy

Trying Gopaldhara autumn harvest Darjeeling oolongs

 

Rishi of Gopaldhara sent some really interesting looking teas to try, a batch of some autumn harvest teas, I think these are.  Seasons don't match temperate climates perfectly at other latitudes but maybe Darjeeling does experience more autumn and winter than here in Bangkok, related to being at a much higher altitude.  We can tell that the days get a little longer and shorter here but that's about it, except for one week typically being cooler than the rest of the year here in December.  This year that ran early, and lasted for two weeks, so it was a nice cold season for us, down into the teens C at night (60s F), not cold, but nice and cool.

I don't know anything about these, beyond the names, but per usual process I'll go back and add more after making the notes.  Let's skip the part about how close Indian oolongs really are to Chinese style oolongs.  Not that close, but medium oxidation level and some comparable degree of processing steps needs to have some category name.

After checking, the background related to a website change includes more to consider than just the description; this is posted in the Gopaldhara India site, but there's an additional international site now too.  With pricing listed in US dollars, so maybe it's a US site instead?  I'll check on that and add more about it in a later review post.  When vendors list multiple site versions, as Yunnan Sourcing does, it's often about basing stock and shipping out of somewhere else, which drops cost and speeds up delivery time anywhere, and can relate to avoiding customs issues in places like the EU.

This listing information:

Rohini Winter Frosted Rare Creamy Oolong – Master Series 2021

This rare Darjeeling yellow oolong tea has very exceptional characteristics than any other oolong teas in the Darjeeling Hills. It is produced from P157 clones at the picturesque valley of the Rohini Tea Estate in the winter season. In this season the growth of Darjeeling tea is very slow and the workers could only bring in a very small quantity of leaves that are very special. The workers carefully pluck the tea leaves while making sure that only the best shoots with eminent buds are plucked.

The teas are very mildly oxidized and delicately processed to induce minimal damage to the whole leaves. As a result, the dry leaves become greenish with abundant silvery tips that give us an amazingly clean cup with very high notes of aroma. The texture is very creamy and we get the mixed flavour of Green Apple, Ceylon olive or Indian olive, Indian gooseberry, pear, and vanilla.

Sounds good.  Per my understanding both of these are somewhat experimental, representing ongoing evolution of processing, where the related autumn "Red Thunder" version is pretty far along that path, something they've been tweaking for years.  

This "Christmas honey oolong" Rishi said was sold as a batch but not listed on either site.  It's interesting how that part works out, how producers try to re-create standard branded versions, like the Red Thunder, accounting for variations in annual results by blending inputs from different lots to get to a more standard outcome.  To the extent any part of what I'm claiming or implying is wrong I'll also amend that in another post; it's not as I'm passing on these few comments directly from input from Gopaldhara.

Review:

Christmas honey oolong:  that is really interesting.  I gave it a nice long soak so I wouldn't be saying "we'll know more next round," and infusion strength might be just a touch over optimum.  The flavor is complex and positive, and character really isn't even completely familiar.  After trying so many experimental Gopaldhara teas that's nice, that they can keep breaking new ground.  

I want to say that there is a novel aspect in this, but it's not that, it's a set of them.  The varying oxidation levels apparent in leaf color would indicate that might happen.  One part is bright, floral and including vegetal range, that green wood that I take to be one main characteristic of Darjeeling.  Another is warm, rich, and sweet in a different way.  There's a risk in such circumstances that it might not integrate, but it really does.  I think astringency expressing so much range makes this interesting in one way and a little confusing in another.  Not in the sense of it being unpleasant, but related to fully taking it in.  As to flavor list someone could brainstorm and just keep going on, about honey, floral range, warm spice, trailing towards cocoa, or an aromatic part relating to cedar or other wood tone.  It'll be interesting to see what stands out as this evolves, and how the proportion shifts.

Creamy oolong:  a similar experience of not really being able to place this tea occurred again.  Again it's quite pleasant, so not in the sense of it seeming off, although the warmer range mostly dropping out in relation to the other seemed a little jarring at first.  I think a crazy range of floral tone is making these hard to interpret; their characters are crowded around expressing a lot of that.  This is creamy but not buttery; the smooth and rich tone also connects with a bit of vegetal edge.  It tastes like butter in relation to how a butter cookie tastes, at the intersection of that butter flavor and shortbread.  The more vegetal part I'm not really identifying yet.  It's not so far off flower petal or stem but it's not that.  

I think it also complicates things that these teas are expressing mostly floral range but also rich fruit.  I wouldn't be surprised if that seems more dominant and noticeable as infusions evolve.

Christmas oolong, second infusion:  much better a little lighter, and opened up. Intensity is good, and overall balance. Astringency edge is moderate related to typical Darjeeling range but substantial as the much lower whole-leaf Gopaldhara versions go.  At this level it gives the tea a nice balance. It would be just as good with less, but it's not negative.  Honey sweetness stands out more than in the first round.  Floral range seems to evolve more into dried fruit, it's just hard to pin it down to one version.  Maybe not far off dried apricot.

Creamy oolong:  it's interesting how this tea would be completely different without this degree of astringency edge and green wood flavor.  It's nice as it is, but with half that input the overall effect would shift.  Put another way this stands between Chinese oolong character range and first flush Darjeeling.

Maybe my kids' review input will help clarify.  My daughter tried both and said that both are nice, and that she liked this creamy version more, but didn't really explain why.  My son tried both and said that both are bitter.  Maybe a little, but it's really astringency that he's picking up.  My daughter, who is 8, seems to tolerate it better, and see both as more positive, which really makes no sense given that her only food preference is for eating candy.  He could live on bacon, and neither prefer to ever eat vegetables, or even fruit.  Ok, maybe all that is not helpful.

The richness and creaminess in this tea make it very pleasant, and the positive floral and fruit tone complexity.  It's not so citrusy but it leans a little towards lemon citrus.  For being a sheng drinker the slight astringency edge and touch of what really could be fairly interpreted as bitterness is very moderate, and as positive as it is a weakness, for adding complexity.

Christmas oolong, third infusion:  I would just be repeating the earlier comments to add more, but I'm not really bringing across how this is.  It's novel.  Intentional or not they've managed to oxidize these leaves to a lot of different levels and it really adds a unique depth to the experience, a broad range.  It's not unlike how rolled oolongs might be browned at the edges and greener at the center, it just varied more within different leaves.  This goes an extra step, because parts seem to be contributing true fully oxidized character to this, and other leaves relatively green inputs.  It almost seems that in theory it shouldn't integrate as well as it seems to.  Again without that final green edge and feel this would be a relatively different tea, and I suppose it might even work better, but it also works like this.

Sweetness, floral and fruit, and overall intensity are so pronounced that it leaves you with a perfume-like aftertaste.  That one dry edge really defines the feel; probably that would improve somewhat if it balanced more with the rest, if it didn't stand out.  But this tea experience is like drinking perfume, in a good sense, so it's not appropriate to focus on part of that seeming like a flaw, since how it all works together probably depends on the parts in a way I can't unpack.

Creamy oolong:  this is warming in tone; interesting.  A lot of all the rest of that about the Christmas version applies to this too, just in a different sense.  This is a little lighter and brighter in character, with that other tea's warm dried apricot range swapped out for fruit towards citrus.  Floral range is probably brighter flowers; it's not my personal strength to add flower names to that.  Plumeria and what I think is an Indian cork / peep tree grow in one yard now and it's along those lines.

Christmas oolong, fourth infusion:  this round I brewed really fast, just trying out variations, and it works quite well this way.  One nice outcome is that it would brew very many infusions made that way, cup after cup, without losing intensity.  Transition could also relate to a pattern of character changing across rounds; that happens.  With astringency dialed back as an outcome this is just the straight experience of warm and complex flowers, with a bit of warm dried fruit underlying that.  It's still intense enough to carry over as a pleasant floral aftertaste.

Creamy oolong:  again the aromatic floral range is off the scale for this version, just in brighter range, with a different touch of feel grounding it.  These teas are nice.  I'll probably give both one longer infusion (still 10-15 seconds, not long) to see how that compares with transition cycle input and then stop taking notes.  These will easily brew another half dozen infusions; it's more about me running out of patience for the review process.

Christmas oolong, fifth infusion:  interesting how feel shifts along with infusion strength, and a warmer toned input.  This might have evolved to include more citrus along the way, more a warm orange citrus, versus the other being brighter and towards lemon, or at least Mandarin orange.  It wouldn't be surprising if transitions included a little more flavor range shift, beyond balance just changing over the next half dozen rounds.  The feel to this includes an edge but there is a cool syrupy quality to it as well, which matches together with that perfume-like floral blast nicely.  Aftertaste and feel effect both trail off slowly for teas of this typical type range.  Or maybe these aren't part of any typical type range.

Creamy oolong:  this is quite pleasant, but I think sheng pu'er conditioning for high levels of astringency and bitterness help with that interpretation.  Someone drinking a lot of typical edgy, slightly harsh first flush Darjeeling might end up in a similar place, and see this as soft and approachable as a result.  The level of floral range intensity in both is hard to really describe.  Both contribute a real open handed slap of floral flavor.

Conclusions:

Both very nice!  I suppose I liked the Christmas version better related to appreciating warmer toned range in similar teas.  The usual first versus second flush character divide is pretty much about the same thing, with the "creamy" version closer to typical first flush range.  Both were nice though, novel, complex, and pleasant.  Both definitely included plenty of floral and fruit range.

About the oolong theme, I get it why producers in  other places (than China and Taiwan) try to produce and communicate a general range for medium level oxidized teas.  The character is just never going to be a close match, because of other starting points varying, tea types, growing conditions, and so on.  I'm open to styles borrowing from other places, and name uses being flexible.  Some people see the words "Thai Oriental Beauty" together and see that as a misnomer, but to me it's not a problem.  What they mean is clear, and until a designation is origin area protected there's no need to avoid using it, as I see it.

It's really about how people see language use in general, more so than views on tea.  If someone is open to seeing "literally" mean "figuratively," or they / them as a singular gender neutral pronoun, then it's easy to embrace the concept of Indian oolong.  If not what can you do; people vary in how they prefer language is used, especially related to changes.  Calling these oolong, in addition to autumn flush Darjeeling, just communicates that the oxidation level is medium.  For some that's clear, appropriate communication and positive branding, and for others they probably shouldn't be saying that.  It's up to Gopaldhara to decide it, since I see this as more of a branding issue than a category use issue.

They are not a distant away from dialing in a narrower range of oxidation level, it seems to me, and these would seem a lot closer to Chinese and Taiwanese oolongs in style.  Tie Guan Yin often have a darker leaf edge and "greener" center, so it's down to getting that less oxidized part to transition just a little more.  Or what do I know, really; I'm just a tea blogger.  I can express how I interpret flavors and my own match to preference, and beyond that I really am just guessing.  Related to those factors these teas were nice.