Looking for some new tea I thought I'd give Ten Ren a visit.
I explained to the woman I was looking for a medium roast Oolong tea (Te Kuan Yin.) She pulls out the $60 per lb. and $80 per lb. containers. I inquired about the difference between them and she says, "I don't know, I don't drink low quality tea. I've only tried this one" and points to the container for $120/lb.
What store tells their customer they sell second-rate products and then infers the customer would be interested in it?
I then asked for a different tea. When she didn't know the English name I tried to say the Chinese name, "Jin Xuan." She then arrogantly corrects my pronunciation and tells me they're sold out.
In a last attempt I ask for a third tea, a black tea from Yunnan. Of course this becomes another chance for her to belittle me with her exaggerated sense self importance and tea knowledge. Making $8/hr isn't a reason to belittle me nor does it make you the grand poobah of the tea industry.
Being Easter Sunday and out of tea. I didn't have any other place to go. So I bought the smallest possible quantity of the $80/lb. of Te Kuan Yin. After four brews in a yixing pot its fair to say the tea is flat and lacks any depth of flavor. There's a faint peachy characteristic. The tea was either over roasted or roasted too quickly as a "charcoal" flavour dominates the palate without any of the sweetness that should accompany a dark roast.
Ten Ren could be summed up in a word, "mediocre." It's a small store that doesn't focus on quality in any aspect, not in their teas, staff hiring or customer service. The staff are disparaging and indifferent and the prices are inflated. The tea industry is very competitive, find a store that values your business.