opilgrim said

Have you tried King Tea Mall? UPD: Bad experience

I’ve just stumbled upon King Tea Mall. I did some research and couldn’t find much apart from Cwyn’s blog post and few other mentions.

King Mall seems to have some rare Dayi teas, but I’m not sure how legit it is.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

103 Replies
AllanK said

He used to sell on ALiexpress. His store is legit. I have bought Dayi from him and it always seemed real. I trust his store. Not sure about his Taobao Agent service though.

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AllanK said

One thing about King Tea is he doesn’t actually stock all 4000 puerhs. He gets it from his suppliers when you order. So shipping takes a few days.

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Sqt said

Ordered several times, always a good experience, good service and genuine products.

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Rasseru said

Rui uses him for puerh, stuff like yiwu & Lao Bhan Zhang, he’s legit.

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looseTman said

I’ve purchased several Menghai Dayi shou cakes from John Hou @ King Tea Mall. He’s recommended by mrmopar, has genuine Dayi puerh, competitive pricing (that includes shipping), a customer loyalty program, and is very helpful.

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mrmopar said

I use him a lot. I actually just ordered 5 Dayi cakes from him last night. Excellent service all the way.

Nug said

Hello Mrmopar! I just followed you, and would love to ask you a few questions in PM relevant to the topics here if you have the time.

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opilgrim said

Thank you everyone. Ordering now.

mrmopar said

I think you will be well pleased. I just got all the info for my shipment today. I am sure to go back his way soon.

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AllanK said

He once spotted a problem with a cake I had ordered and suggested a similar cake for the same price. The similar cake he replaced the defective one with was $80 more expensive but he did not charge a penny extra.

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looseTman said

John is also a fellow Steepster:
https://steepster.com/john-hou

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opilgrim said

I’ve recently purchased teas from King Tea Mall tea and it was a disappointment.

I bought a bunch of Dayi puerh classics from 2000s. Three ripe puerhs turned out to be fake, raws were authentic, though. All three ripes had no aroma and a very plain, weak taste that resembled teas you would get in dumpling restaurants. Not fishy, but definitely not smooth, medium/full bodied and complex.

King Tea Mall sent a refund for the fakes. It wasn’t required by vendor, but I wanted to get vendor’s perspective and paid out of the pocket to return them. King Tea never admitted that they were fake.

Moreover, my account got deleted without any explanation which was really unpleasant (perhaps, even more unpleasant than getting fake teas).

I’ve heard positive reviews, but also words of caution (some coming from prominent tea vlogers) about King Tea Mall. Now based on my personal experience, I would not recommend buying from King Tea Mall.

If you want to experience great raw and ripe puerhs from various regions, try W2T, Bana or YS.

If you are like me and want to explore large factory teas, go to YS, berylleb. stay away from untrustworthy vendors. This will limit your scope, but it will prevent from getting in situations like this.

mrmopar said

Which Dayi cakes did you order? I have been mainly picking up sheng from them. I did a couple of shou but it was younger stuff.
I do know he did a website revamp and I lost my prior account as well. Had to create a new one.

Sqt said

Ditto on loosing my account, they had some technical issues.

Would love to know which Dayi cakes were questionable, and photos if you have them.

opilgrim said

These were the ripes:
2009 DaYi HongYunYuanCha Cake
2007 DaYi HongZhuang Cake
2008 Dayi V93

It is somewhat easier to purchase raw puerhs. Based on my experience, aged/semi-aged Dayi ripes are more likely to be faked than raws.

mrmopar said

I you ever buy Dayi message me before you commit. I have spent a good deal of time learning from some good sources of what they have done to fake the tea. I have gotten much better at picking them out.

I do have the V-93 and the Dayi Hong Yun if you are up to sampling what I have versus what you got.

Have you had the teas before, is that why you think they’re fake?

opilgrim said

I’ve asked about the missing account, but never heard back.

mrmopar: I will definitely reach out, thank you

Sqt & Shine Magical:
I tried 200x Dayi ripes before, not exactly these years, though. In comparison, the taste was weak even when pushed hard, lacking any complexity, hardly sweet, dry leaf didn’t have aroma, empty cup had a very light smell.
Should have taken more photos, I have only one or two: 2007 Menghai “Adorned in Red” Hong Zhuang: https://imgur.com/GpcDFcj

mrmopar said

Doesn’t look like a Dayi. Center is too far off from the middle.

opilgrim said

mrmopar – Agree, it doesn’t taste like Dayi either…

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