I have talked about FookMingTong before, mostly in connection with the TGY that I received via my parents from them. It’s not a bad TGY, but somewhat pricy. Today, I went to the IFC mall, which has a branch of their shop in it. My friend and I, for lack of better things to do, decided to drop in there.
I was going to compared their loose puerh and want to get a taste test, so after being ignored by the sales for a few minutes, I got one of them to sit down and brew one for us.
They have 3 loose puerhs. One is a “regular” one. One is a 1989 puerh, so they say, and the last is a “unknown year” one (named the same as the one at the Best Tea House). The crucial difference, however, is that apparently they’re all cooked, not raw. Eewwwww
I didn’t know that because they only show the tea in these weird little display cases. Imagine a slightly thicker CD jewel case, all plastic, with a little round hole on top that I suppose let you touch the tea or something. The lighting was soft, and the plastic a little stained by the tea, so I couldn’t really tell what I was looking at. When I did get to smell the dry tea they put into the gaiwan, it smelled a bit cooked with that mouldy smell, but then, it’s hard to say too.
They brewed the 1989 first. The guy was going to do a 1 minute first infusion after a brief wash. That alone should’ve tipped me off that something was wrong…. 1 minute? I told him to cut it short, and he did, and I think by that time the sales were already rather annoyed with me, the youngish man with an attitude.
Taste — your typical cooked, a bit sweet, a bit flat. It has some nice notes, but it doesn’t have that bite that is customary of raw tea that is aged. It also smelled like a cooked… and it looks like one. Oh well.
I didn’t even stay for the second tea. But before that, I asked them if they sell any raw puerh. They do, apparently, in cake form. That’s fine, I asked to see the cake, and they handed me this thing that was wrapped in your usual paper (using FookMingTong’s own paper wrapper, thus telling you nothing) sealed with a sticker on the back, and on top of it, a layer of plastic that is taped together. I asked if they have a sample, at least, that is opened, and the answer was… no. “They all come wrapped from our warehouse, and they are all sealed that way”. No sample cake at all so I can look at? “No, we don’t have any”.
How do they expect us to buy cakes? I guess you can always sell it to tourists or gift givers, who couldn’t care less what’s actually in it, but seriously…. no sample and no goods to look at? I could be buying some mouldy rotting cake for all I know.
This is a Corp. gift and Rich people who “Don’t know” store. Spare them my friend, hehe…. I would try the store in the air-port, very good place to kill time : )
Yes, I agree, I went there before to kill some time brewing up some oolong or another.
Too bad, they didn’t let me kill time there at the Hkg airport (they won’t brew me any tea to try). So my money stayed in my bank too.
Next time use the name “Angel”. That might work : )
As in “I know Angel, quick brew me some tea,” or “Hey Angel, won’t you brew me some tea?” *wink*