All the tea in China

Well, OK, it's not *all* the tea in China, but I did purchase quite a few varieties of Chinese tea at the Oriental Marketplace the other day. Now that I've had time to sample some of everything, I thought I'd share a brief review.

First of all, I must point out that as Bob Barker used to say, "the price is right" for trying new things at this local grocery. The canned and boxed teas ranged from just 99 cents to $1.25, and the bag of matcha candy was just $2.09, so I got all these things for under $7, which I think is a great price when one is "experimenting." Although I loved the design of the can of oolong tea, I didn't care for the taste at all. It seemed rather flat and un-tea-like. Rather like that nasty canned tea here in the U.S., as a matter of fact! And the yellow and green box contains Gohyah Tea, or bitter melon tea. I'd probably have to agree with the "bitter" part! This wasn't the worst tea I've ever had, but it's not a taste I really enjoyed.

On the bright side, I did enjoy the chrysanthemum tea (yellow box), the black tea was just delicious (red box), and the matcha candy (which had extra large pieces) was quite tasty as well. There were plenty of things left that I didn't sample on that last visit, so I'll be making a return trip to the Oriental Marketplace soon. If there's such a place in your town, give it a try and see what fun new tea flavors you can find!