High-tech Oolong supporters

I have seen the website of Samovar teas which is http://samovarlife.com/ if anyone is interested.

I do have an opinion, but I have never been there or tried any of their teas. So, like all of my opinions, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

It seems to me like Jesse who owns the place is an excellent businessman and understands marketing. I cannot tell whether or not he understands tea. My impression from watching all of his youtube videos is that he does not. He seems to have trouble remembering basic facts about tea and has a lot of trouble pronouncing pu'er for example.

I also think that his high prices may just be a reflection of the area and his clientele. San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the US, and his target audience seems to be those who are very receptive of the latest fad and willing to spend to be part of it. I also read somewhere about Samovar Tea lounge offering a $50 "gyokuro shot" Which seems extremely expensive even in the most expensive tea was used.

Of course all of my doubts are based on what I have read or seen online, and I have no personal experience.  I would love to hear the opinion of someone who has actually been. Did you notice that it is also a restaurant, and not just a tea house?

Thanks for the replies guys.  Samovar came to my attention yesterday when I saw Keviin Rose's "Tea" group on Facebook.  He has nearly 17,000 fans, which is what caught my attention.  I'll take a look at some of their videos later this week.  Thanks for the honest feedback.

I know TGY pricing prety well and I've yet to come across anything here that would retail for even close to $2200/lb.  Then again, price aside, if it's really as exquisite as it sounds, I may be willing to spring for a sample, but for that price, I'd rather have a good, aged, charcoal Anxi TGY.

On a side-note, I was in contact with my DD teacher last week.  If I can (a) make it back to Taiwan this winter and (b) save enough money to buy between 50-70 lbs of tea, he would be willing to make a batch of charcoal-roasted Dong Ding, traditional style, for me.  I'm crossing my fingers that I can do it, which would mean good charcoal-roasted tea for everyone!

Wow, that is the first time I've heard of pu-erh ginger.  Interesting....

Since his is audience is not the experienced, traditional-style Asian tea drinker, I feel that he has the ability - and influence - to help more people learn to appreciate what we do.  It'll help some of these small teashops with great product stay open, too.

Samovar tea looks like your typical trendy tea place that is low on quality and high of style, and of course, very high on price.  But it still beats Teavana.

I'm sure some of us tea suckers will be happy to chip in for some of that special roasted Dong Ding, if you're not thinking of drinking those 70lb of tea on your own :)

Thanks for the support.  I actually think it will be more like 120 lbs.  My teacher has agreed to find someone to help with the roasting.  My terms would be that I get to help, the tea base has to be robust enough to withstand the charcoal (and strong/good enough for aging) and it must be made with a specific type of wood charcoal over controlled, low heat (no rushing it).  We'll see if I can make it happen within a year.