Buying 信阳毛尖 茶 in the US?

[trisha2766]

Does anyone know of a place in the U.S. where I could order 信阳毛尖 茶/ xin4 yang2 mao2 jian1 tea?

Xin Yang is where my daughter is from. When we were there we bought some and were told that the region is known for that tea and apparently is its a fairly popular tea in China. We were also told however that it much be kept refrigerated. I don't know if that is really true but so far the 2 large Asian grocery stores in my area neither one sell it. So maybe it is difficult to store and ship.

I would love to buy some again. If I can't buy it from a local store I thought maybe I could order it online but after doing a search it seemed a bit difficult to be able to tell which online stores I could order from safely.

I suspect that if I try ordering it from china it would be really expensive due to the shipping. Not to mention me not being able to navigate through a Chinese site because I can't real that well, problems with payments methods, etc.

Anyone have any suggestions?

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I can help you with this.

 

But am unable to post now since yesterday's forum upgrade. The webpage eats my reply when I try to preview it before posting. Will shut down and try via a different browser.

 

Aargh, Roddy, help!

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OK, I'll try again.

 

Indeed 信阳毛尖茶 is one of China's top 10 or 20 best loved teas. But when searching for it in the US, you need to use the "maojian" part of the name instead of the "xinyang" part of the name. Don't know why; that just seems to be how it is marketed.

 

Even though this tea is highly respected and loved by tea fanciers, it doesn't keep well and that detracts from its popularity. A retailer doesn't want it to go bad on his shelf. Here's the story.

 

As a green tea, it is roasted soon after picking. This is called 杀青 by tea makers, and is usually done by hand in a large wok. Cannot use a tool because it would break the leaves. Roasting stops the fermentation process 发酵。Has to be fired just enough, not too much. Requires experience and skill.

 

As you probably know, Chinese tea is divided according to degree of fermentation as well as according to leaf shape. Green teas like yours have the fermentation process arrested early on, whereas Oolongs are partly fermented and red tea (called "black tea" abroad) are fully fermented.

 

But the dirty little secret is that the fermentation is not 100% stopped by the 杀青 process. Only 95 plus percent. So as the tea ages, it changes and the change is not for the better. That's part of why your tea needs to be stored in the fridge. Not everyone agrees about putting it in the fridge, but most people do it. Best would be some kind of naturally-always-cool and dry cupboard.

 

The other part of why it needs to be protected from heat is because of the leaf shape. A maojian tea has slender, needle-shaped leafs covered with fine hairs, as the name implies. They oxidize and change when exposed to the air, and again, this change is not beneficial. The process takes place more rapidly than it does with tea varieties that have a thicker, broader leaf.

 

So search for it on the internet as "Maojian" and keep it in the fridge after you buy it. Better to purchase in small amounts for that reason. By that I mean 50 or 100 gram tins.

 

While I am rambling on about  this fine tea, please let me presume to add a brewing note. To keep it simple, the most important variable is to not use boiling water. It needs to be a little less than boiling. Boiling water will kill the tea make it "flat" plus it may even give it bitter flavor.

 

A serving tip that might or might not be useful is to serve it in a clear, straight-walled, eight ounce glass instead of in teacups. The reason is that it looks better and possibly tastes better as well. At least try it out and see what you think.

 

The method is to first warm the glass. Discard that water. Do not rinse the leaves before using. Next, fill it a fourth or third of the way up and add the tealeaves on top. Just sprinkle them in; don't stir with a spoon. Then finish filling the glass, though not all the way to the brim. Rotate it gently a few times, holding with one hand at the top and one at the bottom, and then set it down.

 

Important now to watch the slender leaves "dance" as the tea steeps. They move up and down slowly in the glass and give visual pleasure while you admire and think deep, peaceful thoughts. When 80 or 90% of the leaves have sunk, then it's OK to start sipping.

 

Can refill the glass with hot water two or three times (not five or six times like you might with a red tea.)

 

Am going to send this real quick without proofreading it before it disappears.

[abcdefg]

Quote: >>"Does anyone know of a place in the U.S. where I could order 信阳毛尖 茶/ xin4 yang2 mao2 jian1 tea?"

Realize I never did suggest a place from which to buy. Apologies for that, but it's because I never buy tea online. Since I live in China, I have the luxury of always going to a store where I can taste it before the purchase.

Looked at several suppliers via a Google search. I would probably pick one that has this general structure:

1. Distributor is in the US but supplier is in China. (This makes for fresher stock.)

2. Free shipping

3. Satisfaction guarantee

In addition, I like to be able to select the grade of a tea. May splurge on a special one as a gift and then choose a lower grade for everyday personal use. Grade often has to do with the date it was picked. Each tea has an ideal harvest date and it differs according to geography.

Here's one on-line store that meets those criteria. This is not a real endorsement because I have no personal experience with them.

http://shop.amazing-green-tea.com/xinyang-maojian-tea.html

I've bought a lot of tea in many parts of China and sent it to friends back home. (It's one of the things I do when I travel to different areas.) What I've learned is that the shipping will usually cost as much as the tea when sent via air mail. Less if by surface mail, but that can take up to 3 months. Sending it express is prohibitively expensive.

So this guy's prices look reasonable to me.

[trisha2766]

Thanks so much for all the information!  And I am so sorry I didn't reply sooner.  For some reason I am not getting notifications of replies like I used to.  I came back and checked a few times but hadn't gotten any replies so I just figured no one was going to.

 

The link you gave says its out of stock, but I'm in no big hurry, I can wait until they get more again.

 

And thanks also for all the information about making tea, I really don't know how to do it properly.  I've always liked tea but usually just heat up water in a microwave and stick a tea bag in. 

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You're welcome.